This was one of the dramas that I looked forward to the most, because I absolutely adore the novel. I'm currently on episode 7 and I have officially decided to separate the novel and the drama in my head, because the changes they made have turned the drama into almost a completely different story. There are obviously similarities, because it is based on the novel after all, but there are just too many changes and too many additions that in my opinion were absolutely unnecessary.
The biggest change that I personally think should not have been made was to change their positions in the Heavenly Realm. In the novel, the two are more evenly matched in power. They end up fighting, because they are both a little petty and impulsive and end up tangling the red threads. The seven lifetimes they spend together is their punishment. This pretty much determines their dynamic. They are more like rivals in the beginning. In the drama his position in the Heavenly Realm is much higher than hers, so her actions are coloured by the fact that she's afraid of what's going to happen when they return and he's angry and takes it out on her. It's a completely different dynamic.
That being said, so far, I'm enjoying the drama. It's very colourful, cute and funny. Ding Yuxi is doing great as Chu Kong. Yang Chao Yue is not as bad as I expected, given all the criticism. It is the first time seeing her on screen for me. She's very pretty and sometimes it feels like she's afraid of making ugly expressions, which makes her look expressionless. There's definitely a lack of depth in emotional scenes, but she does well enough in the cute and funny ones. Luckily there's definitely chemistry between the main couple and that makes their moments together enjoyable to watch. At the moment I'm not liking either Xiu Ming or Ying Shi. Xiu Ming's clinginess and stalker behaviour is unsettling. Ying Shi is that "obsessed with the ML girl" that we have seen in way too many dramas and once recognised that that's the role that she's playing, she becomes irritating to watch.
I was really tempted to rewatch this drama this weekend, but decided to read a few chapters of the novel instead. It has a very different "feel" to it. Much darker (which I expected). Not shipping TTJ and LSS. At least not yet. It's a bit difficult to see how she could fall in love with him. It does make the novel interesting to read even though I've already watched the drama.
Yes.🤣 we're at 106k already🤣Don't worry, even Mermaid disappeared for a while as she also read 2ha🤣
It's her fault I started reading it in the first place. I was patiently waiting for all the books to be out before starting, but all her posts just pushed me over the edge.
Whatever else this may be, I can say it was definitely entertaining.
It's very colourful with a plethora of eccentric yet endearing characters. They did a good job matching the look of the anime, but the overacting could have been toned down a little while still remaining effective, if it was as I suspect a concious choice. It's very clear from the beginning, not only because of the look of the series, but also because of the acting that the source material is an anime/manga. Not that it's a bad thing. It's very consistent with the rest of the choices they made, so it actually works out well.
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The biggest change that I personally think should not have been made was to change their positions in the Heavenly Realm. In the novel, the two are more evenly matched in power. They end up fighting, because they are both a little petty and impulsive and end up tangling the red threads. The seven lifetimes they spend together is their punishment. This pretty much determines their dynamic. They are more like rivals in the beginning. In the drama his position in the Heavenly Realm is much higher than hers, so her actions are coloured by the fact that she's afraid of what's going to happen when they return and he's angry and takes it out on her. It's a completely different dynamic.
That being said, so far, I'm enjoying the drama. It's very colourful, cute and funny. Ding Yuxi is doing great as Chu Kong. Yang Chao Yue is not as bad as I expected, given all the criticism. It is the first time seeing her on screen for me. She's very pretty and sometimes it feels like she's afraid of making ugly expressions, which makes her look expressionless. There's definitely a lack of depth in emotional scenes, but she does well enough in the cute and funny ones. Luckily there's definitely chemistry between the main couple and that makes their moments together enjoyable to watch. At the moment I'm not liking either Xiu Ming or Ying Shi. Xiu Ming's clinginess and stalker behaviour is unsettling. Ying Shi is that "obsessed with the ML girl" that we have seen in way too many dramas and once recognised that that's the role that she's playing, she becomes irritating to watch.
It's very colourful with a plethora of eccentric yet endearing characters. They did a good job matching the look of the anime, but the overacting could have been toned down a little while still remaining effective, if it was as I suspect a concious choice. It's very clear from the beginning, not only because of the look of the series, but also because of the acting that the source material is an anime/manga. Not that it's a bad thing. It's very consistent with the rest of the choices they made, so it actually works out well.
Overall, I enjoyed it much more than I expected.