Best non cringy chinese historical drama!!!
So.. this is my first chinese drama and I am very pleasantly surprised that I don’t hate it... in fact i love it! Here are the pros and consPros:
Not boring (thank god) and funny! Their acting is good (unlike other c dramas). Reminds me of “scarlet heart” but a more light hearted version. Episodes not too many so doesn’t feel drawn out.
Cons:
Some inconsistencies with the plot, although this is a fantasy drama, I’m pretty sure there is still some “fantasy rule” to be followed. The ending feels forced. Although I said this drama is not that cringy, but I am used to watching kdramas so it is still a bit cringy for me (but definitely bearable)
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As someone who doesn't like ridiculous comedy, I was a little wary to start with this, but it quickly had me laughing without reserve. The chemistry between the comedic relief characters was hilarious and pleasant to watch. The writing jokes were a nice added touch and hit the nail on the head. The story follows a young screenwriter who falls into her own story and must learn how to navigate the world she created. A world that is stubbornly not following her plot line no matter how hard she tries to get it back on track. It focus's on the animosity between two city's who respectively put one gender over the other. In her writing, she attempted to even out the power balance between men and women by putting women in charge of the main city.
The story was so so, but what really brought it together was the chemistry between the characters, the humor, and obvious lessons throughout. There was little need for skipping (I skipped a little when characters were being unnecessarily mean for too long) and I thoroughly enjoyed the direction of the plot and the twists it brought. Hooray for character development, because this is chock full of it. The FL is a little ditsy at times, but I attributed it to her being thrown into a world where she knows she supposed to be killed off.
All in all, I would definitely recommend watching this if you're looking for a fun and romantic story, with a dash of seriousness for a propelled plot.
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This drama is so good!
This is my third time watching this drama, and it still amazes me every single time. I was feeling so down, not in the mood to watch anything, but somehow, this drama pulled me in just like the first time. It’s captivating, emotional, and absolutely worth your time. Please watch it—you won't regret it!Was this review helpful to you?
A lighthearted journey full of laughter and romance.
This drama was overall a comedy and a cute romance involving a love hate relationship.In my opinion, the drama was extremely fun watching because of the main leads. The acting, the relationship, the small humor in everything was really cute. This was my first time watching a Chinese Period drama and I enjoyed it a lot. I binged watched it and finished it in a day.
The storyline is also funny as it revolves around 2 cities which are matriarchal and patriarchal.
The chemistry between 2 leads were also wonderful and I even started to wonder if the main lead really liked the female lead in real life. This explains how professional the acting is. The way he played with his eyes were wonderful and mesmerizing.
I would definitely love to rewatch this drama and recommend it.
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This review may contain spoilers
✒Try 2 Find a Better Answer to the Question ♀️♂️ How Did You 2 Get Together? °Superior°
~All spoilers are at the bottom in a clearly marked section~TROTAR: A New Take on the Battle of the Sexes with Romance, Grace, & Ultimate Masculinity on Display. It is Superior.
This precious RomComDram is about a novice screenwriter whose script has been sold, but she was advised to work with the ML on objections /he/ has to her writing. She despises him from moment zero. He curtly states he doesn't understand his character's motivations. He can't see how the lead man/villain, Han Shuo (HShuo), would be attracted to ChuChu (Chu), the heroine. ‘Some people will never fall in love,’ he explains, ‘just like you and me,’ he tactlessly adds. ‘Have you ever been in a relationship /in love?’ she's asked, while she fumes. Oh, one more thing: "Your script seems chauvinistic." Grrrr.
She then scrambles over a feverish, junk-food-fueled weekend to make 'corrections,' even though she thinks /he/ is completely wrong. Exhausted, she passes out (with a tissue still up one nostril) and wakes up in the world of her script❕ It isn't a dream: She's really there, and she's >stuck< there.
YIKES!
She's a disposable character, 3rd Princess Xiaoqian (XQ), who has the restraint and thoughtfulness of Udai Hussein. More importantly, she's scripted to get whacked in ep3! Our FL decides to not risk finding out if dying in her vision equals real death. Her perfect villain, the black hearted HShuo, is to poison her on their wedding night ~ she'll tackle that 1st.
She's shocked to see that HShuo looks like that rude actor! He's excellent at playing up his heart condition and taking on other false personas - He can really act. Hmmm. While XQ manages to avoid being murdered on schedule, she'll have to watch that villain, while also trying to set him up with Chu, all while being married to him, so she can conclude the story and go home. HShuo is essential to her plot, so he must not die.
She penned HShuo, the ruthless prince of Xuanhu, w/ a bad heart that will kill him by age 20. Her plot calls for Chu & he to fall in love. In order to heal him, in the script, Chu will steal the Dragon Bone, Huayuan's most precious treasure. Ultimately, he betrays Chu to conquer Huayuan, and Chu kills HShuo in battle, taking the city back.
The filming is next level elegant. The sets are arrayed in perfect detail. The costumes〰 I was unable to avert my gaze from the resplendent rainbow of silks. The fluid dance of the fighting scenes along with exalted acrobatics & flowing robes augment the actors' movements w/ stunning results. Luxi Zhao, as the script writer/Xiaoqian/ XQ, is radiant & sparkling. Her smile lights the screen. Ding Yuxi, as HShuo, displays phenomenal skill. He just has the goods when it comes to acting. He can be ruthless or adoring. It's not his words that project how he feels about XQ, it's his body language, his focus, and his eyes. He has intensity.
The script reflects XQ's frustration over the disparity between the sexes. She created two adjacent cities: traditional Xuanhu is ruled by men, like most (all?) collective history on this planet. Women are to serve men and manage the home. In Huayuan, however, the situation is the exact opposite. Women do every important job and those worthless men manage the home and serve their wives. The actors were tasked to embody male-female roll-reversal as citizens of Huayuan City. They did an amazing job. Women are boorish and contemptuous of men. The male actors are mind blowing. Every muscle in their bodies mirrors a woman that is gentle, doting, & subservient. It's worth a rewatch just to focus on the performances.
The entire role reversal is handled deftly. XQ snickers in glee at first analysis. It's funny, until it starts to feel uncomfortable, and then horrific - in both cities. Very few citizens are truly pleased with their lives. Watching men being beaten and treated as pleasure slaves brings no respite to those who decry violence against women. Each city is extreme, and each one needs to be balanced out.
As things unfold, we see that HShuo, has the most attractive form of masculinity: a strong protector who loves his woman so much that, if necessary, he would give his life for her. He would never let family or politics get in the way of their relationship. He would definitely help with the housework, too. As it's the opposite of toxic masculinity, let's call it Ultimate Masculinity. This manliness is tempered by love. Together this couple is the equilibrium that the two cities lack.
HShuo falls for XQ episodes before she reciprocates. She's too busy with her plotline to notice his - or even her own - feelings. While he's trying to make their marriage work, she's trying to fix him up with her sister Chu, the heroine. At the same time, every opportunity he has to be alone with XQ is blocked by his kind, but idiot servant, Bai-ji. XQ hurts him repeatedly, and confuses him with her attentions to other men, particularly her long time fiance, Pei (her favorite character in the script). Pei hates the 3rd Princess and has delayed their marriage. This isn't the same princess, though…
She created the script with its flaws that manifest themselves in front of her. She devised the characters with their disabilities and deficiencies only to now work tirelessly trying to fix (undo) everything and everybody that she constructed. That's seriously entertaining. Her only advantage is that she knows the story, as well as each character's background and motivations. It shouldn't be too difficult, right? To her dismay, the changes she makes start to change the story and, thus, the characters' reactions. This alters their trajectories. She, herself, is tragically misunderstood at every turn. Xiaoqian is just trying to preserve her life, but the rewrites push the first Mahjong tile. Now they are all ting-ting-tinging to the floor, albeit in a beautiful pattern.
(Minor spoilers) 🔻Due to Xiaoqian's efforts, Chu does fall for HShuo, who reciprocates with dismissiveness, as he's in love with XQ. In addition, the revised 3rd Princess is solving problems and winning the hearts of the people. Their mother, the city owner, dotes over XQ, but always criticizes Chu, who freefalls into hurt-jealousy-hate-&-obsessive-devouring-rage. As Chu plummets, the plot gets out of control.🔻
XQ must get help! She runs to 3 story writers (who else?!). Every time she has a crisis they meet. She only gives them scant details, though. She grabs some fruit and presents the main characters: Miss Apple, Miss Orange, and Mr. Banana. (Yep, they went there). The fruit sets up a collection of silly but quite amusing metaphors. As her character is the Miss Orange, when offered one she exclaims: "PEEL the orange? That's bad luck!" Given that at that moment she's angry with HShuo, her next statement is: "Peel the banana." Not so much later, after saying: "I don't want to see you anymore," she slips on the banana peel and goes airbourne. Of course, he catches her in his eager arms.
She's charged to eliminate the threat of bandits along the trade route. The whole trip is delightful. At one point she gets caught up in some excitement and seems to have completely forgotten her mission. I won't spoil it. Expect to laugh. There's another hilarious scene where characters meet at a restaurant/playhouse to have a discussion, meaning an argument. There's a stretch where the characters say nothing. They just stare at each other as the actors in the play voice exactly what each is thinking. The scene is high flown comedy.
TROTAR is a commentary on men and women's relationships and the tragedy of the out-of-control battle of the sexes. It has thrust the sword through romance and made so many relationships miserable. It's a zero-sum contest. We've probably all seen men marry a beautiful woman and then crush her by jamming her into a mold. Wives can do that to husbands by belittling them, completely losing a sense of humor, or nagging. Kudos to the show creators for shining light on those insidious patterns, as perfectly illustrated by the first couple of Xuanhu. In the role reversal, however, women become every bit as bad as men. The author is saying that we don't have a gender problem, or even a racial problem. We have a human nature problem.
XQ gives the women of Xuanhu the answer: Work on yourself. It isn't that injustice shouldn't be called out, but too much focus on other people's ills can subtly allow us to feel superior, like we don't need to improve ourselves. That's self-deception. If we don't like being disrespected, sure, call it out, but the longterm answer is to show respect and work on ourselves. The more we improve, the more respect we garner. We will not complain ourselves to a better world.
This show is romance-porn for women because of the way HShuo loves XQ and how he looks at her. From what I've been told, what HShuo might want back is to be respected (don't we all), even looked up to a little, to be a tiny bit nurtured, and to be treasured above all. As proof, he asked her flat out if it was him or her mother more than once. At a (fake) funeral he makes a joke to her that if she doesn't keep her promise, he'll let her know 'who wears the pants in the family,' which is a top-10-worst of historical chauvinistic statements. Should XQ flip out? Remember, this is HShuo. As much as he adores her, do you think he'll call even 20% of the shots in the family? What's wrong with her quipping 'yes, dear,' even if she winks while she does it? It's a bit of a dance. Marriage is optional. If one is to marry, giving it the best chance to succeed by providing embedded core needs for each other is as much smart as much as it is love. Perhaps exercising patience while choosing happiness, contentment, & forgiveness will usher in peace & love.
That's enough of the deep thoughts. The show is funny, then heart wrenching, and finally buoyant. Romantics will be swept away by this series. As almost every line seems to carry significance. There is foreshadowing, metaphors, excellent (superb!) editing, skillful juxtaposition and other devices utilized, TROTAR is a production of the highest quality. It could hardly be improved on. The show has so few deficiencies that the minor ones stand out a little more. While on the runaway horse in the show opening, close-ups of Xiaoqian are out of sync with the moving background. They overplayed the cute, but kitschy, theme song. Otherwise, the soundtrack is lovely. In the last couple scenes Xiaoqian's makeup looks ghastly pale and uneven. In addition, they have a bad habit of not putting makeup on the back half of the actors' necks, so they appear red and sickly on screen. Finally, I think the last line in the show should be: "Are we married?"
Sweet dreams, all!
Quotes〰️🖍
Pain is unavoidable.
Great sorrow comes from great joy. Tragedy and comedy have always shared the same root.
〰IMHO〰
Directing 10
Acting 9
Thought provocation 7
Action/Excitement 8
Art 10
Music & Sound 7
Age 11+
⛔️Spoiler section⛔️
⛔️
⛔️
While XQ exiled HShuo to save him from being killed by Chu, HShuo & Chu end up joining together to invade Huayuan. When the city is taken back, HShuo is sentenced to death. He and XQ consummate their marriage in the jail cell. The next morning, the city owner refuses XQ's plea for mercy, so she drives a knife into her stomach. That stops everything.
Hey! Unclench! It's a prop knife! She's faking her death so they can escape to Xuanhu. They get a brief time to enjoy married life there.
They are forced to invade Huayuan in order to liberate it from Chu, who's starting to mirror Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. The plot won't be denied. Chu pierces HShuo's sternum. Lungs punctured, he's dying. XQ starts vanishing. Gasping, she can't reach him.
She awakens. The tissue still planted in her nostril! She quickly learns that the lead actor is in the hospital with near deadly lung damage from an accident. She rushes over there. When he sees her, he jumps in shock and tells her to get away from him! He had the weirdest dream, he explains. He woke up thinking about apples, oranges, and HER all the time. (No wonder HShuo was not evil and he could act so well!) She runs into the arms of the rude jerk who had said the two of them would never be a couple.
She had penned the /perfect/ romantic hero.
XQ revises her script to save ChuChu and give Xiaoqian & Han Shuo a happy-ever-after. The End.
〰Romantic Fantasy Recs〰
K: My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy; The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2; Hotel del Luna-8.4; Live Up To Your Name-7.6; Oh My Ghost 10. C: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; The Sleepless Princess 9.1; Ancient Love Poetry-8.6; Love and Redemption 10.
Originally 📝 11/2021
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Funny and cute with romance
This is a pretty good comedy with romance and bit of suspense. I wish they have more romance part, but if you like comedy romance, this is one of the best so far. It made me laughs so hard and there were few scene that made me cry. The only thing it didn't impress me is the music. Opening song is very pretty that suites to the story of drama, but rest of the musics weren't that impressive. Other than that I scored 10+.Rosy Zhao is so cute and so funny. Ryan Ding is dashing handsome and both have great chemistry to make this drama a one of my favorite C-drama.
I wish they will make #2 series and it looks like #2 is to be determine.
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A show worth binge watching
This show is one of my favorite shows of all time. I love the acting and the chemistry between the different characters. The only bad thing in my opinion was how rushed the ending was, but a second season could make that so much better. Unless it's with a different cast cause I ain't watching that shiz. The cast was what really brought the show together and having a different cast is not for me. I am completely fine with waiting longer if we get the same cast and let me tell you I am an extremely impatient person. Additionally, this show was worth my time. Usually, I spend my time resting my thumb on my screen so I can double-tap and skip boring moments but this show is so interesting. This is a very light watch and took me less than two days to finish and there are so many funny moments. Also, if you're looking for a more historical show that's more serious then I most definitely would not recommend this and go find something else to watch. But let me tell you I really enjoyed the development of each character too throughout the story. By far my favorite was Zi Rui (Qian Qian's helper/attendant) and his hilarious reactions to the lead couple. Too bad I'm not good at writing reviews but please watch this and we can talk about it :DWas this review helpful to you?
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Badly written flaky female lead
24 episodes is too long for this series & the male lead is not extremely appealing (is rather bland in indistinct). I am a fan of female lead & she is always fun to watch, however, her character is unstable & frequently changes her mind. So, one minute she is declaring her steadfast love and the next she is ready to throw in the towel. They try to keep this mostly light hearted with frequent banter and teasing, but though the silly is fun, the female lead is just too inconsistent in her character and it's honestly hard to get invested. Happy ending is a bit odd if you consider that main couple are married in the "dream" past, so if they were to be together in the present, (where they hardly even k now each other)that would mean... ?Was this review helpful to you?
WELL THAT WAS UNEXPECTEDLY FUN!!!
When I started to watch this drama, I had low expectations for it. I had in mind that it was a typical time travel type of c-drama. Yes, indeed it was a bit cliché and over the top, but yall it was so fun to watch! I spent late nights watching this Chinese drama, it was really comedic and the plot was not dragging. I love how they ended it at 24 episodes because if they decided to have it longer then I'm afraid it'll get boring. Not much plot holes but at some part i did wish they gave more highlight to FL's sacrifices, keke.Definitely fun to watch, it has its drama moments but nothing eye-bawling. This series has more funny moments than sad ones, not too serious and perfect fit for a light-hearted series. I recommend y'all to watch this if you wanna do a binge watch or a marathon. Super Fun!
The cast definitely suited their characters, especially qian qian, she has this funny vibe around her which makes her most suitable with comedic chinese dramas. Han Shou, also acted really well, definitely made me believe that he is a dedicated husband in real life HAHAHAH!
Lastly I love how gender equality is portrayed in this drama, at the start (in FL's city), you might feel that misandry is portrayed, but as the plot progresses, you'll realize that it was intentionally created in order to create a development in the story. Also, definitely love the air in FL's city, satire at its finest! Lets just all remember that feminism doesn't mean that women are superior to men, but rather, it only highlights/intensifies that women should be given the same rights and opportunities that men enjoy.
That's all, Watch it everyone! You wont regret it! <3
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Overrated?
Frankly, I think this drama is over-rated on Mydramalist. Although the role reversal of men and women in 2 different cities is somewhat creative, the drama is quite cliche. The same old popular tricks in Chinese dramas are played - tripping and falling into the arms of the hero, damsel in distress, rivalry for the throne (in this case between sisters for city leadership). In this drama, the writer dreamed of herself as a character in a script she was writing - this is somewhat similar to being drawn into an earlier era as a different person. And the heroine is absolutely silly.I didn't laugh; I didn't cry; I just endure to find out what would be the ending. Finally after watching episode 12, I skipped to the last 3 episodes and did not feel I missed much.
Also, I am beginning to doubt the rating on Mydramalist on the newly released dramas. Ratings had been quite 'accurate' on the qualities of dramas in the past. But in the recent few months, it has been a wreck. Dramas like Legend of Xiao Chuo was rated at 7.6 when I believe it should be between 8.6 to 9.1 in the same league as Nirvana in Fire 1&2 and Ten Mile Peach Blossom. And this drama is rated at 8.6 when I think it should be in the range of 7.6 to 7.9 - similar to Chang'an Youth, The Destiny of White Snake, Flame's Daughter and Bloody Romance.
The early reviewers have always this unhealthy influence on subsequent reviews at the early stage and bias the rating. I think the reviews following each drama reviews should be listed in reverse chronological order with the latest first, so that the earliest reviewer does not monopolise the first position.
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Hilarious, romantic and thought-provoking story on genre roles.
I started watching this drama as a fun way to pass the time BUT without realising I found myself binge-watching it. It seriously blew my mind how clever, funny, eye-opening and thought provoking this drama is. At first glance it appeared that this is a typical historical rom-com which it is but it's way, way more than that. I've never seen a drama where the gender roles are executed so well - it actually portrayed important real world views and problems in our everyday society. It was very insightful watching this drama as a woman and seeing how this fictional world shows a city/society where women are in power and men below them. I found myself thinking "wow, so this is how it feels to be on the other side, to be a man with power in the real world".I absolutely LOVED all the characters, and I mean all which is rare for a drama. ML and FL had an awesome enemies to lovers relationship development and many, many cute romantic scenes. The side characters were done so well. I loved the SML and he became my favourite character. There is also a second couple that is totally adorable and I wish we could have seen more of them but I was still very happy with their screen time. The ending of the drama is just the cherry on top. SO WELL DONE.
In short, WATCH THIS DRAMA NOW. IT'S WORTH IT.
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