Naomi Necro
United States
Another drama made victim by MDL's stupid rating system; this underbudget drama has big heart
I had a lot of fun watching Chen Feiyu's impressive improvement in acting after watching him in Ever Night. It was obvious to me from the start that he's a natural-born actor, but his facial acting and emotional scenes needed work in Ever Night. He did his homework; all of the issues I had with his acting in Ever Night were completely eradicated in LoA. His emotional scenes were also beautifully done (I'm lookin' at you, Ep 16!). I'm glad I didn't allow the MDL rating to sway me; this was a great drama to watch, and I'll miss staring at Chen Feiyu's gorgeous face (period costumes and long hair look *so good* on him).
Pros:
- Chen Feiyu leveled up acting from Ever Night
- Chen Feiyu dubbing himself (he's got a fantastic voice, and he's one of the very few capable of carrying the same emotion in the post-production dubbing).
- His band of friends, his sister, and the 5th Court disciples.
- His shifus'
- W.H.U.M.P - lots of yummy loads of Chen Feiyu whump.
- OST was overall great
- Despite the comically low budget, every sect had distinct colors, set designs, and hairstyles which made any issues I may have had with my suspension of disbelief over cheaply made weapons or wigs, to be pretty evenly balanced out. Thankfully, Chen Feiyu's hair was nice (some of those wigs were synthetic monstrosities).
- Main characters didn't have plot armor; some people I liked were killed off (and some I was pretty thankful about >_>)
- Whump had continuity (for the most part). People didn't just magically get better in the next scene or episode.
- Satisfying ending
Cons:
- Plot pacing (it got pretty drawn out near the end)
- The FL is easily the worst actress I've ever seen, and I had to eventually FF her scenes
- Although it didn't hinder my ability to enjoy the drama, the weapons were cosmically cheap. Like, I could see the seams in the styrofoam swords, cheap.
- Some villains were too "classic-cartoon" evil with their diabolical cackling and over-the-top acting. I wouldn't say that's a storyline error more than the actor's issue.
Overall- worth a watch, especially if you're a lover of Chen Feiyu and his pretty face.
Pros:
- Chen Feiyu leveled up acting from Ever Night
- Chen Feiyu dubbing himself (he's got a fantastic voice, and he's one of the very few capable of carrying the same emotion in the post-production dubbing).
- His band of friends, his sister, and the 5th Court disciples.
- His shifus'
- W.H.U.M.P - lots of yummy loads of Chen Feiyu whump.
- OST was overall great
- Despite the comically low budget, every sect had distinct colors, set designs, and hairstyles which made any issues I may have had with my suspension of disbelief over cheaply made weapons or wigs, to be pretty evenly balanced out. Thankfully, Chen Feiyu's hair was nice (some of those wigs were synthetic monstrosities).
- Main characters didn't have plot armor; some people I liked were killed off (and some I was pretty thankful about >_>)
- Whump had continuity (for the most part). People didn't just magically get better in the next scene or episode.
- Satisfying ending
Cons:
- Plot pacing (it got pretty drawn out near the end)
- The FL is easily the worst actress I've ever seen, and I had to eventually FF her scenes
- Although it didn't hinder my ability to enjoy the drama, the weapons were cosmically cheap. Like, I could see the seams in the styrofoam swords, cheap.
- Some villains were too "classic-cartoon" evil with their diabolical cackling and over-the-top acting. I wouldn't say that's a storyline error more than the actor's issue.
Overall- worth a watch, especially if you're a lover of Chen Feiyu and his pretty face.
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