Sirenas

One of the best power couples

I never thought I'd come across another couple as memorable as the one in The Story of Minglan... until now. The development between the FL/ML was superbly done and both leads were cast perfectly. They did incredibly well in the hard and soft characteristics for their roles - which led to great chemistry between the two. Something they did even better with this particular series is that the relationship developments between the secondary couples were almost equally as good (the empress was amazing). This is not a vain "love at first sight" type of romance but a very real type of growth with all the ups and downs relationships bring.

The plot was smooth and the pacing was on point. I really appreciate the time put into the growth development of the couple in the beginning and how their backstories kept you on your toes for quite a few episodes. While this is a romance-heavy series, it's not a sappy one and there are more than enough badass moments to keep it intriguing. Kudos to the entire cast for doing such a good job in their respective roles.

Negatives? Can't really find any other than wanting to have had more backstories on the rest of the cast and for the ending to have shown some more follow-ups. And although it might be a little slow moving in the beginning for some viewers, this isn't one that relies on heavy dramatization of events but rather one that is progressively thoughtful. For anyone who enjoyed The Story of Minglan, I'm almost certain you'll enjoy this one equally if not more. It's one of the series that made me sad towards the end, knowing there were only so many episodes left to go.

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Ridiculously... addicting

This is one of those series where you'll take a day off work for, ignore text messages and phone calls, and just hole in at home comfortably as you allow yourself to engross fully into its lore. Being someone who isn't a huge fan of this time-travel concept or incorporating modern with historical, I'm still in disbelief as to how this series won me over and over again.

Reviewing all my mental check boxes, it is difficult to find fault here other than a few nits I'll mention later.

Plot: How does one explain the nearly perfect balance of plot flow that ebbs and flows with enough of the unexpected to keep you on your toes? It does it in such a natural way that unlike the series that throws you into a super high cliffhanger at the end of an episode, there's a calm consistency to it. It also has one of the best pivots of lightheartedness to somber and back again - I would be easily manipulated to literally laughing out loud one minute and to have tears swell up in the next.

Acting/Chemistry: Fantastic cast! Despite the relatively large cast so far, there hasn't been one who hasn't fully embraced their role. As for the chemistry between the cast? Yes, yes, and yes.

Music/Special Effects: I rarely touch on music and sound effects but in order to really be able to shift from one moment to the next smoothly, it is a necessity and successful it was. For special effects on non-humans, it's also one of the best I've seen so far.

So here are my own personal nits that are very much biased.

-- I'm not a fan of the ML's love interest. It has nothing to do with the FL's acting or even the character because she plays her role very well. I can even almost understand why he chose her. But I never like main leads (whether male or female) who end up with pretty much useless significant others. Loving someone but not being to do a thing for them other than cause problems is just not my thing.
-- The male lead was cast pretty perfectly except I think he needs a bit of work on his expressions of sorrow and grief. Initially thought maybe it was his eyebrow being too prominent or his lips being too stiff, but still can't really figure it out.
-- Our heroes can move swiftly when fighting, climb the skies, and use alchemy to teleport but yet there are times when they are rushing to a location "too late" because they rode a horse.

However, these are really minor complaints compared to the overall essence of the series. I held off on this for a while because it was based on a "time-travel" concept but I'm really happy to have finally tried it. Thankfully, this isn't one of those where the leads go back and forth between the past/current or go back and forth between alternate worlds. Really hoping season two for this one doesn't flop the way it did for me with JoL... but thank you for the journey of this season.

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Great Season

This review is based on a re-watch after a long hiatus. I didn't want to review it at the time due to the first season ending on a heavy cliffhanger and was waiting for season 2 to complete. As I'm about to drop season 2, this review will solely be on season 1.

This season is deserving of its fame and there's no need to really go into too much details for the review because of it. The plot flow was great as there are multiple sub-plots that keep the series interesting. This is also one where you'll find yourself having multiple favorite characters. The humorous layer attached to some very serious and intense underlying situations really makes the series shine.

My only qualm is our main ML's love interest. There isn't great chemistry between the two, their romance doesn't feel natural, and the FL is pretty useless. Even during my first watch, I had skipped through most of their interactions as it was quite boring. Fortunately, the romantic scenes between them aren't heavy-handed. If it weren't for this, would have given the series a higher score.

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Memorable

This a great casual watch with a unique take in the historical genre with a focus on how clothing impacts the palace dynamics. It's likely deserving of a higher score but unfortunately it's a story that really requires far more than movie-length time to blossom. This is the only reason for the lower score.

It's definitely one I'd recommend for those who enjoy this genre as the acting was great, the plot was straightforward but also not predictable, and of course, the costumes were gorgeous. It hits all the spots for minimal investment and I do hope they one day decide to create a series with a similar feel around royal tailors.

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A journey of military corruption

Having not yet seen season two, season one could stand on its own without one. In only six episodes, this series put me through a journey of much more. My heart swelled in both warmth between our two young MLs and from their desperate crossroads of choosing to do their duties and being human.

While the plot is grim, I wouldn't consider this as dark fiction as it's a very realistic depiction of corruption. There's no excess dramatization, no saviors, and no particular antagonist. It simply portrays the difficulty in choices everyone has to make or continuously make at some point in their lives. This one was just uniquely centered around the military dynamics. If you are someone who ever chose to join a company, a sorority/fraternity, or any group that has any type of hierarchy, how many would speak up for another if it meant risking your own position and livelihood? And even if you were to speak up, would you even have any ability to even make a difference? Then those who blame their immediate authority fail to recognize that the same authorities themselves have high authority to answer to. In the situation of the military, it's even worse than being an employee at a company where you have the option to quit and find a new job.

Most series want to showcase a hero who steps up and manages to somehow defeat all that is bad. This one captures the realism in how multiple people try their best in their own capacity to do what they can, and how a small act of kindness can go a long way. Unlike what we want to believe in our idealistic worlds, the "good and righteous" does lose the battles most of the time so those who live under a rock in stubborn ignorance may not appreciate this series as much. Reality is far darker and stranger than fiction and this series definitely does not have a feel of over-exaggeration.

All of the actors did such a fantastic job in their respective roles. What really elevated the series was the natural injection and focus on the relationship between the two MLs. Their bonding with one another shone some light and humor on the hands they were dealt with and it made the series much more digestible to watch.

P.S. I think every organization out there needs a Han Ho Yul, because he's someone I would totally want around.

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Binge-Worthy

I'm usually not a big fan of time-slip types of plots because it just usually isn't done very well. Had this series on the plan-to-watch list for a while because of this. I also tend to avoid anything that appears to be romance heavy. However, this one outwitted my initial expectations and had me fully invested until the last episode. You have certain series which are just good and then you have those that will pull you into their world, and this was one of them. This is also one of the rare times where I'm in agreement with MDL's average rating.

The cast was fantastic including the support roles. Because they based this one on written/accepted historical events, it will keep you guessing on how they plan to follow or diverge from the past. The concept of a male being in the body of a Queen took the entire plot up a few notches (it wouldn't have been as great otherwise). Within just 20 episodes, your emotes will pleasantly be balanced with laughing, crying, biting your nails, and smiling with warmth. As for the romance aspect, because the FL/ML were both interesting characters with such good chemistry, that I didn't mind any of the romance portrayed within the series at all.

The only slight less than positive comment is that it felt just a tad long-winded with the political aspect of the plot in the first half but nothing in comparison to other historical dramas. It doesn't take away from the binge-worthiness of this series and I've admittedly lost more than few hours of precious sleep.

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Could have been really great, but not quite

The initial episodes were fantastic and will draw you in almost immediately. With a cast of great actors and complex characters, it's very reasonable as to why the series has maintained such a high rating. Especially when it's built around a unique plot that revolves around the main male lead.

However, it does start to slowly fall apart for me in different bite-sized areas and towards the end, it lost most of its momentum for me. Here are a few reasons:

-- Although it was meant for suspense purposes, there are scenes that were really unnecessarily dramatized (especially at the end of each episode). It would have felt less gimmicky if they just kept it natural.
-- The reporter was great for some comedic relief but he was also really irritating playing victim over and over again in front of the real victims. And it was pretty unbearable every time one of the victims apologizes to him. Wouldn't have minded if there was a scene where he owned up to his history and actions but there really wasn't one.
-- Our main couple actually did a really good job and I really enjoyed the build-up of their relationship but the female's character fell apart for me towards the end. It was quite disappointing to see her waver so many times. I had really hoped her loyalty was die-hard but it leaned towards just too much of a back-and-forth mess. Perhaps she had just simply been too spoiled with such a perfect partner by her side for catered to her completely.
-- As for the the brother/sister victims, while it's evident how much they've suffered when the series tells their story. It sucked to see them constantly still have to be so apologetic to the world around them, even towards those who are trying to "help" them. Because those who want to help them are really just trying to help themselves because they don't want to lose their person, but never really tried to put themselves in their shoes.

Nevertheless, despite my rant of some items above... there's enough high quality aspects to the series that makes it worth watching. But not one that would come across as well on a re-watch.

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Dropped mainly because of one scene...

As with some older series, we need to keep in mind the resources available at the time and the mindset of the audiences back then. For its age, the costumes and action scenes were done relatively well. The dialogue and pacing in this one was a bit rough in the beginning but it progressively gets better. The plot itself and the actors are what draws you in. There's are loads of mysteries/plot twists, misunderstandings, secret pasts, romance, fight scenes, etc.

My main gripe was mostly the repetitive conversations between the characters and I've become exhausted from the constant melodramatic cries of love/love-stalking, and unlimited self-sacrificing stories. But let it be known that this is very watchable for those who aren't as exhausted as I am currently. This is why I was able to watch this many episodes but what made me finally drop this was when for the sake of one very loved person, they sacrificed the ghost doctor's lifespan of 10 years. And for his love interest to state that he was already old anyway and that 10 years wouldn't make a visual difference made me barf a little. Then to seal this nonsense, after he heals the ML, not a single person thanked him or showed any concern for him as he walked out alone without anyone even noticing. This completely discredited every single other main character for me.

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Annoying female lead

This is the second time I've tried watching this series because I REALLY want to. But despite all the great things going for it, the character of the main female lead, Niao Niao, is just too infuriating to watch.

Despite all the empathy or justification I've tried to muster up for NN due to her circumstances, her incessant self-pity and inability to empathize for others is just too irritating. It's hard to believe how much she's been "bullied" by her family when she acts like such a spoiled brat who is jealous of everyone for having a mother. Her parents were away risking their lives to support the family and although they had to leave her behind, you'd think she'd be happy to have both of them back alive. If she really were as clever as depicted, she should have known that her family were all liars and manipulators and anything they said about her parents were potentially false. Instead, she kicks into high manipulation gear the minute she sees them.

She acts like the biggest victim in the family but appreciates nothing and no one. Her father is loving and her cousins coddle her but she can't stop complaining about her mother disciplining her. Pouting and manipulating without putting any real effort into herself, and yet she just blames everything on everyone else. Her aunt physically and mentally abuses her husband and daughter but nope, NN is the only victim here. She makes it impossible to root for her.

It's such a shame because NN's parents are fantastic and have amazing chemistry with one another. The series initially won me over at the scene her mother rode in on a horse fully suited up in war gear. Her character is just so good. The male lead, Zi Sheng, is also intriguing so far, as well as the case he's working on. Even the family dynamics and drama are interesting.

I really wanted to try and just bear with NN's character until there was hopefully some severe character growth. But when within an episode, she had men falling for her left and right from their one and first encounters, it was game over. The score for her is almost nothing and an 8-9 for everything else about the series so far.

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Not bad but not enough

This follows a pretty straight forward revenge plot as the ML assists with multiple cases as an attorney to uncover the truth. It has its usual tropes of everyone and everything just coincidentally tying together, etc. The main highlight in the series is our ML and his character. He's quite charming and the bond between him and his ML partner will bring you plenty of laughs.

The cases the ML handles are individual cases that all ends up tying into the underlying case, which is intentional. The cases aren't very complex but it does highlight some real issues such as cult-like mentalities and taking justice into your own hands when the government is corrupt. He solves them relatively easily but I actually quite appreciate how they incorporate his flashbacks to his past when coming across some victims - the right way to truly empathize.

I would have loved to have continued for the overarching plot but I've become more cynical of female leads these days. And while the FL here isn't the worst I've come across, the heavy switch over to the development of their relationship... really killed the plot flow for me. She's also another one of those hypocritical characters who prides herself to be righteous and bashes on the ML for not using the "right" way to help people. Thankfully she does realize her naivety and ignorance at some point, but this is also when they turn the romance aspect up way too high and way too quickly. Unfortunately, her character is a teetering one for me and I don't really feel the chemistry between the ML and FL. The fact that he's head over heels for her also ended up diminishing his character for me as well.

But for those who are more into the romantic genre, I think you'll definitely enjoy this one more than me.

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One Major Flaw

With series like this, there are a number of factors you know you'll be overlooking. This series indeed contains many of these flawed factors but the one I couldn't overlook was the female lead and her entire persona. I'm a huge fan of strong and independent female characters but it feels like the industry is going overboard these days or they are just confused. They want to portray how tough the woman is, but also don't want to give up the "damsel in distress" who is saved by her handsome man just to build the idealistic romance.

This particular FL is self-righteous and obnoxiously hypocritical. She constantly claims how much experience she has and what she knows but when she loses her cool over nothing, she then blames it on the lack of experience. She is painted as someone who can do no wrong in her coroner and medical skills as well as someone who knows how to assess people around her and manipulate as needed. This isn't believable when she's throwing temper tantrums too many times. Her coroner and medical skills are also not believable when she finds a multitude of dead bodies and just goes on a high rant about how she underestimated the evil in the world. Wasn't her entire persona based around finding vengeance? Overall, her personality isn't of someone who is truly professional but more like a spoiled teenager who is riding too high off of the skills she picked up from her background and family.

The ML is less annoying but also quite dull. He's painted as someone who's rugged from war experiences since he was a kid and someone to be highly feared/respected by many but then pretty much immediately follows the female lead around like a loyal puppy. He has enough redeeming qualities to still keep him in the game but not enough to make up for the shortcomings of the FL. Can we also lay off the overly dramatic FL/ML scenes with slow longing looks at one another and change in music to emphasize what we all already are aware of? How many times does it need to be shoved in our faces? At least for series in this genre? Subtleties can be a strength.

This was given a higher score because the actual mysteries and the unraveling of them were done decently well. The costumes and action scenes weren't a major turn off and it would have been much more enjoyable less the items mentioned above.

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Started off decent before it trails off...

The plot started off pretty well with engaging characters and good pacing. But for some reason, the dialogue starts to increasingly becomes more bland and both the plot and character developments just drops off a cliff.

Although the ML and the FL were decent individually, they didn't do a good job building up their chemistry. And from far away, one can see a good story but it starts to crumble with random inserts of events and people. It's as if they weren't sure how to connect the dots and just threw scenes in abruptly to fill in the blanks. The mysteries behind all the cover-ups are compelling for me to want to finish series but I've lost feeling any connection to any of the characters. It's a good-looking cast so it likely will still appeal to a wide audience (except they used slightly too much of that whitening filter).

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Watchable but missing is something

This series is like following a recipe exactly but the results somehow lacks the flavor it should have when completed. It's definitely watchable and entertaining enough but lacks that emotional tug. The cast is quite good but feel they feel as if they are acting in parallel as individuals without any real connections between them.

The plot isn't terrible but it's also one of those where everything just happens to work out unnaturally. The FL, while believable as a capable person, is also just a bit overstated - especially around her "miracle" physician abilities. They do try to rationalize this aspect but for her to always confidently claim she can absolutely cure everyone is a far reach. And instead of being strategically intelligent with considerations for potential missteps, she's just always confident everything will go her way. Even when she ends up needing to be saved over and over again.

Then you have these odd situations that don't make much sense. As an example, her master died climbing the mountain trying to get a rare flower (coincidentally a day or so after her escape) and then she decides to later do the same to almost die the same way. Neither of them had any particular reason for needing this plant, yet it's worth risking their lives and plans to get it?

The highlight for me was really her main male love interest. He showed well as someone who was both loyal, intelligent, and physically capable. The interactions with his brothers felt genuine and fun. Overall, it's one of those series where it's watchable if you need a break from a binge but not really memorable.

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Started off great and then...

The initial episodes and scenario that brought the main cast together was fantastic. There were interesting villains, great action scenes, great pacing, and a good comradery growing within the team. But then it just slowly started going downhill along with the pacing. The main ML/FL who initially gave a great impression as to their individual characters also just slowly became mush.

The plot has multiple underlying mysteries occurring which in itself is interesting. There are also some supernatural aspects that were acceptable until it got a bit out of hand later into the episodes, such as the ghost boy becoming a small person from being injected by the devil and then easily being back to his normal from the ML's miracle healing abilities. They want you to believe he's a miracle healer but when his FL takes a couple of hits to the chest, he's unable to heal her. The plot also tends to jump between different scenarios between the political aspect and the different characters but it started to feel really choppy and disconnected.

I think this is still a watchable series but I've lost interest mostly because the characters of the ML/FL became quite dull.

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Uninteresting

It's been four hours or four episodes and both the characters and the pacing are exhausting. It started off with an interesting concept of assassins infiltrating the Gong family but the assassins are so monotonous, it doesn't really make sense for them to "blend" in anywhere as they only seem to have skills for stealth. As grandiose, secretive, and careful as this Gong family is, their way of choosing brides also don't make much sense. The same goes for their "rule" of having to have a leader at all times based on who is present, no matter how incompetent the next leader is, also doesn't make sense.

- The conversations are all seriously snail-paced and not very effective.
- The two main FL assassins are uninteresting.
- The main ML (incompetent leader) is uninteresting and is a fool who falls in love foolishly.
- The flamboyant elder sister who's supposed to be the humor lifeline so far in the series, is also uninteresting.

The only character that seems to be interesting at all so far is Gong Shang Jue, but he hasn't really officially entered into the scenes yet. Nevertheless, four hours later and my facial expression from watching the series has been as expressionless as the characters so far. Slightly higher score is for production quality.

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