Reviews

this drama is my therapy

Story short I like this drama. Is it fun to watch.. I don't know.. but I relate to it.

I see myself in both of the main leads, but not to the point that I end up depressed. I see two individuals trying to live, and I see how other people can either bring you up or tear you down. I am not a therapist, so I will be bad at explaining it, and I can't say much more than that I appreciate what the screenwriter is trying to do.

It's not action or thriller, but my heart is still pounding like it is.

Dong Man is played by Koo Kyo Hwan, and ever since I first watched him in DP, I've understood his charm. I really like the actor, and believe that he is the only guy that can pull off this character. Dong Man is annoying, he talks a lot, but he is an honest person. I can relate to that a lot, the self sabotaging attitude he has. The need to simply say something outloud to validate your existence. I don't want to get too introspective here, I just want to say I appreciate the character. I think people who don't like him just don't understand it. And that is ok.. I just wouldn't point blank say he is a bad person or annoying and horrible. He is a human trying to live, and trying to live doing what he loves to do. To say that he just doesn't want to be anxious, and that he isn't trying to live to please anyone else.. these are lines that resonated with a lot of people.. and I'm glad they are out there so people feel seen through it.

I'll wrap up that though. I also really like the FL and the actress portraying her. I don't feel the need to go into detail about it. There are plenty of other reviews that can do the drama justice in praise of acting and writing. For me, I write this to share my thoughts and to recommend. I would recommend this to people that are deep thinkers, and have people that want all the fun and quick content to stay away. This drama is a psychological, so don't come looking for romance or drama that is off the wall. I don't know how to recommend it really, but I do!

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Good production, cinematography, costumes, etc., but story felt a bit repetitive

The story, at the start was refreshing and interesting. With main casts that despite not being the direct "main character", play a big role into the story and have their characters built well throughout the whole 29 episodes. Though personally, I think it became a bit too repetitive at some points. But this could just be my personal opinion as the plot twists felt a bit lacking for some plot points. Regardless, it was well written out and I think 29 episodes is the right amount of episodes for the story to fully play out without boring people too much.

The production design is splendid, from the set to the costumes, a lot of details were put into them. Especially if you watch an interview with the costume designer herself, you'll know that she and her team put in a lot of effort to make sure the costumes were immaculate. Down to the smallest of details. Which you can see from details like Wu Wangyan (Chen Duling) and Lu Wuyi (Ju Jingyi) (as well as the other nine-tailed foxes)'s hairstyles would oftentimes have nine-tailed details (e.g., hairpins and little tail-like beads). The costume designer also worked on My Journey To You, Fangs of Fortune, Till The End of the Moon, A Dream Within a Dream, Love Beyond the Grave and more. Hence, you know she's really skilled in costumes, which pulls the viewers into the story even more due to the elements that tie everything together regardless of whether or not the viewer realises this consciously or unconsciously.

Something I'd like to say is that to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Ju Jingyi's acting, which was why I was kind of aversed towards watching this. Though I'd say her acting was really good in this drama! Not sure if it's because of Lu Wuyi's character but she did a splendid job in portraying the cunning yet cute and caring fox.

Chen Duling and Zheng Shunxi's chemistry is amazing, I never thought CDL would look that well as a fox demon but she fits the part immaculately. I think many people were worried that Tian Jiarui's character is this might come off a bit too repetitive in reference to his previously bigger roles like in My Journey to You and Fangs of Fortune, though to me, this perfectly showed his acting skills. A bit awkward in some instances but despite that, didn't make it hard to watch through his scenes. As he's still a rather new actor, I think he's actually doing an amazing job as it is now. Definitely seeing him getting better and better as he films more dramas or even movies.

Scene stealer and "MVP" would be Yan An! I've never actually watched much of his works as I dropped Fangs of Fortune before he came on screen (as far as I can remember). But him as Li Jie and Yuan Wuhuo was amazing! Though the two didn't share much difference in personality, you could still clearly tell who's who if you pay attention into certain details (which comes into play as a rather important point, so no, it's not a bad thing). And I think it felt interesting to me to watch Yan An act as such stoic and evil characters since I knew him from Pentagon and their more "refreshing" songs rather than darker concepts like this.

All in all, splendid story to watch through which good visual effects and storyline. Though I myself wouldn't really go out of my way to rewatch it, I wouldn't mind doing so if a friend invited me to do so.

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not the best?

No... this drama is the best. In fact, it is really really good. I fear that I've found another gem, a drama that comes around and there won't be anything like it for a long time. Watching these shows are always bittersweet to me, miraculously I watched it while airing.. and the only thing I don't like is that it is over! That isn't to say there isn't any flaws. A 10/10 for me is again, a drama that does it's 'job' but goes beyond that. It is a once in a lifetime drama, unique- not perfect- but checks all the marks for me and entertains me to my core. My very being was this drama during it's run time. Now that it is over, it shaped my outlooks on the genre and so on... so let me explain.

So.. I wasn't waiting for this one. Duang with You dropped its trailer and I thought it was cute, so I tuned in. It only took an episode for me to realize that this was perfectly crafted for someone like me. When I say that I mean it is entertaining me on all fronts. It has great visuals, comedy, writing, and beneath all that it is simply layered with attention to detail. It even got me reading the novel, and I can say this is an adaptation well done. Reminds me of My School President in a way of its charm, and by how I like the drama adaptation better than the source material. Props to the screenwriters for it, adapting this novel is hard work since is reads as more of journal entries. Putting it together in a drama took a lot of creativity, and I can tell it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I am just feeling bad for everyone involved because they will never be able to work together on anything like this again, in terms of the cast being in one drama...

I am just going through some sort of withdrawal here so bear with me. I am writing because I feel like it is sort of my duty to at least give this a 10/10 here because of how much I've enjoyed my life while watching this. The atmosphere does it for me, it is a college setting- but somehow... it is not cliche- at all?

I give it to Duang and his friends for that. Duang byfar is my favorite character, and I think TeeTee was born for the role. He has charm, wit, and sincerely understands the role he has here. Duang would come off as annoying and would if the actor didnt' go over the fine line between annoyance and endearing. But TeeTee plays is flawlessly, not awkardly, no hiccups, it's just enjoyable. I was smiling a lot for his scenes, and putting him together with Por is a matchmade in heaven. Another pairing that I didn't see coming, as now BL is in the age where couples are put together and I look for those dramas with couples I like. Thankfully I gave this one a chance, and now I have another pairing that I would die for.

You can tell they really like eachother. Tee and Por I mean.. they are naturally good looking together, and naturally have fun together. A lot of work behind the scenes to grow that chemistry. The whole cast has great chemistry. I was really happy to see how the friend groups work together, and I wasn't bored in those scenes either. Every second in this drama I enjoyed and stayed tuned it. There is this genuine feeling when watching the cast together, I see the actors having fun so I am. It comes down to everything just coming together really. The writing was carefully done, pre and post production, and in the end a spectacular drama came out of it. I wonder if the crew involved knew that they would have something this good, or if they were suprised? It is hard to explain it really... but it isn't my job to overanalyze editing and all that... my job here is to just share that I love this drama and I feel bad for those who don't come across it.

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I’m honestly not sure if I liked this series or not.

There were moments that worked for me, but overall I felt a bit unsure the whole time.

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Our Universe / Our Sunbae ❓❗

I actually started watching this drama when it first aired, but I just finished it today :) I stopped watching after ep. 6, when FL became obsessed with her sunbae. At first, I didn’t plan to continue to watch this drama, but I’m a fan of Bae Inhyuk /lol/

Okay. Here’s my review.

Actually, this drama has a good story if it focused on Woojoo’s upbringing without adding the convoluted love story between FL and her sunbae, which ultimately led to a poor final rating by the viewers. IMO, two episodes of their love story would have been enough, but this… I mean, it's just become so weird😭 can't even say a single word about this couple any more.

Well, this drama didn’t even start discussing the legal custody issue until the very end of the episode? Wasting time, right? They should have dragged it out and made it more complicated. The end of drama was like..... forced to end. It's like... end now.

I don’t blame FL that sometimes she forgot about her niece when she’s in love—that’s just how people are when they’re head over heels. Luckily, there’s her uncle, who’s always there for her niece.

Still... I hope this drama could give more about Woojoo than his imo & sunbae.

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THE CHEMISTRY!

It's the first time that I'm watching a drama with either Song Wei Long and Zhao Jin Mai as I was never a fan of them, well, until now, that is. I've seen a lot of edits on TikTok with that specific show and it did not disappoint. The chemistry between these two is what makes the story more and more intriguing and there were many giddy moments that I replayed while watching it.

As far as the plot goes, it was not something that we didn't see before. The main leads are both coming from wealthy families that have close friends and families, privileged life, yet, they are not spoiled or entitled as it may seem from the beginning. They are hard working, often misunderstood because of their family wealth and kind-hearted. They fit each other quite well in that aspect. It starts from a misunderstanding between these two that took quite a while until it's solved to be honest, yet, the MML, even though he was hurt and lost his job due to an accident that cost his job, he fell fast for the heroine who was blamed for his accident in his head. Apart from some misc extra work that he put on FML's shoulders, he was the total gentleman. It was not, by any chance an enemies-to-lovers type of drama but it was more like he-fell-first-he-fell-harder.

I liked the SML's story quite a lot. I liked that he showed his pained and lost-chance POV just because he felt inferior to FML's life, yet, he was not innocent or a golden retriever boy. He actually threw shade to FML, made snarky remarks to her and often made her cry yet he was hurt the most in the end. It was a nice 'twist' of the original SML that we are used to see.

It was a very mature and well-rounded story and the chemistry between those two was top-notched. It was such a healthy relationship between adults, who are still figuring out life and exploring love with their own pace, learning about each other and spending time together without losing their focus on their work career. I liked that FML was not a pushover and actually defended herself and her friends when it is needed and actually gave up on the SML showing its course from falling in and out of love with the same guy.

I would definitely rewatch it!

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Insane chemistry, Breathtaking CG & visuals Last 5 episodes broke me

The series is so much fun!!! They went all out with the CG production — it’s absolutely spectacular and the visuals are stunningly gorgeous! Dilraba and Arthur Chen have the most amazing chemistry! Please give us another drama with this pair soon! This story portrays the love between He Simu and Duan Xu so deeply and delicately. Especially the last 5 episodes… it’s insanely heartbreaking. I was crying my eyes out non-stop! Both lead actors did an incredible job. Dilraba is so beautiful — her entrances are always so grand and majestic, and her costumes are gorgeous too. I’ve watched many of her dramas, but this is hands-down her best performance for me. Arthur Chen is super adorable when he’s pursuing and spending time with the female lead, and when he’s the general heading into battle, he’s so cool and crazy! 10/10 Must watch.

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A meaningless, pointless, bad drama.

This is the worst costume drama I've seen recently. There's no plot, no story, no script. I swear, even the director wouldn't know what they were filming or what they were doing. It's such a mess. It's a shame for the actors. It's a shame for all the effort. The director probably just filmed whatever he was given, but it's unclear what he was given. There's no meaning, no plot, no one knows what they're doing or who's doing what. It's such a confusing script. The male lead appears very little, just briefly and then disappears. He's after a girl, a slave girl, who later becomes a general, but we don't see any of this. They tell the story. She appears with the enemy king, and then with the male lead on the friendly side. She doesn't like them, doesn't want them, despises them, and treats them badly. Then she's loved and desired by a prince from another empire, but she doesn't like or want him either. Then her name is linked to another prince, but that doesn't work out either. Their lovers, however, hold a grudge against her, and they keep finding each other and instigating each other in one kingdom, then another, then another principality. So, those lovers, they appear wherever the girl is wandering. All the nonsense is piled on top of each other. The girl appears on her horse in front of the castle. The enemy king, in love with her, is watching her from the forest on the other side, even his archers are ready to shoot. Normally, according to that scene, the girl should enter the castle. No, she rides her horse into the forest, meaning she's going after the enemy, they chase her and catch her at the edge of a cliff. How meaningless and pointless. Apathy prevails. At least decide where and when to do what.

The male and female leads die and are resurrected, rescued, and so on, at the very beginning of the series. They fall again in the same way, and are rescued again. They die and are resurrected repeatedly. Probably because the series is called Rebirth. It's very pointless.

A king gives the male lead a potion, meaning he poisons him. He says he has the antidote and parades him everywhere. He makes him do his bidding. This character is very combative, a master of fighting, capable of defeating anyone, and hits his target perfectly. He could kill the king multiple times, but instead he's searching for an antidote, only to be sent on yet another mission. If there were a struggle, a punishment, a loyalty, a reason, you might understand. But it's a pointless endeavor, and I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I'm tired of watching such bad, meaningless, empty things. I'm sorry, but there's nothing there except effort. I could write ten times more about the pointlessness and lack of plot of this series than I can here. There's so much more; it wouldn't fit here. It's wrong from beginning to end. Didn't the director or those who read this script realize there was something wrong with the screenwriter? I'm shocked. Bad, very bad, I wouldn't recommend anyone watch it.

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Loyalty to the Legend of Chu Qiao & LYR

Current status: Watching episodes 32 & 33
Past status: Fan of Princess Agents (& was desperate for the story to be continued)
Future status: Will pay to watch express, despite all the misgivings

I must start by saying that Li Yunrui and the original PA was my reason for watching Rebirth and I, unfortunately, remain loyal to both factors, hence why I am still here. After seeing PA many years ago, I was one of the fans that disliked the ending. My interest was so high that I read some chapters of the novel. Mostly out of curiosity at first, but later with sole focus on CQ and ZY’s story arch.

I liked the organised mess of the all regions having their infighting but also fighting each other. I believe the director was able to show us the plots in a coherent manner, and whoever is interested and follows the story can easily understand it all. Emphasis on understand. You do not have to agree or make sense of it all, in my opinion. It was true to public governance in the ancient times (and maybe even the modern times) that none of the regions’ heads truly cared one bit about their citizens. All they wanted was to stay in power.

Now to some of the main characters …

Zhuge Yue: He remains my main (and loveliest) character in the whole franchise, regardless of his surname. PA displayed his inner struggles better than Rebirth. How his personal convictions strived with his upbringing and duties over his making years. Rebirth did build on that, and showed his readiness for simplicity and peace. And his loyalty can be rivalled by no other. His word was his bond, either to a friend or a foe. He is not a gullible optimist. You can tell his distrust towards his enemies and awful superiors. However he always begins with dialogue and only when that fails does he resort to strategising to win. His love was palpable, even when unexpressed. Even his icy days were a beauty to watch. As YX said, he is annoyingly self-righteous. His ability to take on every challenge and fight with his convictions to his very last breath, made him a literal superhero that cannot be killed. And he never seeks rewards - not when he saved Bingchang or even Ximeng. At least in Ximeng, he ended up with the King title. He is just too good to be true. And I must say, LYR depicted it all wonderfully. (Shout out to Lin Geng Xin).

Chu Qiao: She is stubborn, tough and valiant. Her shy love was confusing. On one hand, it was obvious she liked & admired ZY, it was unclear to start with to what extents. Being familiar with CD plot line hasty conclusions without checking details, it was easy to understand her drift towards YX in early years and her hate towards ZY. Later one, it was obvious she never really hated ZY. Their connection during her formative years, when he taught her all she knew meant something. She could sense his physical presence and that helped her stayed defiant when he was presumed dead and he was hiding from her. However, she could never portray an expected stern look when she was with YX in the later years after he had lied to her, killed her friends & tried to have her killed. At some point, I wanted to believe it as an acting deficit, but the words said weren’t equally powerful. So I am forced to think that the director is happy with her wish-washy attitude in front of YX, in order to maintain the plot of YX being able to come in and out of their lives.

In at least the first 2/3rds of Rebirth, I believe CQ mostly just talked tough. Almost at every point, she needed LC or ZY to do the saving (ZY for most parts). Even when CQ ‘saved’ ZY when he was near death in Ximeng, it was with ‘facilities/connections’ already made and put in place by ZY. Only in later episodes is CQ seen actually leading. With the novel (and not shown past) in mind, we do know that she led the Quili army independently, so she does have experience. But as female centric as the drama is portrayed as, it really was an all rounder to me. Especially when compared to a CD like LoTFG.

Someone in a post I saw compared ZY to FSG of Fated Hearts in his disregard for power and authority, despite his upbringing. I think the more suitable connection is CQ and FYX of Fated Hearts. They were both born and raised as slaves and killing machines, lied to by the person they trusted the most, and then became their own person when they saw more of the world.

Yan Xun: He is the most disloyal and hateful character in the series. His madness was unquenchable. It did not matter how many people died or how powerful he became, his hunger for vengeance became insatiable. Even when he was defeated by CQ and was implored to think about his father and his people, he remained untrustworthy and a liar. He is really a good match for Zhao Chun. They should have lasted longer. Zhao Chun’s character is the most vengeful and vitriolic character ever created. She will literally do harm to herself and ‘loved ones’ just to hate. Her plot armour became downright ridiculous. And so was she - right from the start when she believed that YX will love her in spite of her father killing his entire family. To the end, where she cast away her brother Zhao Che, who had looked after her in the earlier years, for the 13th prince Zhao Yang who is unfit to lead or even look after himself. I guess one can never make sense of such persons, YX & ZC alike!!

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Oop! I Actually Liked This!

My straight forward review of this lakorn:

The Lakorn began with the feeling of it being a parody comedy of the historical genre. Somewhat like that parody movie of Twilight. Normally I would not like this sort of scenario, but:

1. The premise of the plot is interesting
2. The plot flows smoothly & in a comedic nature.
3. This works well to balance the serious arcs with some lightness. Did not stress me out!

4. Rejoice! There is no 4EP angst before a resolution. There’s an issue? fixed! A fight? fixed!

5. Duration of EPs + # of EP are just right! The drama executed the plot very well in the number of episodes it had.

6. The acting was quite decent from all actors!

7. The drama allowed us to form bonds with support actors. This is so important to me because it shows that the project was not tunnel-visioned on the leads only.

8. Seconday actors had a spotlight! Major kudos. They were given more than 3 lines, enough screen time to make their presence felt. I appreciate that.

A few things to critique:
1. I beleive world-building could have been better. All shots were done in the same location. It felt restricted in landscapes and felt like it was always short in the same chosen locations or a single clip was utilized a few times (I could be wrong). I would have liked if we saw more rooms, more people in the court, more people just generally, a wide frame of the village or something.

Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend!
Watch it~ 🩷

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