Darkly Comic History Lesson... With Vampires

Vampires in Ancient China??! Sign me up! I wanted to hate this drama, I mean, it has so many elements that I normally can't stand in a drama:

- Naive ingenue FL who is annoyingly bubbly, quirky, and confident.

- caked on modern make-up in historical settings (just looks very synthetic).

- a talking CGI sidekick character who is incompetent AF.

- Annoying CGI scenery.

- A K-Pop idol cast only because he is a K-pop idol.

- Laughably cheap looking costumes, wigs, and props.

There was absolutely no reason for me to enjoy this time slip VR adventure series with monsters added in just for fun. Yet, here I am, saying that this was one of the most fun nonsense series I've seen. In a comedy, you can get away with so much absurdity.

In this series, you get a bit of everything, drama, thriller, time-travel Sci-Fi, fantasy, romance, and most of all, comedy.

I even started to like the FL, whose kind heart eventually won me over.

Even the aforementioned K-Pop idol actor was impressively emotive and convincing, all while wearing cheap costumes, ridiculous make-up and vampire fangs.

This drama, with its history lessons and historic Chinese settings in each episode, is a fun ride that I have found myself enjoying more than once.

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A Colourful Child's Diary In a Grey World

This was a very good drama. I originally dropped it at about ep 12, simply because I was getting bored, but that's not to say that it wasn't an excellent script idea. Possibly one of the best script story ideas I've come across in recent years. I've finally finished it now, and can say without a doubt that if the writers hadn't been forced to stretch 12 episodes into 24, and if the female leads hadn't been so annoyingly cliche, this could have easily been one of the best C Drama series I have seen.

A girl who has the imagination and confidence knocked out of her by the adult world, rediscovers her younger self as an adult. That's the main theme, and it's a very beautiful one.

As a girl who was wildly romantic, imaginative, and different, the themes of this drama heavily resonated with me.

However, there were a few things that I feel could have easily been changed for the better: The FL is annoying as heck, because she has turned into a mouse of a human being. I get that this is what happens to creative children in a harsh environment, but she was just too much like the usual Chinese drama doormat FL to not annoy the hell out of me. The stylist for this show gave her the most unflattering bowl-bob haircut, just to make sure she looked as plain and mousy as her character, and this really didn't help at all. Her adult character was made to look plain in contrast to her friend who she made up the story with. In childhood, the FL was the pretty child in contrast to her friend who had the unflattering bowl-bob haircut. This was indeed, an interesting juxtaposition, and it has deep meaning to the story, as the FL grows into her adult mouse persona out of the shame of childhood. The poor writers had to go back and forth in time to her childhood and then back to adulthood, just to fill in the 12 extra episodes they were forced to write, and I really sympathize with that.

Everything about her adult self suggested this human being never had an original or creative thought in her entire life. Certainly even as a child, she must have been too drab and boring to feel out of place and create such interesting characters.

The SFL was, for contrast, a trashy human being that we are supposed to care about. She is supposed to be a cultured human being, but her words and actions imply the opposite of this. Every single female character in this drama was incredibly annoying and unlikeable in their own way. They either were incapable of thinking for themselves, incapable of listening to someone else, or incapable of having their own convictions.

The fictional male characters were the only characters of any interest, and they were written by a little girl!

Of course, the episodes were stretched out because the poor writers had to create 24 episodes from the original 12. Next time, make the female characters less like cliche doormats or trashy divas, and more like rounded characters we can relate to, because that would have improved everything. The original idea of this drama is genius, which makes it even more sad that the execution wasn't what it could have been.

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Choosing AI Love

I didn't think I would enjoy this drama as much as I did. Unlike a lot of people, I actually found the FL to be both relatable and a round character. I was rooting for her, as I was rooting for the ML, as well as the SML.

The SML took the FL for granted, and made his popularity and career the main focus of his life, Which then led to him neglecting her, and being a bad boyfriend. That wasn't something that made me hate him though. He had depth of character, and ended up seeing the error of his ways. The FL was coming to grips with falling for a non-human, who would have possibly ended up loving anyone who found themselves accidently kissing him awake, somehow. 😆 She had very understandable reason for not accepting the AI love of the most beautiful man.... robot, I mean, on the planet.

I didn't find the FL annoying as others have. I found her strong-minded and relatable, and although maybe clumsy at times, she was more interesting of a character than the stereotypical K-drama FL. I did find myself skipping parts in the story about the scientists who made the robot, and I did drop it once, but then picked it up again later, mostly on account of SML and FL interaction, which is what I enjoyed the most.

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What Plot?

This has to be the most asinine of asinine kitchen sink Chinese costume melodramas ever made. No plot, no character development. It's the usual one time this character gets sick and is healed, another character gets ill and is healed ad nauseum. And that shitty boy with his asshole pet that goes around biting people, but we're supposed to pretend like it's cute that he mother raised him as a manipulative douch-bag.

Anyway, if you like kitchen sink Chinese costume melodramas that go on forever with absolutely no plot and vacuous characters, then you'll love this. If you have higher standards, just skip it.

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My B****y Stalker

If you feel that gawking at Zheng Ye Cheng is worth putting yourself through the hell of watching the most unattractive, uninteresting, idiotic, and bratty FL ever created throw herself at him, then go ahead.

That's really all there is to be said here. Oh, cinematography was nice, in my opinion. Bright gem-tone colours, beautiful scenery in some shots. However, story is king, and this king was missing. Instead, there was a leach of a princess who just wouldn't leave the drama! 😆

Obviously the screenwriters either don't understand what the word "sassy" means, or the Mandarin word for "sassy" is "b****y". Either way, I can't think of why anyone would want to watch a drama about a b****y stalker princess. Oh! Unless you want to watch only to drool over Zheng Ye Cheng, that is. 😆

The Korean drama, "My Sassy Girl" is almost the same, but it's much better than this one. I actually thought this was a Chinese remake at first.

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Knocked Up Human Doormat

Have you ever wanted the female human doormat character to just die so you could watch a drama? Well, no human doormat character could sink as low as the one in this drama.

She has no redeeming qualities, and lets her jellyfish self get dragged around to the point of being knocked up by drunken accident. She can't speak for herself till halfway through the drama, but by then, she is just a dishrag of a character with no redeeming qualities.

The ML is no angel, and his unfaithfulness despite supposedly being madly in love with his girlfriend, shows his weakness of character, but he was at least written as a rounded character, and played by one of the best South Korean actors. The SML is a very likeable, and perfectly cast.

To watch two of the most gorgeous men in South Korea fight over the human doormat of a FL was too much for me to handle. I've tried to like this drama enough to finish it. I wanted to like this drama because I loved the male characters, and the idea of the plot was interesting enough. But the FL kept getting in the way for me. She couldn't even stay standing upright without someone's help.

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No Plot, No Problems

I was looking forward to watching this drama because the ML was also in a very sweet and charming drama I enjoyed called, Decreed By Fate". Unfortunately, this drama comes nowhere near, "Decreed By Fate" and became so intensely dull within just the first few episodes, that I had to drop it completely.

Firstly, the good news is the FL isn't wooden, unattractive, or annoying as many if not most Chinese costume drama FLs are. She is interesting, smart, witty, talented, skilled, and not a push-over victim. The main lead actress is talented and I look forward to seeing more from her in the future.

My main problem with this drama is that there is no plot. When I say no plot, I mean that other than the time-traveling instrumentalist trying to return to modern time, there is really no plot at all!! The time-travel element itself is bizarre, as it isn't well explained nor well executed here (again, no real plot). The ML, other than being serious eye-candy, and a decent actor, is quite boring as a character. Though compared with most MLs in costume dramas, he at least isn't stoic and cold. The actor playing the ML, from what I have seen, is a gem of an actor, and though he is still very young, I am expecting his star to rise in the next few years, and am grateful for that.

Still, even with the main leads being a cut above the usual costume drama actors/ characters, without an interesting plot, the drama goes nowhere and relies on antogonist antics, rather than interesting situations for plot points, which gets boring.

I really wanted to love this drama, but without a good story structure, I just can't. This is one of the most boring non-melodramas I have ever seen, despite the stellar cast, cinematography, and performances.

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The Gods Must Be Bored

Xanxia is that genre where we get to see how very dull life is for the Chinese gods. Their lives are lived at Tai Chi speed, and there doesn't seem to be a brain-cell in sight, generally.

Yes, I heard that 500 years is like one human year, etc.... and therefore, many gods are still immature. Yet, how come the most childish god is always female? Why do we need another series of Yang Zi cheesing it up for laughs? Playing the same saccharine cutesy character, and somehow, we know the ML will fall for the cutesy behaviour, as he always does, despite him being a mature and wise god.

***BTW, having "romantic feelings" for a much younger woman, whether she is immortal or not, whom you literally saw created, and brought up yourself from a child in your own home, is incredibly creepy and gross, and nothing anyone says can convince me otherwise! The antithesis of romantic.***

The script dialogue here is quite well written though, I will say that. But another endless and slow immortal story that will feel like 500 years by the time it is finished? No thanks. I like the Elmo (LOL) Yumo dragon character so far (ooops, turns out he's a black fish, but why does he have horns then???? Bet he has some secret dragon magic) Good addition to the cast of characters. The stoic guy always gets the girl in C-dramas, but they are definitely the most boring. The demon world is always depicted as being more colourful, and bewitching, and I can't imagine anyone in their right minds would rather hang out with the heavenly immortals, if given a choice.

I'm going to have to pass on this one, watching yet another painfully slow love story about some stoic guy and his annoying and childish lady-love is more than I have the patience for. I liked what I read about a part-demon character, but I can see he is going to be steadfastly boring and stoic throughout, so I'm dropping this one.

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Engaging Relationship Drama

The plot of this drama seemed like it was something I wouldn't be interested in. I am not a K pop fan, watching another K pop romance drama was going to make me nauseous.

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I gave this drama a chance. Firstly, there sre two main story archs tied together by the former and present life of the ML.

In the present, the ML is terribly rude to a member of the press, who becomes our FL. As a result, the FL is fired from her job and subsequently writes an anti-fan exposè about the K pop star ML, which makes her a target of all his K pop stans.

In the past, the ML was connected with the SML and SFL as they were in the K pop idol program with him, but he became a star and they didn't.

Slowly, the real truth about the ML is exposed, not just what the victims of circumstances around him believe to be the truth.

The FL is a great character, although it would have been fine if she wasn't made out to be as quirky or poor as she was as a ploy by the writers to make her "relatable". I hate this kind of manipulative writing.

The ML was almost too perfect. I mean, he's written as this flawless, perfect individual, which is in keeping with his K pop idol persona. Not that I needed him to be quirky just to have him be relatable. Of course when he exhibited an acceptance of the FL rural background, it was a ploy by the writers to prove that he wasn't a rich snob, which is the ultimate favourite trope for writers of drama. 🙄 OK, he accepts poor people, so he is relatable and likeable now. Great.🙄

I found myself cheering on the SML because of how flawed and bitter he was, because at least he was interesting, though behaving like a perpetual victim is also annoying.

The SFL is a human doormat character who has no mind of her own and is a perpetual victim. I skipped most scenes she was in, as they kept doing flashback scenes with her, and I couldn't care less about her.

Anyway, I do recommed this drama as a character-led drama that started of as a situational drama but flipped successfully along the way. The FL isn't a human doormat like most K drama FLs. She is opinionated and decisive. That alone was enough of a draw for me.

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Confused Housewife Looking For Herself Finds Hot Carpenter Instead

This is a story, narrated by the wronged husband of a wacky wife going through a mental breakdown by cheating.

Her husband thinks she's happy because he is busy putting his career first, while she is stuck at home, being bullied by her in-laws.

She meets a devastatingly handsome carpenter, who "gives her permission" to complain about her life, and so she does, with wicked abandon.

The amount of chemistry between the wife and the carpenter? 0.

Carpenter: Aren't you tired of being a doormat for your in-laws.

FL: No

Carpenter: Are you sure?

FL: Alright, alright! I don't want to be a doormat anymore!! Waaaaa waaaaaa waaaa

Husband: Why did you cheat on me?

FL: Because I was a doormat. Waaaaaaa

Husband: OK.

Wife: Can we still stay together, because it's embarrassing for me to be divorced. Waaaaa

Husband: OK.

The End.

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Ancient Cure For Insomnia

A snoozefest that is sure to put you to sleep. Don't bother looking for a plot, there isn't one.

The FL was considerably less annoying than I am used to in these Chinese costume dramas. I would even say I would like to have the opportunity to see her again in a well-written drama sometime in the future. I couldn't help but like her, even though, well, it's not nice to say, but her appearance isn't one I will easily remember. Not her fault, but I did have to mention that even though I genuinely thought she did a good job, and she is good-looking. I'm not sure I'd recognize her if I saw her again in anything else.

Xu Kai's character was written as an emotionless icicle, so I can't really blame him for portraying exactly that.

It's a melodrama, so sometimes the characters get hurt, and then they recover, only to yet again get hurt by the antagonists. That's a recipe for complete boredom.

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Really Nice Components

I have nice things to say about this drama:

- The FL was great! Only somewhat annoying in her pursuit of her boyfriend.

- Story was light and fun.

But I didn't find it worth completing, personally, just because of my personal taste in comedy dramas. This is a very goofy comedy. When it came time that the FL pretended to be pregnant by tapping the vein in her arm, is when I tapped out of the story altogether.

The ML has no memory of his real world life. But why? He had amnesia whilst playing this game and then forgot who he was entirely? There's probably an explanation for this, but I didn't stick around to find out. His virtual character was an arrogant jerk, and there is no way he wasn't an arrogant jerk in real life as well. It's more likely this is his real personality. He wasn't even handsome, and when he called himself an artist, or a musician, it made me a bit nauseous, as he clearly wasn't creative, artistic, nor talented in any way.

So, basically the funny, smart, albeit goofy FL was chasing her stupid, arrogant, spoiled, delusional, and ordinary looking boyfriend around this virtual world, and I didn't buy it. I mean, it showed what a great girlfriend she was, but I didn't enjoy watching her chase down this guy. I had to drop it, but, I can see the potential of this story as light entertainment.

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Realistic Tempo Drama

This drama started off strong. The cinematography was above average for a chinese drama, and it avoided many, if not most of the clichès one can expect when watching a historical Chinese drama.

The first episode was very, very good, and promising. The reason why I chose to drop this drama, was simply because I felt extremely bored by the realistic tempo. What I mean by that is that the story was very simple and unfolded very, very slowly. Now, normally, I would call this draggy, but because it fits the realistic atmosphere of the drama, I will just say it was a realistic speed. This is just like Story of Ming Lang, which was also just too slow to keep my attention (but fit the realistic story).

It was really nice to see the character dynamics between the ML and FL. They are both characters that you could automatically enjoy watching together, and the realistically slow way in which they earned each other's trust after their arranged marriage was both sweet and refreshing to see.

I dropped this, so I can't give an overall review, but I would say that what I did see was original and well done.

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What A Load of C***

Firstly, I didn't start watching this just because of Xiao Zhan. He's nice to look at, and not a bad actor, but he's not one of my favourite actors either. I don't think he's really had enough challenging acting roles for me to judge his acting skills yet. He was good at playing a sociopath in "The Untamed", but I'd like to see what else he can do in a good production, not like his roles in, "Oh, My Emperor" or "The Wolf", which any actor could have played.

Anyway, I wanted to watch this after seeing the trailer. Wow, did the editor ever do a good job of putting together that trailer, because it is so much better than the actual drama.

The first episode or two were purely setup for the story, but even once the character reaches his destination of the academy, the story somehow still doesn't start!!

And then, the worst crime of this drama is revealed, in the form of a bubbly Chinese bunny-toddler girl named "Wu", who has to be the most annoying character ever in all of Chinese drama history! Seriously, could any character of either gender possibly be more annoying than this one?!! I think not!! And that is really saying something for a Chinese drama, when so many of the female characters have the maturity of an 4 year old, but are way too dumb to even stay alive for one whole day on this planet if they were real people.

Wu proceeded to forcefully insert herself into every scene as soon as we were introduced to her. She never shut up, and she never f***** off. She made a drama that was borderline watchable, though without a plot or any interesting characters, completely and utterly unbearable. OMG, how can anyone watch this drama with the world's most annoying bunny-toddler character constantly and aggressiveness forcing herself literally into the other charcters' faces.

To summerize:

Plot: nonexistent, and what there is, is incredibly predictable.

Characters: The worst character ever created, and a bunch of other boring characters with no personalities.

CGI wasn't the worst I've seen, so.... yay....

Watch this if you are feeling nauseous and need to enduce yourself to vomit.

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Stuck In A Comic Vortex of Boredom

What would you do, if you found out you were a boring character stuck in a High School comic forever?

Well, I'd break out of high school for one thing, as I don't even really exist, so why the heck would I even stay there?

But, the FL decides to play by the rules (I'm not sure why). Is there nothing outside of this high school in this comic book world? I watched this a while ago, so can't remember if she decided to try to break out or not.

Anyway, the ML is so incedibly hot, that it might be worth staying just for him. If the FL wasn't so darn ordinary and had no personality (I want to clarify that you can be innocent and a good person and still have personality), then this interesting story premise might have gone somewhere, but as it is, the High School setting and the blandness of all the characters (sorry, Rowoon, but good looks don't replace personality for me), just ruined any interest I might have had in this drama.

Of all the settings, and of all the characters you could have built this story idea on, these were what the comic creator chose? Wasted opportunity. I do remember the cinematography being very artsy and intriguing, and the washed-out colours went with the colourless setting and characters.

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