#k:immortal samsara

[dramashii]

This look is in my head rent-free!!!!

Seriously though, I think I might have an obsession with white-haired Cheng Yi. He looks so ethereal. Only a few people can pull off this color and he has managed to do it

I haven't watched the latest 5 eps yet because my school work got piled up but I know his hair has turned dark again. Such a shame for this was THE LOOK.

[dramashii]

Yang Dan, if you and I shall be parted by death, I shall have no regrets.

[dramashii]

CW: Immortal Samsara

I’ve been watching Cdramas as they air for a while now. One thing I’m still not used to is how unpredictable their scheduling can be. Announcements for air dates sometimes happen 3 days before the actual date. Sometimes they don’t even make announcements at all and automatically drop the first few episodes without any warning. In the case if Immortal Samsara, Youku announced it hours before airing the 1st episode.

I wasn’t exactly expecting to watch this so soon. But life is full of surprises, this is an example of one of those.

I have watched the first 13 episodes and I can say that so far this is built like a typical xianxia drama. It follows the same premise. We have a bubbly female lead who has no care for rules, and we have a rigid male lead who has the greater good of the world in mind always.

Then, because of circumstances, they fall in love against their better judgment, and they go through hell because of it. Most of the time, hell is composed of many lives. So far, we’re still seeing which I believe is their first one.

It’s a variation of a story I’ve seen multiple of times, but I don’t care. I haven’t seen any xianxia dramas this year, so by default, I was always going to check this out. The drought made me thirsty. 

I don’t really have that much major criticisms about the show. The first few eps didn’t draw me in. I didn’t really like the initial set up and found it corny sometimes. But as the story progressed, especially the part after the war, it got interesting. It’s still cliche, but I don’t mind. Truthfully, I didn’t like Yang Dan, Yang Zi’s character in the beginning, but she grew on me later on. I still find her annoying sometimes but it’s tolerable now.

Also, in this drama is a trope I dislike the most: the scheming, jealous, girls that constantly sabotages the main couple. I hate them so much, and the fact that one of them is Yang Dan’s sister, annoys me even more. 

I like the ost that’s released so far. The costumes are just okay for me. Visually, it’s not my favorite production. There are some beautiful scenes and I love how it’s colorful and bright. 

Just look at it.

Beautiful.

But there are some scenes where the CGI effects are so obvious where you know that the actors and the actresses are just standing there behind a green screen. I think if we’re talking about strengths based on effects, the drama does better when they’re doing full-on CGI.

The most surprising for my experience so far, is how much I enjoy Cheng Yi’s character, Ying Yuan. He’s the typical cold main male character you often find in almost all xianxia dramas but I think what attracts me to him is Cheng Yi’s interpretation of the character. I initially kept track of this drama because of Yang Zi, but this made me want to check out more dramas of Cheng Yi. 

The eyes. He looks so good.

I actually have only seen him in one drama prior to this, in Love and Redemption. He looks so good in costume dramas.

Overall, I found it okay. Nothing revolutionary for its genre, but still watchable and enjoyable for me.

I don’t really know much about the original story this is based on, but from what I read, the drama writers have kind of deviated from it. Based on the drama trailer, and from the episodes I’ve watched so far, I think I will need to prepare my heart and my mind for the angst and the constant heartbreak. 

I’m pretty sure at least 2 of those 3 lives won’t have a happy ending.