alon-luna
Once in awhile, it's important to go beyond your comfort zone and try something new because if you always stick to the usual fare, you might miss out on something that would otherwise have become a favorite. I've been aware of the wuxia genre since before and have always had a mild interest/curiosity about it. The only thing that kept me from trying it out was the length. Given that the ideal drama for me goes up to 16-20 episodes, I was afraid I would have a hard time finishing anything that went beyond- unless it was formatted like American drama where there are around ten episodes per season and one season coming out every year.
Anyway, I am glad I gave Eternal Love (aka Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom) a chance because I LOVED it! :) I don't know how this ranks compared to other wuxias but this was a refreshingly new experience for me as a viewer of Asian dramas. I loved the characters, the settings and the world building. Everything seemed larger than life, everything had an epic feel to it. And the love story was one of the best I've seen.
It's not perfect. There were things in it I could've done without.
For instance, this drama had some of the most evil female antagonists. I'm inclined to see this as a negative (and this goes for Asian dramas in general, not just this one) because every time two men are written as competing for the affections of one woman, they never descend to the level of maliciousness and unfair play as when it comes to two women vying for one man. The female antagonists (Su Jin and Xian Nu) were so evil as to be caricature like and they attacked not just the heroine (Bai Qian) but everyone else who got in their way. At least they were consistent. It was almost fascinating to watch them sink so low and I found myself cringing every time they were onscreen. But I have to admit, I was entertained. And angry at the same time -_- The actresses playing them did a good job.
I also had issues with how so many women were after the male lead (ML ) Ye Hua and likewise, so many men were after the female lead (FL) Bai Qian. I'm used to seeing rivals appear every now and then in the romance genre, but with so many admirers after both Ye Hua and Bai Qian, I felt it was exaggerated.
Despite that. I loved everything else about Eternal Love and felt that it was the perfect introduction to Chinese fantasy. There were plenty of characters and relationships (similar to Game of Thrones) but the plot lines were relatively simple, fast paced and easy to follow. I loved the female character Bai Qian. She had so much going on in her life even before the male lead made his entrance. As a goddess, she went through (as the title implies- for once the title actually has something to do with the plot!) 'three lives.' She started out as a young, mischievous cross-dressing trainee at first, then went through a period of naive vulnerability on earth, and finally, she literally ascended as the cold, haughty goddess she was meant to be. The actress playing the role (Yang Mi) has a bit of a blank face but for all that, she was able to successfully portray three distinct personalities. I also loved how she had certain flaws. She was a bit lazy and temperamental. She could also be vengeful and a bit of a drunk. There were some awesome moments where she kicked ass using her fan, and this fan was treated similarly to Excalibur rising from the middle of a lake.
Ye Hua is probably one of the best, most devoted MLs in romantic drama. The whole point of his character arc was that he loved the FL more than anything and would never waver in his loyalty to her. Not once did this appear as a weakness, for Ye Hua was one of the most (if not the most) formidable and accomplished characters. He was a bad ass and good at nearly everything he did. But he was also a relatively simple man who only wanted one thing in life. The irony is that this was actually a flaw which led to hardships and heartache. Actor Mark Chao did great in his portrayal of a perfect prince. He really excelled when it came to showing both love and suffering and there was plenty of that to go by. I would say he probably gave the best acting performance because he also played another character (God of War Mo Yuan) and while these two characters have similar personalities, he still managed to make them appear as if they really were two different people.
What's great is that there were so many other characters who were just as likable as the ML and FL. Plenty of characters who held their own and some might argue, even stole the show. There were several strong, charismatic heroines like Bai Feng Jiu, Yan Zhi and Cheng Yu, who did a great job of balancing out horrible characters like Su Jin and Xuan Nu; I loved the relationship between Bai Qian and her niece, Feng Jiu. It's funny because both actresses playing them are of similar age...but when they were together in a scene, it was obvious who was the aunt and who was the niece. Stories are often filled with successful bromances...Eternal Love had one good 'sismance.' Also, plenty of scenes showing female characters supporting one another.
The male characters were just as interesting. Ghost Prince Li Jing was sympathetic but pathetic and moody. Dong Hua/Dijun was disinterested in everything but he played the ass/jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold figure. Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen (I'm guessing they were a couple) were both regal and provided a lot of emotional support to the FL.
A prominent second pairing also develops later, and while this relationship was not as angsty and emotional as Ye Hua and Bai Qian's- it was entertaining in its own way and was most likely added to provide a lighter alternative.
The backgrounds and scenery were also well rendered. The computer effects weren't as realistic as in Hollywood movies (the scenes that featured monsters were obviously fake looking) but they didn't detract from the overall atmosphere because pretty much everything looked surreal and fairy tale like. It was like watching a fancy stage play, or looking through a picture book. The fight scenes looked like dancing. The characters looked lighter than air and one could easily believe that they were deities and not regular people.
Altogether, this was a great adventure, a beautiful love story and one of the best dramas I've seen. It made the struggle of watching a (relatively) longer than average drama I am accustomed to, totally worth it :)
Anyway, I am glad I gave Eternal Love (aka Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom) a chance because I LOVED it! :) I don't know how this ranks compared to other wuxias but this was a refreshingly new experience for me as a viewer of Asian dramas. I loved the characters, the settings and the world building. Everything seemed larger than life, everything had an epic feel to it. And the love story was one of the best I've seen.
It's not perfect. There were things in it I could've done without.
For instance, this drama had some of the most evil female antagonists. I'm inclined to see this as a negative (and this goes for Asian dramas in general, not just this one) because every time two men are written as competing for the affections of one woman, they never descend to the level of maliciousness and unfair play as when it comes to two women vying for one man. The female antagonists (Su Jin and Xian Nu) were so evil as to be caricature like and they attacked not just the heroine (Bai Qian) but everyone else who got in their way. At least they were consistent. It was almost fascinating to watch them sink so low and I found myself cringing every time they were onscreen. But I have to admit, I was entertained. And angry at the same time -_- The actresses playing them did a good job.
I also had issues with how so many women were after the male lead (ML ) Ye Hua and likewise, so many men were after the female lead (FL) Bai Qian. I'm used to seeing rivals appear every now and then in the romance genre, but with so many admirers after both Ye Hua and Bai Qian, I felt it was exaggerated.
Despite that. I loved everything else about Eternal Love and felt that it was the perfect introduction to Chinese fantasy. There were plenty of characters and relationships (similar to Game of Thrones) but the plot lines were relatively simple, fast paced and easy to follow. I loved the female character Bai Qian. She had so much going on in her life even before the male lead made his entrance. As a goddess, she went through (as the title implies- for once the title actually has something to do with the plot!) 'three lives.' She started out as a young, mischievous cross-dressing trainee at first, then went through a period of naive vulnerability on earth, and finally, she literally ascended as the cold, haughty goddess she was meant to be. The actress playing the role (Yang Mi) has a bit of a blank face but for all that, she was able to successfully portray three distinct personalities. I also loved how she had certain flaws. She was a bit lazy and temperamental. She could also be vengeful and a bit of a drunk. There were some awesome moments where she kicked ass using her fan, and this fan was treated similarly to Excalibur rising from the middle of a lake.
Ye Hua is probably one of the best, most devoted MLs in romantic drama. The whole point of his character arc was that he loved the FL more than anything and would never waver in his loyalty to her. Not once did this appear as a weakness, for Ye Hua was one of the most (if not the most) formidable and accomplished characters. He was a bad ass and good at nearly everything he did. But he was also a relatively simple man who only wanted one thing in life. The irony is that this was actually a flaw which led to hardships and heartache. Actor Mark Chao did great in his portrayal of a perfect prince. He really excelled when it came to showing both love and suffering and there was plenty of that to go by. I would say he probably gave the best acting performance because he also played another character (God of War Mo Yuan) and while these two characters have similar personalities, he still managed to make them appear as if they really were two different people.
What's great is that there were so many other characters who were just as likable as the ML and FL. Plenty of characters who held their own and some might argue, even stole the show. There were several strong, charismatic heroines like Bai Feng Jiu, Yan Zhi and Cheng Yu, who did a great job of balancing out horrible characters like Su Jin and Xuan Nu; I loved the relationship between Bai Qian and her niece, Feng Jiu. It's funny because both actresses playing them are of similar age...but when they were together in a scene, it was obvious who was the aunt and who was the niece. Stories are often filled with successful bromances...Eternal Love had one good 'sismance.' Also, plenty of scenes showing female characters supporting one another.
The male characters were just as interesting. Ghost Prince Li Jing was sympathetic but pathetic and moody. Dong Hua/Dijun was disinterested in everything but he played the ass/jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold figure. Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen (I'm guessing they were a couple) were both regal and provided a lot of emotional support to the FL.
A prominent second pairing also develops later, and while this relationship was not as angsty and emotional as Ye Hua and Bai Qian's- it was entertaining in its own way and was most likely added to provide a lighter alternative.
The backgrounds and scenery were also well rendered. The computer effects weren't as realistic as in Hollywood movies (the scenes that featured monsters were obviously fake looking) but they didn't detract from the overall atmosphere because pretty much everything looked surreal and fairy tale like. It was like watching a fancy stage play, or looking through a picture book. The fight scenes looked like dancing. The characters looked lighter than air and one could easily believe that they were deities and not regular people.
Altogether, this was a great adventure, a beautiful love story and one of the best dramas I've seen. It made the struggle of watching a (relatively) longer than average drama I am accustomed to, totally worth it :)
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