The Land of Warriors (2024)

Not trying to offend anyone but...

To start off, my review is purely based on The Land of Warriors alone. I have NOT seen Soul Land or Douluo Continent. Now that we have that squared away, let me explain my rating.

I watched all 38 episodes and I even paid for the express package, which I only do if I enjoy the show, which I did, however, I do feel that there are some arcs that needed to be shortened and that ending was not what I was expecting at all. There were some twists that I did not see coming and then there are just some parts that were pure boring so I have to fast forward it.

Let's get started. The overall story line is okay. I feel that they should dive into more details and stuff, but then again, they only have 38 episodes to fill in everything that they wanted so I'm giving them a little bit of grace on that. However, I am wishing for more and I was actually hoping that they spent a little more time explaining some of the character's background too. They kind of just did a quick flashback on certain characters and left others out. The one background that confuses me what of Yu Xiaogiang and Bi Bi Dong -- I mean, were they a couple before everything that happened to her? I'm just a little confused on that part which I wish they would have explored it a little bit more or at least explain it into more details. Little things like this is the reason why I rated the storyline low. As for the actors and actresses I think that everyone did an awesome job with what they had.

Zhou Yi Ran as Tang San - I don't know the Tang San from Soul Land or Douluo Continent, but I do like this Tang San. He is loyal to his beloved, family, and friends. The only thing about him that annoyed me at the beginning was his obsession with Xiao Wu. I mean, I get it, she's his lover and he wanted to protect her, but his father have been telling him that he needed to get stronger to protect her but he just kept complaining about how he wanted to save her and look for her. I feel that if he listened a little more, then maybe just maybe, she wouldn't have to sacrifice herself for him. But that's just my opinion. I know that she needed to die to get the story moving, but like I said, that's just how I feel. However, he did redeem himself and learned how to be more humble. He did learned a lot along the way and as the years went by, he did get stronger.

Zhang Yu Xi as Xiao Wu - Again, I don't know her from the other two versions, but I feel that Zhang Yu Xi playing Xiao Wu is a little too pretty. I don't know. I like her as an actress, but I feel that they should have casted someone else. Don't come for me at all. I just feel like a different actress would be a better choice. I don't know who would have been a better choice, but I just feel like Zhang Yu Xi as Xiao Wu is not right. But, she did do a wonderful job though. She was able to convey her emotions without talking when she came back alive, so that's a plus, however, I still feel a little off about her playing Xiao Wu.

Luke Chen as Dai Mu Bai - I like Luke Chen. I think he is an excellent up and coming actor. So I was not surprised at how he portrayed Dai Mu Bai. As I have stated, I haven't seen any other versions of Boss Dai, so this is purely based on how he portrayed him. This character reminded me of Chao Feng in The Starry Love. Someone who loves his beloved and is willing to do anything to protect them and he did just that. I feel that Boss Dai would be a great king along side his queen, Zhu Zhu Qing. I wanted to see more of his childhood and how strong he can get, but I won't be able to see any of that unless they decide to do a second season of this drama.

Ding Jia Yi as Ma Hong Jun - I don't know this actor since I have never seen his dramas before, but I feel that he was the perfect person for Ma Hong Jun. He brought comedic relief to the show and I actually really enjoyed his scenes a lot. I don't know if Ma Hong Jun is supposed to be a comedic character in Soul Land, but the comedy was really great. And I do agree with the Ocean God, he was very boastful and jealous of his friends' talent and love. But he did humbled himself and he also started to grow as a person. So I really liked that for him.

Zhou Jing Bo as Ning Rong Rong - This was my least favorite character. Don't come for me! In the beginning, she was very useless. I feel that she didn't pull her weight at all and that everyone needed to protect her. She was giving me princess vibes. However, when Oscar left her, she started to work on herself to get stronger and started to pull her weight on the team. So, I'll give her that.

Snow Kong as Zhu Zhu Qing - I did like that she was independent and wanted freedom. She worked very well with Boss Dai and I did enjoy watching her try to push the limit of the emperor of Xingluo. However, I feel that just like the Ocean God says, her pursuit of being stronger doesn't mean that she'll be free.

Cao Zi Shou as Oscar - I thought that he was weak at first too. I feel that Oscar and Rong Rong were just weighing down the team, but he did eventually get stronger and I really like that for him. He listened to the criticisms and went on to better himself instead of just moping around.

The acting and casts were amazing even though I did feel a little off about Xiao Wu, I did enjoy Zhang Yu Xi being Xiao Wu.

Now, let's talk about the twist. I was not expecting the Crown Prince to actually be the daughter of Bi Bi Dong. When they showed a person talking to Bi Bi Dong and her telling that person she sent her to the Tiandou royal family, I thought she meant that that person was like the Crown Princess or something but for her to be the Crown Prince was a shock to me! And it was even more shocking because wasn't the Crown Prince hitting on the aunt at Moon Pavilion? I mean, that's how I saw it. Of course the revealing of Qian Ren Xue as the Crown Prince was one of the best twist I have ever seen in a xian xia drama. BUT -- and this is a big but -- it did confused me. If Qian Ren Xue is Crown Prince Xue Qing He, then what happened to the real one and how did no one ever know that he was dead or missing or disappeared? Not even the grand masters and Yu Xiao Gang know that the Crown Prince was not the real Crown Prince. And this twist right here is the reason who I did not take out more points because it was done so perfectly well that my jaw literally dropped.

Let's get to the rating. I took 1 point off because of the ending. After everything they have gone through, we didn't see them get stronger and we didn't get to see them fight Martial Hall. I wanted that fight so bad that I am hoping for a second season. I mean, that was the whole point of everyone working so hard, right? To finally defeat Marital Soul Hall and create a better "world" for them, so to deprive us from that was a horrible thing to do. I took 1.5 points off because I feel that they spent too much time on some of the arc instead of developing the plot better or giving us the satisfaction of Tang Clan finally destroying Martial Soul Hall. I feel like the Netherworld Arc and the Tang Clan Arc took too much screen time.

So, based on just this drama alone without ever seeing Soul Land or Duolou Continent, I am rating this a 7.5 out of 10. It could have been easily an 8 if they cut those two arcs that I mentioned shorter and at least showed us the trials that the Shrek Devils have to go through, but because they didn't, my final rating is at 7.5.

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An Entertaining Watch Indeed, Ending Not So Much!!

There are very few dramas that manage to grab my attention and then aggravate me, this was one of those shows!

The likelihood of this adaptation being fully developed as per the original context in the novel Soul Land written by Tang Jia San Shao was zero. One of the most popular Chinese novels, this storyline has inspired a manhua, game, anime and two live-action adaptations. Given the popularity, it’s obvious that this story will be adapted and remade umpteen number of times. First as “Doulou Continent” and with the recently concluded “The Land of Warriors”; a fair attempt was made to fully incorporate the twists & turns that make up the Soul Land universe. It was a commendable effort, the show was immersive, casting was exemplified. But the ending not so much; as with the prequel, the sequel ended on an unexpected note, and we were left hanging about the future prospects of any new adaptations. The other question that piques your attention is whether the same ensemble casting will return to reprise their characters? Or there will be another brand-new casting involved? I hope not because it can be pretty confusing to get along with a new casting everytime, an adaptation or remake is announced!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/12/22/the-land-of-warriors-series-review/

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Excellent and better than S1

I was not excited for this because I loathe a new cast. I liked Duoluo Continent but didn’t like the abrupt ending. I have never seen SoulLand.

That said, this was so good! It reminded me of EverNight because it didn’t feel rushed at ALL. You got full context without it being slow or boring. Dramas need to get back to that— especially if there are multiple seasons. Take time to tell the story. Develop the plots. IMHO this was done the way Dashing Youth SHOULDVE been done. When you have a million characters, you have to ensure you’re not flying through their stories, confusing people. Or boring us with the side show. I was equally invested in all the character storylines and that’s very hard to do. They also took the time to show the BUILDING OF POWERS. I hate watching a show and all of a sudden boom, someone is powerful. Or boom they’re powerful and then they keep losing battles. We see the build in all the characters which I appreciated so much.

I appreciated seeing new characters of an already large cast. When Liu Yuning appeared I was like oookkkkkk lol. So A+ for pulling it off with a large cast and a mix of seasoned actors and new faces. HOWEVER, some of the acting is sus. There are a few moments where it’s like ehhhhh (but I assume newer actors). It isn’t too bad though and the scenes recover fast. I really really enjoyed this. What I don’t enjoy is wondering when I can see the rest. It ends abruptly just like Duoluo 1. But better because it wraps up neatly but clearly lets you know the story is unfinished.

Censorship rules need changing so they don’t ruin the momentum like they did with Lost You Forever. Looking forward to S2 of TLOW. Hopefully w the same cast and not many years later. If you were reluctant to watch bc of the new cast, get over that. TLOW is better than Duoluo Continent. By far. Bravo.

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Não li a história e nem vi o anime, portanto, meu contato com a história era somente de Douluo Continent, por isso, em termos de continuação não chamaria minha atenção, pois o elenco é diferente e, o drama anterior, não foi nada espetacular, mas o que me levou a assistir esse drama foi a presença, mesmo sendo participação especial, de Liu Yu Ning (grande decepção, pois ele tem apenas uma cena).
As atuações não são ruins e a história é interessante, porém com pouco conexão com a anterior, mas, novamente, sem finalização. Odeio produtores/diretores que tentam se agarrar numa mesma história com continuações sem fim e nem conseguem manter o mesmo elenco. Fazer temporadas, com espaços curtos e com a maioria do elenco inicial, é aceitável deixar em suspense a cena final, mas este não é o caso.
A nota sete é para o trabalho dos atores, pois diretor/produtor/roteirista que escolhe terminar em ponto chave merece zero.

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