Originally Posted by
Riverlake
Li Yitong is 26, but watching the videos you'd think she was 13. She is certainly sweet, and will probably be the next Yang Mi, but how can you tell me this will be a darker series, when your main female lead acts like she's a Japanese school girl, especially in the second video? I know this is a new aesthetic in China, one targeting the younger generation who grew up with Japanese animation and Korean drama, and sure it might be successful as a fresh take on an old story, but honestly, Huang Rong is not an all sugar character. She has a dark, manipulative side, one that doesn't fit Li Yitong's image at all, but I guess we'll see.
Yang Xu Wen's Guo Jing has a similar problem. Guo Jing is supposed to have had a hard early life in Mongolia, and eventually becomes a patriot hero 大英雄, and while he is often seen as cute, that's because he is honest to a fault and kind of dumb, not because he is a pretty boy - that's more Zhang Wuji's style. In fact looking at Yang Xu Wen, I just can't see how he'll act out the heroic, patriotic side of Guo Jing - the stoic man's man who Li Yaping portrayed almost perfectly in 2003. Guo Jing is supposed to be a tough dude, strong of arm and heart. Yang Xu Wen has big shoes to fill.
Now, they do fit as a couple, but I fear it's only because they are both way too cute for their characters. This is probably the prettiest Huang Rong Guo Jing couple I have ever seen, similar to how Liu Yifei's Xiaolongnu in 2006 set a standard for that character. But that isn't necessarily praise. The 2003 version is widely regarded as the best of the recent runs, and perhaps even the best of all the runs, not because the actors and actresses were so fine looking, but because they were cast well. Li Yaping looked like a dumb, naive, but also strong, honest, and loyal dude. Zhou Xun looked like a cunning, high energy girl who also had a temper, and was given to manipulation and jealousy. From what I've seen so far of the 2017 version, the lead actor and actress are not nearly as well cast. They might be able to portray one aspect of their characters well - Huang Rong's cute & sweet side, and Guo Jing's dumb & naive side - but I'm worried about the other aspects - Huang Rong's jealousy & manipulation, Guo Jing's heroic masculinity, which are just as important to their characters.