Jan 11, 2022
SPOILER ALERT, CONTAINS DESCRIPTION OF DONGHUA AND NOVEL SCENES!!
I really love this story and Xiang Shu's art is the best I've ever seen. Much better than manhua, by the way.
Donghua started off very well, but some script changes were very unnecessary. It's not that I don't think you can make changes to the original story, but it needs to be done smartly, as an increment or to improve the story. If the change is not beneficial, makes no difference, or makes it worse, then it is best to keep the original story.
Considering only the last two eps that were the ones I just watched:
* we
...
have Xiao Shan who didn't have an impactful debut, didn't have his wolf head and high speed preventing the prota from recognizing who was attacking them and later discovering that it was a child;
* Xiang Shu's anger at meeting Chen Xing is diminished and put as a comic moment (by the way, Xiang Shu's temper was lowered in the entire donghua);
* Xiang Shu's mother's horse doesn't get restless and tries to lead them to a different path. It shouldn't have been cut since it's important;
* King Akele doesn't say his final words (a very emotional scene in the novel that was lost);
* doesn't show resentment in the air on Carosha and Chen Xing purifying it;
*Lu Ying appears as a CENTAUR!!! Seriously, half man and half deer?? Hi?? what a stupid idea was that? It's ok to put him as an albino despite the original story he has black hair that contrasts with his skin color, he was very handsome. But wait, that didn't make any sense! Why didn't they put the Wolf God as a werewolf then? It loses so much meaning that Chen Xing's speech when meeting him in person becomes illogical: ''Humans? Are you a yao?", no, my son, my entire lower half is that of a quadruped, I have this huge horn and pointed ears... I look like a human yes, for sure;
*the scene of Xiao Kun intimidating the exorcist by asking for the dinghai pearl was unnecessary and doesn't even exist in the novel;
* Xiang Shu says he doesn't have to worry about Chi Le Chuan because Shi Mokun is taking care of it, instead of saying it was Che Luofeng;
*Lu Ying doesn't do all that scheme to persuade Xiao Shan to go with Chen Xing because he was in his last moments and then there's that beautiful scene of him using the remnants of his spiritual energy to make the flora reborn and, instead, has Chen Xing hold him down by force, guides them through a shortcut, and then explodes;
*when arriving in Chi Le Chuan and seeing the devastated land, the focus is all on Chen Xing and that pissed me off. This is one of the most impactful moments for Xiang Shu, it's his land, it's his people, he's the leader and he wasn't there to defend them. But it shows him most of the time as a mere spectator without much emotion until the final moment when he gets angry saying he will avenge them;
Other minor things not worth mentioning and that was just in these two eps.
Oh, and when Xiang Shu turns into the Martial God he doesn't turn into the Martial God, lol. There's no change to golden armor or anything, it just gets a little glow from the Lamp of the Heart and it's not even visually beautiful and impactful. They turned this brilliant moment into nothing much, it didn't even influence the characters' reactions.
I understand the parts that were removed because of censorship and the subtle change in Xiang Shu and Chen Xing's behavior so as not to imply that the two are a romantic couple, but even so, with the complexity and grandeur of the work, they could have made a much better animation. I really can't understand why they don't take advantage of novels to create great animation at the level of Avatar. Interpersonal relationships, philosophy and existential issues are not well used and scenes are passed in a hurry, which impacts a lot on moments that should be emotional, more dramatic. We don't have time to react and the characters don't have time to express themselves.
Anyway...I liked it a lot when I started watching and read Dinghai Fusheng Lu because of the animation and it wasn't until I started reading that I realized it's from the same universe as Tianbao Fuyao Lu (Legend of Exorcism - donghua). Turns out I had already read almost the entire novel when they started releasing the last 6 episodes. I had a big break in expectation with the last half of the donghua.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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