You're not the only one that southernasianchick. At least for my personal preference, Idy Chan's portrayal was the best. If we're going by the novel then Carman Lee's acting was more accurate so it's understandable why majority of viewers like her most. I prefer Idy because she had more dimension to her acting. She had the natural ability to bring a little more life into such an aloof character and that's what attracts me. In my book, a good actress is someone who is able to bring a boring character to life from the pages of a novel yet also add a little personality and individuality without taking away from the original role therefore, Idy excelled that. She also has the most classical beauty of all the girls who took on that role. If I was comparing Idy and Carman in terms of who was the better WYY from Demi Gods and Semi Devils, then I would say Carman and generally, both of them surpass Liu Yi Fei as both XLN and WYY. As for Yang Guo, hands down Andy Lau and Christopher Lee are the most outstanding actors who were able to capture the essence of YG without overacting. I love my man, Louis but his Yang Guo doesn't even come close to the other two. He was acceptable as the younger YG but as he transitioned into the mature YG, he lacked the authoritative and mysterious vibe that the character was suppose to have. The 1983 adaptation will always have a special place in my heart and will forever be my favorite of all the versions. It wasn't just Andy and Idy's splendid performances that made it good but also the entire cast (particularly the 5 Greats). You will never ever find such a stellar supporting cast like that ever again.
Fun, I wouldn't recommend watching Richie Ren's version. I feel like if you've watched any of the older adaptations and or have read the novel then you wouldn't enjoy it since it takes on such a different approach. Those who have never watched anything from the Condor Trilogy would likely have a different opinion because they don't have the background knowledge or any expectations for it. I have been fortunate enough to watch the original 1976 one and it's actually not too bad. A little too slow for my liking but that's a given due to the lack of technology and advancements from those days. The 1984 Taiwain version was okay too. I would rank Richie Ren's version as one of the worst of the bunch lol.
