Reviews

It's basically just better than average

I know that everyone is saying this is the best Xianxia we've had for a hot minute but I think this is the key element they're forgetting. There's been such a drought of good Xianxia (and particularly good Xianxia with female leads that don't act and speak like 6 year olds and actually have a personality outside of 'love interest') that we're holding this one to a higher standard than it deserves.

To start on a positive note, there are lots of great things about ShenLi. Although it is 40 episodes it's very easy to digest. Aside from an initially slow start which explores the 'mortal life' section of any Xianxia (albeit in an unexpected and quite witty way) once that awful cgi chicken disappears the show is very enjoyable. It's interesting especially to see the power dynamic shift when Xingzhi/Xingyun's true identity is revealed. The rest of the special effects are actually quite good, and the costumes - though not particularly innovative for the men - have a lot to boast for the women. Some of Shen Li and Demon Lord's outfits were stunning and the detail was apparent. The 'sky above heaven' was also an interesting addition to the show and the lore of the ancient gods.

Now onto the not so great things:
Firstly, this drama has serious pacing issues. The focus on the love story of the two leads was interesting, yes, but almost the entire plot was devoted to them with little time for side characters to develop. This almost led to an over saturation of their romance, particularly because the marriage arc was dragged out until episode 25. I also found that the apathy of the ML was at times taken too far. There is a difference between indifference and surpressed emotion which outwardly presents as indifference which was not always successfully conveyed.

Secondly, although some of the plot twists were genuinely surprising - there was no one single 'wow' factor moment within the show, and there was potential for several. Perhaps due to the halfhearted world building which failed to exhibit a real motivation for the villain beyond loyalty, the stakes never really seemed as high as they should have, and due to the overwhelming power of the 'divine god', even if he was injured or punished by the heavens for disobeying the enigmatic 'natural law' we were never led to believe that he wouldn't be able to overcome whatever was thrown at him. Such was the power of a true 'god' - the last god - compared to mere heavenly immortals.

An 8.8 rating is difficult to comprehend in my opinion. That places the Legend of Shen Li above dramas like: 'Who rules the world' and 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo', and at the same level as 'The Story of MingLan', 'Eternal Love/Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms', 'Love Between Fairy and Devil', 'Snow Sword Stride' (all far more interesting and developed dramas as far as I'm concerned). I don't like to throw 'overrated' around but I think that this drama may have been. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very enjoyable watch and I highly recommend it; it just seems important to keep in mind that ratings are inevitably relative, and Shen Li perhaps needs to be put into context rather than looked at independently.

Read More

A chicken parading as a phoenix

I was really looking forward to Shen Li as I have really enjoyed this author’s works and I’ve loved all of ZLY’s performances.

There were several touching moments in the beginning of the show - I was very moved by the story of the soldier and the wife - it was beautifully done and the actors who played the part did so phenomenally. Kudos to them. I enjoyed the idea of cluck cluck and the sickly man, and was moved when that arc came to an end. Shen Li revisited the place she had lived for a short time of her life, it was poignant and sad. One cannot return to the past as it stands on its own.

That being said, I have mixed feelings about this show overall.

I know it’s an unpopular opinion but this show became extremely slow and boring. Often the show felt as though it was catering to fans of Princess Agents who were left stranded with its lacklustre ending. Yes, the two leads have good chemistry but chemistry can’t make up for a paper thin plot that should have kept to 25 episodes or fewer. Most xianxias have a lot happening, even if they are common tropes and this one was excruciating slow with this draggy plot. The novel works because the FL’s narration and feelings carry it through.

Yet, not all literary techniques are well translated into film/the visual medium and this show is a good example of that. Shen Li’s voice overs were overused in the early part of the show and often they seemed to deny secondary characters agency.

As I finished the show I felt quite frustrated that secondary characters were not fully developed nor was enough time spent on them. For a 39 episode show secondary characters are paramount. The marriage arc went on forever and ever.

In the end i was left wondering- what happened to Shen Li’s father? Why didn’t she even think about him. It just happened. Mo Fang’s dying scene was quite sad- I pitied him, despite his faults, he did try to protect her. He was left there, without a glance from Shen Li or a final farewell. What an unfortunate character, which Shen Li herself observes.

What happened to Mo Fang’s father? What really was the point of the story? Why did Shen Li fall in love with Xingyun?

The acting was not the problem at all. I found Kenny Lin’s performance here to be among his best. The idea of the lonely ancient god was interesting and Kenny Lin expressed his loneliness well. His crying scene with Zhao Liying towards the end was very good. I really enjoyed the rest of the actors who did the best with whatever they had. Fu Rong Jun has the most character growth and he became one of my favourite characters. I enjoyed the actor’s performance. Jackie Li was great as usual but had limited screen time. I looked forward to seeing the siblings (and those were the parts I watched without skipping).

The music was good overall without the usual xianxia angst. I did not enjoy the xianxia angst when I watched my first xianxia but that’s what I appreciate these days.

Perhaps I had great expectations from the show but for me it was too slow, too thin with its plot. I think some Chinese shows should stick to shorter episodes. Quantity isn’t quality after all. A chicken should not pass for a phoenix. There's nothing wrong with being a chicken though- it has its place in the world.

Read More

Not bad but not good too

it's just my opinion, I feel that the acting of the cast is enough and the plot is also good enough. But at the end I feel a little unsatisfied ((maybe because of the duration too)).

I'm quite satisfied with the acting of the actors. They didn't feel awkward and lived up to their respective roles. However, I feel that there are still some mistakes that I think the audience can tolerate. Like sometimes the actors have scenes that are a bit stiff and some are too fast. As I said before.

Maybe it's because the duration is not too long. But I'm quite satisfied because it's K-BL. I rarely find K-BL that is satisfying for me to watch. Some make me amused and some make me uncomfortable while watching the acting of the actors.

I hope in the future there will be more K-BLs that are good and the plot is also beautiful. Honestly I really like high school love stories like this. Innocent and full of curiosity. I hope the production house and actors will continue to develop in the future.

Read More

An unknown person becoming one's everything

Didn't have any high hopes when I started this but damn this series took me on the best emotional roller-coaster ride and showed me a magnificent firework show of how love can be beautiful even if it's forbidden and doesn't fit into the accepted societal terms.

The story without any spoilers — The ML has had an abusive childhood and is struggling to raise himself and his sister. One day out of kindness he helps an 'unknown' boy and later adopts him as his brother. He is a smart person, who takes calculated risks at each step of his life because he doesn't want to drag down those who depend on him. When the adopted brother expresses his feelings for him, he reluctantly holds himself from letting himself venture into this 'unknown' relationship road.

The show shows the characters' journey from the struggle between not being able to control who they fall in love with, questioning what's wrong with oneself for falling in 'forbidden love', not being able to suppress it, coming to terms with it and acknowledging it, gathering up the courage to express it to the loved one, acting okay after getting rejected, trying to get over that person and miserably failing it, and settling to always love that person even if it was un-requited was incredible.

They beautifully portrayed that love isn't a feeling that can be erased nor should one be embarrassed of it. You can't force whom you love nor can you force someone to be with you.

Everything about this series was brilliant — the story, casting, acting, narration, dialogues, and ost. And a special mention to the cinematography of this series because it was top-notch. The use of lighting, mirrors, and frames to set up the background for each scene and thereby subtly conveying the atmosphere was fabulous.

I loved how they focused only on the main lead and that allowed them to show layers of their emotions and their personal battles which allowed them to face the situations maturely.

Honestly, as a BL fan, I rarely come across dramas that deal with complicated relationships and complex emotions. This drama clearly showed how the characters confront their feelings of 'dangerous brotherhood love'. Highly recommend everyone to watch it.

Read More

Mysterious Lotus Case Book but Romance Version

I watched this because both main leads are popular and it looked interesting when people were telling me about it. It was good, but not the best and was boring at times. If you like something like Mysterious Lotus Case Book but with romance, this is the show for you! There are spoilers in this review so if you don't want to look at the spoiler, I suggest you do not read this.

STORY
The story was okay but there were lots of mini-cases that ended within 1 episode, which you can imagine how many there are when there are 32 episodes. I get that it was for the build-up to find who the real villain is but it would've been much better if they had dived deeper into the episodes because the cases were kind of generic. Also, after a few episodes, you'll realize that you will know what will happen in every case because it's always the same outcome, death. They should have made it a little different because seeing everyone dying for every single case made it look repetitive.

This is also a drama with the typical "know-it-all" female lead who apparently can solve everything while the male lead just stands there staring at her. Also, I understand that Shangguan Zhi (SSZ) switched body with Yang Cai Wei (YCW) but YCW in SSZ's body seems like a whole new character. In the beginning, you can see that YCW was a little timid with others as well as a little mysterious, which was what drove me to watch this drama but when YCW was in SSZ's body, she became so jolly like where even did this character come from?

The romance between SSZ and PY as well as Bai Xiao Sheng (BXS) and Zhuo Lan Jiang (ZLJ) felt kind of rushed. Especially for BXS and ZLJ, I don't think that the romance was there even though there were romance scenes, which was kind of disappointing. It felt like ZLJ went for a second option because YCW was with PY instead of him getting to know and liking BXS but it's probably because there are only 32 episodes so there wasn't enough time to build it up. SSZ and PY's romance was okay, but the connection wasn't that good either like it's good but not the best.

Therefore, I think that the cases were a little boring, the build-up wasn't that good either as it was predictable but all-in-all it was an okay drama, not even on the same level as Mysterious Lotus Case Book but this is good for something with romance and cases. I wish they would have gone in an alternative route than doing all these mini cases with all of them dying because it does get a little boring.

ACTING/CAST
The acting was okay, Xue Yi's and Jing Yi's acting was a little awkward at times but it was fine. I feel like for both, there has to be more depth, especially the female lead to bring out YCW's character. It doesn't seem like YCW in SSZ's body, it felt like someone else in SSZ's body, which doesn't align. Unfortunately, halfway through the show, I don't know what happened with the makeup but you can see the wig hairline, which wasn't the actor's fault but it was kind of funny to see that.

MUSIC
The music was good, there weren't any memorable songs but I might have to relisten all of those OSTs to give better feedback on them.

Read More

this is a dirty manga

When two HANDSOME guys get employed at a new company, they randomly obsess over the ugly girl to use and abuse. She gets to sleep with both of them without much bother - being somehow retarded, because to be a whore would take more of a personality, which she totally lacks. Professionally she is still excellent (seriously??). But the pretty girl in the company gets angry for being left aside and tries to interfere. The ex-gf also comes into picture. This is what i get from this popcorn miniseries...
The ML has a fetish for public sex, he is always ready and lustful. The SML is not far from this either. They must have been trapped on a desert island before running into the FL! Oh, and they all visit the SAME bar - and the bar is ALWAYS empty, not even one customer beside our characters!!
... It totally reminds me of Dori and his smut characters. Kisses are hot too!
As they say, it's so bad that it's good.

Read More

Unexpectedly good

when i started watching this series, i wasn't expecting much to be honest. However, it was surprising good and got my attention from the 1st ten minutes and i got really excited.
there were some scenes that made me laugh so loud. such as the slow motion school incident. it was hilarious.
it's just i wish that Fah had realized and confessed his love to Phu, i believe it would have been so much better and prettier this way.
there were 2 scenes that i felt it was laking more emotions. 1st, when they met again after 10 years, 2nd when Fah got bk to Thai after 1 year. it didn't really felt like they were surprised or excited or anything.
overall, nice series. good looking cast with great acting. give it a try

Read More

it's a good bl

so speaking of the drama I like it a lot the acting the story line everything is good but what I don't like is the back story of yuan is not shown and the ending was a little unsatisfying for me and I wanted to see lilis wedding and stuff but they bombarded us with the accidental pregnancy trope in here
I like the family aspect of it and in my opinion it isn't incest ..
I loved the friendship between mr tan and quan but I didn't see any chemistry between lili and mr tan.
I liked this drama alot it's refreshing to see the plot in this not having a lot of toxicity and stuff
and I loved to see dr lin ( love him)...
in the end I liked this drama
so that's it

Read More

They knocked me out to make me fall in love with this series.

First of all, I have to say that I'm a VERY demanding person when we talk about series, films, and audiovisual productions in general. It's my study area too.

So, when I say that this BL is a 10/10, I'm very serious about it. It's magic. Also, if you're worried about the age gap, don't be, it's completely innocent.

About the storyline, it's precious. You understand the characters and you fall in love with their development. The plot IS SO ORIGINAL! I know that's based on a novel, but I really have to recognize the director's ability to put that in a series, bcs it's so different from everything that we have in the BL world. It's a typical comedy Thai BL, funny, and exaggerated. But the way that they portrayed the characters made everything so delicate.

I also love how it's SO THAI. It's not a product made for international fans, it's for Thai people. The culture, the references from the 90s, it's so unique.

But all of them would be nothing without the incredible performance of Tar (Noey) and Bom (Thi). They both killed their characters, Noey it's such a specific character, and the way that Tar portrayed him was essential to the final product. And Bom too, since Thi character needed to be really REALLY cute, and Bom is adorable. The way that he was so natural, even with the character exaggerations, was absolutely lovely.

Really, I Will Knock You it's a magic experience, one of the best BLs that I have ever watched. It's amazing. Also, I love Noey for life, the best character ever.

Read More

Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko 2024 (English title: A World Where Everything Definitely Becomes BL vs. the Man Who Definitely Doesn't Want to be in a BL 3 / (絶対BLになる世界VS絶対BLになりたくない男) by Konkichi (紺吉)), continues the story of Mob (Inukai Atsuhiro), the young university student who lived a monotonous but quiet existence until he discovers the true reality of his existence: he is a secondary character in a Boy's Love manga.
From that moment on, he decides to dedicate all his energy to fighting against that reality, to preserve his heterosexuality at any price and not to let himself be carried away by the seductive reality in which he lives... until he falls in love with a boy, Kikuchi (Asahi Itō). , who rejects him just at the moment when our protagonist declares his love for him.
Directed by Ryuichi Honda and Tatsuya Aoki, and scripts written by Izumi Kawasaki, the series has two previous seasons: the first, premiered on TV Asahi in March 2021, and the second broadcast in March 2022.
Erina Koyama returns to take charge of the music. Meanwhile, the seven-member dance vocal group GENIC performs the theme song: "New Game!!".
The drama is not exactly a BL series but a parody of the genre, celebrating and subverting the most common Boys Love tropes.
Will the protagonist manage to fall in love? Will Kikuchi return to Mob's life, after rejecting him to return to Igarashi, her handsome boyfriend? Will Mob open his mind again after the initial setback and finally find love in a boy? Will Mob prefer to continue being a supporting character? Will he let the other couples, including his brother Ayato and his boyfriend Toujou, be the center of attention while he chooses to stay out of it? Will he decide to maintain his identity as a passerby or will he once again become the protagonist of the BL world?
The drama is a live-action adaptation of the manga series "Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko" (絶対BLになる世界VS絶対BLになりたくない男), created by Konkichi (紺吉) and initially released in November 2018 on pixiv Comic, and subsequently published by Shodensha's Feel Comics FC Jam label, currently reaching four compilation volumes.
In addition to the actors already mentioned, the cast is reinforced by Yūtarō Goto in the role of Ayato (excellent in the LGBT+ romantic comedy-drama 'Zenra Meshi'), playing the role of Mob's younger brother; Akihisa Shiono as Toujou, Ryō Sekoguchi as Hatano, Wada Hayate as Mayama, Yuya Tominaga as Jōji, a schoolmate of Mob, and many other Japanese actors and actresses.
The introduction of many secondary characters and guest artists, as well as irrelevant plots, which do not contribute much to the general approach, in order to keep the audience entertained, works against it. It is common practice in most series, but sometimes it gets twisted.
And here, to make matters worse, these gloating largely undermine the cohesion and coherence of the proposal. In fact, the creators did not hesitate to violate the initial conceptions of some secondary characters, in order to adapt them to the emerging needs of the narrative.
Let's hope that in this installment the shot is rectified and it manages to close with sufficiently attractive conclusions to sustain the expected adventures of the protagonist, which will surely be taken up in a later season.
However, the viewer has had to forgive many inconsistencies and more or less drastic or hasty solutions, of various characters and conflicts, and especially of the initial approach, since the series does not manage to fully embrace the madness of the original premise present in the sleeve. It is true that, for example, it manages to make fun of the BL topics contained in Konkichi's work, but the drama in all seasons has stayed with the most conventional ones and has left aside the truly ridiculous ones that would elevate the final result.
I am referring, for example, to everything related to attractive male ghosts that one can only get rid of by hiring the services of an exorcist (equally attractive, of course), something that also happens frequently to Mob in the manga, but It has not been incorporated into the series, and this has an impact on the story.
It is also regrettable that while the manga is made up of very short chapters that go to the essence of the main plot, in the series, despite the fact that each episode has an average duration of 25 minutes and is divided into two segments, it is not possible to the same effect of immediacy that it would have if they were a series of short sketches.
This season may hold surprises, associated with the fate of the character played by Inukai Atsuhiro, a charismatic and ductile actor who in moments of humor achieves hysterical reactions, exaggerated expressions and clownish gestures, but in moments of greater drama he reinvents himself in gesture and restraint.
If someone asked me: What's so special about the series? I would answer that I can't help but compare this one with the previous two seasons:
- A romantic drama that radiates a humorous vibe from the first season.
- A series that sacrifices its humor to show more romance and sentimentality in each installment.
- A comedy that draws attention for its exaggerated reactions and scenarios, such as Mob employing the strategy of "sacrificing" anyone who is nearby instead of being the new love interest or target of the young people in love who surround him and who try to win him over, or the frequent extravagant moments such as finding an attractive stranger unconscious on the street and suggesting that others take him home to recover, something that Mob admits happens to him several times a month and that always happens long wishing him that someone else would take care of the young man and that they would be happy together.
- A protagonist who gains maturity in each season, especially by abandoning his initial outright rejection of BL and gaining understanding of the loves between boys.
- Greater romantic interaction between the characters than in previous seasons.
-The idea of ​​Mob continuing to break the fourth wall.
- It offers a unique possibility of making the public enjoy a plot so absurd that it gives rise to a multitude of ridiculous and quite funny situations that mercilessly mock all the clichés and common places of mangas and BL series.
- Inukai Atsuhiro's solid performance and his extraordinary expressive force.
- The hope that the many supporting actors and guests will become more memorable characters by having greater developments in their personalities and backstory.

Read More