Text | Ripe apples
In Xian Xia ancient puppet dramas, there is often such a type of character, they are the bullies who frequently break through the "crazy criticism set the ceiling of the boundary". The force is super strong, never disdaining the reputation of the two sleeves of clean wind, just want to lead all the evil people to step into orthodoxy. In the midst of strategizing, the mountain rain is about to come, setting off a terrifying wave between heaven and earth. But his feelings are deep-rooted, lovesick, and he can't extricate himself from the quagmire of lust. Although their titles are slightly different in different plays, Moon Venerable, Night Venerable, and Demon Venerable are all possible (among which the Demon Venerable has the highest voice), but they often can't escape a dark atmosphere.
A few days ago, netizens voted for the four most classic demon characters in recent years according to the degree of demonization of these characters. They are Xuan Ye in "Agarwood Like Crumbs"; Tangtai Ember in "Long Moon Ember Ming"; Dongfang Qingcang in "Canglan Recipe" and heavy building in "Immortal Sword III". Although he couldn't distinguish Bo Zhong, the audience was still happy, and he also brought out more demon characters such as Killing Yan Mo, Yuwen Tuo, and Blood Demon Shisheng looking forward to a competition.
So what is the charm of the role of the Demon Lord that can make several audiences miss it?
01
It begins with rebellion, loyalty to infatuation
As a well-deserved villain in fairy tale dramas, the Demon Venerable is often full of anger from birth, and is incompatible with the orthodoxy of the fairy gate. Although the glamorous and exquisite title has been lost, it has also lost all kinds of constraints under the shackles of the world. In their world, there is no serious book of pure rules and precepts, only ambitions for hegemony that are difficult to hide. From words and deeds to the path of growth, there is a kind of rebellion like a living person all the time.
Just like Xuan Ye, who is the king of Asura in "Agarwood Like Crumbs", he was born to break through the seal of the heavenly court and lead the clan to complete the hegemony of the thousand autumns. The demon god Tangtai Ember in "Long Moon Ember Ming" has his own evil bones, which makes the creatures of the six realms a little charred only in his thoughts. The Oriental Qingcang in "Canglan Recipe" has the immortal body of the Vajra soul, and the mention of the group extermination immortal clan immediately began to explode in combat effectiveness. Although the demon building in "Immortal Sword III" is invincible, he also feels that the feeling of empty-eyed is too boring. To sum up, it is a collection of all the conceit and arrogance of the crazy and explosive sky, making yourself look indestructible.
But as the popular saying in "Strange Words", "Those who are very bitter in their hearts, just a little sweetness is enough." For the role of the Demon Venerable, it is more like "a person whose heart is full of copper walls and iron walls, and he can break through with just a trace of tenderness." ”
Looking back at the classic Demon Venerable characters over the years, this is basically verified, because almost no demon can get out of the curse of the "love brain" alive. Whether he is the absolute king who defeats the invincible hand of the world in heaven and earth, or the immortal genius of the Yuan God, who summons torrential rain and lightning at every turn, he can't escape a "love" word in the end.
And they really insist on their own chastity. Once the obsession of a lifetime and a couple is planted in their hearts, it is planted. It is said that you want to love for a lifetime, a lifetime is a lifetime, a year difference, a month difference, an hour difference, a second difference is not a lifetime.
Just like before Xuan Ye met the God of War, it was also a career batch that focused on its own development. Who expected that the battlefield and dye youth met for the first time, accidentally leaked their hearts, and since then a series of business operations have been deformed. Although he also threw a bold saying, "I want love and the world." "But judging from the final result, he really only wants love, and thousands of reversals of time are all in order to save the dyed green one, and even hesitate to kill his son with his own hands in exchange for the dye green Yuan God." If you want to discuss who is more crazy about the several Demon Venerables at this point, Xuan Ye may win.
As a demon god who can't grow love silk in the early stage, why can he grow a love brain in the later stage? On this issue, of course, it is also thanks to love. The childhood was humiliated and self-contained, and it was not until Ye Xiwu suddenly descended on his life that he felt a glimmer of light in his life. So when he knew that all this was an illusion, he went crazy, went crazy even more thoroughly, and then had the classic line: "Since my liking is not rare for you, then try my hate!" "But love or hate, Ye Xiwu just can't leave him.
Also loved is Dongfang Qingcang, but unlike Tangtai Ash, Dongfang Qingcang can see the convenience caused by "ruthlessness", in his eyes, from love to worry, from love to fear, worry-free and fearless, that is the invincibility of the world. Who expected to meet the purest and most benevolent little orchid, with her sincere heart, completely rewrote this concept of life. When Dongfang Qingcang sat quietly under the Seven Emotions Tree and felt the seven emotions and six desires resurrected by the little orchid, whether he could continue to have karmic fire was obviously not so important.
In this way, the Demon Honor Building looks more like a wronged species compared to the above three. After all, before falling in love with Zixuan, there was only fighting in his eyes, and there was no love and hate. Across the six realms, only seek one defeat instead of "one love". Who expected to be suddenly kissed by Zixuan, and had a feeling that had never been felt before. After that, he lost control, lost his ability to manage emotions, shed tears for love, had a hangover for love, and occasionally made earthy love words: "My heart still hurts, but I can't feel it, because it's there." ”
Perhaps these characters are unattainable and rebellious when they appear, but in terms of feelings, they are all like a beginner, and they all have to experience the confusion and pain caused by love. This is the charm that attracts the attention of the audience. There is no hypocrisy, only the strongest emotions in the universal sense.
02
Enlightened cultivation, with an arc of light
In fact, it is not difficult to find that regarding the role of the Demon Venerable, the more character flaws presented in the early stage, the greater the reversal space left by the later characters. After all, in the world of the Demon Venerable, all the rules and boundaries are blurred, but it is like a blank drawing paper, which can be left to the creative play of the choreographer.
Taking the magic building as an example, the successful shaping of this character has made fans miss it so far, and it is a model of full character growth lines and a sense of substitution in the character arc.
When the God of War Feipeng has not yet appeared, the opponent of the heavy building is himself in the mirror, and when the God of War Feipeng appears, the opponent of the heavy building is Feipeng. In addition to filling his loneliness in his eternal life, he also has a trace of psychological narcissistic compensation. Because in his eyes, he is the strongest existence in Kyushu, and this needs to withstand repeated verification, so the right or wrong brought by the covenant frame is as important as life for Zhonglou.
But not everything in this world can compete for a superiority. There may be wins and losses on the battlefield, but not necessarily in the love field, and the control in the fight feels that love becomes a certain paranoia and pressure, these truths are close to ignorance on the side of consciousness before Zixuan did not enter the world of the heavy building. Therefore, the entanglement with Zixuan is tantamount to getting a bodhi of enlightenment for Zhonglou.
He can fight Feipeng for hundreds of rounds, but he can't maintain his confidence in head-to-head with his rival. "I really can't do anything about her. She stole my heart, but for the people she loved. He expressed his embarrassment and helplessness. And this remark also means that Chonglou gradually came out of narcissism and began to truly connect with others. Later, as the plot deepened, from the initial possession, Chonglou's understanding of love was further upgraded. It is better to fulfill her happiness than to trap Zixuan beside her. "It's better to see each other than not to see each other, and it seems to be ruthless if you have affection."
The plot design from the path of enlightenment is also reflected in other Demon Venerable characters. For example, the Tangtai Ember in "Long Moon Ember Ming" also gradually turns the paranoid love and hate to the level of great love of all living beings. Once upon a time, he was a bloodthirsty god of the demon world, who would slaughter the immortal race without saying a word, and later, under the influence of the heroine and others, he also began to have compassion and love for all things, so that in the later stage, he wanted to end the cycle of fate, martyrdom and so on.
It can be said that these dramatic conflicts due to personality disorders are the biggest advantage of the character of the Demon Venerable. When a demon has a stronger personality, the more diverse the dramatic conflict. Strong and fragile, confident and inferior, two sides of the same coin.
At the same time, the tragedy inherent in this character also gives the audience enough space for deep reminiscence. If it weren't for his father forcing him to cultivate the ancient secret art, how could Dongfang Qingcang be in love and close to his relatives? If it weren't for the desperate pain of betrayal in childhood, how could Tangtai Ember fall into the path of demons? Without a father or mother, how can a heavy building that does not know the meaning of life seek the pleasure of fighting instead of the nourishment brought by emotions at the beginning? And these character pain points are also the key to strengthening the audience's empathy.
03
Summary: Personality convergence, aesthetic fatigue
Although the role of the Demon Lord has the advantages of the drama level, in terms of specific content, more and more problems of highly similar characters have begun to appear.
Of the four demon lords newly selected by netizens alone, two of them collided in some plot designs. For example, the Tangtai Ember and the Oriental Qingcang. Also under the curse of fate, one is to kill his father with his own hands, which is terrifying, and the other is born with evil bones, stepping on his mother's corpse and landing on the ground.
Including the growth route, it also has its own similarity. They also lost the love of feeling the seven emotions and six desires, and they were also reawakened because of love. Similarly, from single-mindedly dominating the world to love & peace praying for world peace, being willing to make concessions for lovers and sentient beings, and so on.
At the same time, the difference between the two at the makeup level is not huge. Also dressed in a gorgeous black robe with long hair and shawl, wearing horn flower ornaments, if it were not for the objective appearance and shape of the two actors, I am afraid that it would be another tragic "crash scene".
If it goes on like this in the long run, it is bound to cause a new round of aesthetic fatigue, and it is urgent for the main creative team to dig out more novel highlights to solve, so as not to live up to the conflict resources that come with this role.