Of Swords and Parasols

I kept meaning to post on this as I was watching, but never did. I think because, while I really liked the main characters (Well, there was a while there where I was flipflopping and liking Feng or Yuan, but rarely both at the same time. Also, for some reason, I found it harder to forgive a brief stint as an arsonist with no apparent casualties than I did to forgive spending half the series as a hitman/enforcer.) and some of the supporting characters, the main plot ended up boring me a bit. Which is sad, because I like the setting, and the Chinese/Japanese politics of the 30s are pretty interesting. From what I hear, though, that’s usually the case with Chinese series set then? Maybe it’s just one of those things that doesn’t hold up well as an extended dramatization. Though, I also seem to prefer my wuxia with swords and magic swords made of ice and colorcoded assassins and such.

I have to say, though, that this has the most melodramatic, angst-tastic ending of a wuxia that I’ve seen since the end of Chinese Paladin. I mean, CP still wins, but M&L tried.

( spoilers for Men and Legends, Chinese Paladin, and Return of the Conder Heroes )

Set in the 1920s, this is about Yan and Fhe Zeng, the disciples of Wong Fei Hung (who has had scads and scads of things made about him) and Huo Juanjia who become friends when Wong Fei Hung sends Yan to study with his old friend. When the two masters attempt to strengthen China against Japan, Huo Juanjia is poisoned as part of a Japanese conspiracy, and the two young men are forced to flee and separate when framed for his death.

I haven’t seen this setting in a series before, and the fights, while still containing some wire fu, are much more down-to-earth martial arts than most of the Chinese historicals I’ve seen. While I can’t quite follow everything about the Japanese plots, the overall plotline is pretty interesting.

Unfortunately, while Dylan Kuo (Yan) and Peter Ho (Fhe Zeng) are both pretty competent and appealing individually, neither really has the presence to carry off this kind of series as the lead. They also somewhat feel like the characters started as two different pitches for the same character, right down to both being in love with the daughters of the respective heads of their schools. They’re also both rather dim, though at least Yan tends to think before he acts. Fhe Zeng’s only hope for survival is holding on to the intelligent woman he was smart enough to fall in love with. (She is a very sensible reporter who thinks fast on her feet. I love her. She’s probably doomed.)

Still, pretty entertaining so far, and I like the characters and plotline. This is also one of the very few Asian dramas that is not only legally available in the U.S. with English subtitles, but is also available on Netflix. Though, I had the first disc at #1 in my queue for almost 3 weeks before it was shipped to me.