Finishes what Princess Agents (2017) started
I watched this drama purely for the sake of the FL and ML who most of us know from Princess Agents (PA). I was disappointed by what I saw as an unresolved ending to PA and so was very excited when the Legend of Shen Li popped up on my radar. On that point, I feel like the drama's creators had an easy job on their hands. For me at least, it seemed they could rely on the romantic chemistry pre-existing between the two lead characters (even if it was non-canon) and therefore develop a love story quickly and... weirdly?? The Chicken x Human romance gave me Bee Movie (2007) energy... Take that how you will!In the end, I was incredibly satisfied with the romantic plotline. The rest of it, however, was pretty underwhelming. The side characters are poorly developed and the fantasy conflict elements are hodgepodge. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it as an easy watch.
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Finally some consolation after seven years.. if you know what I mean you will know what I mean
LIKEThe chemistry of course as Lin Geng Xin and Zhao Li Ying are suited for each other - can they get married in real life?
How Feng Lai talked to Xing Zhi and then changed his tone when he spoke to Shen Li
When Xing Zhi went against everyone and searched for Shen Li - wow that moment omg
Shen Li's fighting scenes really good when she fought with "CM"
What Xing Zhi did to save Shen Li in Human realm
There was this scene where a demon was afraid of ghosts and what Shen Li said - I really loled
DISLIKE
An extra episode which I think was not needed
This annoying Mo Fang's character which I don't even know why he was created in the first place
MUSIC - personal fav
如初 Ru Chu - 张碧晨 Zhang Bichen
世世 Shi Shi - 刘宇宁 Liu Yuning
不知返 Bu Zhi Fan - 王赫野 Wang Heye
炽心 Chi Xin - 希林娜依高 Xi Lin Na Yi Gao
碧苍 Bi Cang - 李佳薇 Li Jia Wei
REWATCH VALUE
Seven for now
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This review may contain spoilers
Was waiting for too long!!! You won't be utterly flabbergasted but also won't be disappointed a bit.
My short intro: I have been following MyDramaList for quite a while but this drama finally made me write a review. I am a big fan of fantasy/wuxia/xianxia/thriller/historical/romantic/political, etc. genres, so, believe me. Honestly, this drama made me open this site every day just to look at the rating, whether it is doing well or not. So, let's go.Let's START!!!
MUSIC: 10/10, made me repeat a lot of scenes just to hear the tracks. Not a big fan of the opening OST but it does entice the anticipation towards every episode. The drama has one of the best music BGM ost tracks ever. My favs among bgms are: See Vastness, The Wish of the Sad Soul, Reciprocity, Clear Dreams of the Mortal World and among the lyrical tracks are: Blazing Heart > Not Knowing to Turn Back > Hazy Sky.
CAST: Lovely, with the leads being the reason I will rewatch it someday.
ACTING: Wonderful, especially that of ZLY and LGX making me all flustered. The character of FengLai was acted excellently.
ROMANTIC SCENES: Few but surely, quality>quantity. One of them would surely take your breath away- it was one of the best in Cdramas I should say.
STORY: This is where it gets complicated. The plot sure has its uniqueness but follows the same route. A strong male and female lead, the realms, forced marriage, mortal life, betrayal, sacrifice, a corrupt/immoral/insane/evil villian, a naughty/helpful female villian, a happy ending and haha, your usual phoenix being one of the leads. But still, it was lovely. Episodes didn't feel as fillers whichever they were. It was overall, fast-paced. The portion of the story where the passage of time for Xingyun and him just living through was shown, was quite appreciable because it just made me think a lot.
WHAT I LIKED AND FELT NEW: I will always love the lead pairing no matter what their ages are. A lotta people tried to make a fuss about Kenny Lin's age but he is quite handsome and ZLY is such a youthful beauty with those sparkling eyes. Being a great fan of slow-burn, I quite liked the early romance. Loved Xingyun, the parental history of ShenLi and the concept of Chimei. The incidents of the Mortal Realm were quite interesting esp that of Qing Ye/Xiao He/Ye Shi. One of the best things was that although there were objections, there was unity in the realms and not the usual betrayal of your own kind. What I really loved was that ShenLi and XingZhi were very understanding and supportive of each other despite their appreciable strong conviction and values, so, there was no need of making unnecesary sacrifices. XingZhi expressed a righful amount of stubborness and playfulness which I loved and appreciated and although ShenLi was a female warrior, she was quite emotionally intelligent (not the usual clueless emotionally suppressed lead). Yes, the story didn't get boring after the romance. The highlight/uniqueness of the drama was the acceptance of one's natural tendencies despite the sense of responsibility, justice and values. It was good to see XingZhi complaining to Natural Law and getting his answer later. I was really happy that it didn't end up as a tragedy although I appreciate tragedies haha.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Haha, it is the best part. The not-so-unique story is the reason, it may not end up in my top 10 dramas list if I ever made one. Unfortunately, it can't par with Lost You Forever, Story of MingLan, Ashes of Love, The Story of Minglan, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom, Love and Redemption, Empresses in the Palace, The Untamed, EverNight, Joy of Life, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, One and Only, The Blood of Youth etc., in terms of one-of-a-kind so, the reason it can be watched is you wouldn't get disappointed (because it is better than the majority) and that for rewatch is because of the leads. I didn't appreciate the fast pace. I wanted to see the leads more and the new info got introduced kinda suddenly that you may not even notice the fillers. The character development of Mofang was not good at all. What happened to the Third Prince, I don't know. Was the story of Qing Ye a love triangle, or the addition of XiaoHe in the story was just a punishment of Natural Law or whom did he actually like? I don't know.
BUT Did I enjoy: Yes, it did get me hooked up. Was it worth it? Yes. It can surely be in my top 30 dramas ever. It can be in the list of these dramas for its rating: Love between Fairy and Devil (for me), Story of Kunning Palace, The Long Ballad, Who Rules the World, Word of Honor, The Starry Love, A Dream of Splendor, Bloody Romance, The Rebel Princess, etc.
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The best couple in Chinese historical drama series together again
The best couple in Chinese historical drama series.. They acted in 3 series together and their performance continued to increase... The first series I watched was Princess Agent. Seeing them together again in this series after a long time made me both very happy and excited.. the series When I first read the news about it, I was hoping that I would encounter a better series than Prinsess Agent. If we take their acting and harmony out of the series, although it is only visually rich, I would definitely not watch the series if another couple played it. Even though I do not like fantasy TV series, the fact that my favorite couple is in the lead role of the series makes it great. It is one of the factors that make people watch it.. After about 7 years, there should be a TV series on Prinsess Agent with the subject of the series they starred in together... As someone who loves watching this couple, I hope that we can have the pleasure of watching a new historical series together without waiting so long.. whatever. Even though I don't like the subject as much and find it simple, there are many people behind the camera. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the production and broadcast.Was this review helpful to you?
One of the Best Xianxia in 2024
At first I was hesitant to watch the drama since it has 39 episodes and I don't have the patience to watch the drama and was planning to watch it if I had the patience to watch and I just wanted to watch the intro. But when I heard it, the music struck into my mind and I love listening to it. So after weeks I just watch it and finished it today. It was absolute perfect, the fl didn't give a cringe and childlike behavior that I usually saw to some xianxia dramas that I rarely find. The ml also not the cold hearted jerk that we usually saw to ml characters, their personalities gives refreshing vibes which I rarely saw to other xianxia dramas. The fl is strong as well as the ml. The drama gives fantasy, romance and comedy. The comedy really brought me up to this drama as well their love. How I felt bad to both lovers especially xingzhi as he holds a big responsibility. The cgi and music is top tier. Their background music just gives. Highly Recommend Xianxia drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Ah mannnnnn!
Oooo boy!If you have watched Princess Agents then KNOW that this show is nothing like that. It feels like They knew the fans of these leads could not take another sad ass drama with an ending that would make you end up in an asylum.
THIS is the FIRST Chinese Xianxia drama to make me more invested in the immortal/demon realm plot than what had happened on the mortal plane. Usually I'm gagging for that mortal trial trope 10 episodes in but not THIS time. I thought the meet cute was pretty well done and I loved the chemistry between Shen Li and Xing Zhi. I really enjoy it when the FL is the straight man in a relationship. Although Xing Zhi is a wise and elderly deity, he's also the youngest one of his kind. He's capable of being powerful and playful all at once. Shen Li's direct personality and serious nature mingle so well with Xing Zhi's. Her nature doesn't relax until she is with him freely.
It's a star crossed lovers story that works well, the romance is top tier and its progression is very natural and enjoyable. I can totally buy why they can't be together and yet it's so satisfying to see them attempt to do it anyway.
This show has some great side characters who all have their own mini arcs where they grow as people and end the show as better individuals, they also add a lot to the humor because the show is HILARIOUS. The music was so good that I added some tracks to my ost playlist!
The bad thing about this drama are the villains…
Nothing any of them did was particularly compelling to me. Theres a betrayal that was supposed to be surprising… but it wasn't… Nothing relating to villians goals or actions seemed logical and I found myself skipping through their scenes late into the drama. I also didn't enjoy the flash back/ back story… I was curious but that too was kinda meh.
I adored the ending though, it's such a relief to watch my leads be happy AFTER all the melodrama is over. This show is rewatchable… but only for the romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Familiar formula but still enjoyable
Once you’ve watched many dramas like this, it is hard to be surprised by the storyline as most of them follow the same pattern (unexpected meeting, grow to fall in love, have to part, death which leads the other one to forget their principles, back to life, overcome evil) but this drama added it’s own spin on this pattern with an interesting though hard-to- believe* opening where the FL injures herself while fleeing an arranged marriage.Thankfully, this drama is on the new trend to give us happy endings which are not short and even used the last episode to play out a little side story which was enjoyable and let me have my feel good vibes for a whole episode as I loved seeing them live their happy life for a full episode!
The ML carried himself well as the last ancient god but I was struggling to see him he as a sickly mortal. Interesting to see how the drama chose to have a role reversal where the ML is the one who pines after the FL. It was fun to watch the FL being more matter-of-fact and let’s move on after having sex but it was a bit of out character for the ML to suddenly be so clingy & willing to throw caution to the wind when he was shown to be such a strong selfless character who put the 3 realms above his own interests during the first half of the drama.
As long as I turned off all these questions that kept popping up in my head, I was entertained with the above average CGI and sweet love story between the FL’s parents (I saw that coming a mile away so was just waiting to see how that part of the story would unfold and this drama delivered nicely)
*hard to believe on so many levels as the FL is shown to be the best fighter so how can she be so badly injured that she loses her human form. Also, she has a good relationship with her master so why were they not able to discuss the marriage alliance the same way they talked about other important issues? Didn’t really make much sense to send all the generals & soldiers to hunt her down and bring her back for the marriage as she can easily just not go through with the wedding by saying no in person during the wedding. Unfortunately, most dramas have this problem where logic is usually the first to go as long as it moves the story along in a nice way.
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This review may contain spoilers
"The Legend of Shen Li" follows the forbidden love story of Shen Li and Xing Zhi.Shen Li is an immortal general who gets hurt and falls into the Mortal Realm in her animal form. She is rescued by Xing Yun, a human who takes care of her and helps her recover from her injuries. With time, Shen Li falls in love with him but she already has an arranged marriage, she comes back home and thinks Xing Yun is dead.
Xing Yun is actually the ancient god Xing Zhi, the last of his kind. They reunite again, but can't be together, since Xing Zhi can't fall in love, always putting the world's needs first.
This was one of the things that really upset me. They are a beautiful couple, but it takes a long time for them to really be together. Xing Zhi always controlled his feelings for her, because he had responsibilities, but in the moment that Xing Zhi thought Shen Li was gone, he couldn't control himself anymore, he goes enraged and freezes the entire sea looking for her.
After that, the two have a sweet time together, like in the beginning when they first met.
The chemistry between Xing Zhi and Shen Li is amazing and I'm not only talking about the romance, but the action scenes and the funny moments, the characters ares really in sinc. It was really fantastic to be able to see Zhao Li Ying and Lin Geng Xin working together again after "Princess Agents" and finally being a real couple, with a happy ending <3
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Xianxia love story done right!
Xianxia dramas are very hit and miss and for me, this was a hit! There is a lot to be admired in this one, especially if you have a little patience for the story to build after the first arc or take a moment to look a little deeper and appreciate the ways this drama balances the usual Xianxia tropes and also flips them around.Things to admire:
*Main leads chemistry: Look, I watched Princess Agents when it came out and like many hated the ending. But I moved on and wasn’t waiting for a season two redemption on bated breath. So I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this couple regardless. And if you were waiting, this drama would definitely heal those wounds. They knew what the fans wanted and delivered it in spades.
* Mature pairing: We need more romantic fantasy dramas with “older” couples.
* Gender stereotypes reversed: So much to love here and too much to list. Shen Li is unlike most female leads. She’s beyond strong physically and mentally. And our ML is more than the cold, emotionless heavenly deity. He’s funny, playful, and nurturing. We still get swoony moments when our ML saves the FL, but it’s a situation of Girl, you protect the world and I’ll protect you. Also, ML is the best househusband a girl could dream for. Take care of all my needs and feed me delicious food? Yes please.
* Slice of life in a Xianxia: We don’t usually see this played out in these genres. Underneath all the big end of the world drama, TLOSL is really about our couple getting to the joy of appreciating the pleasures of being alive and living a simple life with the one you love. Eat good food, sit out in nature, spend time together, care for each other, and live in the moment without burdens of responsibility. If that isn’t the fantasy many of us long for, I don’t know what is. I’ll admit, first arc of the drama felt a bit slow with this focus, but when I realized what was building up here and then how it all ended, it’s beautiful and fulfilling.
* Satisfying Ending: In a year of Chinese dramas with disappointing endings or lacking in closure, TLOSL does not let down. We get spoiled with a whole episode and half of happy ending!
Really, this is a love story first and foremost. If you’ve bought into the couple, enjoy Chinese fantasy drama tropes, and appreciate the thoughtful ways this drama flips some of them around, you’ll find this really is better than most coming out these days.
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The romance, please keep it simple.
Idk, in the beginning I and the end, I kinda like when romance between Xing Zhi and Shen Li keep simple. I mean, not too much unnecessary thing like jealousy or posesive thing when Xing Zhi decide to put Shen Li in his palace in the sky, to keep Shen Li alive.I love the battle but I think some battle should have more highlight. I also think Mrs.Jin could easily beat Mo Fang in her mountain with her power, more trick or something. It kinda wasting her power of tens thousand years.
I personally think that this drama is 40:40% romcom and the rest is battle bcs I found this drama is always made me laugh with the way Xing Zhi act and treat Shen Li.
I love the end, but I really think they should cut the backflash bcs it's too much and we can shrink over the 31-37, 7 eps to 3-4 eps, I think it's better
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A Great Fantasy C-Drama with a Satisfying Ending
I decided to watch this series based on its high rating, and overall, I'm glad I did. The first five episodes were engaging, although the romance felt a bit rushed. As I progressed, I predicted a long, and somehow boring journey, which unfortunately came true. The action scenes were okay, but the romance was dragged. They could have done betterDespite this, I appreciated the well-crafted ending, a rare find in fantasy C-dramas. Most series in this genre leave viewers with unanswered questions, but this one provided a perfect conclusion.
While I enjoyed the show, I felt that some scenes were unnecessary and only added to the length. Hence, I'm giving it a 9.0/10 rating.
Overall, I loved and enjoyed this series, and I'm happy to have watched it. If you're a fan of fantasy C-dramas, I recommend giving it a try!
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Some of my favorite side characters ever
Whether you like the main plot/couple/romance is so up to your taste that I'm not going into it. In the end it worked for me.A real standout for me: A+ side characters. This drama could have been 2 episodes shorter if they'd cut the repetitive insert songs (seriously, it's WAY over the top) but I would've wanted them to spend the time with Fu Rong (He Yu) and You Lan (Jackie Li), the Heavenly Emperor's grandson and granddaughter, instead. At first they were hilariously irritating: Fu Rong is the ultimate do-nothing playboy; You Lan is both arrogant and one of those really obsessive fan types. I thought they'd just be minor antagonists continuing these gags, but it's not that simple! Other secondary and minor characters were memorable as well. Really entertaining writing.
The final episode is more like an epilogue but it's full length. If you're always sad that you don't get time with the characters after the big moment, you'll be happy.
Aside from the repetitive insert songs, there's some epic music on this soundtrack (the whole album is on YT Music legitimately under its Chinese name). The opening theme gives me absolute chills when the suona comes in.
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