Da Mo Yao FINALLY Readies for Television Premiere in Three Weeks on October 1st
The labored production history of the drama adaptation of the Tong Hua romance novel Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert) is best described as potential hot mess meets the boy who cried wolf. The start and stop of when this long completed drama would finally air left me sapped of nearly all interest in it, not to mention I’m still not over my casting gripe about the two male leads. The drama was blacklisted for awhile due to the subject matter being contentious to history purists or folks who can’t stand Tong Hua’s fictional take on this particular historical time period. That was overcome when the name was changed for the drama and all characters to remove any affiliation with DMY, even though it’s still the exact same story. Finally the drama has now gotten a third name change to Feng Zhong Qi Yuan (风中奇缘 translated directly as Magical Fate in the Wind) but gets the English title of Sound of the Desert alluding to its DMY origins.
I can care less if production company Tangren titled the drama Story of a Girl, it’s still Da Mo Yao to anyone who followed the production. The drama is for sure 100% certain to air on October 1 (in three weeks!), with Tangren beginning the wave of promotions and all three leads have started posting updates on their weibos. The drama actually looks decent in acting and costume/set pieces based on the previews but the CGI deer, wolves, and battle sequences are going to be a major ROFL experience. I’m finding myself getting more and more pumped up especially with Hu Ge already making me sniffle with his acting plus he’s doing his own voice dub and singing the ending song for the drama called “Please Live Well”. *tearing up already here* Liu Shi Shi‘s voice dub will be the same lady who does all her dubs in Bu Bu Jing Xin, Bu Bu Jing Qing, and The Incisive Great Teacher so it’s familiar already. Check out the new television teaser, the official theme song MV, and a batch of new stills and posters below.
Liu Shi Shi plays the female lead named Xin Yue in the drama (Jin Yu in the novel), a wolf girl from the tribal desert who goes to the Han capital of Chang An and has a complicated love triangle with Hu Ge playing handicapped and brilliant Mo Xun (Meng Xi Mo or Jiu Ye in the novel) and Eddie Peng as brash general Wei Wu Ji (the novel’s Huo Qu Bing or Xiao Huo). I was a hardcore Xiao Huo shipper in translating the novel but I have major issues with the casting of Eddie when it was supposed to be Hu Ge all along. Xiao Huo’s cocky attitude works in the novel because there is a kernel of boyish longing and insecurity buried inside. I also liked that ultimately Xiao Huo was the better choice for Yu Er to spend her life with.
Eddie is just straight up arrogant in the way he plays Xiao Huo based on the previews and me no likey. And yes, I’m also visually shallow and Eddie’s chin is a big turn off. I fully acknowledge he’s a good actor and I like him in his modern roles, but as Xiao Huo in this period drama it’s just not promising to me. Plus the first previews show Hu Ge nailing Jiu Ye’s internalized sadness so I’m all over that ship now for the drama viewing. I can now marinate in all the pain that Jiu Ye shippers feel, starting from wanting to rip Xiao Huo a new one for how he found Yu Er first after she ran off from Chang An and then hied her off to the army base which is why Jiu Ye who was just a step too slow never found her in time. Tsk tsk tsk, I concede all’s fair in love and war but now I’m all for the poor noble idiot suffering in his wheelchair.
Da Mo Yao official airing teaser preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIevcYhpGH8
Da Mo Yao official theme song MV “White Hair Lament” by Della Ding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JH551rQx00
I’m really looking forward to this drama.
Mz Koala, it was your amazing translation that started my interest in C-Novels.
So thank you!
I hope this gets subtitled….
yea, Eddie has not only the modern look but comes off as a bit of a stubborn simpleton in stills. he is much better moving than in 2D. not an Eddie fan so likely climbing on the HG-LSS ship. so the plan is likely to watch until HG-LSS breakup and then selectively after. haha.
i really loved HG and Eddie when they were in XJQXZ so yay that they’re back in the same drama together again ^^
YES YES YES. I can’t wait <3 I just hope it gets subbed. Ms Koala, I have you to thank (and blame) for my obsession with DMY. The trailer just kills me every time.
FINALLY! I was always on the Jiu Ye ship, and actually gave up reading when Xiao Huo got together with Jin Yu…Looking forward to the drama though, if purely because it has FINALLY gotten approval to air. *shakes fist* Jin Yu’s blue Rouran dress looks so beautiful!
Can’t wait for it to be subbed. Interested in this drama after reading your amazing translation. Thank you.
Oh dear I am about to jump ship and it looks painful.
LSS is ao gorgeous I can look at her photos all day. And I don’t even normally notice a female actress’s looks.
It’s a shame, one of the lighter books (lighter because there is a happy couple at the end, haha) of Tong Hua gets adapted into live-action, but because of Eddie, I get majorly turned off. HUO QU BING doesn’t look like this. Argh. And while I’m not really into Hu Ge, he at least gives off the same feel as a Meng Jiu. Why drama gods oh why.
…*sigh* i really wish it were Ethan Ruan instead of Eddie.
Was wondering why you did not write about this since the news has been out for a while for the October air date. Can’t wait to watch this drama. I still need to buy th Bu Bu dvd’s. I’m always happy to see books I like come to real life after reading, so don’t care too much who acts in it.
Eddie is going to rock this! He looks pretty handsome here , can’t wait to see Hu Ge too! I like the whole cast! 😀
most anticipated drama of the year ! hoorray! 😛
Thank you miss Koala for writing this post. I’m not a big fan of C drama but since I love historical drama, then I give it a try. Surprisingly, I love Eddie Peng here! He’s so handsome as Wei Wuji. The way he looks at XiaoYu, I’m so loving it! I’m actually shocked that I’m not thinking that he’s handsome and EXCELLENT in his acting! HAHAHA, because I watched his first TW dramas, and I’m not so attracted at that time. Now, i’m totally accept the fact that he’s caught my heart as the cold warmth loving General Huo Qu Bing.
Oops* type wrongly. Should be, I’m actually shocked that I’m thinking that he’s handsome….*
I watched this drama without having any prior bias or knowledge about the original casting. I thought the cast was chosen perfectly for each character! It was great. Eddie, hu ge and Shi Shi was perfect for their characters