SiennaNgo
This review may contain spoilers
First of all, the reason why I watched this drama is that the synopsis said this was the "Chinese Gossip Girl" which I later found out was not the case. I watched Eternal Love and really liked the actors which so happened to be in this drama, so I decided to give it a try.Be warned and
SPOILER (kind of)
You're going to be disappointed if you're expecting this be like Gossip Girl on The CW.
This show is NOT like Gossip Girl. There was no mysterious "Gossip Girl" who exposed some of the character's secrets. Yeah, there's a lot of drama that happens between the characters. There were a few times where people gossiped on their phones about main characters. The drama has the wealthy/popular/beautiful characters but they aren't really b*tchy or super egotistical. Most of the cast play students, but they're university students....and that's about where the similarities with Gossip Girl ends.
Was it terrible though? For me, even though the plot wasn't what I expected, it wasn't that bad either so it didn't really waste my time.
The cast did pretty well with the acting. I have to give credit to them since most of the actors here were rookies at the time and I think for some, it was their debut drama.
Overall, I think they did a pretty good job!
I rewatched the drama and enjoyed it more since I really like a few of the actors after watching some of their more recent dramas (Dilireba, Zhang Vin Vin, Gao Vengo, etc).
Edit: I forgot to mention that the order of the episodes is really weird. I'm not sure if that's how the drama was directed or purposely edited. But I think the last few episodes don't match up with what happened previous episodes. I don't know if that's because I missed something important or if the people who uploaded the show put it in the wrong order.
For those who need English subs, I don't know if this show has been subbed because I watched this on Youtube which had no subtitles. I also couldn't find any other drama sites that have this show on, but if there is, I think it would be raw.
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There were too many times when a misunderstanding occurred between the main couple. There was overuse of phrases like "my destiny is to..." "but I want to live like this, but I've got no choice" " I must avenge my father" "I love you" then "I hate you" (Lol. They probably ran out of lines to say)
I was like, I get the idea, the characters are confused due to what they've been though but it was over elaborated and it felt over complicated.
Add in a few extra plot twist and unnecessary new inputs to the already tangled plot line, you get WTF IS GOING ON?
However, character development is shown as the drama proceeds. Basically, all the chaos and pain is caused by the idea of revenge and betrayal, which got really really annoying since one moment everything is fine the BAM!-- it gets worse, then slowly everything is peaceful BUT NO some other trouble stirs it all up again and again and again.... and that kind of replays that through the episodes.
There were sweet and funny moments with Ye Kai and Ding Ling Ling which were really cute. There were nice fighting scenes and special effects. Costumes were really nice too and the music was alright, that middle eastern tune was overplayed whenever they danced. I also liked the casting and felt they did as best they could with the role given.
The ending was so FRUSTRATING!!! It was really sad, disappointing and a little confusing.
I watched 50 episodes and this is what I end up with? I guess the unhappy ending is refreshing....?
#givememytimeback
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I think the middle of the drama was useless and a waste of time. In my opinion, you only need to watch the first one or two episodes then skip to the last few episodes which has Tao Heng (Na Zha) in it. Her part with Liu Zhang Yan is so cute and funny, which I think is probably the only moments worth watching in the entire drama.
It was a pretty average drama. Out of all the fantasy dramas including fox spirits, this drama isn't that great, but not bad enough to consider terrible. Honesty I probably will never rewatch it, or at least not all the episodes. So if you're interested in watching and get bored after watching the first 5-10 episodes skip to the last story (episode 27) of the drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the worst drama remakes
Where do I even begin...China always does remakes of classic Wuxia novels every few years, and in my opinion, the 2021 Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is definitely one of the worst drama adaptations of the novel.
I am biased. My favourite version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is the from 2003. Despite the poor video quality and old CGI, the acting and overall delivery from the 2003 cast is superior in many ways.
So with this 2021 remake (SPOILERS AHEAD!)
The music was fine, not much that like or dislike about it. It was just there so I didn't mind it.
BUT THE ACTING. Dear lord, THE ACTING! That drove me up the wall. I'm probably biased because I'm comparing how these characters are portrayed to the other remakes but STILL, the lack of emotion in some of these characters make me so frustrated.
There are key moments when this is so obvious.
1) When A'Zhu dies and her mother confronts Qiao Feng about her death. WHY WAS THE MOTHER NOT UPSET? Where were the tears? Where was the anger? The mum doesn't even seem remotely sad that her child was killed or the fact she never got to reunite with her lost child?
2) When the Dali Emperor witnesses his lovers get slain one by one in front of him. And the first two that died didn't even seem afraid or sad either??? They also didn't say anything before they were about to get stabbed...
The emperor did look a little sad and he let a few tears fall but it was ...meh. Yeah I get that he's trying to stay calm and strong as he's being threatened. But for a guy that's meant to be a womanising playboy that's really a romantic at heart, his overall character depiction in the drama is kind of cold and stoic. And if you think about the fact that he's meant to be IN LOVE with these women as they die because of him, you can understand why I think they could've done better with the acting.
There are also many other moments in the drama where the acting was just plain lazy and boring, but thankfully most of that was in minor/side characters.
I don't have much to complain about the plot because it's pretty much the same as the other versions of this story. The only part that's noticeably different is the ending because theres a few loose ends.
Did the monk(XuZhu) leave his wife/lover and Lingjiu Palace for good? In the last episode, he decides to let go of his "desires" and leave his home to face the world...umm....WTF?? I thought he wasn't a 'real' monk anymore because of the stuff he did, so why is he going on a spiritual journey to find himself and let go of his earthly desires? Didn't he already accomplish finding himself and gained happiness after he meet his true love and brothers????
I don't know what happened with the Dali Prince (Duan Yu) either. Obviously he's Dali's emperor at the end, but it's unclear what happened to his 'sisters'. I don't know exactly which ending this drama follows. In one version of the novel, he ends up with just the fairy sister. And in the other, the fairy sister decides to stay with her cousin, and Duan Yu ends up marrying the three other girls. But in this drama, the fairy sister chooses to stay with her cousin but then Duan Yu visits her and they leave a monastery together....so does that mean they're together together....or???
Overall, don't recommend unless you're looking to be disappointed, especially if you've seen the earlier remakes.
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