Aya

As far as short dramas go, this is definitely among the best I have ever watched.

Obviously, given the shorter format, it shares some of the issues all short drama inevitably have. There are some editing and pacing issues, but overall I wasn't really bothered by it, because it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The story is still coherent and easy to follow.

Visually, it is gorgeous. Beautiful costumes, sets and cinematography. The CGI was good too, except for the final fight between Ye Zhao and Hua Hui, which was a bit underwhelming.

I really liked the story and how it was all brought together in the end. It was very interesting, dramatic and intense with plenty of cute and funny scenes.

The writers cleverly focused on a small number of characters to follow. Given the shorter format, adding more characters would have had a negative impact.

The cast was also very well chosen. Yan Zi Xian doesn't disappoint. He was perfectly cast and did a great job embodying Ye Zhao. He has a very strong and charismatic screen presence, which was a great fit for this role. Wu Ri Li Ge was also impeccably cast. She did a great job portraying the different sides of He Xi/Chu Xi He as well as Hua Hui.

The supporting cast, while they had less screen time, also made their mark.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable short drama.