射雕英雄传: Comparing It’s Three Volumes

Today we will be comparing three of the greatest ancient Chinese novels. Coveted for their masterful world-building and combination of love and heroism 射雕英雄传，神雕下路， and 倚天屠龙记. Each series follows a new hero yet builds upon the previous one. For reference, I’ve attached three links to the places I watched the shows. While the shows themselves are made quite well, you cannot get the entire experience without reading the novels themselves.

  1. 射雕英雄传：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4crHldKx6c&list=PLy8WDOJkSFFwGPZrfRFhVwRwsnkt6t8bu&index=2
  2. 倚天屠龙记：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g47wx_Lnbk&list=PL1e4DW2TYJjtJuhHfPYoIGWENOnKUcsE_&index=1
  3. 神雕下路：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUoFKNjR3E0&list=PL5Oebs_zP0Ir0NSLMufeOAG6DIyQmJ4dK&index=1

While each one is unique and amazing in its own way I would like to start this discussion off by saying that my favorite is 射雕英雄传 (the first one). I found that the second one was often too dark and twisted at times deviating from the heroic attitude the series seemed to follow in the first one. While the third one was amazing and went back to the heroism and romance it frustrated me how often needless conflicts arose out of simple miscommunication. If you’ve ever watched a Chinese drama you’ll realize that 90% of the show could be deleted and 100% of all the conflicts could be solved if the characters had a legitimate discussion without jumping into fights.

Venn Diagrams

For the main part of this discussion, I will be comparing and contrasting these three shows with Venn Diagrams. Unlike my other post regarding webtoons, I felt that the easiest way to summarize my thought would be with Venn Diagrams.

Overall, each story had an interesting plot. Each series was long enough to have excellent world building. And the fight sequences and emotional feelings the characters felt were portrayed well despite the lack of strong animation quality and low budget. While the fight sequences simply cannot be compared to modern day the plot is where the true quality of the show lies. Without modern CGI it is simply impossible to reach the level of fight quality we are used to nowadays. However, this show is highly bingeable and it’s over 100 episodes will keep you up through the night.

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