A História dos Místicos (2024)

Hmm...

Interesting costumes, mysterious start to drama, entertaining story... but missing the X-factor.

Zhu Yan (aka Zhao Yuan Zhou) was a powerful demon who was troubled by malicious energy which gathered around him. As an individual, Zhu Yan was a kind and loving soul. But when he became controlled by the energy, he turned into a killing machine.

Led by a leader of the Demon Hunting Bureau Zhuo Yuan Zhou, Zhu Yan, the powerless BaiZe goddess Wen Xiao, the skilful archer Pei Si Jing, and teenage doctor Bai Jiu set out to investigate the case of the serial killing of brides and a series of other demon crimes.

Zhu Yan had in the past killed Zhou's father and brother when controlled by the malicious energy; Pei previously served under a rival camp. Distrust among the team members prevailed as each were from different backgrounds. Indeed among them were traitors who were serving other evil lords hidden in the dark.

Usually after each drama, I could recall the flow of the story quite logically. But the feeling this drama left me was that it was messy. The pace of action moved quite quickly and was exciting during the first 20 episodes but coming to the last 10 episodes were a lot of draggy parts. The drama suddenly slowed down in pace and inserted a lot of time fillers to drag it on. There were a lot of flashbacks (repeats of the same scenes), hesitation, emotional reminiscing and prolonged fighting. The last 4 episodes were mainly centred around fighting the villain who resurrected. I got really impatient.

Frequently at critical moments when things were going badly, suddenly it turned out that Zhu Yan had anticipated the villain's intents and had plotted counter strategies. So the crises were averted, but in ways, I felt was not convincing.

Eventually, the story ended with someone sacrificing his life to save his sweetheart and to atone for the bad deeds he had done. Amidst all the crying and sadness that the director was trying to portray, I actually felt nothing. Yes, nothing.

I became a fan of Neo Hou after watching 'A Girl like Me'. But the subsequent four dramas I watched of his were all fantasy dramas, and his characters were mostly childish. I think he needs to move on to more mature character, or else he might just be left behind as he aged. And all these fantasy dramas are going to make him into a single-character actor.

Overall, I recommend watching this drama - given the 8.6 rating which is high for mydramalist, it showed a lot of viewers enjoyed it. I gave it a 8.5 which is not particularly great as my ratings were usually more generous than the rating on mydramalist. I therefore have a lower opinion of this drama than the general viewers here.

Leia Mais

A lot of potential but dulled by (probably?) subpar development, bad directing and awkward editing

The good:
- Male lead is so good with his acting, styling and looks, 9.5/10 on that for me. I'm not familiar with 侯明昊 but after looking him up in interviews, realise his personality IRL differs from that of ML's character - I'm quite amazed with that on how he portray 赵远舟.
- A couple of other characters I really love are 白玖 (林子烨's acting is so good especially the last part I really felt the struggle unlike for some other actors in the drama...), 英磊, 离仑 and 裴思恒 - they made my heart ache for them.
- My favourite parts are 青耕 and 蜚's arc (they are just so good together post-My Journey to You), 英磊's death, 白玖's sacrifice and 离仑 version of 白玖.
- Story wise is interesting, visual effect is super cool.
- I do really enjoy some of them and will be adding them to my playlist.
- The funny dancing at the end of every episode gave me good laughs at some of the bad dancing like from 田嘉瑞 and 丞磊 they're so cute.

The bad:
- Realistically speaking, it's kinda a mess. The editing(?), the story and their treatment of the female characters in general.
- The first 10-ish episodes felt like a joke, with random OSTs playing out of nowhere and sad ones transitioning into the funny, funky ones awkwardly.
- Could have a bit more depth to some of the characters - ok you may think wow everyone has back stories already, what more do I want? NO. I don't need back stories for everyone, I just need solid character building. For example, the ML and FL are too... nice. World saving is their priority, they love their friends (except for 英磊 I feel, rip), which makes it feel like typical 2000s character where the main characters got to be nice and proper. Ok I know this is a personal preference, but yea I would prefer something a bit more realistic to work with here.
- They literally ignored 英磊 sometimes??? Like there's this scene where the main characters were saying they're a group of 5 good friends - and this includes 赵远舟, 文潇, 裴思婧, 卓翼宸 and 白玖. BUT WHAT ABOUT 英磊?????? Idk how the story is being written but the way things were shot, it feels like he's part of the gang but they're literally not acknowledging him most of the times and just see him as comic relief? Even though he's always helping them? His death is so not worth it man.
- Females characters feel a bit shallow to me, both in terms of story and acting. Either bad directing or bad acting idk, but FL 文潇 literally feels like background to me as most of the times she's just your typical damsel in distress, I believe they could have given her a lot more personality and character development but no she literally just feels like a nice neighbourhood sister. She's just nice. I even forgot she exists for some of the episodes at the back. 裴思婧 is cool and all, they made her sound super powerful and all but every times she fights, it just feels like she has some debuff on her, I have never see her being actually really powerful or anything lmao. And I wish she has shown stronger emotion for her brother's death, didn't feel anything from her of that sort. Same thing goes for 文潇, both their reactions are just not giving.
- Awkward editing, where there are some scenes that cut between 2 camera angles and the actors are in different poses don't even get me started.
- Some bad directing/editing especially when it comes to some death scenes that feels kinda awkward. For the parts where the demons are fading away like for 裴思恒 and 英磊, the other characters around started looking at the fading parts above them even though the dying person is still lying in their arm??? Like, if your loved ones are dying wouldn't you want to continue looking at their face as much as possible instead of just looking away? Feels like a case of miscommunication between director and producer idk. It took me out of the scene.
- The characters cry TOO MUCH OMG. Every episode. They have to find something to tear up about and it's always the standard single drip of tear down their face. It just feels like the director is too focused on bringing across the beauty of crying rather than building things up more for stronger emotional cries. There's only like 2-3 crying scenes that I felt a bit more on and it's from the ML, the rest idek.
- I literally can't feel the love between the ML and FL, it feels kinda out of nowhere and forced.

Ok peace and bye, have a good life ♥

Leia Mais

A feast for the eyes, epic tale not without flaws but worth it for the journey it will take you on

I was expecting a lot from this Chinese Wuxia drama : the fact that Tian Jia Rui had one of the main role in a series directed and written by the very talented director Edward Guo really hyped me. Overall, it successfully managed to keep up with my high expectations and likely set the bar super high for any other future Chinese wuxia drama I would watch.

I loved the story thematic with the narration focusing a lot on the concept of dream and reality, it was truly an epic tale supported by an impressive production value. In the middle of a lot of action, mystery and investigation, the heart of the story is foremost about companionship and found family, as well as different kind of love. The evolution of the relationships between the characters (especially between the two main male leads but also with some of the secondary roles) was probably my favorite part of the show.

The costumes and the cinematography were impeccable. A real feast for the eyes, with a lot of details and superbly impactful. Every set felt so real, rich and purposeful with a minutiae that I rarely encountered. You can really feel the director vision and specific touch when watching the drama and that's something that completely fascinated me.

The acting was another strong point : the cast was pretty good with a great dynamic with each other. This for that matter can be witnessed in the ending generic of episodes which consists of them dancing together on a choreography on one of the main song of the drama. I was once again super impressed by Tian Jia Rui : he got even better than in "My Journey To You" despite the challenges inherent to his role, from "Didi to Gege", very different from his debut one. I got very attached to the main characters (and even some of the more minor ones) and it is a proof of the overall good performances of the ensemble cast. In addition to Tian Jia Rui, I will keep an eye on the future work of Neo Hou and Yan An. The acting of this trio was on point, together or separately in addition to be such eye-candy.

Of course, the series is not without flaws. I wish the lore and powers were more consistent and that there had been less magical objects conveniently appearing for the sake of the plot. I also found the shift in tones a bit jarring: especially in the introduction arc, there is some over-the-top humor that felt a bit flat and strange in the middle of the angsty parts. It fortunately got smoother and more balanced as the story unfolded. The script also took time to set up the stakes, with some situations and storylines being a bit repetitive in the first part of the series.

Other than that, some of the fight sequences lacked of rhythm and dynamism: they were all beautiful but sometimes to the detriment of the pacing (or even the logic) of the conflicts. Editing could also have been better regarding transition between scenes or even between episodes. The OST was quite good (with maybe one of the song being overused) but music was a bit abruptly inserted into some sequences. I'm pointing it out because all the remaining of the production was so flawless that those minor flaws were even more striking.

I would recommend this to people looking for a Chinese Wuxia drama with a super strong cinematographic vision and high production value, good acting and gripping story featuring different kind of love. Shift in tone was a bit unbalanced at first and introduction arc could have been better paced, but once the set up of the relationships between the characters is done, you are in for a captivating journey that will tug at your heartstrings.

Leia Mais

most well written drama I've seen this year

this the first time I've watched the wuxia genre and this show did not disappoint,

things i liked:
1. world building
because this is the first time watching this genre i was afraid i wouldn't understand anything but even though this show didn't have an opening explaining all the lore the characters explained the world to other characters that didn't know ,which informed us the viewer which i really appreciated which really showed the effort the writers put into the world building of this show and also how much they respected the viewer to let us figure it out and by the end of the show i was really emersed into the world they build over the period the show aired.

2. cohesiveness
everything in this show fit together really well, the costuming fit every character really well and showed their personality without seeming out of place. something that i also liked is that the outfits repeated, in some dramas they would be changing the characters clothes every scene but the repeating of outfits further shows that there is a bit of realism in this unrealistic world. another thing that made the show a masterpiece is the Ost and score these were so well done the show wouldn't feel whole without them, in some dramas the music doesn't fit the emotion or scene but in this show they put so much effort into the score making it the Ost's instrumental and also it fit every important and even the insignificant beats of the story. the ost also brought out all the emotional parts of the story and amplified them making me go back and rewatch some scenes.

3. direction/cinematography
this show is so beautiful to look at i was speechless the scenes in the wilderness where breath taking and the way the show was directed is so well-done the crew did such a good job and it shows through out the entire body of work.( I'm trying to keep this review spoiler free so i wont go into too much details on this).

4. the characters/ the story
every character was well thought out and all the motives of every character were clear and most important thing for me when watching a drama is the character development because i hate it when a character remains stagnant throughout the whole show and then suddenly they change in the last ep, to do it well the growth has to be slow but apparent. i saw this in the second leads the way pei si jing developed throughout the show was so well written. and imo the best written character is zhou yi chen if you watch the show you see how much he changes and develops and a person, moreover the motives of the villains where clear and you as the viewer understand them its not like they were doing evil because the show needed and antagonist we knew the reason why they were doing these evil acts and we could anticipate them too which i liked, also on the topic of villains i liked that not everything was black and white and there where some grey characters like li lun who i understood why he did what he did and his character development throughout the show was so well-done you can see the confliction in him every time he did anything to zhao yuan zhuo. the supporting/background characters were also well written every time they showed a story the writers wrote them so well that you could even cry over them and also under stand their motives too and it the show all connected in the end in a way where every thing showed contributed to the ending so nothing was unimportant to the story.

5. the pacing
even though i saw many people say that the pacing of this story was slow paced, i think that was the right decision because i think that the pacing fit the story, because if it was any faster i think that i would have trouble following it and the pacing made the important beats of the story more impactful.

6. consistency
the biggest problem when watching comedy genres in dramas is that they always are super funny at first but when the climax of the story comes they become super melancholy and lose the shows initial charm but in this show they didn't the comedy remained throughout the show even after the sad parts and i very much liked that. and the found family and the dynamics between the characters were also consistent nothing happed that was out of character for them which i also really liked.

things i didn't like:
1. the female lead's character was a little neglected i could tell in the beginning of the show and i thought i should give the show more time and they did try to flesh her out a little more but i think they could have done a better job with her because in felt that the supporting characters were written better than her which is sad because she is the main lead.

2. the romance was lacking
i know some people would disagree with me but the main leads didn't have enough screen time together i felt the love between them but we didn't have enough time with them. and something else is that every body has so much chemistry with everybody i was getting confused at times like if you watched the show you could see it.

overall this may be the best drama I've seen this year the way it was created felt so well thought out and some people may not have liked the ending but I'm pretty content with it.

Leia Mais

FONGS OF FORTUNE

Really an amazing cdrama.Demons and Humans are not afraid of death but they are afraid of losing Loved ones.Each actors acting is really so good ♥️.Love ,romance and innocence between Demon and Goddess is really lovely------>♥️.Director is a well script writer, but Love between Demon and Goddess is okay but Romance between them is less.He should have brought much more romance between them.Whatever happens we don't care but at the end Demon and Goddess should be together . Because so many dramas upset the viewers and fans at the end and they will give worst reviews and ratings.So please make us happy and we will never disappoint you until you disappoint us.Please I have given 10/10 Ratings and reviews.
(⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)⁠♥

Leia Mais

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I'll always remember fof, what a great way to close up the year 2024 🩶.



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Leia Mais

Where is the platonicness?

A review that's been sitting in my drafts, so I thought I would post into the world since I've rewatched this again.

I started to this for the found family, sismance and bromance, but good god the bromance has me on a choke hold. This show has kept me up at night like nobody's business. I LOST SLEEP OVER THESE CHARACTERS. Zhuo Yichen and Zhao Yuanzhou genuinely had no right to have as much chemistry as they do, and my delulu mind could not see anything platonic.

This was a beautiful story about loss, letting go, forgiveness, giving family in the most unlikely of people, finding one's place in the world. The ost, cinematography and visuals were absolutely out of this world. The actors were absolutely fantastic in their jobs, and I couldn't get enough.

But that being said, the start of this show was lowkey slow, and it took me a while to get into it. But the moment I did? I WAS HOOKED. OBSESSED. CHOCK-HOLD. But my girlie Wen Xiao? Nah, what they do to her. I don't even care that she was weak, I care how they butchered her character. The way the writer utilised her character was ridiculous and stupid. Like Ying Lei was weak, but damn, boy was a side character and he was utilised so much better. They actually did her so dirty in this show. I love Pei Sijing. That's my girl. And Li Lun had no right to be that hot. If villain why hot? If evil why sexy?

Leia Mais

Bromance with Added Sismance, Truly Perfect!

Guo Jing Ming’s projects are always fraught with homoerotic tones; starting from Painted Skin: The Guo Jingming Edition, Wuliang, L.O.R.D 1, L.O.R.D 2, The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity and the recently concluded Fangs of Fortune, all stand testament to his amazing prowess to pass Chinese censorship.

Some stories leave you exasperated whilst others leave you with a ray of hope and earnest longing; that someday, you might be able to meet these characters again. “Fangs of Fortune” was one such drama for me. It taught me valuable life lessons- you can redeem yourself once you accept you were in wrong; love should set you free, not imprison you. Also, you can love someone despite hating them in the past. Adapted from the classic text and the mythology and geography collection “Classic of Mountains and Seas” (山海经), the show has the most endearing characters that slowly become a family. The best part is that they aren’t all human- we have a makeshift family made of a Great Demon, two powerful Demon Hunters, a Half God and a Mountain God. The only thing that connects them is their yearning for familial ties and bonds. They become each other’s solace and peace of mind; they evolve and mature together, drawing inspiration and courage from one another. Another important aspect of Guo Jing Ming’s shows is the magnanimity of the settings and the mesmerizing locales. The costumes are posh, keeping in line with the stature/position of the characters. We bring you the evergreen queer romance that is characteristic of most Guo Jing Ming’s stories.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/11/20/fangs-of-fortune-series-review-ep-1-to-32/

Leia Mais

A Promise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Story - The story is something which is common but it showcases a different emotion and I really Liked it .
Cast - I need not to say anything , The cast is amazing . They are linked to each other and They really did amazing Job by delivering and I literally cried a lot of times
Although the story in the mid was ok but it's worth watching , We have another Lovable squad here .
Each person have each motive but they come together to solve it but at the end they al become one protect each other .
I really Liked this drama and It should be in your watch list if you didn't see it .

Leia Mais

Gorgeously off the rails

PROS:
- Most beautiful cinematography, costume designing, and production out of ALL the C-dramas I've seen. Obviously meticulous work was done in order to achieve the stunning visual effects (enhanced by the OST).

- Beautiful OST. I didn't find it so beautiful when I first listened to it (without the drama), but it melded impeccably with the drama's scenes. Most of the OSTs were used, too, so I wasn't left wondering why I didn't hear something when listening to the track list afterward.

- Good acting. I think this is one of Hou Minghao's strongest and most layered performances and encouraged me to look into his other dramas. As for the other actors, I think they all did the part that they could with the script (largely focused on ML alone; few other characters had any sort of development or growth).

- Good exploration of friendship between ML and 2ML. A lot of chemistry is in this performance, and I can actually see how the friendship developed.

- The humor is unmatched, especially if you're decently fluent in Chinese (I think the humor is on par with Falling Into Your Smile, which is a seriously funny drama).

CONS:
- Disjointed storyline largely reliant on flashbacks, side plots, and magical objects (which the fate of the world depends on, but they break super easily). I lost track of what was going on and the explanations for all the random scenes by Ep. 23 (?) Up until Ep. 10 though, I thought the story was wonderful. Beyond that, it barely passes as "cohesive."

- Too many people died for no particular purpose. A lot of tragedies happened in this drama, but I don't think they enhanced it in any way. Too much of something tragic/beautiful makes nothing tragic/beautiful at all. Additionally, there wasn't enough character development for me to feel attached to any of the characters besides ML so their deaths were "just another death."

- FL development in the script was terrible. I'm sure Chen Duling did what was asked of her, but there wasn't really much for her to work with. The FL's presence + romance feels a little like the director's afterthought (though I do think the romance was more developed than many viewers claim and occupied a decent number of scenes).

- A lot of missing/unbelievable character actions/explanations. Why was the main antagonist for 15 episodes redeemed? Nobody saw his change of mind until he actually acted upon it, and that left very little development for the actual "main villain."

COMPARISON TO SIMILAR C-DRAMAS:

1. Till the End of the Moon (Bai Lu/Luo Yunxi) compared to Fangs of Fortune
- Heavier on the romance
- Better written female lead and overall more cohesive plot
- Less beautiful visuals + cinematography; a lot of it is a LOT overdone (blood vomiting)
- Similar presence of side stories though generally less important side characters
- OST in FoF is more suitable/enjoyable IMO
- Similar tragic ML, though I think the ML here is less psychotic/intense

Personally, I think they're on a pretty similar level quality-wise.

TLDR; I thought this was a decently good drama because it was beautiful to look at (hats off to the costume designers, cinematographers, and everyone involved in that). It was enough to keep me watching, but do note that the story and character development arcs are pretty poorly done besides for the ML.

Do note that I did think about this drama for a very long time afterward and had trouble watching any other drama's cinematography (this was pretty insane). I'd give it a watch, and I do find myself going back to certain episodes/scenes to watch it again.

Leia Mais