Demi God Semi Devil

Rating: ***.5

Genre: Wuxia, Fantasy, Adventure
Episodes: 40
Cast: Liu Yi Fei, Gao Hu, Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, Liu Tao

"Tian Long Ba Bu is an adaption of a Jin Yong novel of the same name. The epic centers around the Beggar Leader Qiao Feng, the Dali Prince Duan Yu and the Shaolin Monk Xu Zhu. Each of their stories are interweaved throughout the show and finally clash and join at the climax of the story. Qiao Feng's story is his quest to find his real identity and the mystery surrounding an event that occured 30 years prior that left him as an orphan. Duan Yu's story covers his meetings with many of his half sisters that he did not know he had (thanks to his adventurous dad during his young days) and the battle with Duan Yuan Qing as the rightful ruler of Dali. Xu Zhu is a lowly Shaolin Monk who gets caught in the middle of an internal struggle of the Care Free Sect, one of the most powerful and secretative sects around. Their stories take place during the Northern Song Dynasty and across warring kingdoms of Song, Liao, Dali, and Western Xia."

I liked this drama, I really did.  However, I did not enjoy the beginning and end very much.  I have to agree that the beginning and end were a bit rushed.  Then again, I guess it's because in the original novel the story is also rushed.  In all honesty, I didn't really like Qiao Feng's story at all.  I loved Duan Yu and Xu Zhu's stories as they were funny and enjoyable, but Qiao Feng's story was just kind of annoying.  If it weren't for the two other main characters, I wouldn't have even watched it.

I kind of like the fact that they just switch actors when the characters are supposed to be in disguise.  It made it kind of funny and I bet it was a lot easier for the make up artists then to have to create a disguise for the actors.  As far as the acting goes, I didn't pay too much attention to it.  I'm kind of a sucker for Jimmy Lin just because he makes me laugh.  There are certain actors that can make people laugh just by their expressions, and Jimmy is one of them.

Funny Note: Guy gets hit in the face with a twig on Episode 11 around 12:23

Return of Condor Heroes 2006

Rating: ****

Genre: Romance, Wuxia
Episodes: 41
Cast:Chen Zi Han, Liu Yi Fei, Huang Xiao Ming, Yang Mi, Jessey Meng

"Adapted from the novel by Jinyong (aka Louis Cha). This is a sequel to Legend of Condor Heroes and a prequel of sorts to Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre. The story concerns the adventures of Yang Guo, an orphaned boy in a mid-13th Century China. From his humble beginnings, the street wise Yang Guo gets passed around from one prestigious master to another but none of them will teach him any kung fu. While escaping from a tortured experience under Quan Zhen Sect's Zhao Zhi Jing, he meets Xiao Long Nu, the girl who will become his kung fu master and eventually the love of his life."

Gorgeous, it is absolutely gorgeous.  It starts out with the most beautiful opening I've ever seen in a Chinese drama.  The opening music is chilling and goes perfectly with the bittersweet clips of the series.  I think this is one of my favorite stories just because of how beautiful it is.  It is also very amusing and romantic.  I have to agree with another viewer when she said it was "cheesy".  I believe 1/10th of the drama was scenes of the couple staring lovingly at each other.  There were times when I burst into laughter because it was so cheesy.

Although pretty, this drama is not without faults.  I really have to pick on how bad the parenting in this drama is.  I mean, have you watched this drama before?  The couple cares for a child temporarily, and they are going around fighting people with the child in their arms.  The actors are so concerned with the action sequences, that they forget that they need to act like the rolled up blanket has a baby in it.  The baby gets whip lashed over and over again.  It gets kicked, dropped, and left unattended for hours at a time.  The characters don't even spend the time thinking about how they are going to feed the child.  Seriously, what the...?  I'm surprised that the child didn't end up stupid like Guo Jing after all that shaking.  In fact, I'm surprised that the child even survived, to tell you the truth.  Haven't they ever heard of Shaken baby syndrome?  Don't try that at home.

I also have to point out that Yang Guo as a young teen played by Huang Xiao Ming looks extremely creepy.  When they first introduce the teenage Yang Guo, Guo'er is still very immature.  The way he stares at "GuGu" is just creepy.  He really looked like a pervert.  I kind of think they should have used a third actor for the time when he was still a teen.  His age when they filmed this just doesn't go very well with a young teenage character.