Lutas Céu Afora (2018)

an amazing ride

this is actually my first review that i'm writing in this website. anyway i loved this drama. despite having slow progress on the main plot it was so satisfying to see Xiao Yan struggle with everything. and i actually like his character development so much. it certainly needs a s2 for continuing the story and i can see it happening hopefully.
the story itself was great. the acting also was great. Leo Wu did a very amazing job that i was surprised at how young he is. he pulled off Xiao Yan's character nicely and showed us a great time watching him go through everything in his story. music was alright(suited for the story) and this drama is certainly worth rewatching.
it also had some flaws that i gave it 8.5...well i think that if they should have added to other characters backstories, also the story was jumping into different arcs so fast that sometimes i couldn't keep up with it but overall i had a great time watching this drama.

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Talk about character assassination

I am sure this is a fine, albeit relatively low budget wuxia drama for those that have zero knowledge of the source material. But I struggle to see this getting high ratings from anyone that has every read the novels or even watched the Donghua.


Spoiler!!!!!!!!!!

I just had to rant somewhere, sorry this is where it had to be.

RIP Gu Xun Er, the most loyal, supportive, and badass woman in all of the Battle Through the Heavens novel and Donghua.

The character assassination done to her at the end of this series was unforgivable. That whole final scene of her taking the ring and leaving Xiao Yan for dead would never, EVERRRRRRRRRR happen with the source Gu Xun Er. She literally tells him that she was supposed to steal the Ancient God Jade but couldn't, and warned him to never let anyone know he had it. And all throughout the source material she goes against the ancestors/elders in her belief and loyalty to Xiao Yan. And to just leave him dying there, just assuming he would die? She would do everything in her power to save him, no matter what.

Maybe it is unfair to compare this adaptation to the source material, or even the Donghua, but it is really hard not to. I usually can ignore changes from source material in an adaptation, I completely understand how unrealistic it is to expect things to be completely accurate. But to change a main character to this extent is inexcusable, no matter the reason.

Rant over.

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I liked 80% of the show and annoyed by the rest

I really do no like cliff hangers when there is no plan to make a second season, I am really annoyed spending 40+ episodes to have an ending like this, At least some of the bad people loose, but the end was not satisfying at all. The person I disliked the most was still there and getting what he wanted

Now for details, the acting was ok. The ML and FL were cute but not very good. The ML smile was almost annoying at times., and not appropriate for the situation. The rest of the cast was fine, but some of the acting was borderline painful. There were some bright spots (Xiao Yan's father. Medicine Elder, and the head of the school)

The music was mediocre to bad, I read somewhere they compared it to Nintendo music. I thought that was odd, but then I heard it! The were was no real theme, the music was all over the place so it wasn't;t quite edgy like The Wolf or Ashes of Love, nor was it "classic" like The Untamed or TMOPB. It was one of my least favorite music.

The story was actually very good and interesting. The pacing was great for the first part, it started to drag around episode 30 basically when Xiao Yan goes to the desert after having been kicked out by the family and Yun'er becomes the dragon mother. It then picks up momentum again the last few episodes, but then the ending was left you waiting. Again, if there was season 2 that's fine but not when there are no plans to make season 2.

Now for the parts that I liked......I liked the story line with the school and Xiao Yan's friends. I mean who doesn't like to look at Xiao Zhan. The members of X NINE are not great actors (except for Xiao Zhan of course) but they were still fun to watch. Xiao Zhan's father was great. You aren't sure why he does some of the things he does. but he is truly one of the best people and stays honest and true unlike 90% of the people on the show, The BEST thing about the show was by far the Medicine Elder, Yao Chen. Baron Chen was just amazing at playing the role. He was by far the highlight.

For me the best parts of the show where Medicine Elder, I kind of wish they just made the show about him, and Lin Xiuya (which is the character played by Xiao Zhan). I wished they were in the story more.

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If you enjoyed this drama, you will enjoy Douluo Continent

Started this drama seeing Leo Wu (Nirvana in Fire, The Long Ballad), Li Qin (Princess Agents) and Xiao Zhan (The Untamed, Douluo Continent) in the cast, having enjoyed their respective performance in other dramas.

First impression is the similarity with Douluo Continent, training in academy and levelling up RPG Final Fantasy*-style to be the best fighter in Douqi / Douluo Continent. This similarity with Douluo Continent waned off soon as the drama progressed to focus only on the protagonist’s (Leo Wu) journey to become stronger, find his family’s killer and return peace to the Douqi Continent.

I prefer Douluo Continent for a story not just on the protagonist, but also on his six interesting team mates and their three teachers, each with their unique personalities, backstories and relationships, and their strong friendships and teamwork as a formidable team, winning battles and thwarting devious plans.

Random musings:

1. *The protagonist Xiao Yan is the live version of the protagonist Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, with his heavy sword resting on his shoulder and the unusual short hairdo for a male in historical costume. See pic here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/whatever_weus/feeds/vYdj5Sx

2. Just 3 years, Leo Wu had certainly grown from kiddish Fei Liu in Nirvana in Fire (2015) to a more matured but no less determined and skillful Xiao Yan.

3. Xiao Zhan had a support role in this drama where the father of the protagonist is also called Xiao Zhan (萧战), with a different Xiao but the same intonation.

4. Li Qin's character reminded me so much of Miss He He in Sword Snow Stride - the lady who rode on a panda and carrying a sunflower.. hmmm

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I like the concept story of this drama, little bit remind me of Harry Potter. But the plot pace is too slow to the point of boring in the middle of this series. And the ending is... a let down after the long run. Need season 2 or more of this drama.
The casts are likeable, I like Leo Wu and Li Qin, and almost all of the Flame Gang. But in some point, Leo Wu's expression was not match with the situation. His smiley face ruined some of the dramatic moments.
Music is not really impressive, but good enough
Rewatch value... perhaps after they decided to air season 2
Overall, I think 45 episodes are too dragging, perhaps they can finish all this series in addition of 15 episode, no need of season 2, if the plot pace is not too slow in the middle.

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rewatched 5 times

honestly enjoyed this series and hope they make a season 2 at the very minimum. There were some parts that were dopey like the commentators. But all in all it is my fav go to series to watch while doing treadmills. This show keeps you going. The acting was superb Leo Wu and Li Qin were my favorites to ship. The cast included almost all A listers that usually gets me to watch the drama/movie in the first place. My husband found the show dopey but hey he is an old fuddy duddy sometimes ^^. As to rewatch value I have watched 5 times and plan to eventually watch it at least 5 more times. Maybe by then they will make a season 2.

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Unwavering Motivation & Perseverance + The Ultimate Cheat Code to Power.

Where to start? Hmm, honestly... This drama made me contemplate so much. It is very enjoyable during the 1st half of it (even when a lot of things are questionable) then during the episode 30+ the drama started to get a little all over the place for me; and even the remaining episodes made me feel like they're just doing things just to satisfy the viewers without any proper presentation and scaling of how things happened. It was more of "Surpirise! This character suddenly got super powerful now" yet still having so much hard time dealing with less powerful enemies. Lol~

Let me just enumerate the things I like and Dislike about this drama to sum it all up and let me start with...

×× Likes
→ The characters and the actors. Almost all of them satisfies me and really impresses me a lot specially Xiao Yan, Yao Chen and Ice King. They're like the backbone of this dramas enterntainment for me. Special mention to Poison Fairy and Xun Er.

→ Costume's looking good. I love that they didn't go extreme with the design and color pallete. It was more of the neutral and primary colors and that really helps me watch the drama with ease and comfort.

→ The quirky and comical vibe of the drama enriches the entire show for me. It was made more enjoyable and interesting to watch.

→ The Fighting Scenes execution were all interesting as well and always made me go wild specially when Xiao Yan's doing his flying and flame shits. Amost most of it were well-done aside from some little glitches visible at times.

××Dislikes

→ The plot build up and story flow just doesn't make sense 30% of the time. It made me question what the hell is going on with this drama and even bored me during the 2nd half of it.

→ The non-sensical power scaling of the characters. Like HELL! I was so confused whether the ML is already more powerful than his enemies or not. He's clearly overpowering the most feared main villain but is getting badly nerf by its underlings. Also, some of the fights that should've been handled pretty easily can take so much manpower and effort even when they can clearly finish it in 1 powerful blow. Like common!!

→ Another thing is the way they dragged the story by focusing on some irrelevant stuff instead of making improvements and producing more ideas for the most important fights and scenes.

Nonetheless this drama helped me go through my boredom and truly served some greatness as well. I would still recommend it and will probably watch the S2 (even with different Cast) once it comes out.

Story - 9.0, It's still good despite all the flaws I've listed above. Although it has some questionable moments I can still say that It never disappoint me to the point of dropping it. I just felt like they could've focuses more on improving its plot, twist and building the story itself.

Acting/Cast - 10, Acting of both the Main Leads and Side characters were all extremely good to the point where I even ask myself how can they do that? How can they alter from one expression and emotion into another and how do they manage to let it all out without feeling awkward. The actors/actresses in this drama are really phenomenal. An amazing set of artists.

Music - 9.0, I started to enjoy the Music when I recognized Xiao Zhan's Voice. Hahaha~ Honestly, this drama has a Minimal use of BGMs and most of them are like trailer instrumentals which is decent. It's good overall and never bothered me.

Rewatch Value - 9.0, Something I would watch again IF I wanna watch Wu Lei and his cutie Teenager acting. Aside from that this drama's really enjoyable to watch and wouldn't bore anyone if you don't go too in-depth with the story progression.

Overall - 9.5, I feel like this is the most appropriate score for this drama. It was a fantastic production with a great set of actors and actresses and will surely entertain anyone one way or another..

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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I have watched this like 3 times in a row. I loved it so much. Leo Wu, I need to commend him for playing Xiao Yan he absolutely made this character his own. Jelly Lin playing Xiao Xun'er did very well. I know in my DNA of the Renaissance period that you didn't know who were siblings or related. I thought Xiao Xun'er was a biological sibling. I was wrong. Baron Chen OMG is only a supporting actor but I love his acting. I loved how the wardrobe team dressed him and the way the hairdressers did his hair. Baron Chen just made me add more movies to my list with him being the main lead. The fantasy and the visuals are beautifully done. The Martial Arts, perfection! I applaud all the actors and actresses because without them this drama wouldn't exist. Thank you to the screenwriters and producers. Respect!

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Meant for young adults, played by young adults. Aired in 2018, produced few years earlier

At first, I was confused and read some negative comments regarding this drama. So, I didn't expect much from it. Moreover, I thought it was just another case of youth martial arts that I had seen before. Later, I realized that the negative comments were referring to season 2 and it made me pleasantly surprised.

What confused me was the name mentioned in the drama and the name mentioned when it aired. Both are a different season.

The drama centers around a young and aspiring martial artist hero who faces various challenges in his mission to save the world. He attends a prestigious martial arts school with a group of loyal friends, and sweet romance blossoms throughout the series. His mission is to eradicate the evil, save his friends and have his revenge. While the plot may not be entirely original, it is worth noting that the drama was produced a few years before its 2018 release due to Chinese media censorship, so the special effects may not be as advanced as those in more recent dramas. The music choice at that time was probably good to attract young people too!

It's remarkable how much a few years can change actors and actresses. Looking back from 2024, it's clear that Leo Wu, whom I first saw in Love Like the Galaxy, was much younger then (probably around 16-17 in 2016 when it was produced), and while his acting experience was already impressive, he lacked a certain (normal) maturity that he has since acquired in his recent dramas, a few years later (he is 24 in 2024). Therefore, even talented, even with an already impressive list of dramas he played, he was still a late teenager and it showed. Even back then, he was already bodybuilding, which was evident from the number of times we saw him shirtless on the show. I'm sure his fans were over the moon! 😆

Few comical and over-the-top scenes were amusing, particularly when the ML cleverly wrapped a black scarf around his face to remain incognito, but peculiarly kept the attention-grabbing, one-of-a-kind, gigantic sword strapped to his back, making it obvious to everyone that it was indeed him. It was a comical display of a superhero in action, leaving me with a hearty laugh. This is why I call this drama meant for teenagers and young adults. The credibility was removed immediately.

Ahem… a special mention to the ugliest hairstyles I have ever seen in a drama!! Gosh, those were so distracting, poor Leo Wu!

I was taken aback when I saw Xiao Zhan in a supporting role, as I am a huge fan of his after watching The Untamed. This drama was a year before though and although his acting was good, he didn't shine as much as The Untamed. It's disheartening to see that despite his immense popularity, he doesn't seem to be happy. Every time I see him in recent interviews or TV events, he appears to be unhappy and wants to escape. He recently expressed his desire to take a step back. It's a shame that someone as talented as him doesn't seem to be getting the happiness and recognition he deserves.

It's funny that I found many actors and actresses who played support roles in the Chinese dramas "Oh My Emperor" (2018) and "Joy of Life" (2019). Some of these actors include Jason Gu and Wu Jia Cheng (from "Oh My Emperor"), Li Qin, Li Zi Feng, Du Yu Ming and Xin Zhi Lei (all from "Joy of Life"). It's rare for me to recognize actors, especially when there are hundreds of them. However, these actors made an impression on me when I watched "Oh My Emperor" and "Joy of Life" before this drama.

This drama is an entertaining production that is worth watching without high expectations. Although at episode 33, I found it was a bit redundant, I took a little pause and decided to finish the series. While it may not be the most memorable drama out there, it certainly has its moments and will keep you interested for the entire season. This drama is geared towards young adults but can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages. As a personal taste, I do not like special sound effects (aka owls we never see to make sure we understand it is the night even if it is plainly the night with the moon or the crickets).

Overall, I recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys a good martial arts storyline with a touch of romance.

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