Overall I really liked this drama. I think all of the cast were well suited for their roles and portrayed the characters well. Pacing of the story is good for the 36 episodes, I looked forward to every next episode up to the finale. Cinematography was awesome, everything and everyone looked good! Part of the story was shot in Shaoxing, a lovely water town, it's interesting to see all these different cities in China from an outsider's point of view. The supporting characters provided a nice side story. The main characters have strong and willful personalities at the opposite extremes but in the end they grow up, so the rollercoaster of emotions as the story moved along is all worth it in the end. The soundtrack is also good. Highly recommend watching this!

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WARNING- Spoilers ahead! I think this drama should have a higher rating. I love historical dramas of this kind. Although 62 episodes is long for my taste, the pacing was really good. Sure it had a few draggy parts but the episodes still held my attention due to the fact that I was anxiously anticipating when the three leads would finally be able to leave Zhao state. The romance part is subtle but still good you can see chemistry between Hao Lan and Yi Ren. Even the Hao Lan and Lu Bu Wei chemistry was good. I was having second male lead syndrome in the beginning as I thought Hao Lan would end up with Lu Bu Wei since the synopsis wasn’t clear (good thing as it kept me in anticipation). Even after Hao Lan and Yi Ren got together it’s brilliant how the writers keep the viewers guessing if Hao Lan truly loves Yi Ren and not Lu Bu Wei anymore and that Yi Ren still truly loves Hao Lan after being king. My take was, in the end Hao Lan and Yi Ren truly had a deep love for each other without explicitly saying so and that was a happy ending for me. The only part that I did not like was the few episodes towards the end with Hao Lan and young Duke in love with her, but I guess plot was needed to spark the ambition of the young Ying Zheng ( good acting by the way and pleasantly surprised he plays Uncle Wu Zhu in Joy of Life). I was not liking how Ying Zheng was temperamental as I wanted him to be like Yi Ren but then that temperament fits the personality of how a fearless and great king Qin Shi Huang should be. All the other actors played their characters well. As for the technicals, cinematography, costumes and OST are excellent. Overall, this drama should have a higher rating. I have seen only 2 episodes of Yanxi Palace and dropped it so I don’t know what the deal is with comparison due to having the same actors, maybe I should continue to watch it to find out. But this drama I highly recommended, give this drama a chance and watch until the end.

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Joy of Life is now my absolute favorite drama of all time. Among the few dramas I have given a 10 rating this one deserves over a 10 rating! I started watching this drama with no expectations but after the first episode I was hooked. The writers did a phenomenal job. The storyline was engaging throughout the series and all the plot twists were cohesive. The entire cast was amazing. Each character was excellently portrayed. I hope the same actors will be casted for the next seasons, it would be such a shame and loss if they don’t. Technical stuff like cinematography, music, sets, costumes were all top notch. I can’t wait for the next season. This is a must watch!

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A pleasant surprise going in without high expectation. The story has some substance. The writers did a good job keeping me engaged just when the pace gets draggy somehow an interesting element pops up. This drama was not devoid of cringe tropes, unrealistic situations, annoying decisions, plot holes and overdone acting, there were a few but nothing serious, overall everyone did a good job portraying their roles. Sabrina Chen impressed me the most in this drama so much better than her character rendition in highly rated Maiden Holmes which I found boring (sorry) so I put on-hold, maybe after this I will try to finish it. Xiao Rou and Gao Xing romance had the passion of an old married couple but somehow lacked the youthful discovery of love maybe because their characters were childhood sweethearts the writers did not inject any more romantic getting to know you heart-fluttering scenes leaving the main leads chemistry lacking sometimes. The second lead characters had interesting relationships- Li Da Bai and Dongfang Qi was a good comedic story along with Liang Chenhui getting in the mix to balance Gao Ya and Han Mu's restrained romance. There were no lingering evil villains in this drama. I think everyone had character development by the end. So what made me post a review is actually the amazing cinematography of this drama. I especially loved how most of the scenes were shot in real public and private locations, it looks like only a few scenes may have been shot in a film studio. It was nice seeing the characters in beautiful Sanya, the streets, buildings and restaurants in Suzhou and Shanghai- I even tried to look up some of these locations: ) The outfits were gorgeous, good job costume director. I would have given this drama a higher rating if there were less episodes than 42 or more romance arc between the main leads. Nevertheless, it has a happy ending so this is a good one time watch.

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Traditional Chinese Melodrama

This is one of those traditional style Chinese melodramas with arranged marriage, family business power struggles, goons, revenge and true love. Sounds okay but honestly, I really wouldn't recommend this for anyone expecting a fresh modern drama. Not because this was from 2015 rather the feel of the drama is traditional maybe catering more to local taste, nothing wrong but international viewers might be bored or irritated. It was interesting that the story was about a Chinese woman from mainland marrying into a Chinese family rooted in Thailand. One of the film location was a mansion frequently used in Thai dramas but they only used the exterior part- I think almost all the indoor scenes were filmed in China so this was a bit amusing for me. The "mystery" and "whodunit" arc kept me watching so there is some substance to the story. The writing was okay for the most part. I think the cast did a very good job in their roles. My favorite character was the ML, he was unwavering with his love and trust for the FL so I was rooting for him the entire time. I just wished he had a nicer hairstyle.
SPOILERS:
- the ML in the drama starts out not the main love interest- he likes her but she has an intense romantic relationship with someone else for maybe 2/3 of the drama. It's almost like you wouldn't expect them to be together. It is rare in dramas when you are having SML syndrome then your wish is granted when SML turns out to be the ML :)
- the ending is a big disappointment, quite rushed as mysteries were answered and villains punished towards very end plus there was no concrete happy ending, only a hint that the all is well almost like an open-ending. It felt like the ending scene was abruptly cut.
OVERALL:
Watch if you don't mind traditional Chinese melodrama otherwise this is a skip.

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A good watch over all. My first time watching Fair Xing in a historical drama and her role here is a mix of playful and serious. I was pleasantly surprised how good she pulled off her role. Now I know she is versatile, she can do cutesy and heavy drama. I also enjoyed watching her action scenes. My first time watching an Alan Yu drama and was wary of the comments about his stiff acting, I guess its true but then it suits his role in this drama. The supporting cast did very well. Production quality is good. I would have given a higher rating if this series was shorter maybe 30 episodes or less. Also needs a bit more romance although the happy ending for the main leads made up for it.

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This drama was a pleasant surprise. Not a high budget historical drama but entertaining nonetheless. The story was well written with just the right amount of drama, comedy, action, romance, intrigue and mystery to keep one guessing and hooked to watch. The actors did an excellent job even though they are young-ish and not that experienced. I think the ML and FL were both cute and well matched in looks and acting. Soundtrack is good too. Highly recommended if you like a light hearted historical drama with a decent story and happy ending plus it is very easy to watch-only 24 episodes!

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I am wasting my time giving a review just because this drama got me so irritated. Yes it is my fault. My rating of 6.5 is very generous, given only because An, ZYL and other cast did a good job. The story started funny, light and okay until around 20 something episodes. After the family and business problem got resolved for the main leads the scriptwriters should have ended this drama with happily ever after....but no! this drama would continue on with kidnapping, amnesia, marrying the antagonist out of guilt and to fulfill her dying wishes. Topping all this off is the open ending where the main leads meet again but are separated by water fountains and smiling bittersweet to each other...for me this is a sad ending.

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Light, cute and naughty

This is not a high budget serious historical drama, some parts were almost like a parody, overall quite entertaining. There were many hilarious moments between the 2 male leads and with the 3 of leads together. Happy to see "Dylan" in YAMD as ML in this and quite impressed with Wu Cheng Xu. FL is also charming. Everyone looks pretty, the sets and costumes were gorgeous. This is an easy watch, short, cute, naughty and light-hearted so go for it, but be warned that the drama ends with cliff hanger even though the leads get together nicely. Hopefully there will be a next season.

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This is an easy drama to watch if you like light hearted cute fantasy romcom. The story not unique but still interesting. Sets, costumes and cinematography is good for a low budget type drama. OST is lacking but the background music throughout the drama was well done. Zhang Yi Jie’s acting was excellent and Bai Lu did well. Overall. This drama was entertaining. I think the plot twists towards the few ending episodes made the rating drop below 8. If you are used to Chinese drama endings then you would fully appreciate this drama regardless of the plot twists and ending which by the way is (Spoiler!) a happy one even without a second season. So, go ahead and watch this drama.

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I started this drama without any high expectation and I was not disappointed. In fact, I really enjoyed this drama. The story is good just don’t expect it to be unique with clever plots. Yes, there will be plot holes since this drama is somewhat a mix of parody, slapstick and historical/xianxia romance. I like the FL acting, I’ve seen her in the drama I Hear You. Almost all of the male cast are from X-Nine boy band (I’m not from China so never heard of them before nor Sean Xiao being part of this group ) surprised that these guys can act decently. I recommend this drama if you want something light, romantic, funny and easy to watch.

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Promising but Fizzled Out

This drama had the potential to be really good with a promising start but fizzling out towards the third quarter. The story has 2 main plots- the FL being a ranking official's main wife managing the harem and the ML surviving political conflicts with his quest for the emperor to end the sea trading ban. Even though the writers connected the plots together, the political scenes gave me a detached feel making me use the fast forward buttons for those. In contrast, I found the harem plot to be rather unique as it shows how the harem/polygamy practice causes pain and suffering not only to the women involved but also to the men. Although the harem premise of this drama is a huge turn-off to many, the redeeming aspect is that the ML realizes he loves only FL/his main wife and fights the system/elders refusing to accept any more concubines. The story became tiring and draggy as the episodes progressed no matter how clever some of the arcs were. I am quite disappointed at how the main characters were written does not show the acting depth of Wallace and Seven. Anyone expecting good romance vibes from Wallace will be disappointed, despite his good acting the chemistry with Seven was off in my opinion. Regarding technicals, production quality is high- location, sets, costumes, makeup, cinematography were excellent. Sadly, the happy ending is lackluster. In summary this drama is an okay one-time watch.

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This review is to give a heads up for anyone deciding to watch this or not. If you are okay with supernatural- ghost and witchcraft theme then this lakorn might be fun for you. Even though I read the synopsis I wasn't prepared for the entire series to revolve around witchcraft. I liked Lom in Thara Himalai so I imagined his series would be fun and exciting since he's a playboy but this wasn't the case, this drama was heavy on action and not enough romance for my taste. I was also turned off by the old school visual effects. Honestly I survived the entire series by fast forwarding many scenes. My rating is very generous considering I didn't enjoy this series- not the actors faults. Let's just say this genre isn't for me.

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This drama was very entertaining and well-paced. The serious plots and scenes were balanced by the funny and romantic ones. I'm new to lakorns, actually checking out young Mark Prin having just finished My Husband In Law (my first lakorn), so this is my first seeing Yaya and Nadech. As 17 and 18 year old during filming of this drama they were still able to show romantic chemistry. The rest of the cast did a good job with their roles. I especially liked the funny characters. Even the OST is good. Yes, the ending is happy. Overall, watch this drama if you like simple, light/fluffy, funny and romantic comedy dramas.

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