A Journey to Love (2023)

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Supererb assassin and team oriented group. The story is indeed great that you keep on waiting for next eps everyday. Each of them carries their own task but they work as a team. The cast/ writer/director/producers are good and they support each other. Hopefully the drama continues to give us great storyline. I'm so excited for the next eps and next fighting scene because it's really awesome to watch wuxia' making move. And, I hope the princess will learn something and grow more throughout their journey not for her mission but for the Team. Hoping to see growth to each members. Goodluck!

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Perfect for people who like the traditional way of fighting

This is one of the best series of 2023. If you like the sword fighting and martial arts you would love this drama. If you are someone who is attracted by someone's intelligence then u would love the characters also. The plot and twists are just worth the watch! You would not get bored if you rewatch it. Each character played by them portray a different feeling and emotion.
This is one of the best series of 2023. If you like the sword fighting and martial arts you would love this drama. If you are someone who is attracted by someone's intelligence then u would love the characters also. The plot and twists are just worth the watch! You would not get bored if you rewatch it. Each character played by them portray a different feeling and emotion.
This is one of the best series of 2023. If you like the sword fighting and martial arts you would love this drama. If you are someone who is attracted by someone's intelligence then u would love the characters also. The plot and twists are just worth the watch! You would not get bored if you rewatch it. Each character played by them portray a different feeling and emotion.
This is one of the best series of 2023. If you like the sword fighting and martial arts you would love this drama. If you are someone who is attracted by someone's intelligence then u would love the characters also. The plot and twists are just worth the watch! You would not get bored if you rewatch it. Each character played by them portray a different feeling and emotion.
This is one of the best series of 2023. If you like the sword fighting and martial arts you would love this drama. If you are someone who is attracted by someone's intelligence then u would love the characters also. The plot and twists are just worth the watch! You would not get bored if you rewatch it. Each character played by them portray a different feeling and emotion.

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Best Costume Drama of 2023

Things to like

- As an original piece there's no spoilers, or petty arguments as to whether it's true to the original, the plot line is well paced and the character development sound.
- Liu ShiShi has improved so much, thought it might just be rose tinted specs so actually re-watched brotherhood of blades and yup definitely a better actress than she was!
- The fight scenes, OK non of them are Jet Li but the fight choreographer did a stellar job translating the character's role into their fighting style, e.g. Ren Ru Yi is an assassin so she goes for precise cuts and slashes to the throat/head, thought has gone into this and makes it more immersive.
- No padding, so many dramas today are filled with silly flashbacks and musical interludes, so far the musical segments are there to help convey a scene's emotion and the flashbacks are part of the story rather than just re-editing old scenes to stretch things out. In fact there are so many details on screen and in dialog went back and re-watched the whole thing whilst waiting for episodes 19 and 20.
- Liu Yuning's commitment, he's not the best actor in the world by a long shot but you can see the effort he's put into this production, it's not like he's phoning it in (looking at you Ren Jia Lun!), don't really get the hate he's receiving. Shisan is the pretty boy in this drama and LYN's character is the leader of the hell path of a paramilitary organisation what do people expect some one like that to look like? if anything Liu ShiShi is way too pretty to play a crimson guard left envoy (that is until you see the fight scenes then it all becomes believable again!)
- Cinematography, its a 40 episode web/TV production rather than a movie so the budget only goes so far but a few green screen scenes aside it looks good.

Things I didn't like

- The silly sound effects acompanying the comedic moments

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Well i think is still worth it

I loved this drama from the first episode. while it has some plot flaws like the ltg plot that was just bad, better storytelling could have emerged if they hadn't focused so much on his obsession with ruyi. overall, it's a very good drama, and i adore the dynamics of the characters and has a very good storytelling

My disappointment comes from the last episodes, not because of the deaths – i genuinely enjoy angst – but because of how it was executed. using the impact of sadness seemed like an overused trope in such a short time. up until episode 34, the pacing was excellent, but it felt rushed with the deaths. i'm fine with deaths in historical dramas, but wiping out all of them? it saddens me because there seems to be no point in doing this to the characters. it would be much better if they were better paced it reached a point that it lost momentum for it.
These were characters i truly loved and cared about, and it had the potential to be much better ending if we compare to the beginning, despite everything i will trully miss this drama :(

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This is the best depiction of a BADASS & SHAMELESS couple

I've never expected much of this drama, but after reading the synopsis, I was hooked up entirely. Assassin-themed plot is my favorite and given the visuals of the supporting casts, I was more than encouraged to start this. Alright, let's just begin, shall we?

A Journey to Love was set in two fiction neighboring countries, An and Wu, who have borne longtime grudge. Okay, so the reckless Emperor of Wu decided to attack the An and look what it had become... he was kidnapped by the An who put a bounty on his head.

Meanwhile, a retired leader of Liu Dao Hall - Ning Yuanzhou, was requested to seize back his position and immediately lead the Wu diplomatic team to negotiate with the An with the hope of getting back their emperor. Aside from that, Ning Yuanzhou also encountered a badass yet shameless former An assassin (Scarlet Guard), Ren Ruyi aka Ren Xin. She grudgingly agreed to become the part of the diplomatic team after he ensured that she could leave wherever she wanted as long as she explained all sorts of things regarding the An.

Eventually, their teams consisted of the flirty Yu Shisan, the clever teenager Yuan Lu, the stoic Qian Zhao, the cheerful Sun Lang, and also the lonely princess of the Wu, Yang Ying. Together, they embarked on a journey and shared the moments of joy and sorrow together. At the country of An, their band expanded to the brave Chu Yue and the delulu Li Tongguang.

Eventually, the mastermind would be the Emperor of An and the second prince of An whose mother was Ruyi's former superior. It is quite predictable, but of course, we need evidence and proves to make sure they're the culprit. Nonetheless, it's still very twisty, though.

The bloodbath in the last episodes was unnecessary at all. Why should you kill those characters who only had their developments after venturing into An? To me, it's unacceptable. However, the writers perhaps thought that they've died as patriotic heroes and have no regrets to die for the country. In my opinion, Ruyi and Yuanzhou could've been dead after the attack of the Beipan. I previously thought that they were going to live in seclusion after everything was settled. But fate was playing a cruel joke on them. That's my only disappointment, though.

Acting is bearable and I've got no trouble regarding it. In fact, I didn't feel the main leads' chemistry despite their flirty actions. On the other hand, I would like to appreciate Liu Shishi for playing such a badass girl like Ruyi. She is fit for this kind of character and I'll will be waiting for her in 'Kill My Sins' and 'Fox Spirit Matchmaker 2'. Liu Yuning did perfectly in his first ever lead role and he looked charismatic too. The MVP here might be Yang Ying, portrayed flawlessly by He Landou. She has the most character development here, from the shy and lonely princess to a brave and decisive prince. Special mention for Chang Huasen who played the delusional Li Tongguang too perfectly. I really rooted on him and couldn't help to like him. The master-disciple dynamic between Ruyi and him is one of the good aspects of this drama. I can even feel their chemistry. :)

Opening OST is the best, which is sung by Liu Yuning (aside from beautiful voice, he's good in acting. He's an excellent all-rounder (reminded me of Mo Qingcheng in Love Me, Love My Voice)).

Despite the bloodbath, I still love this series. Overall, a ten out of ten. However, I need to use fast-forward button in order to watch quickly (due to my tight schedule and exam last year). If you love this kind of plot, you won't regret this. My suggestion is to give this a shot and you'll be entertained in no time. Good luck in watching.

P.S.
Surprisingly, I didn't use the fast forward button in Li Tongguang's scene. He's just too pitiful to be skipped forward. Wkwkwkwkwk.

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This was a very entertaining show as Liu Shi Shi does not disappoint. She's definitely a big name in the Chinese cinema industry and her acting was phenomenal in this work. Liu Yuning was also very good despite what other viewers might have said about him. Although I have to stress about how the show ended and how it could have ended.

Ren Ruyi is a former top assassin of her old organization, the Scarlet Guards of the State of An. She soon teams up with dashing Liudao Hall leader Ning Yuanzhou and his homeboys of the State of Wu to get revenge for her former benefactor, the Empress of An. Sounds enticing doesn't it? The first half of the show was filled with twists and turns, plotting and scheming among political organizations and assassinations. Unfortunately, the drama falls short of expectations. So many major characters don't make it till the end, leaving so many viewers rather confused as to why they lost their lives. Ruyi's disciple, Li Tongguang, played by the very handsome Chang Huasan, was done wrong by the screenwriter. He starts out as the talented military leader who manages to take down the Wu Emperor and his army despite being so young. We later realize that he is just a petulant child with stalkerish tendencies towards his former master, and he continues his behavior into the very end. Not to mention, his military prowess suddenly disappears into thin air and he is responsible for the State of An's shameful defeat in the early stages of the war. They did my homeboy wrong, and for no reason. Towards the end, the State of Wu also tumbled and their crippled prince tries to kill his siblings to take over the throne. The drama was also filled with some inconsistencies with many people switching alliances. Initially, princess Yangying is betrayed by her older brother Danyang, but he later becomes emperor and is supported by the entire main cast. As if his betrayal wasn't obvious earlier. They also killed off the rest of Ning Yuanzhou's brothers, which was uncalled for. But alas, I guess the fate of these detective like agents in historical time periods is pretty predictable.

Nonetheless, I find this show to be very enjoyable because of its theme. Ruyi is glorified as the most feared assassin throughout the world and even in the end she still goes out with a bang. Literally. No joke. The theme of the imperial court and its clandestine organizations is petty neat and I like the idea of covert operations in ancient times, as well the comical moments of the brothers of Liudao Hall. It was overall a great show and I hope to watch more like this one.

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Definitely worth watching...

This was beautifully done. I would recommend it to anyone. I gave the series a 9.5 overall, because of two factors. I needed to confirm whether I got the ending correct and the explanation that I read in My Drama List coincided with what I thought, but quite frankly it was not believable. So I would love to see how they explain it in a sequel. There were two possibilities. One was that Chu Yue killed herself at the end or that Ruyi and Ning faked their own deaths and had children. I wanted to believe the later (but frankly they were both so badly injured, there is no way, not eve through willing suspension of disbelief), because I wanted them to live and have that child. In addition, I would have liked to have seen way more passion between Ren Ru Yi and Ning Yuan Zhou. So took off .5 because of the lack of passion, and the ending was a bit squirrely.

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Great Casts with an Okay Story Line

I loved all of the characters in this drama. Every person played their role right. I have no complaints and this is one of the best drama of 2023 as well. I'm really in love with Liu Shi Shi's role and she looks like a HOT MAMA (if you know what I mean). Liu Yu Ning did his best and I really appreciate his acting growing each day. Yushisan stole the show, I'd really want to watch more of his backstory. All of the Liudao Hall characters stole my heart. I really wished the ending was better that was the only down fall of this drama. Highly recommend to watch and yes it's a bad ending.

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The ending killed my love

This story started so well, making us fall inlove with the strong character of the female lead and the shy but also strong male lead.

If i can fast forward, all happened naturallyz there are those crazy disciples like Li Tong , part of the story.

The shy princess who makes it her mission to bring her brother back from captivity with the help of the so fine male leads, becones strong but funny at the same time when she is with her trusted companions. Her friendship with Yuan Lu, on my God how i wish they had a chance... crying after episide 34. The Leads die one by one. I felt sad guys, you have no idea how much i cried after QS and L die. Then YL dying in YY arms. i broke dowm.

My question to authors... mara why vele. none of them were spared but couldnt they have a happy re union together instead, the heroes die and we are left with the tomboy princess at the end. .

The way Ning died, and the FL,, im mad . the person who was supposed to have the memories at the end is princess YY cos she was there from the begining. Honestly. I loved the story until ep 34. The tears i shed from then on are ridiculously painful. The script writer and editors... what were you thinking giving us those last 6 episodes of killings

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