Potato the cutie
Planet Earth
This review may contain spoilers
The idea was there, but......
¡¡Disclaimer!!
This review is based on my personal opinion/experience while watching, you're free to agree/disagree with it. This is a very lengthy review so if you're not into reading that go ahead and skip it.
So I watched this series around 4 years ago, and I was super excited because of the hype around it, but sadly the show didn't live up to that hype, and now after rewatching it (because I like to torture myself like that lol) I can see why exactly this series was a serious let down, mind you I was a an early teen, so that should say something. «Ice fantasy», as the name would imply, is about a fantasy world where the rulers wield ice powers. It's a very cliche idea with the ice and fire tribes being at war, and because I like fantasy, I decided to give it a go. At first I was very intrigued by the costume designs and the the characters, but my excitement started decreasing gradually as I watched further, and by episode 32 I started skipping around 30 minutes of each episode, and when episode 39 hit I was close to dropping this whole thing from how frustrating it turned out to be, but regardless, I pushed through and finished it only to be hit with the disappointment of the century. There's a second season for those who are interested and let me tell ya, it gets worse there so I really don't recommend watching it unless you're only watching for the cast, which in that case, I also advice against it, the first season isn't great but it's far better than the second. I wanted to review this because it was one of my very first Chinese fantasy-based dramas, and my initial ratings back then were really different because of how disappointed I was, but because of the special place it holds in my heart, I rated it a bit higher than it deserves.
Anyway, without any further ado, let's proceed with this review (it's gonna be really really long, you've been warned lol)
Plot/story:
The story is a very cliche story, but despite that, it's not a horrible one. Like don't get me wrong, it's quite bad compared to other shows, but it's still watchable here and there, sometimes even good, but my main issue was the hype around it back then. The plot in itself isn't bad, but the execution was sub-par. The first 20 episodes or so (the mostly good ones) were about the war between the two tribes of ice and fire and how the last two princes of the ice kingdom had to collect items called the ice crystals(?) or something from the tribe leaders of their kingdom's allies to save their kingdom while dealing with the fire princess (and sometimes her brother) who is aiming to get the same artifacts. The second quarter is about the competition between the two ice brothers for the throne (which wasn't a competition really, more of a brother's sacrifice so his brother can gain his freedom cuz his older brother is spineless and careless and isn't really able to shoulder such responsibility tbh) with the slight interference of some side characters here and there and an unnecessary addition of the LIs of the two(?) brothers (honestly it's mostly the older dude but we can include the fire princess.....ig). The third quarter is about the adventures of the current ice king as he tries to revive some characters, but of course, some characters die on the road and they can't be revived again because, reasons apparently. And finally the last quarter is nothing but a very unnecessary love triangle and a fire princess struggling with her identity as she starts questioning her father's (and her tribe's) morals and ways. Of course, another war between the fire and ice tribes begins, and you can probably guess how it ends.
I really tried to emit the major events from this review so you won't be really spoiled if you decide to watch anyways, but honestly, it's really not worth watching after episode 32 or so, and even that is a stretch, unless you like Victoria, Tian Yu, William, and the rest of the cast (which are really good) of course, but the plot is really not worth it. It feels like the script was changed mid production or something, because almost all the good elements of the show started to disappear after around episode 20. Some plot points were left unanswered, other major plot points were completely illogical and made absolutely zero sense and some turns of events had me banging my head against the wall. The storyline still has some redeeming qualities tho, like the relationship (somewhat of a bromance if I may say so myself) between the two siblings (honestly, they should've been lovers instead, not in an incest way ofc, because -spoiler- they're not even slightly related, and they had more chemistry than them with the other characters separately. Don't get me wrong, the chemistry between Victoria and William's characters is good, but in comparison to that of his and Tian Yu's character? The latter takes the cake).
Acting/cast:
I'll be honest here, the acting was the only thing keeping me from wanting to throw my phone away every five minutes. But the characters in themselves are written horribly, especially that of Ka Sou, Lan Shang (hers in the first half) and Li Lou (hers in the second), those three were done so dirty you can't even fathom how sad I am for them, how did they even agree to such script? Also, the characters kept preaching about how Ka Sou is the most powerful person when in reality it's actually Ying Kong Shi, and if you're doubtful about this specific statement just watch them from episode 15 to 39, my guy Shi is the only one with somewhat of a logical thinking and the strengths and aspects of his abilities is revealed in these episodes. Compare his powers and mindset to Ka Sou's and you'll see what I mean.
Prince/king Ka Sou:
Why is he the main character exactly? This guy barely has any good qualities. He cares about his friends and people, he doesn't discriminate (most of the time), he loves his family, and he's loyal, but that's about it, and if you look closely, those are the basics of human decency. For a guy who is supposedly so powerful and righteous, his character strikes me as the most useless in this series. He literally just cries at almost everything.
(¡¡Big spoiler!!)
He also loses his immortal powers in the most disappointing way ever and so early on in the show, and he only regains them back because his younger brother is a way better character than he is.
(¡¡End of spoiler!!)
His thinking is very one dimensional too. he also really doesn't know how and when to set boundaries. Take for example the relationship between him and Lan Shang. He didn't tell her he doesn't like her, cuz god forbid he saves her the heartache and obsession, he just tells her he isn't right for her and all that bs that doesn't necessarily mean a rejection, and he proceeds to be surprised when she insists on pursuing him anyway. He also lets his emotions get the best of him so his role as king of ice is very concerning. And we can't forget his slight attraction to Lan Shang in the last quarter of the show because she started reminding him of his wife Li Lou. So again I ask, why is he the main character? My question remains unanswered. Despite the dislike I have for Ka Sou's character, William Feng did a great job acting wise if we take into consideration how lame his character really is, but I must say, his crying isn't convincing in some scenes lol.
Prince/king Ying Kong Shi/Li Tian Ji:
My precious baby bean, what did they do to you in this series? I liked the complexity of his character especially when Ma Tian Yu took the lead from the other young actor. But despite my liking towards him, his character suffered from a very frustrating transition by the forth quarter. I loved his loyalty and love towards his brother and how smart and agile he is. and I really loved him as the ice king. Him as the sword fairy spirit was ok, but him as Tian Ji was absolutely dreadful. Also, his relationship with the fire princess Yan Da left a bitter taste in my mouth especially considering he's supposedly a teenager and she's a grown woman. Like they legit had him attend to her while she bathed, let her touch him in a very concerning way and actually think it's ok to make her a legit LI in the second season?
Boi- (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻
Ik technically nothing actually happens between them, but the portrayal of their relationship sucks and the fact that it started off with him when he was barely out of puberty for lack of better wording makes my head spin. But on a more positive note, Ma Tian Yu did a fantastic job and his smiles literally made me DiE.
Li Lou/queen Li Jing:
My girl Victoria did amazing portraying both personas. Although I hated the latter, her as Li Lou was a breath of fresh air in terms of characteristics when it comes to a FL. She was strong, cute, had common sense and was down to earth. She knew she couldn't marry Ka Sou because of the difference in statues (and classifications if you will), she was a mortal with more common sense than the entire immortal race combined. She was also one of Ka Sou's biggest supporters and she didn't lose faith in him despite him losing all his powers. HOWEVER, Li Jing was an absolutely disastrous persona. This girl was very distrustful and was literally a headache for Ka Sou with him trying to please her or save her every five seconds.
(¡¡Another major spoiler!! Lol)
I get that she doesn't remember anything about him or her feelings for him because it's not actually Li Lou's soul in her body but Lan Shang's and that Li Lou's soul was in the other's body, but like, why is she so...UGH. I wanted to scream every time I saw her. She also gets jealous really easily even tho she's the one who pushes him away every time he tries to get closer to her, like, pick a lane lady!
(¡¡End of spoiler!!)
Princess Yan Da:
I really love Zhang Meng, but her character in the first quarter and the second one gave me a headache. Yan Da is a lonely good girl at heart, she was raised in a very cruel tribe, but her father preferred her to her brothers because she was his only daughter ig, so she was a bit of a spoiled brat. Her character was honestly the only one with legit character development, she went from being a ruthless princess with zero common sense to being a good nobel princess, and just when I really started to like her she suffers the most tragic ending. Out of all the characters tho, her costumes and Shi's Costumes (not Tian Ji) were my faves, especially her make up.
The other characters were divided into two categories for me, very likeable and an absolute pain in the butt. I won't go too much into them because I'll spoil even more of the show if I keep talking, but these two categories pretty much cover them perfectly lol. The actors did great with this bad script, it's really sad to see them play some of the most annoying characters tbh. I wanna add that the fighting scenes were bad too, like laughably bad. And the rule of immortals having their souls in their neck or something doesn't apply to everyone apparently.
Music:
The soundtrack was actually very likeable ngl, but it did have some really annoying tracks thrown here and there. The OSTs were really good, especially Li Lou's and Ying Kong Shi's, of course that's personal taste, you might not like them as much as I did.
Production:
Ok, so the rating for this section is divided into two parts:
1) Props and costumes (3.5/5): the wig placement was really bad in some scenes. The outfits and costumes were very detailed and looked really nice, but some of them looked very odd. The weapons weren't great, some of them made me bust a lung too lol.
2) editing/lighting/camera angles (2.9/5): those were a serious issue sometimes, especially the lighting and camera angles, the cgi and effects were kinda funny too but it was still watchable.
Overall the series wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't that good either, it had it's moments here and there and it did make me laugh at some scenes so, can't fault them for that lol, I guess my main issue was how high my expectations were so I suggest you keep yours slightly on the law when it comes to watching it. Would I rewatch it -willingly- again? Nope. Would I rewatch some scenes of it sometimes? Probably, but apart from that, this series is a one time watch. I honestly wouldn't recommend it because some people will find it really draggy and very weird, but if you're free and you need something to pass time, give it a try, who knows, you might like it. And finally sorry to put you through this rollercoaster ride, ik it's a long ass review bit if you read till here props to you, you're a legend lol.
This review is based on my personal opinion/experience while watching, you're free to agree/disagree with it. This is a very lengthy review so if you're not into reading that go ahead and skip it.
So I watched this series around 4 years ago, and I was super excited because of the hype around it, but sadly the show didn't live up to that hype, and now after rewatching it (because I like to torture myself like that lol) I can see why exactly this series was a serious let down, mind you I was a an early teen, so that should say something. «Ice fantasy», as the name would imply, is about a fantasy world where the rulers wield ice powers. It's a very cliche idea with the ice and fire tribes being at war, and because I like fantasy, I decided to give it a go. At first I was very intrigued by the costume designs and the the characters, but my excitement started decreasing gradually as I watched further, and by episode 32 I started skipping around 30 minutes of each episode, and when episode 39 hit I was close to dropping this whole thing from how frustrating it turned out to be, but regardless, I pushed through and finished it only to be hit with the disappointment of the century. There's a second season for those who are interested and let me tell ya, it gets worse there so I really don't recommend watching it unless you're only watching for the cast, which in that case, I also advice against it, the first season isn't great but it's far better than the second. I wanted to review this because it was one of my very first Chinese fantasy-based dramas, and my initial ratings back then were really different because of how disappointed I was, but because of the special place it holds in my heart, I rated it a bit higher than it deserves.
Anyway, without any further ado, let's proceed with this review (it's gonna be really really long, you've been warned lol)
Plot/story:
The story is a very cliche story, but despite that, it's not a horrible one. Like don't get me wrong, it's quite bad compared to other shows, but it's still watchable here and there, sometimes even good, but my main issue was the hype around it back then. The plot in itself isn't bad, but the execution was sub-par. The first 20 episodes or so (the mostly good ones) were about the war between the two tribes of ice and fire and how the last two princes of the ice kingdom had to collect items called the ice crystals(?) or something from the tribe leaders of their kingdom's allies to save their kingdom while dealing with the fire princess (and sometimes her brother) who is aiming to get the same artifacts. The second quarter is about the competition between the two ice brothers for the throne (which wasn't a competition really, more of a brother's sacrifice so his brother can gain his freedom cuz his older brother is spineless and careless and isn't really able to shoulder such responsibility tbh) with the slight interference of some side characters here and there and an unnecessary addition of the LIs of the two(?) brothers (honestly it's mostly the older dude but we can include the fire princess.....ig). The third quarter is about the adventures of the current ice king as he tries to revive some characters, but of course, some characters die on the road and they can't be revived again because, reasons apparently. And finally the last quarter is nothing but a very unnecessary love triangle and a fire princess struggling with her identity as she starts questioning her father's (and her tribe's) morals and ways. Of course, another war between the fire and ice tribes begins, and you can probably guess how it ends.
I really tried to emit the major events from this review so you won't be really spoiled if you decide to watch anyways, but honestly, it's really not worth watching after episode 32 or so, and even that is a stretch, unless you like Victoria, Tian Yu, William, and the rest of the cast (which are really good) of course, but the plot is really not worth it. It feels like the script was changed mid production or something, because almost all the good elements of the show started to disappear after around episode 20. Some plot points were left unanswered, other major plot points were completely illogical and made absolutely zero sense and some turns of events had me banging my head against the wall. The storyline still has some redeeming qualities tho, like the relationship (somewhat of a bromance if I may say so myself) between the two siblings (honestly, they should've been lovers instead, not in an incest way ofc, because -spoiler- they're not even slightly related, and they had more chemistry than them with the other characters separately. Don't get me wrong, the chemistry between Victoria and William's characters is good, but in comparison to that of his and Tian Yu's character? The latter takes the cake).
Acting/cast:
I'll be honest here, the acting was the only thing keeping me from wanting to throw my phone away every five minutes. But the characters in themselves are written horribly, especially that of Ka Sou, Lan Shang (hers in the first half) and Li Lou (hers in the second), those three were done so dirty you can't even fathom how sad I am for them, how did they even agree to such script? Also, the characters kept preaching about how Ka Sou is the most powerful person when in reality it's actually Ying Kong Shi, and if you're doubtful about this specific statement just watch them from episode 15 to 39, my guy Shi is the only one with somewhat of a logical thinking and the strengths and aspects of his abilities is revealed in these episodes. Compare his powers and mindset to Ka Sou's and you'll see what I mean.
Prince/king Ka Sou:
Why is he the main character exactly? This guy barely has any good qualities. He cares about his friends and people, he doesn't discriminate (most of the time), he loves his family, and he's loyal, but that's about it, and if you look closely, those are the basics of human decency. For a guy who is supposedly so powerful and righteous, his character strikes me as the most useless in this series. He literally just cries at almost everything.
(¡¡Big spoiler!!)
He also loses his immortal powers in the most disappointing way ever and so early on in the show, and he only regains them back because his younger brother is a way better character than he is.
(¡¡End of spoiler!!)
His thinking is very one dimensional too. he also really doesn't know how and when to set boundaries. Take for example the relationship between him and Lan Shang. He didn't tell her he doesn't like her, cuz god forbid he saves her the heartache and obsession, he just tells her he isn't right for her and all that bs that doesn't necessarily mean a rejection, and he proceeds to be surprised when she insists on pursuing him anyway. He also lets his emotions get the best of him so his role as king of ice is very concerning. And we can't forget his slight attraction to Lan Shang in the last quarter of the show because she started reminding him of his wife Li Lou. So again I ask, why is he the main character? My question remains unanswered. Despite the dislike I have for Ka Sou's character, William Feng did a great job acting wise if we take into consideration how lame his character really is, but I must say, his crying isn't convincing in some scenes lol.
Prince/king Ying Kong Shi/Li Tian Ji:
My precious baby bean, what did they do to you in this series? I liked the complexity of his character especially when Ma Tian Yu took the lead from the other young actor. But despite my liking towards him, his character suffered from a very frustrating transition by the forth quarter. I loved his loyalty and love towards his brother and how smart and agile he is. and I really loved him as the ice king. Him as the sword fairy spirit was ok, but him as Tian Ji was absolutely dreadful. Also, his relationship with the fire princess Yan Da left a bitter taste in my mouth especially considering he's supposedly a teenager and she's a grown woman. Like they legit had him attend to her while she bathed, let her touch him in a very concerning way and actually think it's ok to make her a legit LI in the second season?
Boi- (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻
Ik technically nothing actually happens between them, but the portrayal of their relationship sucks and the fact that it started off with him when he was barely out of puberty for lack of better wording makes my head spin. But on a more positive note, Ma Tian Yu did a fantastic job and his smiles literally made me DiE.
Li Lou/queen Li Jing:
My girl Victoria did amazing portraying both personas. Although I hated the latter, her as Li Lou was a breath of fresh air in terms of characteristics when it comes to a FL. She was strong, cute, had common sense and was down to earth. She knew she couldn't marry Ka Sou because of the difference in statues (and classifications if you will), she was a mortal with more common sense than the entire immortal race combined. She was also one of Ka Sou's biggest supporters and she didn't lose faith in him despite him losing all his powers. HOWEVER, Li Jing was an absolutely disastrous persona. This girl was very distrustful and was literally a headache for Ka Sou with him trying to please her or save her every five seconds.
(¡¡Another major spoiler!! Lol)
I get that she doesn't remember anything about him or her feelings for him because it's not actually Li Lou's soul in her body but Lan Shang's and that Li Lou's soul was in the other's body, but like, why is she so...UGH. I wanted to scream every time I saw her. She also gets jealous really easily even tho she's the one who pushes him away every time he tries to get closer to her, like, pick a lane lady!
(¡¡End of spoiler!!)
Princess Yan Da:
I really love Zhang Meng, but her character in the first quarter and the second one gave me a headache. Yan Da is a lonely good girl at heart, she was raised in a very cruel tribe, but her father preferred her to her brothers because she was his only daughter ig, so she was a bit of a spoiled brat. Her character was honestly the only one with legit character development, she went from being a ruthless princess with zero common sense to being a good nobel princess, and just when I really started to like her she suffers the most tragic ending. Out of all the characters tho, her costumes and Shi's Costumes (not Tian Ji) were my faves, especially her make up.
The other characters were divided into two categories for me, very likeable and an absolute pain in the butt. I won't go too much into them because I'll spoil even more of the show if I keep talking, but these two categories pretty much cover them perfectly lol. The actors did great with this bad script, it's really sad to see them play some of the most annoying characters tbh. I wanna add that the fighting scenes were bad too, like laughably bad. And the rule of immortals having their souls in their neck or something doesn't apply to everyone apparently.
Music:
The soundtrack was actually very likeable ngl, but it did have some really annoying tracks thrown here and there. The OSTs were really good, especially Li Lou's and Ying Kong Shi's, of course that's personal taste, you might not like them as much as I did.
Production:
Ok, so the rating for this section is divided into two parts:
1) Props and costumes (3.5/5): the wig placement was really bad in some scenes. The outfits and costumes were very detailed and looked really nice, but some of them looked very odd. The weapons weren't great, some of them made me bust a lung too lol.
2) editing/lighting/camera angles (2.9/5): those were a serious issue sometimes, especially the lighting and camera angles, the cgi and effects were kinda funny too but it was still watchable.
Overall the series wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't that good either, it had it's moments here and there and it did make me laugh at some scenes so, can't fault them for that lol, I guess my main issue was how high my expectations were so I suggest you keep yours slightly on the law when it comes to watching it. Would I rewatch it -willingly- again? Nope. Would I rewatch some scenes of it sometimes? Probably, but apart from that, this series is a one time watch. I honestly wouldn't recommend it because some people will find it really draggy and very weird, but if you're free and you need something to pass time, give it a try, who knows, you might like it. And finally sorry to put you through this rollercoaster ride, ik it's a long ass review bit if you read till here props to you, you're a legend lol.
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