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....okay, so I now finished the MDZS novels, the animation, AND the series with real actors (The Untamed). Yeah, I'm decidedly fannish about this story... So, a bit of rambling - writing down my thoughts. I'll put it behind a cut, because, well, there are spoilers. (I'll try to keep them to a minimum, but some can't be avoided.)

- So, uh, which format did I like best? Huh, I actually can't tell. From the narrative standpoint, clearly, the novels are best - I've already talked a bit about the masterful interaction of story structure and plot here. But then, the other adaptations, despite (being forced to) tell the story in a slightly more linear fashions, are really really good. The animation? I love the visual character designs and the soundtrack. THAT MANIC-SOUNDING FLUTE!!! The Untamed? Well, they messed up the first two episodes (which are super confusing), but otherwise - I love the actors, the costume design, and ALSO the soundtrack - completely different, but also quite brilliant! (Of course, this extremely music-focused story would suck with a bad soundtrack, so everyone clearly spent some money on that. LOL) If I have to choose... Uh. I probably liked the animation least, which is kind of surprising because I usually prefer animation and tend to dislike movies with real actors, but hey, those guys in The Untamed are doing a reeeallly great job...

- About that, actually: How the hell did they get that through censorship? Telling a M/M lovestory without even mentioning the existence (!) of homosexuality takes a special kind of talent. These guys in The Untamed managed. (And it's entirely unambiguous, too.) Holy hell. Count me impressed!

- Also: Yeah, okay, 40 hours of Xiao Zhan (the guy playing Wei Wuxian) in Ancient-Chinese-inspired (though, as far as I can tell, somewhat ahistoric, but who cares when it looks great?) outfits would have been entertaining enough already without a compelling story to go with it. I mean... I'd have watched it anyway. As a fashion addict I have to say, those outfits are fantastic. (Of course, it helps that Xiao Zhan is, like, the most attractive guy I've ever seen. Not trying to be creepy here - and, no, definitely not justifying the abuse the poor guy got in RL over that - but, yeah, I notice good looks.) Actually, I liked all the costumes (also especially those the actress playing Jiang Yanli wore), but, of course, they spent most of the effort on the main protagonist. So, awesome clothes YAY! The whole thing even works as a fashion show.

- The story itself: obviously, I'm in it for the romance. And the necromancy. That particular combination always gets me. XDD Also, the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is so highly idealized it's completely unrealistic, but, I guess that's also what makes it so compelling?!? Escapism, pure and simple. ;)

- And I will be eternally sad they could not include the wonderfully dramatic confession scene from the novel in the other adaptations! THE TRAGEDY! I mean, it's clearly the best love confession ever, right?!? I snorted tea all over my keyboard: yeah, I mean, if even the main villain simply can't watch the sheer awkwardness of that relationship... (And is completely shocked to hear the main-couple-that's-not-quite-yet-officially-a-couple is not sharing a room...) Clearly, a conversation is needed. Clearly, this is much more than important than, say, an ongoing showdown with the villain. :D :D :D I mean: pure awesomeness! Definitely my favorite book scene...

...though I also loved all the scenes with the kiddo cultivators. XD It's surprising how normal these teenagers came across, considering, well, everything: the cultural gap, the magic, the whole being-trained-to-kill thing... And the whole thing still looks like something you could have observed in an arbitrary chess club. I definitely recognized some of the dynamics in that group. Does anyone know whether the author ever worked with kids?!? Anyway, the way this is written, it's spot-on. (Minus the undead, I mean. I've seen a lot, but, I've never had to deal with those. XD)

- Favorite scene(s) specifically in the animation: anything that has THAT FLUTE. Seriously!

- Favorite scene(s) specifically in The Untamed: that scene in the rain. YOU KNOW WHICH ONE I MEAN. I mean... Wow. Perfection. (Honorary second place: the paper man adventure - purely because of the fitting and extremely funny soundtrack. But, really, it's that rain scene, and then nothing for a loooong time...)

- I LOVE WEI WUXIAN. As a character. I mean, isn't he cute? Even while raising the dead? LOL Actually: in real life, I would not get along with Wei Wuxian, nor with Lan Wangji - they're simply too morally rigid and, well, good for that. But, as fictional characters? Awesome. Wei Wuxian definitely made it on the list of my favorite fictional characters because of, well, excessive coolness. XD

- Generally, I've noticed that there are many characters I like as characters, but actually very few I'd get along - or even be able to have a civilized conversation - with. That's quite funny, actually. :D Some of it may be the cultural difference and resulting values dissonance, but... Huh. No, even in that completely foreign setting it's quite clear that I'd like some people better than others.

- This surprised a friend I watched the animation together with, and who knows me quite well, but actually, pretty much the only character I'd get along with is Lan Xichen. (Yeah, he turned out to be my favorite side character.) Like... He's a somewhat-good guy, but also perfectly able to suspend his morals when it suits him. I know fandom generally considers him a "good guy", but, um, I'm noting he (despite being uncomfortable with it) justifies or just quietly accepts the murder of innocents at least twice: the cultivators Jin Guangyao "has to" kill in order to keep the trust of Wen Ruohan, and later the remnants of the Wen clan... (Also, he knows perfectly well his best friend is a spy and assassin - I'm not sure why on earth he trusts that guy, even when he assumes him on his side, but, whatever.) He considers this stuff necessary - and may, unfortunately, well be right about that, considering the messy situation - but, uh, it's not something his brother would agree with, that's for sure... Yeah, Lan Xichen is probably someone I'd like: just the right level of pragmatism without actually being evil. XD

- Maybe I'd also get along with Wen Qing, but (as usual in a BL story) we don't see enough of her for me to know for sure. In a different genre, she could have been an extremely cool character!

- WTF is wrong with Jiang Cheng? I mean... WTF?!? Just, WTF. He's so messed up I can't even. I guess he's the character I'd least get along with. The only thing about him I get is his competitiveness (which is also the reason why we'd fight instantaneously, LOL), but, other than that?!? WTF.

- Why on earth is everyone underestimating Nie Huaisang so badly?!? I mean, yeah, it also took me a while to realize what exactly he did, but... We already knew he's extremely competent! I mean - he's the one who managed to smuggle porn into the Cloud Recesses, right? Unlike Wei Wuxian, he was not caught doing forbidden stuff, neither by Lan Wangji nor anyone else. So, at least his close friends should have known what level of competence they're dealing with... (It's the first thing I noticed being off about him: I was immediately thinking, huh, for someone supposedly not-very-smart, that's quite a feat! Eh, this may or may not be related to having a very good personal estimate of the difficulty levels of smuggling various stuff in and out of, say, youth hostels and similar... And extrapolating this to heavily armed guys with magical superpowers guarding all the entries. There's a part of me that really wants to know just how he did it!)

- Will have to re-read. Re-watch. Whatever!