Reviews

Hauntingly perfect.

This drama was elixir to my soul.

I am drawn to dark stories, but I am also subconsciously drawn to stories where self growth and worth are paramount.

I didn’t have a great experience at school. Going to a girls school in England really messes you up on some kind of level. Permanently. Even though time does heal, which this drama showed exquisitely.

So this drama, with its roots in school and unpleasant bullying, called to my inner child (who loved seeing karma in action).

The dramas ingredients of pain, pleasure, love, hate, kindness, karma, depression, anxiety, selfishness, naïveté were simultaneously balanced and unbalanced.

So, if anyone reading this is unsure about it, give it a try. It really is healing in the regard that you are fully satisfied at the shows conclusion. That is very rare.

I felt like it helped me on a personal level work through some of my issues and regrets from my formative years. I hope it does the same for you.

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Incessant war holds little to no benefits for the common man

Li Changge, a princess well-versed in martial arts, escapes out of the palace with a vow to return for revenge. She encounters a hundred different difficulties that test her abilities, her relationships, her trust and most of all, her purpose.

Star-crossed lovers, intelligent, power couple at that with a proper thread of good, interesting plots that wrapped well on the whole and plenty of visually appealing landscapes, awesome cast and acting, and many side couples as a cherry on top - this is a brilliant production. Almost miraculous that something like this was delivered. I didn't find it perfect however. They gave everything they could possibly though - so I guess I'm being a little greedy lmaoo.

Leads - I really appreciate them as characters. I can't say all their actions were without fault, but definitely all their motives, reasoning, and purpose were commendable which made it worth watching. Their romance was okish, not bad but um.. like I said greedy me. But their action was so so good. Both actors have really delivered their very dynamic roles so nicely from start to finish.

After everything, what captured the romance department was a princess and bodyguard couple haha. To be fair, Hao Du & Leyan were excellent so they deserve the credit.

Plot - Each arc was different - in the sense some were better than others. My favourite would be the events in Louyang (I liked it a lot :)), followed by Shuzhou maybe.

MINOR SPOILERS:

While main thread held, there just seemed to be some things that I couldn't not be a little disappointed by or things that were unconvincing. In some instances, FL's abilities working so well, allowing her to move around anywhere & everywhere, escape anything, pretty much a Houdini, only she didn't even have to implement any great tricks to do it every time. Especially when she was a prisoner in Ashile. I wasn't convinced by the ML much in that one either. Not to mention, their romance which was unclear in some places and the way it sometimes influenced the leads but sometimes didn't. Yicheng giving Mimi chances over and over again after getting betrayed every time, seemed to be a classic villain weakness given to smooth things over for later. Like I'm glad about in the good vs evil perspective, but in a critical writing and story wise, not so convincing. And I guess, small things like that here and there.

Overall - 8.5/10

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This is my number one cdrama

Up until now, I think I've watched more cdramas than kdramas, and I've never once changed GH's position as the number one.

It's been quite a long time since I watched it - if I have to write a review I wait, so that I can see if it's actually worth enough to be remained in my memory - but something about it it's impressed on my mind. The plot.

I can't make huge spoilers, but the relationships between every single person inside that family are awesome. And I say relationships because they have different "stories" and connections between each others.

Li Jianjian and her father Li Hao Chao start off as a family of two, due to the loss of Jianjian mother when she was younger, but soon become a family of five. Three siblings and two fathers. And this is something that really touched me: the complete absence of a maternal figure. They didn't imply that a family can't run without a woman and I appreciated it so much.

Every mother in there had a valid reason to leave their child behind: from Jianjian's mother, who died suddenly, to their upstairs neighbour Ling Xiao, whose mother left him 'cause she was feeling overwhelmed after her daughter death - which left her with some mental instability -, and finally to He Zi Qiu's who left him to search for a job and a better life in another city. Now, everyone has their own opinions, but to me they weren't bad mothers. Apart from Jianjian's, Xiao's mom was unstable and, to be honest, if she didn't make a comeback I would've loved her disappearence; meanwhile Zi Qiu's mom just wanted the best for his son (I honestly don't remember what happened but I do know that her original thoughts were rightful).

And the presence of Ling He Ping actually proves that nobody is perfect, but together with Li Hao Chao they made great parents for their children. That showed us how it's important to find equilibrium with someone else in this life, and how this can change our positivity and our impact to the world. If He Ping didn't have Hao Chao beside him, he wouldn't have been such a great parental figure, but instead a father who only cared a lot about his child but couldn't do anything except bringing money into the family. This really really depicted the importance of looking at the bigger picture and not just the single person.

Taken alone, He Ping was a bad parent, especially at first. He then learned how to be present for their children thanks to Hao Chao, but before this milestone the series testified - and I want to repeat this - how imperial is EQUILIBRIUM.

Now, I won't talk about the acting 'cause I thought it wasn't neither exceptional or awful. It was alright, good enough to make me cry during significant moments. As for the soundtracks, they're perfect. And the morals of the series? They made me reflect a lot on what kind of life I want to live.

Overall, this is a 9.5 drama. The only thing that maybe can ruin it it's the sad fact that once you've watched it, it's hard to rewatch it. At least for me, since it had so many important details that are impactful only the first time you catch them, the second time I tried to watch it was quite boring: I couldn't focus and every little plot twist wasn't surprising since I already knew them. I wished I could watch GH for the first time again.

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Legend of Yunze, the Official Fanfic

Aw hell, this was just so much fun.
It did feel like I was reading an at times somewhat poorly plotted AU, but these characters just have so much charm and the actors have such great on-screen chemistry that I couldn't find it in me to care.
This special is quite light-hearted and fluffy compared to seasons one and two (which, let's be honest, were already quite sweet to begin with), but what it lacks in dark mysteries and epic sword fights, it makes up for with romance.
Watching this felt like someone had grabbed the romance dial on the switchboard and cranked it up to 11 and I do mean that in the best way possible. The show is full of classic romance tropes and even invents a few new ones (dramatically pretending to be injured to scare off your girlfriend's evil adoptive mum, anyone?).
It's cheesy, it's ridiculous, and yet it's somehow genuinely touching and romantic. I even found myself tearing up at one point.
So if you're a fan of the main show you'll very likely enjoy this as well. If you've never seen Legend of Yunze before you might still like this, but be aware that quite a lot of plot points won't make very much sense without the relevant background info.

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This honestly could've gone way better than it did

From the first episode, it didn't make me want to pay my full attention to it. I have to multitask with something to finish watching it. I keep putting off watching the episodes and even only finished now. It's good, but it didn't interest me enough to make me want to focus on it. Which is a bit disappointing considering one of my favorite actors is casted and I've been looking forward to it for months. And unless I want to see clips of him, I have no excuse to want to rewatch this.

[SPOILER: Storyline, Character Personality and Development talk]

And talking about the storyline, very specifically about yun jion's character, jo deukchan. Ever since the "deukchan plot twist" happened, it made me rewind back a little in my mind about how his character was written. It really made me think that halfway through, they suddenly changed the storyline that's linked to him. I've always thought he would have something to do with the mystery/crime story of the show, I did think he might have gotten his hands dirty there, but his personality suddenly made a turn. I saw him as a slightly humorist big brother figure for doha, seems to have a bad relationship with his brother, mature and professional whenever it comes to work, and a loving dad and husband. It only showed for the first part of the show. When the main conflict part happened, it seemed like they just threw all of that out of the window (and I personally don't think they did this part well. or maybe it was because I had a "preferred" storyline mapped out already? who knows)

Another problem I have, again, about Jo Deukchan, well, the actor, Yun Jion (well, not HIM. But like, this problem has something to do around him). I accepted that I might have wished for a little bit too much. While I wanted them to explore more about Jo brothers relationship to understand them more, I get it. He's not the first male lead. He's in fact, the second male lead, at least that's how it should be, considering the fact that he was always put third in social media updates, and in the hashtags. But I've been feeling weird when they had 4 main characters under their own character categories in the character profile section on their website. It was all of them except for Jo Deukchan whose character profile is under J Entertainment category. You can argue with me that it's because he's part of J Ent, which is true. But all main characters despite being part of a group, have their own main character profile sections, while he did not. And then, on naver (and even on this site) it was written that his character was a supporting role, which feels wrong and weird, considering he plays a big part in the story along with the other main leads, and again, his name is written the third among the main leads lineup, after the main couple, and before the other set of fl and ml. And yet he's a supporting role? I don't know. It just feels very off.

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Perhaps I'm Not the Target Audience Here

I don't love romance stories. I've really enjoyed them in the past, for example: Crash Landing on You and The Imperial Coroner. Romance or not I'll watch anything if the premise seems interesting enough. That was the case here. The polar opposite characters, the vast room for growth that was possible, and, if I'm being honest, the humorous potential when they swapped bodies. China has a way of taking a story I'd otherwise care little for and making it pleasant.

I'm going to drop this one though. Let me explain why:

Firstly, I don't think Esther Yu has the range to be more than the silly orchid fairy. I enjoy the sweet innocence of her starting point, an almost dumb person with a fairy tale understanding of the world who gets forcibly launched into enormously complex situations. However, her cartoon character depiction (and writing) had her refusing any and all development along the way. She was like this bubble bouncing along the plot with no actual interaction with it. As dumb as she was, her persistent stupidity could only be explained by "we need tension here, so she needs to not figure this out" which I hate. I understood her being like that for a while in the beginning, but no matter how the plot developed, she remained like this. Don't get me wrong, she could absolutely maintain her sweetness and her innocence, but that's not what was happening here. Every time I thought she'd take one step forward, her refusal to budge was effectively taking a step back. In terms of character development, it felt like the demon lord had to do all the moving. As if, it seemed, her oblivious, idiotic, self-absorbed beginning state was somehow an ideal perfection she had no need to adjust. I didn't understand how someone so obsessed with her own problems could ever think enough to help with the various situations in which her contribution was crucial. And yet, like a rubber band, after she'd display the maturity needed for these situations, she'd immediately bounce back to being a self-absorbed airhead. And airhead who wasn't particularly unlikable, but still. I wasn't sure if this was bad writing or Esther Yu's acting, or some combination, but it was damaging the story in a big way.

Moreover, and here's where I'm not the target audience, one of my biggest pet peeves is the love triangle. I loathe them. Nothing ruins a story for me faster. Not to mention, here at least, the idea that the two most powerful bachelors in all the realms were somehow in love with her strained credulity strictly in terms of probability. But the way this shoved itself into the story and wrenched it into its own shape was unforgivable. Once the love triangle became more prominent I couldn't tolerate it any more. When I watched the Rebel Princess I was pleasantly surprised by the mature and realistic way in which the writers handled what attempted to be an intolerable love triangle. The main female character had evolved and matured, her husband allowed her the space to make her own choice, accepting that it might not be him (and aware that he had other, larger things to deal with anyway), and the other man was depicted as appropriately childish and petty and selfish. It's hard to view actual love triangles any other way. I lose respect for respectable characters who maintain their pursuit of people who are already with someone else. That isn't romantic to me, it's petty. Maybe it would go away eventually, and maybe I could have powered through had the rest not been so lacking, but as it was it seemed to take over the story.

Additionally, the thing that really bothered me about that was that every choice made by Cheng Heng (the other man, here) was because he was randomly and uncontrollably in love with the orchid fairy. Does he want his brother to stop publicly torturing someone? Yes he does. Is it because public torture of an obviously innocent person is extremely cruel? Nope. It's because he's in love with her. Does he want to risk his life to save someone? Must be because he's a good prince who wants to stop his enemy from kidnapping one of his own subjects. No, actually, it's because he's in love with her. His entire character was cheapened by this. How much more interesting would he have been if he was actually just trying to do the right thing considering the situation and his status. Instead all of his actions, which could have been noble and impressive, were instead petty and childish.

Dylan Wang's acting was excellent. His depiction of the demon lord was at once over the top and completely believable. His development was subtle and well-paced and ultimately more profound than the fairy's. When he was acting as the fairy in the demon lord's body, it was perfectly done. Much, much better than Esther Yu's terrible wooden attempts at severity and seriousness when she was depicting the demon lord in the fairy's body.

Ultimately, I stopped watching once it seemed clear to me that this was another one of those romance dramas where the woman is perfect and the man has to bend to her. There are fewer and fewer romance stories these days in which the writers dare to depict the female as lacking or flawed in any way. What's worse is when she is lacking or flawed but this is depicted as not a problem. And the man has to do all the heavy lifting to make himself worthy of her, to change to suit her, to completely accept her, to renounce himself in order to be satisfactory to her. I'm sick of it. It's terrible storytelling. It's nauseating and embarrassing to watch.

I don't understand why this drama is so popular. But there's my two cents.

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More plot, more swords, more demons with cat-ears!

I liked this even more than season one.
The dynamic between the characters is already well established at this point and we are somewhat familiar with the world so there is a lot more space to develop complex plot lines and delve deeper into the characters' pasts.
I personally really enjoyed getting to know our two mains a bit better as I am quite fond of both of them by now. I also appreciate how well all the plot threads weave together by the end, even if there are just enough loose ends to make me hope for another season.
Overall this delivers more of what made the first season so fun - adventures, mysteries, beautiful outfits, cool swords, and even cooler girls to wield them - and, what's more, improves on some of it.
If you liked the prequel, you'll definitely enjoy this as well so give it a watch if you haven't already.

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A solid romcom in a fun fantasy setting

Now, one could quibble over the definition of "rom-com" but that's what this is and I will die on that hill thank you very much.
While I personally don't like this as much as some other shows (The Vampires being my personal favourite), it's still a really solid watch.
The production quality is great, as is to be expected by now, the characters are interesting and lovable, and I actually found myself intrigued by the story line.
Usually these shows suffer a bit from having to cram an insane amount of plot into too short a runtime, but here I actually think the story is perfectly paced and easy to follow.
Sure, there is the odd plot hole, but nothing too grievous or which takes away from the enjoyment of the sapphic sword nonsense.
If you're a fan of C-dramas, or fantasy romance, or queer women in ever more fantastical outfits, then this one is for you.
I will also say that even if you're not hooked by the end of the first season I'd recommend sticking with it anyway.
The plot does pick up a fair bit in season two.

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One of the best bl

This is what i like to see. A fast paced good storyline with intense sexual tension.
You can see their eyes wanting each other since ep 1. The way charn was flirting with tinn made my my heart flutter. Whispering in seductive tone and staring at each other made me squeal.
That’s why ep 4 is my favvv. The club scene was the best and i don’t know how many times rewatched the scene where tinn put hands on charn waist turning him to his side.
Wish their were more moments like this. I don’t know how many times i must have said this in my head “Just kiss already” while watching this series.

Done fangirling, now let’s talk about the real review.

Charns characterisation was great. The grey character and a bit realistic. Obviously who won’t be like him considering his past tragedy. I really liked him in this series and the acting was toooo good. So drastic change in character, he was the purest soul in “to sir with love” and here he is with his sexy sinister smile. I especially loved his low voice when tried to tease and seduce tinn.

Tinn, a common man, had his life upside down. But still he was optimistic. He changed charn’s way of thinking despite all the shit happening. He believed in justice and truth.

But guess who’s my fav character??
It’s Nawin. I laughed so damn hard whenever he came on screen.


Even the supporting cast was great especially the side couple.

My only complaint is that this series way too short. I want more heart fluttering flirting, kissing and all.
And i want to see charn being jealous too for once, cuz the way he said “If you ever leave me or cheat on me...” in the last episode made me shiver. He was scary when he said this. I really want to see him being jealous, he would be wayyy more sulky than tinn.
I want a special episodeee😭😭

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An awesome female lead followed around by a love sic puppy and a whole lot of meeh

I would like to thank the double speed option for without it I would not have gotten though to the end... In this story where pretty cool female lead divorces en idiot only to attract a bunch of more or less obsessed boys/men instead of just being left alone with her passion.

The men in this drama are mostly awful some have their good shots and great loos but their characters make no sense what so ever and there is not a single man in this that I was not highly annoyed by and did not want to throw something at at least once in this drama. Yes that includes the male lead, who is of course gorgeous, sweet and has a lot going for him... he just needs a huge lesson in priorities and respecting peoples boundaries.. His dad has some issues but is probably the least infuriating character in the whole drama. The male leads best friend is the one male that actually experiances character growth and goes from making me want to punch some sense in to him to thinking, heeey that guy ain´t that bad.

Oh and do not get me started on the teens who are about to graduate from university put are portrayed like really immature 4th grades just with a motorcycle, not to mention the mother ho was also portrayed like an imature kid.

That said the 2nd female lead rocked, and the female lead was really cool 905 of the time, I loved her characters personality, the acting was good and her lines where mostly awesome.


The cinematography is good and there is one good line in this about not needing to compare ones weaknesses to another persons strengths.

The pacing is awful and something tells me they had to cut a bunch of scenes here and there without thinking about how it affects the story as a whole. The predictability in the drama is so high i found myself thinking oh here we go again... and oh come on not that annoying twist...

The only thing that kept me going to the end was Xiao Zhans smile the second couple and the female leads wittiness.... Without them I would have given this an even lower score.

Also I am not really sure this qualifies as a romance.... it is more of a love sick puppy holds on to girl and just wont let go....

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Such a disappointment. If you came because of the novel or manhua, don't waste your time...

I was looking foward to this adaptation because I am currently reading its manhua version. I like the characters and, specially, the art! So I was really excited to watch this.

But... Unfortunately, I was let down big time.

I didn't think that the actress playing our FL managed to portray the character's vibe, aura and beauty. Lin Yu Jing is supposed to be the type of girl that is just so pretty that it's impossible to pass by unnoticed. But Sabrina Zhuang just played her as a moody teenager. I didn't really feel the etheral beauty queen vibe from her at all.

Moving on from our FL, we get Shen Juan, who was supposed to be a tattoo artist... And the drama transformed him into a silver artisan or something? And then those fighting scenes out of nowhere really made this more childish than it was supposed to be. I am way too old to be watching a supposed teenager single handely fight off an entire gang and still win, unscarred. Sure, there's similar scenes in the manhua (and novel probably), but Zhou Yi Ran's body type and stature aren't convincing at all. What's more, those fights start with no reason what so ever. On the first episode alone there's like two scenes. What's the point? Oh, sure, it's just to show how our ML is simply Chuck Norris's son himself. Seriously...

I didn't even manage to finish the first episode, I was afraid the amount of times I was rolling my eyes was unhealthy.

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Season 5/5: The End?

The story continues from the previous season. After leaving the publishing company because her skills were not recognized, YiYi and the emperor start their own platform and begin publishing her novel. But her old company's owner won't let her be and keeps creating problems for her. YiYi also finally admits to be in love and they have some lovely lovey dovey moments. But his time is coming to the end and he accepts to leave since that is going to save her life.

The story is definitely not as interesting or as funny as it was in the first three seasons: they are basically repeating the same plot in the modern setting. There are same characters in two worlds behaving exactly the same so the novelty of modern setting quickly wore off. The emperor get used to modern world fast and became a high performing businessmen. I was a bit upset with the rapidity of this plot point but then I reminded myself that this is a fantasy based drama not a reality based one.

The couple had their happy ending in the last minute of the drama though it was not explained how or why: he was not supposed to remember anything once he went back into the book but I guess love conquers all. And I think that the Book Scholar must have helped them a bit when he saw how much they love each other and to what lengths they are ready to go in order for the loved person to stay alive. The Book Scholar was punished so....

Same problems as in season 4 regarding cinematography are present her. I think that they filmed both seasons in one go. It is ugly to look at. And what's with the ML's haircut: he just came out of the army or what?

All things considered, this is a fun watch, the actors have correct chemistry, it is very funny at the beginning but later on it becomes more and more serious with just little drops of humour here and there (YiYi's brother is comedy gold!).

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Why?

I was a huge fan of the first part of Duty After School and had high hopes for Part 2. The characters and story had me hooked from the beginning. However, as I got into Part 2, my excitement turned into disbelief and frustration, especially when it came to the ending. The conclusion left me bewildered, it felt rushed and lacked clarity. I couldn't help but wonder why the creators made such decisions.

The first part of the series had gathered a substantial fanbase, and there was so much potential for Part 2 to build upon that success. Instead, it left many fans, including myself, feeling unsatisfied and longing for more. It's weird to think that the creators might have believed that this ending would make the series a hit. It seemed as if they wanted to wrap up the story hastily, leaving us with numerous unresolved questions.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the ending was the lack of a proper explanation. We were abruptly told, 'All the monsters are gone now. Everything is fine again,' without any context or closure. It left us hanging, wondering about the fate of the (left alive) characters.. It's as if a critical part of the story was missing, and we were left to fill in the gaps ourselves.

(Let’s also not forget how they just forgot about one of the Sargent characters. Where was he?)

!Spoiler!

And the most frustrating aspect of the ending was the abrupt and seemingly unnecessary loss of nearly all the characters. It happened so fast that it left me in shock and disbelief. These characters, whom I had grown attached to throughout the series, deserved better. It felt like their deaths were rushed and lacked the emotional depth and significance they deserved.

The sudden and widespread character deaths further contributed to the sense that the creators were trying to tie up loose ends quickly, without giving proper consideration to the impact it would have on the story and the viewers. It was a disheartening turn of events that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

!Spoiler end!

In the end, I can't help but feel disappointed, and it seems I'm not alone in this Statement. The series had so much potential, and it's disheartening to see it end this way. I've even found myself speculating that perhaps it was all a dream of that one character, desperately trying to make sense of the unresolved plot threads.

Ultimately, I wish the creators had taken more time and care to create a more satisfying and meaningful ending, one that would have done justice to the fantastic characters and story they had built over the course of the series. A part 3 could solve it but so far it doesn’t seem like we’ll get one.

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Cozy

I have enjoyed a lot watching this drama even though some of the length episodes is really long. The last episode had 100 minutes!

First of all: the story. It is the same as in the other Reply dramas: students from various parts of South Korea join in a boarding house and the viewer also tries to figure who the female lead's husband is gonna be. Even though I think the drama was a bit dragged, the acting and the embarrassing situations made everything so entertaining! The chemistry between Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa is unmatched! I was so surprised by Baro's acting. The ending made total sense.

The OST was so good! Sung Si Kyung's cover of the Seo Tai Ji's song was my favourite. I think it's the first time I see so many actors taking part in the OST!

My rewatch value isn't that big because some of the episodes were quite long but very funny! I still recommend it.

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Is there A REASON not TO WATCH IT????

First of all, talking about the story of this drama, it is nothing special, you might have already come across this kind of story trope - but what makes it so special is - we all know it is Lin Pei Yu's novel based drama. Her writings may not be unique(my opinion....no offense LOL) but the way she portrays the story makes it more interesting and gives you a feeling that this is the first time that you have come across something like this. Aslo, the character development.......oh! tell me about it......I can talk about it the whole day hahahaha. Each and every character is given its own importance. She defines every character to be so adorable.

So yeah, If you like Lin Pei Yu's previous works(We Best Love 1 & 2, My Tooth Your Love, Few of HIStory series) then have no second thoughts, watch it you will definitely love it!!!

Now, coming to the acting. I feel that the actors have done a good job but I felt like they can do even better. According to me, the actor who portrayed Ai Di's character slayed it!!! He stood out the most because his character is the most mature character I have come across even though he was just 18. OMG!! he understands when to make a move and when to not....so mature.

Also, at one point of time I thought the story is not progressing at all but at another point of time I felt that the story is just going fast paced. Yeah! The stability and the balance in the flow of the episodes is not well maintained(acc to me). If you are binge watching it you might not feel this way tho. But I have no complaints nevertheless.

I felt that the leads(main leads and the second leads) have great chemistry and the team tried their best to portray it. But my only concern is that the chemistry could have much more better. Still a big kudos to the team and actors for giving us this enjoyable show.

You can just understand the gist of the story if you watch the trailer. Maybe not the entire story but you can know the genre and the elements like what you can expect from this drama. Even if you think few elements are not your type like the Memory Loss stuff or the Time Skip stuff, I still suggest you watch this drama because this drama is more that what you think it is...So Give it a shot!!

PS - Have no Second Thoughts. It is worth your time. Go WATCH It!!!!

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