There's no point pretending this is an absolutely perfect series, because there's no such thing, but this comes so bloody close that it might as well be.

I originally wasn't going to write a review for this, as much as I loved it, because there's 41 pages of reviews on this site for this series and the majority of them are positive - does it really need one more?

Well, I've decided that yes, it does.

As I stated above, no series is perfect and this one is no exception, but the only thing to really complain about are the sometimes rather bad special effects. The giant turtle and the giant wolf spring to mind, plus the non-appearance of a lot of the creatures the cultivators are supposed to hunt thanks to China's daft censorship laws.

Speaking of which, I'm going to get this complaint out of the way early. I was disappointed that a BL novel was adapted in to a censored series, but only in the sense that there were no kissing scenes. I'm a romantic sap and that's all I would have liked to have seen. I'm sure other people wouldn't have minded the, ahem, other stuff, but I would have been happy with some kissing.

HOWEVER this series is a romance in everything but name. It's very much a gay romance in the style of Hollywood during the Hays Code. Everything is implied and hinted at, sometimes very blatantly (the two main leads consider each other soulmates, ffs), so unless you're completely oblivious, you can see the two main leads are in love.

It doesn't stop there, however, as there are implications of romance between two of the other characters who aren't a couple in the book. If you watch it with a shipper's eye, it's very clear. This review is tagged for spoilers, but I don't really want to spoil things outright, so i leave anyone reading this to see for themselves.

On to more positive things.

The casting for this entire series is perfect. I don't think there's a miscast part in the entire line-up, and this has a *lot* of characters, so it would have been an easy thing to do. Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian and Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji was a casting masterstroke. They embody their characters so well I 'm certain no other actors would have worked. Xiao Zhan, in particular, is a fine actor.

The chemistry between the two leads is palpably there, which makes getting absorbed into their story so much easier.

The storyline itself can be a bit confusing, as we start out in the present time for the first two episode, and then a 31 episode flashback tells the backstory. i would recommend reading the Wikipedia article on The Untamed if you find yourself confused when you start watching. It helped me a lot. Especially understanding things like courtesy names and other concepts that someone who doesn't have an Asian heritage may not get.

I know some people may balk at the fact that this series is 50 episodes, but they are only around 42 minutes or so and they go by very quickly when you're engrossed in the story. There is also a shortened 'special edition' of the series on YouTube consisting of only 20 episode if that makes things easier.

One of the best things about this series, aside from the brilliant casting and all the lovely scenery (Lotus Pier is gorgeous and I want to live there) is the music. There is, of course, the main theme named 'Wangxian' in the series by Lan Wangji, but officially 'WuJi' on the soundtrack by the composer. There is a duet version by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, plus the version that they each sing individually.

'Utter Innocence', Wen Ning's character song sung by actor Yu Bin, is lovely, and Xue Yang's character song 'No One Knows' sung by Charlie Zhou is the complete antithesis in tone and melody to his actual character. Also, and I know this is an overused cliche, but Charlie Zhou has the voice of angel. It's unbelievable.

The soundtrack is on iTunes if you, like me, decided you had to have the entire thing on your iPod. It's also on Spotify.

This series is Chinese, and the version I watched has been subtitled. I don't know if it's available dubbed, because I don't watch dubbed media (that's a personal preference, not a slight on anyone who needs or prefers dubbed media). It's available with English subtitles on Netflix and Rakuten Viki. I'm fairly confident other subtitles and dubbing are also available, but you would have to look at your Netflix and Viki settings, respectively.

So, to sum up, this series is impeccably cast, incredibly acted, features stunning scenery and gorgeous costumes, has an engaging and interesting storyline, a memorable soundtrack and I love it so much.

I hope you do too.