Panda Impressions #5: lET’s Shake It, Rakshasa Street & Candle in the Tomb

An Yue Xi lET
Am I watching way too many things that I’m spotting doubles everywhere? An Yue Xi stars in two web dramas as the female lead (she’s adorable in both). Meanwhile, we also get two drama adaptations based on the Ghost Blows Out the Light novels by Tian Xia Ba Chang  


lET’s Shake It

lET
The strange beginnings with aliens and spaceships are weird, but it gets better. This is a web drama based on a novel. The acting is not bad but what really makes it click is the Charlie Chapman slap-stick humor and the interaction of the characters and their development. – Contributed by Judy.
 
Like the poster above, I knew that we were in for out-of-this-world cuteness the moment I saw the aliens in all their prosthetic glory, The show is acutely self-aware and I love that it doesn’t bother trying to masquerade as anything else and goes the full nine yards to try the most random comedy bits (they doesn’t always work but A for effort?).
 
The first episode was zippy in establishing a world where UFOs exist. It’s a simple setup, an alien crash lands and gets stuck in the body of a ‘primitive human’ while learning to navigate the palace politics around her. I admit that I had to turn my brain off to digest this, but it has been pure fun thus far, as in, I want to see this through until the end! Plus points for the pretty visuals, which are surprisingly good for a show with no big names.

Rakshasa Street

Rakshasa Street

I swear, this is yet another extension of the growing KO One franchise. Rakshasa Street is technically completely unrelated but all I see is Jiro Wang reprising his role as Wang Da Dong as he brings the same hot-headed personality that is a hybrid of cool and corny. Of course, he happens to make his grand entrances on a motorcycle too.

The show comes with a fair amount of slapstick, as with most web dramas nowadays, so it really boils down to personal preference. I just wish that the plot could have been a little more meaty because I hear good things about the animated series, and while I see a nod to it stylistically, it doesn’t seem to be anything out of ordinary, and the villains seem to be there just to make the good guys look good. That said, if you are looking for action mixed with fantasy, sit back and relax because it is pretty much what you’d expect. 


Candle in the Tomb: The Weasel Grave

The Weasel Grave Ethan Ruan

The premiere sets the stage for the heroes to embark on a journey to catch weasels. I mean it just sounds so random, but I guess this is the plot that we’re supposed to get behind. There’s an evil lurking behind the scenes and the mood feels dark and dreary, like waiting for a pin to drop. The production quality seems decent overall, but I might not be the right audience for this because I got bored watching it. I also tried watching Ghost Blows Out the Light: Finding Hu Ba Yi starring Darren Wang and couldn’t even get through the first episode of that.  

Ghost Blows Out the Light Darren Wang

 

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3 Comments

  1. Melodysweetmusic177

    August 14, 2017 10:59 PM
  2. Anne J

    August 15, 2017 3:33 AM
  3. Melodysweetmusic177

    August 15, 2017 5:45 PM

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