Fun, touching, and inspirational
The original Japanese manga is probably my favorite manga of all time. Then the anime adaptation did not disappoint and was a joy to watch. So obviously, I had hesitations going into this show.
But all my worries were blown away and the show exceeded expectations. Definitely recommended!
This Chinese live-action did so well in adapting the events/details in the story to fit the Chinese Go world. As a fan of the original, I got to see my favorite characters again. And at the same time, they were also completely different. Some personalities were slightly changed, some matches were with different characters from the original, and there were some added background or information about other characters.
One of the characters whose changes I really loved was Shi Guang's mother. She barely appeared in the original manga, where she was mostly shown as a supportive but rather clueless mom. In this live action series, her character is more fleshed out. I absolutely love that scene where she and Shi Guang had a fight about him playing Go and his future. They actually talked about it and Shi Guang grows to be so open about showing his appreciation for his mom.
Personally, I felt that the last 2 episodes of the show were a little too rushed. They really cut out events just to make it work. I wish they'd given the show 3 or 4 more episodes to really flesh out the changes and the growth after "the disappearance". It wasn't bad, per se, but it could have been better.
The main actors Hu Xian Xu (as Shi Guang) and Hao Fu Shen (as Yu Liang) were perfect for their roles. I've become a fan of theirs from this series. Individually, they carry their roles well. Together, their chemistry is so natural and fun to watch. Even the kid actors of their roles did so well at the start of the show.
Zhang Chao (as Chu Ying) portrayed his character in a way that slightly deviated from how I've always taken it (Sai in the original manga/anime). It took a bit of getting used to but it did crawl into my heart over time.
In any case, the whole thing was a lot of fun to watch. It's making me want to reread the manga (which did make a cameo in this show)!
But all my worries were blown away and the show exceeded expectations. Definitely recommended!
This Chinese live-action did so well in adapting the events/details in the story to fit the Chinese Go world. As a fan of the original, I got to see my favorite characters again. And at the same time, they were also completely different. Some personalities were slightly changed, some matches were with different characters from the original, and there were some added background or information about other characters.
One of the characters whose changes I really loved was Shi Guang's mother. She barely appeared in the original manga, where she was mostly shown as a supportive but rather clueless mom. In this live action series, her character is more fleshed out. I absolutely love that scene where she and Shi Guang had a fight about him playing Go and his future. They actually talked about it and Shi Guang grows to be so open about showing his appreciation for his mom.
Personally, I felt that the last 2 episodes of the show were a little too rushed. They really cut out events just to make it work. I wish they'd given the show 3 or 4 more episodes to really flesh out the changes and the growth after "the disappearance". It wasn't bad, per se, but it could have been better.
The main actors Hu Xian Xu (as Shi Guang) and Hao Fu Shen (as Yu Liang) were perfect for their roles. I've become a fan of theirs from this series. Individually, they carry their roles well. Together, their chemistry is so natural and fun to watch. Even the kid actors of their roles did so well at the start of the show.
Zhang Chao (as Chu Ying) portrayed his character in a way that slightly deviated from how I've always taken it (Sai in the original manga/anime). It took a bit of getting used to but it did crawl into my heart over time.
In any case, the whole thing was a lot of fun to watch. It's making me want to reread the manga (which did make a cameo in this show)!
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