The Legend of Rosy Clouds has a premiere date that’s coming up fast
Now, I’m not sure how good the upcoming C-drama The Legend of Rosy Clouds will be as, other than Li Yi Tong and a couple of other notables, it does feature a pretty weak “idol” cast who are much more lauded for their looks than their acting skills. (Sorry, but Joseph Zeng is very much a hit or a miss for me, and he’s often a miss).
But, I am always willing to give a drama a chance as some idol dramas have surprised me in the past, with both their casts and the writing.
Writing-wise, The Legend of Rosy Clouds‘ screenwriter is Yu Xiao Qian, who wrote the awful My Bargain Queen and the equally bad Beauty from the Heart.
Buuuuuut, he did redeem himself with last year’s critically-liked Loving Strangers so, at this point, for me he is also an unknown factor, and could end up producing something decent.
Besides, with The Legend of Rosy Clouds finally getting its premiere on June 20th on iQIYI and YOUKU, we don’t have that much longer to wait to find out if this one will be a good watch or one that can easily be bailed on anyway.
The Story of Saiunkoku anime series
The drama is based on the novel series ”Saiunkoku Monogatari” (彩雲国物語) written by Yukino Sai (雪乃紗衣) and, if you’re a long-time anime fan like I am, you may recognize that name as a now-iconic anime series that released back in 2007, titled The Story of Saiunkoku in English, and which ultimately streamed for 78 episodes.
Yep, the story is long and involved, so it’s not surprising The Legend of Rosy Clouds will be streaming for 36 episodes.
That plot, by the way, is described by Baidu in quite a boring way:
In the legendary Nine Cities, Fan Yun (Li Yi Tong), a poor young lady from a prestigious family, and Qi Zheng (Zeng Shun Xi), a seemingly innocent but actually cunning city lord, go from testing each other to trusting one another.
Together, they overcome numerous obstacles to serve the people and ultimately find friendship and love. Fan Yun helps Qi Zheng pacify the land, break with convention, resolve crises in the Nine Cities, and together they build a prosperous Nine Cities for the people.
My Anime List, however, describes the anime series in a much more interesting fashion and, while the character names are changed, you will get the gist of what it’s about from this:
Shuurei Kou, the daughter of a noble yet impoverished family, is a clever young lady who dreams of becoming a government official and contributing toward her country. However, her dream is out of her reach as such a position is forbidden to women. While her father works a low wage job as an archivist at the palace, Shuurei has to juggle odd jobs to make ends meet. Then, one day, an unexpected visit changes her life.
Shuurei is called to assist Ryuuki Shi, the new emperor who is known for slacking on his duties and preferring the company of men.
Tempted by the generous compensation, she readily accepts the chance to become the young emperor’s consort for six months. Luckily, she is not alone as Seiran Shi, her trusty friend, joins her as Ryuuki’s bodyguard. While tasked with transforming the new emperor into a responsible ruler, court life and politics prove troublesome as Shuurei faces the challenges of her new life.
Set in a fictional country, Saiunkoku Monogatari centers on the idea of meaningful leadership, its adversities and the rewards that come alongside a prospering nation
See, now doesn’t that make the drama sound more appealing?
And yes, as someone who is a rabid fan of The Story of Saiunkoku, as it’s one of the first longer anime series I ever watched, and loved, I am so hoping the drama’s plot runs on similar lines.
(Update: It apparently doesn’t, with the plot being changed so much, some anime fans are already saying “it’s completely unrecognizable”. Boo!!!
The Legend of Rosy Clouds character stills
With the Chinese drama dropping soon, of course, we also got character visuals of the main cast this week. Just to rev up the anticipation a little more.
Yes, they’re pretty much more of the similarly designed characters that we get in most fantasy wuxia, but the cast is cute, and it’s always fun to guess what personalities each character will have before they appear on our screens, isn’t it?
Enjoy!
And also give a watch to the two The Legend of Rosy Clouds trailers that I’ve embedded below them as well.
Although, if I’m honest, I’m not a fan of what I’m seeing, as Li Yi Tong apparently has a voice actress whose voice, yet again, doesn’t fit the character or the actress’s voice. Aarrggghhh! So tired of this.
About the Author
