Panlong

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

I am writing my review right after I dropped it so i apologize if I am really harsh. Ihad expectations for this mahwa since i heard the novel was good....I was very very wrong. From what I heard the novel is very detailed and designed this however is not. The first thing I noticed was the develop of relationships there were almost none. The friendships you will see are just happen without rhyme or reason and die off just as fast. The first rival the MC faces fights him twice in 3 chapters and says he doesn't want to fight him again. The first crush ... the MC has seems to like him even though they talked twice which is enough since she asksher brother to help protect him. The brother doesn't seem to like that fact but ends up doing as she asks and ends up respecting without ever meeting him and only respects because he moved up in rank faster which I understand that sounds fine but let me be clear on one point you will be asking yourself this who the hell is this guy and why do you care. The next thing is the romantic relationship with Alice which reminds me about that one girl a dated for about a week and then wants to break it off because I am not that guy who will buy her everything she wants. This part made me want to drop it the most because it is beyond stupid. Just saying now this is where the spoilers come in. The girl Alice meets are dear MC once but for some reason they cant stop thinking about eachother which makes me wonder what happened to the first crush we saw like 5 times before. The MC somehow knows where she goes to school they meet again but instead of talking they combine magic to create a place in the world that reminds you of a wedding vow and they take it as the beginning of a relationship. The MC goes back to the forest pretty much right after visiting the college and right around the time the MC might get killed Alice's father has debt issues so some men go after her and her father which she wonders why the MC is not there to save her even though she has magic that kills monster she ends up being saved by some rich jealous dick using money to solve her problems. She suddenly at the worst time to do this uses a tarot card reading to say the MC wasn't her true love but the rich dick who looks down on lower class people and can solve her problems with money. Let me point out a few things before saying the final reason i hated this part. The fact she didn't use magic to save her butt was a ethic choice because that situation had implies slavery written all over it and the fact she acted as a damsel in distress got under my skin becauseI am a guy who likes relating to the MC on a gender and psychological level but the side characters I prefer depth not someone who has to be saved by someone elsd because they dont want to save themselves. Now what really got to me was the fact that Alice said "after we got together I noticed somethings that wouldnt work" which implies they spent more then 5 minutes together but I dont remember a scene where that happened not to mention she asked could we be friends line which most guys want to punch a brick wall after hearing this.The only reason she liked him was because he was the cool unknown guy that saved her and she wanted him to do ot again but when he doesnt she leaves him for the rich arrogant dick. The other reasons I dropped it were because they dropped some very badly represented cliched bombs though cliches are common it all depends on how they are represented. To rap this up I am going to make one thing clear this could have all been bearable if the pacing wasnt rushed and the fact that they skipped steps for it. There is a reason no one likes talking about this.

Before i get started i just want to make it clear that i burned through this manhua in about 2hrs. I also want to make it clear that i have not read the original work, at this time anyway. Now that that's out of the way allow me to share my view of things with the work. I will try very hard not to include spoilers.

Panlong follows the story of a young boy named Linley and his adventures as he, rather quickly, becomes well known throughout the lands. He is assisted in his journey by his familiar and his master. Along the way he will ... meet a great number of people and beasts, among them, he will find many that would betray him and some that prove to be great allies. Linley is considered, by many, an OP main character, to which i must say... he undoubtedly can be.

There are things i both enjoy and dislike about this manhua so far.

The aspects i Enjoy:

+ Many battles - so fights happen in nearly every chapter.

+ Plenty of characters - Many of them will not be simply forgotten and will be seen again in later chapters. (This includes those the main character started his training with)

+ Consistent art - there isn't a single time when i can't recognize the characters that are part of the story or hold a relation to our protagonist.

+ Enjoyable read - Some chapters may swing back and forth about being dialogue heavy or not but thanks to the great art and overall just enjoyable characters i ended up burning through this manhua and can't wait to read more.

+ This is NOT a harem - The main character can be a bit of a ladies man at times but his heart is steady and he only loves one, when he does love.

The aspects i dislike:

- Time jumps - this seems to be a major issue. It always seems to jump to the major points where the character gets much stronger than he was previously. It may show him train often, especially later, but the light training doesn't explain the, sometimes, huge power ups.

- Censorship? - this one i can't confirm, as of yet, but apparently there are scenes that should have more intimate moments but are instead reduced to hugs or hand holding. It also really dampers the relationship the main character has with his primary love interest (or so it seems).


I will be reading the Light Novel and hope to clear up the time jumps/censorship but even then i will still be patiently waiting for updates on this manhua. Hopefully some of you enjoyed this review and even decided to see if you enjoy this manhua. Have a good one...I've got a LN to read :D


Edit (Don't worry this won't spoil anything either):
I began reading the LN, right after posting this. Yes, there are many major changes from gender-personalities. The LN also seems to delve deeper on a much more emotionally gripping scale. It doesn't change the fact that i enjoy this manhua, even slightly, but i can see why so many would be displeased with this adaptation. I've read my fair share of manga/LN counterparts and in every case the LN is far more detailed but in this case there are major time jumps, character changes (both gender and personality) and even overall time frame changes. (like the 11 day stone sculpture in the LN being made in an instant in the manhua). There was also a particular few lines that struck hard in the LN that were exquisite and it is unfortunate that the manhua didn't fit them in:

"Linley’s body began to tremble. “September 29th, that was the first day you missed our meeting. I waited from midnight until nearly dawn. Every minute, every second, was hard to endure. When I returned to school, I was thinking, was it because I made you angry the previous time? So I wanted to make you happy. Like an idiot, I went to buy memory crystals to record the scenes of all the places around the Institute. I hoped that when we were not together, when you missed me, you could watch me.”

“Carrying these two memory crystal balls, in mid-October, I once again went to you, my heart filled with hope. But once again, you weren’t there.”

“In my heart, I started to grow restless. But I held firm. Because I remember that promise that we made each other. I believed that if you were going to leave me, you would let me know first. That’s why I held firm. The end of October, mid-November, I went as well. But in the end…”"

It was after this event that he later created a stone sculpture to commemorate all the things and feelings that left the most profound impact from said event. This statue took 11 days to create all while in a blizzard with no breaks to eat, sleep or drink. It took 1 to find what it was that could re-create what he wished most for and 10 to do so. In the manhua it was done in an instant, in sunny weather and while it still held the same beauty on the outside the sense of deep emotional attachment that each part held was far lessened. The LN wanted to show that he is a character which holds deep devotion and passion while the manhua only seems to want to show him as an OP character that can also make a masterpiece of art in the blink of an eye >.>

Panlog or rather Coiling Dragon is a Story that revolves around a youth name Linely Baruch. This story could be described as his legacy, his beginning to his triumph! The manwaha is an adaption of the Chinese novel "Coiling Dragon", and not a very good adaption. :(

Story:
The beginning of the story is rushed fairly badly, an entire volume of the novel is done in about 10 or less chapters of manwha. The first volume gavee the story a solid foundation of how linley grew up and his family. This was more or less cut from the series! The Pacing overall ... of the manwha is horrendous and short filler scenes are added which add very little to the story. I recall one seen that is even misleading and diverges from the source material gravely. I'm ahead of myself though, the following schoo life or literally "Growing Up" volume is linely's isn't so much rushed as it is made over dramatic with no feel of progression. In the novel he makes it clear he wants to become strong as soon as possible and cares about little else, in the manwha i felt it was an afterthought.

I do not wish to spoil the story, but this paragraphs WILL BE SPOILER, BEWARE, SERIOUSLY, IMA SPOIL SOME STUFF. PERHAPS YOU MIGHT WANNA MOVE ON IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE SPOILED. REALLY!
it'll be non spoiler after a line is drawn across.
Later on, Linely's first girlfriend that breaks his heart it literally 2 chapters at most. The are supposed to go on a few dates over a year and meet up every month, until her "betrayal". That is completely skipped, and it was very important and one of Linel's scaring in moments in his early age before he matures. When the revenge arc comes, they make linely out to be nice and still somewhat forgiving. In the novel he is the most ruthless he ever was and blood thirsty.He has a maid killed because she enters him room w/o permission, he is seething with anger. Obsessed with his revenge he soon stakes his life multiple times, not caring about the outcome of himself. The manwha makes unbelievable and out of character, while the novel thoroughly shows you its his childless and raw rage that pushes him to make these (honestly) stupid choices.
Following his revenge we entered his training arc which was awful. The profound laws and higher level of understanding are almost entirely ignored. They are literally the endgame of the story, after volume 8 they become the center of training and the only way to advance strength. In the manwha they outright ignore them, as if they weren't planning on adapting the majority of the story. It was poor pacing and they should of slowed down the story and discussed it in detail. Instead the manwha constantly sped up at the part of the story to dodge it all.
--------------------------------------

Art:
The art was good for many characters but they did mange to screw up very often. Bebe one of the main characters is grey rather than pitch black. Linley's dragon form is Azure rather than black and demonic. Which is a huge plot hole, i should add. Hearu was made into a human at some parts which is also a major plot hole that should have been addressed.
The gravest and worst part of the art however was making grandpa doering a female in the adaption. He is supposed to be an old man, saint who has soften after being sealed for 5k years. He treats Linely as he would his own grandson, he plays the part as his teacher is becomes his biggest influence throughout the entire story. This was likely the worse mistake of the entire adaption, i add this in art because a sexy female likely fit into the story better than an oldman, It wouldn't affect the plot majorly unless u released how much a father figure he acted as.

Characters:
I won't say much, because the direction of how characters were developed is very different than in the novel. Characters that were strong or could rapidly advance like Linely stayed relevant while character who couldn't just drifted into irrelevance. That was a great part of the novel, keeping with what was important and not the bullshit characters from 5 volumes ago. The manwha host goddamn couldn't develop shit, it wanted to move far to fast and make Linely as edgy as possible. Cant deny that he was a angsty fucker for awhile though, before he grew up.

Enjoyment:
HA!

Overall:
The series has to much detail for a manwha i feel, maybe it could make a high budget anime, I wouldn't suggest reading this however, it is good in a sense. However the novel is just leagues better. If you try it and like it, jump to the novel and DO NOT STICK WITH THE MANWHA. This might be better for those looking to see if they would be interested rather than interest in the manwha itself. Good day

To begin with, this is my first actual review on the site and even if I usually wouldn't even bother doing it, but seeing the score this has I just needed to add my two cents.

This was my first manhua, and I have to say it looks like a 5 yeard old made it. It reminds me of Bleach in that way: first you are a kid that stands out a bit, then you are a shinigami, now you have a hollow in you, now you're a vizard, now a fullbring... and since we're at it, a quincy too. Seriously, this felt like 700 chapters ... from Bleach compressed into 50.

Therefore, there is absolutely no character development. You see people come and go like people on the street. They are only there so it's not a monologue. I guess you think since this is so MC focused, his story will be rich. Nope. You only know he "improved" because of <after X time training> stuff.

Maybe your're wondering about the MC's rival? That guy that vanished after 5 chapters? His friends? The comedic relief after a few chapters/panels? Or maybe his romantic interest? The one that turned into a love triangle and ended before even starting? Sheesh...

The only stuff I liked about it was the art, wich was pretty nice (but nothing you can't find somewhere else) and the full color chapters were a plus. The fighting scenes were also quite interesting, even if a few times it had that "I beat you because I'm the MC" vibe.

Long stoy short, I can't recommend this to anyone. It felt like a complete waste of time. There's plenty of stuff better than this out there, even webtoons.

This was a true disappointment for me. One of the first comic that got me into manhua and the whole cultivation world ended abruptly. But thanks to that I wanted to see other similar stories so in a way it helped me.

The plot is really interesting and the pacing of the story is actually good. This is one the best developed manhua out there. You get to know the characters and their motivation, you understand why the MC acts the way he does and his OP is explained to some extent. But then the author started to smoke something I guess cause the plot ... got confusing all of a sudden. You could feel the rush because major events were just skipped altogether without any explanation.

We just went from fight here to fight there to big fight and that's it. Funny enough it was the first manhua that I read that actually got to the end. The second and only other one got also abruptly interrupted so there's that.

I won't say not to read it because it's really interesting in the beginning and the setting of the world is so unique you'll get immediately hooked. But if you don't want to feel disappointed then just skip it.

Edit: It seems like the manhua started again? I'm confused as to where it'll pick up or how the story will go. I might come back and change my review depending on that.

[This notation is made after reading both the Manhua AND the Light Novel]
First of all, I'll talk about the Manhua without regards for the LN. Some very light spoilers are contained on the second part of this review.

If you start reading the Manhua without any prior knowledge of the LN, you might end up giving it a 5 to 6 rating. The arts is the strongest point : it is good enough without being too serious. The story isn't bad. If you've read other Wuxia-style manhuas/LNs you'll see quite a lot of similarities. The main problem with the story is that it will leave you ... with a sense of 'rush'. Everything comes easily for the main character. You'll basically see some power ups even more impressive than Son Goku from Dragon Ball °ehm°.

The most annoying point is the character's relationships. Apart from the MC, almost every character is FLAT. The relationships between them is as well. There's absolutely no deepness. In one sense it makes the manhua very easy to read, but also very hollow. But you might still enjoy this manhua nonetheless for the very reason that it's easy and nice to read.

Now, if you take into account the Light Novel, this review drops significantly to a rating of 2-3/10. Why such a harsh treatment ? Because this is one of the worst adaptation I've seen.

The Manhua has actually no respect at all for the Light Novel's story. Some characters are completely transformed (ex: Linlei's Master being a kind grandpa with a white beard on the LN, and a cute girl in the manhua...). Most events do not respect the original timeline of the LN. Some major events are even simply discarded (especially anything related to the development of the relationships between the characters).

*°SPOILER°* The biggest example in the beginning is obviously the relationship between Alice and Linlei. In the manhua you'll see it rushed in like 5 chapters, barely holding hands, while in the LN it's actually a serious relationship going on for an entire year where they actually spent the night together °though not 'slept' together°. In the manhua, you then see Alice saying that she 'wronged' Linlei but you don't undersand at all because all you've seen is the two of them holding hands and even if it's hinted on a certain page that they're going together, that's it, there's just nothing more. You end up thinking that Alice left Linlei for Kalan to save her family's situation, but that's actually a false statement, the real reason is a lot less forgiving as you'll see if you read the LN.

In the end, I strongly recommend the Light Novel which I'd rate easily at 8 or even 9/10. If you're unsure about it, you may want to just try out the Manhua first for a while and see if you get caught up or not. But if you start the LN first, just don't even think about reading the manhua afterwards. You will simply end up caughing up blood in rage when you see every differences piling up

This manhua is amazing a very cool concept and amazing graphics. The characters mark is bit high for slightly vanilla but the main character is very good it over shadows the negative points. The fight sequences are superbly done and just amazing, one of the best points about these Korean/Chinese manga is that they usually have full color it's so good.

~SPOILERS~

Again I'm a sucker for ranking systems this has it. There's way too much left to cover in 40 more chapters as the scan as of now 12/28/17(130). I don't see it having a good wrap up but I do see what the end could ... be. The negative point I want to add is that the story seems to jump around quite a bit there are points where it does say the jumps the last two but the first 3 year jump is just glossed over like nothing. This is a bit short but i don't want to spoil the read too much. 100% recommend to everyone to read multiple times.