The Love by Hypnotic (2019)

No Need to be Hypnotized, This Drama is Simply Enchanting

This drama captivated me from beginning till the end. Everything I wanted to see in a romantic comedy is here, and then some! This review is strictly for the drama, not to compare/contrast with the manhwa "Prince, Don't Do This!" (王爷不要啊) written by Dong Man Tang, in which it was loosely adapted from. I am rewriting the synopsis below for clarification without spoiling the plot.

STORY
Princess Aimala (new country name is Ming Yue) from the southern country Xi Yue is forced to marry to Prince Zi (common name is Li Qian), the 9th prince of the northern country Bei Xuan. Both parties disagree but it is for the political alliance. Li Qian already has a marriage arrangement with his childhood friend Lady Qiao (Hui Xin), and Ming Yue has a lover General Yun Ci. Both dislike each other since the beginning they met. Ming Yue who is skilled in horse riding, shooting, and hunting is not a typical feminine lady according to her new country's custom, neither she is beautiful. Even the Emperor (Li Qian's dad) despises her. Li Qian is cold and reserved, and has no clue on women and how to please them. Ming Yue is his first love. Even then he is still unsure if his feeling towards Ming Yue is genuine or fabricated, because his wife has another unique skill: she can hypnotize him and she does it, a lot! The couple needs TONS of guidance on love and sex (yes that's right!) from their friends: the wise Kong Zhen, the playboy Jin Yu, the mischievous Kang Le, and the straightforward Tan Li. The story is not all rosy though, we also get to see inside power struggles and outside rebellions, tragic past unfolds, hatreds and betrayals, revenges and sacrifices, broken hearts and even deaths.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA:
(+) It is a well-done medium or big budget show.
(+) No need character or story guidance or anything like that you usually need it for watching Chinese history/palace dramas.
(+) The story has a lot of features for everyone's liking: action-packed, mysterious background, steamy romance, hysterical comedy. It's not boring, it's fast or evenly spaced. I do not skip scenes or conversations though I do a lot with Chinese dramas.
(+) The story is not straight-line, has a lot of facts from the past, dreams, plot twist and surprises.
(+) Satisfactory ending
(+) Good looking cast from the main to the supporting ones (gosh even the musician Lan is stunning and the Empress is elegant)
(+) Adorable acting of Ling Mei-Shi as Ming Yue. Although there are more beautiful Chinese actresses, but the choice to cast this cute young actress as the outspoken, mischievous, and smart foreign royal princess is just right, either in funny, romantic, or sad scenes.
(+) Charming acting of Allen Fang as Lin Qiao. From cold and serious, to confused and suspicious, to romantic and playful, his facial expressions are just right. Also the fighting/martial arts acting. He is also a member of Chinese pop boy band M4M. He sang some songs in this drama (see OST comment below). And he looks better in historical drama than in modern day drama (his other drama is Childhood Sweethearts Pianist but he looks bland there)
(+) Stunning acting of Ni Han Jin as Yun Ci. Though lots of comments do not like him, I feel bad for the Yun Ci role. Though he is abrasive and aggressive but his broken heart and pain look real as a man whose lover is snatched away behind him. He is not only handsome, but has a great body, too! And FYI I do not have Second Lead Syndrome.
(+) Exceptional acting of Zhou Zi Xin as Hui Xin. I saw her in Put Your Head in My Shoulder drama as supporting role who also likes the male lead, but Hui Xin's love here for the prince is dangerous and devastating. The actress is capable to go thru yandere transformation from a gentle, submissive, elegant lady to a conniving, hateful, and dejected villain.
(+) Other supporting actors and actresses are just right playing their respective roles.
(+) Great cinematography. Camera shots and angles were just right.
(+) Breath-taking sceneries. Lots of falling flowers and snow rains. They could be real snowing scenes too because the drama was filmed during the winter months of January to March 2019. The filming location is at Hengdian World Studios, the largest film studio in China or even the world (http://www.hengdianworld.com/en/default.html)
(+) Beautiful OST from the drama opening and in special scenes. The opening song is "Magnificence" by singer Jian Hong Yi (who is also handsome). The main leads Allen Fang and Ling Mei Shi sang "The First Seen Snow". Allen Fang also sang "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon". A song specifically dedicated to the love of Yun Ci and Ming Yue is "Departure" by Jin Runji with mystical Middle-eastern tone.
(+) Elegant royal costumes, especially for the Princess and Princess. I love especially their outdoor gears and the Turkish/Middle Eastern robes Ming Yue and Yun Ci wear (in the manhwa Aimala is from Uyghur, the ancient Turkey area in Asia)

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Passionate kisses, save the damsel in distress, hilarious

This drama has the most passionate kissing scenes in both count and intensity of all Chinese dramas I had watched – I meant really passionate kisses not those obviously fake moments. As with most romance stories, there were plenty of save the damsel in distress scenes accompanied by endearing gazes as the hero held the damsel in his arms.

It is a lovely romance story with emotional and hilarious moments. The hilarious moments really made me laugh out loud. Unlike Hollywood comedies which mainly play on words, some of these comedic moments were based on suggestive actions of the actors.

The drama is quite straightforward with some small, but not totally unexpected, twists in the story. It has the usual hygiene factors – handsome lead actor, pretty actresses, excellent acting, lovely costumes, lovely music, beautiful cinematography and endearing romantic moments.

What I appreciate most about this drama is the lesson on courtship and early marital life - instead of the usual unrealistic romance dramas. At moments when they were trying to figure out each other, the XiYue princess had her confidantes giving her some silly suggestions which she refuted with some sensible corrections. Similarly for the ninth prince, Song was always giving him some creepy suggestions while Zhen would refute with some sensible analysis. Zhen played the sensible relationship guru here.

The adjustments to life together were comical but not unlike real life when married couples live together for the first time and discover the bad habits of their spouses to their horror.

I noticed some flaws – for the production team to learn from if they should ever read this review. The piece of music chosen for the hilarious moments was too modern for this period drama and a misfit – sound like a piece adapted from some old Shanghai movies. There are some illogical moments, for example, the ninth prince was always turning up alone for dangerous investigations, and covering up for the rebel leader, which was essentially obstructing justice. And he was always lying to the emperor – although with good intent, it still made him a liar.

As I watched this drama right after ‘Goodbye my princess’, I could not help but draw a comparison, as both involved a marriage of prince and princess from different countries. The ninth prince in this drama was supportive of the princess and allowed her to make her choice, in sharp contrast to the fifth prince in ‘Goodbye..’, who forcibly kept the princess by his side regardless of whether she was willing. The two dramas were antithesis of each other, including how they ended. This drama leaves a warm cozy feeling which of course elevated my rating of it above ‘Goodbye my princess’ although the latter has a more interesting and convoluted story.

Finally, a title of ‘Love by Hypnosis’ may be more grammatically correct. Hypnotic is a drug to induce hypnosis or a person susceptible to hypnosis.

As a whole I enjoyed this drama a lot and would highly recommend it.

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A perfectly romantic fairytale!

My synopsis for this show would read: "A prince and princess are forced to marry, fall hopelessly in love with each other, and then have to deal with far too many people trying to separate them."

This was my definition of a well written fairytale. There was a beautiful love story, evil villains, sword fights, and even though there was no magic, hypnosis was used as its replacement.

Li Qian was a wonderful hero. He was given so many moments to shine. In the beginning he is intrigued by and cautious of his new wife (and at times frustrated by their differences). He is cunning and swift when both mentally and physically sparring with those who want to destroy him. And he can also be playful and adorably confused when he is allowed to lower his gaurd around people he fully trusts and loves. But by far, my favorite Li Qian moments were when he was loving his wife Ming Yue. While he certainly wasn't a pushover and told her when he was unhappy, this man was one of the most devoted and loving heroes I've ever seen. Several moments come to mind when his devotion and love for his wife took my breath away, but I refuse to spoil them because you deserve to enjoy them like I did. But trust me, he loves her. And he is determined to live a long and happy life with her.

Ming Yue was a character who might annoy some, but definitely captured my heart. She is cute as a ladybug, impulsive, brave, loyal, smart, and a little wild. She was not as certain as Li Qian that they could endure anything. There were moments when she gave up or didn't trust him as much as she should have, but those moments gave Li Qian an opportunity to showcase his patience and love, and they also gave her an opportunity to grow as a character. She loved him as much as he loved her, but they were different people so they handled love differently. If giving up meant he didn't have to suffer she would do it, and she would rather trick or hypnotize him than risk him feeling a painful emotion. No, these weren't her choices to make but they came from love and she learns better.

This has become one of my favorite all time romances.Truthfully, neither was a perfect person, they were both so stubborn, but even that was presented in such a cute way that I enjoyed their fights. He knew when to be a little scared and give her space, and she knew how to smile and appease him when she went too far. For the first time In all the years I have been watching dramas, I found myself looking forward to people plotting against the lead couple because everytime they did it drove Li Qian and Ming Yue closer together. It took me a few episodes to catch on to this theme, but when I did, my enjoyment of the show increased immensely. They always resolved their problems together and talked things out.
Oh, and the kisses! You know how in some movies a house or a city is so important to the story it feels like another character? Well kisses are used that way in this story. They don't just kiss often, they kiss when it adds to the story. They kiss when they are comforting each other, they kiss when they are flirting, they when they are facing a separation, and they kiss when they are reunited. I never felt like the writers were trying to fill a kiss quota so they stuck in a kissing scene, but I also didn't feel like they were afraid to put three kissing scenes in an episode. They let them kiss when it makes sense to kiss, and each on was beautiful.


Now a few thoughts on the other main characters:

Pugu Yunsi is a difficult character to discuss without spoilers. He's not quite a second lead, he's not quite a hero, and he's not completely a villain. He was in a unique situation that clearly brought out the worst in him. But you could tell that he would have been a great man if things had played out differently. I would love to see that character lead his own drama. The actor would be excellent as a lead.

Qiao Hui Xin was a fantastic villain. Her slow decent into evil madness was an adventure in itself. Because she started as such a docile and lovely person, her transformation was all the more enjoyable and scary to watch. Her love/hatred for Li Qian becomes a destructive force. One scene in particular defines both her character and Li Qian's love for Ming Yue. After doing something particularly cruel to Li Qian and Ming Yue, Hui Xin says to Li Qian, "I can't have your love, at least you can hate me! An unforgettable hatred for a lifetime!" And she is met with Li Qian's breathtakingly beautiful response of "Whether it's love or hate, in my heart, there will always be only one woman, Ming Yue."

Li Xun is Li Qian's older brother who has the misfortune of being in love with Hui Xin. Loving a woman who is obsessed by her unrequited love for his brother, brings out the worst in him. He is an almost Irredeemable character. But both the actor portraying him and the writers keep you guessing as to whether or not he will let his jealousy of Li Qian win out over any love that he has for him.


Now even fewer thoughts on the supporting cast:
The supporting cast was just that, support for the leads. They loved both Li Qian and Ming Yue and did whatever they could to help them through their trials. They also provided some comical relief even when our leads were going through trials. None of the support characters had growth of their own, but so much happend with the main cast that I'm glad I didn't have to split my attention too much. That cut down on the confusion I usually feel when watching historical dramas.


I reccomend this drama for fans of fairytale romances with satisfying endings. I'm very impatient when it comes to Chinese dramas and even more impatient when it comes to historical Chinese dramas, but I only felt the need to fast forward through one particularly repetitive episode and faithfully watched the rest without touching the fast forward button. It was entertaining from beginning to end.

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Real Passionate Kissing Scenes

OMG! This is the only Chinese drama I’ve ever watched with so many passionate kisses. Other Chinese dramas normally have superficial kisses like a peck on the lip or cheek. But this drama goes all the way out to capture real, passionate and sensual kisses. The male and female leads don’t seem to have enough of those kisses and with each other!

This is a light-hearted drama. It’s funny, and the plot is straight forward with not many twists. I like the chemistry between the lovers, as mentioned earlier, they don’t seem to have enough of each other. I also like the relationship between the Prince and his buddies. Their silliness is the most hilarious things to watch and I really love watching them teaching each other the art of “conquering” women.

Overall the acting is good, especially for the new comer Ling Mei Shi who plays the Li Ming Yue character. She is cute, beautiful and works very hard in bringing us a very convincing princess. Alen Fang is very good looking with a cold and arrogant look, fitting the role of Li Qian very well. As Li Qian, despite his intelligence, he is repeatedly fooled by his own wife, the princess, over and over again. Together with his buddies, Si Kong Zhen and LiXun, they seem to have some kind of bromance with each other and the overall effect is funny, sweet and heart-warming.

Overall, things fall into places well and no loose ends, and the pace is just good.

If you want something light and good for a laugh, this is a good drama to follow.

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I came across this drama when scrolling through some videos of Fang Yi Lun back when he was in M4M and came across this. I was so thrilled to see that he has added acting to his career. The chemistry between the actors is so incredible that it makes you wish they were a real couple in real life.

Story Plot: Overall, I think the story plot was great but there were some parts that were either a little too cliché or doesn't make logical sense. I personally love romance historical dramas that involve the female lead taken away from her "kingdom" and brought to a new kingdom for an arranged marriage with a cold-faced prince. I loved how the female lead was carefree, optimistic and has great ideas but sometimes, it annoyed me that she would act irrationally. The story wasn't full of bloodshed, as I mentioned before, it's quite cute, and it's hilarious!

Acting/Cast: Both leads did really well but those who were second-lead, etc. did really well as well. The actors who played the antagonists did a great job making you "hate" them. The way how all the actors portrayed their characters allowed you feel the happiness, worry and pain too, almost like making you fall into the drama yourself and take on the multiple characters' POVs (point of view).

Music: I usually skip the beginning and end music but the choice of songs used in this drama fits the mood well. Without it, the story plot would seemingly feel very different.

Rewatch Value: I don't think the beginning will be re-watch worthy but the cute, fluffy parts, I will definitely rewatch it.

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Totally underrated must watch

I don't usually rate the re-watch value so high because even if I love dramas I find it hard to re-watch them once you know everything that's going to happen but this drama for some reason just has this aura about it that I could honestly re-watch it all again after only just finishing it and I would still love it. It is such an underrated drama and I really love it. The two main actors seem to have really good chemistry and it comes across in the characters. I think all their scenes are really powerful whether it be a serious scene, funny scene or cute scene. If you want a drama that has a strong but basic story line and good romance between the main couple then this is the show for you. Also if you like the fun and witty side characters, particularly men then there are the King's 2 friends that will have you smiling all the way through.

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Lots of skinship but lazy plots

Once again, this show started promisingly. The production value appeared to be high and scenes were lush and grand, at least in the first few episodes. The meet-cute was nice with reasonably fast pacing. However, the show went south with more and more storytelling issues and plot holes as it progressed. Overall, it was a disappointment.
A lot of the issue with this show comes from a very simplistic approach to plot development. Everything was telegraphed, characters and plots were mostly one dimensional. It wasn't so much character growth but more like personality transplant. Both 2FL and 2ML turned from jilted suitors to homicidal maniacs. It was straight out of Evil Plot 101 playbook but they were literally shouting "you will pay for this in BLOOD!".
By the half way mark the story just felt stuffed with set pieces that doesn't really related to the main plot (if you can call it that) but just so that they can stretch out the episode or add more skinship. The classic case in point is the black inn episodes (ep 31/32). It felt like they brought the writer back to add more scenes but paid scant attention to continuality or narrative logic.
I suppose it is time to address the skinship side of things, this show had a surprising amount of it for a c-drama. We are talking about lots of hugging, kissing (some of that quite passionate) and the OTP being frisky in bed. After completing the show, the cynical part of me is calling them out for using the skinship to distract us from the poor script or at least keep us watching the show. If that is something you like then thou shalt find aplenty. However, you can also find 15mins cuts of their romantic scenes on YouTube.
Similar to the personality shifts, the show also have drastic mood changes, it started off as Contract Marriage 101, Rom-com 101, Palace Intrigue 101, etc and some of it did work early on, especially the scenes between the ML and his group of close friends. He was so ignorant of love and sex that the show was almost like relationship tutorial and sex ed and you will get a chuckle or two. Then the show shifted to Tragic Revenge Melodrama 101 (subtitled "Every Trope Were Used"). Yes, it was designed to hit us with the feels and make us empathise with the characters but the plots were so transparent that you just felt like you have seen it all before (from the golden age of tv dramas).
The ending was laughable. The tone was completely wrong. We are talking about tragic scenes just a episode or two ago; Death and broken people stalking the scenes. The FL was in a coma for days and as soon as she woke up, they were getting intimate. It got worse, the ML then spend the rest of the episode trying to play parlour tricks on his friends (I was groaning with them) when there were orphan threads and unresolved sub plot just left dangling. Was that really all that was left to do after 36 episodes?! It wasn't even decent fan service.
OST was good for the first half but then it got repetitive. Acting was ok. The ML was quite stiff and wooden for half the show but he did open up. FL has to do a lot of heavy lifting but there was little growth in her character. The ML's brother was one of the main villains but he was so wooden, he was more annoying than evil. The 2FL acted her heart out (especially towards the end) but it was a very textbook role. The 2ML was interesting and handsome but once again, his role was so tropey that it was all done by the book.
Honestly, I was going to drop the show around the 2/3 mark but I thought I'd push through but I did fast forward some scenes. The OTP did have their sweet moments and decent chemistry but I won't be re-watching the whole show, may be the 15mins YouTube highlight reel.

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I usually don't watch Chinese dramas, because even though they always start off great.. it always gets boring to me. Though, I've tried lots and lots of Chinese dramas this is actually one of the few that I've actually finished and binged.

The story wasn't amazing and very exciting. However, the cast was GREAT. I loved almost all the characters and even the characters I hated were well played. I did wish some of the characters would find their loved ones before the end of the story, but no.

The love/romantic scenes were beautiful and luckily for me it had a lot of those lovely scenes.

For me, the story started great but got a bit dragged out. Ultimately, I only watched for the couple and not for the story.

The drama itself is not that bad and it's fairly entertaining. It's available on YouTube so for the Chinese drama lovers.. I'd recommend it.

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Love love love this drama! It’s super romantic, hilariously funny, and the leads have AMAZING chemistry! The kisses are passionate and genuine, they are definitely not afraid to show their love. Lots of light and fluffy scenes.
This show is definitely one of the best in 2019 for me. A simple love story, not too much boring politics or crappy side stories. It just focuses on the leads ❤️❤️❤️
Alen Fang Yi Lun and Ling MeiShi as leads are very compatible and adorable! They were natural and their acting appeared as they were very in love even in real life.
Have rewatched some episodes for the nth time already. Wish there was a Season 2! Highly recommended if you’re into sweet romance.

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Where's the story? Where's that damn thing that writers put their brain into, the thing that screenplay develops out of, that...ah! forget it. This drama would not have been bad had it actually been nonsensical. No, it is actually worse. It portrays a rather bad heroine as a good one. Short summary: a girl makes deal with a prince to recover his childhood memories using hypnosis(via a bracelet). The prince sleepwalks. Some random war and royal politics stuff popular in CDrama as filler. That's ... about it. There's a douche-bag general too. Like I care.

Let me put across the actual story. A princess who is a "strong, independent" wahmen uses trickery(ah! female nature) to trap a very high value male(our prince). Her pretense is she'll be a psychotherapist to him, and use her secret skill called hypnosis to recover his very traumatic childhood memories. Good. Except she ain't any hypnotist. She has a bracelet with what looks like a rudraksha that produces a ringing sound which is heard only by the prince and which traps him. Well, generally women use sex and makeup, but whatever. Now our good doctor freely abuses her patient to make him act in love under hypnosis. Our prince is oh so innocent about sex. He resists her attempts to do this, but she won't stop(is this not drug rape or something?). Hypnosis sessions make the prince exhausted and he is a bit lax on his political duties. Prince also has a habit of sleepwalking, due to which he always lands up in his wife's(yeah they contract marry) chambers. Finally when prince is hopelessly in love with his wife(literally dancing on her fingertips under hypnosis), she suddenly meets an old flame. Chad enters the (nonexistent) plot. Princess cuckolds prince and is often running towards the old "friend". Tolerate this for 10 episodes if you like. Some stupid political filler. Deaths here and there. Drama ends. You can celebrate that a manipulative female has successfully trapped the future Emperor of China. I'm pretty sure it won't fare good for the country.

Actors/Cast: Now these are actually good. The cast does its job very well. Its the writes that are lame(or perhaps "ideologically motivated")
Music: If you don't remember it later, it ain't worth listening to anyway. Timepass.
Cinematography: That's where most of the budget went. And costumes. Though there were excess of close up shots, as in full blown facial shots, that I didn't like. Like if there's a dialogue, I don't need to see a giant face every time someone speaks. They can keep cameras a bit away from subject.
Rewatch value: If you're a manipulative female, or like such heroines, then perhaps you could re-watch it. Truthfully, its just, meh! Save your time and watch "Consort Meng Arrives". I'll take Consort Meng over Princess Ming any day. She's less headache and more witty.

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