The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

38  episodes

Foreword

It is the story of 3 sworn brothers and how they deal with women they get involved with. All know the novel by Jin Yong well so I will not so lots of storytelling.  

Story/Introduction on characters

Duan Yu (Kim Ki-bum) is a Dali prince but sneaks out of the palace. He befriends Zhong Ling (Mao Xiao Dan), Mu Wan Qing (Zhao Yuan Yuan) and Wang Yu Yan (Zhang Meng). Zhong Ling’s father, Zhong Wan Chou (Ng Doi Yung) opposes immediately

He is shocked to learn that they are all his half-sisters as confessed by his father Duan Zheng Chun (Lau Sek Meng). Qiao Feng (Chung Hon Leung) is the beggar sect master. The ex-master is Wang Jian Tong (the director of this drama himself, Lai Shui Qing) who entrusts him the post despite his young age.

Feng seeks to find out who kills his foster parents and master after the deputy master’s wife, Kang Min (Zhang Xin Yu) frames him for doing it and accuses him of being a Qidan. Min tries all means to seduce him as she loves him but he is unmoved. (That is the best highlight of the whole drama.)

Feng accidentally injures his beloved A Zhu (Jia Qing) and asks the divine physician (Xue Mu Hua) to nurse her back to health. But he mistakens that Zheng Chun is the killer and A Zhu is killed by disguising to be her father. Feng has to take care of her younger sister, A Zi (Jia Qing). He is shattered to learn that his biological father, Xiao Yuan Shan (Leung Kar Yan) is the culprit. He has been hiding in Shaolin all along.

Xu Zhu (Han Dong) is a lowly monk and Wu Ya Zi (Su You Peng) imparts him his skills before he dies. Lingjiu Gong master, Tian Shan Tong Lao (the ex-child actress in Qiong Yao’s drama, Jin Ming) also imparts her skills to him before her death. She tells Xu Zhu how she loves her junior Wu Ya Zi (Su You Peng) in the past. In her jealousy, she disfigured her another junior, Li Qiu Shui (Jia Jing Wen)who marries Wu Ya Zi. Qiu Shui is Yu Yan’s grandmother.

Qiu Shui wonders why Wu Ya Zi has never looked at her but only looks at the statue he makes. She later discovers that he is actually in love with her younger sister, Li Bi Yun (Gao Yuan Yuan) instead and the two seniors have fought for nothing all their lives.

Murong Fu (Zhong Feng Yan) is Yu Yan’s cousin but he doesn’t love her. He is named together with Qiao Feng   南慕容、北喬峰 but he is a totally despicable person who only wants to revive his Da Yan dynasty. His maid, A Bi (Hua Jiao) is totally devoted to him. His father Bo (Feng Jing Gao) actually fakes his death to want to instill war between the Songs and Qitan, causing Mrs Xiao to die in the process. He also hides in Shao Lin.

Xu Zhu later learns that his father, Xuan Ci (Gong Fang Min) is the abbot of Shaolin and his mother, Ye Er Niang (Meng Xia) is one of the 4 villains. They die to atone for their sins. The sweeping floor monk (Ko Hung) sees that Yuan Shan and Bo are powerful so he subdues them to make them become his disciples.

Interesting facts

Jin Ming was shooting a fighting scene when she lost her balance to fall behind the props to faint to give all a shock. Luckily, she recovered quickly. There was another scene when Zong Feng Yan was a bit slow to result his sword to leave a scar on his opponent’s face to need a long time to recover. He felt very apologetic towards the person.  

Hon Leung also suffered a lot while shooting as the director wanted him to keep a beard and have a dark tan. He had to talk loud and rough like the chivalrous Qiao Feng till he suffered from sore throats frequently. He confessed he thought he nearly became a lunatic.  

Most favourite character

Qiao Feng, he is loyal to friends and also gentle to his lover. Who says that a person is wild all the time and can’t change for his lover?

Most hated character

Min, just because Feng doesn’t look at her, she is filled with hatred to ruin his life forever.

Conclusion

The director tries to inject a magical feel – when Feng appears in the desert, there is an eagle behaving like his guardian. Yu’s display of Lingbo Weibu shows a dream atmosphere. The palace, temples and the fairy cave are enchanting. But the starting part of Feng appearing to slide down the mountain with s skateboard is baffling.

Hon Leung’s image looks like a vagrant, 犀利哥 and his dog beating stick is unsightly. Acting wise, he is quite okay. Getting Ki-bum to act in a period drama is a big mistake. He is too exaggerating in his expressions. Dong looks too boorish for his role too.

As for the many actresses, their acting is not just raw. They put on a lot of heavy makeup. The only ones who stand out are Xin Yu and Qing. The former should switch her role to be Yu Yan instead.  The ending theme is too modern. Can you tolerate saxophone music as the background? I am disappointed that many ex-TVB artistes are only guest stars here. Only watch if you wish to see how it is different from other versions.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : **1/2 (Scale of 5)

On story : **1/2 (Scale of 5)  

On song :  ** (Scale of 5)