Joy of Life (2019)

Both are high quality dramas with a decent mix between seriousness and comedy. Joy of life, i would say has better plot and is focused more on strategy / mind games whilst Journey to love has a better "slow" yet charming romance. Romance in Joy of life barely exist. Still both shows have the capacity to keep you hooked from start to end. The most important, both shows develop characters really well ( the ML and FL develpment in Journey to Love is very well done, even the " princess' " shows growth). What i like the most is that the "typical" annoying character you see in every historical show (typically a princess or some stupid MC) arent present in these shows. Both leads in journey to love are smart, and Fan Xian in JOL is charming indeed. Try one, if you saw the other :)

The scriptwriter for Joy of Life also created and partially wrote Young Blood. The humour and amount of plot twists are rather similar, both dramas also have minor supporting characters that are so adorable that end up being popular with the audience.

Both shows have smart leads scheming to rule or control the country, or just survive. They are also both costume dramas with a lot of attention paid to the politics of life in the royal court. Everyone has a plan and the male lead is always inevitably pulled into the intrigue.

--Same transmission, time travel troupe.
--Both leads transmigrate, are very intelligent, have family feud, business opportunities etc.
--JoL world is set in ancient china whereas RR has modern settings.
--Both shows have good pacing, mystery and thriller elements.
--Both shows has slight and slow romance.
--JoL is more focused on military mind games while as RR more focuses on business aspects.

- Historic dramas with smart leads;
- Smart supporting characters;
- Zhang Hao Wei is in both of them

Same wuxia genre and a nicely thought-out plot progression where the resolution of one mystery/arc opens up the next mystery/problem to be solved arc. Suspense keeps driving the plot forward, but neither drama is overly intense.
Both have playful but intelligent male leads.
Romance is sweet but understated.
Be warned, JOL only resolves partially as a Season 2 was planned; LOF has a nice satisfying ending.

- intelligently, well written mystery dramas (although I find the Joy of Life dialogue more humorous)
- each character lives and dies with purpose and the story is ended neatly
- involving the jianghu underworld
- main character does not desire power, is upright and loyal to his comrades, displays excellent character growth throughout the drama

It involves a male protagonist who is a modern person and transmigrates to ancient China. There is a mix of genres such as wuxia and comedy. Both are produced by Xinli productions (New Classics Media).

Must watch part 1 !!! :) aka chapter 1 also refers to as part 1 ... Politics, Historical fiction, and a sprinkle of romance. It is not something to miss out on. You will love it!!!!

• Main character who is from modern times is taken to dynastic era and practices medicine
• Less on romance, more on politics and action
• with supernatural powers and supernatural events
• modern ideas references
• relationship between king and ML
Difference being
• one being time travel and other being *spoiler* not time travel

Though very different in some aspects, some themes and the protagonists' characters felt very similar to me.

- both stories highly revolve around royal politics
- both stories' romance is linked with the royal families
- both protagonists come from outside the palace but come to play a huge part in it
- both protagonists are smart, strategical thinkers and often way ahead on what steps others take
- both stories shed light on thoughts about their origins, be it their ethnicity or family, and what that means to them

Both have Wuxia elements, a lot of action, and humor.

BoY is more of a fast watch and youth-centric. JoL is much more grown-up, cerebral, and with complex characters and plot twists. Though JoL is less accessible, as so much of the show's hilarity are not fully captured in translation.

If you like adventures and unconventional historical dramas mixed with lots of humour, Joy of Life does it on a more polished scale with a much larger budget. Both have a super strong, talented lead.

Both dramas are played by Xiao Zhan. Although Xiao Zhan was not a chief actor in Joy of Life, I was very impressed by him. I like Xiao Zhan's various roles very much. I hope he can try other different types of roles. I will always support him!!!

these two dramas have similarities, in terms of story and character, watch it and you will understand