Immortalking

This is a drama that deserves to stand alone on its own. It does not owe anything to the original Nirvana in Fire. Having watched NIF 1 first, it was difficult to see any other drama rival or surpass it, but then again, here we are. NIF-2 excels in every department. From storytelling, music, acting to set design, lighting everything felt natural. Despite being a nearly flawless drama, I had one issue with NIF 1 and that is the lack of human connection of the living ones to the dead ones. The characters were not as fleshed out as I would have liked. This is precisely the area NIF-2 excels at, human connection between the members of changlin mansion. NIF-2 had more heart. All the actors were excellent, but I must commend the main actor Liu Hao Ran for his portrayal of Xiao Pinjing. He was brilliant at the start at being a sort of unrestrained, naive, adventurous brat that slowly morphed into this handsome, responsible son, brother, uncle and lover while becoming an exceptional General. Personally, this remains one of the best cdramas ever made.