This review may contain spoilers
Chen Feiyu's acting is pretty amazing in this and the costumes and sets are beautiful but I just can't get past the way Ning Que treated Sang Sang. I really really wanted her to kick him to the curb. I mean, to get rid of him completely and go her own independent way, instead of doing her half-assed running away and then coming back to serve him. Ugh. You deserve better, Sang Sang! It's too bad. I liked Ning Que's character otherwise. And I liked Sang Sang character, too. But together, nope.
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Arthur Chen and cast delivers.
And just when I thought I had completed all 60 episodes, I discovered there was a Season 2 waiting for me. But this review is about Season 1.The first reason I started watching Ever Night was Arthur Chen. Although I’m relatively new to C-dramas, I’ve come to admire his versatility as an actor. Learning that this was one of his earliest major roles, filmed when he was only around 17 years old, made his performance even more impressive. He was clearly a diamond in the rough, and seeing how much he has grown as an actor since then only deepens my appreciation for his work.
The storyline is beautifully crafted, with compelling episodes that kept me glued to the screen and binge-watching for three straight days. Unlike many recent dramas that struggle to maintain momentum even with 40 episodes, Ever Night makes excellent use of all 60. My only minor criticisms are the occasionally lengthy conversations and the frequent use of flashbacks. However, these are small flaws in an otherwise outstanding production.
What I appreciated most was the gradual and believable evolution of the protagonist. Unless you’ve read the novel, there is certainly a learning curve in understanding the many characters and their roles within the story. Yet as the narrative unfolds, all the pieces come together remarkably well.
And what an ending it was intense, satisfying, and emotionally rewarding. It delivered both excitement and closure while leaving me eager to continue the journey in Season 2.
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Arthur Chen is a rockstar!
As Ever Night Season 1 began, my first impression was that the visuals were stunning. The cinematography, scenery and costumes were obviously screaming a huge production budget. With the number of cast members in this drama, one can only imagine the sky high figures that it took to get this show on the road.The fight scenes were some of the best that I have seen anywhere. My favorite is that of Ning Que and Chao Xiaoshu going up against a number of opponents. In the over ten minute scene, Chao Xiaoshu enlists the help of the young Woodcutter of Shubi Lake.
I skipped a lot of political scenes. I felt that I would still be able to understand the gist of the drama without quite a number of dragging scenes. I would focus more on Ning Que, SangSang and the Academy. By the end of Season 1, after Ning Que defeats Xia Hou, I felt that my actions were justified. Perhaps I would not be able to explain the smallest details in the show but I still am able to understand that Ning Que finally got his revenge with the help of Sangsang.
Please see some more of my comments here: https://thislifehappened.me/the-two-ning-ques/
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Memorable wuxia drama
This is one of the best xianxia series I've ever watched, action packed with court conspiracy (which I love to skip though). Best thing is Main Character is not quite the best in cultivation but can survive each battle cause he's witty and intelligent. No mushy-mushy love scenes so you can forget this series if youre looking for one, and not quite the harem type too. As for me, this is definitely my cup of tea.Arthur's Ning Que is so on point and adhered to the novel's Ning Que. His air and antics are truly spot on and I cant really see anyone else playing this role. Song YiRen's Sangsang is superbly played, she really looked and behaved like a teenager, I was shocked to see that the actress is already 27yo! Thats truly a wow!
I love the action sequence. This series gives off particularly special air which made it stand out compared to other series. The plots are unique and unpredictable. Real nice adaptation indeed.
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This review may contain spoilers
I must say that I found the drama to be quite disappointing. While I did watch the full season 1, I jumped to the last episode hoping for a happy ending. Unfortunately, I was left unsatisfied.
The cultivation scenes with the sage were excessively prolonged and dragged on for far too long. Additionally, there were way too many characters to keep track of, and I found myself getting lost and confused several times throughout the show. Many of the episodes could have been shorter and should have shown some real progress from the hero, instead of the same old storylines with the princess or the sage. The whole thing was just repetitive and boring.
Season 1 of the drama lacked any love story, except for a brief glimpse of the Princess. Therefore, it can only be termed as a NO romance drama.
The inconsistencies and bad edits in the show were alarmingly prominent. For instance, the characters walk past an alley covered in fake blood (probably a previous scene of the show left there), yet they continue their conversation as if nothing is wrong. Another example includes the protagonist achieving a talisman when he is almost at the bottom of cultivation.
The scriptwriters had major issues in grasping the age gap.
- The Princess left for two years to marry, and upon her return, she had a 5-6-year-old child.
- If the hero was around 10 when he saved the baby and 18 when he became a disciple, the child should have been 8 years old, not 12-15 lookalike
- the princess was a bit too old to fall for an 18 years old
The age gap didn't make any sense, and it was utterly frustrating to watch.
The martial arts choreography in the movie was outstanding and deserves an award. The special effects were equally impressive and the music kept me engaged throughout. While the costumes were good, they were not exceptional.
I must say that the actors and actresses did a great job, especially the master of the talisman. The bond between the master and disciple, which was akin to a father-son relationship, was very moving. The brotherhood portrayed in the movie was also well done. Overall, it was a fantastic drama with amazing martial arts choreography and touching character relationships… except the script.
I was thoroughly unimpressed and disappointed with the show. The repetitive episodes in season 1 made me lose interest in watching season 2 and I only watched the final episode out of curiosity. It was a letdown with no satisfying conclusion. To me, it seemed like a setup for season 3 which never materialized. Moreover, I strongly dislike when shows change actors mid-series. Therefore, I'm glad I skipped season 2 altogether.
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Wuxia at its best
Well, I have to admit that this drama is the wuxia that made me start to follow Chinese drama. Everything was perfectly done in the drama for this first season. I would say, it was a perfect drama. Each actor gve his best to it and it was a complete success. The editing, effects and everything were done flawlessly. It is worth rewatching. In fact, anytime I talk about watching a Chinese drama, I literally mean, ever Night or Vincent zhaos *heroes *. The chemistry between sangsang and ning que, and the loyalty between the students of the tang academy, even though wasn't expressed much as in the second season, it was still made to appear when it was needed.Was this review helpful to you?
A light shines in Ever Night
It has taken me a while to get to this series and admittedly, it was Yuan Bing Yan that attracted me to the series.The development and growth of both the ML and FL roles were well thought out. The chemistry between ML and FL is good. The transition from brotherly love to one of husband/wife is good though somehow I still feel that the marriage relationship between ML and Fl is still... mm a bit lacking.
The chemistry between ML and Yuan Bing Yan is spot on. YBY is well cast as the Book Manic. As is Zoey Meng as Dao Manic, both playing the role to point.
The story pops along fairly well but there are parts where the story drags along a bit too much and it bits too monogamous and draggy. But the final battle, I must say, was worth the FINAL BATTLE. The two pulled out every trick in their arsenal to get the up-hand.
The music is good and matches the storyline, with the occasional flashbacks, explaining the little gaps in the storyline.
Overall, it is worth watching. Definitely worth a rewatch.
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A very interesting story
This is an drama is excellent on most measures: story, acting, computer graphics, costumes, fighting scenes etc. The story is very interesting as the drama keeps you wondering who is the Prince of Hell and is darkness going to overcome the world.But as with a lot of long dramas, there are a lot of time fillers to lengthen the story, which spoiled the excitement and suspense as parts of it becomes boring and dull. Trim 5 episodes of these off and the momentum of the story would have been very exciting.
Synopsis of the sequel however spoiled the ending for me as I know whether the hero and heroine would die. However, I look forward to the sequel as there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
It is one of those generally good pieces - you enjoy it but it leaves very little recollection of any impressive scenes where you may wish to re-watch and re-capture, or music pieces you want to listen again. The actors and actresses did well but there were no intense expressive moments like those you see in Nirvana in Fire, Journey of Flower or The Untamed.
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This review may contain spoilers
didn't like it at all.
I found the relationship bit weird and they had NO CHEMISTRY AT ALL as a romantic couple. I liked them as brother/father figure and sister a LOT more. The chemistry with the princess was good and I wish he had ended up with her instead. I don't remember anything about the story since their relationship distracted me too much.Was this review helpful to you?
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I am Canadian and this "Ever Night" I've only discovered in viki.com on the last week of March, 2020. Out of curiosity - I watched it and then I went to its Season 2. And I was hooked on it, even my family members were interested in it.
"Ever Night" then was our First Chinese TV Series on Epic, Adventure, and Fantasy which we have watched. And this is our Favourite of all Epic Chinese Films. When we're watching it, it seems we are reminded of the themes and sequences of the Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Harry Potter, and Frozen.
And we discovered that "Ever Night" won the Best TV Series in Canada-China International Film Festival . . .And that John Bruno, a famous American Visual Effects Artist did the film's visual effects - the more we came to love it and re-watched it on Viki. com - as we are also new in viki.com . .
I don't think we could go on further watching another Chinese TV Series on Epic. Our hearts were fully captivated with the acting roles of the lead characters, namely Arthur Chen, Dylan Wang and Ireine Song; and also we are impressed with the roles of the other secondary characters.
For me and for my family, relatives, and close associates here in Canada; "Ever Night" is our only Favourite Chinese TV Series on Epic. We could not have asked for more.
Thank you so much for giving me a chance to write here. Have a safe and pleasant days ahead.
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Quality Production
What an amazing drama this is. When it was first released, I wasn’t very sure if I wanted to watch it; it has all the big names like Adam Cheng and Leon Lai. I was thinking, maybe it was going to be like one of those crappy dramas trying to use big stars to prop it up. How wrong I was.Ning Que (played by Arthur Chen) and Sang Sang (played by Ireine Song) are adorable. They have the purest love for each other. The care and concern for each other are so heart-warming. The fighting scenes are so well executed that they look very authentic, with elegant postures showing the gracefulness and beauty of Chinese sword fighting and martial arts.
Arthur Chen is definitely a heartthrob that it’s hard to believe he is only 18, still a teenager. But he has a physique of a man in his 20s. In contrast, Ireine Song looks like a little 12 year old girl despite her actual age of 25 (or so). My only qualm is, since Arthur Chen is a relatively new actor, his inexperience does show on his facial expression. In the drama, he is arrogant when faced with people he dislikes, but mischievous when he was with people he cares about. So far, he looks almost the same on his face when he faces both types of people. The arrogant part is fine, but he lacks the mischievous expression; had he used a bit of his eyes or edges of his lips to achieve his mischievous look, that would have been perfect. I love everything about Arthur, but he hasn’t given us a convincing Ning Que. Until the end of the drama, I still couldn’t make out Ning Que’s true personality. On one hand, he seems very devoted to Sang Sang, but on the other, he flirts around with other girls. He wants to take Sang Sang as his wife, but at the same time, he wishes he could marry the others. I could never tell when he was trying to be playful, serious, or angry. In the final scene when Ning Que was supposed to be heartbroken with Sang Sang's death, he didn't come across as in pain and despair (I wasn't even crying myself - which I normally do when it comes to scenes like this). I was not moved at all! Despite this deficiency, overall, he melts my heart. I love seeing the duo together, one tall and handsome, the other little and humble but with an unyielding charisma.
This drama also touches on Chinese calligraphy and learning, making it somewhat, cultured with a lot of finesse. Like most Chinese epic dramas, the costumes are immensely beautiful. The attention to details deserves our kudos.
I was disappointed with the later episodes, the whole thing felt like a let-down, with a disastrous final episode. Sang Sang ‘died’ in the last episode. Though I know she will come back in Season 2, that’s not why I felt the last episode was disastrous. I’m talking about the building up of the whole story to the supposedly ‘climax’ in the final episode, which then played out like a deflated balloon with a ‘whiff’. There was no catharsis. The so-called climax felt more like an anti-climax instead. The drama finished leaving everyone feeling like, “What???????? That’s it??????” There were still so many loose ends. It feels like the director(s) simply wanted to pack everything up and go home. It’s a shame that they had such a good start but finished so shoddily. It is not surprising that the rating went down to the current 8.9 from 9.5 earlier.
Pretty good drama with no ending.
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