This review may contain spoilers
Shadow Love has the flavor of Romeo and Juliet
This review is a journey exploring the universe of sensations and feelings that Shadow Love can lead you to experience. Although the story is simple, it deeply explores love as a powerful experience of strength and resilience, capable of overcoming the most brutal and painful challenges.Shadow Love is a powerful love story that straddles the real world of the realms and the mystical world of Wulin Mountain.
The series is unforgettable: I laughed, I cried, I vibrated... I went through all the emotions and waited for each episode with a delicious anxiety.
I trusted the plot, and above all, I trusted the signs the story gave toward a happy ending.
All the actors delivered impeccable performances. I hadn't seen any series with Song Yi before, and I had just watched LOTFG (I loved it!), with Cheng Lei, whom I also hadn't seen before: now I feel like I can't live without them both.
The story is easy to understand, flows smoothly, and the plot and subplots are well-organized and fit together seamlessly. It evolves at a good pace, balancing happy, funny, tense, and sad moments. It manages to move the story steadily throughout its 38 episodes, keeping the viewer very engaged, until it reaches the totally satisfying climax. It explores human values and virtues amidst villainy and cruelty, all very well balanced.
The camera wanders, explores and expands angles and frames that enhance the aesthetics and support the wordless narrative, where only the image dialogues with the viewer, both in the amber luminosity of the love scenes, suggesting innocence and purity, and in the dark scenes, where the light-dark contrast emphasizes the focus on the character, amplifies the dramaticity, volume and depth of the environment, recalling works by Rembrandt characterized by the Chiaroscuro (light-dark) style.
In that regard, the cinematographic aesthetics offer a delight for the eyes with countless scenes constructed with art and lyricism that clearly allude to Chinese paintings. These scenes remain etched in the retina like sweet memories.
Song Yi gave greatness and humanity to the character, virtuously conciling femininity with the soldier's unyielding rawness , without losing elegance, always with her bow and arrow, reminiscent of the character Diana, from Roman mythology. She masters facial expressions and gaze from the subtlest to the most evident: I was overcome with sadness in every scene where she cried, and I found myself smiling at the soft light that bathes her entire face when she smiles. She has in her eyes the eloquence of the heart.
There is also a poetic beauty in the scenes where Li Shuang nourishes Jin'An with her own blood, which does not resemble in any way mere vampirism, whose logic is in mere benefit and parasitism, resulting in the discarding of life, but recalls the legend of the pelican who, having nothing to offer its chick, pecks its own breast until it bleeds and feeds it. This image symbolizes sacrifice and dedication, exactly Li Shuang's most striking virtues. Nurturing is such a feminine function, no matter the bond; it's a woman's trait, and this was greatly valued in the character of Li Shuang, a symbol not only of courage but, most especially, of self-sacrifice and self-denial for the greater good.
Cheng Lei overflows with charisma, his penetrating and indefensible gaze magnetizes and leads us to surrender. All three characters he embodies are impetuous, so passionately compelling, that he leaves us no choice: we fall in love with all three. They combine two forces that enchant women: masculinity and sweetness.
Shadow Love's originality is truly impressive! As the episodes progressed, I clearly noticed that the story's construction deviated from the standard plot structure that virtually all dramas follow. An example of this is the way LS acts and behaves: she breaks away from the standard passive woman in love scenes; she surprisingly boldly takes the initiative in these scenes.
There's also a modern touch that makes Shadow Love stand out as a genre, giving Jin'An, when he undergoes the transformation, a superhero character rather than a mere mutation. The character's specific theme song itself has a very positive tone, composed in a typically heroic melodic structure, suggesting a heroic nature (a specific theme song for each character, object, idea or emotion is called 'leitmotiv', free translation 'leading motive', musical resource created by the German composer Richard Wagner). Another touch of originality was to endow this character with an identity that preserved his humanity and defeated Mo Yin's predictions about the loss of self-control, the rupture with himself to give way to an irrational beast. The strength of love prevailed in him, his strongest nature, that of a man in love.
The story conveys this message of extraordinary power that reverberates in real life: love is not just a physical memory within time and susceptible to oblivion, but a transcendental experience, as it transcends the human condition and, therefore, immune to oblivion, regardless of the trauma.
Finally, the songs... They are profoundly beautiful and frame love with hope, perseverance, resilience, and renunciation. The reward for this challenging pilgrimage faced by Li Shuang and Jin'An could be none other than a Happy Ending, freed from the past to resignify the present. I will miss them so much!
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The Light in Her Eyes!
'The beautiful journey which keeps you engaged till the end, giving you pain still you have a smile left on your face.' if someone asked to be to describe this show in one sentence. Well, it's an emotional roller coaster where you experience every emotion itself, you cry, you laugh, there's pain, you'll shock, in short you'll experience everything in this small ride. But the main thing is you'll get more than just entertainment, bitter truth, or reality you can say. Surely it's not a fairytale but none the less than that.The story itself was phenomenal, you cannot predict anything, and the twist you get near the end was more than any surprise. I've seen in any thriller, suspense drama. The execution, the direction was perfect. Characters their emotions, sentiments were amazingly conveyed. The humor was to the point till not absurd, nothing was perfect, every character had it's pro and con, and that's the specialty of this. Its realisticness opens our eyes to see the real world where we live.
Hat's off for the acting, Kim Hye Ja absolutely nailed it, like this role was made for her. I can say I saw a really good change in Nam Joo Hyuk's acting he did a great job portraying his character and last but not least Son Ho Jun wow he's gonna be one of the characters which made me laugh most.
So this was a whole package having a great story, cast, execution, beautiful cinematography, and more than just a drama face to the reality which can teach you the real value of life.
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange"
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If you liked the main story, watch this.
HINT: Google "Yandaixiejie Additional Chapters". They are on YouTube.
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This review may contain spoilers
Unique and Unforgettable
The only reason why this drama is not a perfect ten for me is because I probably would not watch the first half of episode 1 again, so the rewatch value isn't perfect. But everything else is freakin' dope in my humble opinion.STORY: The writing is strong, and the plot unique. With the overflow of romance dramas in S.Korea, it's terribly hard to find a gem like this. This drama deals with exorcism (both the Christian and the shamanic exorcism), with very unique Korean traits. Even though the atmosphere is mostly dark and gruesome, the mystery and the characters' relationships pull you in. It has no romance at all, but the very strong family and friendship ties (*cough bromance cough*) make this story a lot more valuable and compelling.
There is foreshadowing in almost every episode, with some red herrings thrown here and there, but most would still point out to the crux of the mystery. My most favorite foreshadowing happened on Ep 8 where the main character, Hwa Pyung woke up in jail. The drunk guy next to him was murmuring something in his sleep, saying "It's all your fault. It's all you."
I'd never think that this scene would mean so much. It's just a passing comment meant to wake up our main character. But it actually does mean a lot for the ultimate twist in the end. There's a lot more foreshadowing that I appreciate (i.e. Yukgwang's fate revealed in Ep 2 and the death of crows in Ep 4, etc. ), but the "jail scene" above is my absolute favorite.
In my opinion, the ability to integrate a lot of meaningful foreshadowing to the story definitely shows the strength of the script. It shows that the people involved are not just shooting arrows into random baskets. They actually know where the story is going, and that's what makes this drama more substantial and impactful.
CHARACTERS: Aside form the strong story, the other thing I like most about this drama is its CHARACTERS. We're not only talking about the perfect casting but also how the story broke all stereotypes for all the main leads:
Psychic Taxi Driver Hwa Pyung - Despite the incredible childhood trauma this guy has experienced, he still remained kindhearted and open minded. His past is so dark and desperate, but his attitude is still sunny and laid back. He's also very gutsy and reckless. And very brave to a fault. He'll do anything to save a life. Not one to be bothered by any formalities, he'd always say what's on his mind. A very capable psychic but a very lousy taxi driver though. He never completed a single trip for any customer throughout the series.(smh)
Exorcist Priest Choi Yoon - TBH, even though this guy's a priest, that does not stop him from being the rudest and most straightforward person I've ever seen in any drama. Probably the most uptight one in the room, but still one of the most reliable friend to have around. But even with his poor bedside manners, he would still be the first one to literally sacrifice everything, including his priesthood and his life, to save people. Self-sacrificing to a fault and uncompromising.
Detective Gil Young - I loved that even though she’s the only female in the series, she isn’t no damsel in distress. In fact, she has the most action scenes in the story. Being the sole protector of the trio, this female lead's stubborn and brave. She's the muscle of the group also the brains, as her incredible intuition saves them most of the time. Has a huge problem with authority (according to her sunbae and chief), but an amazing detective nonetheless.
I also liked how all of them almost lost their jobs because of their mission. Actually, Hwa Pyung lost his taxi driver gig in he middle of the series; Choi Yoon almost lost his priesthood; and Detective Kang Gil Young was suspended and reprimanded a lot of times -- all because of their involvement in the capture and termination of the evil spirit, Park-Il-Do. I like how realistic it got, how it definitely affected and dominated all the aspects of their lives and relationships.
ACTING: Not only the main leads, but even the supporting and minor characters have strong acting chops, especially all the possessed characters. Their realistic acting gripped your attention from start to finish, allowing you to feel both sympathy and righteous indignation to all the people who have hurt them.
MUSIC: It's really hard to pick a favorite aspect of the show when everything is just mind-blowing. From the opening soundtrack to the background music- to the terrifying rhythms and melodies of the rituals and scenes- everything is just flawlessly created. This drama has my favorite track of all time - "Somewhere", which is just hauntingly beautiful. Both the original and memory version of the song has that bittersweet and melancholic feel to it. I simply love it.
REWATCH: I've already rewatched this series many times. So the rewatch value is still definitely high. I just steer clear of the first half of episode 1. Because that episode almost made me "nope" out of watching it, TBH. I persevered thankfully.
TLDR: This is, so far, the best Korean drama I've watched. It exceeded all my expectations. The fact that I wasn't even into horror and gore and it still drew me in episode after episode is a huge thing for me. Really impactful and memorable. I will never forget this series. Thank you OCN for such a wonderful series.
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I’ve seen the anime so I was excited to see the film adaptation.
2) Storyline/Plot:
*I already saw the anime so the story was known to me; I would say it was a fast forward script from the one in the anime. Writers cut the 26 episodes in a two hours film which made it lose so many cores compared to the original one.
*Now the review for those who haven’t watched the anime or read the manga:
Positive points:
*The film was a light school romantic story wrapped up with some melodramatic feelings without falling into the tragedy level. It actually belongs to the “Slice of life” category.
*Main genres:
--->Romance: Like any slice of life melodramatic story, the romantic concept was sad while being innocent; it was interesting because the plot was divided between the past and the present.
However, the romantic development was way too fast to contain a lot of depth yet the important feelings were there.
--->Life: There were those moments where you feel that this story touches real life; it makes you think about your first love, your first relationship and the tragedies that can happen anytime when you least expect it. Although it was important to have those elements that touches life but the existence of hope is what made it more appealing.
--->School: It’s your usual Japanese school drama, it was an important concept to make plot changes happen.
Negative Points:
*It was very fast, it doesn’t leave you time to think about the story’s core. I did rather that they made it into a drama instead of a film.
Story: 7.5/10.
3) Acting/Cast:
*It was really good to see Ikuta Toma in this film since it has been a long time that I saw him in something; his Yano portrayal was actually quite well.
On the other hand, Yoshitaka Yuriko was good enough to keep me interested but I can’t say the same about the rest of the cast because many actors didn’t deliver enough feelings to make it sound real.
*As for characters, they were brought to life but I have to admit that they lacked depth in many aspects and it all goes back to the fast forward storyline.
Yano was a good character but it didn’t have many sadness moments like it’s supposed to.
Takahashi was less annoying than the anime (which is a good point).
I hated the way Takeuchi character appeared here, it was uninteresting when it’s supposed to be one of the most captivating characters in the story but again it’s all due to the fast script.
*Other characters were simply neuter to watch, no special feelings about them.
*Appreciated Character: Yamamoto Yuri was an impressive character here because many plot changes depended on her existence.
*Relationships:
--->Romance: The romantic concept was good enough but it lacked depth so the chemistry wasn’t that great.
--->Friendship: This is a school drama so it’s supposed to have many friendships yet there weren’t many moments to talk about.
--->The triangle: The one that had Yamamoto Yuri was interesting but the one with Takeuchi was simply ridiculous to watch.
Cast: 7/10.
Acting: 8/10.
4) The ending
*There’s Bokura Ga Ita Kouhen so this can’t be considered as an ending that’s why I won’t rate it for now.
5) My impression (how did it affect me):
*To start with I was impatiently waiting for this film to come out, I wasn’t fully satisfied but I wasn’t disappointed either because it was fair enough compared to the anime.
*It felt good to see some characters come to life while others seemed really annoying plus I was bothered by the quick script; the fast events didn’t allow me to feel the depth of tragedies presented in this storyline.
*Is this film memorable: Maybe, I am not sure if I should remember this because I rather remembering the anime instead. However, I may change my mind after watching Part two.
My impression: 7/10.
6) Overall:
*If you like innocent romantic school dramas then you would like this.
*If you watched the anime then you may want to give this a go.
*Bokura Ga Ita Zenpen was a good film on the emotional scale, it had many interesting turns but it was rushed in many plot changes. Overall, it was faithful enough as a live action adaptation.
Overall: 8/10.
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Herbal root to the rescue
I personally really like this type of genre, where a living thing/creature suddenly turns into a human. The female lead is an herbal root called ban lan geng. She practices for a 1000 year to be a plant deity. She basically has powers. The male lead is the herbal lord and he has been poisoned. The female lead as a plant gets eaten by a doctor's daughter, and now she shares the body with the daughter. The doctor's daughter really wants to marry the herbal lord, so she ask ban lan geng to help court the herbal lord. At the same time ban lan geng is attracted to the herbal lord for his herbal air If she gets hurt and takes a whiff of that she becomes better. lol of course for her to best take in the herbal air is to kiss. there is quite a few times the female lead and male lead kiss. Initially the male lead is turned off by her because she keeps asking for him to marry her. He slowly falls for her.Female lead is a super cute , and silly character. The actress who played her is vey suited for ancient fairy/deity drama Wouldn't say the male lead is super handsome but he's not that bad looking. I would give their chemistry and romantic part of the story a 9/10. They are super cute and have a lot chemistry when they kiss. Some are pretty passionate, they make it believable. It's also just really cute when they are together.
However story wise, i felt it wasn't a smooth development. They basic storyline involves an evil witch/priest who is against the herbal lord/trying to take him down. The evil witch uses the doctor family's enemy and try to scheme them. The female lead often times protects the herbal lord. The beginning was more light i guess... getting to know the female lead, then falling in love with her, finding her true identity. The witch however tricks the female lead into believing she will cause him to die if she takes too much of the herbal air from the herbal lord. Then later she finds out about how she isnt just a ordinary herbal plant and that her past life had relations to the herbal lord.... and some other things happen which pushes the story in a weird way, in which the female lead deja vu / said the same lines before in her past life. ( hopefully that makes sense without spoiling too much) i would rate the story 7/10
Overall not a bad watch, it was interesting, except i skipped some of the annoying storyline >_< . definitely love the romance part of it:)
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"Why did you come into my life and make things difficult for me? Why?"
That scene and that line summarize the whole season. This shows us a cinema!The whole cast is great. A script with quality and top-notch storytelling. The score and pace is everything. Even though it only has 8 episodes, this feels like a 16 long ep-drama for me and its a compliment.
It was really good, hence I recommended you to see it and better if you watch it slowly, don't binge it. Take time to grasp the happenings.
Anyways a great show. Just prepare yourself, for this series uses our brain cells. lol.
And worry not for all questions were answered in S1.
P.S
Excited for season 2!. I see you "No Caller ID". :')
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enjoyable content (update watch it on Shortime)
Overall: this was a well done short series, I was frustrated that it took 13 days on TopReels but later it was picked up on ShortTime and would take 5 days to watch (my invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i) and it should get you a bonus). Aired 64 episodes less than 2 minutes each. I originally watched episodes 1-5 on the TopReels YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9f1q9tF6gKx3gxFXFjxdfmSZtHIlrWDa&si=JmwUArr3ARBWhrBh (they also have episodes 6-9) and then the rest on the TopReels app https://topreels.com/Content Warnings: non con picture taking/posting, stalking, blackmail, manipulation
What I Liked
- clear premise
- sweet moments
- mystery aspect
- production value (thought they framed things well for the vertical format)
Room For Improvement
- the addition of the (realistic) drama was good but too much time was spent on it, wanted more with the leads
- episode lengths were just too short for a drama, wish they released longer combined episodes or even a 2 hour movie version
- no or not enough consequences for two characters
- Siwoo had an odd lack of reaction to learning something about Doyun, wanted them to have even a short conversation about it
TopReels Different Watch Options/Costs (as of April 2024), bonus check in/7 ads reset every day at noon EDT
All - watch the first 0-5 on YouTube or app which are free (can watch 6-9 on YouTube but will have to re-watch 7, 8 and 9 because you can't skip to certain episodes in the app). All paid episodes 7-64 cost 2900 coins in total.
1. $24.99USD - buy the 2500 coin and 1000 bonus, if the bonus isn't all given at time of purchase, you will need to watch a few ads or watch over 2 days
2. (1-3 days) $21.99USD - buy the 4400 weekly pass (2000 coins immediately and then 2400 with daily logins) to watch episodes 7-64, will either need to watch a few ads or watch over 3 days
3. (6 days) $7.49USD - watch episodes 7-16 for free with ads, do the bonus check in and watch the bonus ads to give you episodes 17-19 (then need 2300 coins), Day 2 do the bonus check in/ads 20-23, Day 3 same thing 24-27, Day 4 28-31, Day 5 32-35, Day 6 check in/watch 4 ads then watch episode 36, 37 then buy $7.49USD first time recharge to get 700 coins and 700 bonus to watch all the way to the end
4. (13 days) Totally free option will take you about 13 days to watch all 64 episodes, need to do the daily check in (unfortunately resets back to 10 after day 7) and the 7 daily ads every day, on the last day you need to check in and watch 2 ads in order to get enough coins to watch the final episode (assuming you've done the check in/ads every single day previously)
App Pros
- there is a totally free option, it just takes longer
- didn't need to create a login, remembered where I left off
- episodes remain unlocked once you have unlocked them so you can re-watch episodes
- episodes will auto-unlock/play once you have enough coins
App Cons
- the daily check in bonus resets after day 7, should keep it at 50 coins after day 7
- the 7 free daily ads and check in bonus were not enough, people should be able to earn at least 6 (I'd say 10) episodes each day since the episodes are so short
- you can't skip to certain episodes, must watch all episodes in order the first time
- have to wait 30 seconds in between the 7 daily ads
- it was a bit buggy, I closed the app a few times and re-opened it which seemed to fix the "ads not loaded" message
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For fantasy drama lovers like me, the premise of the drama is interesting. It is by no means, unique, but nevertheless exciting to see. It was one of the dramas I looked forward to every week. And I'm glad to say I really really enjoy it (well 98% of it anyway, for the remaining 2% I wanted to find the screenwriter and kill him/ her, lol)
Despite it not being unique, the drama was able to elicit the right emotions from me, which truthfully, only very few dramas are able to do. I loved the hero, I hated the villain- it was just the way it's supposed to be.
I specially liked Wu Julan's character. FSF did such a wonderful job in portraying him. He's definitely not just another beautiful face! And the way he would smile (although it happened rarely)...*swoon*
The main couple was adorable. I was so so much invested in them. The way they slowly but steadily grew closer. I loved every minute of their screen time! Even the secondary couple had me intrigued to see how their story would unfold.
The female lead's acting was a bit awkward at times, specially in crying scenes, but I grew used to it with each progression of episode.
All in all, I enjoyed this drama very much. The ending was a bit disappointing (to say the least), but I enjoyed the remaining so much, I can't really hate the drama for it.
The OST of this drama was also really good, specially the ED song 'Echo'.
Do give this a try!
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This review may contain spoilers
It's Not For Everyone But Who Cares?
This review is coming from someone who previously worked in the film industry. I have plenty of things to say but I’ll make it brief and neutral as possible, without throwing industry jargons so everyone will understand.Cinematography, lights, editing, and music, are all remarkable. It is obvious that the drama has sumptuous amount of budget allotted in the production. The blurry technique they did in the shots is clever, it’s as if we are watching a historic event right in front of us. The consistency use of old Thai language in the show is makes me feel that we are indeed in that period.
Though it is already predictable that Jom will eventually leave that period and return to the present day, it didn’t stop me from watching. As someone who loves heavy drama, I like that they slowly burn and agonized the viewers of the impending doom of their relationship. Yes, their romance is fluffy, and alluring as if I’m watching a classic love story, but it is also depressing to think that at the end of everything, they will be separated. The discomfort of the impending doom is felt throughout the show and it makes the overall tone of the drama serious and melancholic.
When Jom was literally dispersing into the thin air, I have to commend the visual FX, the sorrowful emotions of the separation transcends through the screen. And Yai’s mourning aftermath really solidifies the heart wrenching drama that I’m looking for.
The series proves that magic happens when you cast actors who know how to act in the exemplary level. The eye-works of Nonkul and Bright showcases that they are indeed great actors and gave justice to their roles. I read online that few people cringe with their acting and I don’t understand why. But who cares? As someone who worked in film industry, I would say that they deserve an acting award in their performance.
My only concern was the ending as it left us with too many unanswered questions. It is confusing for people who didn’t read the novel. ((THIS PART IS SPOILER)) I have to check online the explanation for me to understand that it was the present day incarnation of Yai that Jom meets in the old house, he's not Jom's imagination and definitely not a ghost. The reunion is sweet, but I hope they spend at least a minute to explain what is happening. It appears that they are planning to adapt the second part of the novel for the second season, but the production company is uncertain about it due to budget constrains that’s why they fast-track the last scene similar to the end of the second novel.
Regardless, the show is excellent in all levels. As much as I’m looking forward in seeing a second season, I won’t expect that it will happen anytime soon. As I’ve said this was an expensive show to begin with. It also doesn't have those cringe product placement that we usually see in Thai series so I have no idea where they will get money in funding the sequel.
Do I recommend watching the drama? ABSOLUTELY YES! Rewatch Value I have to give 10/10 especially it is the type of heavy romantic drama that I prefer.
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The only similar storyline was the fact that he's a rich son of a big company and that they go to a rich school. Other than that nothing was similar to the heirs or YCCFTS. The main guy just time travelled.
This drama actually had SO MUCH POTENTIAL if they made it into a proper drama...
It could have turned out to be a really good drama if it wasn't for its super duper short eps.
I actually liked how the story played out, but it was too short so everything was rushed...
Also due to low production, some scenes were really fake.. but i generally didn't mind that
Acting
So I've personally never seen any of the actors/actresses before so it was a nice experience.
I would look forward to their future works.
Music
The music surprised me a lot, I really like the opening song and I plan to download it.
The other tracks were great as well.
Rewatch
Yea it was a nice experience but it was so short. Finished it before i even realise what was going on.
I still might rewatch it though.
All in all, i'm just so agitated about the fact that this drama had so much potential except due to low production or whatever the reason, it became a short short drama with eps thats 15mins long.
People who have the time and is interested in the story can sure check it out. It doesn't take much time anyway. :)
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Annoying Secondary Characters
Let me go straight to the points. For me, this is an annoying drama. Despite the fact that Deng Lun is one of my favorite actors, the story, dialogues and acting (apart from Deng Lun’s) are definitely lacking. Most of the characters are super annoying, making me want to throw the pillows at the TV most of the time. The story seems to go around and around. The logic of the story and characters is outrageous and unfathomable. On top of that, the dubbing is super bad with lips not synching. Everything is a cliche and predictable.Having being so critical of this drama, to be fair, I want to praise its music which is pretty good and I have truly enjoyed it.
If you have better dramas to watch, don't waste time on this one unless you want to watch Deng Lun, or you like Republic era dramas.
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