MDZS Season 2
Sep. 21st, 2020 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsJust finished re-watching the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua's second season. I had been following yhlee's reactions to Season 1 (their attempts to map MDZS onto Legend of the Five Rings were fun to watch even though I know nothing bout L5R), but it's been long enough without an update that it's not fair of me to keep depending on them, so I thought I'd finish the donghua re-watch on my own.
The donghua was actually the first version I saw, and it was enough to get me hooked, but it ended up being my least favorite compared with the drama and novel, and Season 2 (eps 16-23) is probably where a lot of the reasons lie. I remembered it being confusing, and now having seen the story in a couple of complete forms, it seems if anything more unnecessarily confusing than it did the first time. I can see how they're trying to establish important elements, but it's too much, too haphazardly. Say what you will about the drama's long-ass flashback arc, at least it kept things in some kind of sensible order.
And while I seem to be less susceptible to the donghua's same-face syndrome than many viewers, I just have to get in my character design rant about Wen Ning, because the one time the donghua managed to make it look like a different person was the time it was the same person! Seriously, as I recall my first viewing, I was not convinced that Ghost General and Friendly Archer were the same guy until it was spelled out directly. Couldn't you even leave him his little forehead curl? (Really appreciate how his drama actor pulls off all his modes while maintaining the sense of a continuous character.)
On the other hand, donghua Lan Sizhui and his upswept forelocks are recognizable going way back, now that I know where to watch for him.
Also more Jin Guangyao sightings this time around. The first time I was having trouble grasping who he even was and how to keep his name straight from his dad's, let alone recognizing him without his hat.
And of course they had to make the jerk-ass Jin Zixun a fat guy. Typical BS.
Damned if the donghua isn't cool looking though. It also gives good alternate takes on the characters and doesn't have some of the drama's weird bowdlerization hangups.
yhlee's reactions to Season 1 (their attempts to map MDZS onto Legend of the Five Rings were fun to watch even though I know nothing bout L5R), but it's been long enough without an update that it's not fair of me to keep depending on them, so I thought I'd finish the donghua re-watch on my own.The donghua was actually the first version I saw, and it was enough to get me hooked, but it ended up being my least favorite compared with the drama and novel, and Season 2 (eps 16-23) is probably where a lot of the reasons lie. I remembered it being confusing, and now having seen the story in a couple of complete forms, it seems if anything more unnecessarily confusing than it did the first time. I can see how they're trying to establish important elements, but it's too much, too haphazardly. Say what you will about the drama's long-ass flashback arc, at least it kept things in some kind of sensible order.
And while I seem to be less susceptible to the donghua's same-face syndrome than many viewers, I just have to get in my character design rant about Wen Ning, because the one time the donghua managed to make it look like a different person was the time it was the same person! Seriously, as I recall my first viewing, I was not convinced that Ghost General and Friendly Archer were the same guy until it was spelled out directly. Couldn't you even leave him his little forehead curl? (Really appreciate how his drama actor pulls off all his modes while maintaining the sense of a continuous character.)
On the other hand, donghua Lan Sizhui and his upswept forelocks are recognizable going way back, now that I know where to watch for him.
Also more Jin Guangyao sightings this time around. The first time I was having trouble grasping who he even was and how to keep his name straight from his dad's, let alone recognizing him without his hat.
And of course they had to make the jerk-ass Jin Zixun a fat guy. Typical BS.
Damned if the donghua isn't cool looking though. It also gives good alternate takes on the characters and doesn't have some of the drama's weird bowdlerization hangups.
