MIT has this thing called IAP. It’s basically a month long vacation from schoolwork. I decided to do two things with my break, 6.270 (an autonomous robot competition) and watching Chinese soaps. My favorite one was Return of the Condor Heroes.

Return of the Condor Heroes(RotCH) follows the life of Yang Guo from childhood to adulthood as China deals with the impeding invasion by the Mongols. At the start of the series, Yang Guo, led by his father’s “brother,” Guo Jing, to learn kungfu from the Quanzhen Sect. Young Gou (affectionately called Guo’er by the people around him) is a very disobedient child, something that will shape his whole life and lead him to become one of the strongest martial artists in the Great Song. The more important story is his relationship with his master (a young female only about 3 or so years older than he) and his falling in love with her and the trials they face against a world that does not accept their love.

Likes:

  • The martial arts
    • It’s freaking amazing. Everything is so flashy and cool looking. Guo Jing’s dragon technique is, and will always be, the best looking one. Jun De Lu Wang’s technique is pretty cool looking, too.
  • Jun De Lu Wang
    • Isn’t this guy sex-on-a-stick? I’m just kidding. He’s one of the bad guys you just learn to love, especially near the end.
  • The general story
    • Yea, the story is pretty good. I can see why the book was made into a drama a million times!
  • A lot of cute female actors are in this show.

Dislikes:

  • Most of the characters
    • Most of the characters are gullible, extremely self-righteous, and just plain retarded.
    • List most drama, most of the drama is started from misunderstandings. Unlike most dramas, these misunderstandings could easily be solved, except that the characters are way too dumb.
  • Historical inaccuracies.
    • I’m pretty sure that the Mongols were pretty victorious in the seige of Xiangyang. Other things are changed for the sake of a good story. It’s not that bad, just a tad bit confusing for people who actually know what’s supposed to happen.

If you can’t find a torrent, you can stream it from here.