A Lenda de Fei (2020)

The Return of Zhao Liying + Changing Style of Wang Yibo

I will begin this review by admitting that I was shocked by the seemingly poor production quality when I first began watching the series. Specifically, the XiMo River scene appeared exceedingly fake. I, however, began watching this drama for the cast, so I continued to watch it, despite questionable filming + editing.

CAST: The cast is wonderful, and it is definitely not their fault in any way for this drama receiving polarizing reviews. Starting off with Zhao Liying, she looks extremely young for her age, though other people think otherwise, but that's a matter of opinion. Her acting is incredibly natural, and it does not feel like she is acting; it feels as if she is Zhou Fei. Wang Yibo, who acted in the Untamed, surprised me with his lively acting because, when compared to previous dramas, his character was so different from the rest. I think he completed his role as Xie Yun very well. The interactions between the main characters are also NICE, and the only thing I would request is that there be more of those interactions!

STORY: Perhaps it is because I have never read the original novel, but the take off of the drama was slightly confusing for me. There were a lot of characters, and I think it definitely requires a lot of attention to not be confused. But as the story picked up, I believe this was around episode 11 or 12, I found myself enjoying it, rather than sitting and thinking about the plot. There are definitely imperfections with the plot, especially with the way the scenes are arranged, but overall, it keeps to a fair Wuxia theme, with the female lead exploring the 'jianghu' and gaining more knowledge.

MUSIC: Absolutely wonderful. Particularly, the OST called "Wuhua" by Zhang Liangying and Liu Yuning is stunning when paired with the drama. In ~episode 27, the song rings at the perfect time. Plus, it just sounds really great. The intro song also has a nice tone that is fitting for the wuxia genre. "Xiwei" by Wang Yibo is a very soft song that has very emotional lyrics, which are a perfect match for the plot.

REWATCH VALUE: I put a lower score in this category because that is just what I believe it is. I think certain episodes should most definitely be rewatched, but others? Eh, not really worth it. In particular, episode 9 felt like a DRAG, but others like 11, 12, and 30 were great!

OVERALL: Many people are disappointed by this drama because it had such a 'high production value'. But they often neglect the fact that they halted productions for multiple months due to COVID, and much of their budget went to waste during that time. So I am assuming certain scenes were not intended to be carried out by heavy post-production. I think the cast is wonderful, and they actually exceeded my expectation. I will have to finish the drama to really see how I feel about it, though.

Leia Mais

Should have chosen a scriptwriter that cared about the story

My first impression was pretty much "wow, they COULD NOT wait to introduce the love interest, huh?"

This was a mess from the very beginning. The pacing of the first episode was all over the place, it was like they wanted to get all the world-building and character set-up out of the way as quickly as possible so they could introduce the love interest within the first ten minutes of the first episode. It was like they took it as a personal challenge to see how quickly they could get the protagonist and the love interest to meet. Then all of a sudden, the cousin/fiance decides to leave because of a conversation he overheard. Just like that. Out of the blue. There's no substance nor build-up whatsoever that makes you care about the stuff that is going on. Xie Yun crossed the traps in the river with no problems despite the area being supposedly impenetrable and incredibly hard to enter. There's no stakes or any real feeling of danger, because you just know that he's gonna solve everything with his main character power. There's absolutely no use telling us that the fortress is well-guarded and hard to enter when it only takes minutes for Xie Yun to do it. They should have shown him putting more effort into solving the trap and figuring out how to get in. It all feels so half-assed.

The fight scenes weren't the worst I've seen, but definitely not passable for a show heavily marketed as a wuxia. Too many closeup shots on the character's faces when they should be showing the bodies actually fighting. The costumes are quite good, except for Zhou Fei's. I get that she's supposed to be dressed more masculine, but it is possible to give her better costumes that don't look so boring and cheap while still keeping the masculine vibe. They can do that for the male characters so why not for her? The acting is alright. I liked both of their performances but frankly the casting of Zhou Fei and Xie Yun is horribly mismatched. Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo are both fine by themselves, but when put together Wang Yibo obviously looks so much younger, and they just don't have enough chemistry to make up for it. That plus a terrible script just made the romance awkward for me, and because the plot writing and pacing is horrible, there's literally nothing else to look forward for.

Zhao Liying's makeup is also kind of distracting? Aside from being obviously cakey, the shiny lip-gloss and thick eyeliner is not subtle at all and looks so out of place, especially considering how her character is supposed to be tomboyish.

There's also the fake forest set that is so incredibly distracting because it's obviously the same one they use for many different scenes, and it looks even more artificial because of how bad the lighting is. They didn't even attempt to emulate the lighting texture of a dense forest which means every time they're in that fake forest, you can tell right away they're in a studio because of the stark, untextured overhead studio lighting. It looks like one of those old-timey wuxia dramas which is not what a c-drama from 2020 with a huge budget is supposed to look like. How on earth did they allocate the money?

As an adaptation of the original novel, You Fei, this show just fails even more. It's even easier to tell that the people who produced this show gave no shits about it when you've read the novel, because while they did adapt the big scenes, they did it in such a way that all complexity, nuance and buildup is lost.

Leia Mais

Legend of poisoning and eavesdropping

I am big fan of WYB, so I really wanted to like this drama but..


Story makes no sense, the main plot doesnt feel like a main plot. Every episode either had a poisoning scene or someone eavesdropping on very important and secretive news. Villains are just allowed to leave/ escape after getting caught!?!
Bad editing, looks like it was done in a hurry, some scenes makes no sense
Fight scenes are not done well, very unrealistic looking in terms of lack of blood, sweat, gore when fighting.
Terrible fake sets with bad CGI
Acting is very average, I expected more from a veteran actress but her acting was as average as Wang Yibo a newbie.
Poor chemistry between leads, the romance seemed forced, very unnatural.
Annoying characters with low intelligence
Laughable villains

It was a torture to complete this.

Leia Mais

A plot like Swiss cheese - full of holes

Where to start? I watched to the end, with a lot of fast-forwarding through scenes: fight scenes, plotting & meeting scenes, and ANY scene with the character Li Yan! (We'll get to her later). The story was choppy and had a lot of loose ends. Random characters kept getting thrown in here and there for no good reason, and a lot of scenes were drawn out and pointless. A lot of wandering through forests and paths, with hooded villains coming out of the trees. We were left wondering what happened to some characters (Chuchu's little brother), what the point of some characters really was (Third Prince - so naive and dumb). For a series with so many episodes, the writing and directing needs to be of a much higher and more efficient caliber, or else - fast forward!

There wasn't enough character development - they lumped couples together (which is fine if you tell their stories effectively) and the relationships were cute and believable but shallow. The ML & FL had some chemistry, but their facial expressions were the same throughout - and although they had some cute and touching moments together (when he takes the medicine and lays next to her waiting on the result...) they were just ok.

I just have to vent about one character in particular - because I was screaming at her throughout the entire series and feel that she got far too much screentime! Li Yan! What an ass! To say she was a moron would be a step up for her character (I know the actress is only playing the role) but D-U-M-B as a box of rocks! I am becoming acutely aware that writers tend to portray some of the secondary roles as totally inept and brainless. Either that, or they are obsessive and delusional about a perceived love-interest. This trend is particularly disturbing to me since there is usually a badass FL who they want to seem as smart and strong. However, making the other females be idiots isn't the way to go. I've seen a few dramas - and there are always those kinds of characters in the bunch, but this one took the cake - she definitely was the worst one written.

Would I rewatch it? No. They told their story, but it was forgettable. The writers couldn't even end the story well, and that says a lot because the characters all got 'happy endings' but very underwhelmingly so.

Leia Mais

I know 50% of people liked this drama and 50% didn't. I also know there were a few things that could have been improved but for me the pros outweigh the cons. Plus I am a big big fan of the Wang Yi Bo and Zhao Li Ying so I give this drama full ratings. This is just my opinion.
Legend of Fei was a drama that had me waiting every week for the episodes to come out and once they were released, it had me fangirling every second.
I loved the main couple. A lot of people might think Wang Yi Bo and Zhao Li Ying don't suit each other but I think they were a perfect couple for the role. Their funny, cute and even the sad moments had me loving them soooo much. Xie Yun's love for Zhou Fei was the best. Her way of loving him was so fierce (and funny) but she protected him all the time. Something new we got to see.
I am glad that there were no heart breaking break ups or any misunderstanding between the main couple. Although Xie Yun's illness made a lot of scenes upsetting but the fact that A'Fei was with him made everything better. They got together so naturally and were together throughout the whole drama. Their love was touching.
The trio of the physician was soo funny, especially towards the end of the drama. Their characters grew so well. I had no idea Yang Jin's character would develop so much. I am so glad that no main or my favourite characters died.
I have loved this drama more than I can describe in words.

Leia Mais

An honest Review

This series had its pros and cons for me but I was happy to watch it and the ending was quite satisfying for our leads and other couples. So let's get into this review, shall we? I never read the novel but knew from fans who had that production deviated heavily from it but am not surprised as many series and films do on an international scale. Let's get the bad news out of the way first.

Cons: As a writer and published author myself, plot and character development are essential especially when creating a character or making a written one into a 3D version of itself. There were so many useless or underdeveloped characters that it was honestly confusing to follow the storyline sometimes. For starters, why so many villains? A proper series needs maybe maximum 4 antagonists but they need a base and development where you could see them progress with the series, not just laugh evilly, narrow beady eyes during conversations, and disappear without a trace somewhere towards the end with a soft explanation (ex. Yu WenZhi). I legit lost track of the bad guys and had to ask someone. Some were turned into bad guys but the attempts were lackluster at best. The two real proponents of evil in this series were Shen TianShu and Pathetic Clam. The two of them would have been enough. And of course Yin Pei's transformation but his entire storyline was very short lived and wishy-washy. Perhaps add the Eunuch but for more then a few episodes that killed Xie Yun's father as an extra.

So many great or interesting characters were never really explored or were given fast deaths like Phoenix, the lady in red as I called her who fell for ZF's grandfather or Old man Chonquio while useless characters like the 3rd prince and I don't recall his name weak kid who had a crush on Ah Fei but his family was massacred and he joined Yin Pei's cult of crazy were created to confuse. There are probably other characters too but they were so underdeveloped that I forgot all about them.

It was also sad that even though Xie Yun was the ML his backstory was barely explained in tiny flashbacks. I wanted to know; how did he get poisoned? Where was he? Why? Who gave that order? Why the worst poison on earth? He was just a kid. This was a fascinating arc which was never properly explored. Where did he learn his footwork from? How did Yu WenZhi know him and vice versa? Not to mention the whole mystery of The Color of Ocean and Heaven; no one knew what it was, but ppl got killed for it and I felt like I was in a game of "Clue".

Continuing on to costumes and scenery. This was probably one of the saddest parts; this production had such a huge budget and I wonder what it was used on? The forest surrounding the fortress and every other location was so fake it was cringeworthy. They were filming in Hengdian where there's great terrain all over the place; why not use that? There are trees and bamboo and forests that were perfect for every outdoor scene. Rocks and hills could always be built in. The leads ever changing costumes made me dizzy. Why so many? Pick a few really well made ones and stay in them. The fake facial hair was atrocious at best. I can now understand Zhao Liying's post on Weibo last year after filming wrapped showing two hamburgers; one was the real deal and one was half the size of the original with discoloration. The first was of the expectation for the series and the second was the reality.

Ok, now that I have everyone depressed, let's get onto the good news.

Pros: The primary reason I watched this in the first place was because I'm a fan of Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo. She was the first actor I saw in c-ent that I really liked in Princess Agents and she pulled me into this rabbit hole. Wang Yibo I first saw as many did in CQL a month later and so started following him as well. Knowing that this was ZLY's first wuxia drama since PA and since her pregnancy, I was very excited and she didn't disappoint. I wanted to see Yibo in a totally different character to the ones I've seen him play, now as a chatterbox with martial arts and sweet talk; he too pulled it off.

I loved their playful banter, their bond before love set in. Though he was the flirt, there was a difference between that and when he really started to have serious feelings for her. The same thing happened with Ah Fei, she was stiff at first always smacking him or pulling her sword on him which made for very comedic scenes, but it was obvious with her too when just liking him as a friend or traveling companion turned into love. There wasn't a hot and heavy romance but it was still obvious and most importantly they formed the bond of trust and friendship before love. Both actors gave their all and it showed. Does this mean they stop growing in their profession? No. Yibo still has a long way to go but with time and different roles, I believe he will be a wonderful actor; at 23 he's already accomplished so much that he's really a prodigy in many ways. Liying has done many different roles and I appreciate all the hard work she puts in, I look forward to more things from her and already added both of their upcoming works to my watchlist here amongst others. The other actors that impressed me were named above but sadly weren't given enough screen time to have their stories flushed out. The second leads held their own but Ah Fei's female cousin I wanted to strangle. She acted 12 and her voice was like nails on chalkboard; if it wasn't for Bonehead and the doctor dude with the snakes for some comedic relief, I probably would have skipped more if not all of her scenes.

To tally it up;
The winners were Ah Fei, Xie Yun, Shen TianShu, Pathetic Clam, Yin Pei, Madam Nichang, and Xie Yun's masters on Penglai Island.
Ok characters: Li Sheng, ChuChu, Bonehead, Poisoner snake dude, Grandpa Li, parents of Ah Fei, Mr. Bai, General Wen.
Sadly not developed: Phoenix, Lady in Red, Old Man from Qi School, Eunuch killer.
Everyone else had massive character flaws, were unimportant so didn't need to speak about them or they didn't belong and should have been cut. Not the best series I have seen but certainly not the worst and there were very cute scenes between our leads to rewatch.

Leia Mais

Mediocre show that could have been better

There are 2 things that bother me in dramas ... stupid characters that would not survive a day in reality and the silly misunderstandings between the couples. This drama did not have the second issue, but the first one was prominent,

I would give a recap of the story, but it was all over the place and a mess. Just when you thought there was a plan or goal in site it would change and then drag out to the point I really didn't care. The story basically revolves around a female swords person, Zhou Fei, and the "emperor" from the previous dynasty. Xie Yun. There are bad people not sure where they came from or why they are bad, it doesn't have to do with the current dynasty as far as I can tell. I mean I am not sure why there is an army from the previous dynasty and who exactly they are fighting, is it the current dynasty (seems like not) or the bad people (then why do they just not part of the current dynasty). The story is a mess, I do not now the source material so I cannot say if this is what the story is supposed to be like. As for the other characters - they come and go and I forget they were even there (Chuchu's brother just disappeared, the useless young guy that had no skills meets the female lead for a few episodes and then sacrifices himself for her?), and there are so many with little to no purpose . There is little growth or development from any characters except for the female leads cousin Li Sheng. The most annoying character is a toss up between Li Yan (female leads cousin) who has to be one of the dumbest and most annoying people to ever be in a show (I was hoping they would kill her when she was captured to end my misery) and also the 3rd prince (like "adopted" brother of the Male Lead but he's from the current dynasty which means there is no hope if he becomes emperor). I really cannot decide which was more annoying. I guess the third prince was like a fly, while Li Yan was like a swarm gnats (I guess she wins the most annoying award). It was nice to see a string female lead, and the two main characters were fine. I even liked the second couple (Li Sheng and Chuchu) and the country bumpkin was fine (although he was generally with the annoying female). I found the older generation more interesting - Li Zheng (Female leads grandfather), Ji Yin Chen, the Taoist, the monks that took care of Xie Yun, Yin Wen Lan, and the palm fighting lady. I would rather of seen them more. Also, in the middle of rescue missions or fights, they would stand around and talk for like 10 minutes, who does that? I mean when Chuchu is leaving the medicine valley it's like a 15 minute scene to say goodbye, ironically she finds the general in like a minute to make upper how long it took to leave the little valley!

As for acting, I thought the Zhao Li Ying was fine as the female lead. I know that she was a little old to be playing the young girl, but that didn't bother me. The attempts to make her look younger with heavy makeup actually made it harder to see her as young. Wang Yibo was good as the male lead. I know others have reviewed that he was better as Lan Wangji in The Untamed or that Wei Wuxian was the same character but better, but I think those are unfair. It's a different role and story so you cannot really compare them. Do I think he is a great actor, not at all, but he is pleasant and I think he played the carefree ML role fine even if lacking depth. With that said, I never really saw any chemistry between the two. They were just OK together. The rest of the acting was adequate, nothing remarkable. The main villain was fine and the "older" generation was fine. I enjoyed Frankie Guo's over the top portrayal of Mu Xiao Qiao (he wasn't;t in the story enough).

The soundtrack was fine. I liked the songs but there were episodes where all that seems to happen was the song playing. So towards the end they seemed stale to me.

Basically if you like the actress and actor then you can enjoy the show for them. For me that wasn't enough to make up for the failings. I would call this a mediocre show - there are worse ones to watch and also way better ones to watch.

Leia Mais

I was kind of disappointed, I had really high expectations for this show. It started off way too slow. A normal drama takes me at least to ep 5 or 10 to start getting good. But this show got to like episode 25 and it starts getting interesting. Honestly, I don't really get it. Their whole mission was to bring a girl back and it got into so much chaos. They also live in a really small world. Many of the people got lost and most went their separate ways and then they bump into each other and then get separated then somehow bump into each other, it makes it seen as they live in a small world. I really don't like the fact that Xie Yun is so talkative and always joking cause the one I've always seen is the "Lan Zhan" version, and it's so sad to see him smile, and my heart isn't willing to move on from the untamed. But overall not bad, really nice marshal arts.

Leia Mais

Ein Drama mit Tiefgang und Charme

Mich hat dieses Drama von der Geschichte, den Charakteren und dem Schauspiel voll überzeugt. Die Drehbuchautoren haben ganze Arbeit geleistet, denn der Zuschauer beginnt damit die Charaktere in ihren Stärken und Schwächen zu erleben und kann die Entwicklung der Protagonisten gut nachvollziehen. Sicher ist der erste Teil des Dramas nicht durch übermäßige Action geprägt. Es wird aber nie langweilig, da die inhaltlichen und lyrischen Fakten im Schauspiel verankert sind. Im mittleren Teil des Dramas wird die Handlung dann dramatischer und auch durch viele Handlungsstränge in Verwirrung gebracht. Die Helden müssen nun agieren, ob sie wollen oder nicht. Dann im dritten Teil beginnt eine angemessene und spannende Auflösung der inhaltlichen Verwicklungen.
Dieses Drama hat wenig inhaltliche Wiederholungsschleifen, die Handlung wird ständig durch neue Probleme und Fakten getragen. Die Protagonisten entwickeln Lösungen und stecken nicht fest. Es macht also immer Spaß beim zuschauen.
Es ist kein Film, sondern eine Serien, also ist eine gewisse Langatmigkeit nicht zu vermeiden, aber die stört in diesem Drama überhaupt nicht. Ich habe habe beim Anschauen wirklich gehofft, dass es nie enden würde.
Die Charaktere sind zauberhaft und durchgestaltet. Selbst die Schurken gewinnen das Herz der Zuschauer. Ich war traurig und hatte Mitleid, dass diese Figuren sich so selbst in ihre Negativität verstrickt haben und keine Entwicklung mehr vollziehen konnten.
Die Figur des Xie Yun ist überaus unterhaltsam und schafft die richtige Grundlage, dass A´Fei trotz ihrer stillen Art ihren Tiefgang zeigen kann. Die Figuren, die den Hauptcharakteren folgen sind wundervoll in ihrer Lebendigkeit und finden ihren Platz. Die Story ist immer verständlich und folgt einem Ziel.
Gefallen hat mir auch, dass das Drama mal mehr Informationen zu Qi Gong und Bagua aufarbeitet, so dass dem Zuschauer diese Formen der Energien nähergebracht werden.
Generell hat diese Drama in seiner Gesamtheit eine auffällige Ähnlichkeit zu den DEFA-Märchenfilmen.
Das wird auch durch die Art der Kulissen hervorgerufen, die etwas "old school" wirken, was aber gut zu dem Drama passt. Es wird dazu wenig mit offensichtlichen, computergenerierten Effekten gearbeiten. Die Kulisse der "Festung 48" mit ihrer Vielschichtigkeit, von den individuellen Wohnorten bis zu der natürlichen Umgebung, und die Kulisse beim Abendessen in in der Heimatstadt von Xie Yun sind top. Ich habe mich total verliebt.
Die Kostüme und Frisuren sind mal anders und vielschichtiger, gefallen mir sehr.
Die Romantik ist dezent, erfreut den Zuschauer aber immer wieder.
Die Musik ist nicht auffällig, aber immer passend und schmeichelt sich irgendwann ins Ohr.
Wirklich schrecklich in diesem Drama war die Schnittführung. Da musste scheinbar Zeit geschunden werden. Deshalb dort auch ein Punkt Abzug. Das ist lästig, aber stört nicht wirklich. Ich hoffe ganz stark, dass die DVD-Version dieses Problem behebt.
Dann ist Genuss beim Anschauen vorprogrammiert. Viel Freude.

Leia Mais

I can't Move on from this drama

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................one of MY FAVORITE C-DRAMA ALL THE TIME.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Leia Mais

The best romantic comedi and the best wuxia 2020 and 2021

If you birth in years 1980/1990, this drama will bring back your memori with classic wuxia or old wuxia style like drama the legend condor of heroes. So many supporting caracter with their story. New caracter appear in the adventure time. For me as long as the story of new caracter interesting, i will watch. Maybe you feel difficult to memorize the name of every new caracter but you will memorize their face because their caracter are uniq and their story will touch your heart. It's like as spiderman movie or detectiv conan drama. Always any new caracter every new episod but also any the stronggest one villain that the heroes must face that. it's so uniq and interesting. And also alot of martial arts can make you enjoying this drama.

This drama also a lot of funy scene and funy dialog that make you laugh so hard and feel happy if you watch this. Xieyun caracter so funy, misteriuos, smart, and cheerfull. Afei caracter so badass, strong female lead and can get angry easyly, cold face too. Xieyun and afei like ice and fire,but their chemistry are very cute,lovable and funy. Their interaction so sweet with their little fight scene like a child couple or like as tom and jery couple but finally fall in love with each other. Its seem like hate become love relationship. Li yan, yang heiitan and yang hecong also cute and funy. Yinpei caracter is tragic but good, it seem like first time he is a villain but finally he is heroes. Wu chuchu so amazaing, very elegan and patient. Mu ziaoqu also uniq caracter and funy, duan juinang story with li zheng very touch my heart. Every cast give the best. They acting so potrayed their caracter and make the caracter like live come out the novel. Finally i'm not the fans of the actor/actres legend of fei but i fall in love with their caracter in this drama.

This drama also like a mistery drama, you will always want to know every secret in this drama. Also any romance story that will make you smile and cry, so touching and so sad.

The backsound/BGM very beautiful and touching. Its fit always with scene. Ending original Soundtrack also good. The coustume afei maybe seem ugly for the first time but its better and pretier after 30eps.

The dubber also good make the caracter more live. I just will complain with some flower or plant that sometime seem fake or unreal. And stuntman of afei sometime look so clearly but overall its ok, because the story is very entertaining and make me always anticipate the new episode. This is wuxia clasic style that can make bring you with old memory. Very uniq and fresh different from a lot of chinadrama that recently always give story of fantasy/xianxia drama. It's real martial arts drama with romantic comedi. And also great adventure and full of mistery plot.

Leia Mais

A Drama To Watch

Acting is good with this drama, I like the fighting scenes and the chemistry of the leads.
The CGI might be imperfect but I wish they could have have made it more realistic, if they have done that, it could have been perfect.

The soundtrack? I fell in love with the song's, I can listen to it whole day with a loop.

For the fighting scenes, its great but its too close that I cannot see the executions well.

WY and ZLY, they have chemistry, its there but wanted more but its understandable cause this is Wuxia drama after all. And they had bring out the sweet scenes and act as the real age of the characters. Not too daring like how adult acts and just a little bit sweet like young ones still a bit disconnected due to their young age.

Overall, I will love to re-watch this and spend money cause its all worth it.

Leia Mais