A Multi-Lifetime Fantasy That Wasn't Perfect, but Deeply Enjoyable
I really enjoyed this one. It wasn’t perfect—there were moments when the script or certain sub-arcs didn’t quite work for me, and it didn’t end up being a top-shelf favorite—but it was still a story I genuinely loved following.The setting was beautiful, and the characters were lovable and engaging. I especially enjoyed the layered storytelling that unfolded across three lifetimes. It’s a fantasy narrative that made me feel sad, happy, angry, and disappointed—and it even made me laugh. I was emotionally invested, and I loved discussing the story in the comments with everyone here, which isn’t always the case when I’m watching along week to week.
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Good acting and technology but...
I finished watching The Unclouded Soul last night and while I think the cast, make up and technology are really good, the story didn’t grasp my attention as I thought it would. I think, ultimately, it’s a script problem because it uses all the tropes but not in a fun or fresh way.Long time cdrama watchers will understand when I say this was wasted potential because, sadly, we have seen this story before over and over again. But new cdrama fans might want to give it a try and figure out if xianxia is for them, this is a good option if you haven't seen any before.
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This didnt hit me :(
I feel like I am the only one who was struggling with this drama. I get the storyline about 3 Lifetimes and finding each other.Here is the thing, I really like Hou Ming Hao fantasy dramas because he know how to play his roles and I like Tan Song Yun work because I have watched alot of her dramas too.
They had great chemistry, dont get me wrong and that is why I pushed through to finish it but for me, there was just something about each episode that I cant put a pin on.
Xiao Yao character was so childish and her voice in the drama was a bit annoying. I started to deal with it when she was playing a different her other selves.
And then the "little demons" were too childish for me.
I didnt really get much of Xiao Yao being a very strong FL in this series and I love a strong ML and FL.
Fast forward to the end, I knew I was going to expect an ending like but it was good and other persons seems to enjoy it and I am glad they see and enjoy what I didnt.
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Awesome fantasy drama - worth a watch
LIKEMy god Sui Meng Xian Jun!! - her story also touched my heart
Xiao Yao keeps on destroying Zhu Yu's wooden hut lol
Have you found your cat then? Lol what kind of question
A Li's piece of story is really so touching I want to die - cry till death
Wow the plot twist is good when the girls going through tests in "Huan Xu Jing" my tears!
The tao sha story cannot let go soso good criesss
Going back to see the pasts is such a good idea
When Ning An tries to make Hong Yan cry lol
The three big demons so funny my god and innocent
Poor Pian Pian's pathetic life
How is Bing Zu being let off so easily lol
The last idea Xiao Yao came out with was a turning point for all events which was great
DISLIKE
The timeline when Xiao Yao found Hong Yan a little wrong he is with blood but at that time she still doesn’t know him or was it a sign only?
MUSIC - personal fav
怕是一场梦 Pa Shi Yi Chang Meng - 侯明昊 Hou Ming Hao
镜 Jing - 段奥娟 Duan Ao Juan
念与劫 Nian Yu Jie - 黄霄雲 Huang Xiao Yun
燃烬 Ran Jin - 井胧 Jing Long
从此 Cong Ci - 谭松韵 Tan Song Yun
人间辞 Ren Jian Ci - 许馨文 Xu Xin Wen
裂 Lie - 菲菲 Fei Fei, 李鑫一 Li Xin Yi
REWATCH VALUE
Shall re-watch when I have the time some day
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This review may contain spoilers
Ending has disappointed me ?
In this drama you might feel confused from the starting but as you move further in episodes you will find their different reincarnation story and and every story is engaging cause both lead's have suffered for their love . When I first saw that she killed him i was shocked but when I saw the reason in further episode I was crying because of her helplessness and how heart broken the male lead was but he still trusted her , his eyes was filled with tears but there was love to. HAO MINGHAO / TAN SONGYUN . Best drama but I am disappointed by the ending others might think she goes in the past to meet him they are happy there but I didn't expected this ending after being through so much .And I am not into sad ending that much it would hurt for days in real to so I watch less sad ending dramas 🥰🪷🐉
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This drama has a Bad Ending - Not Sad but Everything Else was Nice
The story was illogical. Don’t get me started on the plot holes! I liked the idea of the first time loop. It wasn’t the cliché reincarnation or erased-memories trope. But the OG life also being a time loop? No. That idea was senseless. They should have pulled a 'Till the End of the Moon 'there, like Sang Jiu’s story.Bing Zhu killing off the most powerful demons like bed bugs—were they a joke to the storyline? Xing Mu dying in that scenario, and then Bing Zhu comes along and says, “Sorry bro, my bad, I’ll repent for it.” Really? The villains were so weak, while the other side was shown as extremely powerful—the Emperor, Bing Zhu, Hei Wui. Hei Wui had so much potential in the beginning, but even he became a joke halfway through.
And the ending. Oh, the ending. She goes into the loop again just to relive the memories. That’s when I understood—we were the joke. Did I get closure, even though everyone conveniently moved on in the last 10 minutes? HELL NO.
The OST was nice. It suited the drama very well, but they could have used all the songs more equally. They barely used the others compared to the title track.
All the actors and their costumes were beautiful. Even the minute details were well done. The Valley was beautiful. The human world was beautiful.
Their romance was also cute. It wasn’t very burning or steamy; it gave innocent, first-love vibes. There was no confession per se—they were already an unspoken couple. There were no unnecessary misunderstandings or a green-tea female lead following the ML around calling “gegegege” like a turkey.
Overall, it’s an 8/10 from my side—mainly for the pretty ML, FL, the other actors, the sets, and maybe the OST.
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Plot is not interesting - Review up to 20
This is a review up to eps 20. I will be dropping the drama because the story is not interesting to me. Please don't comment/attack my review because this review is not attacking you, "your actors," or your values. It's just about how I feel about the story up to 20.I like both actors. Up to episode 8, the drama was great.
However, the script can't hold my interest. The love story is not compelling, especially when the ML disappeared for awhile. Then he lost his power. The SML seems to have equal screen time.
I normally like TSY. Here, when she was in the Princess role, she looks beautiful. However, in the XY role, her hair always looks unkempt. I love her when she was in Under the Power. She was really funny and cute there. I think it's the script.
The resolution of the Sui Meng Xian Jun [Dreamshard immortal] story doesn't make sense.
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Lazy writing at its best ?
After the huge success of Love In The Clouds, The Unclouded Souls was definitely something I was looking forward to. Can't say I'm fully disappointed cause I could see both Hou Minghao and Tan Songyun did everything they could to save this lacklustre of the plot...but even they had their limits!Lets talk about the pros.
Well,HMH as the Demon King Hong Ye was absolutely gorgeous. He's a king,who is not someone with arrogance or show off but a leader who has this huge responsibility to protect his people from human...a King with morality,sense of duty,someone you can always rely on.But when he's with Xiao Yao,he's a lover,a protector who has been betrayed in his previous life but still his heart belongs to her and he acknowledges it really well. HMH did real Justice to this role.He had that calm,elegant,gentle sophisticated aura that immediately makes you respect him as a King who is always ready to protect his subjects or a lover who despite being hurt deeply, loves with his everything. I could feel Hong Ye's sadness in his sorrowful eyes before that first time travel and loved how eventually his eyes changed after he finally fell in love with Xiao Yao.
Tan Songyun,even though she was older than HMH,was so lively,beautiful as Xiao Yao who is naughty,cheerful,vibrant,cheeky, always smiling and making everyone smile. She was weak but never solely depending on others. When needed,she delivered powerful performance. As a dragon lord from 10,000 years ago,she was looking majestic.She was one of the reasons for me to finish this drama,loved her as Xiao Yao/Ning'an.
And this pair worked. Not in a "set the screen on fire" way,but in a mature,more understanding, subtle way. Hong Ye who even after everything,his past with Ning'an,his enmity with human,his responsibility as Demon King, still loved his Xiao Yao till his last moment. Xiao Yao even after her heartbreak 10000 years ago due to Hong Ye,after everything she went through,still loved her Hong Ye till she found him again and again. They understood each others sacrifices,their past never became a hindrance to their love.They were destined to be lover,a miserable pair mocked by destiny who just wanted to live with each other in every timeline. HMH and TSY was sweet as a couple, understood their character and delivered well.
Cinematography and cgi was good. OST's were really lovely, I absolutely loved "Afraid It's Only A Dream". Comedy bits were good too,some were really laughable.
Now...cons.
1.Story writing was really lazy...perhaps bad at some points.There were times when I had to skip cause it was so boring.The whole plot with Dreamshard Immortal was so painfully boring...making Hong Ye almost disappear for like 4/5 episodes,making him a prisoner with no power, the trials with those girls,suddenly Dali becoming evil for no reason..... Nothing was appealing at all. Later they again made Hong Ye powerless only to make Xiao Yao have time travel and when she came back,she had to go back again...there has to be some limits of stupid writing! Also Bingzhu-Pianpian plotline was another headache! Bingzhu who always hated Demons suddenly becoming one and Pianpian behind all these calamity that fell upon Demon valley for no apparent reason....nothing makes sense.
2.Since time travel contains a huge plot of the story,some effort should've given to make it somehow logical. Now the " chicken-egg" theory makes everything questionable.Xiao Yao kept going back, sometimes she's clueless,sometimes she remembers,she knows whats gonna happen but still did the same thing...it was painful to watch.Also after the story unfolds,it felt like it was Xiao Yao as Dragon Lord and her obsession with Hong Ye that started everything. Didn’t understand how it was Hong Ye's fault 10000 years ago when it was him and his people who was tortured,killed by demons and he deceived them only to protect his people. Yes,he did deceive Xiao Yao too,but he didn’t deserve to be killed by her for that,that part was illogical. Also,why Hong Ye didn’t go with Xiao Yao in time travels when he also was a main part of whatever happened??
3.Bringing back three big Demons,giving them likable characters only to kill them so easily was another bad turn of the plot. Other small demons and Demon valley also got sidelined since the story started to heavily base on past incidents.
4.The ending could be much much better if they didn’t take the typical sad xianxia route. Hong Ye already got punished and suffered in the past two timelines. Even after becoming a demon, he's been atoning for his sins for 5000 years.....so why make him punished again for eternity??? Why nothing happened to Bingzhu who been killing demons left and right?He suddenly became a demon and out of nowhere Tan'er appeared on Pianpian's body and he stopped fighting???? Why Pianpian not punished who's been behind everything? How can that greedy emperor die so easily and after that suddenly human and demons were on good terms???? Out of all these people who deserved to die,why Hong Ye was the one who had to sacrifice??? Its not like people will forget about Yuli Spring,they will keep finding it and make chaos.Hong Ye's sacrifice was'nt needed.
Overall if we ignore the plotholes and that bizarre nonsense ending, its really enjoyable as a eye pleasing drama with sweet mature likeable leads.The story wasn’t that bad,a better writing could actually give us something really memorable.
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Okk But is it just me or you might agree that
Hou Minghao would be a great choice for Playing Inuyasha. If only there ever was a live action adaptation of "Inuyasha" An Japanese Anime that I love & grow up watching.
Maybe, just maybe? I maybe trying to manifest this light bulb idea in my head. Who knows it could actually be good, cause after watching all his fantasy dramas where he either plays a demon or a fox. His getup, his costume and his makeup is always on point & super slik. I would differently tune in for just that.
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1Another masterpiece after Fangs of Fortune
I love the drama.... It is so interesting . If you are hesitating in starting the drama, you shouldn't. Go ahead and watch it. True to my expectations.Hong Ye-
Our ML is just woww...I have no words for expressing my feelings. Hou Ge really portrayed it in the best possible way.
Lord demon Hong Ye became my favourite character with ZYZ. How beautifully Hou Minghao (ML) can convey his characters' inner thoughts (cry, pain, smile, laugh everything) even without using a word, really appreciable. (Just through his eyes and expression) Truly a great actor. ✅
Xiao Yao- Naughty but smart FL...did a good job alongwith HMH.
I will write a full review after finishing the drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Can't wait for the new episodes!
It’s funny— I started 2025 watching Neo’s Fangs of Fortune, and it feels really fitting that I’m ending the year with another one of his series, The Unclouded Soul. I’m only 16 episodes in so far, and here’s what I’m loving:The cast, especially Seven and Neo as the leads. I’ve always admired Seven’s work and completely fell in love with her in Go Ahead. She consistently has great chemistry with her male leads, which is why I enjoy following her projects. I’m also not surprised to see Neo playing another Demon King—he fits these roles incredibly well. At this point, he might just be the king of playing Demon Kings.
One thing I really love about iQIYI dramas is their consistent CG style. The cinematography and color palette are absolutely beautiful.
The story hooks you right away—a flashback to an unforgettable love story between the leads, paired with a puzzling moment from the past that leaves you questioning what really happened and what was left unresolved. So far, I’m enjoying the pacing and where the story seems to be heading. Maybe it’s the cast, or maybe it’s how lighthearted the drama feels. After watching so many intense historical dramas filled with heavy politics and intricate details, this was a refreshing change of pace for me.
I also love how this drama reminds me of classic wuxia. It gives me vibes similar to Ashes of Love, Fangs of Fortune, Love Between Fairy and Devil, and Back from the Brink.
This is one series I cannot wait for the new release!! I hope this continues till the end! Currently this is a 8/10 for me!
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Has delivered almost nothing memorable or distinctive.
I am currently on episode 21 and, unfortunately, I have to agree with some fellow viewers about the poor quality of the story. The script is very weak, slow-paced, and lacks emotion. Worse still, the love story is dull and unengaging.Both main leads are excellent actors, delivering first-rate performances, as expected. Sadly, the story does not support them. It fails to gain momentum, fails to captivate, and fails to move the audience.
I have watched so many good C-dramas recently, but this one truly promised a lot and, so far, has delivered almost nothing memorable or distinctive.
I will try to finish it for the sake of the actors, but it is honestly quite discouraging.
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