Too depressing for me
I am probably 1 out of 100 people, but Fangs of Fortune didn’t work for me. And I really wanted to like it - I had been looking forward to it for several months - but unfortunately I couldn’t.The main reason FoF didn’t work for me is that I could not handle its everyone-and-everything-is-doomed vibe - the story is packed with heartbraking events with very few comedic moments that interrupt all the pain and that give the viewer time to breath. If you are into emotional pain, heartbreak, angst and desperation, FoF will be a feast for you and my following complaints regarding storytelling (pacing and character development) will merely be a little nuisance. But for me this drama was simply too depressing to enjoy.
Storytelling-wise my biggest complaint is about the pacing of this story because something about it was off. There simply wasn’t a rhythm I could flow with - I perceived the whole drama as a mere succession of more or less connected events without narrative arcs to guide a viewer through it.
Apart from that, I also had issues with the character development or better the lack of it. At some point I felt that the lead characters had morphed into a collective of more or less interchangeable units that were all willing to sacrifice themselves for the whole entity. I assume the story provided the moments where those characters reached the emotional turning points where they formed a deep bond of love but for me these moments where either so fleeting that they never stuck with me or they drowned in an ocean of heartbreak. Therefore, the bonding of the lead characters was something that I just had to accept eventually without emotionally understanding it from a storytelling perspective. FoF relies heavily on the self sacrificing trope and the majority of the characters have martyr syndrome. However, I felt that for very few of them their martyrism is based in the narrative.
So, why did I torture myself and hate-watched all 34 and 1/2 episodes instead of dropping FoF eventually? The answer is Hou Ming Hao. He‘s magnetic. I have no better explanation. He pulled my gaze to the screen and locked it there, so I had to watch every single episode of FoF, no matter if I wanted to or not.
And there is one thing that I loved about FoF - the closing credits. This madness of letting the actors, fully in costume but NOT in character, break the fourth wall while performing a happy group dance appeals to my taste.
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Lo aspettavo, mi sta deludendo
Ero partita a guardare questo drama con tutto l'entusiasmo possibile di un cast stellare e un impatto visivo degno di un colossal, ma la bravura degli attori non è sufficiente per tenere in piedi una storia lenta, visuale ma non emozionante, priva di vero conflitto tra le parti e dove neppure il gioco di sguardi tra personaggi fa la differenza.La scelta di far recitare tutti a bassa voce, con flemma e a frasi brevi è l'emblema di come le premesse si stiano frantumando una dopo l'altra, come la mia voglia di arrivare alla fine.
Essere belli non è sufficiente e, considerando che il cast è fatto di attori bravi davvero, sta ammazzando il poco pathos rimasto: perfino il dolore più intollerabile è gestito da seduti a gambe incrociate.
Non sto dicendo che i personaggi vadano torturati, ma che lo spettatore possa sentire le loro emozioni è la base per un coinvolgimento che rende un'opera indimenticabile. E qui non c'è.
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Give me more of this please, but...
I dont even know where to beginYeah the story is good and very easy to follow. The acting is all spot on and well cast, besides Baize goddess. It’s all really good stuff. Even with the little mishap, I enjoy the show. Still a solid 9/10 or 8.5/10. I really enjoy the bromance. I won’t forget to mention how visually pleasing and pretty this show is. Its a gorgeous show with a gorgeous cast. Anyways I would love to see this type of show without the forced “romance”, idk if I can even call it that honestly. Give me more of this please, but without characters that seem to have no purpose besides having the plot on their side.
Bainze Empress is not good imo. She takes me out of the scene, her acting is not believable in the slightest, I cannot take her seriously. She really struggles with one-on-one scenes with her counterparts, she drowns; the other lead just will steal the show. For instance, her and mr demon Man are already is a fun light-hearted, deep backstory character
I really do not know what her character is supposed to be, is she serious, is she supposed to be a baddie, is she supposed to be tragic? I mean all she is in the show is just pretty. She plays the same expression in every episode, literally jusst :), and then she gets bonked or something and then it is :( or :0. I guess she is good at having tears in her eyes, but I see nothing in her eyes, like no emotion at all. LIterally for a whole episode girl was on the ground, like on her side because mr demon man was acting upon his demon ways (he can’t help it, he really is babygirl), anyways she’s in that same position, with the same expression on her face, saying his name repeatedly… I cannot.
Also, are we supposed to ship her with mr demon man because I really can’t tell. Personally, I do not ship them, I do not think we are supposed to because they have no romantic chemistry. I see them as friends, but because of fate or something they have to fall in love, but that just seems so forced. Mr demon man will tease her but she just gives the same expression of :), there’s not banter. On the other hand demon and Mr.Zhou have loads in my opinion. Demon is constantly teasing him, almost every scene they have, and Mr. Zhou really gets flustered, like he can’t take it but in a tsundere way; it is quite good stuff imo.
In short I ship either demon with Mr. Zhou or him with Li Lun (other hot demon, aka his past lover). Why?
Starting with Li Lun, they go way back. They’re back story is really good, we see more and more of it as the drama progresses. They are good friends, both understanding the misfortunes of being demons, but they both have a different outlook on life. They are foil characters I’d say, demon man sees the good in people, even when humans fear, and want to kill the demons, he has sympathy. Whereas, Li Lun is full of hate, he has no sympathy and is really at odds with all humans, they have a falling out. The show is pretty much Li Lun reaking hovic, trying to get demons to be integrated in the human realm, but in a way where demons would take over everything. Demon is part of the demon hunting troop or something, so they cross paths, but it’s so complicated. They’re feelings for eachother clearly are complicated. They have really good diaologue, and the visuals both go hard. It is tragic that they came to be on different ends of the same stick, really it is. Anyways, I could go on and on, but yeah, they have boatloads of chemistry, with the whole past life brotherly bond thing, to the recent “hating eachother” and trying to get one to understand the other.
Mr. Zhou is a great character. Maybe we are supposed to ship hiim with the Baize goddess? Idk they bring it up a bit, how they have known eachother since childhood and he is her protector or something, but honestly, you can’t really tell, like I can’t see it with the relationship that is being presented to me. Anyways, he’s great, a scene stealer. Ooh and I just got to a part with him and Li Lun! They really have great tension! I think they are filming a show together and I WILL be tuning in. They’re trying to kill eachother and its just really good.
Cheng Xiao is actually really well fit in her role. I’ve seen her as the lead in a few dramas and like Baize goddess, she can’t hold up to her opposite. In this show though, she’s a strong, quiet yet compassionate fighter. The history she has with her brother is beautiful (they sing an ost together i think) , yet tragic, and I actually enjoy watching her here. She’s really good.
Now for the little doctor (Xia Siniaka baby chu wanning for immortality). He is one of the top 3 actors here I’d say. His performance is spot on. The kid keeps up with the adults, and adds something to the show. LIttle doctor and Mr. Zhou have a great dynamic. I love the little brother, big brother thing going on. Teen mountain god is good too. His costuming is so fun. I want to watch him in some other stuff too. He’s great as well.
Lastly, the character of the drama itself, the main demon. He is great. I love how charasmatic he is. The comedy he brings is great, bouncing from character to character with his teases. He has a tragic backstory. Simply, he can’t help it when he torments others, something possesses him it seems and holds a lot of guilt for that. He’s misunderstood, but still brings a smile to the team. A scene stealer of a character and oh so interesting. The actor’s portayal of this character is spot on. He knows when he’s not supposed to be taken seriously, yet has a nice balance when we do need to take the guy seriously. I will have to watch more of the actors in other shows, cuz he eats this role up!
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THREE GOOD MAIN LEADS
This is the best drama of Neo Huo - character that bring the best of him. The 3 main leads are amazing, they're good looking, great acting, beautiful costumes, great setting, excellent cinematography, facial movement is spot on with the emotion/feeling that very moment. The best part is Neo Huo character did some trick that hasn't much done on C-drama "blew his finger and puff.....people fall down". This is the kind of drama that physical excises (fighting scenes) without sweat. Surprisingly I like this drama.Things that I pay attention to:
Although this is the kind of genre that's not my favorite but I like Neo Huo, Chen Du Ling & Tian Jia Rui characters; very subtle, little humor, nice collaboration. The three of them has chemistry. Neo Huo has mesmerizing eyes, mix of amuse and kill intent and a smile that can charm a snake. Tian Jia Rui has the innocent air while Chen Du Ling has quietness of superiority.
The boy Lester Lin (Bai Jiu) is acting fake and very squeaky, jumpy, scream like a little girl, wearing heavier make up than the other 2 female actress with so much dangling head-pieces. His character doesn't speak volume....just a lot of squeaks and hide behind someone else. I think he's ruining the whole drama.
Darker site of settings, probably it's a paranormal genre. Slow motion scenes and sad music inducing emotion from demon's recollection past memories as to why/how/when they committed killing sprees. Like those demons want to justify their crimes so far it's all about reconcilable love.
Guess Stars are equally beautiful/handsome and good. This drama is calling in all talented people to support (maybe they came from the same production/agent?); Riley Wang, Ryan Cheng, Wang Duo, Peng Xiao Ran. They're the addition characters that help with development of story. Very nicely done.
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Snoozefest
I’m probably in the minority here since the rating is so high but this was absolutely overrated, at least for the 12 episodes I could get through. I found this to be very boring and it couldn’t hold my attention. Disappointing since I was anticipating this drama.The Good
Visually, looks great. It’s a very high production. Some of the characters seem interesting since there are a variety of demons/goddesses. Of the characters, Bai Ju and the Mountain God were the most fun, interesting characters.
The Bad
Everything else. The acting was mediocre, poor executed story, the constant slow motion was way overdone but seems to be standard for this director. Every fight scene was shot in slow motion for a weird dramatic effect that just put me to sleep. Too much talking and not enough action for this type of show. Honestly, I felt like the trailer was better than the actual show because it seemed like it would be more nightmarish action, almost horror. This show is just filled with good looking people but their characters had no real substance to them. I could barely connect with any of them. There’s also not enough character and world building for the first half of the show. I typically don’t read the synopsis for shows so it doesn’t spoil the story before watching so I really didn’t know what it was about but really disappointed me.
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Not All Demons are the Same
So far this has been a captivating drama and I recommend it if you want something different from the run of the mill dramas. The cinematography and production is excellent, it feels like you are watching a big budget movie even though its a drama series. It is DIFFERENT and breaks from any box that I tried to initially put it in. The female lead characters are not the cutesy ditsy ones you typically see in Xianxia fantasy dramas. It has an eye catching young cast who are doing well with the character portrayal that has some grown up themes. They each carry the weight of the character's burden of loss and regrets. You feel like you are watching something that is digging deeper emotionally where the characters are forced to look within to grow in their journey together. There isn't much romance so far although it is alluding to it with the demon ML and the goddess FL. It focuses on the fantasy mystery of a group of individuals who are as diverse from each other as they can be who have conflicting goals and a camaraderie that develops with the life and death situations as they fight demons and unravel the mysteries in the demon and mortal worlds. The one thing that I am kind of meh on is the comedy they try to inject in, sometimes its a bit jarring when they switch from a moment where it seems serious to one where its supposed to be funny.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Un capolavoro
Il miglior drama in assoluto. Cast spaziale, con un Yan An super hot, per tacere degli altri. Costumi, musiche, scenografie ed effetti speciali di altissima qualità. Coinvolgente la trama, a volte tragica ma anche comica. Grande cast anche grazie ai cameo di attori famosi. Bello bello bellissimo. Consigliato e assolutamente da rivedere. Il balletto della sigla finale è una vera chicca. Il finale è abbastanza interessante, e soddisfa sia chi ama i lieto fine che chi ama i finali tragici.........Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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A Must-Watch Drama in 2024
I started watching this drama because of Cheng Xiao and Minghao—two of my absolute favorites! Initially, I thought the main couple would be Cheng Xiao and Minghao, but it turns out that's not the case. Cheng Xiao plays a supporting character, but she completely nailed her role and shines just as brightly as the leads. Honestly, her performance is so captivating that she steals the show at times.The drama has already secured a spot in my top 5 favorites list, right after The Love Game in the Eastern fantasy. It’s currently in 3rd place! My all-time favorite remains Dashing Youth and The love game in Eastern fantasy in 2024 but this one definitely deserves its ranking.
The story and characters are exceptionally well-written, with every detail pulling you into the drama’s world. At first, I thought it might be a BL/GL drama because they emphasize not just the couples' chemistry but also the connections between Cheng Xiao and Chen Duling, as well as Minghao and Jiarui. Honestly, I’m obsessed with the dynamics between Jiarui and Minghao and love their chemistry even more than the actual couples (Minghao and Duling)!
This drama stands out with its strong performances, stunning visuals, and an intriguing plotline. It’s one of those shows that keeps you hooked from start to finish, and every character feels so alive. Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of complex relationships and beautiful storytelling!
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A Mesmerizing World, Unforgettable Cast, and an Unmatched Plot
Fangs of Fortune has truly set a new standard for fantasy dramas. The direction is absolutely incredible, with every scene feeling perfectly crafted to bring this mesmerizing world to life. The cast is ethereal – each actor brings an authenticity and depth to their role that is genuinely refreshing. They’re not just performing; they’re embodying their characters, and it shows in every glance, every word. The plot is AMAZING – it’s an intricate, fresh storyline unlike anything I’ve seen before. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, twisting in ways that keep you guessing and craving more.The architectural design and visual style are simply *breathtaking*. It’s like being transported to an entirely new world, rich with beautiful scenery and meticulous detailing that feels like a dream. I’m totally obsessed! And let’s talk about Tian Jiarui – they are such a pretty crier, capturing emotions in a way that’s both moving and real. Plus, having Chen Duling as a main character is beyond exciting – she brings such grace and intensity to her role. I haven’t been this invested in a drama in a long time!
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Must try this drama, very exciting
Okay, first of all, I've been waiting for this drama.When the trailer came out it was really wow, and when the first episode was released it was exactly what I was waiting for.
I didn't follow MJY before because I don't really like dramas that are too convoluted, but it's good. I'm not surprised the director is the best
The story is interesting and different, I really hope there is a drama that is different and not boring like this. At least it doesn't revolve around political issues, bullying, zombies or things that are not Rational. Well, unless it's a fantasy genre.
So far this drama is really my type, because I often watch anime and action adventure movies. Wow, I'm amazed by the graphics, the soundtrack is really cool like an RPG game
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This is ridiculously bad
What a waste of time. Lets start with the positives-- beautiful environment, costumes, sound, special effects with some fights scenes. Apart from that its virtually hollow and empty. Annoying camera work and pretty characters that cant seem to act. Dark tone with melodramatic doom and gloom. Terribly boring pacing and story. Super annoying medicine kid.Maybe I came into this series with high expectations from the trailer but what a total disappointment. This is the case where the bad completely destroyed the good part of this series.
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It's DARK, ENCHANTING, and FULL OF POTENTIALS
Ahhhh.. As you know lah, I always love this kind of dark hero stories, so of course I will give those dramas a special attention...Mysteries, and demons... what else could I ask? Those are a perfect combination... As for you can guess, fans of My Journey To You, would know that these two dramas come from same home production and director and even the same costume designer, they look so similar, right? I don't have to explain too much then, If you watch MJTY and loves it, then you would know how impressive the production. They look fabulous. That's a fact.
What could influence good dramas beside impressive productions would only be the story itself.
- How does the story telling?
Mysterious enough to make me itchy for the next episodes, that's for sure.
- How are the characters development?
As far I watch the first 3 episodes, I can tell they have so much potentials and so much to explore.
- How much Fangs of Fortune could give us satisfaction at these last months of 2024?
That......, we must see later.
I will update my review later, but I think I won't worry too much... just hoping won't be ended just as MJTY did, a season two await.. hahahaha
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