Guardian (2018)

The plot is not bad, quite unique, although there were still some cliques like the memory loss.
The acting is well... there were some hit and miss... however, generally speaking, there is still room for improvement.
The music is ok, I like the opening tho... the opening, for me, represents the whole drama, as in the vibe of the music, if that even makes sense... but yeah...
Overall, I do recommend this drama for anyone interested but a tip of advice, just don't expect too much.

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Highly Recommended, high Re-Watch Value. Hot.

-The series that catapulted two relatively unknown actors into the Chinese stardom stratosphere.
-Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu put their hearts, and soul, and creativity, and passion, and improvisation, and their dedication into this series despite many production setbacks.
-The result is INSANE CHEMISTRY, WeiLan, ZhuBai, many swoon-worthy, superbly acted memorable scenes (and many more future well-deserved quality acting opportunities for both Zhu Yilong and Baiyu).
-Guardian sets the stage for later "BL - bromance" type series like Untamed and Word of Honor.
-It's undeniably a romance though Chinese censorship forbids the explicit interpretation of the original novel in those terms. However, the romance or bromance (whatever) is a mature, complex, controlled relationship. The feelings between the two leads never descend into mushy, sappy, melodramatic tropes. There's no sentimental declaration of love/feelings, but the undying, unwavering love between soul mates is always palpable. I love that they are their own strong person, with their own firm convictions, and they take no bullshit from each other. There's always the push and pull in their interactions, whether in bantering, calling each other out, working together. They are in sync mentally and physically.
-You will cry. I cried, copiously.
-If you loved this, as I did, you will re-watch scenes many many times, as I did.

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Too drawn out

I thought the 2 leads, Zhu Yi Long and Bai Yu, were so good ~ their acting portrayed the characters' attraction to one another really well; the eyes can say it all.
Lots of very diverse characters, action, emotion and different worlds, making for entertaining viewing.
I did have trouble sticking with it though, as it just went on too long for me. The last few episodes were amongst the best of all and saved the drama, to my mind. The emotion from the leads was heart felt and definitely confirmed that Shen Wei and Yunlan loved each other, and there was nothing 'brotherly' about it.
It is a great shame that China feels any sexuality other than straight, is abhorrent. Lines don't need to be crossed, but as with straight romance dramas, they aught to portray love as love. Just what are they so scared of?

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Excellent bromance for an overall very disappointing drama

I started watching because this is one of the danmei drama adaptations I've seen being recommended the most. I was also encouraged by the rating here on the MDL page for the drama.

I can say that I understand why I saw it being recommended it so much. For anyone who is a fan of BL or bromance dramas/series, this is gold: the two main characters are great actors and have excellent chemistry with each other. While it doesn't get as shameless as in other dramas I've watched (namely Word of Honor), this show still makes it very easy for me to read between the lines and consider it a full-fledged love story rather than a bromance. Shen Wei would make it very hard for anyone not to fall for him whenever he lets go of his calm and collected attitude to help Zhao Yunlan in any way possible, and the Guardian himself is unable to act all cool and detached for long before starting to care for Shen Wei deeply.

The problem of this drama is just... everything else. The story felt very chaotic and hard to follow from the get-go to me, to the point that I had to stop myself from dropping the drama altogether after the first two episodes. The events of the story are not very appealing, so even when I had to feel worried for the characters or excited to see what would come next, I wasn't able to feel much. Unfortunately the same goes for the cast other than the two protagonists; even the most important secondary roles didn't feel much relevant nor interesting. Even the main villains of the story felt more annoying than actually charming or threatening in any way.
All of this was made worse by a very fragile worldbuilding, with obscure rules for supernatural and sci-fi elements that often made me ask "why isn't this character using their power on this occasion?", "if that character had been able to do that all along, why didn't they do that sooner?" and similar.
The pacing of the story was also off, with elements of the plot and some characters that would have benefited from having more time to better explain their situations, and moments in the story that were made unbearably slow and detailed for no real reason.
If all of this wasn't enough, a huge flaw of this drama was the production, which felt... cheap, for the lack of a better word. I usually don't mind lower budgets at all and I hardly even point it out when I notice it, but this time around it was just too annoying. The CGI and other digital effects made me feel like I was watching an early 2000's movie, most of the props and the costumes looked too fake for me to suspend my disbelief, and often times even the audio quality was bad and distracted me from the story further.
While the acting of the main characters was very good, I can't say the same for the rest of the cast. The best I can say for them is that it was decent most of the time for some of them, but in many instances I felt like the acting was too exaggerated and dramatic, or just very stiff and unnatural, depending on the actor or the scene.

I chose to give Guardian a 7 out of 10 because, despite struggling toward the end, I was able to watch the entire thing, and I actually enjoyed myself when I was focused on Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. They're the only reason why I would recommend this drama to anyone: it's a good bromance and the fans of the genre will definitely love it. My only warning is to lower your expectations in terms of plot and setting: if you're looking for a good fantasy/sci-fi drama, you should look elsewhere.

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OVERALL:
Wow, just wow. I really can't believe how good this was. I'll be honest and say I didn't have high hopes for this drama when I first added it to my 'to watch' list but I was blown away. Everything from the acting, OST, storyline, and production value was 11/10! The characters were brought to life so well, it's hard not to love all of them. I do have to warn anyone who is interested in watching this drama, it is NOT for the weak of heart. Do not watch this if you are just looking for a happy-go-lucky bromance. There are so much heartbreak and pain (not just for the main characters). This show will build you up just to tear you down at the very end, but the happy, carefree moments in between are so worth all the heartbreak. I highly recommend this! Especially if you loved the untamed!

STORY:
I'll start off with the storyline. You can tell so much thought was put into this, and seeing as I haven't read the novel I don't know how well they kept to the original storyline but this plot was weaved together so well. It is hard to not binge-watch all the episodes in the span of a couple of days. At least, that's what I did.

ACTING/CAST:
Amazing, they couldn't have chosen a better cast in my opinion. The characters each person played were so complex and had many times where they had to show different sides of their character and the actors/actresses were phenomenal! I hope everyone enjoyed the casting as much as I did for this drama.

MUSIC:
The OST for this drama brought tears to my eyes. I downloaded the opening and ending songs after the first episode, I was so in love! The lyrics are perfect for the drama and the atmosphere the music sets in this series is so beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking but in a good way.

REWATCH VALUE:
The only reason I am not saying 10 is because the ending is something I don't think my heart could take again. But I will be rewatching select episodes because I just love the characters too much.

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I've loved this drama deeply, I watched it in 4 days because it is addicting! It's based on an online BL novel, understanding where it has been produced (China) the choices orientated on the bromance are understandable, I'm intentioned to read the online novel which is currently being translated on wattpad as it has a different ending and also different dynamics in the relationships between the characters and I understand from what I've been told, it has also discrepancies within the plot. That said, I had expected to be more disappointed about the ending, but it is more of a bittersweet ending, depending on how everyone chooses to read it. I've loved Zhu Yilong's acting, also his and Bai Yu chemistry and interactions were lovely, funny and well thought. I have to admit I've lost focus during some episodes, but mostly because I was tired and in a hurry to finish it due to personal matters, but I believe it could have shortened a bit maybe, that said it is very entertaining and interesting! Also the soundtrack is terrific! I really love the opening and ending songs! I would definetly reccomend it!

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I think I enjoyed the story but for sure loved the actors

Ok, let me be honest my love for how the characters are portrayed is making up for more than 60% of this rating. The acting was solid. I have seen Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu in other project since then and adore their acting. I fell in love with the way they portrayed their characters and grew attached to the characters. The actor who played the villain in the beginning...I laughed at him way too much. I could not take him seriously for real I enjoyed the cases and the basic storyline. Unfortunately some story lines were dragged out too long and some were way too short for me. People have complained about the CGI and I see what your talking about haha. But they did run out of budget so I do not think it is terrible enough that it had an effect on the way I viewed this drama. This drama will always be a gem for me but it is not perfect.

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Should watch!!!

1) Actually I was not so interested in this genre .....but as the story continues from ep 1 onwards this series creates and exictement and eagerness to know what future holds for these characters .
2) The story itself converse with audience.
3) Once u started u can't hold it in the middle.......! 4) The viewer itself holds upon a curiosity.....which is utmost important for a web series to be popular.
5) the bonding between two main leads is the best part......for which i was looking for.
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.at last I just wanna say......this was one of the best among my choices....and the acting of actors was just amazing and excellent.....so I thought I must give a small compliment , even if I know my compliment is not going to reach them but ......but still I wanted coz I saw and appreciate their efforts ....... thankyou

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One of My Favorite Adaptations of a Priest Novel

Where to start to unpack this series? First of all, the main leads Bai Yu and Zhu Yi Long are magical together! Even though this is a censored adaptation (thanks china) you can see and feel the characters love for each other. Somehow this series got away with a lot more physical contact then others I have seen 💖lots of touching of hands and shoulders and even my favorite scene in the car with Zhao Yunlan sleeping on Shen Wei's shoulder! Yep, magic. Oh my, the necklace! 🥲 That one got me.

The rest of the cast is pretty much a hit or miss. The purple-haired villain was so bad I was waiting for him to say "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" I would have loved to have had more Cat (Da Qing) story, who wouldn't like to know more about the Cats? Would love to know more about Chu Shuzhi too! What a cool ability with the puppets! The delusional snake lady's story really didn't add much to the series and they could have taken it out completely. And I really wish that the Guo character would have died a horrible death, sorry. 😂He just irritated the hell out of me and by all rights should have died early in the series. The rest of the team pretty much sank into the background for me so not much to say.

The actual story itself was kind of all over the place, probably because of all the changes that had to be made to satisfy the censors. Read the novels! I'll admit I got lost a few times and had to rewatch some episodes to try and figure out what the hell the story line was. The FX was either really good or really bad, like they ran out of money and had to half-ass most of the special affects! And the sets were either really good or really bad too, money again?

So even though this series had some issues with cast and story and FX and production, it's still one of my favorites and I will still give it a 10 because of the leads and will rewatch it over and over.

And the ending, oh boy, be prepared to cry. However, I believe they ended up finding each other again, someday.

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Need more of this awesome storyline.

Even though it's supposed to be about the 2 main guys being in love... yes they changed it to be a bromance, you can still see the deep feelings between the 2 guys.
I definitely think they need to make more. I can't get enough. It has been a true rollercoaster ride of twists and turns that kept me wanting to see way more depth to the bromance.
So I want to see way more then 40 episodes. I'm sure they could make this last into 80 to 90 episodes if not longer. I love both main lead guys.
Ok so I cried my eyes out at the end when both leading men died. They need to finish this storyline because they left it open for more episodes because ShenWei and YunLan made a bet that they would meet again no matter how long it took. That's love that crosses both time and space in my opinion.

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Ay China, me vas a hacer sacar canas verdes

Primero y principal, hay que decir "Gracias Priest" tres veces hacia el cielo porque es impresionante las GRANDES historias que esa persona escribe, la verdad que ninguna tiene desperdicio. Y por supuesto que esta se encuentra entre ellas.
Ahora bien...¿A QUIÉN SE LE OCURRIÓ ADAPTAR LA MITAD DEL LIBRO? Ay China China China...amo tu cultura y tu sistema de organización política me resulta intrigante por momentos, pero esa manía que tenés con "recortar" algunas cosas bajo el pretexto de que pueden distraer mucho a la sociedad me tiene medio con los ovarios por el piso.
The Guardian es una historia fantástica: bañada en mitología china, Zhao Yunlan y Shen Wei se encuentran cruzados por un caso que parece aislado a ellos, pero que termina uniéndolos más de lo que pensaban y los lleva a un entramado que bordea entre el pasado, el presente y su futuro.
Para aquellas personas que quizás no hayan leído el libro y no les haya quedado muy en claro cual es su relación por el drama: ellos dos se aman, y muchisimo. Tipo es asqueroso de lo empalagosa que puede llegar a ser su relación a veces de lo mucho que se aman, y por momentos eso te da risa y a la vez te da angustia porque a medida que avanzas con la historia te das cuenta que han sufrido sin sentido y que se merecen el uno al otro.
Este drama me da un poco de bronca que quede tan en una nebulosa a veces la trama porque encima el elenco es de muy buen nivel y se que ellos dos han hecho todo lo posible para mostrar la dinámica entre Zhao y Shen, y por eso se los agradezco.
Si no están acostumbrados a mirar cosas largas, entonces se van a tener que armar de paciencia; pero si vienen de The Untamed entonces ya tengan un poco de manejo sobre como esto funciona y que pueden llegar a esperar. De igual manera, vale la pena verla porque las historias de Priest siempre son apasionantes de ver y si no querés o no tenés tiempo para leer la novela entonces si te mirás el drama solo podés quedar tranquilx que al menos disfrutaste de una visión de una maravillosa historia que vale mucho la pena ver.

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NOT A BL, BUT THE CHEMISTRY WAS UNDENIABLE. (READ THE NOVEL FOR BL)

I came across this drama as I was looking for more BL dramas to watch. So, my first point is EVEN THOUGH THE ORIGINAL WORK IS BL, THIS DRAMA IS ADAPTED TO A BROMANCE VERSION. Well, THEY ARE MORE LIKE SOUL-MATES BUT THEY GIVE OFF BROMANCE VIBES MOSTLY.
If you're into Chinese BLs, you know we always get platonic version of their love. In case of UNTAMED, I knew before watching that it's BL. So, while watching, even though it was platonic, I didn't get the "bromance" vibe because of the chemistry they had. Next I watched WORD OF HONOR. It too, did not give Bromance vibes. It was a BL with soul-mates / platonic lovers vibe. Same goes for KILLER AND HEALER. It did give Bromance vibes to certain extent but we could see they were platonic lovers. But this drama, GUARDIAN, GIVES THE BROMANCE VIBES. BECAUSE, THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE DRAMA, WE COULD SEE THAT IT WAS ONLY ONE OF THE MALE LEADS (SHEN WEI) WHO SECRETLY LOVED HIS CO-STAR (ZHAO YUNLAN) FOR MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS. ZHAO YUNLAN HAD NO IDEA OR MEMORIES ABOUT IT. SO, YUNLAN CONSIDERED HIM AS A BROTHER ( MORE THAN BROTHER TBH, BUT HE PORTRAYED A CHARECTERS WHO IS A CHEEKY, WORKAHOLIC, DOESN'T INVOLVE IN LOVE OR ROMANCE, SO EVEN THOUGH THEY DID LOVE EACH OTHER, THEY VIBE THEY GAVE WAS OF BROMANCE/ SOUL-MATES). BUT BUT BUT, OH WHAT A CHEMISTRY AND ACTING SKILLS THEY HAVE!!!!
THE LEVEL OF COMFORT, CONFIDANCE, UNDERSTANDING AND SENSE OF SACRIFICE THEY HAD FOR EACH OTHER WAS SO PLEASING TO WATCH.

COMING TO THE PLOT, In the first half of the series, it's like a fantasy murder mystery solving drama. (Like detective shows). In each episode, there's a new villian and Zhou Yunlan and his team (SID) fights against them. Shen Wei is always mysteriously involved with the cases. Though he helps out the SID team as Black Envoy, he gets into their suspicion as Professor Shen. IT WASN'T THAT INTRESTING BECAUSE EVEN AS A KID I HAVE SEEN MANY SUCH SHOWS OF SUPER HERO VS SUPER VILLIAN. I WAS WAITING FOR THE ACTUAL STORY OF SHEN WEI AND ZHOU YUNLAN TO START. It starts towards the later half of the series. Like I said, the drama has no romance elements between the leads but their chemistry, relationship development was still beautiful. Time and time again, we see Shen Wei's love filled glances and actions towards Zhou Yunlan. But Zhou Yunlan was always playful and more like "hey bro" (Just saying about the vibe he gave). Because even at the point when Shen said Zhou "I have been waiting for you for 10,000 years" in a serious tone, (much like a confession), Zhou just laughed it off, lightning the entire mood. But yes, both indeed loved , cared and respected each other.
I HATED THE ENDING THOUGH. IMAGINE HAVING TO WATCH 40 LONG EPISODES ONLY TO GET A SAD ENDING WITH BOTH MLs DEAD!!!!! SERIOUSLY, WHY DOES CHINESE BLs ALWAYS END IN A DISAPPOINTING WAY? THIS DRAMA AND KILLER AND HEALER HAD SUCH AN UNFAIR ENDING. ITS A FANTASY DRAMA, WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE A HAPPY ENDING AND DIE JUST LIKE THAT? AFTER SO MUCH HARDWORK AND SACRIFICE, THEY DIDN'T DESERVE SUCH AN ENDING. THEY SHOULD HAVE ATLEAST REINCARNATED AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER AGAIN. :(
ANYWAYS, IT WASN'T SUCH A WASTE TO WATCH IT. I WASN'T SATISFIED WITH THE ENDING AND LACK OF BL, SO MOW M GONNA READ THE NOVEL VERSION OF THE STORY TO SATISFY MY HEART :)

Updated Review- NOVEL VERSION
OK so m done reading the translated version of the original work by Priest. Gosh!! I LOVEEEEDDDD IT SO MUCH!!!! TRUST ME IF YOU LIKED THE CHARECTERS IN THE DRAMA AND WISH IT WAS A BL, JUST GO AND READ THE NOVEL. THE STORY OF THE NOVEL IS MUCH MORE INTENSE AND INTRESTING AND VERY DIFFERENT TBH. PLUS THE ZHOU-SHEN COUPLE IS ONE OF THE BEST BL COUPLES I'VE EVER COME ACROSS. I WON'T GIVE SPOILERS, JUST READ THE NOVEL. YOU'LL GET A HAPPY ENDING AND YOU'LL FEEL SUPER SATISFIED. T

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