On the evening of September 15th, the fairy tale drama "Liu Li" ushered in its finale. During the broadcast, this fairy tale drama repeatedly topped the list of dramas played on data platforms such as Guduo Network Film and Television, Detawen Data, and Yien. The popularity on the Youku platform alone has reached a peak of 9992. According to available statistical data, the cumulative views of "Liu Li" on Youku and Mango TV have exceeded 5 billion, and the total number of views is almost 100 million. The male and female protagonists have gained popularity after the show ended. From the launch of the show to its finale on September 15, the Weibo followers of male protagonist Cheng Yi and female protagonist Yuan Bingyan increased by 4.14 million and 2.75 million respectively.

In addition to the two fairy tale dramas that have concluded recently, there are also countless fairy tale dramas that are still in the queue. Nearly 10 works include "Eternal Jue Chen" by Zhou Dongyu and Xu Kai, "Two Cities of Mirrors" by Li Yifeng and Chen Yuqi, "Yu Zhaoling" by Guan Hong and Zhang Yishang, and "Haoyi Xing" by Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu.

Some upcoming Xianxia dramas

It seems that the Xianxia craze will continue.

Most of these fairy tale dramas are adapted from Internet articles, and a few are derived from ancient Chinese mythology or literary works. After taking stock, it is not difficult to find that compared to the massive number of fairy novels, very few have been successfully adapted into films. So what are the mainstream Xianxia IPs currently on the market? What are the common features of works that can be adapted into films and TV shows? This is the main topic to be discussed in this article.

The longest-lived IP - from ancient mythology to contemporary online literature

The origin of Xianxia novels can be traced back to classics such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Zhuangzi", but these literatures The work does not belong to the novel genre, so it can only be regarded as the source of Xianxia. It was not until the Wei and Jin Dynasties that novels about supernatural beings appeared, such as "The Legend of Immortals", which included various stories about immortals, and could be recognized as the prototype of fairy novels. By the Tang Dynasty, the characters in the novels - Qiu bearded guest, Hongfunu and Li Jing, although they were knights, their abilities were similar to those of immortals. As the Ming and Qing Dynasties were the prosperous period of ancient novels, many works with themes of gods and demons appeared. China's longest-lived IP "Journey to the West" and "The Romance of the Gods" appeared during this era.

In modern times, the integration of immortals and knights is even closer. In the 1980s, Huang Yi, a martial arts novelist, proposed to combine the "worldly swordsman" and the "born immortal swordsman" into one. This greatly opened up the creative ideas of novels and laid the foundation for the subsequent prosperity of fairy tale novels. foundation.

After the innovation and transformation of Xiao Qian's "Piaomiao Journey", Meng Ruishenji's "Buddha is the Tao", Wang Yu's "The Story of Mortal Cultivation of Immortality" and other great masters, Xianxia IP has formed what it is today. Appearance and pattern. From a classification point of view, Xianxia works can be divided into seven main categories, including: modern cultivation, cultivation civilization, prehistoric immortality, classical fairy tales, fantasy cultivation, BL cultivation, and GL cultivation. Just based on the search on the Qidian Chinese website, there are more than 160 Xianxia works.

Even though there are many fairy tale literature creations, only a small proportion of them have been adapted into films and TV shows. Among the top ten Xianxia novels, only "Zhu Xian" has been successfully adapted into a film and television.

So why is the proportion of Xianxia IP adapted into film and television works so low? Is it because users don’t like it? Of course not, on the contrary, Xianxia dramas adapted from Xianxia novels have a "hit" quality to a large extent.

For example, in 2009, "Legend of Sword and Fairy" won the ratings championship of three TV stations in one fell swoop. Even many years later, Hu Ge and Liu Yifei still retain the same "look" in the hearts of fans. In 2014, "Gu Jian Qi Tan" had a viewing volume of 8.8 billion, directly reaching the top of the TV series of that year, becoming the most played drama series in the history of TV series at that time. The summer of 2015 belonged to "A Thousand Bones", which ranked first in the annual weekly ratings with an average score of 2.123, and became the first TV series to have an online broadcast of over 20 billion yuan; the highest monthly revenue of the game of the same name was nearly 200 million yuan, this achievement So far no one can match it. In 2017, "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" was broadcast for 33 days, with 58 episodes, and 30.9 billion views across the entire network, becoming a landmark figure. 2018's "Sweet Honey Like Ashes" and 2020's "Liu Li" also became one of the most popular dramas of the year at a low cost.

And these are just a handful of water in the vast sea of ??Xianxia IP. Since most of the content of Xianxia is an overhead structure, rich in content, and grand in world view, it is not easy to turn it into a film and television. First of all, a suitable screenwriter is needed to drastically adjust the content to suit the film and television look. And this kind of adjustment often triggers a rebound among fans of the original work. For example, when "Three Lives Three Worlds: Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" first aired, the order in which the drama told the story was inconsistent with the novel, which once led to criticism from netizens. Secondly, it is difficult to grasp everything from casting to artistic conception, scenes, special effects and service. This high does not refer to the sophistication of the production or the investment cost, but whether it can meet the expectations of fans. Different from other IPs, Xianxia novels, which are dominated by online texts, often have a large number of fans. If the adapted Xianxia drama wants to succeed, it must rely on this group of fans as the basic water level, and it will not succeed because it cannot meet the fan base. expect.

Creating a model room - a new aesthetic on the old routine

So what kind of Xianxia IP is more likely to be adapted into film and television?

First of all, in today's world where IP film and television are very popular, the fan effect and reputation accumulation of online literature are an important indicator that is most recognized by film and television drama producers. Take "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" as an example. Since this novel became popular after being serialized online in 2008, it has attracted a large number of loyal book fans. So far, the cumulative sales of various versions of physical books have exceeded 5 million copies, which is worthy of its name. Become "the first IP of fantasy love". "Zhu Xian", created from 2003 to 2007, is 1.2 million words long and has a wide readership. It is even known as "the martial arts Bible of the post-Jin Yong era". There is no doubt that traffic is the basic threshold.

Secondly, love has become a "necessary" factor. Whether it's the famous quote "Brother Xiaoyao, let's go home" in "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" or Runyu's words in "Sweet Honey as Ashes as Frost": "It's okay to love me lightly, but love me for a long time." They all look like the audience. It conveys the most pure and true view of love. And the content where the main line is about immortals falling in love is easier to film and television. The reason is not only that the pure love and the fairy-like chivalrous tenderness are more compatible, but also maybe because it is so rare in reality that people have something to rely on. In most cases, love becomes the absolute motivation for the core characters' actions, and sacrifice and trust become the highest values.

Thirdly, in addition to satisfying the basic emotional demands of netizens, an excellent fairy tale drama also needs to have the ability to innovate to keep pace with the times. It is generally not feasible to copy the original work, and it must be transformed using film and television language.

Taking "Liu Li" as an example, boldly casting young actors as protagonists and setting anti-routine characters are the keys to success. "Many people were not optimistic about our drama at first because they are all young actors." Yin Tao, the director of "Liu Li" said in an interview. But once you fall into the trap, you can never get out. Instead, you feel that only young actors can have this energy.

The use of the "beautiful, strong and miserable" character design that is most popular among young users is also very pleasing. Xie Ying, general manager of Youku Drama Center, said: I think "Liu Li" does not have too many routines. It is a bit anti-routine. The whole process is based on the setting of "the male and female protagonists got the wrong script". The heroine doesn’t understand love. She has been teasing the male protagonist without knowing it. The best thing about this character is that Xuanji is not fully aware of the six elements. This determines that her flirting with men will not be disliked by the audience. Her lines to tease the male protagonist are even the best. You can’t even make up the best green tea, and users like this feeling very much. The male protagonist's infatuated protection of the female protagonist for ten lifetimes, this kind of interaction is romantic and exciting, and can hit the girly heart of the user. Specific to the plot, Xianxia dramas inevitably have their own inherent story models and methodology, which is not worthy of criticism. "Liu Li" is a hit because it has the mature and industrial production of a genre drama, and at the same time it is innovative, anti-routine and lovable in its character design.

Finally, having a spiritual core that is in line with the times is another possibility for film and television. This type of content is mainly reflected in the "male channel" Xianxia IP. For female audiences, Xianxia creates a romantic, beautiful, real and believable new world, while for male audiences, they prefer brotherhood, new national style, and are immersed in a lot of fight scenes, special effects or mythical beast settings. middle. For example, the recently concluded "The Ancient God King" is adapted from the online novel of the same name by Jing Wuhen. It tells the story of Qin Wentian, the adopted son of the Qin family of the Yi Dynasty in the ancient times. After going through great changes, he vowed to bring out the traitors, reorganize the Yi Kingdom, and resist the evil spirits. A passionate and inspiring story of tribal invasion. It is a story that mainly targets male audiences and satisfies the male audience's imagination of "a young man saving his country." Even "Flower Thousand Bones", which is regarded by many male viewers as a story about sadomasochism, behind the love story is also a story about responsibility, growth, and choice between the girl Hua Qiangu and the immortal Bai Zihua.

Since "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" ushered in the era of fairy tale dramas in 2005, after 15 years of changes and development, fairy tale content has become one of the key layout tracks of the three major platforms. It can be said that Xianxia will become the main popular theme representing the new national style in the future. Among the many Xianxia IPs, how to find the next sample that can be filmed and televisionized has become more traceable.