Hey! Where’d His Clothes Go?*
As usual with this writer/director, there’s a lot to enjoy for fantasy lovers. Expect moody, emotional, magic-infused visual storytelling, wind machines on high and flowing, bedazzled hanfu/robes/costumes, exceptionally beautiful people (esp men), and a soundtrack with words that’ll make you cry. It kicks @ss. It’s exciting, mystical, interesting and never dragged.
Story has some timey-wimey shenanigans, so relax a bit when that starts to play a part. Enjoy the journey. It’s imperfect in many of the same ways that Fangs of Fortune was. There will be loss, you’ll be a lil confused, and probably want a face to face stern talk with the director. But —there are more somewhat hopeful twists in this story. Less emotional devastation, depending on your view.
Tian Jiarui does a fantastic job here as the achingly sweet natured Ji Ling. Wow. I was programmed to like him from Fangs of Fortune & My Journey to You. He doesn’t disappoint. And his small side role as an ethereal, ghostly lonescale demon is the most tragic and visually gorgeous thing in this drama.
Speaking of FoF, there’s a Weasel demon sidekick copy of Fangs of Fortune’s little mountain god in ALL ways. Very likeable, but such a carbon copy. Was the other actor busy?
Warm, eloquent, mature/experienced expressions of a lifetime of love, caring, devotion were really moving between M/F leads and others, while obsession played out as well.
Ju Jingyi. I didn’t care at all for acting, appearance/makeup styling, demeanor, little girly voice character - the visuals slammed me right out of the drama at first. Edit: Grew on me a ton as we go along. It’s the 1st time I’ve seen her and I look forward to her in different role.
Yan An. He has presence in addition to obvious pecs/striking beauty. Loved him in FoF. BUT he’s not being given much here. He draws attention way too much to be a third wheel, so some early scenes feel awkward. But he fleshed out as it moved along. His scenes with Tian Jiarui’s initial arrival as a little fox making his first human transition were at first shocking, then very moving.
Joseph Zeng. Liked his stable brand of character and love. He was a bit sidelined even when his role carried so much weight in this story.
Great job with side characters. You understand who they are and their skill sets, and desperately want them all to survive.
I cried when I was sad, then I cried when I saw familiar faces again and I was happy. Rolled my eyes at myself but couldn’t help it. Again, par for the course with director.
Beautiful moments; anything with lonescale demon/Ji Can visuals. Bombastic orange sparks and purple lightning battle scenes with electronica music pumping featuring Bai Ze (looooved him!) vs whatever character Yan An is channeling at that moment.
* Funniest (unintentional) scene: later stage battle sequence where a character’s clothes explode off his (ripped) body as he readies for a final showdown. Applause!
Story has some timey-wimey shenanigans, so relax a bit when that starts to play a part. Enjoy the journey. It’s imperfect in many of the same ways that Fangs of Fortune was. There will be loss, you’ll be a lil confused, and probably want a face to face stern talk with the director. But —there are more somewhat hopeful twists in this story. Less emotional devastation, depending on your view.
Tian Jiarui does a fantastic job here as the achingly sweet natured Ji Ling. Wow. I was programmed to like him from Fangs of Fortune & My Journey to You. He doesn’t disappoint. And his small side role as an ethereal, ghostly lonescale demon is the most tragic and visually gorgeous thing in this drama.
Speaking of FoF, there’s a Weasel demon sidekick copy of Fangs of Fortune’s little mountain god in ALL ways. Very likeable, but such a carbon copy. Was the other actor busy?
Warm, eloquent, mature/experienced expressions of a lifetime of love, caring, devotion were really moving between M/F leads and others, while obsession played out as well.
Ju Jingyi. I didn’t care at all for acting, appearance/makeup styling, demeanor, little girly voice character - the visuals slammed me right out of the drama at first. Edit: Grew on me a ton as we go along. It’s the 1st time I’ve seen her and I look forward to her in different role.
Yan An. He has presence in addition to obvious pecs/striking beauty. Loved him in FoF. BUT he’s not being given much here. He draws attention way too much to be a third wheel, so some early scenes feel awkward. But he fleshed out as it moved along. His scenes with Tian Jiarui’s initial arrival as a little fox making his first human transition were at first shocking, then very moving.
Joseph Zeng. Liked his stable brand of character and love. He was a bit sidelined even when his role carried so much weight in this story.
Great job with side characters. You understand who they are and their skill sets, and desperately want them all to survive.
I cried when I was sad, then I cried when I saw familiar faces again and I was happy. Rolled my eyes at myself but couldn’t help it. Again, par for the course with director.
Beautiful moments; anything with lonescale demon/Ji Can visuals. Bombastic orange sparks and purple lightning battle scenes with electronica music pumping featuring Bai Ze (looooved him!) vs whatever character Yan An is channeling at that moment.
* Funniest (unintentional) scene: later stage battle sequence where a character’s clothes explode off his (ripped) body as he readies for a final showdown. Applause!
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