I only watched ALP but didn't read the novel. Could someone who read it spill some tea? Yue Mi is dead in ALP…
Based from the leaks that I've heard while ALP was still airing, Bai Shuo was actually the mortal girl that Houchi and Qingmu saved during the war, the girl that lost her father. She was Yuemi's human reincarnation. The timeline feels wonky to me, though, because time runs faster in the mortal world so the kid should be long dead by the time CTM takes place. I could only think that Yuemi is going through her trials in order to ascend back to immortality then into godhood and Tianqi is doing the same as a way of finding her. True gods can be reborn, anyway, so Tianqi is still Tianqi. He goes where he wants to.
So, I just finished the first episode to see how the story would go. And as an avid fan of the parent drama, Ancient Love Poetry, this is my review.
I find it sad that this looks like a separate drama from Ancient Love Poetry all in all. They changed all the names of the characters I got used to so it got so confusing for me to figure out who was who from the prequel. Even the cinematography was downgraded, too. The effects looked off most of the time that it's hard to not notice just how meticulous the previous one was compared to this. While I am loving the storyline because Yuan Qi was my favorite character in the ALP, they took away some of the qualities that made him a fun character. I guess kids do grow up but it's hard to imagine that they were the same person (they even changed the whole bit about why he was sent to the Immortal Realm in the first place).
(Can I also say that the slow motion is jarring? It bothers me a lot. I don't know why they keep doing that.)
Anyway, I'll continue watching because ALP's world building has always been fascinating to me, I seem to find myself curious how the four main characters would become friends, too. For now, however, the beginning feels more gimmicky and less magical than ALP during the second arc. They could've just used actual locations that they already had before. Feng Ran's/Feng Yuan's home were one of my favorite sets before.
I find it sad that this looks like a separate drama from Ancient Love Poetry all in all. They changed all the names of the characters I got used to so it got so confusing for me to figure out who was who from the prequel. Even the cinematography was downgraded, too. The effects looked off most of the time that it's hard to not notice just how meticulous the previous one was compared to this. While I am loving the storyline because Yuan Qi was my favorite character in the ALP, they took away some of the qualities that made him a fun character. I guess kids do grow up but it's hard to imagine that they were the same person (they even changed the whole bit about why he was sent to the Immortal Realm in the first place).
(Can I also say that the slow motion is jarring? It bothers me a lot. I don't know why they keep doing that.)
Anyway, I'll continue watching because ALP's world building has always been fascinating to me, I seem to find myself curious how the four main characters would become friends, too. For now, however, the beginning feels more gimmicky and less magical than ALP during the second arc. They could've just used actual locations that they already had before. Feng Ran's/Feng Yuan's home were one of my favorite sets before.