An light-hearted drama that will make you smile

I really enjoyed heroic husband as this is one type of non-conventional Chinese costume drama.

One of the main reasons is because of Guo Qn Lin as Ning Yi. GQL does not have the handsome face of a typical male lead, nor does he have years of experience as an actor. He is a former comedian and regular in TV shows. It is these experience that gives him this aura as an actor that pushed him up to his popularity as Fan Si Zhe, the cute brother in Joy of Life. It is his cunningness to trick his opponent, his talent to win friends, his sweet relationship with Su Tan Er, his consciousness for what's right and what's wrong that makes him very attractive as a male lead. The way he talks in his own voice, especially when he delivers long lines, creates a positive mood and makes the audience want to listen to him. Just like when listening to the perfect way a comedian talks.

Another reason is the reverse role. Similar to Joy of Life, through a novel, the male lead suddenly transferred into the body of “赘婿”, the form husband who marries into the house of a higher-status wife instead of the way around. Society regards them as lower status. In an ancient setup, it's refreshing to see how wives dominate the household and order the husband around; while the husbands cook, massage, and fear the wives. A setup that you rarely see in modern dramas. Of course, Ning Yi’s intellect soon shows that he is not just a weak Zhui Xu. But he stays humble and unconditionally supports his wife STE and her business. It is the balance between the two of them that makes them a role model of couples, whether this is in ancient times or modern times.

The drama is split into two parts. The first part is about NY supporting STE to become a successful business owner and overcome all kinds of evil tricks by both outsiders as well as family members. A lot of the tactics are used in Sun Tzu's Art of warfare. More than Joy of Life, Ning Yi is using modern business tricks to win over his opponents. The results are very rewarding and explanations are very clear and logical. The whole process is filled with humor and colorful characters. The second part is much more serious which involves freeing the city from bandits. I agree that the second half has lost a bit of the first half's light-hearted flavor as well as the sweet romance between STE and NY. However, I also see that it would be boring to continue to the same plotline as most parts have been exhausted so I welcome the fresh perspectives. I just wished they would have continued some of the key elements which have made the first half successful. There are also moments in which it was highly unlikely for Ning Yi to escape a dangerous situation that felt slightly unrealistic but suddenly the ending was very serious and realistic. On the other hand, I really welcome how the writer finalized the story between Xi Gua (Watermelon) and NY as there was a big risk of out-of-character behaviors of NY. Not only did the show keep the NY's natural personality but kept the relationship between the two characters.

Overall, I would recommend this drama if you enjoy a light-hearted period drama that is mixed with the humor of a modern drama.

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I have become the biggest fangirl!!

I usually write my review in sequence and avoid writing reviews in the middle before finishing. But I am just so obsessed with this drama that I have to speak about this. Word of Honor is the best BL-adapted dramas I have watched so far. In fact, I have lost sleep and working time in the last few days because of this drama.

Don't get me wrong, I still love and fangirl the Untamed, but Untamed was "just" a great drama, one of the best in China's drama history. But with regards to BL, I still had to get all the fangirl elements from many alternative sources (e.g., all the interpretation videos, the audio production, the original novel, etc.), while with Word of Honor, there is no need to look elsewhere. Everything is there, right in front of your eyes, in 3D, in sound, no need for imagination!! Sometimes we wonder, was there even a censorship committee? The makers only over-dubbed some of the too apparent lines but then put the original source shots with original words spoken online for us fans to see! OMG! And for me, that is reason enough to put this as no 1 of the BL-adapted dramas.
Some prefer to have BL elements slightly more settled where you have to read between the lines. I don't. But that's everyone's preference.

Now to the main content of this review. There are three elements that make up great BL-drama: Sticking to the original source material, suitable plus good-looking main leads, the chemistry between the two main leads (we called this the CP-Feel).

The first point, sticking to the source material: Unfortunately, many great BL-adaptions are downgraded or even destroyed because their adaptations are entirely beyond recognition. Why would they do this despite knowing that there is a natural flow of fans who will watch this because they like the original novel? Of course, we can always blame the China censorship, but that should not be an excuse for a bad script. There are many examples that showed us that.
I haven't read the original material (but definitely intend to check this out after drama), but I have heard from multiple sources that the drama is very close to the original material. Not only that, it added to the original source and expanded the plots of supporting and main characters even further to make it even better. For instance, the fact that both male leads know from childhood is something that was not in the original novel. In the book, Wen Ke Xing is into handsome men (also because he is gay) and therefore started to follow Zhou Zi Shu out of curiosity. This would have made his character shallow. But this change not only put WKX's personality in a better light but also circumvents the pronounced gay element: two birds with one stone. I found out that the scriptwriter is a big fan of Priest, and you can feel the love and delicacy she has put into this work. In fact, a lot of details you can only notice once you watch this drama a second time. And don't worry, you won't get bored even watching it n-times.

Second point: suitable plus good-looking male leads: there is no denying that both leads are delicacies for the eyes. Both leads have had some years of experience, but none of them were that famous at that point in time. I even heard that Gong Jun's acting is rather wooden and of low-quality. Well, not in Word of Honor. He seems to have found his natural element. All the eying, evil smiles and small gestures are on the point. Also, Zhang Zhe Han, although he seems to be slightly stiff in the first six episodes, his expressions become much more vivid and soft after that. I am also very impressed with the gap he showed before and after the disguise - both from acting and from make-up; I really believed these are two different actors! It is said that the scriptwriter asks the director to find someone who has edgy and sharp facial features for ZZS and someone who has soft and slander features for WKX. I have to say the team did a great job picking the perfect actors for the roles. One cannot imagine someone else playing these roles.

Finally, the last point and most important: the CP-Feel:
The biggest thing you worry about in a BL adaption is that both actors cannot act out their affection naturally because it is just awkward. But that's no issue in Word of Honor. I only knew later that GJ's first major acting role was in an actual BL movie. It got taken down because of censorship issues. This explains a lot of his very natural and open form of acting as the "lover-hunter." And you can find this in all the apparent expressions he makes when eying his beloved. Of course, many of the gestures would have come from the master-level instructions of the directors. On the surface, WKX seems to be a witty, sometimes cute, and confident character. But we all know that this character’s dark and mad side which is feared by everyone will be slowly revealed. Will ZZS’s warmth save WKX from his despair? My anticipation rises to the maximum when thinking about the upcoming reveal of this most interesting and deep character.
On the other hand, it is also ZZS's set-up, starting off cold and indifferent towards the temptations of WKX, slowly opens up like a beautiful flower. This slow change in attitude is perfectly shown in his facial expressions, word choice, and gestures in response to WKX. Again, another mastery by Zhang ZZH, the director, and the writer! There is also a slight gap between his mostly cold sober side and sometimes dorky side + loving side that reveal themselves at times. It is like finding a treasure that brings me to smile. Both of the characters, putting together, brings this big explosion of sparks from whom I just cannot get enough.

There are many other great aspects of this drama that I won't go into details: e.g., great music, well-choreographed fighting scenes, well-framed shots, a terrifically tragic side love-line, in-depth supporting characters including even villains.
Certainly, there are some flaws (e.g. the first episode is slightly boring, the entry of clans and characters is too quick, and can be confusing, the low-quality CG, and some acting of the main characters can still be improved). However, these weaknesses just become so insignificant that I just cannot rate this drama with a rational mind anymore. In fact, I think the makers spent their little money on the right things (camera angles and costumes instead of the not-so-important ones (using the same sceneries for multiple scenes).
Now, I just can hope the team will do this drama justice and carry this quality, pacing, and acting into the second half of this drama. This will hopefully create some history for the Chinese BL-drama fandom.

*Edits after watching the full drama
There are a few plot holes, poor editing, and out-of-character behavior in the last episodes (particular episodes 31 and 32) that have made me downgrading the drama from a 10 to a 9.5. However, in my heart, this is still the best drama I have seen so far and really deserves a special place. I am particularly happy with the character development and acting of ZZH as ZZS, truly a man with 2000 layers of ashes.

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Very relatable drama if you are around your 30s

I picked up this drama because I wanted a drama to which I can identify myself to. This drama did not disappoint.

One great watchpoint is that it has three different main characters you can pick and choose from - at least one of the three, or at least some elements of the three will fit your own situation. All three women, Gu Jia, Wang Man Ni, and Zhang Xiao Tong, are modern, but growing up and living in different circumstances. For myself, I can probably identify half with Zhang Xiao Tong, half with Gu Jia. Our women have to deal with events concerning their careers, love life, kids, parents, and female friendships - something that can happen to anyone. They go through various difficult and beautiful events in life, how this can grow their characters, let me realize what they want and don't want in life, and how everyone can move on and find the light at the end of the tunnel despite all kinds of a difficult situation.

I appreciate that the drama is not this "dog blooded" as some other modern Chinese dramas, making things unrealistic. I also appreciate that this drama shows a modern side of Chinese women: not someone that has to fulfill filial obedience to their parents, stay married when it is not a happy one or even find a partner at all, or stay in an office when it is not fulfilling for you. Our main leads reflect on their own behavior and learn from our experience how everyone should do when it comes to things in life.

Of course, this drama has some improvement points that can be made, such as ending episodes. A lot of developments feel a bit rushed and out of nowhere. Many netizens say that this drama has a bad tail due to some of our main leads' choices. On the other hand, I find the ending ok as everyone has different values and opinions about responding to certain situations. We should not be judgemental towards others just because they choose to act differently. How do we know whether our decisions are the right ones? Is it because our parents and society have told us so? Nothing is final "right" or "wrong." Our women in Nothing but Thirty has chosen their path, and we shall wish them well. Let's also wish ourselves well that all women find happiness in life, in one way or another.

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Do not miss this treasure!

Let me keep this review short as many people have shared the opinion about this drama.

The watchpoint of Winter Begonia is how the characters unfold their relationships are developed. Not very long into the show, you will fall in love with the two main characters Shang Xi Rui and Cheng Feng Tai, also named Er Ye. Shang Xi Rui is just one of a kind of a character, which is just stubborn, strong, but adorable in so many ways. Especially at the start of the show, you are worried that he does not make another big fuss that Er Ye has to get him out from. At the start, there are only dramas that surround Beijing Opera and Shang Xi Rui's relationship with many others in the Opera circle. Still, later in the show, it also concerns how to protect China's culture against a foreign enemy and our characters' survival.

The friendship between Shang Xi Rui and Cheng Feng Tai is just beautiful. This is another successful adaption of a BL novel: the romance element is not obvious, but the audience can certainly feel that their souls are connected somehow. If it's not for something else, this is one key reason why you should watch this drama.

Besides, there are so many reasons that make the audience continue watching the show: the mix of everyday happiness as well as drama, the beautify of Beijing Opera, the wonderful characters from main to supporting cast. From young cast to elder ones, everyone's performance is top-notch, even the evil ones. No one is just a tool for the story, but they are three-dimensional human beings.

Finally, these delightful wide-angle shots, delicate sets, and detailed costumes show the makers have really put money in the right places. After the show, I became very interested in Beijing Opera and was grateful for this beautiful art form that our Chinese ancestors have left us.

If there is one thing I can improve, it is the part about WWII and the Japanese being the evil that needs to be destroyed. I just cannot help but feel the propaganda. But if I am objective and overlook that side, it is still a wonderful piece of work that no one should miss. I sincerely hope more of these wonderful BL adaptions can be made.

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Mystery Storytelling at its Brilliance with minor short-comings

The Long Night is a Mystery/Crime drama with its ups and downs, its tears and teeth clenching moment. A drama with its short-comings but one I would recommend.

1. "Sleepness Night": 5/5★★★★★
The second most talk-about mystery drama this year is "the Long Night," written by the same author of "the Bad Kids." Though both are very dim dramas showing society's dark side, it is very different from "the bad kids." In terms of storytelling, the long night has more typical crime-solving mystery elements: righteous detectives searching for the truth by uncovering villains' evil doings. Therefore, this drama knowingly steers the viewers into what it wants them to feel in certain moments. And it does this brilliantly. The investigations unfold in two, almost three, parallel periods, but the events flow seamlessly into each other without causing a lot of confusion. Though the ending and the main villains are quickly revealed in the drama, the show still kept viewers at the edge of their seats by slowly uncovering the story of our first main detective, Jiang Yang, and his "hotpot friends" who helped him along the way. Using pieces of a photo, a piece of clear evidence, the viewer only knows what crime the villains commit to all the bloodshed towards the drama's end. Finally, there is the reveal of why and how Jiang Yang's body was disposed of in the subway that showed us the real tragedy of this character. Speaking of storytelling for mystery, this is best in class.

2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": 5/5★★★★★
Jiang Yang's tragic life story is the highlight of this drama. It shows his almost decade fight to serve justice to someone he hasn't even met and present the villains what they deserve. And we all know that his struggle was not fruitful. The reality destroyed a motivated and bright young man, his career, his family, and eventually his life. This really brought me to tears. There are moments in this drama when I doubt whether this kind of character would ever exist in real life. But there is a brilliant dialogue between Yan Liang and Zhu Wei at the water bottle factory that perfectly explained why Jiang Yang and his friends never stopped fighting. Big applause to the actor Bai Yu's performance, who depicted Jiang Yang's multi-dimensional personality perfectly.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": 4/5★★★★☆
This is one aspect at which I would deduct one point is the crime itself. The drama focused on mystery-solving but forgot to reality check a few of the story's key elements. Though I did not expect a mastermind level of crime, I felt that every wall that Jiang Yang's team hit was all very crude and almost repetitive. They use the same villain or the same method, and it is just not very well-though through. Therefore, it was also surprising why Jiang Yang's team could not pre-empt some of these actions. As if nothing could have prevented Yang Liang's tragic death. In contrast, the investigation conducted by detective Yan Liang's team went relatively smoothly without any significant interruptions by the villain. I could find ten ways how the villains could have prevented the pieces of photos from being slowly revealed by the newspaper. But all in all, storytelling has been brilliant in solving the mystery and building the tension.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": 4/5★★★★☆
The show has a great supporting cast who all did a great job in depicting their roles. My favorites were the entire extended "hot pot team," whose actors all did a marvelous job.
A few roles were not very deep and slightly tool-like, e.g., Yan Liang's team, including his partner Ren Yue Lin. The drama tried in some scenes to evoke the viewer's emotions but did not successfully achieve that. Also, the entire villain team was evil, but nothing more than that. For example, I would love to know what goes through the policeman Li Jiang Go's mind when he continued to betray the career he has spent his life performing. The same goes for "Yellow Hair", who was brilliant as the gangster. What happened to him at the end? I do not support the drama spending useless time on characters who are not important to the main plot, but some important ones could have been more three-dimensional.

5. "Proper Pacing.": 5/5★★★★★
With only 12 episodes, the pace was quick, the turns unexpected, and the events impactful.

6. "Technicalities": 4/5★★★★☆
Overall the show is well executed in terms of technical aspects. Two elements that could be improved: I am not sure if I can remember the show's BGM, and the lighting of the entire drama can be a bit too dark sometimes.

7. "Solid Finale": 4/5★★★★☆
*****Spoilers******
Like my critique in point number 3, I find the drama had a "too perfect ending". On the surface, Detective Yan Liang used his brilliance to solve the mystery of the subway and helped to clear Jiang Yang's name. But in reality, the true villains were only caught because the third witness came to light (who might have been able to turn the case if she did that in the first place). The subway mystery would have come to light in any case as this was performed by the "good guys". Also, I wouldn't say I liked how Chinese "censorship" cleared the police's name as they realize they have to punish the evil and honor the braves, such as our main lead. The last dialogue between the police's directors felt staged. All villain's punishments were written as text on the screen so quickly you cannot read the description, and the audience is left with a feeling of unbalancing and slight dissatisfaction.

Despite some critiques, I would still highly recommend this drama to anyone who likes good mystery/crime drama.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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This drama deserves its fame!

I have been keeping this drama until the end of the year as crime/mystery dramas are not my favorite genre. I also heard this drama is quite dark, which discourages me from watching.
But since I heard so many good things about it, I just had to give it a go now that the year has ended. After going through the 12 episodes, I understand why it has been crowned the year's best Chinese drama.

1. "Sleepness Night": 5/5★★★★★
I did not binge this drama though I totally could have done it. It has probably the best storytelling I have seen in any dramas so far. In contrast to traditional mystery stories, the show reveals the main villain, the dark but tragic Zhang Dong Shen, in the first 10 min of the show with a bang. Slowly after that, it introduces to the remaining protagonists, the three kids, Zhu Chao Yang, Yan Liang, and PuPu. The four of them get entangled when the three accidentally recorded Zhang Don Shen performs a murder in action. The drama then tells how this event snowballs into a gigantic non-stoppable monster that alters the fate of all of the involved. Each episode ends at a key event of the story that is perfectly timed. On top, it is accompanied by a dark BGM that sometimes even sounds like acoustics rather than music. There are no big "reveal moments" but rather a slow but steady description of each character's actions that force you to glue your eyes to the screen, desperately wanting to know what the characters will do next.

2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": 5/5 ★★★★★
What this drama perfected is the casting of the roles. The crew auditioned thousands of kids across the country until they found our leads. All of the leads, even our main villain, both light and have dark elements in their personalities, which the actors brought to light perfectly. Nothing is what it seems. The details and clues that the makers hide in the show wanted to give us a much bleak and gloomy story, which was also the original novel's intention. I will be spoiling if I tell more, but Zhu Chao Yang, the three kids' brain, is one of the most interesting roles I have seen in this year's drama. I saw myself, not sure if I wanted to support him or not. When I read more about this series and the original work, I finally understand that this kid, unlike the surface, has a darker side than anyone in this show. There is also Pupu, who I loved as a character. This kid has a pure heart and even showed mercy for our villain. But even if this was the case, you will notice how all the snowball events started with Pupu. Finally, there is Zhang Dong Shen, for whom you develop a strong empathy towards the end. Rather than putting him as an emotionless psychopath, he is a victim of societal and familial pressure. Deep in his heart, he longed for a family and love. One of my top three villains this year.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling." 5/5 ★★★★★
The story is told in a natural flow, leaving out all the unnecessary fillers. What I love the most is that a lot of characters' inner motivation and emotions are exhibited without them uttering any words. Many "still" scenes give the viewer a big room for own interpretation. That reminds me of a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's form of storytelling. This open storytelling does not dictate to the viewer how the director wants the viewer to see and think, but it is up to the viewer to form their own opinion and ideas of the characters. And isn't this what real life is all about? Nothing is absolute, and everything is subjective through our own lenses.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": 5/5 ★★★★★
This show has chosen a tremendous supporting cast. Most of them are played by respected veterans from the industry who present deep emotions by a small look, a tear, or a simple gesture. My favorite supporting characters are Zhu Chao Yang's mother, acted by Liu Lin, and his dad, starred by Zhang Song Wen. Hats down to their acting.

5. "Proper Pacing.": 5/5 ★★★★★
The pacing of this drama is perfect. With only 12 episodes, it tells a complex and dramatic story, emphasizing the right occasion, slows down and speeds up adequately, and gives all leading and supporting characters their moments to shine without making them feel redundant in any moment.

6. "Technicalities": 5/5 ★★★★★
The whole show primarily provides a feeling of a movie. This is achieved using long and wide shots and not beautifying the characters. The dirt and wrinkles are seen clearly, which gives a perception of realism. The color and tons of each scene are chosen by professionals. Each shot's camera angle is carefully selected so that it does need to be altered many times that otherwise would disturb the scene. Thus, you can see the results of perfect play between light and shadow. The director is a musician who composed some of the original BGM of this show. You do not notice the BGM; they blend in with the scenes and elevate the audience's emotions.

7. "Solid Finale": 5/5 ★★★★★
The drama has a close ending on the surface, with each character having his/her proper closure. But in reality, it has an open finish. Like many viewers, I immediately started to watch and read all kinds of interpretations of the ending. They give another layer of depth to the show - I cannot help but praise the makers. Without spoiling, I would just say that anyone will find an ending that suits his/her interpretation: those who like tragic ending will get their tears and sorrow; those who believe in fairytales will get their "happy ever after."

All in all, I am proud that today's Chinese drama world can produce a masterpiece with this kind of quality. It is not a story for the fainted hearts. But to everyone else, I would recommend it without any hesitancy. Your time is well spent!

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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Michelin star ingredient that turned out to be fright chicken instead.

Here am I again, emotional about the binging 49 episodes of the Wolf and conflicted about how I will rate this drama. Apologies for the lengthy review.

Let me start with what I genuinely like about this drama.

★Set-up:
The story of a boy raised by wild animals and later on fall in love with a human girl is nothing new. But putting this into a historical background in China, when the boy became a ruthless general serving the evil king, is new. The drama explored the grey areas of love and hate, revenge and forgiveness, evil and good, friendship and family, power and helplessness. The drama drew me into its fascinating world since episode one, and I just could not take off my eyes.

★Production:
Beautiful natural scenarios:
Many of the wide-angle shots are shot directly in the beautiful natural scenes of Shangrila. They are simply breathtaking. Even those scenes that have been created with the help of CG (e.g. the great battle) were very well executed. I am also impressed by the CG animals which looked extremely real and their fighting scenes thrilling.
Marvelous soundtrack:
Jolie Tsai herself sang the title song, which throughout the 49 episodes I only skipped 2-3 times. It is unique with a beautiful chorus mixed with modern rap. Jolie also sang a few great background songs that just were fitting perfectly to the scenes. I can see myself listing through the OST, again and again, remembering the scenes of this drama.

★Characters and actors:
This drama has an excellent set of characters.
For me, the most memorable remains the wolf, being one of the most complex characters I have ever witnessed in a Chinese drama (the other one being Li Cheng Yin fron goodbye my princess - in fact, both dramas have a lot in common).
The Wolf or Chu Youwen went through an extreme character development of being an innocent wolf pup to feeling betrayed by Xing Er (Ma Zhai Xing). From there, he turned to a powerful general, understand the warmth of family and friends but at the same time gaining power through brutality and creating fear. Ma Zhai Xing re-appear in his life, he started to love again and regained some of his initial purity. However, the more he fell for her, the bigger the guilt he felt towards the FL. When he finally could not hide this fact, he used the cruelest method to chaise away his love of life so she can use her hate to kill him. He thought this could protect her and returned her happiness. When all the misunderstandings were finally cleared, he realized what it was mistaken, and they could finally enjoy a few moments of joy until the tragic ending. There were moments in the drama that I could not understand the wolf and his way of loving the FL. But later on, it all made sense, and I am grateful to see such an incomplete character coming to life. Darren Wang was the perfect actor for the wolf. He adequately depicted the young wolf's innocence, prince Bo's coldness and power, and love towards the FL. Most surprising of all, I think I have not seen a more "manly" Chinese male lead than Darren Wang as the wolf. I had seen Darren in previous roles, and he was just like any other idol Chinese male actor. I became a huge fan.
There are still a few aspects he could have done better, such as micro-expressions showing flashes of sorrow when trying to chaise away the FL or emotions of relief or affection during moments of reunion with the FL. I can see that he has great potential, and I am looking to his future roles!
A few words to the other characters:
I also enjoy Ma Zhai Xing's character a lot. I think she and the wolf had great chemistry. Just like the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, MZX went through enormous growth from a naive girl to a respected ruler. It was painful to watch when her hatred towards the ML blinded her, but you also cannot help but feel empathy, knowing how everything she ever believed in turned out to be a lie. Luckily, just like butterflies can always find their flower when the truth came out, MZX freed herself from all the chains to fully love and trust her WangZai.
This show would not have gained this big of popularity if not for Ji Chong's character, starring the famous Xiao Zhan from the Untamed. I can see this positive, carefree, brave, and kind-hearted role truly fits Xiao Zhan's personality. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Wei Wu Xian. In the end, like an eagle, Ji Chong longed for freedom and exploration which is what he decided to do. The only improvement is probably the romance. I wasn't sure if I understood why he fell in love with the FL and how he was ready to give up his desire for freedom for her; it felt abrupt and out of place. The same went towards the end when he decided on Princess Bao Na. Of course, Bao Na is a character loved by many, but it does not fit the list of reasons he has given why he liked the FL.
Besides, I need to mention Yao Ji. I love both her tragic and deep character as well as Xin Zhi Lei's performance. I enjoyed her acting as Duo Duo in Joy of life and certainly could compete with the FL in terms of skills.
Finally, two of my favorite supporting roles: Ding Yong Dai as the emperor Chu Kui and Zhang Hong Na as Ma Jing. Both had a very memorable performance in their roles and helped the main cast to shine.

Now let me come to the areas of improvement why I cannot give this drama a higher rating:

☆The story/scripting:
For me, the wolf had everything a great drama needed: unique set-up, complex characters, skillful production, and a famous cast. But the writing just failed in delivering to its full potential. There were countless developments, key events, and actions that felt out of place, illogical, artificial, and banal. On the one hand, I am in love with this drama, but these plot issues just once threw me out of the story numerous times. They left me with many unanswered questions in my head, feeling disatisifed when the credit of the 49th episode rolled.
Below are some of the key ones (spoilers ahead):

☆King Chu Kui and his sons
One of the most important turning points of this drama was that the king, in fact, killed his oldest son and hid it from both prince Bo and the 4th prince. He even blamed family Ma for not have lent a helping hand and justified his action of killing FL's family to prince Bo. The biggest gap is that drama never explained why he actually did it. I understand this drama had to be cut from 58 episodes down to 49, but this is a critical piece of the puzzle that just shouldn't have been left out.
Besides, the king's relationship with all of his sons remained a mystery to me. I know he was a cold-blooded person who used the wolf merely as a tool for his hunger for power, but he showed signs of affection to the 4th prince. What did the king feel when he knew the 2nd prince might not be his son? What was his intention to keep his 4th son alive after he has betrayed him? Later, did he truly wanted to pass on his throne to him when he knew he did not have much time left? Was he just being simple-minded or did he had some thoughts after he let the 2nd prince return? What did he feel when all of his sons left him, and even the head eunuch wanted to betray him in his final days of life? I recognize good dramas by giving their antagonist a soul, but the king was simply a tool in the Wolf. In fact, by answering some of these questions, the audience would understand ML's actions and personalities a lot better. Despite the brilliant performance of Ding Yong Dai, the show failed to deliver that.
Similar can be said about the 2nd prince. We knew he truly loved his wife who played a key role in the drama to keep him sane. The drama could have made this character less one-dimensional if they had let her appear in his final moments.

☆Bo Wang's relationship with the king
This point is slightly different than my previous critique as this shows more the feeling our ML had towards the king. The show's second arc focused on how Bo Wang chased the FL away, trying to protect her. Next to the guilt he felt towards his older brother, was there some degree of loyalty towards the king, or was it purely a lie he told the FL? There was one scene where he said he "needed to stop Chu Kui from his wrongdoings." Does it mean he ultimately did it for the FL and forgot about how the king raise him for seven years? Another turning point of the story was when the ML found out about the death of the oldest prince and decided to betray the king. But that was very late in the 2nd arc. What was his plan before that? Did he also intend to go against his king in any different way? What was Bo Wang and the king's last scene about when he forced him to step down? Was it guilt and remorse? That would go against the early theory. Perhaps it was simply respect... again, the show did not explain.

☆Displaying different types of love
I understand that the show tried to depict a different form of love, well-intended but ultimately misguided - which was great. The problem I have was the way the drama revealed these clues. They are hidden and maybe even confusing. There were verbal explanations to Bo Wang's Ye Cha at the start and actions to the end, e.g. by revealing Bo Wang did not throw away the wolf tooth pendant or by confessing to the FL that he missed her every day when she was gone. But why not share these earlier in the second arc? Most viewers were confused about whether the ML really stopped loving FL because of the cruel words they throw at each other. There were also little signs of remorse or bitterness in the ML expressions (which might be due to acting). It was confusing for many episodes.
When Bo Wang was sent to the prisoner's camp and protected the people there, FL said that she saw that he "changed" and he "reminded her of Lang Zai" it seemed he was remorseful about his cruel past behavior. But did he really changed? Or was he and has always been the kind Lang Zai but tried to be cruel to be strong? I will not find out the answers...

☆Jumping between black and white of emotions
This point relates to my point above. Love and hate just come and go like days and nights. ML suddenly dropped all of his affection and started to force FL to hate him the day after their beautiful wedding. Equally, when the FL found out about the wolf's truth, everything suddenly turned into perfect harmony. Both for her and the ML. Where did the conviction and the confidence go? Again, if the show had dropped hints of emotions or explanations throughout the arc (rather than a confession at the end - we are not in the mystery genre where we needed a surprise), this would not feel so abrupt and artificial.
Similarly, I did not understand the character development of Yao Ji. It was a too strong contrast where there was only suspicion and hatred between her and Bo Wang at the start (I don't blame them as she indeed suffered 5 years in prison because of him). But towards the middle, though she revealed her love towards Bo Wang, suddenly they turned out to be like "more than family members" who deeply trust each other? I wished this could have shared more about their past so we audience can understand their development.

☆Lang Zai and Xing Er
A central theme that comes up again and again is the pure love between Lang Zai and Xing Er. That was where both of them returned to and drove tears in many. But out of 49 episodes, the makers spend one episode describing them. Despite flashbacks throughout the show to fill this gap, it was not enough to appreciate and build up the emotions. I wished the team had spent more time on the first part, which was the entire show's foundation.

☆The ending
Sadly but true, the writing of the ending was not satisfactory. Though it was clear ML suffered from his early recovery from the Lang Gu Flower, but where did the sudden illness that drove him to his death come from? Why did it suddenly become so bad that he could not even walk properly? From the arrow of the 2nd prince? How did Yao Zi create an almighty medicine from the FL? Couldn't they just use any other person? And what was going on with FL's superpower that let her beating all the soldiers? Is it because of that medicine? What's going on with this ML dies for FL and then again FL dies for the ML? Wasn't there any other way to save the 4th prince? Did the FL really have to go all by herself and die in this way?
I have nothing against a bad ending. I think a BE is the best way to end this drama. But how this drama ended felt forced to create an artificial reunion and dramatic death in the loved ones' arms for which I could not shed any tears.
My ideal ending would have been: A series of push and pull between hate and love between FL and ML during the second arc. However, FL kills ML in the battle and fulfill ML's wish. FL later finds out about the truth and deeply regrets what she had done. She gave up all her titles and lived all by herself in the wolf mountain, remembering her wolf pup.

All in all,
For me, the Wolf was like a great piece of raw chicken soaked in high-quality spices and sauces ready to become a Michelin star dish. But to please the wider audience, it became fright chicken instead. But hey, fright chicken is needed. I loved it as well and will not easily forget it.

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Post comment:
Apparently, the original story was more logical and would explain so many of my questions above and made the story more logical - the novel version and the first adaptation but was cut and edited later. Will try to summarize this in three points:

1. In the original story the ML himself did kill FL’s father but heard the bell of FL, recognized her and saved her. Therefore he had a much stronger motive not to tell the FL about the truth and the hatred of FL towards ML is also justified rather based on misunderstanding.

2. In the original novel, after the ML fell off the cliff he actually dropped into a poison pond that can turned him into a real wolf when he smells blood. He became more less ”human” as compared to the drama adaptation. As a wolf, he was like a blank sheet which follows the order of the herd wolf (his owner) to whom is extremely loyal - if his owner is FL he is good, if he is owner is the king, he becomes a killer machine. That would explain his long loyalty to the king even if it was obvious he was only using the ML. However, this version would make the ML more flawed.

3. The drama adaptation cut out a lot of scenes from FL2. In the original version FL2 had a snake poison in her own body that can counter the ML wolf poison. But he had to suck her blood and it can only happen twice before she dies. That's the true explaination for ”sharing the same body and dying together”. In the novel FL2 did it once for him after he was being whipped by the king. At the end of the story, there was no poison that slowly killed the ML but he himself went ahead to kill prince 2 but was pieced in the heart by prince 2 . When FL rushed to the ML, prince 2 tried to ambush her but ML2 arrives and pushes him off the wall where he dies.

Instead of travelling the world with Bao Na, she forces ML2 to marry her. ML2 finds FL who hid herself after ML’s death. In fact FL2 took away ML’s body after the fight however the ML was seen somewhere being alive. This means there is a chance that FL2 sacrificed herself to save ML and he is still alive. Thus ML2 and FL decided to look for him.

As this shows the original ending was not this tragic but hopeful. But the characters were less heroic and more flawed. To please the audience the ML was changed to more humain and loyal to FL but this confused the story and seemed less logic.

I am not sure I can support the writer’s decision. What do you all think? Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

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One of my favorite dramas of the year!!

Hikaru no Go is one of my favorite animes when I was young. I even started learning Go (though I did not continue) because of this drama. When I heard that the Chinese drama adaption is very good, I just had to watch it. And I did not regret any minute of that.

★Passion for Go
What I find fascinating about this drama is the ability to show the suspense in every go game, though, at the same time, the audience has no understanding of the rules of the game. I cannot recall any anime/drama that has successfully achieved this. However, the makers still did enough research so that every set up is correct and each move is real so that they are faithful to the game itself.

★The characters
I have rarely seen a drama with such a great supporting cast. Have you seen a better and more loyal friend than Hong He? How about Fang Xu, who is both a great bigger brother to Yu Liang and a successful businessman to the Go World? Shi Guang's school friends had also supported Shi Guang all the way esp. when he most needed them. Even characters who just appeared in 1-2 episodes, such as the go factory workers, the monks in the temple, or the mystery go player who has beaten all go schools except for Yu Liang, are three-dimensional with a story to tell. Many of those characters are original characters of this drama, and one notices that the writer wants to show Go through these characters' eyes. Before Chu Ying's disappearance, it was very memorable that every character appeared to say good goodbye to him.

★The friendship between Shi Guang and Chu Ying
I have watched many dramas. As far as I can recall, I cannot remember a time that I cried as much as watching Hikaru no Go. The episode in which Chu Ying disappears is the most heartbreaking moment that I have experienced. My eyes were as puffy as grapes the next day.
For Shi Guang, Chu Ying was not only a Go teacher, but he was also his friend, his playmate, and his biggest cheerleader. To Chu Ying, Shi Guang started off to be someone who can help him play go, but soon he realized Shi Guang was so much more than that. Both of them believe in each other, depend on each other, and supported each other. If this is not the best friendship you have seen, then else is there?
This drama also demonstrated many other beautiful friendships: Shi Guang and Yu Liang, Shi Guang, Hong He, and Shen Yi Lang, Shi Guang and his school mates, teacher Da and teacher Ban Fang Xu and Bai Chuan... all very different but all very sincere and heartwarming.

★Sticking to the original story but adapted to a drama in China
The manga and the anime were an all-time favorite at that time of the airing, all thanks to the great writing. They have stayed true to the original story, at the same time, the writer adapted the story to China in its 90s and 2000s. Many details are well reproduced and nostalgic. While the original work was heavy Go focused, the drama goes beyond Go and focuses a lot on the characters, their real struggles, their achievements, and their contribution to where Go is today.

★The acting
This list would not be complete without praising the two main characters' outstanding acting: Hu Xian Xu starring Shi Guang and Juck Zhang starring Chu Ying. Hu Xiang Xu successfully depicted an immature young boy who wants to try Go as a hobby to someone with confidence and conviction. The audience can truly feel his desperation and his loss of direction after Chu Ying has left. He is indeed one of the best young actors of our time.
Juck Zhang did have an easy challenge as Sai's in the manga/anime is extremely unique, and there is a huge gap between the serious him and his 2-D cartoon one. I found it surprising that Juck Zhang gave us a different Sai - his own interpretation of Sai. A Sai who we also cherished and loved throughout the drama because of his loveable character, his passion for Go, his determination to support Shi Guang wherever Shi Guang needed him.
Hao Fu Shen's Yu Liang is slightly less of a show-off character, but I still did a great job depicting the serious Akira.
An honorable mention is the little actor who played the young Shi Guang. Oh, this kid has talent! He is better than many baby-faced grown-up actors in China!

Now one point which this drama could have done more to get to a 10/10 - the ending.

☆The last episode focused too much on Yu Liang and Shi Guang. It was slightly anti-climax as after Chu Ying has left and Yu Liang has finally found his way back to Go, it would have been great if the drama ended with an exciting game of the two on an international stage. However, this did not happen, and there was little happening until the very end. Though the episode lasted more than one hour (almost the time of a move), the writer should have made something better of this.

☆Another element they could have added is giving a more satisfactory closure to Chu Ying and Shi Guang. In the end, no one understood why Chu Ying never told Shi Guang that he was leaving before - though that might be the writer's intention to increase the drama and force Shi Guang to go through a tough phase of recovery. We could have more of a final moment of Shi Guang meeting Chu Ying in one way or another. For instance, Chu Ying returned to the past and picked up Go again, was he able to recover his name? If Shi Guang know where Chu Ying has gone back to and wouldn't he be happy for him? Did Shi Guang know that it was him, in the end, who fulfilled Chu Ying's drama and played "Hand by God"? What would be Shi Guang's reaction? All these elements could have been easily incorporated in the last episode.

Despite some shortcomings, all in all, Hikaru no Go is still one of my favorite dramas of this year. Who would have thought that! There is no romance, no good looking actors, no fancy special effects or CGs. But it has proven that you don't need all this to make a great drama. I promise, you will not regret watching this, even if you don't know the original work!

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It's a youth drama full of hope, dream and love. It is worth your time!

While I completely agree that this drama has its flaws and writing its up and downs, I still enjoy it a lot. While I don’t think my review will ever appear on the first page I am going to skip the obvious parts and jump into why I think spending your time with this drama is going to be worth it.

Below are some of the reasons why I liked this drama:
**No, the boy from her childhood is not going to be the main lead. - To me, that’s one of the most surprising parts of this drama; in fact, I have not seen it in any romance drama before and this is super refreshing to me. I was never had the worry 2nd ML will actually become the ML cause there was not even one hint in the drama that the FL would ever fall for 2nd ML. I liked how the writer chose to end things between the two of them: let it stay as a beautiful memory of childhood.

**“Red thread stories” are beautifully written - I called them "red thread" cause they form the backbone of the story and how characters come together and meet. These "red thread stories" highlight the great writing of this drama and really improved the main plots.
Here are my favorites:

- How “Sandbox” came about - how Dal Mi’s dad told this story to SH VC’s president the day he passed away after struggling for so many years with its own startup; how this has become the support and dream of many young entrepreneurs and helped both daughters of Mr. Seo becoming successful.

- Why FL and In Jae got separated and became rival; the story of their parents' divorce and that both are strong-minded but internally still cared about each other and were worried that they have made a wrong choice

- The story between Han Ji Pyung and Dal Mi’s grandmother; it led to why HJP wrote the letters and started the story; they are one of the most heartwarming scenes in this drama

- The friendship of the members of Sam San Tech; how they stick together through thick and thin, trust and help each other out during hard times but don’t grow apart after becoming successful

Now a few words more to counter-argue with some of the critiques I have heard:

** Many viewers complain about how superficial and unrealistic the startup scenes are depicted there - Personally, I don’t fully agree. Though I agree the writers could have toned down the path to success slightly in later episodes, I liked how all key elements are incorporated. Some of the tough aspects are shown in Mr. Seo’s story or the early days of San Sam Tech. If you want to watch stories of real-life startups I am sure there are tons of drama/ documentaries for you to watch. Don’t waste your time on a 16 episode Korean drama full of pretty actors/ actresses, hope and dreams. I think this should have been clear when the ML walks into FL’s life like Cinderella in episode 2.

** Female lead becomes someone who is solely dependent on her choice of a man - I don’t know why many think this way, at the end, the FL was doing a great job working for her sister In Jae. She is hard-working, smart, ambitious, and dares to dream - she would have been a successful start-up CEO wherever she goes and would not have needed a man...

** ML becomes useless without the FL. - Well first, he is not really useless but just realizes how much she means to him. That the fame and the money he dreamt of isn't that interesting if he is all by himself. In the end, the Dal Mi really helped SST to get to where they were in the first place.
Though I agree it's slightly exaggerated but isn’t this what we all want to see from the ML in a Korean romance drama?

** It's a useless triangle, and the drama is abusing 2nd ML. - We shall recall that the Han Jin Pyong did not visit her after he found her again. He also did not admit his feeling to her and kept on being warm and cold with her. On the other hand, Nam Do San has been drawn to FL the moment he saw her and there are countless moments at which Do San did things for FL without hidden agenda, such as appearing at the event for her. For me, it was very clear, that Han Jin Pyong, although being a very loveable character and supportive mentor to the FL, did not have any chance. I found the maker did a great job by having Han Jin Pyong realizing exactly that and open the path for Nam Do San and Dal Mi to become happy. What do you want from a love who does not love you back?

Above are my general observations of Start Up. I would really recommend everyone watching it, especially those who are first time into Korean dramas.

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Heart-warming drama about family and love

"Go Ahead" is one of the "talk-about" dramas this season, and though I am not a big fan of modern drama, I went ahead with it. I really like it.

First, let me share what I like about this drama.
Firstly, there are a lot of relatable family dramas to cry about. The story about three unrelated children growing up with two dads is extremely bitter-sweet. It shows in a heartwarming way how family love can look like despite not connected by blood. Particularly the start of the show had so many beautiful scenes between Li Hai Chao and the children that made me cry a river. At the same time, it shows the naked and honest of how relationships between parents and their own children could be like if one becomes self-centric, especially when the cruel reality called "life" hits you. I appreciate that the drama depicts many of these realities: single-parenthood, loss of own children, adoption and relationships between own and adopted children, depression of children, grow apart due to physical distance, relationships between parents and children when children are young vs. when they grow up, re-marriage of own parents... and the list goes on. Though you might not agree with how characters have dealt with each situation, this is one version that you can take away and learn.

Secondly, it is the acting and the characters. My favorite characters in this story: the dad Li Hai Chao, played by Tu Song Yan, the daughter Li Jian Jian, acted by Seven Tan, and finally, He Zi Qiu, starred by Steven Zhang. Let's first talk about Li Hai Chao. He is the type of loving father that every child would want: always supportive and loves his children unconditionally. The most important aspect of all, he understands his children and treats them like an equal. Tu Song Yan depicts Li Hai Chao flawlessly and shows what veteran actors have in their arsenal.
Then there is Li Jian Jian, the tomboy who grew up among four men. Righteous, down to earth and speaks openly about everything. Seven Tan fits Li Jian Jian's character perfectly. Despite being the oldest among all three actors, she plays the middle school girl or the young adult without effort. I really liked Seven Tan's performance in Under the Power, but her achievements in Go Ahead make me respect her even more.
Finally, there is He Zi Qiu, the adopted son, and the audience's favorite 2nd male lead. Abandoned by his own mother at a young age, he hides his hurt, insecurities, and longing for motherly love by always carrying a smiling poker face around everyone. In shadow, he does whatever he can to pay back the Li Family. He Zi Qiu probably the biggest tear dripper in the whole show. It is not easy to act out such a three-dimensional character, but Stephen Zhang absolutely did it. This is probably one of the most impressive performances I have observed among young Chinese actors. My top 5 best actors of China drama land just found a place for him, and if you don't believe me, you just have to watch it.
This drama also has many other interesting characters, one that is for all kinds of taste.

Let me quickly speak about what this drama could have done better.
I have no problem with this drama being too "dramatic" or, as they say in Chinese, "dog-blooded," but I have a problem when actions become unlogic as a result of this. Some examples would be Ling Xiao's mother's abandoning her son in the first place and then coming back for him no matter what. Or the reason for Zi Qiu's mother abandoning Zi Qiu for more than nine years and realizing her mistakes at the end of the show. And let's not even go there why the two brothers were not even able to come back for even once during the nine years. I appreciate the drama trying its best to show the diversity of life and some of the real struggles people have to go through, but I wish the makers have come up with a better script for this drama's essential storylines.

Another weak point is this drama's 2nd half. I agree with most audiences that the makers made a too strong turn after the two brothers' return towards the loveline. The drama gained popularity with the strong start of the family-line and should have shown more of that: How did Jian Jian and her two brothers grow up? How was it for Jian Jian to leave home and live alone? How did Zi Qiu live his life in the UK all by himself? How was it Ling Dad not seeing his own son for nine years? How did Li Dad live all the years without his two sons by his side? How were Ling Dad and Cheng Ting's relationship before the passing of their daughter? .... All these could have been great material for this drama, even if they only show snip bits of that in retro-perspective.
Though I have no problem with this drama showing a loveline (who does not like it!) It is not well thought through. Two people grew up together but had to leave each other due to some unfortunate events. After returning, the brother-like character suddenly confesses to his sister-like character though the girl only looked at him as a family member. They quickly got together; the only person who was "in the way" is the mean mother-in-law who does not like the girl her son has brought home. How is this different than any other melodrama's loveline? No difference at all! Where is the struggle to overcome the fear of losing your sister if this does not go well? Where is the development of "brotherly" love to something else for Jian Jian? Where is the awkwardness for the rest of the family members? These are some of the points which the makers could have detailed to make this special.
Apart from that, I did not see much of the chemistry between the two leads, but that might also be only a preference thing. I found Song Wei Long's characters really out of the league with the rest of the cast though I am sure he did his best.

All in all, despite the shortcoming, I still think this is one of the most heartwarming family dramas of 2020 with a lot of laughter and tears. I would recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of genre.

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The drama fell of big cliff starting from the middle...

I was really looking forward to this drama after falling in love with Ren Jia Lun in Under the Power, but unfortunately, this is not going to be a good review. For those who loved this drama, you might want to skip this review.

I will quickly run through my 7 criteria and leave comments to the end

1. "Sleepness Night": 2/5 ★★☆☆☆
2. Emotional Rollercoaster: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆
3. Natural and Intelligent Story Telling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
4. "Loveable supporting Role": 5/5 ★★★★★
5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
6. Technicalities: 5/5 ★★★★★
7. Solid Finale: N/A

After being disappointed with Audmn Cicada (I made it not past episode 3)
This drama started out well. I liked the world setting, the cheerful and dorky character of Nalan Yue, and all the 3-dimensional supporting characters who have refreshing personalities and background stories. I also enjoyed the careful-crafted fighting scenes and the good songs.

However, this drama takes a really rough turn towards the middle and the story went nowhere.

First, the main villain, Rong Jing Feng's behavior is really comprehensive. He turned from a rather normal head of a clan to a complete killer machine who massacred everyone at his own daughter's wedding. One cannot see through the motive of his behavior. The reason might be fear for revenge or losing his power, but his behavior's inconsistency is irritating.

Besides, the chemistry between both of the main couples is missing. The initial falling in love between Nalan Yue and Rong Hua was almost completely cut out by the makers' crazy editing. One should not forget that it is the strong trust of Rong Hua in Nalan Yue that supports most of the second part of the drama. If this foundation was not built properly in the first place, the whole plot becomes unconvincing.
Then, the romance between our second couple, Rong Su and Lu Yi Zhou, even arose more strangely. How did Lu Yi Zhou fell in love with Rong Su in the first place? The maker wanted to show a conflict between their personal desire vs. their duty, but I am not sure whether this is due to bad acting or bad character design, it did not come out well. Instead, it was a blurry back and forth between the two that was puzzling for the viewers.

Moreover, it is the below-average acting of Alen Ren that disappointed me the most. Despite understanding the reason behind Nalan Yue's "black-washing", I wished that the personality change and acting could have been more granular. Logically, whatever tragic happened to Nalan Yue, he is still himself. His cheerful character's 180-degree turn to a person with almost only one expression left just left me unsatisfied. A great example of depicting these internal conflicts can be observed in other dramas such as Goodbye, my Princess.
In Under the Power, Alen Ren successfully demonstrated a very natural transition from an overbearing boss to a loving boyfriend using micro-expressions, wonderful gazes, and gradual changes in demeanors. I was not able to observe his in Love in Lifetime.

Finally, the latter half of the story just went all over the place, with the two main leads not really sure which sides they are on, what they are really trying to do, what their relationship towards each other is, and who even the villain of the story is! So that's where I dropped off without turning back, despite having spent my time on 36 episodes.

All in all, I am still a firm believer in Alen Ren's skills and am still waiting for another great piece after Under the Power. Unfortunately, Love in Lifetime is not that.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster, etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI, etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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My first Chinese drama - which I will not forget

This is a beautiful Xian Xia drama that I would recommend anyone who loves Romance, great acting and beautiful costumes. I have not watched a Chinese drama for years until Youtube inserted a beautiful edited video of Ashes of Love into my playlist. I immediately fell in love with the tragic love story between the three main leads, the gorgeous cast and the marvelous shots.

I will quickly run through my 7 criteria (definitions below the review):

1. Emotional rollercoaster: 5/5 ★★★★★
Oh yes! This drama had so many up and downs, melting moments but also tearing scenes between the two main leads that it was bad for my heart. I deeply fell in love with Deng Lung who played Feng Huang as he all to well embodied this proud, strong, loving and later on hurt and nonchalant phoenix. Also hat down to the acting skills of our female lead Yang Zi and Male Lead 2 Leo Luo. Both of them really make the characters alive.
There is a famous climax in the middle at which Jing Mi said: "never" to our ML - this one of the most heartbreaking scenes in a romance drama I have seen.

2. Sleepless Nights: 5/5 ★★★★★
I binged-watched this drama from begin to the end

3. Natural and intelligent Storytelling: 4/5 ★★★★☆
Most of the part the writing is logic and convincing. Only that towards end, some actions of Run Yu felt a bit too farfetched. Though I completely understand the reason behind his "turning-evil", his actions sabotaged his real character, which is still kind and loving. It felt slightly unnatural for me.

4. Loveable supporting Roles: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
There are a 1-2 very succssful supporting roles, esp. Dan Zhu, played by Xia Zhi Yuan, is my favourite. His acting is very natural. Despite playing a young man by look, his performance really reminds me of a old man. The demon princess, casted by Yukee Chen, also caried out well. However, for most part, I find most supporting characters realtively one-dimensional and not deep enough. That goes for our FL2/anti-hero, Sui He, the heavenly couples and Mu Ci. Thus they feel very much like medium to carry the story forward as opposed to personalities the audience can empathize with.

5. Proper Pacing: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
With 63 episodes, this is once again a drama that could have been shortened. Towards the later half of the drama, there is a lot of air time for the love story of demon princess and Muci, which felt draggy. Though both actors don't lack in acting skills, there was little chemistry between them, and the audience cannot really relate to their tragic story.

6. Technicalities: 4/5 ★★★★☆
For most of the part, I think the CGI has been executed well. The sets are a bit bright and too colorful, but overall it depicts the XianXia vibe well. The main song is also beautiful, is just that it was played too often - I wished they had more variations when it comes to background music.

7. Solid Final: 4/5: ★★★★☆
The ending of this drama was beautiful and sweet. The scenes at which finally all misunderstandings were resolved and the evil doings of the antagonists were revealt provided a lot satisfaction.
I just wished that the last 1/3rd of the drama could have been shortened. Also, the scenes before the ending, the acting/character design of Feng Huang showed a bit too much sorrow. But that's my personal taste.

Ashes of Love is and will remain a legendary drama for me as it has punched me back into the Chinese drama land, which I will be forever grateful. This is a work of art no-one should miss.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
2. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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A great Wu Xia Drama that is worth your time. But ignore the ending!

Since it's been a while that I have watched this drama, I will directly jump into my seven criteria without wasting too much of your time (please refer to my definitions below).

1. "Sleepness Night": 4/5 ★★★★☆
This drama is very well made with the atmosphere, lighting, and shots of a movie. While romance plays a central role, this drama's dominant theme is political conspiracy revolved around Male Lead's family and the Female Lead's relentless effort to save his master. The first arc at which our main characters gather to retrieve the "Shan He Tu" extremely nerve-wracking. Most shots are taking with natural sceneries; the action scenes are enthralling, and you quickly start to fall in love with all characters. The later arcs started to have plot holes and became slower but still overall thrilling.

2. Emotional Rollercoaster: 5/5 ★★★★★
This drama has three very different couples. All three go through their own unique development, showing that every love story has its flaws and selfishness. My favorite pair is Wen Si Yuan and Shen Man Qing. Their love is mature, direct, and just very sweet at times. I have seen Zhou Ting Wei playing at Ashes of Love but was not that impressed with his role. But in Love in Between, Wen Si Yuan is a character you just cannot resist. Despite playing the silent Shan Shui Du Master, small facial expressions such as one jump of the eyebrow, teary eye, or pressing lips, reveal thousands of words. I enjoy that this show is using the original voices of the actors. Zhou Ting Wei has the perfect voice.
The main couple Zuo Qing Ci and Su Yun Luo are more painful to watch. While ZQC sacrifices quietly for the FL, FL had to learn to appreciate the ML while balancing off her duty of saving her master with her feeling towards the ML. The ML's behavior reminds me of Si Feng from Love and Redemption. His crying scenes are breathtaking. And he cries a lot!

3. Natural and Intelligent Story Telling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
While the start of this drama was great, the later arcs were less smooth. Some development (such as tragedies and turning bad of supporting characters) felt forced and a bit unnecessary. I wished they would have stuck to the original external story.

4. "Loveable supporting Role": 5/5 ★★★★★
Most of this drama's characters are extremely well-written and developed. Besides the couples, my heart was struck by the anti-hero character Gui Tong Zi, played by both Wang Zi Run. His background story, acting, action scenes remain strongly in my memory and is one of the best anti-heroes I have seen in C-drama.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
The drama could have shortened the last arcs.

6. Technicalities: 5/5 ★★★★★
Excellent and really nothing to complain about. Beautiful shots, great lighting despite that over 70% of the shots are taken at night. It gives the dark atmosphere that this drama needs.

7. Solid Finale: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆
That's really a shortcoming of this drama. It has a happy ending, which is really not logical. All flags and plot developments indicate towards a sad ending but it did not. I am tired of great drama trying to please the audience but forcefully ends happily. If this drama had ended tragic, it would have been so much more convincing and suitable for this show's overall tone. They should learn a bit from shows like Goodby My Princess.

Overall, my verdict is 8.5/10 given some of the shortcomings. I would still highly recommend the show: great actions, interesting characters, and an appropriate balance of politics, Jiang Hu conflicts, and romance.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way

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The romance drama of 2020

Brace yourself through this journey of ups and downs full of bliss, heartbreak, disappointment, bitterness, and forgiveness. A ride you will not forget. This is the drama of 2020, the drama of this summer.

Firstly, the romance is well executed. It is heart-wrenching and warming. The chemistry of the two leads is very strong; their love is sizzling and buzzing. Their beautiful romance is what makes this drama extremely addictive: I am thinking about Si Feng and Xuan Ji when I go to work, when I go shopping, when I eat, and not watching this drama. I just cannot wait to watch it!

Our male lead Si Feng, played by Cheng Yi, carries the main weight. Si Feng's character design is well thought-through. He is firm on the outside but warm and kind from the inside. He loves the female lead profoundly but does not see her as his possession. While being cursed by the mask, he keeps all the suffering by himself and gives her space and time to love him back. Si Feng's character goes through a beautiful transition from learning about what love is about is to having the will to become the leader of his sect to protect what's important. Si Feng is truly every fangirl's boyfriend of summer 2020.
Cheng Yi's acting is flawless. I haven't seen this much suffering, both physically and emotionally, shown in a C-drama. Cheng Yi is so good at it. I am so grateful to the writer and the director who created these scenes, and I am thankful that they have chosen Cheng Yi for this role - I cannot imagine anyone else who can depict suffering as heartbroken and as beautiful as him.

Coming to the female lead Yuan Bing Yan, playing our heartless goddess of war Xuan Ji. I really like her character development. The way how Xuan Ji slows finds maturity and eventually, her heart and her love towards Si Feng is natural and wonderful to watch. During the last third of the episodes, she received criticism of not trusting Si Feng, but I find this extremely reasonable. No one told her anything, and she did not know about love. Listening to her family and clan's one-sided stories, how could she have reacted? When Xuan Ji's past life was revealed, I agree that Bing Yuan lacked in portraying the depth and complex emotions one would have loved to see in terms of acting. Her emotional scenes towards Si Feng could also improve. But I blame the script, partially, as it must be very draining to play this many griefing scenes as Si Feng just suffered way too much. On the hand, her scenes as War God are so badass. Two thumbs up for depicting this as little aggrieved Xuan Jin in one scene and revengeful heartless War God in another scene. For this, Bing Yuan really deserves more credit.

What makes this couple magical is there is no clear cut between roles. Sometimes Si Feng appears to have received the female's playbook. Si Feng suffers for Xuan Ji, but Xuan Ji also protects Si Feng. And isn't this what true love is all about?

Secondly, I also appreciate the excellent scripting. Whether this has been part of the original novel or developed by the drama scriptwriter, I enjoyed it how new characters are introduced, and hints are dropped that eventually weaves to a glorious thread that leads us to the grand finale. All characters have their roles and their motives along this thread, and no one is redundant. I haven't seen this level of scripting in a long C-drama for a while, and I hope to see more of this in future shows.

Thirdly, the CGI is excellent. Although we could not see real Hollywood type of CGI, but carrying this quality throughout 59 40min episodes is not easy. The audience enjoys full-blown action from fierce battles fought between gods and devils, between every imaginable species of celestial beings and affiliations, with all manner of divine weapons, cultivated spells and their destructive powers. There is one arc in the middle of the drama at which an island is attacked by demons riding on dragons. For a moment, I thought I was watching Games of Thrones.
A Xianxia drama is not a Xianxia drama if there is no CGI. So far, China is not very good at it. But L&R has shown that they can do it if they put the effort.
L&R also put a lot of effort in the soundtrack. The songs are beautiful and lyrics deep and suitable to story.

Lastly, I am thankful for the ending. After all the suffering, grudge, and misunderstandings among each other, the ending was heartwarming and satisfactory. The good deserves their happy ending, the bad their verdict. It has saved the ending of this drama.

As no drama is perfect, I want to point out a few aspects which make me deduct 2 points.
The last twenty episodes are not well-written. After the satisfactory clearance of the male lead's misunderstanding, the story continued on the same old path to making the male lead the evil of all. Many circumstances leading to Si Feng's downfall feel forced. The inherent problem of the Si Feng not willing/not able to explain anything to Xuan Ji further creates reasons for her to hurt him, up to the point that it takes away the angst. The audience becomes numb. In the final moments, I could not shed real tears, despite my love for the ML.
Also, a few dramatic scenes between the second couple Chu Ling Long and Zhong Min Yuan, felt watered and repeated.

The path towards the finale was a question mark: a giant pot that can destroy all three words, Yuan Lang, our raven, revived again and again to inflict suffering to our heroes and the back and force between Luo Sha Ji Du and Xuan Ji was rather embarrassing than touching, to be fair. I wished the heavenly emperor did not have to take such a key role at the end (the same way he did 1000 years go). Someone who has never intervened ever before suddenly intervenes at the end and turns the table. If there was such a force, I wished the story introduced him earlier.
Finally, I also did not enjoy the fact that our glorious antagonist Hao Chen suddenly was "white-washed" after the heavenly emperor showed him a few "what-if" scenes and gave him a few moral lessons. The whole world has been telling him that since day one, why now? Where did our manipulative, egoistic, hypocritical, and personated jealousy in the person of a villain suddenly go? Despite knowing where the makers are coming from, I felt the last scenes downgraded the deep character that 58 episodes have built for him. Despite all this, Liu Xue Yi did a fantastic job playing this three-dimensional character.

I am rating this drama a 8/10 because of the last 20 episodes. If I only rate the first 40 episodes, this drama clearly deserves a 10/10. Deep inside me, it has a 10 because of the romance, the up and down of emotions it has hatched in me and the love I feel about our Si Feng.

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A great drama you would not have expected!

Ancient Detective has been on my watch list for some time due to its great reviews. Finally, I managed to watch it. And I really loved it!
I rate this drama a 9.5 out of 10. It is the first drama I immediately rewatched from beginning to end after finishing it.
Below are the reasons based on my seven review criteria:

1. "Sleepless Nights": ★★★★★
Ancient Detective is a kind of drama from which you won't expect much. The mainline setting does not seem to be new - the ML (here the Detective) tries to solve the riddle behind his father's death and the culprit. The entire cast is not particularly famous. And the detective stories don't seem to be that mind-wrecking. But you quickly are drawn by the drama and cannot stop watching it.

First of all, the two main leads are excellent: Jian Bu Zhi and Zhao Wo Huan. Having almost opposite personalities (one is controlled, a brain but weak, the other one careless and strong but simple-minded), the two make up the Holmes and Watson that you can imagine. I love the bromance line between these two, which did not feel over the top but just enough all Fujoushis out there to fangirl a bit. Both Yu Ji Wei, starring JBZ, and Wang Yang Yang, starring ZWH, have acted well. Though I see that YJW still have rooms to improve while WYY is already a few levels better.

Secondly, the overall story design is good. Each case does not offer the great revealing satisfaction at the end, but it also does not show the ML as the almighty hero who finds all the clues and foresee the culprit right away. JBZ makes mistakes along the way, and there are a few unexpected turnarounds that offer great satisfaction never the less. Additionally, I like how all cases give enough clues and mysteries to the central riddle, which drives up our anticipation about the finale.

Finally, all supporting characters in the drama are incredibly loveable, which is the crucial reason for this drama's success. But more details later.

2. "Emotional Rollercoaster" 4/5: ★★★★☆
Due to this drama's outstanding character design, you just cannot help but care about the fate of almost all characters (yes, ALL), even those who appeared in only a few episodes.
I deducted one point here is because I felt the romance lines could have been written slightly better. JBZ's love line with FL1, Zhan Shi Qi, appeared to be very unnatural, almost embarrassing, at the start. The same goes for ZWH's and Ming Yue's love line.
I suspect that since romance is not in the center of this drama, the writer did not want to spend too much time developing them.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling." 4/5: ★★★★☆
Every character sets clear intentions, and you understand why they act the way they act. Nowhere in the story you are puzzled about why he or she is doing that. Within each case, there are sometimes plot holes for which I deducted one point.
A big plus point of this drama is the natural humor that the writer managed to install in various places of this drama. Such as the names of the characters, the dialogues, or individual scenes.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles." 5/5: ★★★★★
The characters are what provide this drama the success it deserves. I really adore most of the supporting characters, whether that's the kind-hearted Doctor Ye Xiao Xiao, the funny reporter Si Ma Dang, the sweet doctor Xiao Yoa Nu, or the forever young Wang Lao Da. Every one of them has interesting background stories that one can relate to and love about.

5. "Proper Pacing" 5/5: ★★★★★
Pacing has been fast and tight. With only 24 episodes, it is easy to rewatch any time.

6. "Technicalities" 5/5: ★★★★★
The fighting scenes of this drama are really beautiful. Especially those of 17! The makers mix the best slow scenes with quick ones which make the Wu Xia scenes as beautiful as art. Additionally choice of shots, lighting, and costumes are also excellent.

7. "Solid Finale" 5/5: ★★★★★
The finale was predictable as it was pretty clear around later half of the drama who is the main culprit who killed ML's father. The only question remained to be the murderer who continued to kill those who would tell the ML's about that fated day. I was surprised when the person was revealed. I hope you all will be as well. The writer already announced that there would be a second season, and I cannot wait for it.

All in all, a funny, heart-warming, and incredibly addictive drama that I would recommend to anyone. Definitely one of the costume series of 2020.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After watching many dramas and writing several reviews, I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster, etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI, etc. I try to grade this taking into account the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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