First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

Love and Destiny (宸汐缘) started airing on July 15.  4 episodes are already on Croton Media’s Youtube page and the first 14 have been released for iQiyi VIP.  What are your thoughts so far?

I’m about 30 minutes into episode 1, which has been on standstill for a while.  I really like Ni Ni and think she’s absolutely gorgeous, but I already think that maybe both of the leads in this series was miscast.  In my opinion, the story line would match a slightly younger cast and Ni Ni’s voice actress, really just amplifies this thought.  Visually it’s very much on par with 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms, but 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms came out 2 years ago, so it feels like there really has been no improvement on the CGI front at all.

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Love and Destiny is a love story between a Fairy girl and the God of War. After he battled and sealed away the Demon God 10,000 years ago, our God of War remains in a deep slumber, only to be awakened by our heroine per chance. The two slowly become acquaintances and are fascinated by each other, thus the seed of love is planted. Unfortunately our fairy girl carries with her the….what to call it, an aura of evil? Lol. It can help unseal the Demon God, wreaking havoc to the world. From an innocent young maiden, our heroine becomes a strong leader who guides her clan against the Demon God, who ultimately breaks the seal. To save the world, our hero fights relentlessly for days and finally conquers the Demon God. However, his power is exhausted and he falls into the arms of his beloved. End.
(credit to Kappy for the synopsis).

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Episode 1:

  1. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    I really dislike the demonic tribe’s markings. It feels so immature. I don’t like their costumes either; too overtly dramatic. Can production companies make it even more obvious the difference between good and bad characters? Do bad guys always wear black? How about purple/blue/orange/pink for a change?

    I haven’t watched this drama, just reviewed the stills. But I will watch if only ’cause I find Ni Ni super gorgeous…though I have a feeling this drama is going to have a much harder time living up to its predecessor’s success.

  2. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    I finished the first two episodes and will let the rest pile up so I can binge.

    Never watched Peach Blossom so I can say I am on a clean slate with Love and Destiny. I think the producers meant for this to be a separate story? In any case, L&D to me just another xianxia series. So far I have to say I have seen the leads in more flattering looks, but I focused less and less on that aspect by the end of episode two. Sure, Chang Chen looks much older and he doesn’t have the typical idol “xian” look to him, but he fits the God of War image quite well in my book. His character is meant to be much older anyway. As for Ni Ni, I initially didn’t think she could pull off a cutesy and naïve role like Ling Xi but she delivers.

    The side characters that have appeared are pretty funny, like Ling Xi’s father and Shi San. I’m hoping to see more of them.

    The sets and the costumes are average, nothing too impressive and nothing too crazy yet. I feel like this sums up the series in general for me.

    • 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

      I watched the show after all of it came out and I was glad. I have been rewatching the scenes with CC and NN again since they have such great chemistry, their superb acting, and their love story. Hope more people will come to appreciate this drama and it gets international attention for the cast and the story. It will be on Viki starting 9/2/19 and I watch it again to support the show.

  3. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    The story isn’t my cup of tea, but I like the poster designs with flowing garments integrating into the backdrops.

  4. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    I’m up to ep08 and I like it thus far. While many people voiced their dislike of Chang Chen being too old but it fits the character. I am not going to compare this to Peach Blossom since this doesn’t have the same feel as that. The only thing I would say is that Peach Blossom focusing on more characters than this series. Overall I like the actors and actresses in their role, the pacing is really good; at least I haven’t fast forward any scenes.
    I really hope that the series can keep this up and not become draggy.

  5. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    I’m up to ep 16. I’ve seen and read Ten miles of peach blossom and think that the drama did a fantastic adaptation. Mark and Yang Mi were superb in there with their acting.

    Despite really enjoying 10 miles, I also really like Love and Destiny. The directors have definitely upped their game in this one in terms of quality (buildings/settings are much more stunning), clothes (I didn’t like the shiny fabric that they used for 10 miles), and cinematography. The pacing of the plot is also good (there are many secrets that have already been unveiled up to ep 16). I think that the casting is also good. I really like that the cast is older actors (I really dislike younger idol actors and actresses because from my experience many of them can’t act well or at least not yet). I think that Cheng Chen is perfect for the role of being an older, more mature, and calm/aloof God of War. If they had casted a younger actor for Jui Chen, I feel like the character would’ve been more like HuGe’s character in Chinese Paladin 3, which I don’t think was what they were trying to go for. I do think that NiNi’s character could’ve been played by a younger looking actress but I don’t mind too much cuz NiNi is super beautiful.

    I’ve been reading a lot of posts about how NiNi’s character is a replica of Bai Qian, which I disagree with. Ling Xi is the complete opposite of Bai Qian. Ling Xi is talkative, expressive, curious, and direct with her emotions whereas Bai Qian is more aloof, distant, oblivious of her own feelings, and more mature.

  6. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    I binge-watched through episode 16 last night, and have a lot to unpack. There were a few things that seemed a kitschy to me in the beginning (Ling Xi’s father’s acting is really over-the-top , the flying in ep 1, the humongous moon, set designs get old pretty quick), but I LOVE the acting. Ni Ni emotes really well, and she really nailed her crying scenes. I like that she doesn’t have the plasticky look that the young idols have (wang hong lian if ya know what I mean). Zhang Zhen’s acting shines through when Jiu Chen grows more expressive as he spends more time around Ling Xi. He also looks really good in all the different stylings (dem cheekbones!).

    For me, Jiu Chen is more like Dong Hua – an immortal who has been around for ages and is revered by even the heavenly emperor. It makes sense that he’s played by an older character with gravitas. Ling Xi seems a little like Feng Jiu – a sheltered, free-spirited little fairy who’s a little reckless, and bold in recognizing and communicating her love for people she cares about.

    Jiu Chen genuinely cares for his troops and the “greater good” of the heavens. Ling Xi is awed by the stories she’s read on Jiu Chen, and respects his sense of duty. However, their relationship really grows when her loyalty and willingness to protect him touches him. He has always shouldered heavy burdens alone, and never had anyone go out of their way to defend him. This was esp obvious when Yuan Tong says that Jiu Chen is strong enough to survive anything (implying that he can take a few hits on behalf of others because he’s the de facto protector of everyone). It really makes sense as you watch Jiu Chen and Ling Xi’s chemistry grow and watch his cold mask crack little by little.

    The side characters are a mix of cute and funny, with Shi San being my favorite comedic relief and Yun Feng/Qing Yao being the dramatic side couple to keep an eye on.

    • 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

      I agree that Ling Xi is very similar to Feng Jiu. They’re both mischievous and innocent causing them to always get into trouble, leading to them implicating their partners lol. Dong Hua is always trying to clean up Feng Jiu’s mess and defend/protect her while Jiu Chen does the same for Ling Xi (as of ep 20).

      Also, I love your explanation for Jiu Chen would fall to Ling Xi. It’s also one of the the same reasons for why Dong Hua fell for Feng Jiu in the books.

  7. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    Many people are comparing this against 10 miles. To be fair, both stories have different feels. Ten miles has a stronger focus on romance. The characters are pretty much set from the get-go. There weren’t much in terms of character development in Ten Miles. It’s pure romance:- boy meets girl, they are separated, they are reunited, they are separated again, then reunited and happy ending. L&D, although also a romance, has more in terms of politics and has a ‘heavier’ and ‘darker’ feel to it. There should be significant character development for Ni Ni’s character and political plots will play a more significant role in L&D, instead of just side fillers like what happened in Ten Miles. If we use seasons to represent 10 miles and L&D, then 10 miles is spring and L&D is autumn. We’d experienced spring, but let’s experience autumn now. There is also beauty in autumn.

    • 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

      @Aryael: I love the last two sentences of your post. Such a beautiful way of describing the difference.

  8. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    Who wrote that synopsis?

    What is that ending theme where the male lead dies?

  9. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    NiNi plays the youthful, cute, naive character really really well. But what she plays better are darker, more mature, full bodied characters like in rise of phoenixes. She’s such a diverse actress and so pretty to boot, and that’s why she is able to pull it off. But I feel like the male lead is miscast. He feels and looks like he came out from a cop film.

    • 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

      how many episodes have you watched of this series. Let me know if you change your mind after watching the show in it entirety. I have to say I was caught off guard why they would cast CC as the male lead. but after watching the entire series, can’t think of anyone that has the chemistry and the ability to play this role so well as CC. Would love to see CC and NN act again in a modern drama. it was that good.

  10. 14 thoughts on “First Impressions: What do you think of Love and Destiny with Chang Chen and Ni Ni?

    CC fits the role for sure. Not msicast. Can’t think of nayone more perfect then CC. CC and NN have alot of chemsitry. Your have to see more of the story to see how good he is in the role.

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