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The story overall is one of my favorites among all the dramas I´ve seen, but there are two things with I couldn´t handle: (1) Fu Yao runs into the damsel in distress trop more than I would have liked, (2) along the story there are some plot holes that affect my perception of the logic of the story, but nothing that can prevent you from enjoying the drama.
As for the acting, I came especially for Yang Mi, she´s great portraying Fu Yao from an innocent and naughty girl to a responsible woman, concerned about others´ lives, I took such a ride along her. I also got very surprised and satisfied with Ethan, he´s such a perfect male lead. The other actors are good too but I couldn´t get that much the secondary couple.
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This review may contain spoilers
I think that this drama was just 'okay' and I am unsure if anything could have been done to make it better because I think it was hindered by the style that the story was told in. However there were several things about the drama that were great. Below is a break down of how I rated the show. I give it a 7 but I felt more like a 6.5; I rounded up because I was worried about bias.Pros
1) The jewelry and hair ornamentation, especially the latter, were fantastic. I haven't watched a show where I really noticed this but there were some scenes where the crowns on the women were the stars.
2)The male lead was both sensitive and very comfortable sharing his affections, something in dramas that is typically reduced to 'the serious sort' (think of Ye Hua/Eternal Love) and it was written and acted very well. In addition to this, the relationship between the two leads was one of equals and exhibited true devotion, something that any person who enjoys 'true love' romances will appreciate.
3)There weren't true sub plots but rather 'arcs' and so the other lead characters had interesting stories, especially the arc about Prince Fierce (Veng Gao). I personally think that this was the best arc because his character exhibited a great deal of character growth and development.
4) The music was very different and sounded Western, and it was very good. I liked it a lot.
5) The cinematography was great--it had some interesting angles that reminded me of some of the unique shots in the King's Woman.
Cons
1) The purpose of the costumes, I think, was to help the show stand out from other shows of its kind however I thought that a lot of the costumes were not very memorable and/or had more of a 'theatre' feel. A lot of them reminded me of power rangers.
2)The acting wasn't exactly bad; I think the characters did a great job, but a lot of the acting, especially the acting of the two leads, felt like telenovela over acting in one extreme or the exact opposite, like they were not impacted or effected by events the way a normal human might be.
3)People die abruptly and suddenly, people who are heavily involved in the plot, and their deaths are sudden and no one seems to care that they are dead in spite of the relationship they shared. Its as if they are written out of existence. Other characters are introduced and are important to the plot, but we see so little of them that we as the viewer are given very little reason to care about what happens them.
4)The style in which the story unfolds is very much like watching a stage play. As I said before, its as if there are arcs, and each arc focuses on a set of people. Although they are the leads, the male and female lead and their relationship are randomly added to remind the viewers of their love but it is a lot more like a political drama unfolding. Arc 1 is the mountain and we have characters established, Arc 2 is the Water Kingdom, Arc 3 is the desert, Arc 4 is the Winter Kingdom Arc 5 is the plough nation Arc 6 is the Emperor, Arc 7 is the final act. It isn't like shows like Journey of Flower or the Flame's Daughter or Eternal Love that had a lot of things co-occurring the plot is INCREDIBLY linear.
5)The plot itself is, for the most part, consistent but incredibly predictable. Normally not a problem for me however the length of the shows combined with the telenovela-like emotions (i.e. over acting) made the show lose its momentum and often I just wanted to fast forward (I didn't) in order to move in. This combined with the frustrating linear plot means that the answers you want, such as anything relating to Fuyao's past, aren't really answered until MUCH later.
6) A lot of things in this show are never answered and left forever in the realm of plot advancement and/or these things genuinely make no sense (beyond the normal suspending of disbelief for a drama). For example, at one point near the end of the show, all the main characters suddenly show up to assist Fuyao and we are expected to believe that a hamster, whose origin has never really been explained
Ultimately the show is okay but I really don't know if it could be improved based on the style in which it is told. I would call it a political drama with a subplot of romance and a splash of fantasy because very little magic actually is used in the show. The ending isn't great, but I wanted the show to be over very badly--it would have benefited by being shorter. The devotion between the characters is great, but the show is VERY LONG and Yang Mi plays a character who often does things that make no sense. My favorite characters were the villain, the Prime Minister, and I liked the relationship that Prince Fierce eventually has because unlike the main characters, theres has growth and development (and i think the point is that the male leads are perfect and understand each other perfectly).
For base line comparison, the Flame's Daughter was, like this, a political drama with romance more as a subplot however the drama was very well written with everything shown having an explanation, motivations were understandable, and filler seems minimal. This show did not have that. And if you compare it to dramas like Eternal Love or Journey of Flower...this one does not hold up.
I think that you will like this show if you are a huge fan of the actors and can ignore these flaws or if you are in it just for the romance. If you desire the totality of the show to make sense or if you care about writing, then you may notice these flaws. The dialogue is okay, if over dramatic (again, it feels a lot like watching a stage play).
Give it a shot; I wish my review was more clear and apologize if it isn't. I am sure the actors tried their best I just think that for 66 episodes this is just too much time however I felt obligated to finish it because it would have felt like I wasted time if I didn't.
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that last episode!! goodness gracious!! that last episode proved that yang mi is a versatile actor! she's amazing and nobody could have played fuyao (and bai qian- i can never forget TMOPB ) better dan her! i had always thought that mark chao in his role as ye hua in ten miles of peach blossoms was the best chinese actor i had ever seen... but ethan juan blew me away!!!! and i really liked the character of zhangsun wu ji... that last episode showed how good of an actor he is!! the rest of the cast did a wonderful job too... i really liked the fighting scenes... especially the fight scenes between wu ji and fu yao... the chemistry between the two was too good! and the love they had is the kind of love i wish to have....
i wish they had been a little clear with the 5 spells that were placed on fuyao... that part was a bit confusing... wu ji's pet hamster was cute too.. episodes 50-60 was kinda boring...
but overall this is a beautiful drama that i highly recommend! 9/10
P.S vengo gao looks better with white hair!
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More? Ok.
Fuyao is a girl who you'll really like - she is amusing and she is strong, you feel like great things will happen to her and you will want to know what these things are going to be.
The series follows her journey as she discover more of herself and more of the world she lives in. The worldbuilding is not strong, but the character's life sure are. Since Legend of Fuyao begins with its strongest arc, the rest might seem a bit too slow - and that's because it really is.
What made me watch it till the end, I'm not going to lie on this one, was the actor Ethan Juan. I'm embaressed to say this, but it's being a LONG time that I had a crush on actor. I think its impossible to not like him. He is gorgeous, he is a great actor and his character - Wuji - is actually the most interesting on this whole show because he seems to be the one who always has a plan.
The drama started presenting Fuyao as our great heroine - and at the beginning she was - but for some reason she stops being one. She is still a great character, but Wuji literally stole the show.
What I don't like about chinese dramas is when things go south for a character they REALLY go south, there is not good moment between. But Legend of Fuyao does a great thing - Fuyao and Wuji are always together to plan how to go foward. Their open comunication made things really refreshing for the genre, and made the drama easier to watch. (There is also the great plus that is Ethan Juan smile)
A strong characteristic of this drama is its great soundtrack. I think I never skipped the opening, for example. The plot should be better paced, and there is an arc that is specially boring ( the Venga Gao one - poor actor is always chosen as the main character of the worst arcs possible ). Actually, you can skip it! Things thankfully get better after that.
When I first watched Legend of Fuyao I was completely hooked on its first half - I couldnt stop talking about it, and I dont even like this genre very much. So my rec is that you should watch its first half if you like fantasy, journey of life, emotional storytale, and pinning. Also Ethan Juan!
In sum: the first half is completely worth, it lags a lot at the middle and you can skip it, but the last 10 chapters were great. Ethan Juan is a god.
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Story-
The story is really huge in this drama, it's not a story that focuses on just one or two viewpoints, there are actually 5 main subplots taking place that make up the main story. They are: Zongyue's mission to avenge his family, Zhan Beiye's journey to the truth, Wuji's family conspiracy, Fuyao's true identity, and finally the developing relationship between Fuyao and Wuji. Given a story with so many subplots, it's hard to focus stay organized, which is why I'm very impressed with the first half of the drama, everything was very organized and character development played a huge role during the character interactions. I was very impressed with the developing relationship between Fuyao and Wuji. Overall, up to end of the first half, where the ending song changed, the story is worth a 10. However, the second half is worth a 7 since there were way too many problems. During the first half, there was gradual development so important events made sense to the audience when they occurred. The second half was way too rushed and a lot of excitement from the first half of the drama dissipated when even the audience could barely understand what's going on, which is a problem. However, it is still entertaining, since there's a lot of thrills and action scenes to make up for the decline in storytelling. I personally think the decline was due to the focus on several subplots and the lack of remaining time for finishing all of them.
Characters-
The characters were well rounded and had a good reason for being there. Character development played an important role in the early stages so that their future decisions made sense to the audience. The main downside is when new characters were introduced extremely late into the story, making them very confusing for the audience to understand. This doesn't detract a lot since there are very minor instances of this, most characters were introduced early on.
Music-
The original soundtrack is incredible for this show. I personally loved the ending song along with the songs played during important moments in the story. If you understand Chinese, each of the songs have a very strong relationship with the events in the story.
Rewatch Value-
I think it's worth watching again since there were a lot of very exciting moments throughout the story, there are many important morals conveyed by the story from the start to the finish, and they were expressed through the experiences of the individual characters.
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The reason why I only gave the music a 5/10 is because I didn't like it, normally I would just look up that soundtrack on YouTube and let it play, but I didn't do it this time. There was also not a lot of music so yeah.
Juan Ethan is so gorgeous, you'll love him, you can litterally feel what he feels for her with 1 look.
The reason why I gave the rewatch value a 6/10 is, because it has a lot of episodes, maybe I'll watch it again in the future.
There was one line I'll never forget of this drama and this was "it's because you planted a seed in my heart. It has sprouted. It has grown. It has grown to be a part of me. Without this seeding of love, I would've lost all hope" this is soo well said ! I WAS CRYING YALL !!
If you haven't watched this drama you should just watch it, what are you waiting for? + it has a good ending, which you wouldn't expect of a historical drama.
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Main Actor/s really did a good job in portraying their role. Seeing how they connect with each other and you will see that they will bring out their emotion to caputre the audience. Antagonist/s push to their limit of becoming a villain.
I haven't gitteb iver yet after finishing the Drama Series. I still repeatedly watch the episodes that I like.
I just hope that they could have extended the series a little bit more. Just to see the whole impact for all the characters.
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Story
This drama starts with strong and satisfying pace. Moreover, it has a promising premise to begin with. From the first episode until the first half of this drama, the pace is consistent and good to watch. Unfortunately, the pace in the second half get messed by draggy and unnecessary details. Inconsistency begin in the second half in which there are several unnecessary scenes. The ending of this drama doesn't satisfy me. I thought that since the ending is the conclusion of the whole drama, the ending should have been better than the current ending. Moreover, it should be ended cautiously, meticulously as well as beautifully. Unfortunately, the ending feels a rush to me and it leaves a bad taste to me
Acting
Yang Mi - She's a good actress although she become stiff at several points. Her acting is acceptable tho
Ethan Ruan - He excels his job. His character is well potrayed and honestly, he is a great actor.
Other casts - I give a respect to the cast who play the merciless prime minister. He's the best support cast to me. Other casts has done a great job too
Music
I love the opening song :D
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Around episodes 42-52, suddenly, the side character Ya Lan Zhu started having extra screen time which felt unnatural and made me feel revolted. She chided Zong Yue for not being able to save Zhan Bei Ye yet she has a way to save him which she does not mention or even uses immediately. She waits until everyone is in search of the She Kun Ling and she uses her powers silently to save Zhan Bei Ye, thus losing her eyesight and then leaving. It was nice all along to know that Zhan Bei Ye loves Fuyao, as their story together was touching and warm. As Ya Lan Zhu's character grew increasingly annoying, I could not resist the urge to Google what happens in episode 52, leading me to find out that Ya Lan Zhu and Zhan Bei Ye share a kiss, disgusting me to the core. Why this sudden change in feelings? Even if Ya Lan Zhu has been there for Zhan Bei Ye all this while, Fuyao has been there for him too and has certainly made wiser and better decisions than Ya Lan Zhu, a mindless follower and bratty princess. I am already at episode 52, about to reach the end where I finally find out what will happen to the five kingdoms and the true identity of Fuyao, and what will happen to her and Wu Ji at this late juncture. Yet, I have given up as I do not want to see Ya Lan Zhu and Zhan Bei Ye together. It sickens me that the director decided to mess this perfectly good drama up by forcefully pairing the 2 up when Ya Lan Zhu's character started out to be respectable and is now nothing but an annoying brat that does what she thinks is good but is all wholly unnecessary. I hope to find people who have similar thoughts as I find it impossible to finish the drama which I've spent so much time on.
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This review may contain spoilers
Don't know why people think it's a wow series.Didn't really touched me. The ending was funny for me they both died but live on again as what ? Deities? Just didn't clicked on me.
And I'm kinda done with yangmi acting. It's always the same . She has a robotic face o.O
I hope she doesn't take more series and does a movie. She's already a mom and still acting in young girly series while she's at her age .kinda weird to see too .
The main lead is also so so, i don't know why but this is a kind of I will give u the lead because of the age and the younger actors won't be doing this with yangmi.
I was kind of disappointed when it was dragged for so long. And the first episode was like for me ok it's good but then .... It went down hill for me . Even for my husband. He said it's not nice to watch and is cliche like other c drama's.
I'm watching a new series now and it's called the legends and we are both hooked on it . Good beginning and the story line is not like fuyao it's always the same . Anyway I don't wanna crack up the series. Just watch it and maybe you will like it or not .
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Masterpiece
I’ve watched Legend of Fuyao for the second time after 3 years and loved it as much as the 1st time. You can expect amazing scenery, script, acting and OST. The perfect mix for one of best Chinese production. It’s not for nothing that this drama became a classic. I removed one point for the last 10 episodes though, where the ice became slower and the side stories drag a bit the main plot. But... but it does more envergure to secondary characters. If you haven’t watched it yet ... don’t miss out on this masterpiece!Was this review helpful to you?
