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Phenomenal.
As long as the sea is bound to wash up on the sand, and the stars are above you, we will meet again" - Wei Wuxian.This drama truly rendered me speechless. The cast and acting for this drama was beyond amazing, and I'm here contemplating how it's possible for this drama to have executed every character perfectly. As someone who prefers a novel over any live-action adaptation - I still have yet to read the novel- but the way the story was written is extraordinary. This is the first drama which has made me cry, laugh, empathize and has made me so eagerly anticipate for the next episode! Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan's interactions were so heartfelt and touching, and they made me squeal every single time. Those subtle hints, soul-piercing eye contact, head nods; it's all love.
And I have to add. This is the first drama which has made me empathize with every character, including the antagonists. May I please present an Oscar to every single one of the actors. Thank you. And the author of course for writing such a beautiful story.
And the soundtrack. Holy. It gave me shivers.
I have so much more to say about 'Untamed', but why am I out of words now.
This is supposed to be a review, but I'm gushing over how good this drama was.
All I can say is that I'm not getting over 'The Untamed' anytime soon.
Time for a rewatch...and to read the novel :)
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This review may contain spoilers
This show is ridiculous.
Me in my first 6 episodes: this show is weird. The dubbing is awkward, people are throwing tantrums for the weirdest reasons, i don't understand who is who and what is what.Me 40 episodes later: crying my heart out when Wen Ning revealed the truth to Jiang Cheng about his golden core. Seeing Lan Zhan cry too broke my soul.
Me after the finale: This show is now an essence in my life. How did I even live without it all my 30 years.
The costumes and props are amazing. I find myself obsessing over what Lanzhan wears everytime he changes attire. Wei Ying's red ribbon is no joke, looks super good on him and his black outfit. The setting and scenery is bewitching and the camera angles are captivating.
The acting was awkward in the first few episodes but I found myself obsessing over Lanzhan's every change of facial expression. Everytime he curve into a slight smile or when he looks into Wei Ying's eyes, my heart goes boom! I read some chapters of the novel and instantly understood that Yibo did a really good job in portraying LanZhan.
The drama took a slightly different turn compared to the novel. I understood that the writers are careful enough to not show a lot of intimacy but show enough just to hint people about the hidden feelings LanZhan had for WeiYing. I knew about this show for a long time now but hesitated to watch it because I didn't want to be upset about the censorship. But seriously , the intensity of the interaction between the two leads will still leave you satisfied. If you need more, you can read the novel as the two leads have a happy ending as a couple there.
The music, gosh the music. Even the demonic tunes were bewitching. Need i say more?
Every character is amazing. If you are going to watch this, go in with an open mind . For non asians, it can be a bit confusing to understand the culture, terms they use and traditional beliefs that only traditional chinese people would understand despite this being in the fantasy genre. But throughout the episodes , you will find everything to be properly explained and all loose ends will be tied at the end.
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Main Characters and Main Actors
Can I just say that there is no way that after watching this drama that you will not be in love with the 2 male leads. Both of em, frickin handsome and skilled in acting, have such great chemistry together that you can't help but end up shipping both of them together. Xiao Zhan who was kind of new to acting fulfilled his role as Wei Wuxian PERFECTLY and was the cutest, sexiest and most respectable character in the show. In conclusion, HE WAS A KING AT PLAYING THIS ROLE. Wang Yi Bo who acted as Lan Zhan played and acted his character out amazingly, it was like the role was made for him...no wait...the character was him. Though Wang Yi Bo's character did not have many lines, his mere presence and body spoke a thousand words making him attractive af. Even though this is not a BL drama, compared to the novel which is, the love between soulmates was such a beautiful thing and it gives viewers goosebumps. If you come across this drama I can only tell you to watch this, because I usually don't watch dramas with episodes that are over 20 however this one was TOTALLY worth it. GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW.Was this review helpful to you?
Although it's 'yaoi', the grass is greener on the other side.
It's not actually very 'yaoi-esque', if u know what I mean... cuz of the ban on these genres in China, so relax.
You will definitely not regret watching this!
Even after I finished watching it long long ago, it's still deeply ingrained in my mind... I really love this drama, the good acting, the plot, everything! Especially the subtle show of love of the two main leads. There really is a lot of subtlety in this drama pertaining to the love between the two main leads, so much that some people called this drama, more of a bromance drama than a 'yaoi' drama.
To show how much I've dugged myself onto this beautiful greenland, I moved on to the novel after watching the drama, then finished reading the novel, only to stumble upon the anime series of it. Already finished watching the season 1 anime series, I am currently anticipating the upcoming second season of it. I am also planning to read the manga or the webcomics as well... See how far I've gotten myself into... but guess what, I didn't regret it! HA! And now, it's my second favorite Chinese drama out of all time, second only to 'The LEGEND OF Luzhen', which I also absolutely recommend!!!
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ITS WAS ALMOST PERFECT UNTIL… .
Story and Acting: The story is Well done but slow paced its ok but ill get used to it. Because its my first time watching a CHINESE HISTORICAL DRAMA so ok . Episodes 1-32 i like how they focus more for wei wuxias origin and how get his demonic powers and also his death grrr… Episodes 32 to finale has lot of roller coaster of emotions and some episodes are a MEH for me like ep 38 i got confused and very slow paced i dont like it nononio. The ending is not great for me where is the hugging of wwx and lz??? Im confused tskk.. THE MVP FOR ACTING GOES TO WEI WU XIA yes very PERFECTION EXECUTION of his role his CHARACTER Development improves as the episodes progresses until the end His emotions are all so on point love it, i dont lan zhangs acting still POKER FACE EXCEPT FINALE fck no character development at all i think his boring no special about him. Worst actors are nie and wwx step brother i.dont fcing like ther roles they are both useless they should have remove them from the series poor acting, his fcking step brother didnt even HUG HIM LIKE WTF FCK HIM CURSE HIM SHT !!!! and Nie is a fcking COWARD useless shthole sht…Music and Production: the OST OS WONDERFUL and smooth to the ears love it. VERY HIGH PRODUCTION!!! but some have poor visual effects and edition but the rest are GREAT!!! Wonderful scenery and love the fight scenes so good!!!
Rewatch value: Yes highly recommended but painful to watch becoz of BLOOD AND VERY BRUTAL TSKK… !!! THATS ALL!!!
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Not a Masterpiece, but Worth A Watch
Chinese dramas are always very hit or miss for me. I will oftentimes start out liking a drama but then the plot severely lags in the middle and I lose interest and drop it. Not the case with The Untamed. While the beginning was a bit weak, once the story jumped to the past and became more linear, I found myself hooked.And there is my first issue with this drama. I have never been a fan of dramas that start in the present and then jump to the past. It's messy and confusing. You don't know who anyone is or why you should care about them and the events that transpired previously. Inevitably you get to the end of the show and have to go back and watch those episodes to see what you missed. In the case of The Untamed, there's a lot missed simply because you don't know the backstory. I think the drama would have been stronger if they just started out sixteen years ago and then jumped to the present.
In terms of acting, it was very hit or miss. I don't think any of the actors gave a truly amazing performance, but there were some that were stronger than others. Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian and Wang Yi Bo Lan Wangji both deliver relatively strong performances. In Wang Yi Bo's case, I felt that he took a little longer to settle into his character but once he did, he was overall good. His use of micro expressions to give depth and emotion to his stone faced character was pleasant to see. Xiao Zhan was a little bit one note at times but overall I felt he gave a nuanced performance. Their chemistry together was on point and depending on personal preference, you really could take their relationship as just friendship or something more. Yu Bin was also quite good as Wen Ning and did a good job of vacillating between Wen Ning as a sweet, innocent man and as someone possessed/controlled. Also a shout out to Chen Zhuo Xuan as A-Qing. She had a small role but I really enjoyed her performance and thought she nailed it.
Of less note were Wang Zhuo Cheng as Jiang Cheng, Xuan Lu as Yan Li, and Meng Zi Yi as Wen Qing. Wang Zhuo Cheng had some good moments but overall his performance just wasn't particularly interesting and his expressions lacked the variation that I think the role required not to mention times where his expression just seemed completely wrong for what was going on. And don't get me started on how terribly fake his crying looked. Xuan Lu and Meng Zi Yi suffered from similar problems. Neither one had much variation in their expressions and while it worked better for Meng Zi Yi's character, it just made Xuan Lu's character seem boring. There just wasn't much depth to her so I can't say that I really felt anything despite all that happens to her. Meng Zi Yi had some strong moments, but she was almost too stoic and it didn't allow the audience to really get to know her or her character as well as if she'd been a bit more emotive. That being said, I did find her character to be more interesting than Yan Li's.
The OST was also a bit hit or miss. At times, I absolutely loved it, although it could be repetitive. But the combination of the string and woodwind instruments was quite beautiful and I did enjoy the cues with those in them. Other times, particularly during the battle at Nightless City, it just seemed so completely off. I truly don't know who decided that music fit the scene but it was awful and really pulled me out of the moment. There were a few other instances where the music just didn't work but that one was the worst.
In terms of the directing and visuals, I found them to be very repetitive. I don't know how many times we got shots of men gripping their swords or monsters throwing their heads back and roaring, for example, but it was a lot. For me, they were distracting and eventually just got annoying, especially when you got several of them almost back to back in one scene. Like, we get it, he's mad, moving on now. The special effects were also lacking, but that's not terribly unusual for these dramas. In particular though, there's a scene with a wolf that is just painful because its so incredibly fake. And, as with a fair number of other dramas I've watched, the plot twist wasn't so much of a plot twist because there were so many hints given beforehand. When the guy is smirking evilly behind everyone's back, its a pretty good guess that he's a bad guy and up to no good. It would have made the story so much stronger if they hadn't shown that, because it probably would have been an actual shock that he was the villain. But oh well. As with most fantasy/historical dramas, I did like the costuming, particularly Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji's. The general color of their costumes remained the same throughout, but the use of different fabrics and embroidery and slight variations in color made them more interesting. The wigs, as with most dramas, were pretty fake looking, some were better than others, but I wouldn't call them great. Many of the props were also quite fake looking, the swords in particular caught my attention. Real swords do not bend and wobble like the ones in the drama do.
Overall, despite its flaws, this was an entertaining and engaging drama. This is not a drama that you should closely analyze. If you want to really enjoy it, just go with it, don't overanalyze any part of it or it does start to fall apart a bit and you notice various holes and inconsistencies and unanswered questions. Just enjoy it as is and its a great romp. I think the lack of a central romance did it a huge favor. Instead focusing on Wuxian and Wangji's growing respect for each other and friendship allowed the story to keep moving and remain more fluid than many other dramas I've watched. Again, as a side note, if you want to view it as a gay love story, you certainly can though there is nothing explicit, not even a hug, but there are lingering glances and facial expressions that you can absolutely read as expressing unspoken romantic feelings. However, all of that is more background and, again, not the central focus. The mystery of whodunnit was fun and interesting and overall well done. Again, definitely some flaws, but just go with it. While you can figure out most of it before the big reveal, there were a few aspects that were truly surprising. Is it a masterpiece? In my opinion, no. But it is one of the strongest Chinese dramas I've ever seen in a while and its one that I will absolutely watch again in the future.
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AMAZING
Very well written plot. The side characters had amazing backstories as well as the main characters. I was able to sympathize with the characters through their hardships, even with Xue Yang and his story with Xi Chen. The whole drama had me in tears back to back. I loved the relationship that Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had. And LOVED Wen Ning. He was so adorable and lovable, not to mention his relationship with Wei Ying. This show really brought about a wave of emotions in me. Everything about it was amazing from beginning to end and I loved the younger characters in the drama and their interactions with each other, Wei Ying, Wen Ning, and Lan Zhan. The plot twists in this drama was AMAZING as well. The soundtrack also contributed to how great the drama turned out to be. This drama had me at the edge of my seat. 10/10, would recommend. Definitely rewatching.Was this review helpful to you?
Rewatching it for the 23rd time
In love with the drama and with the main leads.....don't no why writing this review after so many month of watching. maybe just can't get over it thats why..
never thought that bromance can be so pure and heart touching that through the whole drama you will be praying for them to be together❤❤
its mah first bromance drama and the first time writing review...
i am never tired of watching this drama... I watch it again and again... i go through the behind the scenes and shortcuts... even everytime i hear the ost of drama it tears my heart apart ... i wish this would be a never ending series.
In want of a season 2 badly
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The untamed is the show that will leave an unerasable mark on your soul :)
The first thing that I would like to mention, is that I was not familiar with the modao zu shi story before watching the drama at all.I have decided that it is time to fix that, and my friend suggested to me either to watch anime or drama first, and than read the novel. I think I will be forever thankful for that, because I could easily remember all the characters and clans' names.
I consider myself being a pretty experienced drama consumer for quite a long time, but I tend to prefer shorter stories, that I can binge-watch during one night lol. So, if by any chance, you are as used to a ''k-drama only 16 episodes'' type of situation as me, you may too share my deep dread when you see a drama that has +26 episodes.
As a fellow impatient and fast binge-watcher I assure you, you will fall in love with the plot, the characters (even the villains in this story are so charming that you can't hold grudges against them for a long time hehe), and the music in this show.
The two main actors are undoubtedly, the best for the leading characters. I applaud whoever casted them because Xiao Zhan is a huge discovery for me (ilovehimsomuchohmygoshfjek). Wang Yibo on the other hand was already known to me as a used-to-be-in-uniq-and-left-Korean-showbiz type of guy, but he also performed in drama phenomenally and I really envy him his poker face !:D
To wrap my emotional rambling up, I am helplessly in love with the modao zu shi universe, despite all my doubts about it being not what I would usually go for.
Side note: if you came for the bl aspect, it is absent in the drama, BUT the unconditional and honest love between the two main leads is undeniable so IMHO it is definitely worth your time!
P.S this was the first-ever review I have written so thank you so much for reading it till the end! xoxo
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LOML
So, okay okay I'll start with a problem off the bat. The first few episodes I did have to rewatch recaps of when I started, because there were so many characters and so many new names to learn. But after I caught on I ABSOLUTELY loved this show. I got so invested I failed Statistics my senior year of high school for it!!One the storyline is so intense and amazing and goes over the toxicity of publicity and how rumors can completely destroy lives. It also had a likeable main character and while he does fuck up (A LOT) I still love him and was okay with apologizing for him. It does have fun twists and turns and lore. Tons of loveable characters. The gay subtext is there. Idk I simp for this series. And it caused me to simp for Wang Yibo for a good bit of time.
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Confusing at the beginning, but so emotional by the end
So, where to begin? I began watching drama after reading the manhua and the novel and, of course, needing more content :) This was also my first contact with c-dramas, so it was pretty confusing in the beginning. Tbh, if I haven't read the novel I am not sure I would be able to follow the plot at the beginning (and I am not talking about the time skip, that part was obvious, but about the whole demon hunting, cultivating world), but it geta better as it goes (or you just get used to it). What held me the most were beautiful costumes, amazing scenery and props done down to the smallest details and, I admit, the actors. I haven't seen better casting for the most of the characters for quite some time. Even those who weren't really what I imagined while reading it, compensated everything with their own charisma and being true to their characters, I ended up loving them all, even antagonists. But what left the biggest impression on me is the main actor, Xiao Zhan. This was the first time ever that living, breathing human looked better than I could have ever imagine. Not just his absolutely stunning looks, his natural behaviour, relaxed attitude, charming smile and knowing eyes, captivate me entirely, it was like he became Wei Wuxian irl. I never felt such a strong charisma befire and not again since, his own ability and efforts made every scene with him that much more powerful, whether he was playful, pridful, righteous, angry, devasted or numb, every feeling so well conveyed through plethora of face expressions and body movements. It was such a powerful performance of very complex character and it is what made me love this drama so much. The plot has been adapted from the novel in order to conform with the censorship, byt all the important points remain and the main storyline, together with it's message, is unchanged, so even though I didn't like all the changes, I liked it overall. And in the end, I have to praise the music, since this drama has the best ost I've ever heard. Beside the most beautiful love song which is the main theme, gorgeous songs for the twi main characters, ost is full with many other beautiful and note worthy song, many of which I still like to listen from time to time. I've watched this drama in September 2019, rewatched it twice and could do it again, cause each time it brings me the same feeling of fullfulment, devastation, anger, bitterness and happiness in the end.Was this review helpful to you?
