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JamieDylan24

Netherlands

JamieDylan24

Netherlands
Ashes of Love chinese drama review
Completed
Ashes of Love
0 people found this review helpful
by JamieDylan24
Aug 14, 2024
63 of 63 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 5.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

A great idea falling short

It took me a long time to pick this drama up. It's been in my TO-WATCH list for ever but since I became a fan of Luo Yunxi this drama could no longer stay unwatched.

I had heard great stories about this drama. The fact that it has one of the highest ratings in China made me excited to start it up. The first 10 episodes really pulled me into the story but, unfortunately, the story fell flat after that. To be honest... if the drama didn't Luo Yunxi in it I would have dropped it somewhere around episode 20.

Story:
I absolutely adored the beginning of the series. It's fun. It's upbeat and I was rooting for Xu Feng and Jin Mi to be together but, to be fair, that whole "Jin Mi can't feel any romantic feelings" took way too long to resolve. And when it almost did they repaired that stupid pellet and it took even longer for her to feel any kind of romantic emotion. It turned her character arc in a plain, simple and dumb one. She became an annoying character that couldn't think for herself. The entire mortal realm arc fell flat and I wasn't involved in Xu Feng and Jin Mi's romance anymore. It felt like they were side characters in a story that was supposed to be about them and it remained that way for most of the drama.
What did become interesting was Run Yu's story arc. A good guy turned villain. It's just too bad that they turned him into a heartbroken "if I can't have her, no one can" kind of guy. I was rooting for him up until the point that everything he did was because of Jin Mi and wanting to keep her at his side. I just didn't understand why the two men were fighting over someone like Jin Mi. Also, I don't understand why this drama had to be around 60 episodes. It could have been way better if it had 30 episodes less. The tension would have been higher. Most of the storylines became draggy and very slow-paced so I skipped some of it. I loved Lui Ying but some of her scenes with Mu Ci were very slow and repetitive. Their bond together is very sweet and I adored them but Mu Ci, especially in the beginning of their arc, kept pushing her away for the same reasons over and over again. He went back and forth on his decision to leave her so I stopped watching them and skipped most of their scenes.

Overal likes:
- Run Yu's storyline. Luo Yunxi portrays him so well too!
- Fox Immortal and Lord Puchi. They were the ones who pulled me through the series. I loved their characters.
- The fact that Puchi shapeshifted into Run Yu to save Jin Mi. Luo Yunxi really shined with his acting in these scenes!
- I loved the sets and environment they created for this drama. Both Heavenly realm and Demon realm are so pretty and well done. The costumes too! Truly amazing work!
- The way the demon realm seemed more good than the heavenly realm. They really showed the meaning of Yin and Yang in this drama and I loved that.
- Deng Lun's acting, especially in the last few episodes. Made me feel all the feels.

Overal dislikes:
- Jin Mi. She became the dumbest character in cdrama history. At times I just wished she'd become more powerful and would use her head for once but she always fell flat in that department.
- The mortal realm episodes. It felt like the drama didn't need those episodes. It was necessary for Jin Mi to undergo mortal trials, true, but Xu Feng's choice to go after her didn't make any sense. How can you protect someone if you don't know who she is, what is happening and why you needed to protect her in the first place? The blokkade to the mortal realms he stumbled upon before jumping in after her was the stupidest thing ever. Especially considering Run Yu could visit the mortal Jin Mi every time he wanted. It was ridiculous. Xu Feng's decision didn't help him at all. It almost got him and Jin Mi killed.
- The actual timeline was very hazy at times. Time goes by very fast in the series. Sometimes spanning over a 100 years without the audience knowing. I found out in the latter part of the drama that the first ten episodes span over a 100 years which became a funny thing to me. Sometimes the drama does drop hint about how much time had passed but it doesn't always do that. I was surprised most of the time to find out hundreds of years had gone by.
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