The use of two endings, I don't like it, because I see it as a lack of confidence in the work. I don't know if it was the screenwriter's or the director's idea, but it's unnecessary. The two endings presented aren't bad, both have emotional scenes, but the one in chapter 39 is more consistent with the characters' personalities throughout the drama. I think there was a lack of 'many years later' to compensate for the suffering of so many lovable characters.
The choice of cast was incredible, beautiful actors and actresses with contagious performances. The cast didn't have any mediocre performance. Zhang Bin Bin was versatile and impregnated different characteristics to dress each of his characters, it was possible to observe the transformation of the actor's physiognomy, gestures and voice intonation to compose Lu Li, Luo Ge, God of the Moon and the Evil Spirit. Actor Wang You Shuo brought the drama's most lovable character to life, and he did it masterfully.
The direction was good, it managed to produce excellent scenes, good cinematography, special effects that were very pleasant to see and few errors in editing. It only sinned in choosing two such different endings.
The costumes are dazzling and suited to the characters.
The soundtrack is extremely pleasant and engaging.
Was this review helpful to you?
Couldn't Do It
I'm glad many people like this drama but I just couldn't do it anymore. I got through half and really wanted to like it too, but when you're literally just watching for the SML's 5 minutes on screen and he's carrying the entire drama for you, it's not worth it. They really overdid it on the CGI; it was like if TBW and Aquaman had a kid, just too much. Making the most delusional character into the main antagonist was a mistake when there are so many really awesome options. No real chemistry between the leads, a plot that couldn't straighten itself out, and quite a few miscast (can't act the characters convincingly) actors. It's Xianxia which is supposed to be about misunderstandings and lots of angst plus the technicolor dream world and while it had a boatload of the first and last, I felt nothing in terms of it with the leads. Again, this is just my personal opinion and therefore for those continuing to watch, please do. But I'm not recommending it and the actor who plays He Na is the only real rockstar in this plus I'm enjoying him in the series "Young Blood". I look forward to better work for him in the future.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch for second lead and the other main couple. First leads don't have a story.
When I watched the trailer I thought it is going to be one of the best xianxia drama of 2022-2023 but........ The plot was full of mystery in the beginning and kept me engaged but when the mystery unfold it became boring. I might have dropped the series but it introduced more interesting characters like HeNa and A'Fu. The friendship between HeNa and First lead was good to watch and the brotherly bond that HeNa and A'Fu shared was lovely. The series also introduced Luo Ning who was the sister of Luo Ge (Vin Zhang) and love interest of A'Fu (Riley Wang) that's where the plot became more interesting for me. If you watch the series for first leads then it will be really disappointing. They don't actually have a story. The other couple have more character development and much better story. I am giving a 10 rating only for Second lead and the other main couple.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Great acting, great visiuals, good enough plot, but messy ending
The drama clicked with me the moment I saw the first short promotional videos. It is for me what I seek from xianxia dramas. It has an exciting plot and likable multi-layered characters. It has the magical feel to it but still manages to be relatable.PLOT. The plot is easy to follow but at the same time it is intriguing and has twists and sudden revelations. I like how characters and plot lines are intertwined and how some seemingly neutral characters turn out to have hidden motives.
ROMANCE. The romance is mostly quite calm and soothing, almost no misunderstandings, a little bit of angst at the part when Lu Li turns into Luo Ge. And actually it was interesting to see the way their feelings developed after the change. The kisses are few, sorry to say.
CHARACTERS. What I like the most about the drama are the characters.
Lu Li/Luo Ge (Zhang Bin Bin). Zhang Bin Bin portrays 3 different characters here and his performance is spectacular in every one of them, First he is Luli who is a mere mortal man. He is nice an unsophisticated guy with warm and loving heart. It was a joy to see Bin Bin in this kind of role. Next he turns into Luo Ge who is a high immortal and has a very different personality. The change is so drastic that it shocks. His demeanor becomes truly god-like so stunningly handsome but austere and unattainable. The third personality is Dark Moon god who is again totally different from both Lu Li and Luo Ge because he is essentially an evil spirit. Zhang Bin Bin is spot on with his portrayal of the merciless and cunning creature. The well done make-up and gorgeous costumes also do justice to Zhang Bin Bin’s beautiful face and figure. Nothing looks cheap or over-the-top or ridiculous.
While I admire Luo Ge the one I adore is He Na. He is a king of a cursed demon race and there is a heavy burden upon his conscience to lift the curse and save his people. Wang Yu Shuo gives an impressive performance here. He Na is noble both in nature and in bearing. His eyes speak volumes and shine with some inner light. He has quiet sadness about him which makes the heart ache for him. I enjoy a lot exquisite outfits and styling on He Na. He looks so graceful and refined in his white costumes and with a flute. I like how he and Lu Li and later Luo Ge become and remain good friends through all the storms.
A Fu. Honestly after watching several of his dramas I considered Wang Yi Long a handsome but not very versatile actor. However he proved me wrong here with his great portrayal of He Na’s younger brother A Fu.
His role here is mostly antagonistic but he evidently enjoys his character a lot and his acting feels passionate and convincing. His romance with Luo Ning is such a poignant love story which I hate and like at the same time. Of course he also looks very dashing in his dark clothes stylized as fish scales.
Liu Shao. The FL of the drama Liu Shao impressed me somewhat less than the above mentioned characters. She is actually a nice girl, not annoying at all, trusting and lovable. However her personality is a little bland. At some point she even feels like a side character. I think they needed to add more depth to her or develop her goddess side earlier in the series.
The villains. A good thing is the villains here are not one-dimensional. There are several of them with different grudges against main characters but all of them have backstories and well explained motivations to their actions. The only cliché villain is Bai Feng who is a typical sore loser obsessed with the ML.
I need also to mention a support character. Wan Su, a grass spirit. He has but a small impact on the plot but his backstory, his personality and his appearance especially the outfit of the most lovely aquamarine colour and white hair are somehow very appealing to me.
ENDING. The ending is what I am not so happy about. It is definitely a letdown. The problem is that they jammed a very complex ending plotline worthy of 3-4 episodes into one episode and besides evidently have to cut out a huge amount of the demonized Luo Ge’s scenes. The result is a poorly connected sequence of events which leave the viewer totally confused about what had happened. Of the two versions of the ending I prefer the 40th episode. Because at least it treats He Na fairly and gives A Fu chance to redeem himself.
The OST. I like the OST well enough. I was surprised to find out that Zhan Bib Bin had such a fine singing voice.
Was this review helpful to you?
I watched this drama for the two brothers didn't care about the main couple
When it was on air this drama grabbed my attention because of the relationship between the two aquatic demons coupleand their brotherly relationship, I love brotherly relationships more than romantic boring one
I downloaded all the episodes to watch it later on and enjoyed the story and maybe like the main couple on the way and when it came the time to watch it
I tried to like the main couple at first but it was too boring for my taste,, the same old romantic story in every single Xienxia drama out there nothing new or unique
I've tried to keep watching the main couple but I couldn't so I started skipping a lot,, I skipped a lot and I didn't regret it at all
because the story didn't move much until the two brothers came to it and it became about their relationship and the secondary romantic couples relationship,, then it became interesting and I started to enjoy the drama
I like the secondary romantic couple story so much more than the main and to be honest, the writer stalled the main couple and made them so boring and repetitive to the point of abandoning them to the secondary couple problem and their unique relationship
I loved how the two brothers loved each other despite being at odds most of the time,, and hated how stupid the evil brother was doing everything wrong for the one he loved so much his brother and his lover
He destroyed everything he had with his own blind vengeance
I really loved the kind loving caring brother and King hated how he was so passive in his own love relationship always forgiving always passive
The two different endings were equally bad
There was no happy ending
They killed one side of the story just to let the other one live so what's the point
Maybe I prefer episode forty to episode thirty nine because He Na lived and he suffered so much to die in vien
overall this drama is not very good in my opinion
Was this review helpful to you?
Tale of sun and moon
Lu Li,a carefree young man accidentally meets Liu Shao and falls in love with her,though his master has warned him not to do so.On their path of immortal cultivation,Lu Li becomes Luo Ge,a cloaked immortal and along with Liu Shao unravel deep secrets buried in their past.Vin Zhang as the male lead and Xu Lu and as female lead were good in their roles.
I liked the character of He Na the most in this drama,Wang Youshuo acting was very nice.He was kind,caring,loving,and always there for Liu Shao in times of need and also a good demon king I have seen so far.
The plot,though could have been much better,was good and the remaining cast were also good in their roles.
This drama can be watched easily without any hesitation,though in my opinion only once.
Was this review helpful to you?
Decently Executed but Derivative and Unoriginal
This keeps giving me Love and Redemption vibes, but at least it is better done than Love and Redemption. The CP is not as stupid and uncommunicative, so their relationship is more believable. However, there are still plenty of cringey lines and misunderstandings that don't make sense. The pacing is odd and sometimes takes its own sweet time, and jumps ahead at other times. The dubbing also seems out of sync in some places.The music is alright. The CGI is alright. The side characters are alright.
Update: The pacing noticeably worsens after they are done with the arc in the mortal world. Plot points and scripted lines are repeated, and it becomes more obvious that certain lines said were not the lines that the actors had originally said.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
fire ? from start to finish!!!!
Omg for the life of me I thought "Alchemy of soul, and Love between fairy and demon"was the highest drama could get.
But "SOUL OF THE MOON"!! Child honey!!
from jump its fire ? ? ? ? episode 13 just got me bawling my eyes out i tell you!!! i had a nakin, head started hurting, type crying.....
if episode 13 is this good and its a 40 episode show, omg i am shaking in anticipation of what's to come because what they gave us in 13 is normally what you get
in dramas close to end... oh lordttttt!!! here i go on this "soul of moon," roller-coaster ?
Ok so am on episodes 21 and so far so amazing!!!! You will love episode 21, I want to see if that was the moon demon God, that enter into him, bruh when I tell you this is an addicting drama, believe me, I am writing notes while watching, because an review by me was inevitable!!!!
Ok so it slowed down in around episode 31 but it was expected as the drama started too fire ? ? ? once i scroll of my phone while watching a drama, when i need to read the sub titles the drama got boring. ? Hoever I was upset because no drama is perfect and this one started on a high note. pick up back and got a little steady but went flat in between episodes.
Am now at episode 38 not bad
Its a little slow but still watchable, let me the actors ability to make you believe the same person is two different individual is paramount lol
I had to keep checking my brain ? cells so i didn't get fooled!!
Oh snap 39 is bringing the heat!!! did the main girl just swallowed that devil ? omg spicy!!
I wasnt even that sad to see when He na died because of how sickly he became ? he in previous episodes ?
So the beginning of episode 40 will throw you off but ride with it, you will come to find episode 39 was a dream and he had to wake up in 40.
So far I have to rate this 20star from start to finish, straight fire ? ? ? ??
Amazing acting from all the cast members!!!
I even listen the music and watch the words of the ending.
The entire drama was they good!!!
Amazing writing. ✍ ? ?
Was this review helpful to you?
Boring repetitions, never-dying Lu Ge
When I started watching the series, I said I was watching a very good series and I continued to watch it with pleasure. However, gradually there were declines in the plot and great conflicts in roles. A lot of nonsense ensued. Especially the chaos of the last chapters confused us a lot. It was a series that started well but showed a great decline in its beauty towards the end. The story was cute. I've watched a few similar TV series. There was even a series exactly like it, but I can't remember its name now.The staff, in particular, was solid. A very good leading team has been formed. Much better things could have been done with these players. But unfortunately, they ruined these players at the end of the story. I was especially blown away by Xu Lu, who played with a sour face throughout. This actor is like this in all his series. I don't know what to say, whether to say the same sad face or a sour face. I'm amazed at how she smiles and looks beautiful with this face of hers. I have no words for his acting, but with that face I wish he hadn't acted. I loved the other actors. I passed on the leading roles, the supporting roles were also good. It was a good team. I congratulate the cast and director. However, a deficiency in the story, perhaps a deficiency in the scripting, a deficiency in the tying at the end, or the confusion undermined the watchability of the series, its rating, and the question of whether I would watch it again or recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
never expected ending
Another Xian Xia realm this year... Not so bad, but I don't think the best too... Ok let's discuss drama...What I love:
+ How good and handsome my Zhang Bin Bin... Haha... He play 4 character here, God of Moon, Lu Li, Luo Ge and Dark God of Moon and every character have different characteristic. He portrayed them beautifully, each with their distinguish characteristic & facial expression...
+ The chemistry between Vin Zhang & Xu Lu not so bad. Maybe not as a couple, but a very good friend that can turn into a relationship later on, that kind of friendship....
+ The handsome Riley Wang. Oh how much I love see Riley Wang as a bad guy. He really gives a good vibes as a bad guy. He once again has more expression as a bad guy than when he play good guy, which like has no expression for me...
+ The best of all.... The ending.... Oh I love how they give us 2 alternative ending. From Luo Ge & Liu Shao point of view. But I think I more like Liu Shao ending. Because it's more make sense & for once finally they make the women do the sacrificing instead always the man... Haha...
What not so good:
- The usual story that easy to forget. Leave not trace in my mind in the future I think. Give bumping a little due to the 2 alternative ending.
Overall this just another drama for us to watch....
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Difficult Choices made in the name of Love & Protection
What is worth memorable for me after watching this drama is the love story of the second main couple, A Fu Jun & Luo Ning. However, I do badly wish the story of A Fu & Luo Ning was written out differently with slight modifications, and given a happy ending. In addition, the way the main male lead (immortal Luo Ge) falls for the main female lead ( mortal Liu Shao) all over again after he ascends to an immortal is also worth memorable.One thing about this drama is true for sure: This drama lacks a proper well fleshed-out plot. This drama lacks a proper story. The storyline is hazy, confusing --- not coherent or organic.
The only good thing is: the story gets quite fast-paced towards the middle ( the in-between eps,18-35) .
However, the problem is the story writers of this drama really know how to confuse the audience by churning the plot into an entertaining, spicy masala story with dissatisfactory endings. The director really knows how to confuse the audience and get themselves tangled in myriad emotions such that, in the end, one is left wondering with questions like "what the hell is happening? " & " this is not how I expected it'd turn out"...
However, this drama really deviates from the usual stereotypes shown in the xianxia dramas so far. That's the unique factor of this drama.
The feel-good aspects of this drama:
1) the beautiful osts, especially two of the osts sung by Zhang Bin Bin ("If there's a prophet " & "Half-hearted"), and " Month by Month" Intro ost
2) beautiful, handsome actors with excellent acting skills: Zhang Bin Bin's acting and looks in costume as both Luo Ge, moon god & evil spirit is really sexy. His acting skills is the best out of all other actors in this drama. Only the actor who portrayed character He Na, Wang You Shou matched Zhang Bin Bin's skill levels in terms of both looks & acting.
3) in-between thrilling, enjoyable, entertaining developments in the love stories of all main couples, and engaging action scenes (especially in episode 40).
4) the thrill of watching the main leads duel each other
5) good duel scenes such as duels & fights in which all major characters get involved in the desert-like great wilderness battle scene clip, the fight scenes in ep 40.
Leaving all the above factors aside, both the endings (Liu Shao's chapter & Luo Ge's chapter), left my hurt crushed with disappointment. Yes, there were likeable aspects in both episodes such as the female lead sacrificing for the male lead in ep 39 & the coming together of all main couples in episode 40. So, personally, episode 40 was more satisfactory to watch. But there was no killing of the male lead in episode 39, so from that viewpoint, ep 39 satisfied me. In the end, it is confusing for me to decide which ending to choose because both endings felt highly incomplete. In episode 40, Liu Shao seems to be someone who survived, and roaming the mortal world as an immortal, and she happens to meet Luo Ge, A Fu and Luo Ning. Yet, it seems all of them except Liu Shao, have turned into mortals and living ordinary lives ( which is not what I expect in a xianxia drama). Both endings were disappointing. The only good event in episode 40 seems to be the reunion of immortal Liu Shao and Luo Ge( who could be mortal/immortal? Not sure) which isn't explicitly conveyed.
There are several flaws in the story of this drama which left me grievously disappointed. Firstly, the story was unique, different, refreshing till ep 36, but towards the end, the plot progression became so convoluted that viewers will be left puzzled. In episode 40 especially, the viewer will be wondering whether Liu Shao time traveled and came back with her sun spirit unsealed, to fight the evil spirit ( because in there, the plot progressed uptill that point in such a way as to leave viewers wonder whether the story has suddenly merged with Liu Shao's chapter in episode 39 ) or whether it portrays another alternate ending altogether.
Another big blunder in the plot progression is the marriage of one of the main leads to his brother's wife. Honestly, couldn't understand why the writers would complicate things between the next main couple (A Fu-Luo Ning couple) that way. Of course, the bride abduction by A Fu Jun & the forced marriage scenes compensated for that blunder in the storyline, because all the clips & scenes related to those two events were really entertaining to watch --- something that I've never come across in other Xianxia dramas so far. Yet the director, and storywriters again played spoilt sport by coming up with a sad ending for the second main lead couple (A Fu Jun-Luo Ning). If it were a happy ending, I'd have tolerated the introduction of 'the brother's fake marriage to one's bride' idea. The only thing consoling for me is that this couple at least died together without killing each other ( this is one aspect of episode 40 that I love) unlike the main couple.
Yet another big blunder is designing an attractive darker version of moon god character only to kill him off in the end. In the drama, the evil spirit doesn't behave truly like a typical evil being. It has an obsession for Liu Shao, prefers straightforward fights with its enemies and even gives its enemies time to prepare to scheme against him! Now, this was really funny. This evil thing seemed to be designed more like a sophisticated, borderline person with psychosis or split personality disorder. For such a character, I'd have prefered an alternate ending where the dark part of moon god's heart integrates with the light, good part of moon god's heart(who's Luo Ge) in a wholesome, positive way where both parts of the heart of moon god decide to arrive at a compromise, and get a happy ending with Liu Shao. Afterall, both are affected by Liu Shao. Even the so-called evil spirit ( dark version of moon god's heart) didn't chose to eliminate Liu Shao though she kept attacking & hurting him with her bunch of immortal friends. Even when the evil spirit was in its angriest moments, it only hurt her hand, and didn't kill her off while she went into sleeping mode to recover. So, why not unify both the light & dark parts of the heart of moon god and give this new being favourable traits of the evil spirit & favourable traits of Luo Ge just like "venom" Character in Hollywood's marvel franchise movies?
And a happy ending could've been given to this newly integrated version of moon god & Liu Shao. It'd have been better for the drama as a whole. Afterall, the chemistry between Liu Shao & the evil spirit was quite spicy, entertaining to watch. And the evil spirit even utters a monologue in episode 40 when it gets puzzled by Liu Shao's rejection. This was another flaw. The dark version of moon god/evil spirit isn't portrayed as completely evil. It still spares Liu Shao, and likes the feisty side of her whereas if it were really cold & evil, it should be focusing on how to eliminate this weakness of its host, Luo Ge. So, I felt this was another major flaw in the drama where the evil spirit was designed more like an anti-hero & given a bad ending. It's hard to stay detached from a character who doesn't completely behave like a true psycho-evil, but more like an anti-hero with borderline psychosis. Such a character will only appear more unique, appealing ( especially the way the dark version of moon god was portrayed in the drama) .
In all, I would've loved to see a completely satisfactory, fulfilling happy endings for:
1) A Fu Jun-Luo Ning couple ( where they don't lose their immortal powers & live like ordinary people or die & disappear)
2)the immortal Luo Ge and Liu Shao couple ( where both the bad & good parts of the moon god's personalities reach a compromise within Luo Ge's mind or heart), and thus the evil spirit turns into an anti-hero immortal Luo Ge & he & Liu Shao gets a happy ending.
But both of these never happened. What's worse, no other satisfactory alternate endings were written for these two couples which felt COMPLETE, SATISFACTORY.
The only satisfactory ending was the one designed for character, He Na in episode 40. I didn't like the ending for He Na in ep 39 which I found disastrous because it seemed to take all attention away from the main couple, and instead seemed to put the limelight on the chemistry between the main female lead & He Na. For a moment there, you might wonder whether Liu Shao-He Na is the main couple /main leads because He Na's poignant dialogues in his dying moments in ep 39 are so heartbreaking to watch, and one gets to sense the potential chemistry between him and Liu Shao.
To sum up, Overall, the episodes that focused on the mortal world were downright boring. And there is very little logic in this drama. It beats the logic of even xianxia dramas. Every event is made convoluted, dialogues made contradictory --- especially from ep 38. If the endings of all the main couples were happy in a satisfactory manner, I will definitely be willing to accept, enjoy even the illogical aspects of the story, but, unfortunately, that was not the case. In the end, there were interesting twists and turns in the story which made most episodes from 17-40 entertaining to watch, but the dissatisfactory endings didn't make watching the last five episodes that fulfilling.
The only episodes worth watching are the episodes that focus on the deepening of love between all main couples after they start living in the immortal world --- maybe from episodes 17-35. Uptill ep 35, the plot of this drama had lot of potential --- it was going strong (even without logic it is interesting & worth a re-watch). Each episode from ep 17 till episode 35 brought pleasant surprises --- not nasty ones.
I especially enjoyed watching the progress of the love story between the main leads after Luo Ge left his mortal life as Lu Li forever. The love story of the main leads gets more poetic and more intense after that. However, I didn't like the look of the wedding costumes of the main leads. They both looked like modified versions of santa clause, all dressed up for Christmas.
Lastly, I enjoyed the progression of the love story of the second main couple, A Fu Jun & Luo Ning ( Luo Ge's sister) till episode 35. Things go downhill from ep 36. At least, their ending, though not completely satisfactory to me ( because I love this couple the most), at least, it made sense and was beautiful, poetic.
Also, I found A Fu Jun character truly designed to be behaving like a main lead at many crucial points in the story, and Luo Ning behaving like a main female lead befitting the xianxia genre at many crucial points in the plot progression of this story. Their love story is sweet, simple, classy to watch. A Fu Jun reminded me of Dong Fang Qing Cang of Cang Lan Jue Xianxia novel. The only thing missing was a happy ending for them. Their story itself could've been made into another drama worth a happy ending.
As for the main leads, I really love their 'lantern floating scenes & dialogues' in episode 27 & ep 39, especially in ep 27. Immortal Luo Ge & mortal Liu shao's interactions felt magical to me as a viewer, while watching the 'flying the wish lantern scene' in ep 27.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is almost be one of my favorite. I love all the cast and story. I'm so into the story. I love He Na characters, friendship between Liu Shao and Luo Ning and the red flag A Fu Jun also the handsome Lu Li. The costum, CGI, everything is also good. But I prefer they make a sad ending than make two ending like this. I remember when I watch ep 39 I'm cry really hard when He Na died. And when it comes to the last minute I keep remind myself there's one ep left and I thought it will happy ending for Lu Li and Liu Shao. But than when ep 40 start I'm really shock and confused see He Na! So I make a research and found there's two ending. This is make me lost my interest for the second ending and also for this drama :( Was this review helpful to you?
