Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei 《怪侠一枝梅》 - Wallace Huo, Liu Shi Shi, Ma Tianyu

[Liu Xiao Xiao]

Okay comic lovers....the comics continues from page 60 (the comics are in no particular order)

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[Liu Xiao Xiao]

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[Liu Xiao Xiao]

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[Liu Xiao Xiao]

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[Liu Xiao Xiao]

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Whew! Finally finished I believe there are over 200 comics used in the series....

[justinmax]

i think this is a very successful movie. Wallance Hou and Liu Shi Shi be a nice couple. But the movie seems to finish too fast. If it can be continously produced a new season, i believe that every one will be waiting for that day it appears. Lovestories will be developed, "Yi Zhi Mei" spirit will be always a moving story.

[xiaolong]

The LGX-SN relationship was intentionally left open-ended so that viewers like you and me gasp & cry foul and demand a sequel I just hope if they do make a sequel, they will clean-shave Wallace and tie up his hair.

I'm not sure when a sequel can be made though. They are booked the whole year with Tian Zhi Hen and two big screen movies. So the earliest they can ever think of one is 2012, and who knows what kind of other projects the main leads will be tied up with.

[Easter Lily]

This series is so, SO good. So much so that I finished watching it in 4 days. LOL. Couldn't wait for the entire series to be subbed and thank God that my Mandarin, though a tad rusty, was enough to get me through the RAWS.
I see as a good thing when the ending leaves the audience clamouring for more.

Don't know if I'm in the minority here but I actually liked how the romance between Li Gexiao and Sanniang was handled all throughout. It didn't really disrupt the flow of the overall storyline or the various minor arcs or the dynamics between members of Yi Zhi Mei. It was done with little gestures and moments, beautifully integrated with the spirit of the show.
At times I did think they laid it on pretty thick with flashbacks of Li and Ruyi but it serves to tell of a different time in his life when he was impulsive and boyishly passionate. In those days he was trying to change the world. Five years on, he's changed... more circumspect, cautious and I think it is reflected in his choices and sense of timing in everything.
Wallace Huo affects an air of nonchalance in his performance that I find really endearing. Especially when he throws in these offhanded smiles to mask his true feelings.
Li Gexiao... what a brain...

The most pathetic creature in the show is Wuqiu. In spite of everything, I can't help feeling a little sorry for him. Ironic that he accused Li of not moving on after Ruyi's death but really he's the one most entrenched in the past. His entire life narrative is centred on vengeance for her death and he turned into a monster doing it.

Liu Xiaoxiao... thanks for posting the character drawings.

[ichiban]

Really nice PS photo

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[lauragal]

Oh my, I just finished this series. It was really awesome!

[Easter Lily]

I don't think there's much doubt that there will be a sequel. I'd be more surprise if a sequel is not forthcoming. The first series does a fair bit of setting up of character arcs, some eps were flashback heavy and it seems to me that any second season will free the script up to focus more on present relationships and new adventures.

I'm one of those who weren't terribly interested in Li Gexiao and Ruyi. A few flashbacks here and there would have sufficed for me. Some of the lovey dovey stuff got a little repetitive, IMO.

Now, the crucial thing is to keep the cast together. That is more or less the key to the whole thing.

I'm rather partial to a scruffy Li Gexiao myself... it just gives that whole renegade look more credibility.

[xiaolong]

I would like to see a sequel, but Tangren seems to seldom do sequels (I don't consider CP3 a real sequel or prequel to CP1). They did give hints they are considering a movie sequel (since they are planning to go big into movies later), but not a whole series sequel. The thing with a movie is that it's just 2 hours, but since the set-up has already been done in this series, a movie could pan out well. Unfortunately, the earliest they would be able to film a movie is 2012.

I felt that the flashbacks were a bit too long and didn't care much for Ruyi (somehow her character doesn't appeal to me), but Ruyi's relationship with LGX and her death was the basis of the whole revenge and renegade story. So it was important, can't do without it. Oh well. I would rather they cut down on the Ruyi story arc and bring back the missing case they cut out to keep this series to 30 episodes.

My friend who recently watched this series and the Young Warriors of the Yang Clan consecutive said that LGX & SN's relationship was pretty similar to Liu Lang & Princess Chai. There are some similar motifs, like the CPU underwater and the bickering on the surface even when they do like each other below the surface. Then after going through so much dangers, they get together , except that in here, they left the relationship more open-ended.

[Easter Lily]

I felt that the flashbacks were a bit too long and didn't care much for Ruyi (somehow her character doesn't appeal to me), but Ruyi's relationship with LGX and her death was the basis of the whole revenge and renegade story. So it was important, can't do without it. Oh well. I would rather they cut down on the Ruyi story arc and bring back the missing case they cut out to keep this series to 30 episodes.

Ruyi seems to me a stock character... pretty ho hum. Actress is pretty, no doubt. But I have a natural aversion to love triangles (although I tolerate them as necessary evil plot devices) and I prefer spunky, combative female leads to keep the male lead on his toes.
Flashbacks used well can be very effective but a whole episode? Anyway, I accept that it's part of the introduction to Yi Zhi Mei.

My personal opinion is that the show is at its best when the team's undertaking a scam or a con.

My friend who recently watched this series and the Young Warriors of the Yang Clan consecutive said that LGX & SN's relationship was pretty similar to Liu Lang & Princess Chai. There are some similar motifs, like the CPU underwater and the bickering on the surface even when they do like each other below the surface. Then after going through so much dangers, they get together , except that in here, they left the relationship more open-ended.

Was it open-ended?
I haven't watched a lot of modern wuxia admittedly in recent years but when a man holds a woman's hand in such a setting, is that considered a fairly ambiguous gesture?
For a man who doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, I thought that was supposed to indicate that their relationship had moved to the next level.

[xiaolong]

Ruyi seems to me a stock character... pretty ho hum. Actress is pretty, no doubt. But I have a natural aversion to love triangles (although I tolerate them as necessary evil plot devices) and I prefer spunky, combative female leads to keep the male lead on his toes.
Flashbacks used well can be very effective but a whole episode? Anyway, I accept that it's part of the introduction to Yi Zhi Mei.

My personal opinion is that the show is at its best when the team's undertaking a scam or a con.

Was it open-ended?
I haven't watched a lot of modern wuxia admittedly in recent years but when a man holds a woman's hand in such a setting, is that considered a fairly ambiguous gesture?
For a man who doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, I thought that was supposed to indicate that their relationship had moved to the next level.

Oh, I meant that at the end, they were just starting out, but not getting married yet. Whereas Liu Lang and Princess Chai got married. I realise after my friend's observation that both relationship stories are very similar - two characters who started out as friends, became close after going through a lot, then coming together in the end with some sadness over tragedies they've encountered, but they look towards the future with a lot of optimism. Have you watched Young Warriors of the Yang Clan? You'll know what I mean

This script was very well written. I know there's nothing that should be changed to the story, but it kinda annoyed me that he was holding on to memories of Ruyi (who's kinda annoying) for so long, yet I know it's necessary to his character (as a faithful steady guy) and to the whole revenge plot that drove the series. But I just don't like Ruyi (apologies to Tong Liya fans). The recent series I've seen Wallace in, he's like so young (looking at most 25) and hot in those lovely min guo man-dresses, but he's made to look so old here? And yet I know why he's suppose to be older here, still I wish they made him a young man around SN's age (OK, don't know what I want). I guess I just wanted the best for SN - to get all the guys from beginning to end. Yet I know it is necessary for LGX to resolve issues over his wife's death and it's his love for her that drove the whole series. GAH! don't know what I want

[Easter Lily]

Dang it... I wrote this great post and then lost it. Egad... I hate the net sometimes...

Oh, I meant that at the end, they were just starting out, but not getting married yet. Whereas Liu Lang and Princess Chai got married. I realise after my friend's observation that both relationship stories are very similar - two characters who started out as friends, became close after going through a lot, then coming together in the end with some sadness over tragedies they've encountered, but they look towards the future with a lot of optimism. Have you watched Young Warriors of the Yang Clan? You'll know what I mean

I understand. But by golly, it's been a while since I saw Yang Jia Jiang but I'm interested to see the latest adaptation.

This script was very well written. I know there's nothing that should be changed to the story, but it kinda annoyed me that he was holding on to memories of Ruyi (who's kinda annoying) for so long, yet I know it's necessary to his character (as a faithful steady guy) and to the whole revenge plot that drove the series. But I just don't like Ruyi (apologies to Tong Liya fans). The recent series I've seen Wallace in, he's like so young (looking at most 25) and hot in those lovely min guo man-dresses, but he's made to look so old here? And yet I know why he's suppose to be older here, still I wish they made him a young man around SN's age (OK, don't know what I want). I guess I just wanted the best for SN - to get all the guys from beginning to end. Yet I know it is necessary for LGX to resolve issues over his wife's death and it's his love for her that drove the whole series. GAH! don't know what I want

The problem with Ruyi is that she's a character in flashbacks and a narrative device. My take is that when they gave Ruyi and Wuqiu a backstory, they inadvertently made his character more sympathetic than perhaps they had envisaged. Perhaps it's less the script and more the performances. Certainly he turned into some kind of monster but as he himself said, he did it all for love of her. It's unrequited love and it touches something in us, I daresay.
Also, he was the hapless country boy who lost his beloved to a man who by any stretch of the imagination was fairly impressive. Li Gexiao was a rising star albeit hotheaded and prone to raising hell among top officials. He was idealistic, demonstrative and passionate. The stuff of a maiden's dreams perhaps.

Ruyi was the damsel in distress that Li Gexiao saved and fell in love with. From what we know they had the makings of a perfect marriage. Some the lovey dovey stuff bordered on being gag inducing but we get the picture.
However, when they made Wuqiu a somewhat more sympathetic character, it sort of diminished the gloss on hers. Interesting what a shift in perspective can do.

The reason why I find Sanniang and Li Gexiao’s relationship far more interesting and complex is because they start off being partners in crime. She’s no damsel in distress. In fact, he doesn’t even see her as a woman until she lifts the wedding veil. It’s a revelation for him that this combative creature, with all her extraordinary talents is a woman underneath the fiercely independent demeanour and cleans up nicely. No doubt, she has to work harder to prove her point but to her credit, has enough patience not to bludgeon him to death before time. As he himself says, he wasn’t even sure if there was a place in his heart for another after Ruyi’s death. Afterall being No.2 love interest is a lot harder work than being No. 1.

The 5-years-later Li Gexiao is a different man. He’s a hard-drinking, jaded and somewhat cynical prize fighter, while still impressive, is carrying a ton of baggage. The grungy, dishevelled look is necessary to make that before and after distinction.
One of the things I like about the use of flashbacks in this show is how the past is a preamble to Yi Zhi Mei. Everything that happened prior to the formation of Yi Zhi Mei, was preparation for Li Gexiao to became the leader of a gang of outlaws and their dealings with corrupt officials. What Li Gexiao could not do as a law enforcement officer, he could now do outside of the law.

Yan Sanniang is the right woman for the grungy, badass, 5-years-later Li Gexiao in a way that the genteel Ruyi would not be. She's sharp, a tad shrewish, independent and not overly impressed with his heroics and lapses into self-indulgence. She wants to be an equal in this enterprise. To me, she's the right woman in the right place at the right time.

Sigh... I love this show... the writing and the comaraderie among the main cast is second only to Joss Whedon's Firefly

XL... thank you for engaging with me. I've really enjoyed it.

[ByTmE]

I didn't really care for Ruyi...I'm glad she died. Oops, sorry...but I thought she was sort of annoying and proud, recklessly stubborn, sometimes needlessly mean to her good buddy, needed to be rescued...and that's the impression that was left with me. I don't know why... I think Tong Liya is quite attractive but she just wasn't endearing in this role to me.

[Easter Lily]

Can anyone tell me what the stringed instrument that Li Gexiao plays is called?

Thanks beforehand.

[Luanee]

The LGX-SN relationship was intentionally left open-ended so that viewers like you and me gasp & cry foul and demand a sequel I just hope if they do make a sequel, they will clean-shave Wallace and tie up his hair.

No I dont want a clean shaven or tied up hair LGX! I love him just the way he is!! Heeee...

[xiaolong]

No I dont want a clean shaven or tied up hair LGX! I love him just the way he is!! Heeee...

Awwwwwww...don't you like his little boy hair & face in a hot min guo dress a la Xin Yi Jian Mei?

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IMO the LGX long hair looks like a cocker spaniel's. Just my opinion. No offense.

[Liu Xiao Xiao]

^^sorry xiaolong....too girly...hehehe

My favorite LGX look...sexxxxxxxyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! lol...
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Though I like him in the bun too
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Can anyone tell me what the stringed instrument that Li Gexiao plays is called?
Thanks beforehand.

Is it this?
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Pipa , A plucked Chinese musical instrument with four strings. Sometimes called the Chinese lute. It has a pear-shaped wooden body.