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bitterchoco23

Indonesia

bitterchoco23

Indonesia
Ashes of Love chinese drama review
Completed
Ashes of Love
3 people found this review helpful
by bitterchoco23
Oct 31, 2018
63 of 63 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 10.0
I watched this drama because I got bored of Korean dramas and decided to try something new. This was definitely not my first Chinese drama, but it was my first xianxia (chinese, fantasy, martial arts) drama. Despite the almost perfect mark, I tried to make this review as objective as I can, so here's my review:

Story:
First of all, I knew this drama was adapted from a book, but I haven't read the book when I watched this, so I won't compare them.
This drama has the classic plot of two-man-fighting-over-one-girl. It's not bad, but I think I could guess the dynamic from the start, so I wasn't surprised. The unique element in this story was the yun dan (the unfeeling pill) and the fact that Jin Mi couldn't feel love. This fact made room for conflicts and kept the story interesting.
The beginning of the story was very sweet and funny, but towards the middle of the drama it got a bit long and draggy. They added a lot of side stories for supporting characters. I mostly skip them because it didn't really affect the main story, but actually the side stories were not bad at all. Towards the end, it was really good, especially because the side stories are not as much as the middle. The story focused back on the main characters and the conflicts escalated and got even more interesting. Gosh! I really love all the misunderstanding, betrayal, remorse, and redemption in this story! The heartbreak were actually the best part because even though the main characters were not lovey-dovey, you can feel their love for each other even more!
Despite all the love for the story, it did get too long before we reach the peak of the conflict. I definitely think the episodes could be shorter.

Acting/Cast:
I don't know much about Chinese actors and actresses, but I've done some research on the casts of this drama.
Yang Zi as Jin Mi - Of all the main casts, I think she was the most experienced and she was actually regarded as one of the best female actress of her age in China. This shows in her acting. I think she acted really well and capable of portraying Jin Mi's development throughout the story.
Deng Lun as Xu Feng - I actually fell in love with his acting in this drama! He was really good! I was surprised to know that he was pretty new in the industry, given that he debuted in 2013. I think he gave Xu Feng some boyish charm, and oh boy his eyes!!! I was amazed at how he could deliver emotion through his eyes so well! It was like with one stare you knew he was madly in love with Jin Mi, and another stare you knew his heart was broken.
Luo Yun Xi (Leo) as Run Yu - If I wasn't mistaken, he was a ballet dancer and a singer! I think his theatrical acting came through and it actually suits Run Yu, especially because this is a xianxia drama. I think overall, he did well in portraying Run Yu's complex personality.

Music:
This drama has 4 original theme songs and some of them were sung by different singer so in total there were 7.
- Unsullied (??).
Sang by Mao Buyi for the opening theme song, also sang by Sa Dingding and Jian Hongyi. (Wikipedia) Honestly, I only heard the versions sang by Mao Buyi as the opening and Sa Dingding as the drama background song (I'm sorry Jian Hongyi). I really love the lyrics in this song and I personally didn't get bored hearing this song over and over again in the drama.
- Upwards to the moon (????), sang by Sa Dingding.
This is the song played at the ending. It has a strong war vibe and actually used in the war scene.
-Unpararelled in the world/Heaven and earth without frost (????)
There are 2 versions of this song. One was sang by Deng Lun and the other is a duet version of Deng Lun and Yang Zi. This is I think is Xu Feng's version of the song with Love frost as Jin Mi's version.
- Love frost (??)
This song was sang by Yang Zi and some of the lyrics was similar to heaven and earth without frost. It's kind of the Jin Mi's version of the song.

I was a bit surprised to find out that for 63 episodes, this drama doesn't have a lot of song, but I didn't get bored hearing the song over and over again. I think the repetitive songs help to build the mood in the story because you will be reminded of the previous scenes when the particular song was played.

Rewatch value:
I actually have rewatched a few scenes before writing this review... so....

Overall:
I personally love this drama and don't mind watching it over and over again. I might also download it so I can watch it offline. That's how much I love it.
Despite having long episodes, this drama has a simple plot idea. You don't need to think too much while watching this, just sit back and enjoy the show as the story unfold.
For recommendation, I think if you don't mind long episodes and the classic plot of two-man-fighting-over-one-girl, then you will like the show.
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