The Untamed - Nickname Edition

[rheasilvia]

It took a surprisingly long time, but solo and I finally finished watching The Untamed. I really enjoyed it! So of course, there is a pressing issue I must adress: NICKNAMES.

For the purposes of clever (?) commentary, solo and I came up with a number of nicknames while watching. We replaced some with actual names in due course, but others stuck around till the very end. ;-) (I should add that few of them are complimentary - but my surprise fave is among those with a really bad nickname, so...)

• Stoneface


• Jin Douche


• Canary Guy


• Sulkmeister


• Pretty Evil Guy, or PEG for short - also known as Cray Evil Guy by solo (who failed to appreciate his charms)


• Jin Douche.2, or JD2


• Slimeface, also Slimedude or Slimer


• Cute Baby Cultivator, or CBC


• Jim, also known as Golden Guy - named Jim because of solo's passionate non-spellchecked outbursts of "I really hate jim"


• Bonus nickname I came up with too late, but that I wish I had though of in time: Soup Girl

I now have a number of burning questions for all of you. Namely:

1. Can you tell who these people are?*

2. Do you have nicknames for The Untamed characters?

3. Why does nobody appreciate my darling properly?

So many qestions!


*If anyone guesses all of the nicknames, I will write a drabble for them. ;-)

ETA: Unsurprisingly, there are spoilers in the comments! Just in case anyone is even slower than I in watching this. ;-)

Comments

[rheasilvia]

sometimes someone would use a secondary character's title instead of their courtesy name and I was like: wait, who the fuck is that?

Yep. And then of course a bunch of them have titles, too... The nicknames are pure self-defence, I tell you.

I don't know the anime and have only read the beginning of the book, so I can't draw any comparisons. That can be an advantage when it comes to uncomplicated enjoyment, I think. :-) Still, I did not fall in love with The Untamed the way I did with Guardian... and I do have some theories on why that is. I think the rhythm feeling off for me, too, might be part of it.

But hell, pretty evil guy sure is pretty! I had no problem identifying that one!

Isn't he, though? And I am amazed at how gorgeous the wuxia hairstyle looks on almost all of these men. The actors with their normal hair don't look nearly as good IMO!

[abyss_valkyrie]

I did not fall in love with The Untamed the way I did with Guardian.The main reason for me so far is that, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei just had that chemistry/attraction going from the start and it just kept getting better with each and every episode.Like you can just tell when they're practically married to each other from their interactions.Maybe it's an older guy thing too?!And I feel like Untamed focuses a lot on the story of the demonic cultivation and things so that takes away time from uh,LanZhanWeiYing moments.
THE TITLES!!OMG!It took me around 10 episodes to really get the hang of who is who.
Uhhh,the hair!<3 Somehow they all look great with it.I do find some of them,like Jin Zixuan's actor better looking with his normal hair,but overall,the long hair was amazing on them,especially Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng!

[lauand]

I also think the chemistry between ZYL and SW is one of the reasons why Guardian works so well. There's a lot of things unsaid between them that the audience can see in all the looks they exchange. There's a lot of focus on the characters' reactions to each other and it's done without altering the pace of the story. Even if it could be argued that SW is also some kind of cold character, as is LWJ, we can see from the very beginning that he is holding back, that there's a lot of shit going on under his distant façade. With LWJ, we have to guess (through his brother's subtle teasing or whatever), he makes it a point to be inexpressive. It's more difficult to establish a visible bond that way, I think.

[rheasilvia]

YES, all of this rings so true for me, and it's very central to my love of Guardian. I think a number of factors in The Untamed combine to make the relationship between WWX and LWJ come together differently for me.

It's more difficult to establish a visible bond that way, I think.

It certainly seemed that way to me. I love the concept of LWJ as a character, and I knew intellectually what was going on behind LWJ's facade because his circumstances and his actions made it clear - but I couldn't *feel* it the way I could feel it with Shen Wei, as reserved and guarded and introverted as SW also is. And I couldn't feel the intense and immediate fascination, connection and sheer depth of emotion between LWJ and WWX the way I could feel it between SW and ZYL.

[lauand]

To be fair, I think they were kinda following the cues of the original material. The books pretty much lead them that way. In the Guardian novel there's also an immediate fascination between the characters, SW becauses he knows who ZYL is and what he is to him and ZYL because SW is kind of hot and interesting. That becomes complicated with the identity porn and eventually solves when ZYL "remembers" who he is. In the drama they potentiate all that and introduce the time traveling fuckery that makes all the reactions logical because the moment they meet is different for each of them and one of them is already utterly in love with the other one in each instance but has to hide it. It's a thing of beauty because the actors really took their job seriously and the creators decided to put a lot of focus on the character's feelings and reactions, since it was the only way they could keep the BL without crossing the line and getting censored. It was very well done and resolved. And the particular style of the actors meshed perfectly well with the characterization of the, well, characters. It really worked for me.

The Untamed is a bit different because also in the Mo Dao Zu Shi novel the dynamics are different. It's an excruciatingly slow burn for WWX and we can only guess about LWJ's feelings because he has the expressivity of a dead salmon. Which is part of his appeal, but well, the audience can't get into their relationship as easily because there's actually no relationship to speak of until WWX realizes his feelings, which is so close to the moment he also realizes LWJ's that that's basically at the end. Which works for me in the novel because the adventure telling and the intrigue is fantastically done and even their friendship and the way their morality aligns even though their methods clash is enough to keep my interest and to empathize with both of them. But in the drama, since the storytelling is a bit stiff, there's nothing to distract me from the fact that the chemistry is not really there. Also, I'm not totally sure about LGJ's actor, I can't totally envision him as the character (whereas WWX's is pretty much perfect for the role).

Okay, end of the essay. Sorry for the rambling.

[rheasilvia]

we can only guess about LWJ's feelings because he has the expressivity of a dead salmon

LOL! Potato, dead salmon... I sense a trend here. ;-)

But yes, absolutely. The situation is entirely different, and I definitely didn't expect the fascination and interest and depth of emotion to be there immediately, the way it is in Guardian - that doesn't fit the story. The relationship is set up to build slowly but steadily in The Untamed, which is also a lovely concept. For me, though, The Untamed drama never really realized this relationship potential - it didn't cash in on the premise, as it were. (And I do wonder what would have happened if an actor of Zhu Yilong's caliber had played LWJ. To me that would definitely have made a huge difference in terms of emotional impact and bringing the relationship to life.)

[rheasilvia]

The main reason for me so far is that, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei just had that chemistry/attraction going from the start

Same! I would say that is also the number one factor for me. For me, it doesn't have to do with the age of the characters or actors - I just couldn't *feel* it in The Untamed the way I could in Guardian. There are a number of reasons for that, I think. And one of them is also:

Untamed focuses a lot on the story of the demonic cultivation and things so that takes away time from uh,LanZhanWeiYing moments

Same here too. :-) I don't think that Guardian is thin on plot at all, but what struck me there was how the plot was structured around the central relationship, to move it forward and to continually deepen and enrich it. This is so wonderful and unusual in my experience! The Untamed does it the way I am more used to, namely by winding the relationship around and through the central plot. It's important, but it isn't *central*.

I hope that makes sense to anyone who isn't me! ;-)

Jin Zixuan's actor better looking with his normal hair

Oooh, that's right, I did come across a vid with him in a different drama where he looked nicer... I think they tried to make him look arrogant in a number of ways, including his facial expression, so that certainly didn't help. ;-)

I cannot express how much I LOVE the long hair on Pretty Evil Guy, and I think WWX and LWJ look much better with it, too. And Canary Guy and CBC, too! This especially surprised me because I've never particularly thought long hair loked good on guys, but here... man. Mind changed. ;-)

[solo]

I've never particularly thought long hair loked good on guys, but here... man. Mind changed. ;-)

Though I keep wishing they'd get their split ends seen to...

[rheasilvia]

Though I keep wishing they'd get their split ends seen to...

Obviously, this is a level of cultivation none of them have risen to yet.

[lauand]

You have to watch the anime!! It's beauuuuutifully done!!!!!

(Well, except for the fact that they haven't reached the middle of the story, so I'm not sure it will be finished before 2028, but still.)

That hairstyle should make a comeback, that's for sure.

[rheasilvia]

I will absolutely support the return of that hairstyle. ABSOLUTELY.

And I have heard a lot about the quality of the anime, so I will definitely keep it in mind - but I would rather wait to see it until its finished!