Lin Chen and Qi Ling, you either will love them or hate them. Qi Ling starts out as your plucky goofy young lead but he does have a character arc, and slowly matures. Some people might find him grating, I thought he was adorable. Yin Chen, beautiful ice queen of my HEART. Love him, Qi Ling does melt that frosty interior slowly. Their bond drives the show. I liked the ladies Shen Lin, Lian Quan, and You Hua. The plot was decent. Not mind blowing, but I enjoyed it
Give it a try, maybe you are like me, and can see a gem amongst all that bad stone!
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Chemistry is great between the two male leads. Mostly watch it for Yin Chen (Joe) and i can't really stand Qi Ling until the end. Not sure if it is the actor or character problem or both but overall still bearable. Other characters like You Hua, Lian Chen or Shen Yin is a bit lacking. Cringed at their scenes most of the time.
CG is just average but some scenes are done nicely with the effect. One thing i really dislike is the setting (everywhere just look the same lolol) This island and that island is identical then the place where they fight is always almost the same smh i get that there are not many places where they can film but the set they build is so fake that you can't help but laugh. Wherelse the props and costumes are okay.
Didn't really have romance as well but it is fine with me, the best romance you can get may be from the two male leads themselves haha.
Truthfully, 90% getting me through this is watching YC hotness especially when he is fighting or using his power (super eye candy) Conclusion, don't expect a great story as it has many plot holes but some twist and turn makes it better so not bad i guess!
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I also loved that all the girls that Qi Ling met got their own arcs, their own stories to tell and went through their own development. They grew, they suffered, they stayed true to their duties and obligations and their own paths…
What I did skip was the plotting of Lei Ya and You Ming. At least at first. But by the end, even their stories became interesting and especially You Ming, Shen Yin’s lord, turned out to be more intriguing than I thought at first. He was a true evil neutral, he didn’t care who won as long as he got to slaughter people - but he did care about Shen Yin, as much as he was able to feel anything selfless and real for anyone.
What fascinated me about this series was that there was no romance in it. Yes, Qi Ling felt something for Shen Yin and she for him, but their timing was never right and their feelings never got in the way of what needed to be done - and what was most important to all the disciples: their lords.
Because that’s what this drama is about, the relationship between the lords and their disciples, that undying, selfless devotion which permeated everything the main characters did. They did it all for their lords. They lived and died for their lords.
My main draw were Qi Ling and Yin Chen, of course. Their story was beautiful and though sad at the end, it still ended on a hopeful note and that’s all I need at the end of the day, really. And with that ending, if we don’t get a second season, it’ll be a sacrilege because they literally set it up for a continuation.
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I like stories with epic adventures. It starts off with the the main character Qi Ling living a simple life in an remote village. By some sort of accidental event or by destiny he end up being disciple of a powerful 7th LORD Qi Ling.
The ending is sort of unflinished or maybe there will be another story by the author.
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This review may contain spoilers
Qi Ling/Kylin is freakin adorable!
First of all, my favorite actors list just got longer because Joe Cheng (Yin Chen) and Zhang Ming En (Qi Ling) are definitely being added to the list. Also, to my surprise, the handsome and very expressive Jeffery Ji/Ji Chen (Yang Ze) is in this series!! He's such a good actor, along with actress Maggie Huang (Shen Yin ), who both were in support roles when I saw them in "Love in Lost Time" but they expressed their characters wonderfully!! I didn't want to see them go then, but I'm hoping to see more of them both in this series, performing just as beautifully.I so love the character Qi Ling; he's very much like me when I meet a person that's somewhat cold without the whining haha It's a good series to watch & it didn't have too many places where the story jumped between scenes, leaving the viewers guessing. Some of the changes in behavior of some characters from when they were younger to when they are Lords/disciples didn't quite match up - making them seem stiff & overly loner like (Example: Lotus). But all in all, beautiful series! I also appreciate & love the behind the scenes bloopers, showing how much the actors differ from their characters in attitudes, how difficult some parts were, how much fun they had together and how supportive they were of each other. Goodness at the end of ep 44, Cheng startled me! <3 <3 <3 Much love to all of them (cast & crew) & gratitude for all their hard work.
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Sismance
Two dramas brought me to this drama, first Chinese Paladin 5,cause the same actor Joe Cheng (I like his acting style of cold and distant male lead), second it is on the recommendations list of The Untamed . Tip 1: A Bromance drama that has much more Sismance content. The relationships here are very chaotic and all over the place. We have sworn bothers, sisterhood, sismance, bromance, father-daughter relationship, villains who kill together stays together and goes on, but the main focus here are none of them but Lord and Disciple relationship and how such system started and the plot behind it (Tip 2:Minority Report Tom Cruise's movie). The Lord and his disciples need to help the Silver Priests in fighting the monsters created by the Gold fog and both have their own monster helper.Yin Chen Lord VII, (is) sent by the Silver Priests to Blessings Town to adopt Kynil as his first disciple (I will keep the names used on iQIYI), Kynil is a young and Lively tavern worker, he enjoys his life living freely(Scamming people tho, cause he loves money) and dreaming of become a magician. As soon as his town starts welcoming more and more real magicians, Kynil dream of making money go fast south, that's when he meet Shen Yin(a corrupter magician disciple) and Yin Chen find him. The first episodes are mainly to create a bond between Yin Chen and Kynil and almost all comic relief are in the fist episodes. As I already said the drama has much more sismance than bromance, so enjoy the (Very)silly bromance first episodes.
Neon and Shen Yin, Specter and Reya, The Silver Priests, Rosemary and Lotus, Gemy and his three disciples, Lotus brother, Qi La and his disciple and many other will sometimes got more screen time than Yin Chen and Kynil, specially Rosemary and Lotus. The drama definitely is not a BL and the "couples" here has some slight melodrama feel to them, the plot never gets much angst. The figth scenes were cool but felt like slow motion in some moments(not on purpose). The villains are a disgusting messy (Chinese Paladin "episode couple" comes to mind) the mastermind and his plot was not original (very shallow must add). The revenge tag shows no result too. The end lets a hope of a second season.
About the other topics: the OST is a bit random and lacking, the CGI is not great only doable, the openings, from time to time they change the opening, was artsy and pretty. The acting was nothing much. Overall is a good drama, they stick to a genre would make the drama way better tho.
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For me it's an evergreen drama!!!
I've already watched this series more than 3-4 times because apparently it's my comfort series. It's no lie that it's a low budget show but it rarely happens that I'm so smitten by the artists and their acting skills that I forget about the rest of the things that support the film or drama.Personally, I don't mind average CGIs or VFX as long as the artists are powerful and the story is mind-blowing. And that's exactly how it is with this one. I hope everybody else enjoys this drama as much as I did.
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The show is way too under rated it deserves alot more attention ???
This one of the most underrated showsThe story line is awesome if you love suspense and thrill .
Even though the CGI are not too good but still the actors did the best and brought the show to it's reality ...
The way each character is displayed with each character having its own story and a detailed role in the show is just mind blowing. .
If u like suspense , action thriller all together you will find the show very interesting and you will be able to find a gem in it
The story doesn't keep you hanging in every scene you will find something new and interesting .....
Not For Weak Hearts
Do enjoy it you will love it❤️❤️
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8/10 Because Of Episodes 34-48
Here's some answers to some questions that I had while watching the show:The Bromance/Sismance Ratio
Other reviews have been misleading over the imbalanced bromance/sismance ratio. They say the bromance/sismance is 30/70% which implies that this is the only thing going on, however over half of the show just the juniors going on missions and Leya and Spectre narrating those missions and calling it 'plotting'. Unless you count the friendship that all the female disciples seem to have with Qi Ling as sismance, there really isn't a lot of bromance or sismance in this show. Even Lotus and Rosemary don't have a lot of sisterly-chemistry onscreen. Most of the bromance is between Qi Ling and Yang Ze. It's unfortunate that Qi Ling and Yin Chen don't spend much time together throughout the show, Qi Ling spends most of his time with Shen Yin, Lotus and Rosemary.
Does Qi Ling Ever Grow Up?
Yes he does... eventually. Qi Ling starts to put away his goofiness around episode 28 and is actually kind of bad-ass, though the part where he actually learns something from Yin Chen is skipped and now he is just good at magic. However, it's not until episode 34 that Qi Ling really grows up and starts acting like a disciple. Up until now he's just been messing around having a good time with his friends and slacking off because he's lazy, but episode 34 is when the production team remembers that they still have a plot to follow and they're going to get back to it now.
The CGI
Yes it's bad. Enough said.
The Plot
More holes than Swiss cheese and half the show is just for amusement. If the production team had stayed anchored on the plot and exchanged episodes 5-33 with actual plot, a second season's story arc could have fit into the episode budget, we would have gotten a much better story and a lot less time-wasting, and perhaps the show could have ended in a more satisfying way.
The Emotion!
As of episode 36, Zhang Min En's (Qi Ling) acting gets much better and Qi Ling gets a lot more interesting. This episode is particularly emotional and Zhang Min En does a great job with it. We've gone so long seeing a comedic character that the emotional depths he can reach are all the more shocking. It's a shame that it took so long to get there.
Genuinely Sad When It Ended
From episode 34 the story really gains traction. As soon as Qi Ling and Yin Chen have established their relationship at the start you can skip to episode 34 and it wouldn't make an awfully great difference to your understanding of the show. The only thing that you might miss is why Qi La is important at the end. Even though half of the show felt like little disciples going on little missions that made no great contribution to the main story arc or even individual character development, I was genuinely sad when the show ended.
Second Season
It was set up for a second season but you aren't left hanging on a critical moment, you're only showed which direction the characters plan to go next and you can imagine the rest.
Watch Or Not?
This show was enjoyable because of the characters, even in their underdeveloped state. If you've got the patience and can ignore the poor CGI and fight choreography, then you can coast through this show and just have a pleasant time, until you get nearer the end and can start enjoying the story. Just take it for what it is, and I imagine if you do watch the whole thing you'll probably want a second season for these characters just like everyone else, even if the CGI doesn't improve. By the end we have some good characters and a decent plot we can follow so if there was a second season I would definitely give it a watch. It did make me want to read the book and I'm going to watch the animated films
Rewatch Value?
I would only bother to rewatch episodes 34-48 and only if there was a second season.
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I don't know what's happening.
Watched this because and while I've been sick at home with a virus, and had seen some photosets of this and was curious about it. Apparently this is based on a novel, which I haven't read, and am rating this solely on the show itself.This is probably the first drama I've watched while doing something else most of the time or being on my phone while having it on in the background. Not enough was happening to keep me invested in paying attention solely to the screen, but I also wanted to know what happens, so I just kept watching - although not with a lot of enthusiasm, I have to say. Premise starts out strong - a sort of fantasy wuxia environment where you can acquire a spiritual beast partner and learn how to fight with spells. However, the plot felt very broadly-sketched, while the story just isn't tight enough, and instead feels too loosely-spun to hold all the many things and moving parts together - lots happen, or is supposed to happen, but it's all a bit vague, including the motivations and explanations for many of the characters and why they're doing things; so that things kept happening, but without much of an emotional result or even pay-off almost at all, or even any follow-up afterwards. It often felt like I recognised that there was supposed to be a build-up to things, but then when the thing actually came, it was simply flat - it didn't even fall flat, because there wasn't enough emotionally in the building up at all. It's unfortunate, because there's a lot of promise, but the writing falls short and the story suffers from a lack of detail, including within the characters. Others have noted that it's a bit draggy and didn't need to be the 48 episodes that it is, which I agree with; apparently originally it was meant to be 30 episodes but then became longer, though I'm not sure why. There was also so much use of replaying the same flashback cuts that I didn't really feel was needed, especially near the end, to support that it really didn't actually need to be this long. However, I acknowledge that this was a low-budget production and there may have been many limitations. Just as a mention as others have likewise also pointed out, the CGI isn't great, but I've definitely also seen worse, and it didn't really bother me at all. 6.5 for the story potential because it could have been great, but unfortunately was lacking in execution.
The acting was okay, but honestly no one really particularly stood out to me. I watched this mostly for Joe Chen's character, Yin Chen. I thought he was the main character, but he doesn't actually get a lot of screentime in comparison to the disciple generation (Qi Lin, Lian Quan, You Hua, Shen Yin, and Ni Hong). I found Qi Lin very annoying for much of the first part, he did become better later on and especially towards the end, but I don't think I could say I ever really got all that invested in his character development. Lian Quan was probably the nicest and most inoffensive character besides Yin Chen and I didn't really mind her, but I absolutely couldn't stand You Hua. You Hua was the Worst character and annoyed me So Much I briefly went in the Discussion section of this page and ranted about her (but then I deleted it). The actor playing Shen Yin was the only face I recognised from anywhere before (as Sujin from Three Lives Three Worlds: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms/Eternal Love); I found her a little big-eyed and earnest, but not much else. You Ming (Shen Yin's Lord) was possibly the most interesting character to watch, and his interplay with as well as he and Lei Ya (4th Lord) in general was at least campy and kind of noticeably different in comparison to everyone else. Ni Hong was, I felt, the shortest-drawn stick - barely any lines, and so thinly-sketched that I'm not sure I ever even see him interacting with any of the other disciples other than Shen Yin, except for a brief encounter with Qi Lin about Shen Yin; and I have a soft spot for him because he really deserved much better. In short, all the characters seem to have some sort of Personality Feature that defines them, and they don't get to step out much beyond these, which I felt was as much to do with the writing. I did, however, enjoy the relationship between Yin Chen and Qi Lin, especially in the beginning, which at first seemed like might be the anchor of the show - and it is, but which isn't reflected in the screentime or plot focus somehow.
Music wasn't bad - but there were like, three songs. There was Sad Song, which was also the ending song, which played every time there was even a remotely sad moment, it felt like. Then there was also a Hero Song which played a few times, usually when characters were doing something 'cool' and/or as relevant, and then there was, I think, a female version of Sad Song. I got pretty tired of Sad Song pretty quickly, although it did hit during the emotional moments and definitely helped the feels along a lot.
I wouldn't rewatch this again. I can see why someone might or would, perhaps to try and get a better idea and grasp on what's happening with the characters and their motivations, but personally, I'm not sure that I wouldn't just come away with the same feeling of very loosely-woven openness at the end again - and 48 episodes is a long time.
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Cringiest drama ,, worst GFX , Sismance more than Bromance ,, plot in pieces ,, boring evil leads
I've watched this one because I love Bromance dramas and some of my friends suggested itI was a lot confused at the beginning then it became draggy then it became all about the girls then it was trial after trial but all with Horrible GFX cartoonish laughable level add to that the awkward acting from the male leads
The one thing I've liked was the acting of the older male lead who plays the mentor or wangia nothing more
the younger male lead was better at acting in previous dramas I've watched but not this one ,, I don't know why ,, even his character was over acting a lot
I skipped 80% of every single episode
I skipped all the evil side's scenes ,, I skipped all the female's sis mance scenes , I've skipped the GFX cartoonish scenes
this one was a big fail didn't satisfy me one bit
I won't be watching this one again even if it has more seasons
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I WATCHED 4 EPISODES, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO!
You can say CGI doesn't matter as long as the story good.
No you are wrong. The CGI hurts my eyes! If I learn 3D animation my self, I believe I could create better CGI :)
I notice bad CGI from first episode, but I would like to give second chance as the story is quite unique.
Second issue with this series is the Male Lead character get his brain grow in reverse like Benjamin Button. The Male Lead first appearance as 20 years old something, a bit childish but mature enough to hold 2 jobs as con-magician-artist and inn-butler.
2 episodes later, the character turned into a 5 years old boy in an adult body!
Main story is still not clear at this point. What is the mission? Who are the villains? What need to be done?
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