Peridot83
In this drama, at the 2/3 mark, the couple is not any closer together than where they started - just misunderstandings, and miscommunications abounding. Not a slow burn more I wanted to force the main couple into a room and lock the door until they hash it out.
The budget is low and as with all skating dramas it's very very hard to suspend your disbelief. The frequent cutaways to stunt doubles or filming 'tricks' on solid ground with the camera moving around them were decently done but not inspiring.
The one highlight was Wang An Yu as Shao Bei Sheng. For once, we have a joyful, lighthearted hero that can show up with emotional intensity and protectiveness instead of your typical ice cold statue that melts 2/3's through. I thought the storyline with his mother was a highlight and salvaged an otherwise unremarkable drama.
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I too was drawn by the caliber of the cast. But while filmed in a documentary style, there is not a bit of realism between the main couple. They spend two whole months off the grid.... just vibing..... talking about nothing, not getting to know each other at all just relationship via Instagram moments. Unbelievable plot points are waved off as 'quirks.'
I did really like the ease and sweetness of the long term couple, but they get very little screen time.
Six episodes in I didn't see the point in continuing, there was no insight or creativity. For a similar 3 couple concept done much better, see 'Because This Is My First Life'
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Buy-in to this drama is easy - the romantic chemistry is excellent. All the characters are believably in the fashion industry, talk intelligently about it, and there's a lot of interesting tidbits about fabrics, embroidery etc. On top of that, all the clothes and fashion the characters are wearing are really stylish and a joy. . . . so then why drop it?
It is a very retro drama, is the reason - with many irrational and emotional women characters. The domineering CEO is truly old-fashioned. He is of course more important than anyone else, and thus he should have the power and control over the relationship. Everyone must trust his priorities and his judgment, those who do not (mostly women) are foolish.
As it drags along, the mysteries resolve in the same lacklustre way. Our domineering CEO solves everything, and if he can't, his plucky romantic interest will solve it for him. There's no real crisis or point where he loses his cool, and without any sophisticated themes, it all just drags . . .
Worth a try if domineering CEOs are your thing but it lost my interest .
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The Story of Ming Lan is not a political drama like Nirvana in Fire or even Story of Yanxi Palace. It's more like a family drama set in a historical era - two good, kind generous people are mistreated by their cruel families. Slowly, eventually after some misunderstandings, they find each other and build a life together.
There is no real overarching plot, just bad act x, counterstrike y, over and over again. The one strength of the drama is the two main lead characters radiate such goodness while also being clever and brave, that you really cheer for them as they try to overcome their bad circumstances.
Acting is really good across the board - you really believe from the main characters to small side characters that they are who they say they are. Music is fine - not particularly remarkable but works.
There might be a scene or two I go back to, but nothing really stands out for a rewatch.
I have other criteria I score by:
Complex Themes - 5
(There are some vague themes on abusive/toxic family dynamics and how to defend yourself whilst maintaining your own moral code - they are not very strong.)
Character Growth -6
(How the main characters relate to each other changes over time in some sweet/interesting ways, but in general the characters are all very fixed and do not surprise)
Nuanced Women -7
(There are lots of female roles in this production, and they often have interesting and complex motives - if rather one note).
Cinematography/Production Values - 7
(Everything is shot in a competent, cinematic type way, but there are only a few basic sets and exteriors, and competent but not particularly exciting costuming)
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Unlike other vampire/immortal concepts, Kim Shin looks 40, acts 40 and he has the power and wealth of someone who is 40. Meanwhile, Ji Eun Tak looks 17, acts 17 and she has no power or wealth at all to her name.
The fact that Ji Eun Tak is world-weary due to a traumatic life, and Kim Shin is currently on a playful/mid-life crisis streak does not solve this fundamental problem. All the cinematography and production budget in the world couldn't solve this problem.
I really liked the character of Wang Yeo (the grim reaper), and his scenes somewhat redeemed the show for me. . . but not by enough.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes - 3
In fairness to the show, I didn't watch far enough to see any complex themes. But, in the first five episodes it is your typical vampire/immortal romance (except more highly morally problematic than normal). There were hints of complexity developing.
Character Growth -3
Not up to the point I watched.
Nuanced Women -7
Ji Eun Tak is competent in her wise beyond her years but still has bursts of childishness. (The burst of childishness did NOT help with the romance hinted aspects).
Cinematography/Production Values - 10
It's really really gorgeous, with lots of real life sets and large production values.
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Chu Xuan Ji and Yu Si Feng are enemies turned lovers in lifetime after lifetime. While the mythology and creativity of the world, and the different lifetimes are intriguing, there is no huge change in character growth or plot dynamics 40 episodes in. Chu Xuan Ji and Yu Si Feng are caught between their duties to their family/clan and their love and over and over and over again the same pattern repeats . .
The actor who plays Yu Si Feng is an excellent mix of intensity, brooding, with a bit of playfulness. Chu Xuan Ji has more of a split personality: innocent and hapless or arrogant and powerful. Everyone else dramatically overacts.
Music is fine, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criterias well:
Themes: 7.5
Elders can be misguided and not know what is best. Appearances can be deceiving: what's on the surface does not always reveal ones true character. Love that support, cherishes and empowers is far superior to love that suffocates and controls.
Character Growth/Development: 5.0
Yu Si Feng warms up a bit, and Chu Xuan Ji reveals her 'powerful' side every couple episodes, but that's about it.
Complex women/relationships: 7.0
Chu Xuan Ji does have relationships with an 'aunt,' her sister and friends she meets along the way. They do mostly talk about men or act as plot devices, but they do exist.
Cinematography/Production values: 7.0
Shows in this style (see Ashes of Love) are attempting a kind of deliberate, 2010 era video-game type CGI and it works decently well here. I wouldn't say there was anything shockingly beautiful or unique. Action scenes were competent but not particularly innovative.
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Of the young/new adult 'slice of life' C-dramas I've watched lately, the main couple here is incredibly endearing. They have that shy, cute smile energy from the beginning, and they look like they are having a lot of fun. The secondary characters, such as Tang Yi Bai's mother or his swim team friends, overact but are equally endearing. The cast was really enjoying themselves.
But that's the only 'mode' of the show 20 episodes in. There's no real tension or conflict. There is this big mystery/tragedy hanging in the air, but it's not been revealed in anyway. I kept waiting for the show to pick up...but it just keeps skipping along.
So while the couple is perhaps my favorite, I ended up dropping this one . . .
Music is quite good - there's not much I'd rewatch.
Complex Themes -3
(Maybe this will appear later? But besides be a good person - follow your dreams! Not much going on.)
Character Growth -3
(Characters seem to be very fixed. Even in the flashback scenes, they all seem to have the same personalities. Yun Duo does show more range than the others.)
Nuanced Women -7
(Yun Duo is sweet and bubbly as one would expect in this type of show, but she is also strong, opinionated with good morals. She has a lot of grit/resilience. By episode 20, they had not done much with the other women characters ).
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
(They did find one olympic swimming pool, and one gym to shoot the sports scenes. But the show is fairly claustrophobic between pool, gym, outside the pool, Yun Duo's work and Tang Yi Bai's house. Tang Yi Bai and his friend Qi Rui Feng are in good shape and do an OK job/believability at being swimmers, but the rest of the swimmers do not - and the 'stretching' exercising scenes are a bit laughable).
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Many Joseon era dramas these days feel like they are just recycled over and over again. It's a shame as I enjoy the dramatic situations available to historical romances, and due to the premise I was willing to give this show a chance.
The scenario that the woman is in the 'high power position' compared to the man is refreshing. But, it doesn't result in more tension or difference in dynamic compared to your standard gender bending (changing clothes, bathing etc.). There's lots that could be done to truly flip your expectations, but so far not much has happened.
Six episodes in, we are still at the show synopsis stage. You could read the summary, pick up at episode six and know exactly what is going on. There's now been episode after episode of long looks, and speculative glances with no real character development or real dramatic tension.
This is a competent effort, but does not add anything new to the genre. At this stage I couldn't figure out a reason to continue watching.
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He Fanxing is figuring out what she wants from life and relationships - to be true to herself or societal/community approval. But, once it appeared all 40+ episodes would be He Fanxing stumbling around unsure, I considered dropping the show . . .
Positives: When He Fanxing and Yuan Song (young love interest) shared a screen there is great energy, and you could see why they are drawn to each other. There is surprisingly little screen time devoted to Yuan Song, and there's a lot more that could be done with the character. . .
Negatives: Ye Luming (older love interest) has 'red flags' written all over him from the start. He lies, stalks her, ingrates himself with her parents, is very physical and grabby, and uses all the pressure in the world. This is excused as just being an alpha/domineering CEO, but his hostility toward women that cry and fantasising/dreaming about stabbing them was a bridge too far. Once I realized he was staying on through the show, I stopped wanting to watch . . .
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I knew from the first episode this show probably was not for me. I kept watching because 'secret longing' is a favorite character trope of mine, and if this show had a defining theme it's 'secret longing.'
But, even all the yearning and pained glances, couldn't keep me watching this. The conflicts are highly typical from the school portion: 'failure to communicate' 'absentee parents' and 'being looked down for being poor' and the adult portion: 'failure to communicate' 'insecurities and jealousies regarding failure/success.'
There's a lot of nostalgia for their school years that feels unearned. Indeed the flashbacks pick moments from all five years of their relationship and yet don't show any relationship development. No stray touches or being able to communicate in an easier way; there's no sense that the relationship was ever lived in.
A five year 'everyday relationship' is more than studying and a few school pranks and awkward and stilted interactions. But that's all we got in five hours, five hours is double the length of a movie!
Perhaps for some, the warm familiarity and predictability paired with better budget and cinematography is enough. For me, it felt too much like drifting without a compass.
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The premise: as long as you center your country and your family, contentment is possible even in the midst of adversity.
The male lead, Xiao Qi, enters the story already perfect and understanding this lesson, Wang Xuan (female lead) rapidly learns this as well within the first 20 episodes. Then they just perfectly go along, essentially completely in sync with each other as they try to deal with all the corrupt, insecure characters around them.
The acting is excellent and I was fully invested in them as characters. Even though there are dozens of characters, I could keep track of them all, and I was as interested in the side plot lines as I was the main ones. I will say, whether due to the script or direction, no acting scenes stand out to me.
The music is competent, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes: 6.5
Centering your country and your family is what results in a contented life and a dignified death, centering ones ego, ambition and desire leads to discontent and eventually catastrophe. The burdens of life are easier with a life partner.
Character Growth: 7
There is a fair amount of development early on as the care-free, childhood friends are tested by the stressors and complexity around them. Within the first 1/3 of the show, however, their characterizations grow rigid.
Relationships among Women: 7.5
There is a good amount of screen time for older women, and some decent friendship and interactions between women. They are almost always, however, about the men in their lives.
Production Budget/Cinematography: 8.5
A lot of money was spent, lots of outdoor scenes, as well as extravagant sets, constant costume changes, lots of extras etc. Oddly, however, it wasn't particularly creative or beautiful, scenes don't linger in my mind.
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This review may contain spoilers
You can find love in unexpected places . . . but do you want to?Due to hijinks, Qin Shi and Yang Hua decide to pretend to be husband and wife. They both 'could do worse' and are attractive . . and so why not move from fake to real? The suspense comes from Qin Shi being a known quantity, but Yang Hua is a mystery to the audience, why does he know so much about finance? why does he have such an odd attitude towards relationships? What makes him tick?
It's not the most compelling plot, but there is an eagerness in seeing him finally lose his cool, or revealing some of the mysteries of the past.
But, I am dropping this series because I absolutely can't stand the secondary couple. They are both miserable, but the woman doesn't want to let go, and the man is incapable on his own. The family tries to encourage the woman to stay as she is a steadying, good influence on him and the family business. This is the story of every dysfunctional relationship ever, and by all accounts has been going on for years . . . what are we supposed to be learning from this? It's beyond the we fight and make up phase.
They are showing every single sign of a completely failed relationship, physical violence, emotional and/perhaps sexual cheating, demeaning and derisive comments about each others characters. It may turn out that there is a relationship lesson down the line, but for now it seems to hint that they are some sort of Romeo and Juliet, instead of a couple who should have split up years ago before people got hurt. I started skipping their scenes, but the pros are small and cons large for this series, and it's time to give up.
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I liked the premise. One ambitious woman (Li Hao Lan) and two men who love her - one older merchant (Lu Bu Wei) who has shifty morals and will sacrifice anything to win, and a prince (Ying Yi Ren) who tries his best to act with decency and honor. Which path will she choose?
By Episode 15, however, I had lost patience. Lu Bu Wei had attempted the same scheme numerous times, claimed that he was going to betray and ditch her multiple times, DID leave her behind, and then she still had to help rescue him and appears to be attracted to him.
Ying Yi Ren always protests about Lu Bu Wei 's morals, but always goes along for the good of his kingdom - and the pattern repeats.
As a result, I rapidly got fed up with all of them - and the tension no longer held my interest.
I have other criteria I score by:
Complex Themes - 8
(The themes are introduced regarding ambition, loyalty to romantic love vs. kingdom and family, revenge, betrayal etc. but it never moves forward)
Character Growth -3
(It felt like it was never going anywhere)
Nuanced Women -5
(There were plenty of women in significant roles, but they tended to be all typical dramatic stereotypes)
Cinematography/Production Values - 7
(A lot of money was spent, but it doesn't have the creative beauty of Yanxi Palace or the sweeping outdoor shots of Nirvana in Fire 2. The costumes are all a boring cream/white/gold up through Episode 15 )
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I gave this a chance because I really appreciated Joy of Life's production and cinematography even though I couldn't get into the plot. Yet, here I am again, bored. There is no tension.
Xu Feng Nian, our main lead, is destined for triumph, and the show makes this clear from the beginning. Clever, strategic and good hearted, beneath a playful exterior is a deeply capable person. Determined to be a 'better man,' than his father he twists and turns to avoid his fate to inherit his legacy as a military leader and martial arts talent.
What is the point of watching? Perhaps for some, there is satisfaction in watching a world where everything has a reason, and talent paired with a good heart always wins in the end.
There is good acting, lots of memorable side characters and very high production values . . . but bland themes and no tension do not hold my interest.
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This review may contain spoilers
While retaining the poetic beauty of the original, this second half is a painful epilogue . . . At this point, I'm convinced the writers are sadists, and I can't stand to watch anymore just to see it all come to a bad end one last time. In sum, the random twists and turns that started cropping up in the last episodes of the first season, multiply in the second half. Hurdle, after hurdle, after hurdle. Just nonsensically raising hopes and dashing them. Will there be scenes that stick with me? Yes. Did I vow to stop watch multiple times? Also yes.
The acting, production values, cinematography, and some key pieces of dialogue are excellent. There are some powerful scenes that will linger on - but we're talking all of 10-15 minutes in 8 hrs of viewing. The key theme of the show is to always persist and survive as there could be the best moments of your life just around the corner.
I feel vaguely guilty, therefore, of not persisting to the end of this one, but frustration and dread was growing with every episode, and life is too short. I ended it at a high point, and I don't have strength to see if things fall apart once again. I would still highly recommend watching the first half/season 1 - it stands on its own and is a true gem of a K -Drama.
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