Summary
Ever Night depicts the adventures of characters in the Empire of Tang where humans co-exist with demigods, and masters & disciples in martial arts. The Emperor of Tang rules over several kingdoms with different religious sects trying to maintain a balance of power and peace. He's hindered by his own royal family, due to rivalling wives and their offspring, and the opposition of the conquered kingdoms. Other troublemakers are the religious fanatics of Xiling and the barbaric Demon Sect in the North. Both parties believe in the foretelling of "Ever Night is coming" a.k.a. the Legend of the Son of Hades who will destroy all light and happiness in the world. Their mission is to find this child of darkness as soon as possible to kill him.
Both sects are highly skilled in martial arts leaning on mystical power from some kind of energy field that is created by light/angels/heaven or darkness/demons/earth. They are able to perform various super powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and manipulation of physical energy. Apprentices are aided by their masters to obtain higher levels in power through training and meditation.
The Plot
The protagonists of Ever Night are Ning Que and Sang Sang. They've lived together since early childhood, being both survivors from a massacre. The 5 year old Ning Que has found baby girl Sang Sang under a pile of corpses protected by a big black umbrella. Wherever they go they take this umbrella with them like a symbol of their relationship, a strong protective bond against all evils in the world.
Ning Que is driven by anger and revenge, Sang Sang is motivated by loyalty and love. Their story unfolds 15 years later. Ning Que (Arthur Chen) earns a living thanks to his natural fighting skills. One day he's hired to accompany the royal princess of Tang to Wei City, where he decides to stay as a professional fighter while Sang Sang (Ireine Song) takes care of his basic needs and house hold.
Once they are settled in the city they become entangled in the power struggle of the palace factions and religious sects. The fanatics of Xiling believe Ning Que is the child of darkness so they try to kill him. Somehow every battle is won by Ning Que gaining him even more powers. One day he gets the chance to be trained by the Head Master of the Martial Academy of Tang. Ning Que grows into fame as Mister 13, the 13th disciple of the Academy, envied and admired by many people including beautiful ladies. More and more he's driven by his testosterone levels and the iron ambition to kill the culprit of the massacre. This attitude puts pressure on his relationship with Sang Sang. Main question is: what's more important, Ning Que's passions or his lifelong habit to live with Sang Sang? Will they end up together or on opposite sites? There are no spoilers available, just an universal truth, There's No Light Without Darkness.
The Pro's
Ever Night has the look and feel of a Disney movie. Ning Que and Sang Sang seem like a leading couple in Star Wars sometimes. The cinematography is outstanding with glorious landscapes, buildings, close ups, time lapses of the weather, and slow motion scenes of falling rain. The music score is constantly pulling at my heart strings.
Then there's the cast. The 18 year male lead is very convincing as the apparently uncaring, selfish anti-hero whose only soft spot is his little "house maid". Although the female lead is 6 years his senior she's totally believable as the younger, loyal Sang Sang. I loved their teasing-caring scenes, and the painful awareness, eventually, of their own hidden feelings as shown in episode 45 and further.
Personally I'm not a fan of Wuxia battles, but if you are, you will appreciate the many fighting scenes, the choreography is A++.
The Cons
The characters from the supporting cast remain rather flat throughout the series. Take for instance the emperor. The way he calmly accepts the bad attitude from his family or political opponents keeps me wondering if he's some sort of saint in stead of an absolute ruler. Also the antagonistic Prince Long Qing learns nothing from his faults, making his evilness somewhat dull and childish.
Certain costumes didn't help to take some characters seriously like Second Brother with his Teletubby funnel hat, or the mysterious Xiling leader with his tinsel mask.
This epic adventure follows the traditional way of Chinese story telling meaning endless repetitions, flash backs, and a lack of focus on the main story in favor of less interesting side characters and long winding stories. So I had to resist the urge to use the fast forward button. To accentuate the positive, the flashbacks may be of help if remembering each name, background story, or fight scene becomes tiresome.
Last but not least the pacing of the story is very uneven, it flows from easy going romcom to long-term tragedy preventing me to jump onto the story completely.
Verdict
The beautiful faces, places, and music, won me over eventually. Ever Night ends with a cliff hanger, but I am a fan waiting for the sequel. I really want to know who's the Xiling ruler behind the mask. He made me think of a good guy turned evil like Darth Vader. Perhaps he is the legendary pupil of Tang Academy, the one and only love interest of Madam Jian Da Jia of Red Sleeves Bordello. Who knows?
