OH, WHAT AM I DOING NOW!? oh looks like I am just starting ANOTHER semi occurring series on my blog. HOW MANY DOES THAT MAKE NOW!? (HAHA!) ANYWAY, today I am starting the "FIRST IMPRESSIONS" series on the blog. I am starting this for 3 reasons.
I want to watch more ON - AIR dramas (not just Kdramas) and hopefully this will make me do it
If I am REALLY liking a drama and I want people to know about it sooner rather than later - THIS IS A PERFECT WAY TO GET THE WORD OUT!
I am hoping to use this series as a way to highlight NOT ONLY popular dramas BUT also the ones that fly under the radar.
Once I am finish with the dramas that I highlight in the "FIRST IMPRESSIONS", I plan to do a drama review to wrap up my experience of watching the drama, to give you my final thoughts and to see if my opinions has changed from when I wrote the "FIRST IMPRESSIONS" post to the end of the drama.
SO, WITHOUT NO FURTHER AGO - FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF "HIKARU NO GO"
JUST to give a little background on this drama before we begin - Hikaru No Go is a Chinese drama airing on the iQIYI app. It will have 36 episodes - I have watched the first 8 episodes at the time that I am writing this FIRST IMPRESSIONS post. It is based on the Japanese manga and anime from late 90s/early 2000s. I had no idea that this Chinese drama was coming out, LET ALONE based on this anime/manga. I AM A HUGE FAN OF THE ANIME so I HAD to check this Cdrama out when it premiered. FYI, this might color my FIRST IMPRESSIONS and overall review of the drama version because I am such a fan of the source material.
I will first list out what I am LOVING about this drama and then after - if I don't like something or I am worried about something or if I want improvement on something - I will talk about that after.
WHAT I AM LOVING:
- ACTING: I think the cast that this production found is phenomenal. They are all doing a GREAT JOB, embodying their characters and really capturing the essence of their character. The child actors that they found to play the younger versions of the 2 male leads were JUST AWESOME! They had such great chemistry and really made it believable that they grew up to the older versions of the characters. It was a seamless transition for me. The actor playing the ghost is just wonderful. I love his chemistry with the younger version of Shi Guang at the beginning of the drama AND with the older version later. All the actors are believable as their characters and make it almost like the characters were MADE for them. There is something very natural in their acting - which I love because most of these actors are young which makes me have a new batch of actors to follow in their careers. You can really tell that the cast had a lot of fun with this drama and cared about it. SUCH A TALENTED CAST!
- OSTS: The production actually REDID the original anime theme song. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD! I am so happy that the production went this route. It adds to the quality of the drama. It also provides context and gives nostalgia to the viewers, especially fans of the anime. The production is respecting the source material and the fans of it because this anime was a SUPER POPULAR anime when it was airing.
-FAITHFUL TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL: So far, the drama has stuck pretty close to the source material. The production, OF COURSE, had to adapt it to China and everything so the location and names are different. For the plot and how the story has progressed so far - IT HAS BEEN QUITE FAITHFUL! I am actually surprised by this because a lot of times adaptions don't always pan out the way you want it too - ESPECIALLY if you are a fan of the source material. I don't mind the little changes, additions and spin on the source material that the drama has made because the overall feel of the drama has remained the same. I think the production has taken A LOT of care to stay true to the anime/manga - FOR NOW!
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: There has been SOME BEAUTIFUL shots in this drama so far! I just find myself sometimes commenting "wow what a nice angle to show this scene" or "WOW THAT IS GORGEOUS!" It is subtle and I think still sticks with the time period and feel of the drama but also done with care.
- PRODUCTION: Overall, the production of this drama is great. A lot better than what I expected it to be. It fits with the time period that the drama is set in. You can tell that the team wanted to make the drama look authentic with the time period and took great care in doing so. The color grading is nice and balanced. I LOVE THAT IT ISN'T DUBBED! JUST OVERALL, GREAT JOB!
NOW, I will say that I have nothing RIGHT NOW that I am not liking or that I want improvement on BUT I am worried about something. Since I am SUCH A FAN of the source material, I just hope that it lives up to the anime/manga. I don't think it needs to adapt the source material, down to the very last plot point. I just hope it sticks with the direction it is going, doesn't fall of the rails and STICKS THE LANDING!
RIGHT NOW - MY RATING FOR THIS DRAMA SO FAR IN 9/10 - we will see how it ends up by the end.
SO, THESE ARE MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF HIKARU NO GO!
What do you think? Are you watching this Cdrama? Are you liking it? Will you start it after reading my FIRST IMPRESSIONS?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL!