matcha_cookie

This is one of the most thrilling historical dramas I’ve seen. It has some of the most epic fight scenes — moments that literally had me punching the air and rewinding to play back the action again. That being said, I was not a fan of the animated sequences. I tried to give it a fair chance at first but I just don’t think this drama benefits from them. I More often than not, I felt that they were jarring, out of place, and confusing; and I would have to wait for the live action to resume to fully understand what was happening. As a storytelling element, they just don’t work. And at times, they are cheesy (especially when they superimpose the live actors over the animatiom). It doesn’t feel cohesive and needed better narrative exposition. I know it was probably due to time constraints/budget/paying homage to the source material but there was definitely a better way to execute it.

I loved all of the actors and feel that every character was 10/10 perfect, no notes. I know a lot of people hate on the first couple for their “lack of chemistry” but I didn’t really notice this. For one thing — I feel that it fit their characters because they’re both so tough, I don’t need or expect them to be super mushy. Also, I don’t necessarily watch historical dramas for the romance. I watch them for the badass fight scenes, which this one more than delivers.

The music is also so good. Lots of earworms. And I always love playing the “Is this song a Liu Yuning song?” game while watching dramas.

Overall, this is an excellent drama and definitely worth your time.