This review may contain spoilers
finally finished
I have to stop watching unfinished drama... huhuhu....After I've watch snow sword stride (SSS) I decided to watch this. I have to say this drama have the same vibe with SSS, or should I say SSS have the same vibe with this one. But while SSS have no cliffhanger when they close the curtain, this was like Princess Agent have a frustrated cliffhanger that makes me want to punch the writer in the face. Yes I know they have the 2nd season on the road, but never I've expected they have the same open ending like princess agent.
Don't know to be cry or excited waiting for the season 2. Because I really don't know will Xiao Zhan ever come back to this drama due to his pack schedule.... While his character rather quite important here, and if they change the actor I don't know what my reaction will be.
So yeah I'll gonna put this drama on hold until the second season aired & I will be able to watch that... & after that I'll gonna rise the score too....
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After hold it for 2 years, finally I'm able to finished this drama. Also still with thought in my mind, will I regret myself for watched this series before all of it aired...? Well... We'll see then...
Story about Fan Xian (FX), a man who 'reborn to ancient time'. He lives in a rural town as the illegitimate son of the Minister of Finance, raised by his grandmother. FX lived free life, guarded by a blind martial arts expert, Wu Zhu (WX), his mother's bodyguard. One time, there's a master of art of poison, Fei Jie (FJ), who come to the town to teach FX the art of medicine & poison. With that FX learn the art of poison from FJ & martial arts from WX.
After an assassination attempt, he decides to venture into the capital to find out more about his mysterious mother and why anyone would want to kill him, as he perceives himself to be an unimportant person. In the capital, he accidentally meets Lin Wan Er (WR), the sickly illegitimate daughter of Princess Royal, and falls in love with her. Unbeknownst to him, she is the woman the emperor chose for him to marry so that he would be the new overseer of the Royal Treasury, an institute Fan Xian's mother established in the palace and currently handled by Princess Royal.
In the capital, however, he gets entangled in the intrigues of the Emperor and the two Princes, as well as the Overwatch Department, leading to him questioning his whole identity and inducing him to find his true life goals, abandoning his original intention to just "enjoy life". So, how his journey will go from here...?
That's basically what this drama about, this time MDL wrote quite accurate about it. Haha... Now let's talk what I like and don't like...
What I like:
+ The interesting character. You can say everyone in here, from FX, WR, Emperor, Chen Ping Ping (CPP) till Wang Qi Nian all interesting in their own way.... Everyone seem to have layer of character / face that will reveal in the perfect timing...
+ One of the greatest 'chess' politic in drama land. Oh... When you hear what CPP & emperor actually planning / cooking under the table, in the few last ep... You will either be amazed by them or you will shake your head, wondering how they have the heart to do so to FX.
+ Watching drama from 5 years ago bring some familiar face that unfamous back then, but now they're someone who are the lead in the drama, like Song Yi as Fan Ruo Ruo. Oh when I watched this 2 years ago, I don't remember nor know her, but now at least I know who she is. And that's make the drama more interesting to watch...
What I don't like:
- The series divided into 3 parts & we have to wait it so damn long for the next series.
- Everyone sometimes so damn stupid, they really willing to do anything in the name of their country... That's kinda pissed me off...
Overall I really think this one of unique drama. But the 3 parts really pissed me off. So yeah, I still need to lower the score... And in the end I still quite excited to watch the next part...
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A good drama with superb acting and characters except for the ML.
My review is more of my rant on the ML who ruins this great drama. I dropped this the first time because I couldn't stand the ML's character. It took me a while to restart it but I persevered this time to finish this one. First of all the ML isn't smart. That would be the last thing I would use to describe him. He had the fortune of being born with knowledge unfamiliar and unknown to the other characters in this drama so I would describe him more as lucky than some once in a century talent. The Zhuge Liang of his era. The drama really tries to portray him as this all knowing persona who has come to enlighten the backward feudalist people yet most of the time he just come off as gullible, arrogant and superficial. The entire first 10 episode is wasted on finding Fried Chicken Girl who ML wants to marry. He literally turned the capital upside down and implicated people so he could break off engagement with someone the emperor picked so he could marry the very beautiful maid wearing expensive gown and jewelry AKA Fried Chicken Girl . *Spoiler alert* Well not really a spoiler. It turns out very beautiful girl wearing expensive gown and jewelry was not a maid but a princess, well duhhh! and was actually his betrothed, even more duhhh! Even a half wit would know that.Was this review helpful to you?
masterpiece
Finally, Nirvana in Fire has a contender to stand at the top of the costume political drama haha.story: very epic, all connected, fun, light, no plot holes
Music: I love it. I always watch Opening OST over and over again, even though at first I heard it was normal. Then the cowboy backsound is so cute haha.
Acting: Zhang Ruo Yun is the core of the success of this drama, his character is very strong, maybe at first we are not sure why he is the main actor, but as the episode progresses, he is very suitable.
Rewatch: Yes, it's a light and funny drama. Don't get bored if you repeat it.
highly recommend this drama.
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Joy of Life is now my whole personality
It's not like this show needs anymore reviews talking about how good it is, but Joy of Life has completely taken over my brain and I have THOUGHTS.First of all, this doesn’t pertain to anything, but I’ve been waiting to watch this drama for over a year because my sister watched it, loved it, and told me there was a huge cliffhanger at the end. So I didn’t want to watch it until we had some idea of when the second season would be out. So I waited…and waited…and then heard rumors about filming and then about possible release dates. Until last week I saw it finally confirmed that the second season would come out in a little over ONE WEEK. I despaired thinking there was no way I could watch 46 episodes in a little over a week while having a job and you know, being an adult. Boy was I wrong. It’s exactly a week later and I’m done.
Not only is this a testament to my lack of social life but it’s also a testament to how excellent Joy of Life is. The plot grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for the entirety of the show. I tend to skip scenes in most cdramas, and usually I’m not missing much, but whenever I tried to skip something in this show, I realized that I’d just skipped something important and had to rewind. That’s the whole show; you need to be paying attention or you’ll miss something.
Plot aside, this drama could’ve fallen on its face if it didn’t have the actors that it did. All of the older actors are really excellent, but it’s Zhang Ruo Yun who carries this whole thing on his back. Without him, I don’t think the show would work. For the audience to root for a character like Fan Xian the actor has to be charismatic and engaging and not smug or arrogant, and Zhang Ruo Yun pulls it off perfectly. He’s acting circles around some of the younger actors in here (no disrespect to any of them).
Yeah, so while I’m sad that I didn’t watch this masterpiece sooner, I’m also happy with my choice to wait until the new season was about to drop. That way I didn’t have to wait in anticipation for years for the payoff to the cliffhanger.
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This review may contain spoilers
Let me start by tipping my hat off to the writer because what a great story and I wasn't even surprised that we will have season 2 because this was just amazing!!!The story from ep 1 had me fascinated not to mention how handsome Fan Xian is! It was my first time seeing him in a drama and I was not disappointed he is a great actor.
I feel that there is a lot to be said abt the mystery of his mom and how she come to be such a great women and end up with the king no less! I did not see that one coming Fan Xian was a prince!!!
The writer kept us on edge most episodes and although I'm usually a hopeless romantic I for once found myself not concerned about whether his romantic relationship would grow or not, I wanted more on the politics and the suspense. I got goose bumps every tym a secret was revealed or a plot was discovered like wow I didn't see that coming.
All the actors did a great job, I mean that king and the overnight watch, like masterminds. Those guys must be good in chess cause their minds are just amazing.
I have rewatched this 3 times now and I'm still amazed at some of the plots I missed the first time. DEFINITELY A MUST WATCH!!!!!
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WATCH IT PLEASE !!!
After The Untamed I barely liked any other historical drama, as it never lived up to my expectations but this one was a Masterpiece. If you're looking for wuxia, this one for you.Plot and story - Honestly, very well written and crafted plot. It was amazing, there were twists and turns at every point of the story. You would never know who is good and evil. You get surprised at each and every episode. The cliffhangers are mindblowing, I loved it.
Characters and acting - Hats off to writers for writing characters with good development as the plot progressed. Like there are many characters but each one of them will be remembered by you. You get attached to them, But you never know who turns out to be what. Xiao Zhan comes later but he blew my mind with his acting and omg the ending twist, he nailed it. Each and every actor were placed perfectly for their role. I loved the lead, mostly the whole cast impressed me a lot. The lead was adorable not too stiff but witty and funny also enjoyable, He carried the whole drama in his hands.
Pace and Other: Fast-paced but maintained its story. Not lengthy conversation neither too much of backstory. It's like a mystery box that is to open gradually. The romance was the cutest part I loved the lead conversation, Like no shit love triangle and all. I was happy how they trusted and supported each other. It has modern-day essence in it too, so was interesting to watch from that aspect.
I am glad I watched it, it was worth each minute. This is not ending but beginning. It has a second season. More mysteries to be revealed, unanswered questions, characters turning point, Problems to be solved. It's a long journey to finally decide who's gonna win the game. I'm excited a lot. It would've been good if they made Legend of fei like this, instead it became a mess. This is what a wuxia drama is. I knew Xiao Zhan would not disappoint me (I loved wolf too). Anyway, let's be patient in this waiting game.
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Unlike most people, I did not start the drama because of Xiao Zhan (though I do love him) but damn this show is great. Each character had their motives and weren't shallow, the acting was good and so was the story! I just finished this but want to rewatch it already.
If anyone reading this is wondering if this show is worthwhile, i'd say give it a go. It's honestly one of the only two cdramas for which i did not take a break in between (the other one is 'go ahead'). Usually it gets difficult for me to keep my attention on cdramas since they are sooooo long but i wish this one was longer :(
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ONE OF THE BEST CDRAMAS EVER!!!
I watched this drama in 2020 when I was still new to cdramas cause I heard about it and for me to hear about a drama that means that it really had to make an impact. I started this drama without knowing about the plot or actors and I kid you not I was hooked from the 1st ep??.The child actor nailed his role, and every other cast member too, the drama was so intriguing and made me so curious to know what happened next. The plot, the acting, the fight scenes, the emotions were all ?? . I have to say that Zhang RuoYun is Fan Xian and Fan Xian is him. I couldn't have thought of anyone who could bring this character to life like he has.
I would have written a review long ago but bcs this drama ended in a cliffhanger and they made me wait for 4 yrs for S2 I decided not to write it but with S2 coming out I can finally write this long overdue review??
THIS DRAMA IS TRULY A MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!
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Must watch!
My favourite c-drama by far. About to watch it for the third time. So looking forward to the next seasons, especially after having just finished reading the novel.The script for season 1 of the drama is a bit different from the original novel but they did a great job with it and i am very much looking forward to seeing how it develops over the next 2 seasons.
Casting for season 1 is amazing, all actors did a great job, especially the actors playing Fan Xian, Wu Zhu ( Tong Meng Shi as Wu Zhu is my favourite character ever), Wang Qinian, Chen Ping Ping and the Emperor.
Zhang Ruo Yun and Li Qin have great chemistry and they portray the characters ( Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er) very well.
Would be great if they would cast Ma Tianyu as Thirteenth Wang in the next seasons. I thought of him when reading the novel and i think he would be perfect for the part.
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Feels like an Anime showing
I'm kind of torn on how I feel about this one.I'll spoil one sentence that was said in the show to summarize how I feel about it, and it was said by the Emperor... and he said the ML's life so far has been too easy thus far.
This is how I feel about the series overall. That one sentence can kind of summarize it too well. I felt kind of unimpressed by it since it did feel like our super smart ML just happens to know everything and have an answer to everything, guided or not... my one line summary would be: it feels like I'm watching a classic mainstream anime but in real life acted version.
Likes:
- Acting was good
- Enough interesting scenes to keep me interested, like parts making you wonder what'll happen next
- Visually not bad, but expected from a modern day series
Dislikes:
- I didn't really enjoy the theme of a return to a point back in time at the start, but I guess overall it fit into the story alright.
- Everything is way too easy for the ML and even in any points of danger or what not... he simply outspeaks the other.
- The music was not to my taste. They tried to bring music that you'd see in more "current day" type of dramas in my opinion into it and the humor that went along just wasn't to my taste either... it felt forced... like they were making some really "witty or funny" joke, but it really felt like a okay... cmon... to me. I guess I personally just prefer a more to the point and follows a main storyline more so rather than slice of life interactions.
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*MUST WATCH*
This is a must watch drama, I've been hooked to it from the very first episode. After years I finally stumbled upon something fresh, humorous, witty, and with a good story line.PLOT :
The plot of it is very amazingly done. The screenwriter and director did the best job. I loved every bit of the storyline. I don't see any plot holes. Kudos to the screenwriter for the amazing job. I like how there is a comedic touch to the serious problem, in that way the drama doesn't become boring and it doesn't make you depressed or sad. I love love how it is not predictable (some things may be predictable ) This drama may be draggy to some people but it's not the same case for me. All the things, All the plots are creatively staged and I love that.
ACTING/CAST :
Honestly i cannot imagine this drama without Zhang ruo Yun. He is the perfect and the best at doing his job. He may not be as popular as other but I fell in love with his acting. He was so natural so good. And His character omg fan xian will always have a spot in my heart. His humor, his intelligence, his comedic behaviour, his loyalty everything's perfect. And all the other cast did a very good job. I got to say this that The acting aspect of drama is very huge. I especially loved the acting of second prince, the tyrannical emperor, chen ping ping, fan Jian, Princess royale and the one and only wang qinian. And l love how every character has something deep inside to them, their little stories make it more interesting than it is already. I literally can't hate anyone in this drama.
MUSIC :
There is only two ost but both are very powerful. The xiao zhan one is very good but I specially love the Opening ost. I feel strength from it. I love how it makes you feel all the emotion of the drama. The singer did a good job.
REWATCH VALUE :
Usually don't like to rewatch dramas even if they are so good. But I would love to watch this drama for that amazing and witty story. And I would love to understand the plot more . Can't wait for season 2 and 3. I hope they come out real fast.
(Lastly, this is not the drama for romance genre lovers, it does have some little romance but it does not focus on it whole. I would suggest this drama to anyone who wants to spend their time on quality drama. To anyone who likes mystrey, power struggle, Intelligent characters, time travel and good acting- good plot.)
Have a good drama day :)
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