A masterpiece drama
This drama have good and interesting storyline. I can't stop myself to watch it till finish and really grateful to watch this drama. I like reading a mysterious and detective books like from Agatha Christie so this drama is very cool for me! This drama have a lot mystery case and the storyline it's a masterpiece for me. All the cast for this drama it's incredible. Cheng Yi looks very handsome here especially as Li Xiangyi. Joseph Zeng looks really suits Fang Duobing character. And also all the cast have done great job too. The OST too is very cool. This is a very must watch drama ;DWas this review helpful to you?
One of the best wuxia in a while
I went into this show without any expectations and came out amazed by the whole production of this drama. Started out as solving mystery cases and ended with probably one of the most amazing drama I’ve ever watched in a while.there weren’t any parts that felt slow (except for palace scenes because honestly I personally have qualms when a story takes place in palace, with its boring political plots BUT MLC managed to keep it short, thankfully)
Story was amazing, acting was superb. Cheng Yi was exceptional, his best to date character. my first time watching Joseph & Aero and I felt they did very well and do justice to their roles. supporting casts too did well.
Music is important element while watching a drama and MLC served it very well. *Cue Li Xiangyi BGM (*cries)
Now, im on my 3rd rewatch. so even you don’t plan to rewatch whole thing, this drama have a LOT of amazing scenes that’s worth rewatching, especially the fight scenes.
For those who haven’t watch it, give it a try!
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Excellent Drama!!
one of the best wuxia drama I have ever seen. Kudos to the team of MLC. I hope there will a season 2 ( fingers crossed🤞) even though i know it is a novel adapted series and it is rare to get another season when the novel itself is finished.Dynamic trio ( Li lan hua, Fand dou bing, Dei fei shing) make the series complete. I must say the chemistry between all the characters are amazing but this trio will surpass even the word chemistry. The humor and seriousness of the drama is well balanced along with the character development. Investigation plots are well explained and like jigsaw puzzle. Some might find little plot holes in the case solving but its not that detectable. Fighting scenes (like sword fightings) are beautifully executed by all the characters in the drama.
To be honest I didnt like the ending much. its not because its open ending. li xiang yi suffered too much for others. he brought lot of people back to life while losing his inner power all the time. atleast he should have a chance to live a carefree life with his besties. since he himself missed his master and lost everything searching for his senior who at the end betrayed him, he should have consider the feelings of his disciple( fang duo bing) and besties who would do anything for him and is searching for him everywhere with a tinge of hope. it was irresponsible from his side to just leave like that without giving himself a second chance.
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This review may contain spoilers
If you enjoy crime solving murder mysteries in WuXia setting, you may enjoy this drama.
"Mysterious Lotus Casebook" is a Wuxia CSI drama that involves solving murder mysteries of various clans in a historical setting.The Synopsis: Ten years ago, Li Xiang Yi, the master of the Sigu Sect, dominated with his superior swordsmanship and was a symbol of light in the martial arts world. However, he suddenly disappeared along with Di Fei Sheng, the leader of the Jinyuan Alliance, after they arranged to battle in the East Sea. Ten years later, Li Lian Hua is a countryside doctor who travels dragging around a lotus tower. Li Lian Hua, Di Fei Sheng, and Fang Duo Bing gradually formed a deep friendship and joined hands in solving mysterious cases to uphold justice.
The acting and the kung fu in this drama were good; however, the first 30 episodes were about solving murders. I found it boring, fell asleep watching it, and even skipped around. It only got interesting from episode 32 onward, and the ending is a cliffhanger.
I don't enjoy it much, so I give it a 7.0 rating. The production quality was not good either; the background was too white.
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BEST WUXIA DRAMA WITH DETECTIVE THEME ...
i started this drama when it is airing and i have low expectations with this drama but as it passes 2-3 episode , i knows that it will break many records ..because it is perfect in cast , action scenes and dialouges and the best part of this drama that it does not have unnecessary love theme because it does not suit at all ...MLC is not the typical fast-paced drama, as it mainly focuses on solving individual mysteries that all contribute to the main storyline. While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, especially for viewers who like non-stop action and romantic entanglements, it presents a story and character-driven approach that is worth exploring.
i love to see more of cheng yi work like this and immortal samsara ...
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This review may contain spoilers
the cast is perfect
i’d say the story is pretty generic but the casting was done very well and everyone did well to tell the story so it’s really good. in my opinion i don’t see any romance in this show especially between the main 3 characters bc i think their love feels more familial.i think the ending is pretty good. it’s very sad but it’s doesn’t make it a bad ending. i like that they didn’t miraculously find a cure like how most dramas would. my interpretation of the ending is that llh was at the beach before the other two came but when they arrived he was gone (probably somewhere where he actually does die).
i think a season two isn’t necessary for this story. llh would’ve wanted it to end. however i would like the see the cast again.
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when the mind is at peace, Lotus blooms everywhere
This would be my forever favourite, it touched every inch of my soul. Chenese dramas are very well written protraying both the good and evil in one. for me , all the actors of MLC covered their roles well,specially cheng yi who thought he would be this much talented. all the episodes from 1-40 had their own essence seperately, undoubtly this once should become a legend. it truly covered a life of someone who once became a legend and yet fell from the peak to the lowest point. Li Lianhua's carefree life is something that everyone should at least experience once. It's been a while and i still can't get enough of it. If there's a season 2 , i hope all the actors return. And there are very well writte lines too. and few of them caught my eyes and heart."everyone must learn to forget themselves" - Li lianhua
"when mind is at peace lotus blooms everywhere" - Li xiangyi
"Li Xinagyi wasn't good, he was proud and arrogant, there's a fine line between proud and arrogance and arrogance isn't a good word" - Li Lianhua
"Maybe Li xiangyi was proud , but he was proud because he had faith.and faith is a good word. everywhere there's a light,there's also a shadow.so did he." - Fang Duobing
"No one can replace you in our promise" - Di Feishang
"some people abandoned their swords like trash, while others won't give up" - Zhang Yunfei
"people's ffaiths are ultimately different"-Li Lianhua
Literally there won't be any masterpiece like this ever again, this was a drama that conveyed deep massages about likfe to the viewers. hats off to the writer,actors and the drama crew .
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A pleasant surprise in this summer！
MLC is a wonderful TV series surprise in this summer. The series presents high quality of custom, settings, storyline, martial arts and actings to the audiences, together all of those elements created a exceptional TV series with beautiful cinematography.All actors contribute amazing performances， especially Cheng Yi, a great actor who I first noticed in XianXia romance drama L&R. So before MLC, I already knew that he’s a talented young actor. But in this series, not only did he prove his strength on tragedy scence once again, he also brought new surprises to the audience and showing us that he can do comedy and exceptional on fight sequences. O also want to bravo to him for using his own voice this time. In my opinion, actors using their own voices in period drama can really help on increasing the quality of the TV series. Cheng Yi as an actor just keeps bringing new surprises and showing his unlimited acting skills, so really looking forward to his future works.
Btw, the background music is very on poin. It follows the storyline very close, making a perfect combination.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Overhyped
We have the typical hyper-competent lead with no real flaws, who somehow still gets deceived by his senior and, surprise… dies in the end. His supposed character development mostly happened off-screen. LXY repeatedly claimed that he wasn’t the same person anymore, but I honestly didn’t see any real change. I don’t understand why the writers expected viewers to root for a protagonist whose growth they never actually showed. As a result, he was very boring to me.FDB was a cute character, but the lack of balance in his dynamic with LXY made their interactions feel flat. Their relationship was fine, just nothing memorable. And the fact that FDB got deceived by LXY more than half of the time didn’t help.
The villains were one-dimensional, and for some reason the show thought inserting an evil laugh at every turn was a good idea. After a while, it became unintentionally funny instead of threatening.
I liked DFS, but he also suffered from being written as another one-dimensional character.
The core concept wasn’t new, just a detective story, yet after three cases it became very repetitive. The writers used the same formula over and over again, and by episode 30 the story already felt complete. The pacing was draggy, and there wasn’t much narrative payoff for sticking with it.
Overall, I didn’t feel that any of the characters went through meaningful development. They simply weren’t flawed enough for growth, which again made them feel one-dimensional.
To be fair, the cases themselves were initially clever and fun, but that enjoyment faded once the structure repeated too often.
The ending didn’t leave any emotional impact on me either.
The OSTs were fine but forgettable, though I will say the cinematography was gorgeous.
All in all, a pretty disappointing watch for me, especially considering how much hype surrounded it.
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Extraordinary
I dont know what happened to the low rating, but this drama is amazing, impressive, and incredible! ChengYi is talented and he shows great prowess at acting. His acting makes me believe he's actually going through whatever his character is going through. The storyline of this drama is novel and full of quirky detail. A spiteful low rating review is disgraceful. I dont know what happened to the low rating, but this drama is amazing, impressive, and incredible! ChengYi is talented and he shows great prowess at acting. His acting makes me believe he's actually going through whatever his character is going through. The storyline of this drama is novel and full of quirky detail. A spiteful low rating review is disgraceful.Was this review helpful to you?
Very touching, no fast forward
A story about a long farewell of Li Lian Hua who used to be the No.1's Swordsman to his past & friends"It was good then, it's good now"
This is one of the 2 c-dramas which I highly recommend for 2023. Viewers will be touched by the effort spent on producing this drama. Every component just makes sense.
There is no need to fast forward as plot is fast-paced (kudos to screenwriter), the acting skills of all actors are online, scenes are well shot, settings & props are very well prepared, OSTs and BGMs are very suitable.
-Plot
Screenwriter has done a really good job. The rhythm is very fast. This is the only drama I don't fast forward. In fact, sometimes I need to pause for fear of missing some clues.
The author Teng Ping and Screenwriter Liu Fang also interpret respect to women very well through Li Lian Hua's character, which I really appreciate.
-Update based on ep20: Kudos to screenwriter
The screenwriter is really good. Now that we are at episode 20, I realise that the previous cases, such as Yipin Tomb & Li Xiang Yi's flashback to his return to Sigu Sect have had brief introductions to future cases. As a viewer, I just did not realise the significance. Not only do I not fast forward, I need to go back to prior episodes to find clues. I really love this drama.
-Acting skills
Very good acting skills, especially Cheng Yi, this is his best role yet. It's really not easy to potray Li Lian Hua's letting go. He used to be best swordsman and he's now living an ordinary life, with poor health.
Li Lian Hua is not an easy character to potray. Li Lian Hua is sickly, but tries his best to live happily to the best of his ability. He has a chivalrous spirit, but at the same time, a bit gossipy, like to talk nonsense. There is also no filter in this drama, so you can see the up & downs of his appearance very clearly. In short, there is no character buff.
FDB & DFS interactions are very fun.
-Martial Arts Scenes
There are many good martial arts scenes.
The first 10mins of the Battle of The East China Sea is really excellent. There are many more we haven't seen yet as we are only halfway through the drama.
-Cases
Focusing on human nature's worst vices. I won't give any spoiler, so please watch and try to guess the culprit.
We now have up to 8 episodes free on IQIYI. Some people who are used to suspense/detective may find ep1-3 a bit slow, so I recommend going directly to ep 6 Yipin Tomb. The cases got more complicated as we go. If you like ep 6-8, go back to watch ep1
-OSTs
There are only 4 OSTs for this drama.
The first love OST, a pot of lotus wine is fast-paced, but now I cry when hearing this song. Li Lian Hua & Qiao Wan Yu's farewell in ep 17-18 are just too emotional. How can a martial arts/suspense drama have one of the best BE asthetics?
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I'll Be Right Back... And I've Sneaked Away Again!
I needed a break from romance, and Mysterious Lotus Casebook supplied that admirably. There was little to no romance in this story of a jaded martial arts leader turned traveling physician turned part-time detective.The Good:
• Cheng Yi played Li Lian Hua/Li Xiang Yi, a man who was jaded by the disappointments of his past. He carried enormous self-condemnation for his youthful arrogance and judged himself far too harshly. To the same extent he condemned himself, he forgave all his betrayers. As Li Xiang Yi, he upheld justice and trusted too well those he befriended. Li Xiang Yi was a different sort of hero: he was admirable, though hardly approachable or easily likable. It took getting to know him well to understand his lies and subterfuges were protections for others, because he didn't wish to involve them in dangerous situations. And he wouldn't allow others to become close to him because of his past (not having good discernment) or his future (not planning on having one).
• Joseph Zeng played the part of the wide-eyed novice, Fang Duo Bing, well. He was naive and inept when first meeting Li Lian Hua. So gullible! The drama saw him grow from a coddled noble to a capable detective.
• Xiao Shun Yao was spectacular as the stony-faced villain, Di Fei Sheng. I especially enjoyed his character arc.
• The developing friendships of the male leads were the heart of the drama and delightful to watch.
• The anime moving the Lotus House to new locations was charming.
• Spirit Fox was a good dog. That smiling face!
The Bad:
• Li Lian Hua suffered 10 years of the ambiguity of his Senior's death. He spent those years frantically searching for his body and looking for closure. Would someone who had gone through that perpetuate that non-ending for others?
• Would someone please unharness those horses? It's like they lived in their harnesses. I felt angst over that!
The drama was open-ended. How could Li Lian Hua do that to me?! I've added a half star for Di Fei Sheng's look of annoyance whenever he dealt with Fang Duo Bing. Amused me every time.
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