When I started this drama I got The Untamed (2019) vibes from this. The chemistry between the main leads Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun is quite similar to Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo (The Untamed) not to mention that Sun Xi Lun (Zhang Chengling) reminds me of Wang Yibo. The drama had a really low budget compared to other productions. For comparison, The Untamed had a budget of prox. 120 Mio. while Word of Honor had to do with 50 Mio. before Wo Long Nuts stepped in and sponsored them with another 20 Mio. Considering the low budget I'm even more amazed that they did really well. I've seen really bad props and CGI effects, Word of Honor has neither even though the CGI in episodes 32 got a bit down in quality. What I really disliked though was the unbalance between screen time for our main leads and the villains, Scorpions, Ghosts etc. There are episodes (length 40 minutes per episode) and for at least half of the episode we get to see a monologue/dialogue of the villains. At some point I just wanted to skip because it's not like the viewer gets super important infos out of that scenes. Putting that aside we have a really good drama though. The cast is very well chosen and does a great job. The main leads interactions are a joy to watch and the viewer gets some heartwarming closeness to see between them. Word of Honor is based on the BL novel "Faraway Wanderers" (天涯客) by Priest and the drama stick to the novel as much as possible. The scriptwriter did a really good job in adapting the novel. There were scenes that made me wonder how they passed censorship but I'm excited they managed to be aired. I recommend watching the Behind-the-Scenes videos (english subbed) on Youko's Youtube channel though to also get to see those who didn't make it into the drama. While Word of Honor is based on BL (leveled down by Chinese censorship) it is also a great drama with lots of Wuxia (action) elements, worth giving it a chance even when you're not a fan of BL. The OST is nice and includes songs performed by the cast such as Zhang Zhehan, Gong Jun (Simon), Sun Xi Lun, Li Dai Kun and Ma Wen Yuan (Asher). Also worth mentioning are the costumes (they really put a lot of thought into them to make them visually attractive in fighting scenes), the action scenes and the cinematography. To some the last couple episodes might seem a bit rushed, that's because originally the drama was supposed to have 9 more episodes but got cut. It is sad for the story to not get a well-paced and written out completion in the last episodes (with 9 more episodes it could've been better) but overall it's still good enough to not consider it a negative aspect. When you watch the special (highly recommended!) you'll get a [spoiler] wrapped up, satisfying [/spoiler] ending. The end of the dramas episode 36 is [spoiler] a rather sad one and open [/spoiler]. I recommend this drama for fans of Chinese BL Novel adaptions as well as Wuxia fans or those who enjoyed dramas like The Untamed or Guardian.

This has more obvious flirting between the lead male pair with similar character personalties to The Untamed leads. The WOH has more action scenes in it, and they are better choregraphed. The WOH story is more complex and confusing, Too many characters and plot points that I could not differentiate between clans or remember names and their storyline between episodes. I felt some scenes were boring/dragging/Unnecessary. Why do you need such a slow walk down a hallway when we all know the destination/person you will meet at the end. I prefer TU is because nearly all their actors and characters were very good in their roles, the story is simple, and I prefer the more subtle display of romance with Wang Yibo/Lan Zhan using his eyes to express many different emotions.

A beautiful fairy-tale with flashy fighting and intricate costumes. Music that will stick with you. Good chemistry. The fact that it operates on fairy-tale logic doesn't mean that a lot of people won't die, since it's wuxia after all. In general, the pacing was good. The ending arc had to be unfortunately rushed, but at least they managed to cover the important plot points. I feel that the show is a very good attempt to bring a highly emotional narrative like this to the screen, even if it's a bit cheesy by nature.