Dongbo Xueying Land (2023)

Worth the wait

To (Rahul09) and everyone that has read my reviews since I have joined mydramalist, I wanted to reinforce that the below review was originally written by me and for an unknown reason it has been duplicated and reused by the user above. I have reported this issue already and apologise to anyone who has already read my original review of this series. I am unsure how my original post was removed and the above person has claimed as their own.

Worth the wait - Amazingly good

Amazing Series so far, ^_^, (some will say the production lacks polish) for me its the story and acting that makes one watch a series rather than anything else, there is no perfect series out there, everything is subjective to opinion.

Story: Fast pace and well thought out story so far from ep 1 to now, amazingly done. Cannot emphasise how good the action scenes are with martial arts to character development.

Acting: ML/FL (Amazingly done) + Side characters played their parts too very well. Love the chemistry so far with both leads.

Updated Review: as of 29/6/2023 (Reasons as above)

Story: Very solid story, in-depth and worth watching, grabs the attention off the audience (Subjective), if you are a fan of fantasy adventures with a touch of romance with great martial arts cinematography then this is one heck of a series for you.

Acting: Very solid performance of the ML/FL. Xu Kai has always been one of my favourite actors to date, (he performs way better in ancient style series than modern (Subjective). FL on the other than is my first time watching a series of hers, to me shes doing fantastically and matching the chemistry with Xu Kai.

Music: Same expectations as any Wuxia Series.

Rewatch Value: At present 100% rewatchable, every episode is done fast pace but not too fast, I have watched up to episode 18 now numerous times to ensure I am understanding the story. The side characters are portrayed very well and I look forward to seeing them develop further. I feel very sorry for Sita Hong poor guy cant catch a break, hope his character develops more as the series progresses.

Overall: Fantastic Series to watch in 2023. Please give this a go and enjoy.

Cheers all

Shing

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Snow Eagle Lord - Very Entertaining drama

I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!
I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!
I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!
I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!
I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!
I love this drama. The story is something new about deamons looking like zombies to me :D
Great sword and wuxia fighting, especially from Xu Kai. Xu Kai as usual, looks so handsome in this drama. I like the main lead couples, great chemistry between Xu Kai and Nasha. It's definitely a very entertaining drama!

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a GIANT DISAPPOINTMENT

This drama really had a potential regarding the story, but in the end it's a giant disappointment.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Here's the list of my disappointments:
I had really enjoyed it until I realized that there will be no justice served to anyone. But from the beginning:
1. The main love story is not very attractive or believable. The female lead is completely unappealing and weak. The struggles this couple goes through don't make your heart ache, it's just "whatever" tbh.
2. I was liking the show because things weren't always predictable and it wasn't obvious who was the bad guy. That's great. Unfortunately they really SPOILED everything massively by taking the joy of finding out who it is killing those who deserve it away from us. There's no joy left at the end of it. There's no REVANGE, there's no spectacular misery for those who deserve it, there's no realizing things in time to stop them. NOTHING. You wait for justice forever, and then when the time comes, what you're given is an irrelevant death that no-one witnesses (Situ Hong), or worse, forgiveness to those who deserve to be killed by dismembering their bodies (Ji Rong).
3. EVERY likable person in this show DIES.
EVERY SINGLE LIKABLE CHARACTER. Literally 4 people survive the show till the end and it's not like all of them you'd even like to survive. I'd definitely swap Qing Shi for Yue, e.g. I know Qing Shi is Xue Ying's only family left (that's also ridiculous, but even the uncles don't make it alive), but given his role in the whole disaster, he's one of those that deserved to die and didn't. And considering only 4 people make it till the end, it's really unjust.
4. Qing Shi and Ji Rong. (and Bai Yuan Zhi) - the amount of forgiveness Ji Rong has received is beyond unbelievable. Until the very last moment she keeps on being a disgusting thorn that you wish to burn alive and yet she keeps on being rescued, defended and forgiven. THE MAIN REASON WHY SHE KEEPS ON DOING EVIL IS BECAUSE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS LET HER DO IT!!!! SHAME ON YOU. Also Sing Shi is incredibly thick and stupid. And then after all the disasters he plays the "smart guy" who also inherits the very intelligence point as a commander. I'm sorry, what is this reward for? For CAUSING the death of everyone in there by being dumb as fuck and trusting again and again a bitch that had already been proven to be the enemy???? This is more than I could take, seriously....
5. Because only 4 people make it alive, there's no feeling of reward whatsoever. Imagine, ALL THE ELDERS, everyone from the Changfeng Academy (!!), friends, families, etc, EVERYONE dies. Then at last we have the main couple alive, the idiotic brother that allowed Ji Rong destroy half of the world and a one single friend that even ten years later is crying after his lost love who also died in the last battle.
It doesn't matter that they give you a "happy ending", "happy world" in which civilians live a peaceful life. WHO CARES about the people that were never a real part of the show. We care about those that we've been seeing the whole show long, the friendships that were made, the teachers that were lifelong treasured masters etc. And there was a lot of valuable characters in the show. Why must have they all been killed? The last few episodes is A WASTE OF TME and a GIANT DISAPPOINTMENT.

I would have really rated this show higher if not for the bitter anger you left me with. What's the point of creating an interesting story if you're gonna destroy it like this later on? -.-

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For a limited audience

I'm finally done with this show. The first 10-15 episodes were ok, but I've struggled with the rest. I've watched without FF, but boy was I tempted to skip some of the scenes. In the end, the only thing that I really liked was the music which was somehow fresh and a bit different. A young version of me would probably enjoy this drama more. It reminded me of Naruto that I used to watch in the past.

Overall, I think it’s a wasted potential. The cast was ok, but everything else was lacking. I find this show to be very stiff. Fights were choreographed, but other scenes had little direction. The shots were rather static with limited camera movement. I wish they've played more with the camera, so that I could at least enjoy the shots.

The drama should be called the True Meaning of Training, or the Legends of the Dragon Mountain Empire, rather than Snow Eagle Lord. There were many unnecessary plots and side stories that were left unresolved, and many characters that we didn’t have the time to connect with. Maybe if the number of episodes were cut by half, the story would be more focused on the main leads and make more sense.

I’ve watched this show for Xu Kai, and he delivered a good performance, but this is one of his weakest dramas so far. You can watch it if you are really into martial arts and this type of genre, otherwise it’s better to skip it and watch something else.

7, only because I'm XK-biased, but it should be less.

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Very dragging! Average.

It was pretty dragging! After the 3rd episode I skipped a lot and I feel I didn't miss anything while doing so.
you might ask why I would continue watching if I had to start skipping that early, the answer is the leads.
Not that they had chemistry, they felt more like friends to me 90% of drama than lovers, but their acting was decent and that's the best thing I can mention about this drama.

The costumes looked good at one moment and the next you see a guy wearing a Lion head!

I don't know who in their right mind approves of those attack names popping up on screen!


**Here comes the spoiler parts of the review :
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The only moment I felt was cool in whole drama was the moment the ML got his Saint level power right after his mother died.
They totally ruined the last battle for me with the slow motions and the still poses mid-fight!
I didn't like the music in the last battle as well, it didn't really fit in my opinion!
I'm not even complaining about the Big Bad Demon looking like a clown!

(End of spoiler)



If you are here for the leads, then I wish you luck! hope you can hang in there and finish it!
If you are in dilemma and want some good fantasy, move on, it's not worth your time.

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Watched for Xu Kaï but a lot of skipping, because the storyline is hot mess.

I don't know what the screenwriters and producers were thinking: they have a GREAT cast, very beautiful costumes, suitable OSTs, a budget that's a little tight to have good CGI,... They tried to put all the ingredients of 'a good Wuxia, but completely screwed up the recipe ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

PLOT: The ML, the lord of the Snow Eagle Territory, joins the prestigious Halfeng Academy, to gain skills and powers, and go save his mother, imprisoned by his uncle. There he meets the future elites of the different sects, including the FL, Jing Qiu, with mysterious origins. There he makes friends with various powers (Yangbo, Youyue), a love interest (Jing Qiu), and they will fight together against the Great Villains (external and internal) who want to bring back the Demon Lord.

PROS: (already said)
+ a SUPER cast, beautiful costumes, suitable OSTs, a beautiful friendship within the quartet of protagonists, excellent fight scenes (well done Xu Kai 癶(癶✺౪✺)癶)).

FLAWS:
### An incoherent, poorly constructed storyline, with too many unnecessary and poorly implemented twists. We get lost in secondary and useless stories and characters. Some characters keep changing their (side) behavior for no apparent reason. Illogical!
- sometimes crude CGI: the most obvious is the oncle's lion mask, taken from a children's show, but generally speaking, the CGI's quality leaves something to be desired. AND this is an essential point in this kind of series !!

I'm a big fan of Xu Kai and I really like Gulnezer, but I still did a lot of skipping because the story is unbearable (and of course I won't watch it again, my nerves wouldn't take it ).

=> Disappointing series. A big waste!
*********************************************************************
Regardé pour Xu Kaï mais beaucoup de zapping, car storyline hot mess.

Je ne sais pas à quoi pensaient les screenwriters et producteur : ils ont un SUPER cast, des costumes très beaux, des OST adaptés, un budget un peu juste pour avoir de bonnes CGI,... Ils ont essayé de mettre tous les ingrédients d'un bon Wuxia, mais ont complètement foiré la recette ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

PLOT: Le ML, le seigneur du Territoire des Aigles des neiges , rejoint la prestigieuse académie Halfeng, pour gagner en compétences et en pouvoirs, et aller sauver sa mère, emprisonnée par son oncle. Il y rencontre les futures élites des différentes sectes, dont la FL, Jing Qiu, aux origines mystérieuses. Il s'y fait des amis aux pouvoirs divers (Yangbo, Youyue), un amour (Jing Qiu), et ils vont lutter ensemble contre les Great Villains (externes et internes) qui veulent faire revenir le Seigneur Démon.

PROS : (déjà dit)
+ un SUPER cast, de costumes très beaux, des OST adaptés, une belle amitié au sein du quatuor de protagonistes, des scènes de fight excellentes (bravo Xu Kai 癶(癶✺౪✺ )癶) ).

FLAWS :
### Une storyline incohérente, mal construite, avec trop de twists inutiles et mal amenés. On se perd dans des histoires et des personnages annexes et inutiles. Certains personnages changent sans cesse de comportement (de camp) sans raison apparente. Illogique !
- des CGI parfois grossières : la plus évidente est le masque de lion de l'un des oncles, sorti d'une émission pour enfants, mais d'une façon générale, la qualité des CGI laisse à désirer. Or, c'est un point essentiel dans les séries de ce genre !!

Je suis une grande fan de Xu Kai et j'aime beaucoup Gulnezer, mais j'ai tout de même fait beaucoup de zapping parce que l'histoire est insupportable (et bien sûr je ne la regarderai pas à nouveau, mes nerfs ne supporteraient pas).

=> Série décevante. Un beau gâchis !

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This drama is great if the viewer is only looking for great CGIs; well choreograph action scenes, and beautiful settings. As for the rest, the plot is more about the demons getting their way until almost the last 10 minutes of the drama. There is a hero in the making (the male lead) that, even with all the achievements, doesn’t get rid of the antagonists until the last final minutes of the last episode while the righteous guys kept dying throughout the drama. There are some attempts at comedy that were not really funny, and the drama was more about fighting, use of great computer generated images, and twists and turns that only serve to drag the drama into a boring mess. There is a romance storyline but no chemistry between the leading couple. Overall, the drama failed to deliver a great story.

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Story is a real mess

I only watched this for Xu Kai and the trailer looked ok, but this series was disappointing to say the least. The story had so many issues...... with so many stupid and unintelligent characters and stupid/unintelligent decisions by Council members, Masters/Teachers, etcetera. Way to many episodes which were filled with unnecessary re-runs of certain Arcs (just in a different way). CGI was also bad - expected better than this for a 2023 production.

********SPOILER ALERT********

The story was all over the place, inconsistencies and contradicting at times with so many plot holes and issues. So many stupid and unintelligent characters and stupid/unintelligent decisions by Council members, Masters/Teachers, etcetera. Script writer and Producer really made a mess of the novel in my opinion.

There are actually too many issues to discuss so I'm just mentioning one that frustrated me the most. Some of the characters, specifically Ji Rong was basically forgiven for all her wrong doings, nobody truly suspected her of any wrong doing, both the uncles, Zong and Tang which were 'commanders' , or people around her didn't question any of her actions (can forgive Qingshi as he was in love with her and didn't want to believe she's bad), all other characters around her were portrayed as 'dumb or blind' to everything she did wrong, causing numerous deaths. Her death was not specifically shown in the the last encounter with QingShi but assume she died.

The acting of main leads were the best they could do with the script they had to work with. Some of the supporting actors didn't do that well, to mention a few Tong San played by Tong Hu, Zong Ling played by Zhou Zhong and Moyang Chen played by Geng Lee.

Production and Visual FX were ok but not great.

Sound effects: the sound the spear made when used by Xue Ying was too loud and distracting at times. Demon King voice sounded like a crazed cat or rat and was super annoying.

Sound tracks were great.

Rewatch value : Definitely won't rewatch.

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Poor or Mediocre Screenplay

The screenplay is such a mediocre. Gulnezer is only a display on this drama, she can’t even act or do the fight scene very well. Her facial expression is very plain. I wonder what she've learned from Beijing Film Academy. Apart from that, her character is so irritating & disappointing as no Goddess would dare to give up her responsibility to her people, just for her own sake or just to be with his lover. She is a Goddess who is supposed to be strong, powerful & willful to lead her people, but she’s the complete opposite. It doesn’t feel good for the romance to have a Goddess giving up her responsibility to be with her man. It’s a selfish love, so it’s not romantic at all. They spent too much for her costume, because without her costume, she’ s a complete mess. On the other hand, Xu Kai’s acting & spear stunts are commendable. I would rate this drama as 2/10.

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Huge Potential But Sadly...

Ive just finished watching this drama. Pretty much what some reviews say are true. The storyline runs based on the antagonists (demon). Seriously, there are far too many plot convenience in this drama just to keep the story going. Like A is a mole, but for next 20-30 episodes, people can suspect him/her but will never take action on there. And and and...that one demon character took literally 40 episodes to die OMG. As a result? All of them run mess killing people infront or behind the characters eye. And this happens to not 1 but multiple of them. There was sooo Much potential for them to make it Right. One thing that kinda keep the plot going also btw, is killing of side characters...some of them could have been avoided...but oh well...sucks to them

Positive

But, there are some positive notes I can drop down. Everyones acting is great. Only a few can be improved. Next, I love their fight scenes and presentation. Yes, theres a lot of blasting plasmas but at least when it comes to physical fight, they still stick true to it (not like that slow as snail fight scenes in Heaven Sword 2019 remake). Having those fight names displayed is great, I love it. It gives it that energy.


Weird

I kinda find it weird that many side characters get their love pair, one of them is very unexpected too haha.

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To be honest, this historical C-drama has managed to make me feel a bit inadequate at times. It seems like the plans of the Demon Clans always come out on top, leaving me feeling dumbfounded. However, I've come to accept this and have learned to be more patient with the storyline. As I've continued watching and delving deeper into the episodes, I've found myself growing fond of the intricate plotlines that the show presents.

One thing that stands out about this series is its ability to constantly surprise me. The twists and turns that occur throughout the story are unexpected, to say the least. Just when I think I have a grasp on where the plot is heading, the narrative takes a sharp turn, leaving me captivated and craving more.

Nevertheless, I must admit that I had hoped for a more conclusive ending. It's always a bit disheartening when a series leaves you hanging on a cliffhanger. The emotional investment I've made in the characters and their journeys makes it difficult to move on from the show's unresolved conclusion. I find myself yearning for closure and resolution to the storylines I've become so invested in.

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