I enjoyed the series much more then expected to. And I am not a fan of soap operas. Seriously, the first thing that really caught my eyes were the costumes and sets. All wooden items were carved, all calligraphy hand made, all clothing beautifully stitched. There is a palpable tactile sense to the created universe. That in turns allowed camera to get us traveling from the panoramic vistas (CG) to close-ups with quite high quality. I applaud the casting decisions as well. Main characters were progressing along the series with some burden of experiences, and it showed. The story had a nice arch, well explored without rushing, but also without being lost. This really beats a trivel of 600 channels of the "couple friends and a couch" or "tired rushed drama" concepts, and competes well with Hollywood TV studio productions, (which should take a notice, btw.) I am getting really frustrated with TV shows cancellations before we have any closure (Timeless, Lucifer) and here we can see an emerging market production, not only well executed (which means: expensively) but also NOT cancelled due to economic reasons. Bear in mind: this is a fantasy series, so some elements might be a bit naive, and some back story a little borrowed from at least 3 cultures, but the effect is still endearing, not cynical. In terms of emotional connection with the viewer: It stuck landing, to the last scene.
Review of Xiang Mi Chen Chen Jin Ru Shuang
