Li Hong Yi Made this Drama. <3

I just finished watching the last episode. This show has been sitting in my watchlist for ages (months) and I just never got around to it because I kept hearing mixed things. A lot of negative things: like how the female lead is annoying, the budget is low, the male is is toxic, etc. Just so many things. And there's a bit of truth to all of it.

So let me explain why I continued until the end.

First, I'm going to start with the less than stellar things.

Yes, the budget is low and it shows. The makeup was also pretty bad for a good portion of the time. Example: The second male lead...every time he was on screen, I stared at his unblended wig line rather than his face. The script...honestly, the majority of it was boring except for the instances between the male and female lead. It was repetitive. The show could have been accomplished in half the amount of episodes. The female lead's character was indeed sort of irritating. Lots of back and forth between the two male leads. Out of the entire cast, I only liked three of them. And the story itself was very, very simple.

Basically, there were a ton of little things.

Now for the parts that kept me going.

1.) While the female lead character was far from my favorite (doesn't even rank), that's all the fault of the script. Actress Rosy Zhao played her part beautifully. My only problem was the horrendous script she'd been dealt.

2.) The other character I liked aside from the leads was the best friend of the secondary male lead. Qin Liu Feng. Actually, that doesn't do him justice. Despite being the best friend of the rival love interest, there were times that it seemed like he was the only one who truly put the female's best interest first. He never judged her or any of them really. And when the second male lead was acting possessed or heartless, he stepped in to give perspective. And most notably, in the end, after all went down, he was the one who told the female lead what had happened and bid her farewell into the arms of the main male lead. He was the most supportive one throughout the whole drama, I think.

3.) To be honest, I didn't like the second male lead for almost all of the show. He was too rigid and set in his beliefs. He would have never put the female lead first. Only the morality of the hypocritical righteous sect placed first in his heart. He didn't even really know how to show affection. He was kind of sad, to be honest. He was the product of his upbringing. But in the end, he let her go. He finally realized that if she stayed with him, he would one day sacrifice her for the good of his people and their beliefs. Only the main male lead, who was deemed the bad guy and hated by everyone, would truly put her first in all things and love her the way she deserved.

4.) That leads me to the so called bad guy. He was the one thing that kept me interested in this drama. Shangguan Qiu Yue, played by Li Hong Yi. I saw where a lot of people called him toxic. Here are my thoughts. This show never portrayed him to be a good guy. He was raised in an ice cave, beaten and trained to hate in order to get revenge for his mother. Someone like this, who saw enemies everywhere, would never show love in a healthy manner. But he evolved and grew. Initially, he used her. The female lead was just another pawn. She became less so as he fell in love. Was his love toxic though? I don't think so. He was a villain. He showed up in her room, kidnapped her frequently, kissed her all the time, tricked her, etc. Yes, those things aren't technically socially okay. But it's what bad guys do. He also saved her all the time, even when the second male lead whom she thought she loved would have sacrificed her for the greater good, which happened quite a few times. The "bad guy" always put her first. He just communicated in the way he'd been raised to communicate: violently and by using tricks. Another thing, he also listened to her and did what she requested, so essentially she called the shots in a roundabout way. So no, I didn't have a problem with his character. Not everyone can be cookie-cutter perfect.

Still on Li Hong Yi...

He was beautiful throughout and he kept giving her this expression that was just to die for. It made my heart beat. LOL. It's probably one of the most seductive expressions I've seen in c-dramaland and that's my theory for why it was so popular. <3 People just wanted to look at his bad boy sexy face.

Truthfully, he was the best part of this show. ^_^

Overall, this drama was far from perfect, but I enjoyed it well enough. Probably won't rewatch it though.

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Epic and Memorable. To me at least... <3

It's been a few months since I watched this, but my mom just started watching because I've been "bugging" her to and she's now a fan as well. This is easily one of my top ten c-dramas that I've ever watched. For reference, I started watching dramas last year.

Plot:
The story never dragged for me. I was invested all the way through. Yes, I occasionally wanted to slap a few characters but that's par for the course in cdramaland. There were so many twists and turns. Some predictable and some not so much. It was convoluted, but in a good way that had a mostly satisfactory ending.

Acting:
Honestly, I liked everyone and discovered several new actors to follow. They did a great job portraying their characters. No complaints.

What made it one of my top ten and so memorable?
Without giving spoilers...let me just say that the last few scenes played by Leo Luo (Rong Qi) was the most well done and heart-wrenching of it's kind. I can still see it vividly in my mind. This show put him on the map for me. I've seen some of his other work but this one...this was special. After I finished the show, it was in the way-too-early morning and I had tears streaming down my face. It was beautiful. The story, meaning, and acting...all of it.

I will definitely rewatch this in the future. ^_^

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A Beautiful Journey. One of my Top 10.

This drama was one of the first that I watched in early 2021 when I was just venturing into dramaland. I have seen a few others prior, not xianxia though, so it was the first in that aspect. I had been trying to get my mom to watch dramas with me for weeks and we just kept fighting about it because she didn't want to read subtitles. But...she came in while I was watching this and got hooked. Now she watches more dramas than me.

Things that I still remember liking to this day:

- Cheng Yi. This was the first drama I saw him in and his performance cemented him in my heart. It was beautiful.
- The acting. Everyone worked really well together and the chemistry reflected that. I couldn't spot any on screen awkwardness. It is one of the best acting teams I've seen thus far. (I say team because there are quite a few characters who tend to appear in various dramas together so it's always a treasure hunt. LOL. You'll see.)
- The story. It was a beautiful rollercoaster. It scared me a couple times and I thought this would shred my heart to pieces, but thankfully, it had a happy ending. ^_^
- Bai Shu's character Teng She. He is hands-down the best part of this show. I've haven't seen a character quite like him before and it was a highlight for sure. I think he's part of what captured my mom's attention. LOL. From this role alone, Bai Shu needs more main acting roles. I also enjoyed the bond and tension between him and the Green Dragon. <3
- The cinematography and CGI. While not perfect and it can't stand up to more modern ones like Ancient Love Poetry. It's still really great and was probably considered an advancement when it first came out.
- Oooh. I almost forgot. The villain, Yuan Lang, in this is my favorite drama villain to date. Love him.
- The music is stunning. I listen to it all the time.

Things I remember un-fondly:

- Crystal Yuan's hairstyle. It was horrible to me. When she was in god form though, it looked alright.
- Little things didn't always align. For example, in the beginning, the FL had no emotions, but was able to clearly express all of the emotions...yeah. Like a sociopath? No. Not really. I think it's more like they forced her to be that cute and dumb combo despite the fact that it made no sense with the character's profile. Thankfully, it didn't last too long. ^_^

Overall, this is one of my top ten dramas. <3

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This gave me such joy!

No spoilers = I'll vague speak for you. No worries.

I'll start by saying that I'm a fan of Xiao Zhan and had never seen anything with the other actors/actresses before, so I initially picked it up because of him and when I went in, all I knew was that it was a fantasy of some sort. I never read/saw any of the other iterations of this story.

The first episode was kind of draggy? Not bad. It just could've been shortened a bit. After that though, the story picked up fairly quickly and other characters began to get introduced. Like the FL, Wu Xuan Yi. I think she did her role wonderfully and was the very personification of bunny-like. (I've heard people say they didn't like her, but...I don't get it.)

I enjoyed the other members of the academy too and the bonds of friendship and family they developed. Actually all the relationships in the story had good foundation, etc. Easily one of my favorite parts. The little romance there was was more like an after thought, but as someone who prefers romance in all things just about, I didn't think the lack detracted from my enjoyment at all. It felt like the good sort of tease.

I heard some people say negative things about the CGI and honestly, I didn't notice anything. I thought it was good. Personally, I think the naysayers have got to have a microscope or are just looking for something to find fault with, in which case, you're inevitably bound to find something out of nothing. But, nothing stood out to me. There were no neon red signs saying, "This is such crap-tastic CGI work. How dare they? Etc."

The plot was interesting and novel to me. I haven't seen anything else like it. Refreshing.

It was family oriented so I would have no problems watching it with either my mom or my little monsters, some of who are kind of picky. There was enough quality and something in it that each of us would enjoy. Action. Story. Magic-ish. A worthy hero. Adventure. Etc.

My only issue is with the way it ended. I heard there's going to be a sequel? My fingers are crossed. I need more. But, going in as someone with no knowledge of the source material, I felt the ending was a little lackluster. The journey to get there though was phenomenal.

Would I recommend? For sure. 10/10.

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A Wonderfully Ancient Mystery

This was styled a bit differently than all the drama I've watched thus far. There was an overarching mystery to solve, but every 3-5 episodes there was a new murder/plot to contend with. It was more grim and serious. And while there was romance, it was more of a secondary thing. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I just wish there was a season 2, to resolve the few lingering questions at the end.

Things that impressed me:
- The females (all of them really) in this weren't annoying. There was none of that overly cute and dumb thing that is rampant in C-Dramaland. The main female is an assassin and I love her iciness to bits. LOL.
- The wuxia aspect was nice. Lots of fighting. Who doesn't like that?
- Rachel Wang, Wang Yan Yang, Du Ya Fei, and Wang Xing Wei were pretty to look at.
- Even though some parts were predictable, there was still other parts that weren't.
- The fierce bond of friendship between the two male leads. Bromance. (Not the BL kind.) <3 <3

Overall, the drama was wonderfully executed. Everything tied together really well in terms of: production, script, acting, cinematography, etc. It's truly the result of great teamwork.

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My First Drama w/ the Two Leads ^_^

I had never watched a drama with these two leads, Gabrielle Guan and Neo Hou, before but afterwards I became a fan of them both and definitely recommend this drama to people who are on the fence. It has great messages about familial loyalty and female empowerment.

In terms of aesthetics, there was eye candy galore. And, the costumes were beautiful. In my opinion, the female lead's in particular were different than the same recycled stuff I see all the time in other dramas. She had a somewhat unique sense of fashion.

As for the relationships within, I liked both couples. The secondary couple was cute and strong in their own way--overcoming their individual obstacles to be together. And the leads... ^_^ Well, what I truly enjoyed the most about them was that they weren't blinded by love. They both had their own motivations and ideals and while they fell for each other eventually and became loyal, they never lost themselves. Too often in dramas, I see a character that when he/she falls in love, they lose everything that made them unique and devolve into just another simpering puppet couple. Such was not the case here, thankfully.

Continuing with the relationship theme, the Ban family was a highlight for sure. They stuck up for each other and had such loyalty amongst them even when they lost everything. How many families depicted in dramas do that? Unconditional support is something we need to see more of as far as I'm concerned.

There's one thing in particular that I want to address. Before I watched this, I saw a lot of mixed opinions about the female lead. Here's my take. In the beginning, she was spoiled for sure (par for the course since she was part of the royal family) but even so, she was still a representation of strong female paving her own path. She wasn't cruel. Unlike the others in her circle, who smiled sweetly and were very polite to your face but were hideous once you turned around. The lead was different. Her only fault was that she was young and inexperienced. She was still likeable though and I didn't find her annoying at all. Then, as the events unfolded in the drama, she grew and became stronger. It was her character journey and it was a great message of female strength for younger girls to watch.

Overall, I liked it so much and will probably rewatch it in the future.

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Left Unsatisfied...

To be frank, I watched this via Youtube earlier this year; ergo my review will encompass the things that I still remember to this date. It's not as fresh. ^_^ Probably a good thing because I was so irritated. LOL. I had been searching for a good contemporary BL to watch and...this was not it. Sadly. It did have potential though.

Things I liked:
- Simon Gong did his part well. And the other lead as well. I liked the moments between them.

Things I disliked:
- The girl, Yuan Zong's sister who had a crush on Xia Yao, was annoying.
-The ending is atrocious with an anime style graphic that comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with the issues at hand in the story. It ends abruptly and the story feels unfinished.
- Heavily censored. Some scenes cut off abruptly and the story would pick up somewhere completely different. All those sweet scenes between the leads that I liked so much got cut off before they ever fully finish the moments. Irritating. And it was super obvious.

Overall, it wasn't perfect, but I had been into it, and willing to put up with the heavy censoring hand, but that ending was just the epitome of stupid. What kind of sadist ends a story like that?!

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Beautifully Short & Worth Watching

This is only 37 minutes so I didn't have high hopes when I watched it because I'm used to a movie that's around two hours in length. But this went beyond my expectations...

The actors truly did a great job portraying their characters. They were able to infuse such emotion and skill into every ounce of their performances and that's astounding. They've both found a new fan in me.

The production was great, everything was beautiful from the costumes, hair, and makeup to their surroundings.

I will say that story-wise, it was very compact. There was nothing extra--very to the point. But yeah...37 minutes, what else did you expect?

I'm glad I watched it. ^_^

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My Thoughts

Here's my thoughts on this drama, both the good and bad. I will say that I stopped watching at episode 13, but then went and watched episodes 25 & 26.

I originally started watching this because Jeremy was amazing in The Autumn Ballad, where his own beautifully deep voice was displayed. I'd never seen any of his other work so wanted to give this a shot. My first impression of this drama was slight disappointment because his voice was overdubbed.

However I kept watching.

He did his part well and so did Hu Yun Hao. The acting was fairly good, from the actors standpoint. I will say that I wasn't impressed by any of the actresses in this drama. Overall, I found them to be on the low side of average.

Moving on,

The story had potential. I liked where they did a bit of historical in the beginning and then switched to modern for the remainder. It's something I haven't seen before. However, the plot became repetitive and from the spoilers i read about the episodes I skipped, it continued to get repetitive.

This show could've been shortened to about 24 episodes and it would've paced better, because even in the parts I watched, it was dragged out a bit more than necessary.

Essentially, this show had potential and if you like this kind of stuff, watch it and make up your own mind, but for me, I just couldn't finish it. Sadly.

Would I recommend this? Not really.

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Pure Fluff...Is that Your Thing?

It's not a long drama so I started watching one day when I knew I didn't have time to get emotionally invested in something that was long and binge-able. I thought this would be cute. But, it was just okay. Not bad. Not great either. I didn't really have any expectations for it to begin with so I can't really say I was disappointed but...I was disappointed? It's straight up fluff. Very little substance. It seems like they tried too hard with the comedy aspects of it. The acting is mediocre. Wait. Everything is mediocre. I ended up dropping it because I just couldn't carry on.

All that said, my mom who adores fluff dramas and the stupid comedy ones, actually thought this was pretty good so...just watch the first episode and make up your own mind.

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Hmmm...don't let this one deter you from the remainder of the series.

Compared to Ultimate Note and Tomb of the Sea, which both came out a few years later, it felt lacking. I greatly enjoyed UN and TotS. This adaptation...not so much.

I thought Yang Yang did a great job as Zhang Qiling; however, it was not my favorite performance of his. Futhermore, I enjoyed the actor who played as Zhang Qiling in UN and TotS better. But, I believe this has more to do with the screenwriting, etc. than it does with the actors. Though, I do want to note that I did not care for the actor who played Pangzi (Fatty) at all. For him, I don't know what happened but his character was annoying AF and detracted greatly from my overall enjoyment. It might have been bad acting or a bad script. Maybe both. Nevertheless, I can't think of a polite way to express how much I disliked him...

As for the pacing, it felt rushed and jumpy--almost as if they had to tried to cram a bunch of information into just 10 episodes, resulting in a subpar product. It should have been longer, because many things remainder unanswered or not properly dealt with. And the scenes/answers that it did have, didn't have enough oomph to really make an impression.

Honestly, I watched Un and TotS before this and found that this wasn't even necessary for my understanding of the storyline. If I had watched this adaptation first, I wouldn't have bothered watching the others and might have missed out. So just know that you won't miss anything if you watch UN and TotS. ^_^

I'm on episode six now and seriously pondering whether or not I'll drop it. Probably will.

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