Was this review helpful to you?
i'll just state why I really enjoyed it and how its different from other xianxia dramas.
First of all, I tried watching the anime version and never really got through the first few episodes. Not really an anime fan but after this drama I think I'll give it another go.
Back to the topic at hand, one of the reasons why I enjoyed this drama so much is that there's NO ROMANCE between male/female leads. The reason why I like that is cause I seen way too many cliche dramas of boyxgirl romance, PDA, etc. In a way, it can get really boring quick.
Therefore, The Untamed was a refreshing turn of events. No romance, but there's BROMANCE and even if there's no PDA involved. it's all in the emotions and the way the actors treat and look at one another.
Speaking of the actors, Wang Yi Bo and Xiao Zhan did a WONDERFUL job portraying their respective characters. This is one of the rare dramas where I enjoyed and loved all the actors/actresses because they played their part REALLY well. Even the actor who played Meng Yao, although he was irritating, I have to admit his acting was superb!
I love the that the drama display loyalty between the Weiying and Lan Zhan. Also include Wen ning and Jiang Yanli's love, dedication and loyalty for Weiying despite everyone else was against him. Despite whether or not he's wrong, they show us that you have to understand someone before you decide which side you want to be on.
Some of the sword choreography was lackluster, the editors focused too much how good it looks rather than letting us see more of the sword fights. Sometimes I was disappointed in that aspect, however I wouldn't dock points off of that.
The overall cinematography was wonderful as well as the scenery they filmed in were beautiful.
Definitely my no.1 pick for 2019. :)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I'm trying so hard to be objective in the review ratings on this, being a fan of both XZ and WYB. Questioning whether I'm scoring it too high and readjusting. First off, The Untamed is based off of MDZS, which was a webnovel by MXTX. I started off watching the animated version of MDZS , and shortly after (while waiting for more episodes), read the original MDZS webnovel, so went into The Untamed knowing the story on which it is based. Story - This drama was really well-adapted. I was surprised. Yes the BL elements were removed but it does not take away from portraying the loyalty and bond of the main leads (and really some of it is open to interpretation). There is some jumping between timelines to explain the story but I also think they handled it well without making it too confusing. Of course there are changes from the original webnovel but it stayed surprisingly true to the original work as far as character relationships and themes. I do rather wish the ending was not as open-ended in the drama since the original work was pretty clear on where things went--but its fine. Also, while the main leads and most supporting characters are male, I DO appreciate the presence of strong female characters even if they are minor. Yu Ziyuan might not have been the kindest to WWX (she has reasons although still unjustified), but this woman is strong, can fight, and does not hesitate to give her own special weapon to her son and send him away with WWX while she faces a planned massacre bearing down on their home while her husband is away (and when he finally comes back after she has been fending them off on her own all day he STILL is taken down before her--i might have facepalmed a bit here). Jiang Yanli and Wenqing may not be the greatest in combat but they will standup for their younger brothers in the face of authority and won't shy away from danger to protect them if they feel it is necessary. In XianXia stories where female characters can sometimes be portrayed as weak, needing some kind of protector, or just...not smart, it is refreshing to have strong females (flawed but definitely still having clear strengths).
Cast - As much as I'd love to give a 10 here because I'm a fan of both the leads, I think a 9 is more fair from an objective standpoint as there were still parts that could be more polished in general from both leads and supporting cast. The cast was fantastic but objectively, did not have the subtlety and polish of some more experienced actors although there were definitely many moments of brilliance. But then I also want to take into account that these ARE newer actors and they DID to an amazing job on this production. XZ and WYB were fantastic for their roles. Especially considering they do not have that much acting experience under their belt at this point in time, their performance was actually very impressive. And you can actually SEE the improvement in the drama itself as they got a better understanding of their roles and finetuned and polished their portrayals. As an example, some of the earlier episodes had scenes where WYB had "dead fish eyes" and some viewers commented he looked sleepy (he kinda did lol). Actually he said himself he didn't have a full understanding of LWJ right away but sharpened his gaze later which made a huge difference. Its actually really hard to act LWJ since he doesn't talk much and doesn't have alot of lines, so the portrayal has to come from minute facial expressions, eyes, posture. WYB did an amazing job. Xiao Zhan was also excellent portraying both the playful mischievous side of WWX as well as the intimidating "Don't F with me" side. His character has to play out a huge range of emotions, from playfulness to grief to rage. With XianXia since things are often not filmed in order as much as a modern drama, sometimes he would have to film a playful scene followed by a raging scene and would need to get himself into the appropriate state for that character. I don't imagine this to be easy but he did so well. The supporting cast in general did well too, especially considering many were very young and very new--some scenes where they needed to emote came across a bit exaggerated but overall the entire cast did an excellent job.
Music - I have the OST regularly playing. Enough said.
Overall this drama is a very well put together package and I wonder if the cast/crew surprised themselves a bit. The actors were not big names at the time but all of them (main and supporting cast) put on a performance that they should be proud of given their yrs of experience at that time. The music and OST is just lovely and really boosts certain scenes. The CGI....*cough* lets skip this and chalk it up to smaller budget. Worth watching, worth rewatching.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
best ancient chinese drama with Bromance theme
I really love this drama. I would say this is the best ancient chinese drama with Bromance theme.1. This story itself is so beautiful and so rich in moral message. We who watch it will be intrigued to think and to make reflection on several moral topics. So it s not a lame drama about melancholic love only. Our view on moral standing would be upside down after watching it. It is so enriching.
2. The actors are so perfect. Eventhough sometime i am amazed why all of them are extremely so thin like malnutritioned. I dont know, i might be because i m used with Thai actors with good body. lol
3. The music and songs are perfect. except for those for harps moments, so boring because they were so few and almost all are same for all occasion. how come.
4. Well the novel was about BL. But it comes that it s not only about that. It s more deep than that. So touching and shaking. too beautiful to express it in words. It s not only about killing, or any other thing. it s so deep.
I would say thank you to all of those who make this series possible and done. Including Chinese government. Eventhough there were “several” (or many) BL moments not in the series either being modified, at least It is so wonderful that Chinese government allows this beautiful drama aired until the final episode.
Oh Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, im happy knowing you both are having happy ending and live happy life ever after. ^.^
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes it does has its ups and downs but overall its a fantastic and enjoyable watch.
Casting, music, costumes, sets, and character development are all top notch. Viewers do note that the last 11mins of the last episode has its sequence jumbled up in my opinion. You can Google for videos of which uploaders have re-arranged them in the seemingly correct timeline.
Really glad to have seen this summer drama and will look forward to more of its kind! Thank you for the unforgettable summer!
Was this review helpful to you?
However this live adaption was very enjoyable to watch from beginning to end! Xiao Zhan made Wei Ying such a lovable character. Yibo did a great job as Lan Zhan as well. I am a fan and love the donghua and novel of Mo Dao Zu Shi and this live action did the series justice. Even if it was subtle bromance you can still see that they love and care for each other a lot.
Great Cast
Great Acting
Great OST
10/10 Overall!!
Was this review helpful to you?
the best thing that happened go me
i don't think words can describe how much i love this series. looking at the episode count it does seem a lot but once you're hooked it goes by all too fast.all though The Untamed was filmed on a low budget, it is absolutely rich in story, acting and music and i don't know if i will ever love two characters as much as i love to two main leads.
i love love love morally grey characters and wei ying is everything i wanted and more. combined with a conservatively raised lan zhan, who starts tolerating wei ying even though it doesn't align with his beliefs = absolute PERFECTION.
it is considered BL (literally based on a BL novel) but the show itself doesn't contain anything that would allure to it due to chinese censorship. STILL!! AGHH you can feel love between wei ying and lan zhan, whether it's romantic or platonic, there is a deep deep love for each other - which is what i liked the most!!
don't get me wrong, i found the story really intriguing. you can hardly do wrong in the mystery/drama/adventure genre and again i liked the plot itself. BUT! the display of love between wei ying and lan zhan without them even as much as holding hand is truly something else.
the dynamic between all characters is something else really. loved the world building is great tooo?? 1000/10
DISCLAIMER: if you're not experienced in watchinf chinese dramas, the names can be confusing and following along can be hard. but if you hold om for like 2-3 episodes, i guarantee it will get easier and you will have the best experience of your life ☺️
basically in the drama they have two names, one "noble"/ formal name and their personal name. there also different clans. so yeah. keep that in mind and happy watching!!
Was this review helpful to you?
You will love this...
Congratulation to all involve in this wonderful drama. Everything so beautiful costumes, scenery, casting, plot, song and a lot more. The actors were so good. This is how you value love and frienship, I love this drama so much.... Lan Zhan and Wei Ying can show and feel their love, and even we the audience can feel it even they dont have to potrey intimate scene. The trust, the sacrifice and everything, so heartwrenching.... Not forgetting love in family, a very loving sister and a very caring brother... Congrates and thankyou eveyone for making this beautiful drama.. Luv ya❤️Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Quite Nice Drama
Honestly, to be honest, I was quite surprised. At first, like maybe up to episode 2, it was pretty confusing. Confusing but intriguing. Then from episode 2 to maybe about episode 20, it was so draggy. I was bored out of my mind and stopped watching episode 7 before forcing myself to pick it up again. I lost all interest in it. Then the juicy parts started and suddenly it was so interesting. Really, the storyline itself is pretty good. The twists and turns and the uncovered secrets of the past. It's just it's so, so, so DRAGGY sometimes.So I would've given the storyline a 9.5 or 10 but it was too boring, no growth in the story at all, sometimes. Plus, sometimes it's just too confusing. Nothing made sense at all and you'd meet all types of new characters and new plots and no idea how to piece it all together and no idea what was going on. Then, in the end, it would all make sense, although if you didn't pay attention before it wouldn't make sense at all.
I think that the character arches, such as Jiang Chen, were pretty good. Some of the villains, especially messed up Xue Yang, had really interesting stories, and Xue Yang/Xiao Xing Chen/Song Lan's side story was very enjoyable. The storyline, again, itself, is quite good. The ending was a bit confusing, but I guess we'll just have to guess what happened.
The cast, on the other hand, was immaculate. Wang Yibo, for his age, made a very impressive performance as Lan Zhan. He had the perfect mixture of being cold and making expressions. Acting aloof and cold is a very difficult role to manage, especially since you have to act with your eyes and express feelings without actually obviously changing your expression of coldness, and Wang Yibo did an excellent job, so kudos to him.
Xiao Zhan is a fine actor and although I don't enjoy his "playful" scenes as much as others might, I was absolutely in love with his acting as the "villain". The chemistry between Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan was great. Overall, the other actors/actresses were well-chosen and I didn't notice anyone who was too bad at their role. Of course, Jin Guangyao did a very nice job of his twisted, messed-up role as the secret villain.
The music was perfection. That's all that needs to be said. Also, Xue Yang's theme song by Zhou Shen (I love Zhou Shen, haha), Huang Cheng Du, was beautiful. The theme song of the show itself was alright, although I didn't know it was the theme song until I saw a comment, so I don't think that's a good thing.
My rewatch rating doesn't count, as I don't rewatch dramas. Overall, I enjoyed chunks of the drama and I would recommend it but I don't know if I would consider it to be in my top 10 dramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
I almost didn't watch it. Though now i am glad i did.I was astonished to see all the characters so close to originals . The acting i think was great and so was MUSIC which i think it indispensable part of the story.
As far as novel adaptions are concerned no matter what genre this one is my absolutely favorite c drama. I must say that this is an absolute win for book lovers who actually wanted to see it getting adapted to a great drama. This drama is the fine example to show how adaptations should be done without compromising the original.
To conclude i would say that it is a must watch show for anyone who actually love watching good dramas ^^
The only reason i gave re watch value 9.0 is because i know how much time one has to sacrifice to watch a show with 50 episodes :D
Was this review helpful to you?
The best plot and the cast
This Drama is really amazing!!The actors who had a good relationship and chemistry, which made it better to enjoy it! from beginning to end you fall in love with the story! talking about the scenes and everything that was used like the special effects were great and how well the drama followed the plot of the original novel!! the producers and directors did a wonderful job, finding a cast that definitely goes with the personalities of the characters, which made the performance of each role so accurate and which you enjoy
Was this review helpful to you?
