ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Ah. Trailers are a good tell-taleā¦
Good point on JoL. Coz it literally just got cut-off. š¤£ not even kidding.
MingLan vs. Dream of Splendourā¦.. hurmmm no. Not the same though I can see why some might think so. DoS was good but not great for me. MingLan has a very unique theme thoughā¦. Itās very specific by the author of that novel. Something which I believe all girls should watch when they are like 18 or so. š¤ So it was kind of different for me in that senseā¦
Really?!?! Honestly I think C-dramas could be quite repetitive in term of plots (probably why I found DoS good but not great, like it was a mashup of a few dramas and by mid-way of the drama I already felt šā¦ so it would have worked if I was really into Crystal Liu or the ML, they were good, chemistry was great tooā¦. Just by mid-way it reminded me of so many other C-dramas, and Iām neutral towards most of the actors and actresses, so I started to become very rational, and nothing was really out of the ordinary, like OST, the set, costumes etc)ā¦ but Forever and Ever was so differentā¦ I think Iād always remember it. I thought the author was quite smart in choosing a modern setting. But apparently she said she took inspiration from her own lifeā¦ something like that. Haha, maybe you just wonāt like it coz itās very obvious One and Only had a much bigger fanbase. But Iām kinda weird as well. Lol, I fit in the minority more often than not.
SSS should partially be due to the FL, the casting of the FL. Her acting wasnāt bad but I reckon it had the same issue as Ever Nightā¦ like just unsuitable esp physically + visually. So it turns out a bit odd for a lot of people. I was alright with it, I mean I noticed it but it didnāt annoy me.
Not exactly.. but more of the framework of the whole series was similarā¦ like the romanceās pacingā¦ and how the whole series is structured, like how they weaved it with the politics/feud bitā¦ also the nature of the politics is kinda similar as wellā¦. but there are still some differences in main themesā¦ coz TLB is revengeā¦ that was apparent. And TLB is kinda philosophical coz they touched on Taoism/Confucianism in the 2nd half.. Rebel Princess wasnāt like that and had some other differing themes.
Haha, I also like all genres exceptā¦.. warā¦ lol. I donāt like to watch war movies or seriesā¦ and pure comedyā¦. I hardly like pure comedies mostly because I donāt find it funny and just go šā¦. That aside everything goes even horror. š¤£ uhhhā¦. Iām a big fan of the whole The Lost Tomb series and Ghost Blows out the Lightā¦ like you, I also loved WoH and Untamed, but Iām probably in the minority whereby I thought the former was better than the latter. I have a long list because Iāve just had so much more at-home time during this pandemicā¦ so on top of the ones that Iāve mentioned/weāve discussed and excluding K-dramasā¦.. Ancient Detective, Master of my Own (going to mention this again š¤£), Legacy, The Imperial Coroner, Eternal Love of Dream, Miss S, The Sword and the Brocade.
I really like mysteries and like case-solving/investigative stuffā¦ so there is a bunch of that which warrants for a separate discussion cozā¦ C-dramas are kinda behind in that genre. You mentioned Reset. I know that was like a dark horseā¦ I havenāt watched it yet but itās on my list. Another one which I noticed you didnāt mention and itās super popular was Love and Redemptionā¦. I totally didnāt like itā¦ and also didnāt really understand why it was such a big hitā¦ š¤ I think for me who the specific actor or actress is matters and whether they fit that role really mattersā¦ like I watched Love and Redemption actually but I had the same feeling with Ashes of Loveā¦ it was a tad better, I FF and ended up finishing itā¦ but Ashes of Love I didnāt. I watched maybe 15 episodes and then watched the last 3 episodesā¦something like thatā¦ coz for example I donāt think Iāve ever been very into any of the series Cheng Yi has starred in as the main roleā¦. but I donāt think heās a bad actor. Heās alrightā¦ and he isnāt annoying/weird or anything, I have nothing against himā¦ just he picks all these roles which are very masculineā¦. Or like powerful and every time I see him I think he is soā¦.. tinyā¦. And he looks so much like a high school kid/university studentā¦. š He actually looks pretty androgynousā¦
Another example would be Mysteries of Love, I thought the plot was unique tooā¦. But I think the colour grading/production quality really annoyed meā¦. And the leadsā¦. I found the MLās acting or more of his facial expression very odd. Lol. Although his physique totally fits the role. So couldnāt get into it. Didnāt exactly complete it. On the opposite end of the spectrum would be Love btwn Fairy and Devil.. Iām totally neutral towards both Esther Yu and Dylan Wang, donāt think Iāve even watched them before but the CGI and the OSTs were really likeā¦ woahā¦ lol. And the ML could really actā¦ he really fits the role. And the most amazing thing is the FL didnāt annoy meā¦ hahaha. She deserves praise for it coz she totally isnāt my style. She did really well!
I donāt know if the story was good or bad because takahashi issei and aoi yu performances was just mesmerizing.…
The one where he told her āI married you not to have kids.āā¦. That is modern romance right thereā¦. And itās true that everyone gets married for different reasons and having kids is really one of the main reasonsā¦. Which in a way Iāve always found that really sadā¦
I actually thought this was really goodā¦. Totally didnāt think it was weird esp in Japan with the whole sex trade thing being so prominent. Manga, sex toys etcā¦ I mean if you step back to think about it afterwards yea it is kinda weirdā¦. But the movie was very relatable esp throughout watching it.
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Haha, fair point. Good idea on organising them. Ah, you didnāt like The Long Balladā¦ interesting. I donāt like Ashes of Love and those you mentioned after as well. Didnāt watch most of them actually. I donāt think I finished Ashes of Love. Not interested at all.
Oooo you discovered Crushā¦.. that is hardly mentionedā¦. Like totally under the radar. I was super surprised after I finished it. It was really good except for one bit which was not developed/written well. The ML was good and the production quality wasnāt too bad. You do like some under the radar stuff thoughā¦ Mysteries of Love, I came across that. Didnāt watch itā¦
I thought WoH was epic manā¦
Wotā¦ you havenāt watch Story of Ming Lan and JoLā¦. Sighsā¦ I wish I was you. Super Envious. I still canāt get over how good JoL is. š¤£ Ming Lan as well.
Eh you didnāt mention Forever and Ever and Sword, Snow, Strideā¦. I thought Forever and Ever was such a good and unique series. More and more do keep coming BUTā¦.. have to say C-dramas quality control isnāt as high as K-dramasā¦ they release soooo many productions every yr, but not many are worth watching in terms of %ā¦ but I spse there are still many when it comes to numbers. Haha
But based on your lists I donāt think youād like The Rebel Princess š¤£š¤£š¤£
Lao Zi/ Lao Tzu is the founder of Taoism, not Confucianism. Both are different philosophies. Changge's whole journey…
Ahā¦. Taoism, it sounded like Confucius quotes to me. I see. Yes, I really didnāt realise there was the whole Taoism thing embedded in The Long Ballad, coz the whole monastery arc there were a couple of scenesā¦ The Tao one was easy to catch even like translated to just āpathā that was fineā¦.. and in a way kind of obvious as their journey, self-realisationā¦.
But there was a separate one whereby they discussed about that whole Wu Weiā¦ that was deep man. Lol. Iāve never heard of it beforeā¦. So it was mostly her wanting to change things, and to fight and to control thingsā¦ etc. I never knew there was something called āinactionāā¦ that Chinese phrase above, Netflix translated it to something elseā¦.. and apparently it is a philosophy explored in both Confucianism and Taoism.
Yea because the phrases they use arenāt the ones people use in daily life so I actually didnāt realise that Netflix didnāt exactly translate everything precisely. Itās only rewatching this time round I paid more attention and realised they were definitely talking about more than just finding your own pathā¦
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Hahahah. I watched it backwardsā¦. So I think the first time I watched Leo Wu was Tomb of Sea but I didnāt really think much about it then. It was in The Long Ballad which I first noticed himā¦. And I was like, woahā¦. Heā¦ā¦ actually looks very compatible/good with Dilrabaā¦. Which I personally thought wasnāt easy. He became so tall! And broad! But it was also via this series that I realised how cautious producers are due to the sensitivity around the whole age thing in Chinaā¦. So I really really wanted to watch them kiss on-screenā¦. š„ but due to their age gap there was noneā¦. Because of the fear of backlashā¦ š.
Lol. And his facial features changed a bit more in LLtG coz I think heās like a year older or somethingā¦ only very subtly. You will be in for a ride coz Fei Lu looked like baby Keroppi andā¦ā¦ him in LLtG is one fine dashing man. š¤£š¤£š¤£
So LLtG has a similar theme/notion going on with NiF but itās more balanced as a series with a lot more other themes explored and the characters have a lot more depth to them. But of course itās not really in the same genre, the focus isnāt exactly the sameā¦ because LLtG is a blend of a few genres. Strategy not as intricate. Please do watch it soon. lol. And remember to watch it. maybe because I rated Story of Ming Lan very highlyā¦ and I still think highly of it.
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
But it wasnāt a very satisfying watch for me. Yea, all his helpers were very helpfulā¦. In terms of actionsā¦. So they helped him to just executeā¦. But it was a very sorrowful series because there was only himā¦. Yeap. His goal was very clear. Defo would have been very long if they gave the series more layers and added more depthā¦ really? I didnāt find any of his opponents formidable, there werenāt many push and pull exchanges of schemes hence why I felt it was very monotonousā¦ for sure they were all rather evil, greedy and selfish thoughā¦. and actually even the LangYa owner commented about it at the endā¦.. like why the poor dude is so tired all the time š¤£. Coz there is literally only himā¦ ah there was one. The girl, that strategist working for the other prince. I enjoyed watching her counter some of his schemes. At least it wasnāt like just watching a single person playing smart chess on his own the entire time. And her acting+physical appearance also suits the roleā¦.
Yea, the plot was defo very intricate, the whole revenge plan was the main centrepiece.
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Ah I see. Interessstinnngggā¦.. ok. I watched NiF and thought it was overrated and it left me disappointed. ā¹ļø I thought it was good but then I felt it was very monotonous though. I probably had my expectations up too high. Coz Iāve known for yrs now that it was an acclaimed series and it shot Hu Ge to fame.
Like I wondered why I watched the series after the whole series endedā¦.. lol. I felt very depressed and sad for that dude and actually it shouldnāt be called NiF, should have been called MeiChangSu. So it was just a very intricate plot and very smart revenge plot. I couldnāt relate to any of the characters, although I can completely understand why he did that. I didnāt find any of his opponents half as smart as himā¦. Which almost feels like he was playing a game of very smart chessā¦.. with himselfā¦ that was the analogy I felt after I finished the seriesā¦. And I was sad that even his friends/partners werenāt his matchā¦. He was so aloneā¦.. So I had this expressionā¦. š³š„ like the entire series only had one smart personā¦. Ah the guy who manages LangYa, but itās so sad that he almost has no screen time.
Oooooā¦ so did you watch the more recent Love like the Galaxy then?
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Wells. I would think just give it a try and then perhaps could drop after if it doesnāt suit your liking.. but this isnāt like NiF thoughā¦. The good thing about this drama is you can quickly tell from the first 10 episodes itself on whether it suits youā¦ if it isnāt donāt even need to persistā¦ they did it quite well in the sense that there is no long wait for background introduction, buildup etcā¦. So they followed the format of newer series in the sense ZZY complements it with verbal narratives.
Uhhh maybe the pacing is similar to NiF and the tempo as well. But not the rest š¤.
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Btw, I actually thought Master of My Own was one of the best modern C-dramas Iāve watchedā¦ but look at the poor Douban ratingā¦. š¤£ because it doesnāt really fit into the typical formulaic hits for C-dramas regardless of how realistic it isā¦. Or how well the story was toldā¦.
I'm on episode 4 and so far I am completely disliking the ML, he's giving early 2000's drama toxic male lead and…
Lol, btw this drama is super realisticā¦. I was just discussing with other MDL members when it started airing that it really reflects the culture of the finance sector. Also they got a lot of tiny details and niche technical terms accuratelyā¦ itās likely that the author herself is/was in corporate finance or she is very close to someone who is. I personally thought itās one of the best modern C-dramas Iāve watchedā¦..
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
Yea, it was tastefully done but they still maintained the realism to it. So the costumes werenāt the most beautiful ones Iāve seen for for femalesā¦. coz this one has no wuxia or xianxia elements to it. I liked it though coz I think they paid attention to the colour palettes of everything, so it all comes together very nicely on-screen. Like the make up matches the costumes and they match the colours of the sets and also all the side characters regardless of male or femaleā¦ even the soldiers armour was very cool and it actually looks believable.
I thought it was a great drama!! Just I donāt think the centrepiece theme is a mainstream hit kinda thing, so she took a risk there I spse. Not everyone would appreciate it but I think itās underratedā¦. Because in reality it kinda applies to modern times now albeit in an indirect manner. Think women nowadays have very conflicting identities and roles to play amongst other stigmas.
For example Story of Yanxi Palace follows the formulaic hits whereby it is about women fighting, harem schemes, and stubborn FL which had other similar predecessors over the years. While the more recent hits have very young casts with a lot of romance as itās main theme with just pure strong FLs. Who Rules the World, The Long Ballad, LLtG, etc. This is unlike any of those, and neither is it revenge driven like NiF. She is very brave but not invincible, strong but unafraid to compromise, gives everyone the benefit of the doubt even if they have wronged herā¦ but it wouldnāt suit audiences. So she isnāt like the popular FLs over the past 2-3yrsā¦. Her character is a lot more complex which is difficult for the younger female audiences to relate to. Ahā¦ I realised all the gaming related ones always make it big esp in China. Nearly all of them, but itās unimaginable for ZZY to star in something like that š¤£. Maybe she should have starred in like a female-centric Joy of Life kinda thing. That has never been doneā¦ š¤ and I think it would work actually. Unfortunately most modern dramas are neither as popular nor highly rated in China. Think the best one is probably Ode to Joy? Iāve never watched it too, somehow even Iām not intrigued. There are only certain types of dramas/formulas that work for Mainland audiences, and the censorships limit them even furtherā¦. Hence the douban ratingā¦ The MDL rating is closer to reality and also gives a better benchmark when you compare it to other C-dramas.
Have you started watching? I was basically like another person below who commented coz when I started watching I basically couldnāt stop. š¤£like eyes glued to the screen. I have to say I still find ZZY mesmerising on-screen. I think itās coz of her perfectly proportioned face as wellā¦..? On top of her demeanour. And of course, itās obvious she got talents in acting. But I discovered Zhou YiWei via this series though, apparently he is like an underdogā¦ heās good, but nobody really knows who he is. Hope he has a lot more dramasā¦
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting…
No idea why she chose this novel adaptation as her first TV series. It wasnāt bad, I actually liked it a lot but it was obvious that the plot was never going to be a massive hit because the main themes have been used too many times in C-dramas and Iām not so sure viewers are interested in the femalesās perspective. It could have been because of the script, it was a very well written script esp versus the novel. She received a lot of flak/criticism because of the original novelās FL being a 16-yr old, but they altered the drama a lot to tone it down which I felt was rightā¦. They did maintain that she was 16-yrs old though. In the novel they really highlighted the fact that she is still a child, a teenagerā¦ like very childish, sheltered and fragile. I actually found the novel version of her quite annoyingā¦.. Also, choosing a younger actress first also doesnāt make sense because the entire time span of her novel was only about 10 yrs I think if I remembered correctly.
There was nothing unique but I have to say I found it very well executed, dialogues, screenplay, storytelling and the plot was very logical + reasonable albeit purely fictional. However also likely because of this, it ended up being very long, because it was actually very easy to follow the plot, no loopholes. They could have shortened it if they wanted to but with C-dramas editing standards it might have been disastrous. Also they had a big budget so the casting was done well for nearly all the supporting characters making it more than just about watching the leadsā¦ The only thing which was unique is the dilemmas faced by the FL because of things that she was born with which she canāt change and also how things were set up afterā¦.. so perhaps ZZY also noticed this as being a centrepiece of the drama which has never been explored in other C-dramas before, at least not that I remember, not from a femaleās perspective. Thereās actually more to it than just being a strong female and invincible. In reality, back in the day when royal families and noble classes existedā¦. it becomes a mess for women esp if you are a blend of bothā¦ and the plot further complicates that identityā¦. and also sadly this was the part that faced criticism because the recent expectations of viewers are like the tough FLs regardless of whether it makes sense or not, just pure strong FL, feminism etc.
And thank goodness, for the first time it doesnāt have some revenge theme going onā¦. Like recently everything Iāve watched and rewatched has been about revengeā¦. Which I mostly canāt relate to. I mean I can for something like NiFā¦. But like geez man, wot on Earth is up with all these revenge themesā¦. š
So basically all the motivation and rationale behind the schemes of the antagonists and protagonists were sensible which is quite rare for C-dramas. I can actually relate to it and understand why someone would have acted that way. This doesnāt always occur for C-dramas actuallyā¦
Think the synopsis here is a bit odd and messy. Try reading the one in Wiki before you decide I spse. Iāve watched this multiple times because there are many likeable characters and solid actorsā¦ even the antagonistsā¦ I thought ZZY did really well.
How's this one? I saw reviews in douban where they requested Zhang ziyi not to act in a drama ever again
ššš how ridiculous, just because she is much older than the original character but itās called acting for a reasonā¦ā¦ Also, the original novel itself wasnāt exactly great, the drama was actually very well writtenā¦ an improvement and enhanced version of the source material.
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Good point on JoL. Coz it literally just got cut-off. š¤£ not even kidding.
MingLan vs. Dream of Splendourā¦.. hurmmm no. Not the same though I can see why some might think so. DoS was good but not great for me. MingLan has a very unique theme thoughā¦. Itās very specific by the author of that novel. Something which I believe all girls should watch when they are like 18 or so. š¤ So it was kind of different for me in that senseā¦
Really?!?! Honestly I think C-dramas could be quite repetitive in term of plots (probably why I found DoS good but not great, like it was a mashup of a few dramas and by mid-way of the drama I already felt šā¦ so it would have worked if I was really into Crystal Liu or the ML, they were good, chemistry was great tooā¦. Just by mid-way it reminded me of so many other C-dramas, and Iām neutral towards most of the actors and actresses, so I started to become very rational, and nothing was really out of the ordinary, like OST, the set, costumes etc)ā¦ but Forever and Ever was so differentā¦ I think Iād always remember it. I thought the author was quite smart in choosing a modern setting. But apparently she said she took inspiration from her own lifeā¦ something like that. Haha, maybe you just wonāt like it coz itās very obvious One and Only had a much bigger fanbase. But Iām kinda weird as well. Lol, I fit in the minority more often than not.
SSS should partially be due to the FL, the casting of the FL. Her acting wasnāt bad but I reckon it had the same issue as Ever Nightā¦ like just unsuitable esp physically + visually. So it turns out a bit odd for a lot of people. I was alright with it, I mean I noticed it but it didnāt annoy me.
Not exactly.. but more of the framework of the whole series was similarā¦ like the romanceās pacingā¦ and how the whole series is structured, like how they weaved it with the politics/feud bitā¦ also the nature of the politics is kinda similar as wellā¦. but there are still some differences in main themesā¦ coz TLB is revengeā¦ that was apparent. And TLB is kinda philosophical coz they touched on Taoism/Confucianism in the 2nd half.. Rebel Princess wasnāt like that and had some other differing themes.
Haha, I also like all genres exceptā¦.. warā¦ lol. I donāt like to watch war movies or seriesā¦ and pure comedyā¦. I hardly like pure comedies mostly because I donāt find it funny and just go šā¦. That aside everything goes even horror. š¤£ uhhhā¦. Iām a big fan of the whole The Lost Tomb series and Ghost Blows out the Lightā¦ like you, I also loved WoH and Untamed, but Iām probably in the minority whereby I thought the former was better than the latter. I have a long list because Iāve just had so much more at-home time during this pandemicā¦ so on top of the ones that Iāve mentioned/weāve discussed and excluding K-dramasā¦.. Ancient Detective, Master of my Own (going to mention this again š¤£), Legacy, The Imperial Coroner, Eternal Love of Dream, Miss S, The Sword and the Brocade.
I really like mysteries and like case-solving/investigative stuffā¦ so there is a bunch of that which warrants for a separate discussion cozā¦ C-dramas are kinda behind in that genre. You mentioned Reset. I know that was like a dark horseā¦ I havenāt watched it yet but itās on my list. Another one which I noticed you didnāt mention and itās super popular was Love and Redemptionā¦. I totally didnāt like itā¦ and also didnāt really understand why it was such a big hitā¦ š¤ I think for me who the specific actor or actress is matters and whether they fit that role really mattersā¦ like I watched Love and Redemption actually but I had the same feeling with Ashes of Loveā¦ it was a tad better, I FF and ended up finishing itā¦ but Ashes of Love I didnāt. I watched maybe 15 episodes and then watched the last 3 episodesā¦something like thatā¦ coz for example I donāt think Iāve ever been very into any of the series Cheng Yi has starred in as the main roleā¦. but I donāt think heās a bad actor. Heās alrightā¦ and he isnāt annoying/weird or anything, I have nothing against himā¦ just he picks all these roles which are very masculineā¦. Or like powerful and every time I see him I think he is soā¦.. tinyā¦. And he looks so much like a high school kid/university studentā¦. š He actually looks pretty androgynousā¦
Another example would be Mysteries of Love, I thought the plot was unique tooā¦. But I think the colour grading/production quality really annoyed meā¦. And the leadsā¦. I found the MLās acting or more of his facial expression very odd. Lol. Although his physique totally fits the role. So couldnāt get into it. Didnāt exactly complete it. On the opposite end of the spectrum would be Love btwn Fairy and Devil.. Iām totally neutral towards both Esther Yu and Dylan Wang, donāt think Iāve even watched them before but the CGI and the OSTs were really likeā¦ woahā¦ lol. And the ML could really actā¦ he really fits the role. And the most amazing thing is the FL didnāt annoy meā¦ hahaha. She deserves praise for it coz she totally isnāt my style. She did really well!
Oooo you discovered Crushā¦.. that is hardly mentionedā¦. Like totally under the radar. I was super surprised after I finished it. It was really good except for one bit which was not developed/written well. The ML was good and the production quality wasnāt too bad. You do like some under the radar stuff thoughā¦ Mysteries of Love, I came across that. Didnāt watch itā¦
I thought WoH was epic manā¦
Wotā¦ you havenāt watch Story of Ming Lan and JoLā¦. Sighsā¦ I wish I was you. Super Envious. I still canāt get over how good JoL is. š¤£ Ming Lan as well.
Eh you didnāt mention Forever and Ever and Sword, Snow, Strideā¦. I thought Forever and Ever was such a good and unique series. More and more do keep coming BUTā¦.. have to say C-dramas quality control isnāt as high as K-dramasā¦ they release soooo many productions every yr, but not many are worth watching in terms of %ā¦ but I spse there are still many when it comes to numbers. Haha
But based on your lists I donāt think youād like The Rebel Princess š¤£š¤£š¤£
But there was a separate one whereby they discussed about that whole Wu Weiā¦ that was deep man. Lol. Iāve never heard of it beforeā¦. So it was mostly her wanting to change things, and to fight and to control thingsā¦ etc. I never knew there was something called āinactionāā¦ that Chinese phrase above, Netflix translated it to something elseā¦.. and apparently it is a philosophy explored in both Confucianism and Taoism.
Yea because the phrases they use arenāt the ones people use in daily life so I actually didnāt realise that Netflix didnāt exactly translate everything precisely. Itās only rewatching this time round I paid more attention and realised they were definitely talking about more than just finding your own pathā¦
I canāt access Viki in my regionā¦. š
Lol. And his facial features changed a bit more in LLtG coz I think heās like a year older or somethingā¦ only very subtly. You will be in for a ride coz Fei Lu looked like baby Keroppi andā¦ā¦ him in LLtG is one fine dashing man. š¤£š¤£š¤£
So LLtG has a similar theme/notion going on with NiF but itās more balanced as a series with a lot more other themes explored and the characters have a lot more depth to them. But of course itās not really in the same genre, the focus isnāt exactly the sameā¦ because LLtG is a blend of a few genres. Strategy not as intricate. Please do watch it soon. lol. And remember to watch it. maybe because I rated Story of Ming Lan very highlyā¦ and I still think highly of it.
Yea, the plot was defo very intricate, the whole revenge plan was the main centrepiece.
Like I wondered why I watched the series after the whole series endedā¦.. lol. I felt very depressed and sad for that dude and actually it shouldnāt be called NiF, should have been called MeiChangSu. So it was just a very intricate plot and very smart revenge plot. I couldnāt relate to any of the characters, although I can completely understand why he did that. I didnāt find any of his opponents half as smart as himā¦. Which almost feels like he was playing a game of very smart chessā¦.. with himselfā¦ that was the analogy I felt after I finished the seriesā¦. And I was sad that even his friends/partners werenāt his matchā¦. He was so aloneā¦.. So I had this expressionā¦. š³š„ like the entire series only had one smart personā¦. Ah the guy who manages LangYa, but itās so sad that he almost has no screen time.
Oooooā¦ so did you watch the more recent Love like the Galaxy then?
Uhhh maybe the pacing is similar to NiF and the tempo as well. But not the rest š¤.
I thought it was a great drama!! Just I donāt think the centrepiece theme is a mainstream hit kinda thing, so she took a risk there I spse. Not everyone would appreciate it but I think itās underratedā¦. Because in reality it kinda applies to modern times now albeit in an indirect manner. Think women nowadays have very conflicting identities and roles to play amongst other stigmas.
For example Story of Yanxi Palace follows the formulaic hits whereby it is about women fighting, harem schemes, and stubborn FL which had other similar predecessors over the years. While the more recent hits have very young casts with a lot of romance as itās main theme with just pure strong FLs. Who Rules the World, The Long Ballad, LLtG, etc. This is unlike any of those, and neither is it revenge driven like NiF. She is very brave but not invincible, strong but unafraid to compromise, gives everyone the benefit of the doubt even if they have wronged herā¦ but it wouldnāt suit audiences. So she isnāt like the popular FLs over the past 2-3yrsā¦. Her character is a lot more complex which is difficult for the younger female audiences to relate to. Ahā¦ I realised all the gaming related ones always make it big esp in China. Nearly all of them, but itās unimaginable for ZZY to star in something like that š¤£. Maybe she should have starred in like a female-centric Joy of Life kinda thing. That has never been doneā¦ š¤ and I think it would work actually. Unfortunately most modern dramas are neither as popular nor highly rated in China. Think the best one is probably Ode to Joy? Iāve never watched it too, somehow even Iām not intrigued. There are only certain types of dramas/formulas that work for Mainland audiences, and the censorships limit them even furtherā¦. Hence the douban ratingā¦ The MDL rating is closer to reality and also gives a better benchmark when you compare it to other C-dramas.
Have you started watching? I was basically like another person below who commented coz when I started watching I basically couldnāt stop. š¤£like eyes glued to the screen. I have to say I still find ZZY mesmerising on-screen. I think itās coz of her perfectly proportioned face as wellā¦..? On top of her demeanour. And of course, itās obvious she got talents in acting. But I discovered Zhou YiWei via this series though, apparently he is like an underdogā¦ heās good, but nobody really knows who he is. Hope he has a lot more dramasā¦
There was nothing unique but I have to say I found it very well executed, dialogues, screenplay, storytelling and the plot was very logical + reasonable albeit purely fictional. However also likely because of this, it ended up being very long, because it was actually very easy to follow the plot, no loopholes. They could have shortened it if they wanted to but with C-dramas editing standards it might have been disastrous. Also they had a big budget so the casting was done well for nearly all the supporting characters making it more than just about watching the leadsā¦ The only thing which was unique is the dilemmas faced by the FL because of things that she was born with which she canāt change and also how things were set up afterā¦.. so perhaps ZZY also noticed this as being a centrepiece of the drama which has never been explored in other C-dramas before, at least not that I remember, not from a femaleās perspective. Thereās actually more to it than just being a strong female and invincible. In reality, back in the day when royal families and noble classes existedā¦. it becomes a mess for women esp if you are a blend of bothā¦ and the plot further complicates that identityā¦. and also sadly this was the part that faced criticism because the recent expectations of viewers are like the tough FLs regardless of whether it makes sense or not, just pure strong FL, feminism etc.
And thank goodness, for the first time it doesnāt have some revenge theme going onā¦. Like recently everything Iāve watched and rewatched has been about revengeā¦. Which I mostly canāt relate to. I mean I can for something like NiFā¦. But like geez man, wot on Earth is up with all these revenge themesā¦. š
So basically all the motivation and rationale behind the schemes of the antagonists and protagonists were sensible which is quite rare for C-dramas. I can actually relate to it and understand why someone would have acted that way. This doesnāt always occur for C-dramas actuallyā¦
Think the synopsis here is a bit odd and messy. Try reading the one in Wiki before you decide I spse. Iāve watched this multiple times because there are many likeable characters and solid actorsā¦ even the antagonistsā¦ I thought ZZY did really well.
Also, the original novel itself wasnāt exactly great, the drama was actually very well writtenā¦ an improvement and enhanced version of the source material.