meiwatchesdramas
between reality and daydream
This review may contain spoilers
that's how you slowly build a plot
Not without flaws, Guardians of the Dafeng still has its strong points and I'd say that, up to episode 24, the pros of watching it exceed by far the cons.
It's a silly, lighthearted drama and it is well aware of it, so it never falls in the cringe zone, but when it needs to get serious... the tone seamlessly shifts to seriousness – although it usually never lasts for a whole episode.
That depends both on how well crafted the writing is and the solidity of the acting.
In fact, if not all actors, most of them can easily switch from a silly, humorous role to a more grave and emotional one, from exaggerated and comically expressive scenes to sobriety and subtlety.
They all seem to be having fun with their roles, so (except for the first three/four episodes), their comedy feels spontaneous and natural and they all have great chemistry with each other.
Yes, some characters do feel more cartoonish (nearly 90% comic relief) rather than real people, but when I realized it is done on purpose and it's not due to poor writing or bad acting, I felt more at ease watching them and some scenes were actually funny.
Do they overdue it? Sometimes, yes, but it's consistent with the overall light vibe of the drama and it fits perfectly with everything else, once you get used to it.
HOWEVER, I personally don't like how the protagonist, Xu Qi An, is always presented as infallible and perfect in everything he says and does, loved, protected and revered by nearly every single person he meets (and hated to the extreme by few). He feels too much like a Mary Sue on too many occasions, but I also understand it's purposeful and probably (hopefully) there is a reason for that, given the other characters are more "balanced" in their relationships, qualities and flaws.
I heard many people aren't happy with Dylan Wang dubbing himself and are complaining about his accent and line delivery, but, perhaps because I am not a native speaker, I believe his Mandarin and voice work perfectly with the type of character he is portraying. After all, Qi An is a young man from our days ending up in a fantasy past, it makes sense for him to speak like a person from 2020s and not like a nobleman from ancient times.
Speaking of which.
Perhaps he should have been more shocked about ending up in a past with magic and monsters.
We never see him remembering or missing his old life, never a mention of the family and friends he left behind. He slipped into his new identity without struggle and regrets, as if THAT is his reality, not the modern times. This detail always feels weird and a bit off, to me.
Are you telling me he was absolutely alone and held no person dear to his heart? With that personality of his? We see he has no problems getting along with people and gets very protective of the ones he loves, does that mean he just as quickly forgets all about others?
I would also love for him not to get silly and funny right after a traumatic experience. I love how this drama bounces right back to its original genre, never forgetting where it comes from, but sometimes... they should stay in the serious zone a little longer. They know how to write and present tragedy, but they really make it very short-lived.
A character “dying” and playing pranks pretending to be a zombie the moment they come back does feel a bit off, no matter how in-character and in-the story it is.
Always related to the characters of this drama, I think the writers rely a little too much on misunderstandings, small and big, and it gets tiring after a while.
But that's about it with the things I'm not liking that much.
Now, onto what I am absolutely loving.
1. Guardians of the Dafeng really takes time exploring relationships and building family and friendships. I'm a huge fan of such tropes and we can really see characters getting close and slowly becoming friends, spending time together and just hanging out. I love it, I really love seeing it. Just friends being friends.
2. When I watch this drama, it feels like I'm reading a novel and I'm moving from chapter to chapter.
The viewer is slowly eased into this new fantasy world (in the first half of the drama, the element of magic and martial arts is marginal and only appears when it needs to be present) and it takes time to meet all the characters, be them big roles or small, villains or friends.
It's easily one of the most immersive wuxia and fantasy dramas I've ever watched, also thanks to the slow world building they are doing, presenting layer after layer instead of hitting us with it all at once.
A well crafted plot like I've rarely seen within the recently aired ones.
3. The OST is good, with some rather nice tracks, and never overused.
4. Solid cinematography and colouring, where everything looks good and real (some backdrops do feel a little too much CGI at times and the animals and fantastic creatures could use a little touch up, but it's a 5/10% of an overall great production)
The pacing of episode 23 feels a little weird, with rushed plot lines, time skips and things happening off-screen, and episode 24 feels just as abrupt, but if it wasn't clear enough before, now it's certain there's a bigger plot about to unfold – that was one effective twist!
I really can't wait to see what they have in store for us viewers.
Ending this review in the hope it won't crash and burn in the last half.
– Mei
It's a silly, lighthearted drama and it is well aware of it, so it never falls in the cringe zone, but when it needs to get serious... the tone seamlessly shifts to seriousness – although it usually never lasts for a whole episode.
That depends both on how well crafted the writing is and the solidity of the acting.
In fact, if not all actors, most of them can easily switch from a silly, humorous role to a more grave and emotional one, from exaggerated and comically expressive scenes to sobriety and subtlety.
They all seem to be having fun with their roles, so (except for the first three/four episodes), their comedy feels spontaneous and natural and they all have great chemistry with each other.
Yes, some characters do feel more cartoonish (nearly 90% comic relief) rather than real people, but when I realized it is done on purpose and it's not due to poor writing or bad acting, I felt more at ease watching them and some scenes were actually funny.
Do they overdue it? Sometimes, yes, but it's consistent with the overall light vibe of the drama and it fits perfectly with everything else, once you get used to it.
HOWEVER, I personally don't like how the protagonist, Xu Qi An, is always presented as infallible and perfect in everything he says and does, loved, protected and revered by nearly every single person he meets (and hated to the extreme by few). He feels too much like a Mary Sue on too many occasions, but I also understand it's purposeful and probably (hopefully) there is a reason for that, given the other characters are more "balanced" in their relationships, qualities and flaws.
I heard many people aren't happy with Dylan Wang dubbing himself and are complaining about his accent and line delivery, but, perhaps because I am not a native speaker, I believe his Mandarin and voice work perfectly with the type of character he is portraying. After all, Qi An is a young man from our days ending up in a fantasy past, it makes sense for him to speak like a person from 2020s and not like a nobleman from ancient times.
Speaking of which.
Perhaps he should have been more shocked about ending up in a past with magic and monsters.
We never see him remembering or missing his old life, never a mention of the family and friends he left behind. He slipped into his new identity without struggle and regrets, as if THAT is his reality, not the modern times. This detail always feels weird and a bit off, to me.
Are you telling me he was absolutely alone and held no person dear to his heart? With that personality of his? We see he has no problems getting along with people and gets very protective of the ones he loves, does that mean he just as quickly forgets all about others?
I would also love for him not to get silly and funny right after a traumatic experience. I love how this drama bounces right back to its original genre, never forgetting where it comes from, but sometimes... they should stay in the serious zone a little longer. They know how to write and present tragedy, but they really make it very short-lived.
A character “dying” and playing pranks pretending to be a zombie the moment they come back does feel a bit off, no matter how in-character and in-the story it is.
Always related to the characters of this drama, I think the writers rely a little too much on misunderstandings, small and big, and it gets tiring after a while.
But that's about it with the things I'm not liking that much.
Now, onto what I am absolutely loving.
1. Guardians of the Dafeng really takes time exploring relationships and building family and friendships. I'm a huge fan of such tropes and we can really see characters getting close and slowly becoming friends, spending time together and just hanging out. I love it, I really love seeing it. Just friends being friends.
2. When I watch this drama, it feels like I'm reading a novel and I'm moving from chapter to chapter.
The viewer is slowly eased into this new fantasy world (in the first half of the drama, the element of magic and martial arts is marginal and only appears when it needs to be present) and it takes time to meet all the characters, be them big roles or small, villains or friends.
It's easily one of the most immersive wuxia and fantasy dramas I've ever watched, also thanks to the slow world building they are doing, presenting layer after layer instead of hitting us with it all at once.
A well crafted plot like I've rarely seen within the recently aired ones.
3. The OST is good, with some rather nice tracks, and never overused.
4. Solid cinematography and colouring, where everything looks good and real (some backdrops do feel a little too much CGI at times and the animals and fantastic creatures could use a little touch up, but it's a 5/10% of an overall great production)
The pacing of episode 23 feels a little weird, with rushed plot lines, time skips and things happening off-screen, and episode 24 feels just as abrupt, but if it wasn't clear enough before, now it's certain there's a bigger plot about to unfold – that was one effective twist!
I really can't wait to see what they have in store for us viewers.
Ending this review in the hope it won't crash and burn in the last half.
– Mei
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