Review: Heroes (Joseph Zeng, Yang Chaoyue and Liu Yuning)

You have talked about it, they also talked about it and now it’s my time to talk about it. I just want to share my thoughts on Heroes starring Joseph Zeng, Yang Chaoyue and Liu Yuning. After finishing this, I’ll be doing a review on Dream of Splendor.

The kind Wang Xiao Shi leaves the mountain for the first time to travel. He encounters Wen Rou, Bai Chou Fei, and Su Meng Zhen who become his lifelong friends. In the capital city where the capable succeeds, he experiences brotherhood and romance. Squashing evil with his friends transforms him from an inexperienced youth to a responsible hero.

I will only discuss the first episode on this section and the rest will be analysed after this. From the way people have been talking about this drama, I had high expectations on this one and I got more than what I wished for. The start of the drama had a storyteller doing his stuff but it’s the lyrics that caught my attention. His lyrics gave a hint about the upcoming episodes. You can see Joseph Zheng alone with his horse and you wonder if that’s how the story will end.

The opening theme song was a huge surprise to me, it is sang by a band called NZBZ. I have a little boring history with this band, allow me to bore you with this short story of mine. I discovered NZBZ on a CCTV-4 show but I didn’t know their name. I have been searching for them for months all over the internet and I finally recognized their music on Heroes. I can’t describe how excited I was when I realized that they’re actually singing the opening song of Heroes.

Anyways, there’s a lot to talk about besides the music. I don’t know if I’m the only one who loved the creativity in the costumes especially during the festival. The whole festival had ‘art’ written all over it. Credits should be given to the designer of the costumes because they are part of the main attraction. The drama had a dark aura around it, I was taken back to 2018’s Bloody Romance. The story is pacing a little fast, it looked like they had more plots for future episodes.

The main theme is just around the white box that might change the fate of the martial world. It’s nothing new but I’m definitely going to try to watch all episodes. It just clicked to me that the female lead (….) was Feng Wu in Dance of the phoenix. I will get deep into everything after this, because I usually write first impressions immediately after watching an episode.

I totally loved how they brought up Zhu Xiaoyao(Zeng Yi Xuan) in the picture. It was a funny encounter, her character just got me wishing for more interaction between her and Wang Xiaoyi. She is an incredible actress, she deserves to be in the main role scene. It’s crazy but true, Zeng Yi Xuan was never casted as a main role, all her roles are either supporting role or guest role. Di Feijing deserved more screen time, he’s my favorite character. He’s just a cool guy who won’t pull the trigger until you do. I liked his posture, lowering his head a little bit… It makes him more terrifying.

Lots of the characters didn’t need any character development because they came to the screen at their peak. Wang Xiaoyi may have started off as a new kid on the block trying to learn how the martial world works but he was already at his best. He encountered a lot of challenges along the way which forced him to adapt to the environment.

My only concern is Wen Rou, her character was fine but she needed more attention. She is the female lead but most of the time it felt like Lei Chun was the female lead. Lei Chun and Wen Rou were the same when the drama started but Lei Chun grew into what Wen Rou should be. I’m not saying Wen Rou was supposed to turn evil or something, I’m just saying it would have been better if she got more involved in the action. She had the potential and the energy to lead a couple of missions. Bai Chaofei’s character was well planned, he’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He did try his best to become a sheep but you can’t hide who you are. I just hate the way they made Wang Xiaoyi’s master look week. Yes, he wasn’t the strongest but they took him down easily.

When I was discussing this drama with one of my friends, I compared its storyline to my college life. Getting out of your hometown for the first time just to get a qualification and you make new friends along the way.

Among your friends, there will always be that one friend who is keeping the bond intact. It’s the same thing with this drama, Wang Xiaoyi was sent to deliver a parcel to someone and he met new friends along the way. All of them had their reasons for visiting the capital city but they decided to walk together since they were on the same path. At the beginning, the story was confusing because I didn’t know who’s fighting who and why are they fighting.

It was also hard for me to keep up with some of the characters’ names because they were many in the beginning. I got to understand the storyline and only focused on important characters. Although I understood the storyline, I couldn’t predict where it was heading. It wasn’t 100% unpredictable but most of the plot twists were nothing but a surprise. The theme and the story clicked but I really didn’t see the importance of adding a plot about Wang Xiaoyi’s parents. Everything was fine and the plot didn’t have much effect on the story.

The main focus was just on the two sects and the corrupt officials, Wang Xiaoyi’s quest to avenge his parents changed nothing. I also don’t see why the writer got Lei Chun molested, her situation was already enough for her to change and see life in a different way. I already addressed this in The Autumn Ballad review, is there any way to develop a female character besides being molested? It’s starting to become norm, women always get molested just to build up their characters and it’s annoying. I can give the writers credit for not investing a lot on romance, it would’ve ruined a good drama.

First of all, I didn’t like how they overused blood in the drama. It might not be a problem for people like us who can watch anything but there are people who react differently to bloody scenes. I don’t know about you but I have cdrama friends who cover their eyes every time there’s a bloody scene. It’s not like they want to cover their eyes, they’re just a little sensitive.

They made every scene bloody, blood would spill all over. I don’t even want to mention the blood spitting, it was unbearable. It seems like they enjoyed having ketchup/tomato sauce in their mouths. There were some scenes that just made me think I was watching Sword Snow Stride. Most of the ‘big’ fights were not shown to us, they only show the characters posing with their weapons and skip the scene then take you back after the fight has ended. Besides the Sword Snow Stride stunt, the fight were good but a little fast.

-Wang Xiaoyi mastered his father’s technique but never used it in a battle.

-Feeding Bai Chaofei a pill and never mentioned anything about it ever since.

-Battle between Di Feijing and the marquis would have been a good one if we had the luck to witness it.

I always wonder why do they always change a character’s hairstyle, voice, and wardrobe every time he switches sides. Bai Chaofei’s hairstyle was good, it didn’t need any change but they changed it anyways. His new hairstyle was suitable for his character and I’m glad that the idea worked. Wang Xiaoyi’s new hairstyle just got me wondering ‘what’s the point of this?’

He was fine with the first style but they ruined it. Programmers always say ‘if the code works well, leave it the way it is’. They might have wanted to portray a matured Wang Xiaoyi or something else but I just didn’t like it. To end this long review, I’m honored to have an opportunity to complete this drama. It might not be the greatest drama but it’s one of the best dramas in 2022. The cast was incredible. The ending was great, justice finally winning but I still don’t know what was the point of the first dialogue between Wang Xiaoyi and the old man under the tree. I might have missed something related to the dialogue but it doesn’t matter.