Guardian (2018)

This is my second Chinese live action series which is based on BL novel after The Untamed and it has positive and negative aspects.
First of all, storywise is not the best sometimes to the point of confusing and doesn't really make sense. It doesn't follow the novel exactly since they have to rewrite the whole story to avoid censorship. But I really hoped they could've done better job to make it more logical and easier to follow. The CG effects are also quite bad and seems like a cheap production. The acting of the supporting cast are also not very memorable and some of them are downright third-rate performance.
The only saving grace of this series is the superb acting skills and amazing chemistry between two leads, Bai Yu (Zhao Yunlan) and Zhu Yilong (Shen Wei). Man, they are so pleasant to watch, from their interaction, dialogue and micro expressions between them. Gentle and beautiful Shen Wei and shameless Zhao Yunlan, it is as if they come straight out of novel to real life. To be honest, I watch this series and give good rating just because of them. Oh and the soundtrack too! Especially their duet song"Flying Across Time", it's really good and give you some feelings of their relationship.
I would recommend you to watch this, regardless of the story and quality of production, just watch for the main leads performance and you won't be disappointed :)

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I Loved this drama so much because of 2 things, Bai Yu and Zhu Yi Long, there chemistry and acting was amazing. I was disappointing going in to it knowing that the BL aspect had not been added, but to be honest there was continuous hints and only a fool could not see that these 2 men loved each other deeply. The only drawback from my perspective in terms of acting was the rest of the cast and their lack of acting skill. Unfortunately the story was butchered and we where given an ending that was sad and heartbreaking that is not in the book. But overall i have been drawn back to it numerous times because of the power of Shen Wei and Zhao Yun Lan, and the fact that i just can't get enough of them.

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I loved this Drama from beginning to end. 40 episodes just enough. How the Black cloak envoy and Guardian angel maintains peace on the Haixing realm is what this drama is about.
Zu yi long and Johnny bai gave life to the characters Shen Wei/Envoy/Yezun and Zhaoyunlan/Kunlun. The understanding, friendship and the love between these two characters is what made me glued to this drama.

Loved the music and story. Do give this a try, you will end up shedding a tear or two or you might end up crying all the time especially in the last few episodes.

Do give the original author's ending a try. I hear that ending is on wattpad.

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Just a heads up: I have not read the novel yet, so this review is based solely off my experience from going in blind. (Also, I am a BL fan and shipper, so I will touch on Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's "bromance".)

Story

I did enjoy the story and the setting for Guardian as it was something I personally hadn't seen too much of (not sure how many are similar out there). The show felt quite lighthearted most of the time despite the themes and cases the characters experienced, but still managed to make me cry in a few scenes (always a good sign). I felt that the show kept a good pace most of the time, and only on a couple of occassions was I a little jarred because they rushed through something. The ending was alright, a bit more open ended than I would've liked, but didn't diminish my enjoyment of the show at all.

Acting/Cast

Overall I thought the cast did a good job. Just a bit of overacting at times (though mainly revolving around the SFX rather than in emotional scenes, which I felt were handled pretty well), but the two main characters had brilliant chemistry and I always looked forward to their interactions. The rest of the characters all had interesting dynamics and were fun to watch interacting too, and I was glad most of the characters were developed with backstory, relationships and circumstances surrounding their powers etc. Another thing I did enjoy was the use of good whispering, unlike most stage whispers you hear in dramas, though one minor character uses it a bit excessively towards the end of the series, which was amusing to watch.

Bromance

There were two bromances in this show. The one not between the two MCs took a little warming up to, but I could see the potential from early on and grew fonder of them over time. Brotherly love with teasing, protectiveness and a smidge of idolising.

However, for me, the realtionship between the MCs does go quite a bit beyond bromance. From their first few encounters you can feel the different energy between them, and I think by ep 3 I was sold on the ship. As usual, the relationship is toned down from the BL in the novel, but the way these two care for/look after/look out for each other just spoke to me of much more. Also, the side characters do hint at and tease about their close relationship several times during the show.

Basically, you /might/ be able to watch without noticing anything beyond a VERY strong bromance between the MCs (platonic soulmates, if you're wanting to go that way), but personally I couldn't help but see around the censoring, and really did enjoy the MCs' relationship and dynamic (fun, flirtacious and caring).

Music

Not too much music in the show, but I did enjoy what music there was. The opening was alright, good enough that I didn't feel the need to skip every episode after the 1st episode. I would recommend not watching the opening as, like with a lot of dramas I've seen, they like to show clips of scenes which I don't like to spoil myself with. During the more emotional scenes, there were some lovely songs.

SFX 4/10

This is probably the lowest part of the show for me. I haven't been watching dramas for too long, so I might not have the best judgement when it comes to the quality of SFX to expect. I must say, if SFX quality is a big thing for you when watching a show, Guardian might be hard for you to watch. A lot of the powers didn't look too bad, however, any animals or creatures animated in CG were so bad to the point of just being more funny than cringey. I mentioned about a bit of overacting, and this is usually tied with someone using/being attacked by powers as the actors are really having to use their imagination, and might have been a bit too strongly directed at times. Some of the editing wasn't very clean either, though most transitions were pretty good (only remember flinching back once when it was very abrupt). The green-screening was a bit ridiculous at times, espicially towards the end. Any blood or injuries were very halfhearted, at times literally just a stripe of (VERY vibrant) red, where you can actually see the texture from the bristles of the brush used to paint it on. I suppose if you're someone not keen on injuries, this would make viewing easier.

Overall

I'd be happy to rewatch this show with a friend as the plot and characters are interesting, but mainly because I really enjoyed the relationship and dynamic between the MCs. The show was very easy to binge (thanks to nearly every ep ending on a cliffhanger/mid-sentence) and a fun experience which managed to always keep quite lighthearted despite the events taking place.

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Ahh China, vc ainda me mata de raiva

Esse drama, apesar de ser chinês, saiu da área do bromance. Saiu pq em diversas oportunidades, principalmente nas interações com a cobra, que o relacionamento entre Shen Wei e Zhao Yun era sim amoroso. Isso partindo de um drama chinês, e ainda por cima de 2018. é um ponto muito positivo. A adaptação para a TV teve algumas modificações, mas não acho que foi infiel à obra escrita, apenas não é possível ser cem por cento fiel.

Enfim, pra mim esse BL foi muito bom apesar da falta de qualidade em alguns momentos, e dos diversos furos e fatos que ficaram em aberto. Pra mim Guardian é épico, com seus efeitos especiais que me causam vergonha alheia de tão fracos, mas que me prenderam até o final. Os personagens são muito cativantes, e parece que os atores se encaixam perfeitamente em cada um deles

Algumas cenas foram muito comoventes, como a morte da menina corvo, como o fato do enviado do manto negro parecer cruel, mas na verdade reconhecer o arrependimento de alguns dixings e não dar-lhes castigos severos, como a declaração de amor da cobra e o fato dela entender o amor de Shen Wei e Zhao Yun, tantas cenas lindas, tantas demonstrações de amor e confiança...

Assisti esse BL na época do lançamento em 2018, já assistia BL desde 2007, e a China sempre foi motivo de ranço por causa da censura, mas preciso dizer que desta vez ela não fez tanta diferença. Poderia ter sido melhor, mais explicito? Com certeza sim. Mas a competência dos atores, do roteiro e da direção conseguiram amenizar muito esse ponto.

A série, por ser fantástica, apresenta locações interessantes e surreais. Para a época, posso dizer que a fotografia é bonita, assim como a ost perfeita. Os furos pra mim são a falta de fechamento de algumas histórias e os efeitos especiais horríveis, mas é impossível não recomendar guardiã. Com certeza, apesar das falhas, é uma das melhores séries que já vi.

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Whew...

Not going to lie, this took me AWHILE to finish. and thanks to the ending I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long. lol So first I gotta drill into your heads this IS NOT BL! It's been washed down to bromance but don't let that stop you. Personally, I got bored a few times (which is what took so long to finish it) but overall it's still good. There's cuteness, adventure and humor. The biggest downfall for me was the graphics...Everything would've been a billion times better with the proper graphics!!! Like I said, overall it's good. The ending had me in my feels and it's worth the watch cause honestly if you're a BL fan even though this has been downed to a bromance it's still a Cult Classic lmao
Enjoy...

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unforgettable drama

I watched this drama because of YouTube recommendations, i fall for it directly so i decided to watch it . in the first impression this is really not my type! this kind of fantasy you know, but after finished few episodes i started to like it more and i started to accept this kind of fantasy.

The story is pretty good and well written. The lead characters one of the most attractive characters that i seen before! and the relationship between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan indescribable, They offer a lot of love, passion and sacrifices. i touched by every moment between these two. honestly i really feel sad when people say "this is not BL drama so i'm going to skip/drop it" please guys stop judge by the genre!!! they deserve give it a try because of the story and ZYL & BY acting and above of that their sweet moments off-screen and their friendship.

Finally i can give this drama 10/10 but the ending smashed my little heart and it's hard to cure my big wounds, believe me the ending could be better than this but really i don't like this ending i cried rivers and i'm still crying in every time i see a fan made. IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET OVER THIS EVEN FOR YEARS BUT AT THE SAME TIME I'M NOT REGRETFUL I'M REALLY GLAD THAT I GOT TO KNOW TWO GREAT ACTORS.

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Dropped/On Hold Because I'm Bored...

Decided to watch this series as it can been compared to The Untamed and been regarded as China's second best option for BL content after The Untamed. The series started off strong. It was interesting. However, it is not a BL at all though. More like a Bromance. Unfortunately, it became slow, overlong and dull. So after watching Episode 10, I decided to drop it or at least put it on hold. Maybe, I'll revisit in the future; maybe not. We'll see...

Instead of an overarching storyline like The Untamed, this series opts for like a "monster/mystery of the week" format. A new case for each episode similar to Western shows like Supernatural. Not a big fan of this format to be honest as I find it to be dull and aimless, like a distraction from the plot. Yes, there is an overarching plotline with the purple hair dude and the Black-Cloaked Envoy, but it takes a backseat to the "monsters."

I do like Old Chu and Little Guo's relationship though. I'm always a big fan of opposite-attract relationships.

Props to China for giving big-budgets to these high-concept, epic fantasy BL novels! The Untamed and now, Guardian! Even Thailand doesn't have a BL on the production level of The Untamed or Guardian, though I wished they did! Also, props to China for having these innovative BL stories unlike Thailand which is practically all like university setting (though there are some high-concept Thai BL's coming in the near future).

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The character had so much dept my God!!

So when i saw the title i was skeptical and the synopsis didn't work out for me, but i'm so glad i tried it out.
This is my first Bai Yu movie and so far he did so much with his character Zhang Yulan i was so impressed he had so much expression and his eyes were so filled with emotion it was stunning, oh and Zhu Yilong nailed another role once again he did so well as Ye Zun and Shen Wei the acting was sooo great. The story made so much sense and as the tag says lots of character death but still worth it all the same.
The other cast did well too, though i would have wanted for the story to develope Ye Zun, i really think the character has a lot of depth and it wasn't portrayed totally.
The movie is something special and worth the watch if you are into a little bit of a heavy drama and also not a compulsive Romance shipper. Try it and you won't regret it. The ending was not what i wanted but i still got the satisfaction of finishing a movie with all the tears and emotions lol

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The brother chemistry with the main leads is very good! Excellent! I hope these actors such as Bai Yu and Zhu Yi Long carry their friendship shown in this story doesn't quit after they finish this job. I'm looking forward to seeing more dramas with them in it. I love the camaraderie they all had with each other. The storyline about evil and good was awesome. The only thing I didn't like was the two characters left their friends in their timeline. I really didn't care for the last few minutes of the ending. I was also impressed with Jiang Ocean and Xing Peng. Xing Peng to play a role as he did, to fear everything then be brave when he needed to was excellent acting. Jiang your acting skills as his friend and brother... was phenomenal. I loved everything about his and I hope they come with a sequel.

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I was in the mid of watching china palace drama like yanxi and ruyi, but can't seems to finish watching either of it, and kind of lose interest in watching korean drama, somehow one day while browsing youtube for some entertainment, Guardian episode one show up, at the time i don't know anything about Guardian, I just feel so bored and don't know what else to watch, and there is a force telling me to watch it (being dramatic lol), after watching few episode, i told my sis that I'm currently watching guardian, and its not bad, I'm crying watching Li Qian's story, the actor/actress is good at their acting, so i keep watching it without knowing the truth that will makes me go crazy. After more episode, i dont remember in which episode that got a part where zhao yun lan call to dragon city uni looking for prof shen, and that one little gesture where Shen Wei's finger touching corner of the book and flip it, it suddenly makes me wanna know what this drama genre is, i know I'm a bit late in sensing something more in this drama, i should have known from first episode where they just met and shen wei doesn't want to let go of ZYL hand. After browing online it turn out my feeling is right, its a bromance which got tune down from BL, and I was so excited cause I'm actually a fujoshi ???? and surely it became my favorite drama!!! Love both the lead, give Guardian a try, i hope everyone who watch will love it. I still can't move on after finish watching it, will rewatch later, totally recommended!!! Although got some flaw, but zhu yi long (shen wei) acting can cover it all ???? , and for those who don't think they will like this genre of drama, do give it a try, remember at the beginning although don't know the genre, i still find it good to watch ???????????? thank you youtube for helping me discover this drama which makes me fall in love so much ??

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Hmm... generally very good but not awfully impressive. I would not rate it among the top league but nevertheless give it a good rating.

The earth star mutants seem to be of an ancient Chinese culture coincidentally, given the hundreds of different cultures in the world. A little limited in originality - appears to be more of an extension of xianxia (fairytale/fantasy) story into a science fiction.

In a number of parts, audio was being altered and stitched in and a poor job was done as I could hear the change in volume and voice.

The actors and actresses acted well. The story is interesting although it lacks originality and creativity. The bromance is a little stretched - it seems to be the fad of the time to have suggestions of homosexuality in dramas in the like of the Untamed.

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