“WORD OF HONOR” —— Aesthetics of Chinese Martial arts

Double Chinese poster
"Double Chinese poster"

If you ask me about any unforgettable memories in 2021, I must tell that story about "WORD OF HONOR". As a small-cost online drama that was not favored by the market at the beginning, what sort of charm does it have? 

Famous scene:"Against the beggar group"

The Soul of IP Adaptation:  Original Work

"WORD OF HONOR" is reworked from "Faraway Wanderers" by the Chinese Danmei novelist Priest. The story revolves around Zhou Zishu, the head of "Wind of Heaven". He established this killer organization and worked for King Jin. But he did not anticipate that the owner would become insane about power.

Out of conscience, Zhou Zishu put seven nails in his body due to stay away from the imperial court. When he resolved to wander the world until he died, the heroes battled for the "Glass Armor"  forward to the "warehouse of weapons". In the process, he encountered Wen Kexing, the owner of Ghost Valley. Both of them undergo a trial of death, ultimately accompanying each other in the life.

Famous scene: "Several tests"

Based on the short length of the TV series, the characters have been redesigned to make the audience addicted to it. The producer boldly used a creative team centered on Hong Kong directors. Using a new screenwriter, Xiaochu, who has a deep understanding of Priest's works. Otherwise, many young actors joined. Such as Gong Jun, Zhang Zhehan, Zhou Ye, Ma Wenyuan, Sun Xilun, etc. Therefore, it became the vanguard of Chinese web dramas in 2021, opening the way for new martial arts.

Famous scene:"Crushing herbs"
Famous scene: "Come back to The Four Seasons Manor "

The pursuit of Chinese aesthetic

In recent years, Chinese ancient Wuxia dramas have been flooded with numerous post-production, especially in studio shots, making the audience feel perfunctory and disrespectful. About this criticized aspect, "WORD OF HONOR" has done a good job. The whole team shoot within the scope of funds is completed in natural scenery.

Famous scene: "Uncovering the Human Skin Mask”

Not only that, the composition and pictures are full of Chinese aesthetics. It consists of elegant lenses to prevent the audience's visual fatigue. Firstly, photographers are good at blurring objects, enhancing the depth of the picture when shooting in medium and close-up shots. Secondly, editors are good at connecting the still and the dynamic in order to raise the emotional point of the audience.

Famous scene: “Composition with Chinese martial arts flavor”

What's more, in different scenarios, the producer also carried out professional music composition, mainly using flute, Chinese Zither, Pipa.  They can enhance the appeal of the picture.

Overall, the contrasts between light and dark is also a major feature of the play. It is clear that the appropriateness of natural and artificial light distribution creates a sense of ink in the environment. It's worth mentioning that backlighting can frame the silhouettes of actors and make them stand out from the background.

Famous scene: "Finger guessing"

“Fan After-sales” service and  peripheral  products

"WORD OF HONOR" is broadcast in more than 190 countries around the world. It is completely released on YouTube, Prime Video, VIKI, and other overseas platforms. Among them, the total playback volume of YouTube has surpassed 100 million. Besides, Japan even launched a voice actor dubbing version.

Thanks to the lack of a lot of commercial publicity in the early stage, such behavior has been favored by the audience. The most eye-catching of these are Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan, who play Wen and Zhou. After the show, they have been interacting generously on social platforms, combining many variety shows.

In the official concert "Born to Be Soulmate", their century hug was touched. Countless fans earned a group of extremely loyal shippers (like this matching CP fan group)

Famous scene: "Tricks in the lake"

Passion for Fan Creation

The intense trend of work constantly brings demands in all aspects. Whether it's Zhou Zishu's white sword or Wen Kexing's folding fan, they initially used crowdfunding to investigate the purchasing power of fans, and there is still a shortage of supply. Even if the replica of the white sword is as high as 5,000 yuan, the fan group still has superior purchasing power.

Many manufacturers have found more business opportunities, vigorously creating original sound OSTs for television dramas. At the same time, they launched limited-edition cotton dolls, hand-made custom iron badges, and various trinkets (earrings, bracelets, hairpins, necklaces) with character element designs, glazed armor pendants, etc.) The most absurd thing is that there are even pirated peripherals in South Korea.

Because of the popularity of WORD OF HONOR, fans who come from different countries spared no effort to "boost power". As the result of plot development, numerous fans said: It is impossible to dislike "WORD OF HONOR"). The works have brought a wave of cross-dimensional creation, these related tags have an extremely high appearance rate in the fan-fiction fields: such as pictures, videos, cosplay.

Famous scene: “Conversation between Good and Evil”

There is a “Jianghu” in everyone's heart, and heroism in mindset either. "Word Of Honor " is the interpretation of love and redemption.

Word of Honor Theme Concert: "Born to Be Soulmates"