- Last OnlineNov 12, 2024 12:56 PM
- JoinedFeb 24, 2014
RSS Feeds
|
Feb 6, 2022
Just a short review for this one. TL;DR style.
- This show has some janky modeling and rigging for the CG characters, and the faces are a little same-face-y. It also reruns scenes sometimes in a way that indicates they were padding. These are the major art flaws, but otherwise it's still quite nice, particularly for CG.
- The creators clearly love the IP. This is something that's very very important to a show. There are a lot of little details they did a good job of putting in.
- Again, no experience with the book, and I enjoyed it immensely.
...
You may be disappointed if you read the novel and want that exact experience again.
- The comedy is gold. This is like all the jokes from MDZS and TGCF, but on a constant stream. I was laughing pretty much the whole time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Feb 6, 2022
Probably no one will read this review, but I have some thoughts and I want to share them.
First of all, to be clear, this is an 11 episode show with 1 bonus episode. "Episode 12" is just something for the fans, which wraps up a few story threads if you were interested, and throws some fanservice out. Episode 11 is the actual story finale. I suspect some people were confused by this and got annoyed by why 12 seemed slow and just full of flirting. It's because it's not a real episode.
1) This legitimately upended my expectations. Based on what little
...
I'd heard of TGCF, and also how the fandom can be, I wasn't particularly interested. It ended up being one of the later shows I watched in my recent danmei blitz. Having finished the season, I...loved it way more than I thought I would going in.
2) You are not likely to enjoy this if you watch this because
- you deeply love the book and want a show exactly like that
- you deeply love MDZS and want a show exactly like that but with slightly different characters
- you can't believe some stupid Chinese gay show ended up at the top of the rankings.
If this is you, don't watch this show. Don't do things you know you won't enjoy. Having an opinion is not a personality.
3) The art is very good (particularly the OP and ED), although as people have mentioned, there are some flaws in the later episodes. The last few have some lip flap problems and a few off-model moments. I came from 80s/90s anime, though, so...eh.
4) The OP and ED are very good, some of the best produced examples amongst my danmei run (although my favorite is still the ED from The Defectives).
5) I actually love the characters here so far. They're not all fully developed, but that shouldn't be a requirement of a single season, particularly when it's clear they intend to have more. Like a lot of other danmei, this is based on a book that was written as a novel. Unlike your standard manga-to-anime pipeline in Japan, these novels are not necessarily written with the same fixed standards in mind. If you're not willing to be open-minded past Japanese show structures, Chinese series are probably going to be hit-or-miss.
Side note: Fu Yao and Nan Yang are adorable and I love them.
6) The storyline and worldbuilding and writing are excellent, but very much a Chinese style where the mechanics of how things work slowly unfold with the book. I suspect if you finished the book (or the show, if they do end up making enough seasons to get through the whole story), you would have a full understanding of the magic system, and a better sense of all the characters. I really like this style of writing and am eagerly awaiting more. I've seen multiple people complain about things that basically boil down to this - I maintain there's nothing inherently WRONG with this writing style, it just may not be everyone's cup of tea.
7) ...I love Wind Master? She gives me the same vibes as Beidou from Genshin Impact, and I think I might have a type.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 6, 2022
Okay, so. I understand there are some flaws to this series, and I just...don't care. I will elaborate below.
Story:
"It's super rushed! The pacing is off compared to the book!" Yada yada, I don't care. If you come to an anime adaptation expecting an exact version of the book, you're probably not going to enjoy yourself and instead nitpick your way through. For someone who hasn't read the book, the story was interesting, I loved the worldbuilding, and I am thoroughly intrigued. It's also very much a series based on part of an existing novel - do not
...
expect to figure out everything or get full character development for everyone, and you should be fine.
Art:
This is definitely on the lower end of the budget scale for danmei series, but the studio did a decent job (compared to, say, Dinghai) with what they had.
Sound:
Good. Nice opening.
Character:
Some book fans were apparently very mad about Yan Wushi's character. I...do not care, he was GREAT. He's voiced by Wu Lei, who is just top notch - I could listen to him be a dick to people and/or hit on the main character all day. He is hilarious. I was excited every time he was on screen. I actually ended up liking the main character as well, despite him being the "pure and nice" type, mainly because he was simultaneously also very powerful and not an idiot or particularly naive. You may get this impression at first, but the series actually makes sure to clarify as we go that he does know what's going on, and choices he makes that seem naive are often purposeful on his part.
Enjoyment:
Aside from some animation flaws, I enjoyed this series quite a bit and am very hopeful for season 2. Honestly it could just be an entire series of Yan making flirty comments and/or shutting people down and I'd be here for it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 6, 2022
A summary of my thoughts:
- The things that really made this series work were the interesting storyline, worldbuilding, and a selection of the major characters. The main character was quite charming if oblivious, Xiang Shu's irritation was fun to watch, and the wolf and deer were intriguing.
- Out of all the danmei series I've watched recently, this one in particular was obviously lower budget. There were a lot of production issues like lower-quality CG art and poorly-handled storyboarding and novel-to-screen conversion problems.
- I will say that Legend of Exorcist, to which this is a prequel of sorts, has similar storyboarding issues,
...
so I suspect a small part of the problem may be the author's writing style not being in distinct movie-able "scenes".
- I haven't read the novel and have found that I enjoy series more this way. I didn't have any issues with the adaptation and am actually interested in knowing more about everything.
Overall, not the best danmei series of the lot, but I still enjoyed following the story. Also, if you've seen Legend of Exorcist first, there are some fun tie-ins as you go.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 6, 2022
Story:
This story was a classic Priest novel type, but with an interesting modern twist. I'm invested! I want to know what happens next and get more into the details of the past of the two main characters and how they're connected.
Art:
The animation is quite nice for CG, and the faces are stylized in a unique way. The backgrounds are beautiful.
Sound:
Good! Well fit, nice OP/ED.
...
Character:
I saw another review describe it as classic red/blue characters, but I don't /entirely/ agree. It definitely has some vibes in that direction, but red ends up being smarter than your average red, and blue ends up being, uh, pointier than your average blue. There is also a distinct vibe of there being more and more to uncover about both of them, each time we learn something new.
Also...I kind of love the various random side characters, particularly the boss and the various team members. Even the villain characters were pretty interesting, and often didn't go the way I expected.
Enjoyment:
Honestly, my recommendation is not to get too deep into danmei novels if you want to enjoy the anime adaptation. I keep seeing people complain about adaptations being not faithful enough, or rushing the pacing when compared to the book. The thing is, if you haven't read the book or don't have a deep attachment to exactly how things are there, then the series tend to be quite enjoyable.
While there's not much by way of outright romance, this was likely never intended to be romance-focused anyway. Priest tends to write more story-focused novels, rather than specifically romances. The important thing here is that the two main characters have a lot of interesting tension and history and interactions, which is imo is better for establishing a pairing people will enjoy than any hand-holding/kissing scenes. I was actually pretty invested in these two by the end of S1, but then again my romantic sensibilities are a bit skewed away from typical romance elements.
Overall, I really liked this show, and my wife liked it even more! Hoping to see a season 2 announced at some point.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 23, 2022
I don't really understand why this show is rated under a 7. It's one of the best shows I've seen lately, but I guess maybe the humor doesn't work for everyone. Admittedly, this show is much funnier if you understand Chinese and also Chinese pop culture/slang.
Story - so...the initial part of the show is mostly humor-focused, but it does build up toward an actual story. I feel like it actually sets you up in the first half for a lighthearted comedy, and then by about the halfway point you suddenly realize there's actually a storyline and you're already super invested in
...
these characters. But basically, the main story takes a while to actually take shape, so have some patience. It also does a really good job of storyboarding, something that is a struggle in other Chinese animations sometimes (like Legend of Exorcist), where each episode's structure clearly has a lot of thought put into the order and where it ends, and the season itself ends in a cliffhanger in a way that makes a lot of sense.
Art - I really loved the character designs, the hilarious references and modern-ancient fusions. The art is quite good for being CG-based.
Sound - the music is also quite good. The OP is very unique and well-suited to the comedic aspect of the show, and the ED is very good, albeit more on the emotional side.
Character - oh man, everyone is great?? The concubine is surprisingly enjoyable, and I'm very here for Dr Tao's straightforwardness. I legitimately ended up wildly curious about the backstories of everyone and enjoying everyone you're supposed to enjoy.
Enjoyment - I mean. You could skip this show. But then you would miss out on Lin Kai's Disneyesque musical scene. Or the scene equivalent of the Titanic song on recorder.
Okay, I know I'm biased, but I LOVED this show and am very much looking forward to season 2. The comedy is on point, the characters are fascinating, and the story is surprisingly well-written. On top of that, it plays around with transmigration tropes in a fun and hilarious (but never mean-spirited) way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 21, 2022
Story - This show actually surprised me, in that I thought the storytelling was actually improved from season 1. Unfortunately, it still has some pacing issues (particularly with the humorous moments within scenes), and the choice of when to cut off the story at the end of the season feels a bit abrupt. There are also some transitions that feel abrupt, like the phoenix king suddenly forcing the main character to make a decision, but I couldn't figure out if this was a problem with the animation or if it's inherited from the source novel.
That said, there is a lot more going on
...
this season than last, which really helps. Also, now that we've been introduced to the main cast, they are sent off to go their separate ways so that this isn't just a stereotypical shounen, and we also get to dive further into the story of the wolfman (which I really loved), while simultaneously getting to have some tense zombie adventures with the two leads.
Art - this is possibly the pinnacle of CG animation. Sparkly Key is the golden standard of Chinese CG animation, imo, although this show does still run afoul of the rigging issues inherent with animating humans via CG.
Sound - really nice background music, and some excellent OP/ED tracks.
Character - I adore the wolfman character, he is the cutest. I'm also very intrigued by the new kid, and am hoping to see more of him next season. The main characters are likable, but feel a little thin in comparison to literally everyone else. Still, I'm excited to learn more about our other two team members in the future, not to mention all the new people we met in season 2.
Enjoyment - a nice, casual watch with really pretty CG graphics, and some shippable undertones. I quite enjoyed it in that sense, and was able to ignore the flaws, although the inconsistent pacing does rank this a bit lower for me than other danmei shows.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 21, 2022
Since the only other review is relatively critical, I thought I would offer my perspective, which was decidedly more positive.
Story - this is based on a novel by Priest, who is always good for an interesting storyline. I personally had no issues following along, although I did watch in Chinese, and the subtitles are mediocre which may lead to confusion. Note that the original source was written as novel, not a manga, so I would caution against assuming each season will be a true "arc" the way a lot of Japanese anime shows are. Personally I loved the world-building and the exciting sci-fi
...
pace, and the pacing style didn't bother me. For what it's worth, my wife also enjoyed this show tremendously even though she doesn't know much Chinese.
Art - this is your standard Chinese CG anime, but I would count it on the higher end. I loved all the character designs, and the two main leads are so pretty it hurts. The rest of the art was nice too - not exactly the pure art of, for example, MDZS season 1, but it really worked with the futuristic setting and looked good. I think the biggest issue art-wise is the fact that the rigging of the characters is slightly janky, which is pretty common for CG anime, and doesn't bother me that much because I've watched a lot of these.
Sound - the music was generally enjoyable, although nothing was super memorable from the soundtrack, but the ending theme is SO GOOD. I can't articulate exactly how much I love it, but it's this interesting jazz-inspired track, with a truly interesting melody, and it's sung by classical baritone Wang Xi. And the lyrics are very very good.
Character - this REALLY sold the show for me. Hand Butler (Zhan Lu) and Dad (One-Eyed Hawk) are the best, and I feel like this show is worth it for the two of them, even if you're not as interested in the rest. The original story culminates in the two main characters being a pairing, but this season is only a fraction of the story, so not much develops just yet, a nice slow burn. I also ended up liking pretty much all of the side characters who weren't intended to be villains.
Enjoyment - okay, look. If you have very strict standards and expectations of your anime, or if you read the book and have strong opinions on what an adaptation should look like, or if you dislike having to put story pieces together slowly and by yourself (and also not getting answers to all your questions by the end of the first season), this is probably not the show for you. But if you're willing to be open-minded and dive into a fun and interesting story, and you can overlook a few issues here and there, this show is very very enjoyable.
In summary: I really enjoyed this show and would love to see more seasons. I think it's worth watching if you are interested in the type of story it's telling, but there is some divide between its storytelling style and that of the average modern Japanese anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Dec 26, 2021
When compared to season 1 and 2, this season has both areas where it does better and other areas where it's not as good.
The main areas it falls a bit short are:
- The story is definitely a bit rushed. I think this could have been 2 seasons but was crammed into one, making the Yi city arc VERY fast, and resulting in some sped up pacing that was noticeably too fast. They also rearranged some of the storyline - it didn't bother me too much, but I got a bit confused having already been familiar with the original chronology.
- I actually
...
found the art to still be really high quality, but there was a much heavier use of CG in this season, and occasionally that could be a bit obvious. I did find that the team did a really good job of integrating the CG elements with the hand-drawn elements so that nothing was jarring, but there were a few moments where, for example, flowers were clearly duplicates of each other made via CG.
However, it does as well or better in:
- The music is consistent as ever, and I loved it.
- The opening sequence is beautifully animated and the song is excellent, and they pair well together.
- Character-wise, we get to the meat of the character development in this season. Jin Guangyao's story in particular (and Lan Xichen, by extension) was handled really well in my opinion, and it almost felt like they purposely gave this side non-canon pairing a little extra love.
- This season is so gay?? There are like 3 references to weddings, they get the novel ending, and basically the entire season is just Lan Zhan staring happily at Wei Wuxian.
--
If you're not already into MDZS, I would say the anime is a worthwhile option (although the live action drama is pretty good too - but I really like the franchise as a whole so I've found most versions pretty enjoyable so far). Lovely art, lovely music, and most of the original story, with a ton of shippable action, just with a bit of a rushed pace in season 3.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Oct 9, 2021
I rewatched this film recently, and personally it still works for me. Since there are already many reviews, I'll just lay out a few thoughts I had. Note that I have only had minor exposure to Escaflowne the series and have not watched the whole thing.
- It's pretty likely you'll be disappointed if you really loved the original Escaflowne series and are hoping for something similar to that. This film has a different tone, a different storyline, a completely different theme, and also removes Hitomi's fortune-telling. Luckily for me, I had very little exposure to the series when I saw this
...
movie the first time.
- Thematically, this is very much a post-Eva type of anime - dark, bloody, emotional. In some ways, it reminds me RayEarth (the OVA), which was a darker AU rewrite of the original bright fantasy adventure Magic Knight Rayearth. I don't mind this sort of "dark reboot" if it's done well, and Escaflowne is definitely better comparatively than RayEarth - Escaflowne's storyline is internally consistent, people have at least basic motivations, and the magic system doesn't feel like it's being pulled out of nowhere as we go.
- I actually felt most of the characters were more interesting here than the impression I have of them from the series. Allen, instead of being some sort of doofy dream knight, is straight badass. Hitomi starts out kind of annoying, but is also (as I recognized more and more with time) a decent portrayal of depression, imo. I also just really prefer this Millerna.
- I really appreciate how they handled the main emotional storyline. Specifically, I find it compelling that, at the beginning, all 3 of the main characters (Hitomi, Van, and Folken) are in the same general place - hurt, angry, bitter and lashing out at their friends because they don't know how to handle it. The Gaea storyline then ends up becoming one centered around finding people and things to help you, or continuing to lash out and push everyone away.
- The music is wonderful. I also still find the art pretty solid as well - this film has a lot of very good imagery and the director clearly had a direction and made some very purposeful shot choices. The "Tree of Hearts" sequence is still one of my favorites.
- Finally, maybe this is just a me thing, but I actually liked that there wasn't a super strong romantic emphasis. You can easily interpret Hitomi/Van as being a thing, and even Folken and Sora have some one-sided love vibes, but there isn't anything overtly romantic in the story. I know this is a pretty big change from the series, which had a frankly soapy amount of romantic entanglements, but I've never been huge on romance-heavy stories, and I think it's worthwhile to also celebrate close relationships that aren't romantic.
--
Just to clarify, though, I don't actually think this movie is perfect. Here are a few criticisms:
- The way the story is set up does lead the viewer to potentially compare Hitomi's initial problems (seemingly just modern depression) with the Gaea characters' problems (destruction of entire civilizations and war PTSD). This is by no means me saying that depression isn't a real problem, it's just that the movie sort of unintentionally leads you to compare the background of why the characters are depressed, which leads to this weird sense of scope imbalance when Hitomi's depression doesn't have the same sort of dramatic root.
- The movie was pretty short, so there's not enough time to shows us much of the side characters. I would have really loved to get at least a little more of the caravan crew, and what the stories were of the cool new Allen and Millerna.
- Also probably due to time restrictions, a few things felt like they jumped a little fast. The biggest example is Hitomi's stay at the village, where things feel like they suddenly progressed a little faster than entirely realistic. (Sorry for the vagueness, trying to avoid spoilers.)
--
Overall, I still really enjoyed it years later as an adult. Maybe some of it is the nostalgia, or the fact that I got into anime around the heyday of dark post-Eva 00s series, or just because I watched RayEarth (which was honestly not very good) recently. Still, I think it's worth a try, particularly if you don't know much about the original or are okay with a completely different AU.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
