This review may contain spoilers
I keep thinking about this story....
I’ve been a member for 8 years, and this will be my first review on MDL. That is how much this drama has affected me.I will review base on MDL’s point
1. Story. At first, it seems like a typical xianxia drama. A ruthless demon, and a goddess trying to save the world. But after the first 2 episodes, you will know that this is different. The demon is still a human, a powerless and abused human who’d suffered throughout his entire life. Has no friends, has no family, and because nobody has ever show him love and care before, he also has no feeling. Story buildup and character development are good. Unlike other xianxia, this one has no tribulation, and only one lifetime. Every character has their memory throughout the whole story (I hate memory lost trope). There is a bit of time travel involve, but nothing too complicated. The story flow is smooth and connected. Watch this story with xianxia logic, not our world logic.
2. Acting/Cast. This is my first drama for LYX and BL and I shipped them already. The chemistry is ON FIRE! And I found out that they were in another drama before this (Love is Sweet) and they are already well known for their great chemistry. In this drama, the actors has to emote a lot of different expression, especially anger and despair. I would say the star of the show is LYX, because of how complex his character TTJ is. Is he good? Is he evil? He has to be both. And he played it convincingly. As for BL’s character, thank goodness for a smart FL. I really need a sensible FL that doesn’t think and talk like a child. There is also no annoying side characters, SFL and SML were ok. I know there is a lot of hatre for YBC but a drama has no purpose if there is no good villain. CDL’s acting was passable, not great, not memorable, not bad. I don’t want to dwell too much on side characters, because the limelight is always on the ML and FL. Ohh..but Pianran is very cute.
3. Music. This is an easy score. The OST is so good. I was so happy to hear LYN’s voice in the opening theme. My favourite is 寄长月 by Bu Cai. It’s so sad and beautiful, just like this drama.
4. Rewatch Value. I am really not sure about this one. I might increase the store after I finish watching today’s last episode. If this has a BE, I don’t think I can rewatch TTJ’s suffering over and over again. That will make me a sadist to enjoy watching that.
Edit to change. At first I gave this drama a 6 for rewatch value. I love this drama too much, and I AM going to rewatch.
What I don’t like about this drama
- make up, hair accessories and blood. The make up team really went overboard with LYX’s make up. Go easy on the red lipstick. Go easy on hair accessories on YXW and the blood spitting too.
- Editing. With C-Drama, we are very used with slow burns, but this drama is too fast too furious because they need to fit in so much stories into just 40 episodes. Some scene and storyline were cut out. I need to read the webnovel and discuss in MBL drama page to understand more about the story.
Yes, this is by far the best Xianxia that I’d ever watch. In my book, this even top TMOFPB.
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2
1"Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, STAR-CROSSED LOVERS- ME & YOU"
2 INDIVIDUALS, 3 LIFE TIMES, 10000 YEAR.
ITS THE STORY OF angst, love, pain, miscommunication, jealousy, sadness, sacrifice, helplessness, and betrayal.
IT THE STORY OF EMOTIONS, DESTINY and FATE!!!
We have heard of enemies to lover but have you heard of star crossed lovers?
Imagine the universe bringing them together but also throwing them apart!!!
"SHE WAS BORN SO HE COULD DIE"
HONESTLY, NO one should be reading a review to watch it.
People should watch it and decide if its worth it, cuz i know once you start watching episode 1 you will be hooked like an addict!!!
WHERE DO I START?? This drama is one of the best drama made in the history of C-drama, dare i say the best xianxia!
The CGI is TOP CLASS, it screams money and beauty. The plot is just crazy, it full of angst, literally never a dull moment. The music is not repetitive and a collection of many OST, the main OST grows on you as the episodes pass. The cinematography and camera angle are AMAZING.
It is fast paced but its not rushing. I love the pacing, less filler scene and cringe moment. For the first time watching a C-drama i never once cringed in second hand embarrassment. IT'S STRAIGHT PLOT.
The starting and ending credits on start of each episode are so beautiful that I don't skip them, those are one of the best intro i have ever seen.
The costumes, jewellery , hairstyles are amazinggg!!! I MEAN they look like a million bucks!! YOU CAN SEE THE MONEY.
The fight scenes SLAP YOU on your face, they are insane. You can see the work and dedication in them. But the craziest thing is that LYX did them all on his own without a body double.
ACTING/ACTORS-
When a character either make you want to KILL them or SAVE them from the world it means the ACTORS are outdoing themself!! Here each and every actor may it be the main leads or a simple maid has done such exceptional job in portraying their characters, you actually connect to the emotions of the story.
PSYCHOTIC, RUTHLESS, COLD-BLOODED, EMOTIONLESS, UNHINGED, PITIFUL AND SINFULLY INSANE, that's what our MALE LEAD is!!
TANTAI JIN is not your common ML that changes in blink of a eye as soon as the female character comes into the play.
HE IS EVIL. He was born evil. YOU KNOW IT, HE KNOWS IT but you can't stop loving him and defending him.
We see him go from an bullied and tortured individual to the DEMON GOD/GOD OF WAR/KING OF JING/SECTOR BROTHER everyone FEAR and ADMIRE, we see his journey.
You see and understand why he is like that. THEY [the world] made him like that, they sowed the seeds if their doom in form of Tantai jin. They made the DEMON GOD by their action. THEY digged their own grave and they were the one lying into it!!
I had hoped they don't whitewash his evilness!!! I know it was nearly impossible to show him as evil as in the novel but i wanted them to keep his origin as much as they could with censorship and all, AND THEY DID!!! THEY MADE HIM UNAPOLOGETIC, not unhinged but still the perfect amount of evil.
There's just something believably sinister, unhinge, creepy and scary about him.
Tantai jin is soooo creepy!!! I can't explain in but the way that man looks, moves his body, flickering his hands and speaks is soo strangely different, still you cant stop watching him. His face changes from innocently handsome to creepy af handsome in SECONDS according to his mood.
AND OMG HIS SMIRKS AND SMILES WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE 'Female lead' OR IS 'PLANNING MURDER' make me fall on my knees.
Some scenes when i watch them I get the feeling like I'm watching a gothic horror.
Even SUSU is not your common FL. She's not helpless, it's so refreshing to actually have a strong female lead in a xianxia!!! At some incidents you will find her too CRUEL for the things she does to the ML and you won't like it but at the end of the day you get her, she is doing that from the world and even for him to an extend. God, her actions pissed me off so much but you know how it has always been.
LYX I HAIL YOU SIR. YOU WERE INSANE FOR DOING THIS!!
LYX changes his personality in a blink. He literally played 4 characters [THE ANCIENT DEVIL GOD, MINGYE, TANTAIJIN, CANGJIU MIN]and you can differentiate those character by the way they speak and carry themselves. There is something about LYX voice, its so soft but goes soo well with his characters. And for once i thank the universe that they didn't dub his voice which makes it even better!! LYX was made for this role OR i should say this role was made for LYX. His fight sequences, his smirks, his eyebrow raise will make you week.
I am on my knees of that man.🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️
LEO LUO x BAI LU-
LYX and BL CHEMISTRY IS CHEMISTRYING. I swear you can't move your eyes off them. The eye contact they have, the touches they steal, the kissed they share, the intimate scenes they slay. the mocking glances they send each other, the way they see each other make you SCREAM!!! Their CHEMISTRY is CHEMISTRY-ING.
THE OTHER MAIN LEADS-
I am not actually very interested in the 2nd CP, the 2nd FL is just so bland and evil. Watchers on MDL called nicknamed her BITCH-ang [you will know why and get it when u watch it].
Honestly i literally wanted to skip their scenes. The 2nd FL is sooo frustrating that i wanna shout and scream and punch. The 2nd ML suffers from HERO COMPLEX and has a thing for evil damsel in distress.
But holy hell the 3rd CP has me on my toes!!! The demon fox is a freaking seductress. She screams seduction in every action she does, may it be talking or fighting or seducing!! Our poor 3rd ML didn't have any chance.
THE ONLY NEGATIVE THING-
Firstly it will be the makeup in some of the closeup scene in earlier episodes. Due to the high camera quality you find it cakey.
Secondly due to the new censorship they had to make a 56 episode drama into 40 episode so sometimes the editing seem choppy [though honestly it wont matter].
OVERALL, THIS DRAMA IS WORTH YOUR EVERY HOUR, EVERY MINUTE AND EVERY SECOND!!!
It may not be perfect but its definitely the best out there.
I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I got sad. I mourned.
LAST EPISODE HAD ME SOBBING. UGLY CRYING IS TOO SMALL A WORD TO SAY WHAT I FELT. This series is a masterpiece.
"It all started with tantaijin and it all ended with him"- BAILU, A BTS INTERVIEW.
NOW I UNDERSTOOD WHY THE TITLE WAS-
"Until the end of the moon".
[TANTAI JIN=🌕]
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Till the end of this Mess....
This is more or less what you get if you google random storylines and just randomly mix em up, copy a bit here paste a bit there... cut it in to a bunch of pieces that fade in to each other like a musical medley... add some good cast, bad dubbing, pretty pictures but awful CGI and vwalla you have 40 episodes of what the *** did I watch and why am i still watching this?However! I am pretty sure the cast had a lot of fun filming this as they got to portray a whole lot of personalities and showcase their range, I am pretty sure they too had no clue about the story so the risk of leaking spoilers was really kept to a minimum. Among these personalities we got cold as ice, hot as lava, toxic, mean, addicted, obsessed, loving, kind, more obsessed... Seriously probably one of the worse cases of obsessed I have ever seen... Healer, killer, lier, backstabber, frontstabber... We have lovers, bromances, the lies for your own good, the lies for the good of the universe, and probably some lies told for the good of some random cat somewhere... Or just for fun... For those of you who love watching actors spit blood you are truly in for a treat as there are very few scenes that do not include the occasional blood spat... It is hard to fit ppl in to a costume drama but I am sure this was sponsored by the cranberry juice and fake blood association of China.
It is probably easier to list what you won't find in here which is logic, consistency , modern stuff, and quality.
But if there is anything else you desire, it is sure to show up at some point or another.
P.s. it has an amazing flaming umbrella
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Till the end… Thank God… there's an end…
Till the end of the moon is a romantic tale that kicks off nice, goes on flat for a while but bumps down when it couldn't handle its own complications. High budget, star cast, beautiful costumes and what not but what we get served is a repitative story that makes you annoyed once every episode. Oh yeah I yawned and finally skipped a few parts too.
The narrative revolves around the to-be Devil God Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi) and Li Susu (Bai Lu) who was determined to stop him by hook or by crook. The story wasn't as bad in the starting it was great until it was reasonable but when characters don't communicate and go awry by the concept of "lied for his own good"… its disappointing.
Even if they wanted to make TTEOTM angsty, there must have been a limit to misunderstandings and then reconciliation again and again. The story is pretty much predictable especially in the later half because you basically know that you can't expect anything better with these reckless, moody, jealousy driven characters.
TTEOTM isn't all bad and there were factors that I did enjoy like the second leads Ye Qingyu and Pian Ran's story, Tantai Jin and Xiao Lin's unsung bond… and since I'm questioning the logic of the plot at many places, maybe many things would make sense if the drama was not abruptly cut short by 16 episodes. Because 16 is sure A LOT!… …but if we were going to get this same thing for those 16 episodes too, I'm happy Chinese censorship exists.
For a Xianxia cum Wuxia the story isn't much special but the acting was phenomenal! Especially Luo Yunxi won me with his devilish role. I swear no one could play TTJ or the Devil God like him! TTJ's loneliness, trust issues, obsession all came out so much because it was Luo. Even his Ming Ye who is on the positive end was acted awesome! Hat's off to whoever casted him… although Bai Lu's all three characters were kinda similar but she was successful in making most of the emotional scenes impactful.
Their chemistry doesn't need words. They look so much good together that even with this lackluster plot I stayed and finished this drama. I don't mind if the producers bring a season 2, don't give us any story, anything, just send these two on a date on the day of Chinese New Year, let the emotionless TTJ feel warmth with Ye Xiwu and let them hang out (let the world or three realms be kept aside) and I'll watch that too lol xDDDD. But "no saving people and three realms plot please, I insist"
I was quite impressed by the acting of Sun Zhen Ni (as Pian Ran), Deng Wei (Xiao Lin) and Chen Du Ling (Ye Bingchang). While the first two made me love their characters, Chen duling's roles were so despicable that we need to agree she's such a good actress. After all playing a beautiful bitch who is both hateful and pitiable isn't an easy task.
Acting sure made this drama little entertaining for me till the end. Or I would've dropped this somewhere in the middle when things changed abruptly in the drama…. OST… hmm… There were a dozen songs that went well with the shots but none were that special to be heard again.
CGI was very pretty in some scenes, almost top notch and the costumes often took my attention. I think the makers focused more on their outer beauty and making it mesmerizing like all those snow shots. Wish they invested more on the script rather than all this eye-catchy stuff.
So we get impressive acting, complex three characters for every actor, a failed plot and satisfying CGI. That's how I define Till the end of the moon.
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Fascinating Study of an Antihero Demon and the Heroic Immortal
Wow, this blew me away with how good it is so far even though I'm not a Xianxia die hard. This is no fluffy youth drama and even the romance is not really emphasized in the initial episodes. It's high budget with big name stars that live up to its expectations of an engaging storyline that is a complex character study of the ML. The relationship between the ML and FL is also complicated as she needs to save him to prevent future calamity even though he had harmed her immortal family and sect. The storyline, plotting, and pacing are done fairly well and my hope is the quality will be maintained for future episodes.The initial episodes are dedicated to examining how the Antihero ML was bullied, was considered an outcast and a harbinger of bad omens. He is shunned and tossed off by his father who is the king of the Jing Kingdom and becomes a hostage prince in the Sheng Kingdom. I've seen the ML in Love like Ashes and he knocks his role out of the park with this one. He fits the Bryonic antihero character like a glove. His mannerisms and facial expressions reflecting the darkness, moodiness and the numbness from the betrayals and lack of love in his life. The morally grey leanings and his pale physical appearance of being emaciated paves the path for his eventual rise to become the Demon Lord. I've also been impressed with Bai Lu the FL, she seems to have picked some good projects in the last few years (one or two bad ones) with storylines that have depth and are not conventional (Arsenal Military Academy, Beautiful Bones).
A must watch in 2023 for Xianxia Cdrama fans who like dark storylines.
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just amazing i was eagerly waiting for this
i think bai lu and luo yun xi always slay ituntil now my favorite drama is love is sweet
imagine how good they will look as a real life couple
we just love it so guys keep supporting this couple and don't forget to give 10 on10
plz upload more episodes fastly they just slay it i was expecting this form them and they come out clean on my expectations
i think that's all for this drama
expecting more from till the end of the moon part 2
and please upload faslty we can't wait
and any kpop fan here i am a blink tell who are you if you are a fan of k pop
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This review may contain spoilers
TTEOTM compelled me to make my first MDL review
Till the End of the Moon (TTEOTM) was adapted from a DARK ROMANCE novel literally entitled, "Black Moonlight Guaranteed Bad Ending Script". Please let that clue you in but not deter you from watching the drama.The story mostly follows the plot of the source material. On the toxicity of the ML and FL, the drama does not even compare to how cruel these characters are to each other in the novel. I do not defend toxic relationships in real life but this fictional premise is set up for the characters to hate and love in equal measures. Li Susu, who saw the annihilation of the sects and the destruction caused by Devil God, was sent back to kill evil fetus Tantai Jin. While drama Tantai Jin is more sympathetic, it doesn't remove the fact that his existence means eventual destruction. Li Susu is ruthless because their love, hate, and personal desires are secondary compared to the saving of the Three Realms. The inherent conflict is already there.
Xianxias are influenced by the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism thus showing concepts like Yin and Yang, severing worldly desires to attain immortality, and living in harmony with the universe.
These are overarching themes that go beyond the typical love story and the reason why the drama ended so.
I personally thought the editing of the first quarter of the drama was on point but suffered from occasional editing issues after that due to the regulation change. The Bo're Dream arc should have been shortened to flesh out the mortal and immortal arcs more. It would have been nice if more focus on the resolutions of different storylines was made, too. However, the story was mostly intact and comprehensible.
The acting of most of the cast is unassailable. Luo Yunxi and Bailu embodied the different characters they portrayed with such deftness. It was amazing to see the nuances in their behaviors and mannerisms so you can tell them apart not just because of the costumes.
Speaking of which, these are perhaps some of the most beautiful and impactful costumes I've seen. The designer drew inspiration from different Chinese cultural elements and really brought forth the resurgence of the Dunhuang style.
The CGI was outstanding especially in the battle scenes and the sceneries for the different realms. I do not know what standards people have for special effects but I have seen several xianxias and TTEOTM has one of the best.
The OST and scoring were fine but nothing to rave about. There were occasional jarring use of that romcom style song that I personally thought didn't suit the drama as a whole. I do recall two specific scenes that had perfect use of soundtrack - Black Bird for the Water Festival scene and the OST used for the farewell talk between TTJ and LSS in the last episode. Those gave me goosebumps.
As for the rewatch value, let me just say that in my years of drama watching, I have not rewatched any because I feel the time I have spent watching it once is enough already. However with TTEOTM, I have not only rewatched scenes but entire episodes so that I can fully appreciate the details. I am even planning to rewatch the entire thing from the first episode. LOL!
Many of us here watched TTEOTM and know that it has its highs and lows. We love it because, even with its flaws, it resonates with us. It is perfectly imperfect and it is one for the books.
P.S. Many of us still can't over it and if it is true for you too, please join us in our friendly forum community. 😊
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Good graphics; Bad plot.
Tried to like this show… truly, but simply too many plot holes, inconsistent writing, strange character progression. Let’s start with the good:- Set design - Amazing graphics, a very believable world, all the imagery/backgrounds enhance a great aesthetic. 10/10 for me .
- Music - Wonderful soundtracks throughout the show 10/10 as well.
- Acting - I’ve been a fan of both main actors, they fit the roles given and did a great job. All side actors were also perfect in their roles!
That’s it for the good parts. Now onto the writing (or lack of)
- Plot: What is even happening? The hero goes from being a victim to being the perpetrator, the FL is from the future but is involving herself in past drama like any of it would matter (since you know, the world has literally ended in 500 years), the ML never questions where the world-Turing jade went, even though he knew it was a huge harmful thing?! That’s just one example of all the ridiculous plot holes. 2/10
- Characters: The ML has Stockholm Syndrome, the FL forgets her mission every 5 minutes. Ye Bingchang is NOT different from the male lead, she’s also doing what takes (in her mind) to survive. Writers purposely make her hateable, most likely to instigate fans who they know will jump on things like that. The fox demon doesn’t need that relationship, it seems forced by writers and she’s not over her last one.
The only character I liked consistently for 40 episodes was Xiao Lin. Honest, stuck to his own principles, calm and rational. 4/10
- Ending: The less we say about it, the better. It’s not happy and for me, not worth the whole drama just to lead there 0/10
- Romance: Is there I suppose. There are some very sweet “aw” moments. But the fact that almost all relationships are toxic in a stupid way (not in an entertaining way) really undermines the romance. 5/10
- Arcs: Dream arc - why?! Just why waste multiple episodes on a strange dream that could’ve been told in 1-2 eps. The god/goddess arc is a good attempt, but confusing at times and very awkwardly written.
One positive is that the FL somehow succeeds in her mission and the world doesn’t collapse, although by the end I wanted their fictional universe to be over already. 2/10 for the flow of the story.
TLDR - Special effects, music and actors are great; but the lack of flow throughout the story, confusing plot full of holes and all the unlikeable characters with zero decision-making skills really ruined the show.
Huge budget and good acting, wasted on awful scriptwriting.
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Top level of entertainment. Can’t say the same about the quality of writing.
I want to start by saying - I did enjoy the show a lot, almost till the end. I watched the episodes as soon as they dropped. That said, I’m not gonna pretend like it’s some writing masterpiece - it’s not. It often hits the “teen’s first fanfic” level. Did I mind? Not really. I went into it for the Dear Daddy Devil and Bai Lu’s acting, and these two aspects were easily 10/10.What did the drama do great? Tantai Jin’s arc. The questions of predestined path, freedom and choice, the importance of having the supportive community and people that trust and love. How much of where we end is on us, and how much can be explained by how others treat us? At which point we should take responsibility? Is revenge and justice the same? What’s more important - trust or perceived truth? Surprisingly a lot of depth in his story. Sadly, the writers had some issues with keeping Tantai Jin's wits and cunning nature and also progressing the plot - which led to quite a few moments when his brain must have been turned off to make such dumb choices.
Luo Yun Xi in the role? Pure perfection. The emo angst fits him so well, I was in awe. Whatever you ask from him - he will deliver it and more, in the most beautiful and heartbreaking way. I never knew an actor who presents suffering in such a stunning way.
Then we have Li Su Su played by Bai Lu. What a performance. She did great as a more idealistic and naive Su Su, desperate and driven Xi Wu, and the duality of Sang Jiu. Each character/persona was easily distinguishable with the portrayal. The angst and pain Bai Lu can deliver - be it extreme or subtle - was just phenomenal and truly breaking one’s heart. I don’t think the character herself has much to offer though. Any weaker performance than the perfection Bai Lu presented, would make Li Su Su either boring or insufferable. I just feel bad for the girl, because the writers obviously did not give a fuck about this character… She was this great thanks to the actress and the chemistry she had with Luo Yun Xi.
And that chemistry should be illegal. How can such a questionable and build on a toxic fundamentals relationship still seem so amazing, beautiful and perfect? Love, hate, hope, trust, doubt, protection, resentment, fear - what a mix of conflicting emotions and motivations. And that complexity was what made this duo so entertaining and such a blast to watch.
Beside the main characters, I want to give big props to Chen Du Ling who played Ye Bing Chang. How much I hated this character, how much I loved the performance. It’s also impossible not to appreciate Pian Ran - stunning arc as a side plot, amazing conclusion fitting the plot, great performance by Sun Zhen Ni.
Talking about the characters, it’s time to talk about the biggest sin this show and the writer committed - they made everyone so dumb, I did not even care who will win and who will lose, because I did not see a bright future no matter which side gets the victory.
So many things did not make any sense, but you cannot really call them plot holes, because they kind of had an explanation - lack of working brain cells. At first I found it amusing, but at some point it just frustrated me on a whole new level. You don’t know how to write a proper conflict and the origin of it, so you just make your character dumb for a few scenes to set it up.
That also led to repetitive scenes and arcs - just rewriting the same moments we have seen a few episodes ago, with small changes here and there. Refusing to give your characters’ proper character development can only lead to them making the same mistakes over and over and over again. This is one man show, and all the other characters are just a background for his story.
I have to say though, I’m quite impressed with the directing and editing taking into consideration how much of the plot and scenes had to be cut down to fit the 40 episodes format. Yes, there were many moments that the pacing seemed like a car chase, but the overall story was still relatively easy to follow and understand. On the other hand, the make-up artists need to change their careers, because the thing these actors had on their faces should be illegal to present to the public. Loved the costumes, liked the set and magical objects designs. Loved how they Sailor Moon changed their clothes when they reached new powers.
The soundtrack had some good moments, but there were also “oops” bits like them playing a pop royalty free facebook ads like music in the background in the last episode.
Overall, I had a lot of fun, later I had less fun, by the end I had a lot of fun ranting. One could say it’s a full on personal journey I had with this drama, and they would not be wrong.
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Psychopatic Male Cinderella
To sum up:Not as good as the promo materials, but might be the best xianxia out there.
The trailer doesn't really do justice as it barely shows the beautiful cinematography.
Fast paced.
It's the best xianxia in terms of cinematography, visual effects, and acting.
Tantai Jin was not a typical xianxia's demon lord. In the early stage, he's more of a psycho in a xianxia setting. It's not easy to bring this character to life as he had no precedence in c-drama world. This is not a straightforward "love melt the demon lord's heart" trope as ML had a problem to function like normal human. It's a difficult character and cannot be compared with other xianxia ML.
In fact the closest character to Tantai Jin is not in c-drama land, but Hannibal from the tv series. Not saying Luo Yunxi's acting is Mads Mikkelsen level, but there are many similarity in the way the show managed to make the audience nervous on whether or not the main character was sincere or just faking it. This is the most terrifying thing about these characters and this c-drama managed to present this element to certain extent.
In Hannibal interview, Mikkelsen said Hannibal was Lucifer in human suit. Luo Yunxi actually pulled similar things in the early stage of the drama. There's something uncanny about Tantai Jin that you know he was not really human. Luo Yunxi was acting a character that was acting as human and there bound to be some flaws in the act. This flaws need to be brought on screen and this is not easy since they are not natural to the human actor. This demands a lot of restrains and layered performance.
An example of this is eps. 8. You wondered whether Tantai Jin was sad or not. His eyes showed a hint of sadness, but the expression was not really sad. Luo Yunxi must have put a lot of restrain during this scene. Other times, it was the opposite. The expression didn't reach the eyes.
The acting was pretty subtle. That's why when Tantai Jin showed his manic sides such as eps. 4, it's really memorable.
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This review may contain spoilers
the luo yunxi juice is strong and the only reason this show is so popular
Ok this show... I dont even know where to begin. Not all of it was this god awful, most of the time it was entertaining and mid, but when it was bad, it was SHOCKINGLY TERRIBLE. And at its best, this show entered the Marvel cinematic hell zone, where everything thats happening is on such a massively large apocalyptic world ending stakes so high that it just ends up becoming boring and meaningless. Tantai Jin is basically a total saint by the end, just a victim of cruel fate and Susu is literally a god, none of the main characters feel like they are being lead by any sort of complexity or humanity, they are just wholeheartedly devoted to the cause of saving the world from evil. Tbh not once were we really shown why it’s worth fighting for, they just say it is because it’s the world and that’s enough for them and most viewers I guess… but like a good writer would really make me FEEL the urgency. I’m not saying that world ending massive epic high stakes will always be boring or unrelatable- all it takes is characters that are well written and the addition of themes that have something important or new to say, but this show absolutely doesn't have that. I'm not even really sure what the theme is other than a generic people can change for the better and you really can love a bad boy into being a good boy LOL.Okay I will start w the only truly good thing I will say about the show. The costume design for the gods is actually the best I've seen in a xianxia, which isnt saying much because it's usually absolute shit. And while I wouldn't say the gods had Good costume design, it was at least Better than what I've seen. Like they ACTUALLY referenced Chinese Buddhist imagery of gods/flying apsaras/feitian which gives it a feeling of both historical reference, as well as a more retro vibe from older C-dramas and their depiction of gods and immortals. Truly a balm for the eyes in the sea of pale ass transparent gauzy layers of hanfu with drop earrings. I will NEVER forgive 3L3W for the shit costume design that has become the standard in xianxia!! Thank you cyjm for doing something different!!! Not even that good it's just different!!! HOWEVER other than the gods the styling was absolutely terrible.
Onto character + relationship writing... Tantai Jin is of course the beloved darling of the show, (and of the internet... and of my mom) who gets so much time and attention and yet his character makes so little impact for me. It's quite funny to me that he is supposed to be 'evil' and yet the writers are so precious w him he cannot be blamed or disliked for even a second. He truly does nothing that is actually morally contemptible and the writers have gone in circles and circles with ridiculous plot shit and other eviler evildoer characters to make sure that he is essentially completely blame free by the narrative. Even in the beginning, when he was at his most interesting and basically whatever the writer's flawed perception of a psychopath is, he literally only ever hurt his abusers and people who betrayed him. And while those people were sympathetic, it also meant that TTJ never does anything that would truly make the audience question their support of him or of what's right and wrong. He never hurts the truly innocent. There's no villain who you can't help but root for, just a bullied and abused man who also happens to look like a beautiful manhua character come to life who never does anything wrong!!! It's simply cowardly to only make characters that are perfectly likable and do not do anything genuinely morally reprehensible and then CLAIM that he is some morally ambiguous ML. And do not tell me this is the fault of censorship when there are plenty MLs in cdramaland who are pretty bad and do bad things. Even when he takes his place as ruler in Jing country he does it as peacefully as possible and treats all citizens as his own and provides aid to refugees and everyone loves and respects him LIKE??? COME ONNNN LMAOOOOO he is literally FAULTLESS.
He's at his most flawed in the grand disaster of his relationship w Ye Xiwu but even then his obsession and possessiveness remained firmly in the land of fantasy of beautiful powerful deranged man who is obsessed w u, and wasn't really pushed That far into gross and creepy. It gets closer after she dies, I was actually genuinely hopeful that he was going to learn when Ye Qingyu yells at him but the final note is still that TTJ loved her so much he wanted to die with her, fuck the country and everyone else! And when he couldn't die he suffered endless torment for 500 years for her! Isn't that romantic instead of absolutely INSANE. Again this is what I mean by Marvel factor, like the 500 years of suffering is SO meaningless to me and it's truly just some peak crazy dog blood cringe writing!!! Like hmm, how can we up the stakes and make it as clear as possible that this love is so powerful and extreme? LETS PICK A BIG INCOMPREHENSIBLE NUMBER YEARS OF TORTURE. This is a middle school idea of devotion, hardship and love. All the writing does is take shortcuts to make manipulative emotional impacts instead of actually writing a good character and relationship arc lmao. China has always been prone to these very annoyingly dramatic epic you die I die self sacrificing portrayals of love which I absolutely hate and cyjm is just a classic example of this that is possibly even worse than those that have come before it.
There was potential for TTJ but so much of the show is just griefporn and him being relentlessly abused and betrayed whether it's by the people around him or by some kind of inescapable fate. And its all so that Susu can save him over and over and he can fall deeper and deeper in love with the only person who cared for him, which is also just more of the tropey Chinese fantasy view of what the deepest form of love is- one that is formed when you only know abuse and pain and One person is nice to you. It's how they keep making desperate unhinged trauma bonding instead of love. Like, if you think about it it's not even that romantic because he didn't fall in love and choose Susu for her character, or her strengths, but because she was the only person who was good to him and she kept saving him over and over... which she only did because she didnt have a choice anyway and it was for the fate of humanity!! It's not like their relationship has nothing going for it, its just not convincing enough. I wish that LSS could've inspired care for others in him beyond that scene with the fireworks granny, and the show showed through actions how she has inspired him, instead of just telling us over and over that shes the reason he has feelings now when all I saw was one measly fireworks scene, and many fluffy meaningless cutesy acts of service and gift giving scenes on top of a random ass dream where they lived as totally different people so the writers could take another lazy shortcut and make him become a better person by experiencing SOMEONE ELSE's LIFE and LOVE instead of HIS OWN. There are things in his story that genuinely have potential, his relationship w Xiao Lin is interesting, he has Nian Baiyu and an entire clan of people who are devoted to him, he also has fun relationships w Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu with decent basis for further development. I really wanted these parts to be explored more and it doesnt take that much time honestly, like it literally just couldve been a few extra scenes (and it wouldnt hurt to throw in some scenes of him with the common people too and learning their struggle!!!) so it wouldnt feel like such a massive jump between the abused and amoral hostage prince TTJ and the Genuinely Good Ruler TTJ. I barely even want to touch on the massive leap between him being relentlessly tormented for 500 years, unhinged don’t care abt anything but YXW to becoming a good boy cultivator who then spends the rest of the show impossibly pure and morally just. It's ridiculous, and you cannot blame this on the story being cut when plenty of other shows have less time and make much better characters and usage of the time that they have. It actually makes ZERO sense, the writers just need his character to be at a different place so they force it to happen.
Li Susu is more or less a blank slate of a character who only exists to be the hero and antithesis to the devil god. She doesn’t have much of any internal logic or core, no depth, she just exists to be whatever the writers need her to be in that moment. She oscillates constantly between forgetting her duty and remembering depending on which will create the most conflict, and then spending the 2nd half the show knocked out unconscious, or running around LOST while TTJ is spitting blood getting the shit beaten out of him ahgjkakjkfjkd tbh u kno the writers are like we need to make Luo Yunxi spit out more blood dramatically and beautifully for all the freaky fans who want to see beautiful men in pain, so LSS will have ZERO SENSE OF DIRECTION…… EVEN THO THEY ARE IN THE SAME PLACE AND SHE CANT BE MORE THAN A BLOCK AWAY!!!
And despite supposedly being smart the writers decide to disrespect her character and make her lose all sense just so they can continue to protect their precious baby TTJ so he remains a Good Boy. It was so genuinely frustrating to watch all of the events that lead to Xiao Lin’s death and subsequently YXW's that basically absolved TTJ of any blame, put all of the blame on Ye Bingchang, who is just evil because misogyny, and made LSS believe stupid shit at the drop of a hat like that TTJ killed her grandma, who isn’t even really her grandma, based on ZERO EVIDENCE. The writing was truly SO FUCKING BADDDDD and for WHAT!!! You LAZY writers!! Just so that neither FL or ML are bad people??? So instead they just made them STUPID??? Was it THAT hard to write a genuine conflict between these two extremely morally opposed people?? They literally went out of their way making an annoying multi step plot with useless branches like grandma dying to AVOID creating complex characters! Imagine if the writers were capable of writing two characters who are both flawed and naturally have conflict AND still love each other!!
Ok onto plot… I’ve already touched on the Marvel vibe which is a definite issue… but also the plot writing is just SO nonsensical and absolutely purposeless at so many points. Like they have such limited time and they are just WASTING it… if something isn’t working just cut it entirely!! Just fill it w parts that actually do matter! And I really do have to talk about the spinning flaming wheel of a train wreck disaster that is the dream arc…. like bro….. BRO…….. WHAT THE FUCK….. because of this arc I actually STOPPED watching for a good month (and would’ve dropped it for good had real life not presented itself w so many stresses i had to escape by binge watching the most fast paced candy at 2x the speed). They wrote the worst love story I’ve seen since Hua Qiangu, with the flattest, most insipid characters with the stupidest motivations and expected not only the Actual Main characters of the show to feel something for them much less the audience who are living in reality. You expect me to believe TTJ and LSS LEARNED smth from this?? Had I gone through this it just would’ve jokerfied me immediately, I would’ve spit blood and qi deviated, not been like wow their love is so sad and beautiful. Sang Jiu and Ming Ye have even LESS basis for loving each other than the main couple, they make LSS and TTJ look like they have substance, my god. And then we have to spend not one or two episodes just to establish lore here, we spend like WELL OVER 8 if not TEN episodes… I’m not counting, that’s just how it FELT… like an ETERNITY!!!! Good lord TIAN HUAN….. I FELT LIKE I WAS LAUNCHED INTO 2001…. and then they had YBC be like I’m not her because she’s pathetic and she sucks LIKE??? So the writers know that she’s nothing but a pure misogynistic lazy and stupid writer’s trope?? Then why force your viewers to watch ten unBEARABLE episodes with her singlehandedly being the cause of everything wrong and bad in the story, including commit GENOCIDE so that Sang Jiu is jokerfied?? Why purposefully make BAD writing that you KNOW is bad and expect viewers to still enjoy it?? The miscommunications… the whole scene where Ming Ye divorces her…. I have never felt so insulted that I was expected to watch this and feel anything other than pure offense. This makes YBC indirectly causing XL’s death look like HIGH ART.
cw sexual assault
And THEN oh my god… something that NO ONE seems to want to talk about but HELLO??? The CONSENT ISSUES???? Did everyone’s morals FLY OUT THE WINDOW??? And I don’t just mean Sang Jiu and the writers I mean the AUDIENCE??? I don’t care if the narrative is saying it’s okay and it’s romantic actually because Ming Ye loves her and was into it… the point is that he could not consent in that state!! AND THEN…. they had the GALL to make SJ take care of him while he’s blind SECRETLY so that he doesn’t know it’s her, and she licherally says ‘he would never forgive me if he knew it was me’ ??!!!! So they KNOW that it’s wrong and they STILL WROTE IT?? Imagine if the genders were reversed and a woman’s rapist is taking the opportunity while she’s blind and injured to get close to her, lying and pretending to be Not her rapist ex husband…. it is literally just so emotionally violent, the grossest violation of a human being’s basic boundaries, respect and ability to make any kind of informed decision. Literally just imagine if she wasn’t a cute girl and picture the most cringe, pathetic incel stalker LMAOOOO. It doesn’t matter WHO it is when the action itself is the grossest violation!!! This show was always doomed to fail at portraying LSS and TTJ’s relationship in the first place since the entire core of their relationship is a struggle of good vs evil, but the writers have no concept or understanding of what that even means. They only know ‘bad people hurt people and by hurt we only know to mean cause physical pain or kill.’ Like I honest to god felt sick watching these episodes... Anyway even if the rest of the show was just mid-bad this arc puts it into atrocity territory, and it would’ve been SO easy to cut out because it was sooo inconsequential, out of character, RANDOM, and didn’t need to happen for any reason other than to set up some lore. They could’ve made TTJ and YBC change through CHARACTER WRITING…. this DID NOT need to happen.
Otherwise the plot is choppy, many pacing issues, general stupidity that is only good for un-critical mindless viewing. You just really can't take it seriously. Many people had issues w the ending and said it was terribly edited but I honestly didn't even really see much of a difference. I don't give a shit abt TTJ or LSS because they are poorly written and I'm not convinced by them or rooting for them, so I felt nothing by the end. The fact that TTJ dies and it's a BE after pretending to be evil to get LSS to kill him is simply just proof that the show is continuing its road of straightforward plot led thoughtless storytelling. They just followed their own rules and didn't try to do anything different, just the boring usual shit.
Anyway, that’s it for all my gripes. Sorry y’all like so much but it’s so stupid and mid/bad, only worth watching if you can put aside your brain fully (which I kind of needed since Real Life is Hard) for the pure entertainment of many dramatic things happening, and tbh the real reason people like it and TTJ so much is because of Luo Yunxi’s extremely expensive and unnatural face and they get off on him getting tortured to varying capacities. This show is just beautiful manhua man torture fetish hours, endless epic drama w no substance and the ppl who like it THIS much had their brains rotted by Luo Yunxi juice.
Ok that’s it, don’t @ me I don’t care.
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Too good, might as well be the best xianxia this year
This drama is phenomenal. It quickly climbed to my top one rewatch series, and it will surely stay there for a while. I can say that this is the first time I am not utterly disappointed with the FL losing consistency in her mission when she meets the ML. The first time i see a FL so determined to finish her mission and not give it up for love. LYX really is a masterclass actor, he is able to showcase so many different characters and not even one of them looks or behaves the same. Bai Lu also did phenomenally well in bringing me close to her characters. No stupid ML nor FL.ACTORS/ACTRESSES
LYX plays Tantai Jin, Ming Ye, Cang JuiMin and one more character that i will let you find for yourselves. Every character is totally different from the others, you can differentiate them from one another just by the way they walk, talk and look at the female lead. Let me break them down below.
Tantai Jin is our male lead and to an extent, the antagonist. He is a mortal born as the vessel for the Ancient Devil God, aka devil fetus, and he possesses the evil bone needed/ for the resurrection of the ADG. He is a complex character, and the same goes for Cang JiuMin. He was born without feelings and love thread, born to live miserably and get betrayed; all for the ressurection of the Ancient Devil God. And he does not know that truth, he just thinks the world is cruel and ugly, especially to him. Born in Jing Kingdom, he was sent as a hostage prince to Sheng Empire, where he spent the majority of his life in the Cold Palace. He got married to Ye Xi Wu, and continued to suffer. He is utterly cold and unmoved, sinister and calculating, willing to do anything for his survival, and ready to pay you back ten fold if you betray him. He is evil, but we are shown that side of him a less compared to the novel. When Tantai Jin dies, he becomes the Devil God, and that is another character all together. More ruthless and evil than Tantai Jin, the ultimate Devil God that will destroy the four continents and three worlds, not carrying for anything or anyone. More about the Devil God after Cang JiuMin's section.
Ming Ye was the God of War in the Shangqing realm, who was alive 10 000 years prior to the current timeline. He is a dragon from the East Sea. He was the typical XianXia God, detached from worldly desires, but determined to save the world. When he was on the brick of death, he was saved by Sang Jiu, whom he later married. Due to a misunderstanding, he divorced Sang Jiu, ready to die in the upcoming God x Ancient Devil God war. He was again saved by Sang Jiu, who looked after the injured Ming Ye and healed him. You would think after all the misunderstanding they will have their happily ever after, alas their fate had other plans.
Cang JiuMin is an immortal that was saved from the bank of the Nether river by the Xiaoyao sect's master Zhaoyou. He was taught immortal arts, and missed his wife for 500 years. In order to find her soul and resurrect her, he stayed in XiaoYao sect to look for ways to bring his dead wife back to life. He is different from Tantai Jin, but has his memories and is ultimately a changed Tantai Jin. He no longer sees the world as cruel and ugly, he is not evil or sinister, he is a changed person that misses his wife. He meets Li Susu and discovers she was his wife 500 years ago. Alas again fate has other plans.
Devil God TTJ/CJM - this character can also be broken down to 2 different characters - Devil God 2.0 that we see in episode 1, and Devil God 3.0 that will greet us around the last 5 episodes of the drama. The difference between 2.0 and 3.0 is like the moon and the sun. Devil God 2.0 is more cruel and ruthless than TTJ, he cares about nothing and no one, he wants to destroy the world as the world only showed him cruelty and misery. Devil God 3.0 is a Devil that loves the world and loves Li SuSu. A Devil God that has only one mission - save the world that Li SuSu loves so much.
Bai Lu plays Ye Xi Wu, Sang Jiu and Li SuSu. Here again you can differentiate between the three characters, with the difference that Li SuSu goes back in time and resides in the body of Ye Xi Wu.
Li Susu is our female lead. She is the daughter of the Hengyuan sect's leader Qu Xuanzi. She is the dearest daughter of Qu Xuanzi and she is protected and spoiled by him. She is called The Lady of Spirituality as her body is the purest immortal body that cannot be tainted by evil. Li SuSu is a complex character. She witnessed the wiping of the immortal world and the death of her family first hand. They could only send her back to time to stop the birth of the Devil God. When she goes back to 500 years ago and meets Tantai Jin, she is even more determined to stop him and finish her mission. Bare in mind she does not have to kill him, but destroy the evil bones. And she does everything she can to finish this mission, even if it costs her life as Ye Xi Wu.
Sang Jiu was the clam princess that lived 10 000 years ago during the time Ming Ye lived. She was in love with Ming Ye as she witnessed him defend the Mo River from the demons. She is born a demon, but with divine essence, meaning she can ascend to godhood. The clam clan is neutral towards both gods or demons. After Ming Ye almost dies, Sang Jiu saves him, but pays a price for that decision. She marries Ming Ye, but due to misunderstandings she ends up getting divorced. She saves Ming Ye yet again, but ends up paying a greater price for the decision of saving Ming Ye time and time again.
Ye Xi Wu is the body that Li SuSu ends up in when she goes back to 500 years ago. She is the daughter of the Ye family - a noble family. She is also the wife of TTJ. The original Ye Xi Wu was cruel to everyone and utterly spoiled by her family. She was also bullying TTJ. When Li SuSu ends up in her body, she is determined to finish her mission. She may seem cruel to TTJ, but that all is because she needs to save the world from the destruction TTJ will bring if he dies with the evil bones intact. It is thanks to her we end up seeing Cang JiuMin in the immortal world.
CDL plays Ye BingChan, Tian Huan and Mo Nv, she is an antagonist throughout her 3 roles.
YBC is the sister of YXW and a daughter of aconcubine. She loves no one but herself, and is the reason for so many of the things that happen to TTJ, YXW and Xiao Lin. She is married to Xiao Lin, but she is constantly insecure and paranoid Xiao Lin will leave her.
Tian Huan was a fairy in the Shangqing realm, who was in love with Ming Ye. She is the daughter of the previous God of War and Ming Ye's master. She is utterly despicable and the reason for everything that happens to MY and SJ.
Mo Nv is a drought demon that was saved from the immortals by the Ancient Devil God and made into an umbrella. She was send to the mortal world for 10 lifes so she can rebuild her soul. She has memories of her life as YBC and is in love with GYJW.
DW as Xiao Lin, Sang You and Gong Ye Ji Wu.
Xiao Lin is the crown prince of the Sheng Empire. He is righteous, honorable, and a pure person. He is married to YBC, whom he loves.
Sang You is the clam demon prince and brother of Sang Jiu. He is the closest to Sang Jiu and often ends up protecting her from harms.
Gong Ye Ji Wu is the senior sect brother of Li SuSu. His character goes through a change that makes us as an audience not stand him.
SZN as Pian Ran
Pian Ran is a nine tailed fox demon that once loved a mortal. She lost her love thread when he died. She is alluring and cunning, sweet and cute, and all in all behaves like a fox. She meets Ye Qing Yu and gradially falls in love with him. Pian Ran lost 2 of her tails when she escaped the Barren Abyss, the place where demons reside.
GYT as Ye Qing Yu
Ye Qing Yu is the second brother of YXW, a comandable general on the battlefield. He meets Pian Ran and falls for her. He is also the type of person that will wake you up if you try to delude yourself - the wake up alarm if you will. He is really honorable and upright.
Every point from acting, costumes, OST, CGI, FX is really well made. This drama brings the whole genre one stage up, not level but stage up. It is so well done that you would not get bored as every character is intresting. The main plot has almost no plot holes, but due to it being cut down from 54 episodes to 40, there are many scenes missing in the immortal part of the drama. Nevertheless, i would say the drama follows the novel for about 65 to 70%, with changes here and there, but the overall main plot is consistent with the novel one.
Rewatch value: 10/10
You can try the drama for yourself and see if it's your cup of tea. Happy watching!
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