Subtle but sweet!
The story unfolds in layers but each in due time. Amazing acting by actors. The drama portrays different minute details and emotions. I kept waiting for new episodes. Normally revenge driven dramas are almost boring but the complex relationship among characters are one of the few things that keeps you glued to the drama. Each character is mature. They have strong feelings but they only express them in a very mature way. Especially FL and ML. This drama will be enjoyable for anyone who likes mature characters not the usual ones in chinese historical dramas. The female characters are strong and they have their different ways of living life. They fight for what they believe in and they see the big picture for their nation. That's one of the best things about this drama.I loved the drama and enjoyed it very much.
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Good show if you're good at following plots/analyzing/paying attention to details
So far, the entirety of the show is really good and pretty interesting. The main two OST songs is absolutely heavenly, both the sound and lyrics.Many criticize Legend of Anle for either the way the characters are written or saying that it drags. To the first point, this drama is extremely good at subtly showing small details on a character's personality and really requires a level head and basic analyzation to understand. A lot of details are lost if you have a strong prejudice against or for a character. To the second point of the plot dragging, almost every scene involving the main character plays into the climax of the story and the progression to it happens even in the background of episodes, if that makes sense.
All in all, I recommend this show 100% but it may not be your cup of tea if you only listen to watch characters have to say/what's right in front of you instead of paying attention to details.
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Wasted potential
I have not read the source material, but from what I can tell, the drama has been so watered down/altered that it really cannot be considered a faithful adaptation. If you're hoping for a sophisticated, nuanced revenge drama, be prepared to be disappointed. There are some nice moments of drama interspersed throughout, and I did not mind some of the more comedic parts, but the drama as a whole seems disjointed in tone and lacking in a strong backbone of story and character for me to give it more than a 7. Not the worst I have seen, but definitely far from a masterpiece.Was this review helpful to you?
A Cliche Story Done Better Elsewhere
In an era where C dramas are falling off the production line faster than most of us can keep up , thirty-something hours of your time could be better spent on a show of better quality. The curious part of me would love to know what it was that they were imbibing in the writers' room when the script was cobbled together. (From an existing source material no less) Or smoking for that matter. There are plenty of problems with this production starting with the amateurish screenplay which was meant to provide the backbone to this. The Legend of Anle claims to be a revenge/justice story centred around a highly intelligent accomplished young woman who does a Count of Monte Cristo turn. But the showrunners don't seem to understand rudimentary storytelling much less the visual medium of television for that claim to be convincing. For instance we are persistently hit over the head with the message that our protagonist here is brilliant. Indeed she's happy to brag that she's got the whole thing sewn up because she's the best thing since pork dumplings. Her schemes are nothing to write home about and several are reliant on the stalwart Han Ye (Gong Jun), the crown prince to be on board. When she's busy doing the heavy lifting, the other leads are hiding in the background watching her work and providing running commentary. I like Gong Jun enough to persevere. His character was brimming with potential. But I too think he wasted his time on this fiasco of a production.It's not hard to see where the problems lie even in those early episodes. While historical dramas pandering to a younger demographic are nothing new, there's a dreariness that hovers over this production that makes watching much of it a slog. Even Dilraba's flirty girl boss pirate act as she bursts into the scene comes with a dose of cringe. Things like that while mildly amusing at times breaks immersion and doesn't bode well for what comes down the pike. The show does nothing more that better revenge/justice stories have achieved on a larger scale with far more thought put into them. It has the bad habit of recounting events through dialogue where key events occur offscreen. What's worse is that some characters are just there to instruct the audience on how a scene should be understood or how another character feels. The job of these side characters too is to hit us over the head ad nauseam with how much the leads are in love with each other and it's a pity that they can't be together. This certainly shows a lack of confidence by the director in the performances and the script to convey the most fundamental story threads with spoon feeding.
All in all it's a strange start, stop, drag experience. One that I don't recommend. You can certainly do better elsewhere.
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DISAPPOINTING DRAMA
I waited for this drama for so long & turned out so disappointed. The 2 main leads’ acting are so unnatural, though I’m a fan of Reba. CG quality sucks. The fighting scenes sucks. Quite a lot of scenes looked fake. It’s really the worst drama I have watched this year.Though nothing special with the story, very typical, family wiped out, revenge, etc., I still hope that the main leads can show good acting & bring the story ‘alive’ but they cannot. Hhmmmm….. So sad. Disappointed, disappointed, disappointed, disappointed.
The only thing I love is the OST.
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One of the worst dramas in 2023
I am speechless and simply have no words to describe this drama starring Dilraba and Gong Jun. Two well known actors but the drama gets worse and worse from each episode to another.The plots are all over the place. The sub stories drag on forever which is why I find so frustrating. In particular, the story about the fake Di Zhi Yuan.
The only scenes worth watching is the female spy under Luo Mingxi's direction. Her dancing and fighting skills are amazing but she is not the main FL.
Dilraba annoys me with her cutie tricks in this drama. Maybe I am so bored seeing the same performance by so many FLs in C-dramas.
I find the scriptwriter, planners and directors failed to communicate with each other which resulted in such a poor drama.
The drama had three directors, in fact!
It shouldn't have dragged on to become a 39-episode drama. It should have only 20 episodes. This 20-episode drama would have been better and more entertaining.
Watch this drama if you have nothing else to do. Judge it yourself. My verdict: what an utter rubbish production.
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Amazing martial arts choreography, plot was disappointing.
The overall plot and progression of Legend of Anle was extremely slow, so slow that the scriptwriters love giving characters' repetitive lines for 23 episodes straight. The drama only gotten better at episode 29.Anle is constantly reminding everyone that she's here for the Di family revenge and nothing else. Yet she also has an army of 30,000 soldiers used as dowry to marry the prince. Her plan from the get go is to entice the prince, but in reality to bring justice to her family. Don't get me wrong, I really love seeing Anle fight for her family and find justice with the people around her. It's was her goal from the get-go. We already knew that was her storyline. Anle is an independent woman, she's very intelligent and it seems to me she can hold her own without Hanye in her life. It would've been nice if this drama was not about romance. Dilireba acted great in this drama, it's not her best drama in terms of storyline and script but it's tolerable.
Hanye is a man of few words, and also focuses on this one line (not verbatim): "I will fulfil grandfather's edict of marrying Di Ziyuan." He says that nearly every single episode. We get it. He seems to be strategic in his own way, he does not share his inners thoughts in the first 23 episodes or so. He's a rule-abiding prince, doesn't matter if the love of his life tells him what he's doing is wrong for her and her massacred family, etc. It was annoying to watch him tell Anle or someone that what they're doing is wrong. She could've done everything on her own essentially, and she also has a princess for a best friend who could've helped her instead of Hanye. Gongjun's acting isn't the best. This was my first drama of his and he was very cringe to watch. His expressions are either too stiff or too awkward. There are plenty of characters of little words yet are able to convey their feelings through their eyes or expressions; Gongjun barely does that. He needs to work on improving his acting. Towards episode 29, Hanye as a character becomes more tolerable imo. He's done a lot for Anle and I forgave him for the bs he said to Anle before.
Moving on to Hanye's little sister. Anning, the general of Jing aka the elder princess of Jing. I think the scriptwriters dumbed her down immensely for someone who has "General" as her title alongside the title of "Princess." It made me very furious that she was toned down. She's a wonderful fighter, and I honestly thought she could've helped Anle a lot more than Hanye. She was a disappointing character. Despite of that, she has her pride, and she feels like she was at fault for the massacre of Di Family - she tends to drink a lot because of it. I just wish the writers didn't do her dirty. The actress of Anning did very well imo.
Luo Ming Xi is the "older brother" aka protector of Di Zi Yuan and also has a one-sided crush on Zi yuan. He's done his best to help Anle to find justice and revenge for her family and has been with her every step of the way. Would you say I have second-lead syndrome? Possibly yes. His character is quite patient and also more vicious than Anle is towards the Jing royal family. He would do anything to protect Anle from any more harm. Honestly, he deserves a medal. LOL Liu Yu Ning did the character justice, no awkward acting from my pov, I can tell how much he loves Anle even from his subtle actions or movements.
I want to put a spotlight on Linlang who was played by Wang Yitimg. Wang was the perfect role for this character, her martial arts choreography was beautiful and elegant! The perks of having a dancer background! Her character, Lin lang, is technicalyl a spy for Luo Ming Xi, his protector, his doctor, etc. lol She does everything! So watch out for her!! Her fighting scenes were badass.
Happy ending? Yes.
Would I watch again? No
Would I recommend it? 50/50. It depends if you like horrendous scriptwriting, and slow-burn romance. Even slow plot progression. Otherwise, you can basically skip to episode 23 or 29 for the good parts.
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Because this drama is not a Xianxia genre, many people may not put it in the fantasy genre. But it is not that bad as a wuxia drama because the female characters here are strong but some characters are not smart.
I thought I would be a bit disappointed as I don't like Dilraba in flirtatious characters. But surprisingly she didn't disappoint me. And for the sake of those who thought her character was unnatural at the beginning, she acted infront of Han Ye but this is not her true form. So, some thought of the acting as overacting because she did it on purpose and that's what Ren Anle intended be. Everything as Ren Anle is acting of Di Ziyuan.
Han Ye's character is very complex. Many people are commenting on him. Why is his character so pale? But when deeply comes to think about it, he wants a solution for both her family and his lover's family injustice. His family is chaotic and he also has responsibility towards the family. He is righteous but finds it hard to accept when it is his own family who is the culprit. Doing something against his father is equal to rebel.He may be seeking justice but his father is the emperor so he can't able to solve it.
Liu Yuning is acted very good as Luo Mingxi. Despite all this, I will say that I have not seen any decline in this drama in terms of acting.
Liu Yuning's character is smart when he does what is necessary and shows off his intelligence.
Anning and Di Cheng'en these two characters are a bit boring.
The best part of this drama was the casting selection done well.Even though this drama has weak direction & script writing and production problems, I will say that even though this drama has lacking, there is something in it that makes it worth watching. The story is captivating. The visuals of the main lead are amazing!
CGI didn't seem so bad as everyone was saying. In fact, if you adapt the novel, some scenes can't be reflected in reality. And this drama is also about war, so there is not much use of CGI except for first episodes and some scenes. There may be war scenes in the future. I like political things. Some things are better if they are less complex. That thing I like
This review based on 27 episodes. So, i don’t know what happening next.
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Only watch if u r a fan of both leads! Boring & angsty most of the time…
I finally managed to finish this one accompanied by my friend the FFWD button… 😅 I’m a fan of both of them n watched most of their recent works, but this one was disappointing, especially when it was an awaited drama for me…
What is ok:
- The leads pairing is just a visual feast & their chems is good enough despite how unnecessary angsty their journey till the end of the eps…
- The part at first where FL kept chasing ML while being ignored most of the times was the only enjoyable part for me + the happy ending (eventhough it happens in the last eps!)
- The side casts that’s beside the leads r good loyal people as they should be…
- The bonus scenes from the after they r married story is cute… at least we get to see them together (though no real kiss at all till the end) 🤣
What I dislike:
- I know the main plot is revenge, but somehow for me it’s kinda hard to feel totally sorry for FL after everything that she’s done to ML… yes it’s a tragedy what happened to her fam becoz of his fam, but despite all, ML was the one who helped her from the start, he never stopped protecting her… she keeps blaming him & hurt him like he did the evil deeds! So overall her character is just not a sympathetic one…
- The overall story is just mmeehh… the revenge was done around eps26 I think? After that is just total unnecessary angst till the end… FL was only given a chance to redeem herself from eps36 (last 3-4eps) & that only happened when ML was thought dead… and after all he’s done for her? It’s just not enough…
- FL got more screen time with SML i think? Thankfully SML isn’t a bad person, but still their too many scenes together is just not something I like to watch… and these scenes I also FFWD like crazy… 🫣
- The CGI was bad IMO, looks so fake… and I thought this was a big budget drama, I guess not…
- The last eps reconciliation kinda drama… though actually, they never even get together officially till that last eps… for a 39eps drama that’s just not satisfying…
Overall at least it’s a HE… but I want to rant so much after I kinda forced myself finished this one with the help of FFWD button… for a revenge drama it’s just not that good, but especially if u compare it to The Long Ballad… now that’s for me a good revenge drama for me… anyway, IMO watch only if u r a fan of the leads… 🤷🏻♀️
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Overdue Revenge
Firstly, I am a little bit dissatisfied with how the scriptwriter change so many parts in the drama. What's the point of buying copyright of the novel if you not going to follow it closely? I watched the drama for the sake of dilireba and the casts's effortI clearly can see that youku seems very unprepared to air the show when first half of the drama was done half-heartedly. From the CGI, the dubbing voice of leads, the subtitles and the promotion. To me, the rumour about the feud between production and youku might be true. It's very unfair for the actors and crews.
When I am reading, I can see the strength coming from female lead and male lead so I was expecting a powerful couple throughout the show however I must admit that I am a little bit disappointed. I know that most of the Ren Anle/ Di Ziyuan's scenes were given to Luo Mingxi and An Ning. Hence, the lack of strength in her character.
Example: The drama failed to show how Ren Anle is given trust by the navy bandits to lead them since she's not the actual Ren descent.
- If they explained the power of Di family and Ren Anle properly, we probably going to witness one of the strongest female lead in history.
Some might say the main leads lack of chemistry but to me they're fine. Maybe the only good thing coming from this drama are them. It's natural to me the way they're falling in love, with Ren Anle's way of flirts and Han Ye being afraid of falling for a female bandit. However, during this part of flirting and falling in love, the scriptwriter again too focused on love/romance that I see most of planning part is handled by Luo Mingxi. So it's understandable that most people thought it's a romantic drama.
There are too many filler and unnecessary scenes in ep 12-20. Who tf wants to know about Di ChengEn? Better use that to capture the Di and Han family's history, and Ren Anle's background. LMAO. As usual, youku being youku.
Other parts that I love is the casts' acting, I can see they really commited and devoted to the show that all the fights and action scenes are done by themselves. Kudos to the actors. Yup, youku and the production should be grateful to them, because they are the one that save this drama.
Nevertheless, it's a good acting with poor script, it's not that worst. That's it.
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It is the on-screen chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba that shines through
There are a lot of negative reviews about this drama on mydramalist.com, which is a surprise to me. I think this period drama is underrated here. I thoroughly enjoy the drama and think that it is very well produced, although I must say there are some sub-plots that could have been better. Part of the reason I am able to accept the drama better is I have not read the original novel and do not have the loyalty baggage to the original story.What I like about this drama:
1. The initial few episodes are hilarious as Ren Anle (Dilraba) flirts shamelessly with the Crown Prince in a bid to get his attention and to get close to him. Her boldness is really humorous.
2. The story keeps you in suspense: will the fake Ziyuan succeed in marrying the Crown Prince? Will the Ziyuan camp succeed in getting justice for the Di family? Is the enemy Qin infiltrator going to undermine the defence of the Jing? Of course, I already know some parts of the story from the trailers released. But it is more of how the story would develop and whether the good guys would be hurt before they win.
3. I am one who have been quite hardened by the emotional tricks used in dramas, as I watched too many of them and mostly the good ones. But when MingXi (Liu YuNing), the second male lead, is executed because of diverting the army to save ZiYuan (Dilraba) and violating the military order, it really rend my heart. The chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba really shines through. Dilraba does marvellously well as she weeps over MingXi's death. This scene manages to stir up my rather stagnated emotions.
4. In dramas I had watched earlier of Liu are he was always acting the bad guy. But this time, he is an upright capable but sickly man holding onto what he is entrusted with. I hope this drama is going to elevate his acting career further. He wins my sympathy and this is one drama where I would have been quite happy for the lead female character to marry the second male lead instead, because he deserves it for all he has done for her.
5. The ending theme song is rhythmic and melodious and the lyrics are beautiful and Liu has a beautiful voice. It is also very apt that Liu sings the ending theme song - the lyrics seem to be singing about MingXi's dedication to ZiYuan rather than the Crown Prince's dedication to her.
6. LinLang's dancing, particularly of the initial few episodes is very well choreographed, instead of some lame duck dances I see in many dramas.
7. Seeing the emperor as a loving father (although not a terrific emperor) - is a refreshing break from the usual story of a emperor father suspicious of his crown prince son.
8. Of course, the other hygiene factors are also present: the CGI, and the costumes, and a good looking cast who acts their part well.
What I think are a bit lacklustre in this drama:
1. Gong Jun acts the Crown Prince whose character is a bit uptight, so it hinders the on-screen chemistry between him and Dilraba, the female lead. He is always playing the dodge with her. When situation like this happens, it always compromise the on-screen chemistry. But they both act their part very well.
2. I nearly stop watching the drama after the episode when ZiYuan presents the case of the Di family's innocence as it seems the climax is over. Then the start of the war when the enemy is attacking after thoroughly infiltrated the Jing's defence begins a new chapter.
3. However, from the point when Han Ye, the Crown Prince, takes over the defence pushing ZiYuan away, the story become quite stupid. As a rather meticulous and clever man, he chooses to fatalistically stand alone against the on-slaughter of the massive Qin army. He could have plan better: save the people he cares for and wins the war. And cliches after cliches happens: falling off the cliff and goes missing, becoming blind and then regain the sight. What really trips me is the hair turning white: a fashion returning this year. I call these cheap thrills - conveniently added to dramatise the story but with very little new creativity.
4. There are more insults to the intelligence of the audience: pretending to be marrying someone else to draw out the true lover - surely this is the best way to push away someone who is already keeping away; hiding away ignoring that they might be hurting the people including the father, who care about them.
5. And then there is this: keep the truth from the person they most care for, when they have done so much for them. When there is credit, claim it for goodness sake. When the credit is not yours, don't.
6. The ending trailer gives too much of the story away. So when it happens in the drama, it dampens the effects.
7. At MingXi's death amidst fireworks in the background, there could be more to stir up the emotions - opportunity missed.
But overall, it is a lovely romance and suspense story. So watch it and enjoy. I am debating whether it should be a 9 or 9.5. Well, 9.5 wins.
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A pretty good show that needed to be shorter
FINAL RATING: 8.35/10NOTE: I have changed some of my initial review (which I had written after watching 25 episodes). Some of those thoughts still hold true though.
Ren Anle, a female pirate with 30,000 naval forces under her command (the show never forgets to remind us of this in almost every episode) steps into the capital with an ulterior motive. 10 years ago her entire family, as well as 80,000 troops serving her family were massacred by the ruling emperor as a result of a conspiracy. As a sole survivor of the Di family, she was sent to a mountain to spend her days in seclusion. 10 years later, she returns under a fake name and a fake identity to infiltrate the court and bring her family and troops to justice. She puts up a flirtatious facade with the crown prince Han Ye, who was betrothed to her since childhood. However, Ren Anle (or Di Ziyuan) and Han Ye slowly develop feelings for each other but are embroiled in complex relations and conspiracies from the past.
As of episode 25, The Legend of Anle did not feel like a spectacular show with incredibly layered writing and characters. However, it picked up pace after that and delivered some strong emotional moments during the last quarter of the show. Initially, it felt like they were going for a Nirvana in Fire-esque approach, but of course it did not reach that mark. The palace politics and scheming on this show were not as deep and detailed and hence, it might be easier to follow for newbies to this genre. Dilraba and Gong Jun did a good job (particularly when it came to the later parts of the show where their characters have to go through some pretty traumatic events).
I think this show could have benefitted from fewer episodes. As of episode 25, it had been a rather slow buildup to something that should have happened episodes ago. The show could’ve saved itself from comparisons to NIF by simply shortening the “clearing the Di family name” arc.
The big, important moments of the show (which happen in the last quarter) were handled quite well. Supporting characters we had grown to like, such as Anning, Wen Shuo and Linglang were given their own arcs. Anning in particular had quite an emotional one and became one of the most tragic characters on the show.
As not episode 24, the logic did not flow very well and hence questions arose, such as what is the point of having a fake Di Ziyuan come down from the mountain and cause a stir in the capital? Isn’t Luo Mingxi the same age, or close in age to Anle - if so how did he amass so much influence in 10 years when he was just a child bodyguard? How does Anle have so many forces under her command in such a short amount of time and at such a young age? Why and how doesn’t the fake Di Ziyuan know about the real Di Ziyuan? Does she think she can become Crown Princess without any issues - if she’s fake, wouldn’t someone rat her out? Why do Luo Mingxi and Ren Anle let the fake Di Ziyuan just act rashly? If the Dowager Empress wants to kill Di Ziyuan in the capital, why didn’t she try to kill her before when she was living in the mountains? Sadly, these weren’t really answered.
The last two episodes seemed to be a bit more saccharine than I was expecting. I know both Di Ziyuan and Han Ye go through some rather terrible times and it’s only natural to want them to live happily at least. However, the way everything was wrapped up in the end was not too satisfying. Luo Mingxi got a farewell that should have been a bit more emotional and hard-hitting than it was. He was a main character after all.
The music is good enough - although I’ve noticed that a lot of instrumental tracks from Princess Agents are used here. It’s a bit distracting if you tend to notice these things (which I do).
Overall this is a good show and is quite entertaining. It isn’t the best in its genre but it isn’t a waste of time either.
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