This review may contain spoilers
I didn't expect to like JOY so much more that I did. The plot is great, writing is good and acting is wonderful. Everything makes me laugh so much. I like how our MC has chemistry with everyone that he encountered, from his FL to the small side characters. The story is good that I keep wanting more, after the end of each episode. I like how witty, funny, and intelligent the MC is. This drama has humor, action, and a very good plot that is not a bore. I would watch it again and highly recommend to anyone if you're looking for something that is humorous, action, and a witty and intelligent MC. Was this review helpful to you?
Fantastic Intrigues and Plots Keeps this Story Going
Loved the ingenuity of this storyline - sci-fi historical drama, which I couldn't figure out how it would work. But the premise of going back into a different time knowing what you know now, is definitely worth exploring. I initially thought this was a typical romance story, but it definitely isn't! The storylines of almost all the characters all come into play and are intertwined with each other's - royals versus commoners, politics, care of lives of all people no matter the station, loyalty, revenge, and kung fu masters are just some of the themes throughout the series.What I loved about the series is that it didn't matter whether they were male or female - most characters were depicted as intelligent, curious, strong, loyal, and smart. Some of the comedic moments were a little cheesy, but overall helped to ease some of the seriousness of the storylines. Definitely a season 2 is warranted because it can't possibly end like that.
Definitely a strong cast of Zhang Ruo Yun, Chen Dao Ming, Wu Gang, and even Li Qin - I actually prefer her character here than Ma Zhai Xing from the Wolf. Great supporting cast too - I can see why Xin Zhi Lei was cast in The Wolf as well with her portrayal of Hai Tang Duoduo. Liu Duan Duan as the Second Prince, Li Xiao Ran as the Royal Princess, and Calvin Yu as Shen Zhong were fantastic in their roles. Xiao Zhan's role as Yan Bing Yun while small was definitely the opposite of his Wei Wuxian role in the Untamed. Much more like Lan Zhan's - definitely great to see the variety in his roles.
Overall, great storyline and different plots with the political intrigue. Would definitely recommend and thank goodness, a season 2 is happening!!!
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Probably the best historical Drama
Drama successfully made palace politics and action happening. In this drama, the members of the palace play important roles in scheming and the protagonists has to successfully weave through all of it while exploring the outside world. There are a lot of surprises hidden in the drama and made for good twists. I would highly recommend.Good Plot line to follow , fast pacing, every character does stuff, every dialogue serves a purpose, ML is very good at his role
FL Li Qin kind of plays a back role and there is not too much romance - Just enough like some sprinkles on a cake
Overall, my favorite drama
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Incredibly Fast Paced Court Politic Drama
This must have been one of the most interesting series out there, beautifully written and done!I dont really like court politics/conspiracy stories, because they tend to be boring and draggy. I am more of action-wuxia fan, but this one drama is somewhat different that managed to keep me glued to the screen. The plots are engaging and move fast with no boring, pointless dialogues. each of the characters are interestingly captivating, I mean in the novel Wang Qinian and Gao Da were actually serious characters and yet on screen they changed it to be humourous, which is really great! I love they made this series to be comedic! I didnt really like Haitang in the novel, but on screen, gosh, both of them Haitang and Fan Xian really hit it off like a true couple! I thought onscreen Haitang suits him more than Wan'er! Xin ZhiLei's Haitang was superbly done, I've loved her from Candle in the Tomb, and here she really didnt disappoint. Uncle Wuzhu is so damn cute and interesting and I think he's the most handsome actor in the cast, I love him!
in Ep 1, I was particularly disappointed at the male lead because his looks doesnt really match the novel's fan xian (he's supposed to be exceptionally handsome, and the prettiest even when compared to the rest of the female characters, Wan-er and Haitang actually felt insecure because he is prettier than them haha. in my head I was thinking of Wang Yi Bo or Deng Lun or the sorts, so was disappointed to see Zhang Ruoyun's 'normal nice' looks). However ZhangRuoYun makes up to it by his superb acting which truly matches the novel's Fan Xian character. His looks kind of grows into you, and his smile is particularly adorable. I think he's a perfect Fan Xian even if his looks isnt the prettiest/most handsome compared to other casts. Oh-oh I love the young Fan Xian actor too! That kid is truly amazing, I was cracking up at his antics!
I love how the screenwriters’ adjustment of the novel plots that didnt really jeopardize the flow of the story. I'm happy that some characters in the novel didnt show up like Fan Xian's maidservant/childhood bosom friend which he later slept with (and later married her as concubine) although he's already married to Wan-er, gosh i really hate him for that, thank god the on-screen Fan Xian already sworn to love Wan-er only in his lifetime. Honestly the novel Fan Xian's soft spot for the ladies is truly getting on my nerves, it's really great that the onscreen Fan Xian didnt adopt this bad habit. I just finished the drama a few hours ago and realized that the only one Fan Xian killed in the series is Cheng Jushu. Onscreen Fan Xian is definitely more humane with strong self righteousness, compared to the novel Fan Xian who is ruthless and shameless - The novel Fan Xian killed for the first time at 12, he was the one who tortured Si Lili in the dungeon, and he was also the one who broke Xiao En's legs to prevent him from escaping. The cdrama changed all these and made him look so pure and innocent, which I have no problem with, of course!
I’m currently reading the novel and has came up to the 598th chapter, and the adjustment of the ending of this season 1 is something that didnt really happen in the novel, which kept me on the edge and made me reaaaaaally curious of where it would lead to. I hope the diversion from original novel wouldnt be too huge, because Yan Bingyun is one of the most important confidants of Fan Xian’s. I just cant bear if the adaption decided to make them as enemies instead ? Am planning to rewatch JoL after I finish reading the novel.
Can't wait for the Season 2 in 2022! and I hope it has more episodes than this one, 46 is just too dang short, I cant get enough of FanXian-Haitang duo hah!
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This review may contain spoilers
Are you tired of an incompetent king? Are you tired of dumb antagonists? Are you into martial arts? Are you tired of predictable plots? Are you into characters that are well developed? Are you into romance? Are you interested into historical-ish dramas? Well, welcome to Joy of Life! All of the characters have a deep history and it is interesting connecting the dots. The king is very unpredictable, yet he makes very good decisions. He is ruthless. He is the mastermind. As for the main character, he is pretty smart. If you liked how the main character in Nirvana in Fire was smart, then you will definitely like Fan Xian. As for the story, there are many plots twists to keep the audience busy. Hope this was helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Fan Xian is one of my favorite fictional characters in a drama. He is smart and funny. compassionate and calculating and so so interesting in that you never feel embarrassed in the embarrassing things that he does. This is like a crime drama and he is the detective of his own life.
the Emperor is great, the actor is even better. Chen Pingping is a sneaky old man, I have a feeling he holds all the cards.
I love the Fan family they fit together in that they are a diverse gang of personalities and brilliant in their own ways. And I think Fan Ruoruo is the best female character in this series. she has amazing chemistry with Fan Xian.
I like all the characters in the drama, they all serve a purpose.
the only part they didn't do so well is the chemistry between Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er, and I think many of you would agree with me.
and damn that second prince is really something.
and lately, this series has 2 more seasons which is all 2 years apart which is accessive and I think it'll a lot of fans because of it.
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This review may contain spoilers
I read lot of good review so gave it a tryI loved the FX character and acting by the actor is good but I felt he couldn’t handle the v emotional scene. Like hurt anger or tears
Chemistry between the main lead is horrible there is no chemistry but FX had good chemistry with other two female characters
I feel the scene in North Qunan are big Dragging and made me bore
I didn’t understood when they just went there to exchange POW why they never did and why FX have to literally kidnap him?
If FX was ambassador from different country and he gets close with the emperor how come still common men challenged them to fight with them and why was he not given protection
Acting of every one is good specially all seniors
FX all adoptive father and his real father the emperor
M fav character is uncle WU
I will ofcourse watch second season
Yes one more some scenes had bad lighting hope they take care of that in the second season
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This Show Brought Me Joy!
Such a great show!!!!!!! This was an absolute blast to watch. It was well-paced and even though every episode was plot-heavy, it never felt bogged down by it. It was also very funny!! All the characters were important to the storyline and nothing felt wasted. I wished the FL was a stronger character w/her own purpose because I thought that she was the weakest link. However, I thought towards the latter part of the show she had more agency. I look forward to her character growth in season two. Speaking of which, hurry up and give us season two!!!Was this review helpful to you?
My review for joy of life
One of the best dramas ever. It got me hooked from the very first episode.
The young fan xian was hilarious.
As the story progress and it keeps introducing new characters and every character were interesting. I keep wanting to know more and more about them. There's so many things yet to unfold. You think you know them but you will be proven wrong the next episode. I'm really really looking forward to the next season. I don't know if I can pick a favourite character because I have so many.
And at every turn at you will find something unexpected. The story got 10x more interesting after he reach Beiqi. I really didn't want it to end. I don't know if I can call this drama a comedic suspense but I absolutely love the humour, conversations, and surprise in it.
Acting was top tier. The actors were all very natural. I didn't find anything cringy or force.
It is not romance heavy and it was in the background and I'm thankful for that because the only thing I didn't like about JOL was interaction between lin waner and fan xian. I have always liked Li qin but her character was the most boring one for me. I didn't hate the character it wasn't annoying or anything but it was forgetful. Fan xian had amazing chemistry with Haitang dou dou and Si lilli.
The osts weren't memorable either. I didn't find myself running back to listen to it 24*7 the moment I finished the series. It wasn't bad but just didn't like it much.
As for rewatching it, I don't know if I will ever rewatch it because it is the suspense and surprise factor that kept me hooked and now its over I don't think I will watch it again. But I really can't wait for the next season.
I would recommend this drama to everyone. Historical, futuristic, suspense , Sci fic, comedy, romance, action, plot and planning. It has a little of everything and I absolutely love it.
Now I am back to finding everything else bland and uninteresting because this was so so good.
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Fantastic Periodic Drama
Love this drama. So funny, witty and the rhythm is really good. It is not draggy. The part that I find most amazing is the number of casts they included in this drama. It must be really expensive to portray so many characters of the book. The production team didn't save money on this and I was so impressed. THey did the casting really well as well, none of the actors and actresses looked cheapskate (you wld find this in some low budget drama where they would cast really badly on the badguys)The story is so amazing as well, so much of intricacy moments all intertwined together, like a big jigsaw puzzle. I had to go to Youtube to search a few synopsis to understand the relationship between all the events. So glad that the scriptwriters managed to write the scenes well, or else, it would have been so difficult to understand.
I have only 1 complaint. They left us hanging on the last episode. It's really crappy to be watching a drama that paces so quickly and suddenly to be hit by a last episode that hang half way. I should have waited for S2 to come out before watching this.
I hope in the next season, they will feature Yuan Quan more prominently (the professor) I love her acting. She is that kind of actress that carries so much complexity on her. Definitely more than meet the eyes.
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Rewatch preparing for S2 EPIC Script!
One of my all-time favorite dramas. This is the best script ever!Everything is absolutely perfect except the lighting. There's a lot of olive tunes to the drama making the actors look not as pretty which is incredible because there are a ton of beautiful actors in here.
For those people that may not like this drama for whatever reason, may missed all the essence of Chinese language word play. There's so much comedy but all lost in translation. Even the names are clever. Sadly, I can only understand 80% of it. I so wish I can read the actual book but since I can't, the drama itself is perfect.
Some Fun Word plays:
Fan Jian - Fan Xian's Dad's name actually sounds like "being bitchy"
Chen Ping Ping - A very girly name for the master schemer
Nei Ku - Treasury sounds exactly like underwear
There are countless of these.
Unique on every level.
1. Political scheming isn't all that interesting to me but it's part of every costume drama you can't avoid. However, it is interesting here because all the characters are all multi-dimensional.
2. Characters. You can't find any weakness here. Well written characters along with perfect casting.
Mini Fan Xian - I could've used extra episode of him. He's so cute and expressive.
Fan Xian - Everybody loves Fan Xian. I am 100% biased here because the actor has been one of all-time favorites.
Wang Qi Nian - The side kick endless funny punch line delivery guy
Teng Zi Jing - The assassin in the beginning that formed such strong bromance
Fan Si Zhe - Did not know the actor is actually a standup comedian but I can see why
I literally loved almost every character big or small. Shows how brilliant the script writer is.
3. Level of literacy
There's a scene of Fan Xian reciting all the famous poems. (no I never got to that level in my Chinese) but it's amazing the actor reciting all those poems in one breath. People with high Chinese literacy will surely appreciate this.
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I started this drama because of Xiao Zhan, but he is in the last 8 episodes or so, and since the very first episode I didn't mind because I was immediately hooked. The little boy that played Fan Xian was so good and charming I was sad to see "older" Fan Xian... I wouldn't have minded to have at least 10 episodes with little Fan Xian.
But I didn't know this was just Season 1 and Season 2 has not even started filming yet till I was on Ep15 or so :( so I think people who starts this should keep that in mind.. the cliffhanger is O_O
While I liked the characterization of all characters, and I specially like Fan Xian, I didn't trust half of them. Or more than half of them. Is this one a bad guy or a good guy? It was like this for most of the drama, but even with that, I was enjoying it. The passive-aggressiveness is hilarious, from Fan Xian and the Princess Royal, to the Crown Prince and the 2nd Prince, to the stepmother and Fan Xian at the beginning of the drama.
I am not one that particularly enjoys too much romance, so this one has just the perfect amount of it. Not too much and besides, Wan'Er makes Fan Xian happy. And she isn't dumb nor a damsel in distress, except for the fact that she is sick. So I don't understand why people do not like her :( If this was a harem, I wouldn't have minded to see Fan Xian married to Wan'Er, Si Lili and Duo Duo... all these girls were good in a way or the other and very different from each other, and best of all, they all had chemistry with Fan Xian.
The acting was good, wigs and costumes were excellent; the plot is WOW, so there isn't a single dull moment in the entire 46 episodes. In fact, I even think it was a bit short because I wanted to see more of Uncle Wu Zhu, of Fan Xian's siblings (Ruo Ruo and Fan Si Zhe... so smart and caring one, while so funny and charming the other), of the Ninth Masters (I wanted more fight scenes tbh). The songs were so fitting, specially the OP song, while the ED song became easily one of my favorites... I listen to it regularly <3 with XZ beautiful voice.
If I had to complain, it would be that I didn't understand a few things... or it was extremely witty and too advanced for my poor brain, or some things got lost in translation...
Looking forward to see them all in Season 2! I love that little smile from Zhang Ruo Yun at the end XD
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