Ok, so its been a while since I watched this drama, but I want to write a review now, so here we go....

For context, I binged this drama nonstop for a few days almost immediately after it ended. I mean it. I spent about three days with no sleep because I was sucked into this very weird drama, and therefore neglected by educational obligations, which definitely came back to bite me.

Due to watching this drama as a substitute to sleep, once I had finished, the thought of it genuinely felt like one big fever dream. I remember it, but gosh it was so weird, and definitely not my preferred genre.

THE STORY:
The plot of this drama runs on the found family trope, in which a group of strangers meet, and gradually grow into the closest people to each other.
I believe that the most addicting aspect of this drama is the world building. This detailed, and completely separate from reality, world was built with its own rules, problems, and concepts. in Douluo continent, the people spend their entire lives cultivating themselves, in the hopes of becoming soul masters. there are also rules dictating how you gain soul rings, how many you can have, and when you can collect specific types. all these rules make the plot more addicting and interesting to watch because you are always learning, along with the cast, about their very different capabilities and accomplishments.

one annoying thing is that the ending was annoying. after bingeing so many episodes, the ending just gave me more questions, which isn't an issue at all if there was already a season 2 released. but there isn't, and the questions therefore remain at the back of my head.

THE ACTING/CAST:
now that I think about it, the acting was pretty bad across the whole cast, but whilst watching, it went over my head. in the whole main cast, the acting ability was pretty weak, but that being said, they all did perfectly embody their characters. so at the end of the day, it still worked.

the main male lead, Tang San, played by Xiao Khan was probably my favourite character. He was kind, humble, genuine and of course attractive. He had the typical story of a male lead that began as a weak, unacknowledged character, into a strong, powerful soul master, because of his refusal to give up. He makes mistakes, is not conceited or arrogant ever. the perfect male lead honestly.

An issue I had would be a combination of his voice dubber, and the sound quality. His voice just sounded off, like it was recorded in an empty room.

the main female lead, Xiao Wu, played by Wu Xuan Yi was my favourite female character, which I understand to be an unpopular opinion. this character is perfectly defined by the phrase 'you either hate her, or love her'. she is clingy, very bubbly, and has this almost childlike naivety to her. these qualities can pass of as annoying or endearing depending on how you view the story as a whole.

I loved her pretty much from the start, and never saw her as annoying once. her clingy nature never felt forceful and was definitely reciprocated by Tang San. he was just as attached to her, and had a deep bond with her. Her childlike naivety was also endearing as her intentions where genuine, and honestly introduced a reasonable and controversial question; is it right to kill animals for your own personal gain, to become a soul master?


THE MUSIC:
Not much to comment on the music.

REWATCH VALUE:
I don't typically rewatch dramas, but I definitely see myself going back to a lot of enjoyable scenes.

to conclude, I really enjoyed the experience of watching this drama, although I don't necessarily understand it.