Lofty Waters Verdant Bow 《雲海玉弓緣》

[ChocoBubble]

Hi just wondering if anybody watched this serial too? Recently ended period drama starring Ling Feng (as Jin Shi Yi), Ye Xuan ( as Li Sheng Nan) and Raine Lee( as Gu Zhi Hua). Just thought it was a wonderful serial with many nicely choreographed fight scenes. And not to mention the love triangle part between the three leads...unsatisfactory ending to me though. Im a supporter of Ye Xuan's character! Any others?

[bubcas]

Not recommended on this series! It's boring, boring and the main casts is lousy!

[botan]

Yes, I didn't think this was a good series. I agree with bubcas it is very boring. I hated the computer effects and overexaggerated flying and fighting scenes. Raymond Lam and Michelle Yip was okay but Rain Lee was horrible.

[Arashi]

I found it refreshing to watch an wuxia series again because TVB doesn't seem to produce many of those lately. Granted, the story was utterly predictable but it was fun to see Raymond and Michelle in a wuxia series, doing all the funny kungfu moves.

The fighting scenes were pathetic, and I was laughing at the exaggerated flying scenes too, but after a while, I grew to accept them. Look at it from another perspective, and they can be pretty stylish.

Rain Li doesn't even deserve a mention here, she's like a prop or something. What really moved me was the ending. Much credit to Michelle's acting especially for making it memorable.

[Arashi]

Just curious, Chocobubble, but your timing coincides with SCV 55's broadcast timetable of the series. Are you from Singapore by any chance?

[christinatran]

I actually hated Raymond's character because he was so prejudice and refuse to listen to Michelle. And only after Michelle passed away did he finally wake up and realize that he never tried to understand her. Pathetic!

Question: Did he really finally realized that he loved her or he was just guilty that he was the reason why she died?

Rain Lee? Please don't get me started on her acting.

[belki]

If you watch the older version by ATV, Raymond's character realises that he loves Michelle's character coz at the scene when she died in that version, he yelled it out really loud that he loved her. I practically enjoy watching this serie and more because of the ending. Without such an ending, this serie falls below par level according to me.

[christinatran]

I didn't know this was a remake of a older version. What year was the original made in? And who was in it? Compare the older version with the new version was it very similiar or totally different? I know--lots of questions but very curious.

[belki]

Truthfully, my memory's hazy about the older version. There's a review that can help you more about it, in fact the review helped me too.

Click here: http://www.spcnet.tv/atv_jadebow.shtml

[ChocoBubble]

Hi Arashi, yep u guess rite. Hmm seems like im the only one who finds the serial nice, though when i read the review about the older version (i never knew there was an older version!), realise that this new version is so different from that one. So which one is the more accurate version? Guess i'll have to borrow the novel to read then.

I guess I didn't find this serial boring coz I thought Michelle Yip's performance was really outstanding. Even though her character was sorta imperfect, everything she did for Jin Shiyi was very touching. I was so sad when she died in the end. Not to mention angry at Jin Shiyi too for being so ignorant abt her love.

And when they showed the part abt him setting sail to Flaming Island with her dead body, I was totally "what;s the use being so good to her only when she's dead?!?" Yep..and he never once said that she was the one he's really in love with. Are his feelings for Sheng Nan just feelings of guilt? But at tht part when her true identity was revealed and he slapped her, I thought he was mainly angry coz he thought that she had cheated his feelings. So if he didn't like her one bit, why would he be so angry? And when they were stranded on Flaming Island they behaved like some couple too, especially on her birthday (that's before he found Gu Zhi Hua's pink pouch on ShengNan's bed).

As for the fight scenes, the first time i saw them i thought they looked silly, what with the exaggerated flying and pause in mid-air matrix poses. Then later on i started to enjoy the fight scenes, not enough for me too..thought that the flying (though really impossible in real life) was quite cool, and i love seeing shengnan fight. And Ling Feng makes a likeable JinShiyi, just too inflexible in thinking and his hair could have looked better.

On a negative note, Gu Zhihua was kinda redundant in the show and I couldn't see why Jin Shiyi would be so devoted to her, she didnt really do much for him. At least not in this show, not sure abt the actual novel. And the sword that she carries around was such an extra prop too, she hardly fights! I thought she was supposed to be highly skilled and all that? But then again, since that means her scenes are lesser, I dun really mind.

[tinac]

The story is very different from the book, the love story is more or less the same.

I like this series if only because of Michelle Yip. I started to like her because of this series. And I totally hate Rain Li , her acting and the character.

If you know simplified chinese, you can read the novel (and its sequels) here http://www.easysea.com/wuxia/index.htm

The author is Liang Yu Shen

[cherrie]

i don't like this series. i totally hate rain lee here, her acting and her character! but im glad raymond chose to be alone when michelle died

[KennyLeeJianSiong]

I only like Michelle Yip's character.

Very cool.

[christinatran]

I'm with you, Chocobubble. I'm still not sure who Raymond really loves in the end. And the very ending when he acts so lovey dovey to michelle I thought it was the most pathetic scene. Like you said, what's the point when she's already dead.

Actually, I hope they make a sequel to this serie. Lets make it that Michelle really didn't die but was in a deep coma and somehow during the journey to Flaming Island, there was a big storm and Raymond thought Michelle drowned. But Michelle actually got swept ashore and rescued by an old couple. They know about medicine and brought Michelle out of the coma. She lost her memory and can't remember anything. The old couple being childless, decided to adopt her as their granddaughter. Michelle learned healing from her adpoted grandparents and help heal the ill ones. A couple of years have passed.

Raymond came out of Flaming Island to visit Rain Lee. The group consisted of Raymond, Mimi, Power, Rain, and Rain's See Yau and her husband decided to journey all over China. They came upon a village and decided to stay for the night. The next day, as they were strolling along the main street, they heard passbys speaking about these super doctors who could heal even the deads. Curious, they decided to investigate thinking these so called super doctors are probably frauds.

As they came upon the building, Raymond saw Michelle and stood there shock. As a matter of fact, everyone were shock. But Raymond knew she can't be Michelle because Michelle have passed away for years. Even so, Raymond walked toward Michelle and stood in front of her. Michelle, did not look up thinking he was a patient, patiently asked him what was the problem. She looked up after no answer and saw a handsome man looking at her with the most curious and there was something else in his look that made her paused. Having no recollection of him, she ask again what kind of symptoms does he have.

Okay, I don't know anymore. Gotta think of it some more.
But the sequel should be that Raymond have to work very hard to win Michelle's love. Let's have the table turn.

[Arashi]

Whoa, christina. How about writing a fanfic on it instead? Because I'm sure they won't produce a sequel of it. In the subsequent book that Liang Yu Sheng wrote, Jin Shiyi did marry Gu Zhihua many years later, or so somebody told me on another thread.

I've just finished the novel myself and it's really different from the series, all the way to characterisation-wise. Jin Shiyi is not a goodie-two-shoes in the book at all. He's actually rather 'xie' or unorthodox, like Li Shengnan. And in the novel, he keeps feeling that Li Shengnan is like his shadow, perfect for him in everyway and fitting his character to a T. Which is also why he disliked her, because she reminded him too much of himself, whereas Zhihua is your representative 'xia-nu', she had the upright orthodoxy that he aspires to himself.

In the novel, it is very obvious that towards the end, Shiyi really loves Shengnan, a point that was made ambiguous in the series. The scriptwriters tried to make it more obvious by having him take her body to Flaming Island. We are then made to assume he becomes a hermit, never to return to the Central Plains or fall in love again. But in the novel, although Shiyi did love Shengnan, he remained in the Central Plains and later married Zhihua.

[christinatran]

Arashi,

If TVB is good at anything, it's butchering the actual novel into nothing. Like you said, the serie was different from the novel which mean there's always a possibility that there will be a sequeal where Raymond and Michelle eventually did end up together. At least I'm hoping it will.

Maybe we should write our own sequel and send it to TVB. Hey, at least we're free. Since they're having a budget cut, maybe, they should hire us to write the story line. HEHE!

[ChocoBubble]

Wow..christina, great imagination at work.. yep, i agree that if there shld ever be a sequel, Jin Shiyi shld be made to work hard to win Shengnan's love. In fact, if i we ever get to decide on how we want the ending to be like, I'll make it tat Jin Shiyi upon seeing Shengnan die in his arms, suddenly realise that all along he had been in love with Shengnan and decides to join her in death. And the story shall end with him sailing away on a raft with her, and the raft is on fire. And of course he dies in Shengnan's arms (dead though they may be) this time.

Arashi, seems like the serial is totally different from the actual story huh? I really have to get my hands on the novel someday. Who's the author again? I guess we can't really blame TVb from condensing and changing it so much, it's hard to stick to the original work given their budget and having to take into account audience's taste. Maybe the producers felt that the audience would be more interested in the love triangle between the 3 of them, rather than the swordfighting part. Though perhaps they really should have given Raymond's character more depth. His Jin Shiyi was quite one-dimensional, too goody-two-shoes, as though having a Gu Zhihua who'slike that isn't enough. So that was probably why Michelle Yip shone in this serial, only her character demanded a wealth of emotions.

By the way, Jin Shiyi marrying Gu Zhihua when in fact the one he loves is ShengNan makes a sucky ending. He should remain unmarried all his life. This is what he owes Shengnan.

[Arashi]

The author is Liang Yu Sheng.

Actually I felt that the novel was quite 'unfriendly' for adapting into a TV series. Jin Shiyi is really not very likable in there, he detested Shengnan and treated her badly even though he really loved her towards the end. Shengnan is even more extreme in portrayal. She is really a cold-blooded killer with grand ambitions and she really poisoned Zhihua towards the end, leaving the poor girl paralysed for years. Think of Zhao Min from HSDS with a much more evil twist. *shudder*

But then again, I felt more affected by the characters in the book, because they were more extreme and brought out strong reactions. Still, I guess you can't have a too detestable hero in a series so Raymond's Jin Shiyi got rewritten and ended up being similar to Rain's Zhihua. Michelle's Shengnan is also much more likable. This adaptation is really not bad at all, personally. Liang Yu Sheng has like 50+ characters in the novel, and it was so hard to keep track who was who. Some of the characters in the series are combinations of two or more characters in the novel, like Mimi Lo's Li Xinmei for example.

[cherrie]

novels are always better than movie adaptations. but im glad tvb did not make the ending the same as in the novel. i shudder at the thought that rain will have the good ending. yikes
but who knows, maybe in the novel i will actually prefer zhihua...no i take back what i say. i don't like characters who is too goody...i would still prefer shengnan

[christinatran]

I haven't seen a movie where they follow the novel faithfully. Kinda hard to. It's easier to write a fifty characters book but to adapt it into a serie is a lot harder. I think ppl will get confuse watching it and beside TVB never wants to spent more money hiring more actors for just minor characters.