Reviews

heartwarming

The drama follows Qing Ye and Xing Wu from their high school years into adulthood, allowing viewers to witness not only the evolution of their relationship but also their personal growth. Rather than focusing solely on romance, the story explores dreams, family struggles, friendships, and the difficult process of discovering who you want to become.
What Dazzling offers is a warm, heartfelt, and refreshing journey filled with growth, friendship, first love, and the feeling of finding your place in the world.

Without a doubt, my favorite aspect of the series was Zhazhating. More than just a setting, the town becomes the soul of the drama. Its streets, its people, and its strong sense of community create an atmosphere that feels incredibly authentic and comforting. The coastal scenery and small-town charm give the drama a unique identity and contribute greatly to its nostalgic and healing atmosphere.

The romance itself is sweet and easy to root for. Qing Ye and Xing Wu complement each other beautifully, and their relationship develops naturally over time. I particularly appreciated that the drama allows them to influence each other's lives in meaningful ways. Their story is not built on endless misunderstandings or unnecessary drama, but on mutual support and shared experiences. Guan Xiaotong and Li Yunrui also have a very comfortable chemistry that makes the romance feel genuine and effortless.

What surprised me most was how relaxing the drama felt. There is a lightness to Dazzling that makes it incredibly easy to watch. It captures the emotions of youth, summer, and small-town life without becoming overly sentimental. The story has a gentle pace that allows viewers to simply enjoy spending time with the characters and their world.

That said, I do think the final part of the drama was weaker than the rest. Some developments felt rushed, and a few storylines could have benefited from more time and attention before reaching their conclusion. After such a carefully built journey, the ending occasionally seemed eager to tie everything together too quickly. However, while I was not completely satisfied with every narrative choice near the end, I still found the conclusion emotionally satisfying and consistent with the overall tone of the drama.

Overall, the charm of Zhazhating, the warmth of its people, and the gradual growth of the characters created a world that was easy to become attached to. It felt like spending time in a place you wouldn't mind visiting again.

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Rare gold, not pure and perfect but brilliant

I recommend this drama to those who are tired of serial killer and revenge thrillers like me. I'm pretty selective about the shows I watch, and I rarely finish any these days, but I was hooked on this one all the way through, except for the last episode or two. The ending does feel like a letdown, but that's common in most movies and TV shows anyway. In summary, I would compare this drama to the Fargo series in terms of storyline, mood, and graphic violence. I'm fine with the fact that the main character isn't a super smart, kick-ass heroine. She's just an average nobody, much like Woogy. But Woogy is endearing, while the main character's journey makes her more unlikable as it progresses. Typically in this case, a tragic ending or just consequence helps redeem the protagonist's mistakes and crime. The theme music has a dark and sad vibe, and the opening graphic with the glowing gold tower feels like a dream, hinting that all this running and chasing might be for nothing. So, the unexpectedly happy ending feels a bit off and seems like a cheap way to set up another season. Even with some flaws and holes, this drama is a gold flake in sand.

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I had never considered China's position in World War 2 and this drama really forces you to confront that. Between the internal strife of the Communist vs Nationalist parties, Japan's occupation of China and the realities of world war 2, there is plenty of action in this show. Despite that, it is quite slow-paced. The drama focuses on a group of scholars from Fuhua university and the Hanguang Squadron in the Chinese Air Force. Despite a big cast, the series does a good job of getting you to care about all the characters.

I really enjoyed how heatfelt the story was, and how much intrigue was wrapped into it. I would not have usually picked this style of show, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. Themes of loyalty, stife and corruption were deeply interweaved, and of course, a deep sense of patriotic pride which cannot be escaped when one encounters a war drama.

** Spoilers below **
Meng Haitang and Zhang Qi were so endearing, and while they did not have a lot of screen time their love story is so endearing. Haitang was such a resolute character, and I really enjoyed her quiet resilience. Also, in my opinion, she is made of iron because what do you MEAN she walked from Beiping to Kunming in the midst of a war? She's incredible.

I really appreciated the tension of Zhang Qi being an incredible pilot and not being able to fly. I think the writers really encapsulated what some soldiers who were injured may have felt. Zheng Nianqiao's consistent and fierce loyalty was my favorite part about him. He was a stellar chacracter and I was rooting for Qianying the whole time.

For a war drama almost solely focused on the impacts of the war, this drama did a great job of pulling you into the lives of these characters and their various stories. Of course, it's still a drama and it had its' melodramatic moments but all in all I enjoyed it.

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overall good watch

so i usually hate old kdramas but i end up still watching them because something about the cliche storylines and characters just keeps me going and dream high is the perfect example of that. the only reason i started it is because of the star cast and ok taecyeon whom i absolutely love. But this drama actually gave more than what i expected. The pace of the story is really good. They don't hang onto anything the story keeps going so it doesn't get boring. The character development of annoying characters was pretty good as well ( i still hate baek hee and will not forgive her for the flower pot thing). It was more of a coming of age drama about friendship and dreams than romance. There was a love triangle like most old kdramas but both the leads were good, no one sabotaged the other, although the pair that ended up together wasn't the one i was rooting for but thats okay because as i said this show was more about friendship than romance.

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It was good until it wasn't. Worst climax ever

When I see the name ZeeNunew on a drama I just know they're gonna bore me by dragging things out. I came here cz i saw quiet some edits and thought this might be different. They always have this amazing production, acting, chemistry etc but then the story gets soo dragged it makes me sleepy. For the 1st time that didn't happen here. 75% of the movie was really good. It was interesting. Kinda gave Khemjira vibes to me. The plot was plotting. The acting was amazing. Things made sense until... it didn't.

The story is about this woman (ghost) who is trying to seek revenge on her husband's lover who according to her stopped her husband from loving her although she literally forced a gay man to marry her. This ghost is like trying to kill the lover's nephew. Here I was like bro he is not his son so why? Ok blood related digestible i guess but then this ghost only started seeking revenge after he comes to the house🙄.. she was like she couldn't hurt the lover cz he became a priest which means she could hurt the nephew but didn't all these years. The nephew is literally her grandson's boyfriend who she sees falling in love with the nephew and still kills him. Fine all this is like... ok some logic. The reason she stops this killing spree where she tries to kill her grandson n his lover is cz the husband and his lover say sorry for something they never did and the son asks her to stop. This was like a half ass apology n stopping. Like she didn't know she was hurting her grandson. I don't think my words can explain how horrible that climax was.

Also that lover who becomes a priest wth like you guys are soo in love enough to still smuggle ur lover into the house after marriage how the hell did u become a priest and what about that glorious love?? N the husband sigh

Anyways for me the highlight was namping in a kinda negative light. I was shocked to see him🤭🤭. He slayed the role tho. I think i liked the 2nd couple much better. It was more like stop putting your energy into someone who doesn't treasure it instead give ur love to someone who does kinda plot which i liked. I'd have liked the 1st couple minus the bs in the middle

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When a Courtroom Drama Gets Everything Right

A surprisingly gripping legal drama that balances intelligent courtroom cases with one of the most compelling mature love triangles in K-drama. Unlike many legal shows that rely on melodrama, The Good Wife delivers well-written cases, morally complex characters, and excellent performances across the board.

Jeon Do-yeon is phenomenal as Kim Hye-kyung, a former lawyer rebuilding her life after her husband’s political and sexual scandal destroys their family. The romance is slow-burn, emotionally nuanced, and refreshingly adult.

A remake that not only respects its source material but also stands strongly on its own.

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"You humans love to blame fate for everything but fate is nothing more than a web woven by a myriad of choices of your making."

This was my first kdrama and it was such a wonderful journey. I enjoyed it so much. I used to wait for the episodes. I loved the characters. Main leads' chemistry is soo beautiful- "So it was match made in hell,not in heaven."
The comedy is much off ,even the supporting actors at Do DoHee's office have not much to add to the plot or humor for this drama. But there are few moments - like GuWon defending him being demon by slandering the other mythical ones was just so funny -"Old dragon king","Beefy smurf genie", "Mosquito vampire", "Pokemon", "Lowly goblin" and The married couples' fight- "I had a fight with Do DoHee and She's been playing hymns and chants from all religions all day."
There was a scene where there were small vacuum cleaner in shape of puppies -It was soooo cuteee.
After watching it the second time my thoughts are mostly similar. The sprinkler kiss scene is absolutely heaven-its so beautiful and aesthetic, even the bts to this scene is so hot and lovely. The antagonist is creepy as hell and amazing. I enjoyed the take regarding Abraxas and the bird. As a reader of "Demian" by Hermann Hesse, it was interesting to watch how they will interpret its meaning. Song Kang playing the demon was both hot and funny. Kim You jung is just amazing as always, she always gives justice to the characters she acts. The major twists and secrets were also interesting even thought it's repetitive. There are many beautiful scenes - Their first meeting, the sprinkler kiss, the umbrella scene, the butterfly one, beach scenes, photo studio one , Jeong Gu-Won saving Do-DoHee both times and in all her life, the demon being obsessed with couple things and the famous Tango scene- it was sooooo beautiful and amazing. It is actually an interesting and entertaining drama . A must watch.
Despite its few flaws I am giving it a full stars because I love this drama.

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Purple Rain

Dusk settles with a tinge of red bleeding into the darkening blue skies, and purple rain weeps over the hilly, undulating landscape—foreshadowing bloodshed. On this rainy jiāng hú night, dangerous men seek libation and shelter from the storm at a remote inn, apparently at ease but with weapons close at hand. A harmless exchange rapidly escalates into violence—the loss-of-life-and-limb kind of violence—in the blink of an eye. Linglong, a young lady fleeing marriage and thirsty for adventure, bravely intervenes to rescue a mute boy and my dog. An inscrutable lone swordsman, his chiseled features half-hidden by a dǒulì (斗笠), watches impassively. When he enters the fray, he is at a disadvantage—injured and far from invincible. Yet the lithe, latent power and efficiency in his motions convey that he is still not to be underestimated. The stage is set, and the stakes are real. I was hooked—and not just because my dog opened the show.

Zhan Zhao Adventures is a thrilling and atmospheric old-school mystery wuxia. The melancholic, rain-swept opening reflects the Chinese title 雨霖铃 / Yǔ Lín Líng (Rain Bells), a classic Song dynasty ci poem about Emperor Xuanzong's grief-stricken flight during the An Lushan Rebellion—of mournful carriage bells ringing in the rain, reminding him of his beloved consort Yang Guifei. In the context of the drama, it evokes the political intrigue and struggles Zhan Zhao faces as he weighs justice for his lost friend against duty, and the cost of being a hero in a flawed system. The drama is adapted from fanfic writer minifish's reimagining of the beloved classic Qing dynasty wuxia The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (七侠五义, Qī Xiá Wǔ Yì), featuring the core heroic ensemble that helps Judge Bao fight corruption and solve cases. In minifish's alternate universe, Judge Bao remains firmly offscreen; the story hones in on Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's famous rivalry, sidelining and friend-zoning Ding Yuehua. The female lead, Huo Linglong, is a minifish creation.

This is an action-oriented, largely plot-driven story, and on those fronts, it delivers spectacularly. Zhan Zhao teams up with Linglong and Bai Yutang to unravel a deeply entrenched conspiracy that has spun a vast web of influence across jiāng hú's most influential sects and corrupted the nation's most important bureaucracies. Together, they must discover and disarm the Four Divine Lords, who each spearhead one leg of the conspiracy and operate semi-independently to avoid exposure. While this kind of court intrigue plot has been done before, and the final villain's motive lacks depth and gray morality, his power play is well structured to cover the crucial military, financial, civil, and martial aspects. Though not overly convoluted, some character digressions in the middle arcs distract from the overarching plot.

The action is the drama's strongest feature—old-school, classic martial arts choreography: grounded, fast-moving, fluid, and intense. Everything I expect of this genre and more. The sharp contrast between Bai Yutang's wildly aggressive, hard-hitting, and tricky combat tactics and Zhan Zhao's more restrained, composed, and defensive approach is immediately visible. Yang Yang's prowess and finesse at pulling off fantastic stunts himself in long, continuous fight sequences has won wide and well-deserved praise. I just want to highlight that Fang Yilun held his own in a way that also impressed me. Zhang Ruonan is the weak link, with her heavy use of body doubles and unconvincing, floppy, wobbly fight sequences. Less would have been more.

Where the narrative stumbles is in the character arcs—they are not that well written and weigh on the pacing of the plot. While I enjoyed the camaraderie and spirit of adventure among the trio, Linglong strikes me as a rather aimless character fleeing an unwanted marriage with no goals or motivations of her own. While romance shouldn't drive the plot in a wuxia, I wouldn't have minded if she tagged along simply because both her and Zhan Zhao's hearts were stirred. Bai Yutang is an opposite character to Zhan Zhao, whose core strength and fatal flaw is how he colors outside the lines. His is the more interesting role, and I would have liked to see more of his famous rivalry with Zhan Zhao before they fell into such an effortless bromance. Unfortunately, both his and Linglong's backstories are not that well told and are clumsily integrated into the middle plot arcs. The narrative fails to sell both Bai Yutang's connection to his brother and Linglong's to her aunt/gūgū. The supporting roles were mostly miscast—I could not connect the child actors with the adult actors' grief and devastation. The narrative digresses too long into their moping, Linglong and Yutang's conflict felt contrived, and the twists were overly convoluted in the Jin family/poison arc.

From the start, Zhan Zhao is already a fully realized character, so this is not about a hero's journey. The narrative heavily leans on the Chinese audience's deep familiarity with the character and only touches upon Zhan Zhao's origin story in the final arc, making his ethos difficult for international audiences to relate to. Yet the production's claim that only Yang Yang could have pulled off this role is no exaggeration. Beyond his ability to deliver technically flawless fight scenes, he simply looks the part of that solitary, chivalrous 大侠 (dàxiá)—the knight-errant who sticks to his ideals in the face of grief and extreme provocation. That said, while his acting continues to improve, Yang Yang doesn't quite convey the character's inner layers. This is partly a script issue, where too much lip service is paid to the ideal of legal justice as opposed to vigilante justice. It is all tell, not show. Judge Bao doesn't appear, so we never get to see Zhan Zhao's legal justice actually work onscreen. This leaves the false impression that justice was not served and the bad guys won. In this, the finale message left me even more confused—for it seemed to make the case for street justice instead.

All that said, I enjoyed the action-packed finale. Even though it wasn't the best fight scene, it was pretty damn good. There were some tears, some fears, its share of good and bad deaths, and a thought-provoking kind of justice. Most of all, it respects audience intelligence and is quite clear without quite spelling out everything.

Overall, this is one of the best classic mystery wuxias I have watched in years and deserves an 8.5/10 from me.

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Just perfect!!

There isn't a single thing that was bad about this drama. Everything was executed so well. The production really did an amazing job. The story was complete, it had everything you could ask for in a drama.
The visuals and cinematography were stunning, the music was beautiful.

The acting was amazing, i really hated those two evil brothers and that means that their acting was on point.
The mains had so much chemistry and their kisses were good, that bathtub scene was great!

It is one of the best Chinese drama's i have seen and i will definatly watch this more times in the future.

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Could've been a big hit.

If you know me you should know I loveeee shorter series. Sometimes I feel like watching a series but I don't wanna be locked in for to long. I love how this series has short episodes that are around 10 minutes and 8 episodes. But exactly what I was afraid of happened. The plot was totally lost due to the limited time there was each episode.

I enjoy vampire themed bl's, but this one was VERY mid. Just your average low budget Korean show in my opinion. I'm gonna be very honest right here, I am not a big fan of Korean bl's mainly because most of the once I've watched are just insanely disappointing and just average. Same with this one.

I'm just really disappointed in this series and I just wish they had a bigger budget, it would be amazing to see a remake with a bigger budget. This does NOT mean that low budgeting is bad when it comes to series BUT they should've arranged things differently to make it atleast.

I heard so many people talking about the harassing BLUE EYES. As someone with blue eyes this is very bad for our community. No because WHAT WAS THAT. I was genuinely laughing and I'm gonna be for real I couldn't take the situations serious when I got Racked by those fucking eyes. I'm traumatised for life.

Maybe it's just me but the sad part didn't get me, it all went to fast without proper build up. I love the whole idea but would love to see this on a higher budget. Love what they tried to do but the feeling doesn't exactly stick with you. It just doesn't feel real because of the poor editing and limited time you got to get to know a character and to actually feel kinda connected to them. This might be the worst part about it all because if the feeling the makers tried to create doesn't stick it means something...

Something I've seen others addressing in their reviews aswell, there was no proper build up for their romance, it felt like they had just met. Also these characters were so fucking stupid it was rage baiting and why go into a fucking room with a vampire? Boi got no survival skills.I'm gonna be very honest about this, the only good thing were the actors. I wouldn't have liked it if their acting was bad aswell. I think they were cute together but sadly the fucking production team really fucked this up. They had so much more potential with the plot and I'm just sad they let it go to waste in this series.

I was going through the casting after watching this to write the review and my stupid ZEROSE ASS didn't even recognise Kim Ji Woong when watching this HELP. I'm a huge fan of zb1 and they almost became my ult group but I gen watched this without realising. I did know one of the members played in multiple Bl but I didn't know it was this one.

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From Obsession to Disappointment, A Drama I Loved Until the Final Stretch

This pains me to review because I was in love with this drama from the very beginning. It had so much emotion and impact that I breezed through the first set of episodes like I was breathing air. I was captivated by the plot and arcs, and I adored all the characters—their dynamics and their growth felt genuinely compelling. I thought the storyline was deeply engaging, and the choreography was thrilling, with footwork that completely shocked me.

But as the show progressed into the later episodes (around episode 30), I noticed these strengths starting to level off. Certain characters faded into the background or underwent abrupt character changes. The narrative shifted focus, leading to an ending arc that felt poorly executed, with a script that didn’t make sense or stay believable for the characters. For me, this was an excellent drama right up until the last ten episodes, and I only wish it had wrapped up sooner or ended after the battles that concluded the war between the two kingdoms.

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Boring

I missed Zhao Li Ying and was looking for a drama she starred in. Because the main leads are a real-life couple, I got interested. Unfortunately, all her recent dramas aren't great and that includes this one. I loved little Minglan. She was cute, brave, and smart. The grownup Minglan looked a little older than the age she was portraying. Some people said there were parts which were funny, but I didn't find anything funny at all. I agree with some comments that the characters are confusing. As with any big family drama, it gets confusing who is who and what their hierarchy is. The male lead looks so old and frankly, not handsome. They don't look good together. This drama has too much talking and the dialogue is so boring. In one episode, Mistress Lin was wailing on and on for so long that i couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to force myself to finish it, but it's 73 episodes!

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A Taste of Paradise and so much more!

With the trailers, I really make sure to watch this series. With most male actors and only a few actresses, I was expecting more actions. However, with the title of this drama, I thought it may not be gruesome.

This drama gives me some of the feel of Bon Appetit! Your Majesty. But what makes it different from it is that Seong Jae is not yet an excellent cook unlike Chef Yeon. I like how each of the soldiers get to be transformed into fans of Seong Jae's cooking, for every bite brings them to some kind of "ecstasy" or "dreamland." The once Ganglim Base that was so limp and insignificant have their morale raised by Seong Jae and finding attention from the Headquarters!

I like the concept of how Seong Jae finds his mentor like a hologram menu board. He is able to turn poor ingredients to exceptional delicious meals. It is good that they showed that he progressed, made some mistakes along the way, but at the same time learning on his own how to discover what is needed for a good meal. At the end, his dishes were all made from the heart, thinking not just how to cook, but how to offer something that will influence others.

I love this saying which Seong Jae's father said and later told Dong Hyeon - "A delicious meal made from the heart has the power to move people." And I think this is true, just like what the movie Ratatouille had also featured. Even one of the officers who likes to bully him transformed as one of his fans. Park Ji Hoon is such a sweetheart and young as he is and already getting leads, there can be more opportunities of good projects in the future. I love Lee Hong Nae's character- you thought he is one tough guy, but actually he is a softy. I hope Hong Nae will also be given lead roles in the future.

I am ok without a love story in it, as not all dramas should revolve around a love story. Though I do not know many of the actors, they all have such great chemistry. We can see some glimpses of military life that can be lonely, boring or challenging. However, the drama speaks of camaraderie, friendship, acceptance and rising above the challenges of life which can also be seen outside the military life.

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