This review may contain spoilers
The worldbuilding is a mess. The action scenes are lame.
This drama is such a disappointment because the quality is below expectation. Usually, viewers are able to overlook imperfection regarding CGI, editing, dubbing, and other technical aspects if the story has quality. But, the story is this drama greatest weakness.Setting/ Worldbuilding
Xianxia typically revolves the story around three realms: the Heaven of immortals and deities, the Earth of the mortals/ human-being, and the Underworld of the demons, spirits, and devils. Each realm has its own creatures, rules, limitations, and boundaries.
The immortals and deities can live for thousands years, They are born asexually from the ascension of lower beings as the results of their good deeds in previous life. They have superhuman ability and not usually died so easy (the only method is through the destruction of their primordial spirit so they cannot reincarnate). They live in the vast and unlimited heaven so usually, they are flying and teleporting. Immortals cannot intervene with lower realm affairs or use their ability in mortal realm. They can go to mortal world for tribulation or penance, and during this trip, they will forget their past.
Human being, animal, and plant are earthly creatures, have short life-span. They are relatively weaker, but can learn cultivation and martial arts. They live with family, in a sect, or a city. They have political entity to govern their affairs. They are crawling in the Earth on foot, horse, or carriage. Their culture and ways of living are richer. Their lives are bound to reincarnation circle. If they are good, they can ascend to godhood. If they are evil, they descend to be lower being.
Meanwhile, the demons, spirits, and devils are usually bad and on the lowest hierarchy of beings. After cultivating for years, they can have human form. They usually live as a nuisance to human, sometimes they eat human to get stronger. That is why they are hunted and killed. However, some of them are kind and not disturb human. They live in clan, so we have bird demon clan, fox spirit clan, etc. in the forest, river, lake, or sea.
Basic rules above are among common characteristics of xianxia worldbuilding. But, this drama breaks some important "rule". For example: Immortals are still immortals even when they go to mortal worlds (2 ML, 2 FL). They are very intervening, and without consequences. Human-being can have superhuman ability that makes them immune to injury and death even after severely wounded (ML). The spirit is not different to immortals as they can go anywhere i.e. the heaven without limitation (FL, the little flower spirit). What is more, the immortals act like human. They bleed when injured, they walk and run to reach certain place, and they are weak in fighting. They love and are jealous to each other. They are full of revenge and ill intention. Their living places are just like human palaces. Nothing wonderful and otherworldly. And, they can live, die, and revive as their wishes, not following the cycle of samsara/ reincarnation (just use a certain artifact to live again). Therefore, the time sequence of the story is messy. Everything seems happen in the present time. The past, present, and future are blurry. No good working timeframe.
I think, this mess is the risk for a too grand story (involving three realms), but no attention to details of each realm. This drama is weaker in the worldbuilding in comparison to xianxia like Love and Redemption (2020) which focus most of its story on the mortal realm. When they abuse the rules of the realms, the conflicts is resolved in lame manner. This drama uses deus ex machina, like when ML suddenly kills himself with unknown swords to stop himself going berserk, or when FL's heart weirdly has so much magical power, or when ML suddenly have magical pool to cure him, or when ML revives the Heavenly Emperor. There is not internal mechanism to solve their problems, like the use brain, analytical thinking, strategic talks, hard works, logical sacrifices, and risk taking for benefit. All depends on external power, weapon and artifact.
Story/ Plot
Immortal Samsara doesn't follow its premise. From the title, viewers may keep asking, what is samsara here? I don't know its meaning until the last episodes when ML confronts his father and learns about his parents story. His father is the demon king who loves and marries a goddess (his enemy), but ends up killing her in the end. So, he turns the time back from the beginning again for a different story and ending. Alas, the ending is repeatedly still the same, because his ambition never change and he never regret doing sins. It is the "immortal samsara". This is the more suitable back story (and the birth of an exquisite god as the result of their love), IMO, rather than the story of twin lotuses which has no significance for the realm, making this like the story of the prince and pauper. The story should use the ML's point of view.
Storywise, this drama lacks good story structuring. It can be more interesting and suspenseful, if the story progresses back and forth to reveal the mystery of the past and hidden identity of ML, and the reason behind why love is forbidden in Heavenly Realm sooner. Alas, this drama put too much emphasize on the ill fated relationship and the romance between ML and FL which is not important to the overall story and conflict. It will be a better story if in the end he becomes the Heavenly Emperor and takes the FL (a mere spirit) as his queen to reward her love, loyalty, and sacrifice, as the result of him learning about his parents, his identity, his enemy, the long conflict between immortals and demon, and the mistakes of the strict rule. This drama wastes an interesting plot where the enemy successfully kills the former Heavenly Emperor and impersonate him. It is never seen in previous xianxia. This drama could have interesting revenge and justice story rather than a mere romance and stupid double suicide in the end.
Characterization
Cheng Yi and Yang Zi are very good actor and actress. But, their potential are wasted because of the problematic story. ML and FL are very two dimensional. Their personalities are predictable, their behaviors are predictable. The writer should dig more on the psychology of a lowly ang young little fairy in the front of the greatest deity. They fall in love too easily, which is illogical considering their statuses. FL should be more selfish (think more about her self) because she is still too young, weak, and needs protection, and wishing for a future and pride. She shouldn't prefer death than life so easily and work harder to maintain her position in the heaven. But, they write her to be a lazy woman and have no aspiration better than a play writer. They can create her to be more interesting with describing what kind of story she would like to write and it will show us her life values, idealism, and personal difficulties as a person, and how it connects to the ML's aspirations and values. The way they introduce ML to FL is so not romantic (as a turtle flipper), downgrade him to a level of child, while he should maintain his dignity as a responsible and wise thousand years old deity. How could he fall in love so easily to a "baby"?
Other supporting characters are generally useless, like a decoration in the background when they are just standing and watching. Supporting deities do more talking than doing something to help, going here and there in a crowd, screaming, and being angry/ sad. They act like ministers in the mortal court rather than deity with specific duty and certain ability. They solve problem through debating, rather than doing something magical. The demons in the valley are also just cute, but useless. The heavenly soldiers are so small in number, like 20s. They should use CGI to multiply them and create a majestic war battalion with good fighting skills to counter demons.
Music
Nothing memorable. No banger. No heart punching beats. Too flat. Too cheesy.
I hope future xianxia learns something from this failure.
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Disappointing at its best
The story went downhill at the end season 1. I continued watching as 1) I want to support Yang Zi and Cheng Yi, and 2) I was hoping the storyline will pick up.Season 2 started at a higher note. It was very promising and I was happy. However, midway, it turned worse than I could ever imagined, especially from Cheng Yi and Yang Zi. What happened?? I want to love this drama, I really do! Not sure it was the storyline, bad CGI, bad acting, everything was just so cringey.
I am still planning to watch it till the end, despite lots and lots of fast forward and skipping (it was so cringey I couldn't bring myself to watch them).
One of the OST is so nice I've been listening to it on repeat, so I guess it's not all very bad.
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It took six months to get through this series.
Xianxia is quintessentially a contrast of light and dark, good and bad, gods and demons, and it is stylistically depicted by monochromatic character and color themes with slight differences in plotlines. If I'm being honest, this genre is my least favorite; notwithstanding, I have seen a couple that are slightly less ridiculous than most with my fave being Love Between Fairy and Devil (LBFAD) and my least fave being this tedious and pretentious Immortal Samasara.Firstly, Yang Zi, the lead actress, is such a one-trick pony who seems content to play different variations of the same "dim and somewhat smart" character which she played not only in IS (Immortal Samsara) but also in Ashes of Love and Legend of the Dragon Pearl. If someone edits clips of her performances in these dramas, I bet you wouldn't know they were three different series.
And therein lies the problem not only with Yang Zi but also with Xianxia as a genre. It's too stylized with little to no room for maneuvering of plots or themes. There's the demons are bad and heavenly beings (HB) are good trope where the heavenly beings fight endlessly for dominance with a side plot of some HB prince who happens to fall in love with some lower HB twig or leaf spirit. Like clockwork, the writer never misses to give us the useless fairy with the baby voice (one of the worst aspects of LBFAD) who later comes into her power after being tossed around and abused by the higher HBs. Toss in a love quadrangle, some men in bad wigs, and the most watered-down set props which, given this is all CGI, seems like a wasted opportunity to liven up an otherwise bleary set of white clouds and grayscale.
Did I mention how much I hate the color and style? Sigh.
Anyway, IS is about a HB prince who falls for a flower; sadly, love is forbidden in heaven and they have to go through three different time periods of heartbreaks and forgotten memories whilst fighting some obscure bad guys who did some bad things. That's all.
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Immortal samsara part 2
Menurut ku si yang zi sangat" cocok memerankan tokoh Yan dan Aura Dewi nya kelihatan banget udah cantik pinter apa lagi kalo akting nangis nya dapet banget apalagi di pasang kan bareng Cheng yi chemistry dapet banget buat mereka berdua apa lagi di tambah kita di sungguh kan sama pemandangan" yang menurut aku wow banget dari awal lihat trailer nya udah jatuh cinta banget sama pasang satu ini , selain itu dari kostum ost nya apa lagi bikin aku yang nonton ketagihan sukses selalu buat para pemain nya semoga nanti bisa pada 1 projek bareng lagi sih, Karana aku sudah jatuh cinta bangetttt sama akting kalianWas this review helpful to you?
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A Tale of Love, Duty, and Sacrifice
this is a love story between the supreme lord of the Nine Heavens, Ying Yuan, and the carefree and witty Four-Leaf Lotus, Yan Dan. Despite being one of the most powerful beings in the heavens, Ying Yuan's life is monotonous until he encounters Yan Dan, who brings light and happiness into his existence.Ying Yuan's life has always been dedicated to the well-being of the Six Realms, adhering strictly to rules, especially the one forbidding love. Guilt-ridden for millennia due to his bloodline and influenced by his uncle's warnings, Ying Yuan feels compelled to sacrifice his own desires for the greater good. However, living as Tangzhou has taught Ying Yuan what it feels like to have a choice and live for yourself.
Ying Yuan prioritizes Yan Dan's safety above his own feelings, often leading to misunderstandings. Yet, living as Tang Zhou teaches him the delicate balance between duty and affection, proving that he can safeguard Yan Dan while acknowledging his love for her.
Yan Dan emerges as a standout character with remarkable growth. Fearless in expressing her emotions and unwavering in her love. Though initially appearing selfish in her pursuit of love, Yan Dan gradually comprehends the gravity of her actions amidst the strictures of heavenly law. Her evolution is marked by the trials endured alongside Ying Yuan in the mortal realm, fostering growth both individually and as a couple.
Yan Dan and Ying Yuan's relationship may appear to be a series of back-and-forths, and they never formally confess their feelings to each other until the final episode. However, deep down, they are both certain of their love for one another. Yan Dan sacrifices her whole heart to save Ying Yuan while Ying Yuan is willing to defy heavenly rules and silently guard her at all times.
Their complexity and depth in the relationship is the of the best things to appreciate in this drama.
Initially, Yan Dan harbors resentment towards Ying Yuan for prioritizing the world over her. However, she gradually realizes that love goes beyond mere companionship, it involves fulfilling each other's desires. She comes to understand the weight of Ying Yuan's responsibilities and willingly prepares to set aside her own feelings and even her life if it means he can fulfill his duty.
Her most significant character development occurs when she wholeheartedly accepts Ying Yuan's entirety —a man tethered by duty yet capable of loving her despite his obligations. She refuses to force him to choose between her and the world. Ying Yuan ultimately doesn't select either the world or her; he embraces both.
Xuan Ye and Ran Qing love story is one of the best part of the drama . both of them choose world over there affection . But they never regretted their love. Ran Qing never hated him and still wished to meet him if given another chance. Xuan Ye understood he had already attained longevity because he always lived in her heart.
Yan Dan: "You protect the Three Realms and I will protect you."
Ying Yuan: "I must protect this world because when the Three Realms remain, you remain"
Yan Dan and Ying yuan : not even death can separate us a part.
Negative elements of the drama are filler content and pacing issues, common to the xianxia genre. I found my self skipping lot of side character stories.
This drama has wonderful OST
story 9.5/10
This is one of the best Xianxia drama for me
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I AM BEWITCHED BY HOW GOOD THIS IS!!
i am someone who have short attention span, and i do get easily bored with dramas, i love costume dramas but i am very picky. but this one? OH MY GOD. this saved me!i am very simple. i see chemistry. i stay. but if it is combined with badass plot, acting and swordmanship choreo? i camp the hell out. and i might as well be torn now that i finished this. can they both work again together? i cannot imagine my life after this without them on screen together, that's their impact. i am crying. literally. i love them so much it hurts.
CHENGYI YANGZI!! I WISH FOR ANOTHER DRAMA SOON PLEASE OR ELSE I'LL MIGRATE TO ANOTHER PLANET
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This review may contain spoilers
Lost Interest
I really wanted to enjoy this drama, but after they killed of Zhi Xi, I lost complete interest. I've watched many dramas that have killed of my favorite characters, but after speeding through the final episodes I still found no reason for them to kill her off. The so-called "sad scene" was uncalled for in so many ways. They literally sat in that little boat and watched her slowly die for a good 2 minutes so Yang Zi could get a few crying scenes in. This was definitely a huge disappointment for me, and I don't regret skipping the final 10ish episodes because of how sick I got of it. I usually hate when dramas end because it's like I was saying goodbye to a good story, but I couldn't wait to finish this one.[this is my little rant to let out my anger, if you enjoyed this drama and feel hurt by it just move along].
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This review may contain spoilers
I lose
English isn't my first language, pardon meI'm a person who's hard to bound to the feelings; esp love.
everything is fine. the whole episodes, the atmosphere, the vibe setting, are bearable to me, the mood is up and down like a graph (more like star positions in the constellation)
the angstiest story of Yingyuan's life and responsibilities, and his love conflict with Yandan. they were bound to their fate. they sacrifice to eachother secretly to finally work together as a team.
ep59, when Yingyuan lost control, he realised the responsibility he must bear to protect Yandan and the 3 realm. later Yandan said about their promise, "till death do us part". this scene that finally, makes me cry. sometimes, life is supposed to be "BE" indeed.
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Best drama
This is such a good drama how is it decreasing in eating it’s actually absurd.This dram deserves much more and not to be slandered by some irresponsible haters who have no sense of remorse.This drama is full of things to look forward and not to mention how successful part one was.I’m so excited to watching the rest of this drama .Highly recommend dram for everyone so pls feel free to watch and I’m don’t forget to rate. The angst is also very good and all the actors are very good.The emotion between that me Main Leads are beautiful.Soooooooo plssssddddddssssss rate this nicely as it’s the best drama I’ve watched in a whileWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Vale muito a pena! Alguns episódios podem ser lentos, mas vale pelos restantes!
Por incrível que pareça, eu amei #ImmortalSamsara... Mesmo sendo um Xianxia "mais do mesmo" tem um estilo bem próprio e sim, teremos amores impossíveis, regras idiotas, o mal, o mal, o mal, mas também teremos um casal apaixonado, um imperador bom, amizade e uma jornada de amadurecimento, perdão e crescimento...#YanDan, o que foi você? Você foi forte do começo ao fim, nunca desistiu do YingYuan, mesmo que não desistir não significasse que vocês iriam ficar juntos ou viver uma linda história de amor, mas você o amou com um amor tão puro e altruísta que é impossível não se apaixonar por esse seu jeito de amar... Sim, você estava magoada, machucada, ressentida, mas nunca deixou esses sentimentos interferirem quando o assunto era o bem maior do YingYuan, que personagem maravilhosa você foi!
#YingYuan, o típico mocinho não tão típico, você, assim como o YeYua, carregava peso demais em cima dos ombros, sempre sendo lembrado das responsabilidades e vivendo por elas cada dia da sua longa vida, mas por trás desse lorde aparentemente frio existia uma personalidade sagaz, travessa, justa e amável... Se alguém tinha dúvidas o quanto você era necessário, o quanto as responsabilidades eram enormes, todas elas acabaram com a escolha que você teve que fazer ao final... Como nossa fadinha Xiao Hua disse (saudades, pequena orquídea): "Eu amo todos, mas também amo um...", você com certeza amou todos e também amou desesperadamente um, infelizmente a responsabilidade era pesada demais e grande demais...
#Yumo, o que falar de você? Você não veio para separar o casal, pelo contrário, você veio para fazer parte deles, você os uniu, você os protegeu e você os amou. Que personagem maravilhoso!!!!
E sobre o final, acho que não é bem um final, o próprio nome já nos diz que não, a história da YanDan e do YingYuan não acabou aqui, a história deles é "uma samsara imortal", um fluxo incessante de renascimentos através dos mundos...
E sim, eu amei o final, desde o começo sabíamos que o YingYuan carregava muito, então foi inevitável ele ter que assumir mais uma incumbência, e eu faria igual no lugar da YanDan, se em mim doeu vê-lo ir, imagino ela que o amou a tal ponto de dar seu coração INTEIRO e literalmente a ele... Ela jamais aceitaria viver em um mundo que não houvesse um YingYuan...
Por fim, não temos momentos tão românticos como em #Love Between Fairy and Devil, mas isso não significa que YanDan e YingYuan se amaram menos, o amor estava presente em cada ação, em cada escolha individual, o amor estava mesmo quando eles não estavam juntos... Houve uma mágoa entre o casal, YanDan não estava disposta a esquecer e YingYuan não queria que ela o fizesse, mas nunca, nunca deixaram de se amar em um único minuto e nunca, nunca houve uma terceira via entre eles, Yumo aceitou isso e nunca se impôs... Como YingYuan mesmo disse: "Do começo ao fim, meu amor por você nunca mudou..."
#PS: Se eu recomendo Immortal Samsara? Sim e muito! Tem episódios que você pensará em desistir, mas no meio de 59, cinco ou seis sendo entediantes ou lentos não são muitos... os outros 53/54 irão compensar "cada minuto" chato rsrs... E eu amei os episódios finais, achei que focaram mais em "limpar a casa", mas em nenhum momento o amor dos principais ficou esquecido, pelo contrário, ele foi se fortificando conforme a limpeza ia ocorrendo... Não foi o foco, mas sempre esteve lá entre eles e junto com cada escolha...
#PS²: Parabéns ao Cheng Yi que mais uma vez provou ser um dos melhores, ele jogou brilhantemente com três personagens de personalidades completamente opostas... E palmas para
Yang Zi que conseguiu fazer meu ranço dar uma trégua rsrs...
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Câu chuyện bình thường. Bộ phim hay nhờ diễn xuất.
Immortal Samsara có câu chuyện rất bình thường, nhiều tình huống có thể đoán trước.Với câu chuyện khá cũ, nhưng khi xem lại rất xúc động. Bộ phim này làm tôi khóc nhiều lần, những năm gần đây rất ít bộ phim làm được điều này.
Diễn xuất của nam chính và nữ chính quá xuất sắc.
Các nhân vật phụ rất tốt, tất cả đều làm tốt vai trò của mình.
Nhân vật phản diện có nguyên nhân, mục đích riêng.
Bộ phim đáng xem nhất trong năm 2022, 2023.
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Decepcionante ?
Vim assistir a série porque gosto dos actores principais e vejo sempre todos os seus trabalhos realizados, estão de parabéns mais uma vez pelos papéis que interpretaram aqui e pela química entre os dois.Na minha opinião a história começa bem mas em poucos episódios se torna confusa, saturante e sem sentido. São demasiados episódios ... metade teria chegado e talvez tivesse ficado mais cativante.
Faltam agora 2 episódios apenas para o final, resta saber se terá final feliz.
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