#I thought it was a loch 2017 thing (and I don't know why)

[add1ctedt0you]

"Shimei, I will go find the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen to avenge Master." "Lu Chengfeng, let's go now. We won't come back until we avenge him."

The Legend of heroes (2024) | Episode 8

[tavina-writes]

I've watched Word of Honor, Who Rules The World, and Mysterious Lotus Casebook(I'm also not sure if the Untamed is wuxia or xianxia or something inbetween?) I don't think I mind longer shows but over...60 episodes is probably a harder sell. I like recognizing actors from project to project but I also don't know all that many so I'm happy to see fresh faces. I haven't seen any older cdramas so I can't say for sure, though I watch us shows from the 90s sometimes? I've paid for iQiyi in the past though I've let my subscription lapse. Does that help?

HELLOOOO sorry I got so busy and couldn't answer earlier Nonny!

I think based off of this, I would suggest you watch Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017) first. (It has Meng Ziyi in it!) This one can be found on iQIYI with good subtitles -- you'll need an account though sadly :( -- it's 52 episodes long (so on the longer side for a contemporary cdrama but pretty average sized for cdramas overall). And it was made for introducing a new generation to LOCH so it doesn't go at as fast a clip as LOCH 2024 (came out this year, beautifully done, goes really fast and does assume you know the general storyline even if you haven't seen it since you were 8). I do think 2017 assumes you know some genre trends also so having seen other wuxias is a good thing!

@autumnslantern also wrote a great writeup of our journey through the various LOCHes here.

Below find some general thoughts on all of the LOCHes I've seen, copy pasted from a discord ask I got a few days before your ask!

my childhood favorite LOCH is the 1983 TVB Jade version, which is very noncanonical to the book but So Much Fun <-- may not be your cup of tea if you don't enjoy that special 1980s charm :dogkek: It has, however, my absolute hands down favorite version of the Huangs (this IS the writer room where the Huangs were their special little meow meows and Kenneth Tsang personally created at least two generations of Huang Yaoshi apologists so) but yeah I love this version for how well it understands the characters, not how much it follows the plot.

I was not as fond of LOCH 1995 TVB reboot version (there were some interesting plot issues, but imo the biggest problem is that KangCi is played by 30 year olds and JingRong by 20 somethings, increasing the dynamics that in this universe KangCi are twice divorced 30 somethings trying to make this work again for the 3rd time as though they're stuck in a timeloop, the actors gave it their all and it was very good! just! perchance, suspension of disbelief interesting.) I would rate this one as a pretty solid adaptation overall though, my minor quibbles aside, just not my personal fave

I enjoyed LOCH 03, I think it has the best Mongolia 1 and 2 that I have ever seen adapted to screen, and really does a good job on this front. The Temujin Corruption Arc here has me by the THROAT. and this also has the best ever Tuolei. (Fun Fact! all the Mongolian Characters in this adaptation are played by Mongolian Actors, and it did pretty well on Mongolian traditional clothing also!) Unfortunately, it was also made for the whole 5 LOCH Mongolia Arch enjoyers in the world so the ratings are terrible. this one has interesting CGI choices, some pacing issues towards the end, and tbf in my personal opinion Li Yapeng did a better Linghu Chong than Guo Jing, but the Guo Jing characterization choices felt purposeful? JingRong is delightful together but Li Yapeng Guo Jing is a bit flat when he's by himself. Zhou Xun was Jin Yong's favorite Huang Rong, overall I enjoyed 03 but I can see why almost no one else did

LOCH 08: my personal nemesis, I would delete my memory of LOCH 08 if I could but then I might watch it and reintroduce myself

LOCH 2017: for a LOCH made with couch cushion money this is really a smashing adaptation. Minor quibbles on them making Huang Rong less problematic, kind of character assassinating Huazheng, giving Temujin the world's best skincare products known to man, and somehow taking a blowdryer to Huang Yaoshi for the sake of coolness, but I forgive them. There's lovely fight scenes in this version, and Chen Xingxu acted his socks off as Yang Kang

LOCH 2024: You can tell this one was made by people who idolized LOCH growing up. I love love love the production and color palette of this one, it reminds me of an updated late 90s early 00s Wuxia vibe with all the new tech that makes wuxia so cool in this decade. Hands down, Ci Sha quickly became my favorite Guo Jing of all time, and I think they really get what makes JingRong click. Some very interesting backstory connotations, I really hope they air the prequels so I can see this in the order they wanted it to be shown in. This loch also suffers from pacing issues, and will assume you already know the story esp bc at 30 episodes for the main story, it's the shortest of all the LOCH tv adaptations and that trims a lot of the extra side quests that make LOCH LOCH.