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Contrary to the naysayers who harshly criticized this remake as worthless trash, I am quite in love with Wallace Chung's Xiao Feng (aka Qiao Feng) and Jia Qing's A'zi/A'zhu. I admit that this series is plagued with a plethora of flaws including some very cheesy dialogues and disappointing fight scenes. But for the most part, the development of the drama stays true to the spirit of the original story. I tend to like remakes because every adaptation give a different perspective to the same story. It allows me to delve deeper into the original story. While the 1983 and 1997 TVB versions represent the core of wuxia  and Zhang Jizhong's 2003 remake added historical vibes to the wuxia genre, the 2013 adaptation also has its value. One aspect the 2013 remake excels or arguably surpasses previous adaptations is the emotional level the storytelling is able to emote to the viewers. The plight of the characters feel personal  thanks to the moving musical score. I read tha...

Top Left: Qiao Feng tries to comfort a very ill A'zhu ; Top Right : Qiao Feng protects A'zhi from danger Bottom Left : Qiao Feng and A'zhi during their days in Liao; Bottom Right : Qiao Feng and A'zhu share a loving moment Describing the complicated relationship between Qiao Feng, A'zhu, and A'zi can get rather convoluted. Qiao Feng technically does not have a semblance of romantic feeling for his so-called "little sister-in-law," A'zi. While Qiao Feng and A'zhu share mutual love and understanding for each other, A'zi's romantic obsession for Qiao Feng is bordering psychotic and possessive in nature. A'zhi's love for Qiao Feng stems largely from Qiao Feng's unquestioned love for her sister. She fell in love with someone's love story and wished be the receiver of that profound love.

The production company of Demi-Gods and Semi-Deviils is making a huge effort to reach out to the English audience. This is actually the first time I have seen a Chinese TV production taking such measure to translate and subtitle their own TV series. For those who could not watch this series due to the Chinese language barrier, you can now rest assure that official English translation is underway. The quality of the translation is  not perfect, but you can definitely understand the gist of the dialogue.

My decision to religiously follow 2013 Semi-Devil and Demi-Gods  during its broadcast sprung entirely from my love for the subtheme song "Lovesick," whose segments were often inserted in the Hunan TV teaser trailers. I just grew madly obsessed with the song because the melody was reminiscent of traditional wuxia music. The lyrics of the song also aptly describes the tragic love between the Beggar Sect Leader, Qiao Feng, and the Murong clan's maidservant, A'zhu. Despite the intense negative reaction toward this remake, I found this adaptation rather watchable, particularly the Qiao Feng's story arc.

Mandarin title :  The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils/ Tian Long Ba Bu/ 新天龙八部 # Episode : 54 Genre : Wuxia Release date : December 22, 2013 Broadcasting Compan y: Hunan TV Cast:  Wallace Chung as Qiao Feng/Xiao Feng, Kim Ki Bum as Duan Yu, Han Dong as Xu Zhu, Zhang Meng as Wang Yuyan, Jia Qing as A'zhu/A'zhi, Viann Zhang as Madame Ma/Kang Min

Compared to the recent remake of Return of the Condor Heroes, I surprisingly have very little expectations for this remake of Demi-Gods and Semi Devils. My favorite version has always been Zhang Ji Zhong's 2003 adaptation because of Hu Jun's Qiao Feng and Liu Tao' A'zhu. But since this newer adaptation is adding more screen time to the Qiao Feng and A'zhu story arc, I'm definitely on board the ship to catch a glimpse when it airs next week on December 22.  To learn more about Qiao Feng and A'zhi, check out the related post below: Tribute to Various Versions of Qiao Feng and A'zhu in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

Just when I was prying for more news on Legend of Lu Zhen, the newly released 11-minute Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils trailer caught my attention.

After digging into Wallace Chung's latest adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, I became nostalgic of the older versions. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is filled with a multitude of colorful characters and many story arcs. The story is a bit too complicated to summarize in a few words for those who aren't familiar with this classic Louis Cha's wuxia novel (Louis Cha is also known as Jin Yong 金庸). Like many others, I inadvertently learned a lot of my Song Dynasty foreign relations history from watching Louis Cha's wuxia dramas. LOL.

Some of you are probably aware of this upcoming remake of the classic wuxia story Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, starring Wallace Chung, Kim Ki-bum, and Han Dong as the three male leads.  Despite being  open to remakes of my favorite classic wuxia series, I am still very apprehensive of miscast and poor adaptations - think Yu Zheng's Swordsman. However, there are still some very successful remakes. I always want to see new "good" interpretations and upgraded visual arts of some classic stories. The new Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils shows some promise in the casting decisions of a few female characters, such as A'zhu, A'zi, Madam Ma, and some minor characters. Unfortunately, the fact that this remake is produced by the same people who made Tian Ya Mng Yue Dao and cumbersomely bland costumes are keeping my expectations low.