I prefer the anime of course especially with Tang San, except the following I will say the drama series did well. 

1.  Ning Rong Rong here is awesome.  More personality, more energy.  The drama addresses a major plot issue with the Qibao tower family, which is that they are really powerless.  Ning Fengzi would be killed a long time if he didnt have his 2 title doulous.   They need other people to protect them.  

Rong rong here really shows how strong she can become.  The actress could be MF if she wanted.  

2.  The grandmaster change is actually a great choice.  The novel master was introduced as a stuck up who is arrogant because he can compensate his physical weakness with knowledge.  

But the more we learned about him the sadder he became.  After being dumped by 2 of his lovers, kicked out of his family, this drama version of him constantly being burdened by his past presents more depth.   In the novel if you guys remember the guy was depressed for years, and then with the burden of the war he almost died from a heart attack until Tang San saved him.  This version of him here is more preferable for that role.  

:SOB: this is probably not the right place to say this but:

i'm on episode 35 of the show so far and i started it because i love xiao zhan but i will happily admit that there are loopholes to the plot, even as a non-novel or donghua fan (haven't seen either). but it does make me kind of sad to see so many people disappointed in it here. maybe it's because i don't have a better comparison or a gauge to understand how good the series could be but it honestly doesn't feel like a terrible drama to me. so far my only real pet peeves are: the pacing feels kind of off, and i'm confused about what exactly the school's taught them apart from gang laoshi training their stamina, also i really dislike the actress who plays/her portrayal of xiao wu, i also really don't understand why the music is SO bad (the ost is just monkaW) especially when they're starting a journey (the random musical at one point was so cringe oml) but despite all of that - i don't think it's terrible. i actually want a season two so that certain plot holes can be explained or idk. i want to give the donghua a try but ngl the animation style has been putting me off so i'm probably more likely to just read the novel.

 lorn:
:SOB: this is probably not the right place to say this but:

Quite correct that this is the wrong place for your comment, especially when you are still not aware of the originals thus cannot understand the source of our anger. Practically this is the thread for original fans to discuss the difference between drama and originals, also to vent our frustration.  I ask for you, drama fans, to respect us here who are practically angry and very sad of this butchered adaptation.

If you enjoy the drama, then good for you. I respect your opinion on this drama but I think you will not get the respond you want in this thread. We are aware that there are non-original fans out there that enjoying this drama. And we have nothing against your lot.

I made this thread because lots of drama/actor fans in the main thread complaining about us "spoiling" the thread with our complain and our discussion regarding the difference; so that we can contain our discussion without having to disturb the general drama discussion. I hope you will be understanding and not treating this thread as an arena to defend the drama from us the original fans. If you want to discuss the difference with us and asking for input, then you are more than welcome. But we don't need someone engage in debate with us of why we are dissatisfied with this drama in this thread.

 Xien_Rue:
But we don't need someone engage in debate with us of why we are dissatisfied with this drama in this thread.

oh i see, i think you're misunderstanding me - i don't mean to offend you or to start a debate here either. i just came to understand or find out reasons why the original adaptations would be more appealing. as someone, who started with the drama - i still want to know more about the actual lore and characters. i've been trying out the donghua, despite the fact that i don't like the animation style, it's been good nonetheless. (although, i'm confused why tang san's surname takes after his father tang hao if he's technically reincarnated? not sure if i'd be spoiling myself by asking so nvm) 

i basically just want to find out if there's specific things i should be watching out for in the donghua that make it so much more appealing to you guys and why the live-action was such a let down. sorry if you took offense to anything i said, as i didn't have any ill-intentions oof

 lorn:
oh i see, i think you're misunderstanding me - i don't mean to offend you or to start a debate here either.

I see. I am sorry too if my words sounded harsh in my previous post. I had too much bad experience with drama/actor fans in the main thread. This thread is kind of run away act so I am quite sensitive when I find drama fans "running" after us even here. 

Now, to answer your questions. Some of my answer might contain spoiler. I don't really watch the drama in detail because of my skipping.

1. Tang San is reincarnated as a baby; as the son of Tang Hao and Ah Yin, thus his surname of Tang. It is a coincidence that his name is exactly the same as his name in his past life. 

2. In his previous life, Tang San is someone trained in hidden weapons and poison. In short, he has no restraint to kill someone if the need arise. This trait of his lead to a calm personality of Tang San when he reincarnated in Douluo world. 

3. You need to remember Douluo Dalu is a xuanhuan genre, that caters to male population. Majority of time, the MC would be someone genius, calm, confidence, and charismatic. That just how it is. We, original fans, of course love this kind of character. If not, we will not become original fans. Tang San in the original is someone who is calm, confidence, and quite cold blooded. I think I don't need to tell you what is Tang San in the drama characteristic like. The Tang San in the drama is not Tang San who we original fans love. You need to excuse our disappointment and anger.

4. Censorship in China made the reincarnation plot had to be scrapped. Most of us are aware of this. But, this is not the reason to butcher Tang San character until it is unrecognizable. Drama fans always talking about drama Tang San needs to grow. Believe me, that whiny Tang San depicted in the beginning of the drama will never grow up to our Tang San. The core personality is just too different. 

5. The one thing that make xuanhuan genre so very good for the fans is its logic behind power system. The power system or the cultivation level/method is described as if it is a science. In this drama, the system is messed up and not explained too well.

I can say more, but it is just too many. The character of Dai Mu Bai and Ma Hong Jun also different from novel, even though the impact is not as heavy as Tang San. Not to mention the plot change ...... 

If you like reading, I will recommend you to read the novel. I know there are people who feel uncomfortable watching 3D animation. Douluo Dalu is a very good novel for someone who are new to the genre.

The point is, the starting point of you drama fans is different from us original fans. It is like talking about seeing to someone who is born blind. Sorry, my analogy is too harsh, but it is what I feel everytime drama/actor fans scolded me in the main thread.  .

 Xien_Rue:
The point is, the starting point of you drama fans is different from us original fans. It is like talking about seeing to someone who is born blind. Sorry, my analogy is too harsh, but it is what I feel everytime drama/actor fans scolded me in the main thread.  .

ohhh i see i see, okie thank you for clarifying quite a few things for me. 

most importantly, i never knew there was such a genre called xuanhuan genre :o it sounds really really intriguing to me and i'd like to know more. do you have any other series recommendations? they can be novels, donghua or manhua as well as full drama series - i enjoy all forms. i've been looking for more cultivation or martial arts/wuxia kind of drama series in particular but the xuanhuan genre sounds really good too, so i'd really like to know more!

as for douluo dalu, i'll finish the donghua as i've already started it but i'll read the novel as well once i'm done with the first season. i can see why you'd dislike tang san's character portrayal in the live action as i can tell he is quite different indeed oof - will try my best to consume as much of the material that's on offer to me!

 lorn:
most importantly, i never knew there was such a genre called xuanhuan genre :o it sounds really really intriguing to me and i'd like to know more.

Perhaps you will be more familiar with xianxia like Love and Redemption or The Untamed. Both xianxia and xuanhuan are genre dealing with cultivation. It is quite difficult to differ both of them, hahahah. In my opinion, xianxia usually has magic and deity while xuanhuan is more detail in power system (scientific power system) and incorporating more martial arts in it.

Douluo Dalu is regarded as xuanhuan for its power system and western taste of the cultivation system. I suggest you read Douluo Dalu first as your entry to this genre since this novel is quite easy to be understood and you are already familiar with the character. Next you might want to try Battle through the Heavens. It has pretty good romance line (much better than Douluo Dalu). This novel also has drama adaptation (Fight Break Sphere) which is just another butchered adaptation ...... Sigh ....

A word of caution, while xianxia is very much palatable to us female population, xuanhuan caters to male population. It is very minority for female liking xuanhuan genre. Douluo Continent change actually including the change of male flavor to female flavor which make this drama unrecognizable by original fans.

 Xien_Rue:
Perhaps you will be more familiar with xianxia like Love and Redemption or The Untamed.

oooo i see what you mean - i think i tend to watch either xianxia and wuxia but i'm totally down to try more xuanhuan, especially if it means like more fighting and cultivation! i'll give what you mentioned a try and i'll look up some good dramas of the genre too. thanks for letting me know more about it and stuff - i'm actually super hyped now to go start everything LOL 

What the f--- did I just watch. Everything is just wrong...Thank god I dropped this after ep 10. Watched ep40 to see what else they screwed over and holy s---, I think I need to cleanse my eyes with a marathon run of the animated version.

The plot has a problem.  Tang San in the drama fighting in the tournment is motivated to find if his dad is the  bad villain because some stranger told him.  The same stranger later told him it might not be true but he still continued.  They could have made up a different reason.  

The drama was so bad as a xuanhuan on its own, the plot, the script. But luckily it's not as a bad as the 'Martial Universe' adaptation, lmao. Anyways, just started watching the donghua, and it's is a world of difference. First time watching an anime in general as well, so if you're in the same boat, try it out.

 Eric:
Thank god I dropped this after ep 10.

i dropped after the first lol

After stop watching this mess of a drama for a few days, I can think a bit clearer. I think I know the reason why Wang Juan insisted on adding Shrek using hidden weapons in their soul battle. It was to support his premise in the first episode that xuan tian was to defeat the soul master and soul beast (or something of the sort, I forgot the detailed words). So, in the later episodes, he tried to show that hidden weapon of Tang San truly was of higher pedigree since it allowed lower level soul master to defeat higher one. 

However, even though in the novel, it is indeed that hidden weapon allows Tang San to be more powerful than his soul level, it is not by much. And he still needs to back it up with a certain level of soul level. 

Anyway, I am checking the main thread today, and seeing there are still fighting between drama fans and original fans. I will say it again, this is the first time in my online experience that I see such "defensive" drama fans for original adaptation. 

I imagine if it was me who was not aware of the original source and then I read the original fans complain, I would have asked this fans question about what changes that bad and where I can see the original since he/she said the original was better. Just my opinion .... Because I am bewildered with the phenomenon in this drama.

 Xien_Rue:
Anyway, I am checking the main thread today, and seeing there are still fighting between drama fans and original fans. I will say it again, this is the first time in my online experience that I see such "defensive" drama fans for original adaptation. 

I imagine if it was me who was not aware of the original source and then I read the original fans complain, I would have asked this fans question about what changes that bad and where I can see the original since he/she said the original was better. Just my opinion .... Because I am bewildered with the phenomenon in this drama.

I know!! And worst is, I'm always getting recs on the drama on my youtube even tho I only watch the trailer. It's bad enough that i have to deal with this existence, but yt always telling me to watch the drama. And those fans are always singing wonderful praises. 

stuff like "great portrayal" "even novel fans like this" etc etc, like rlly.

 Euphoria:

I know!! And worst is, I'm always getting recs on the drama on my youtube even tho I only watch the trailer. It's bad enough that i have to deal with this existence, but yt always telling me to watch the drama. And those fans are always singing wonderful praises. 

stuff like "great portrayal" "even novel fans like this" etc etc, like rlly.

Tell you the truth, I suspect lots of those who claimed as "familiar with original" and yet still praises this drama into the sky are just actor fans in disguise. Perhaps only did some quick goggle search on the novel/donghua. I don't imply that there is no original fan that can enjoy the drama, but their comment will has a different flavor with those fakers. 

A pure drama fans usually will be more tolerant toward original fans complain and even will be curious on just how much better the original is. Well, of course there are some exception since I know the younger generation just dislike reading and prefer anything to be presented in audio-visual instead. I don't how is it in your region, but it is what I observed from mine.