Reviews

Great watch overall !!

A thoroughly enjoyable watch. While I did hope for a slightly stronger emotional reaction during the revelation scene, the overall story and plot were compelling and well-executed. It was particularly refreshing to see such a bold and decisive female lead, portrayed with remarkable strength and nuance. The family dynamics were a standout element, especially the way she stepped up to lead and support the women in the absence of the men—it added both depth and emotional resonance to the narrative. Overall, this is a highly engaging drama that remains light enough to be an easy and satisfying rewatch.

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Surprisingly good plot in the first half

I have been craving for a good costume Chinese drama since ages, but it has been lukewarm or bad. When I discovered this on douban, I thought, well, that seems pretty decent. So after some hesitations, I gave it a try and...

1. The good:
- The plot starts off surprisingly well. It has proper and intriguing storyline and characters that keeps me clicking "next episode" one after another.
- The older side characters are all veteran actors. Like most dramas, they are usually the better/best parts when it comes to acting.
- I like the brother and sister twins. The sister twins are pretty, dare I say than most everyone else. But I don't think they'll do much acting outside of this project, shame.
- Very good cinematography (especially the first episode with all those viral clips) and set designs. Costumes are also adequate and suitable.
- It doesn't focus on overpowering the FL or dumbing down/simping the ML. It explains and develops these characters to a certain degree of success. Honestly, I'm tired of perfect Mary Sue and Gary Sue archetypes in a lot of East Asian dramas.

2. The so-so:
- The acting of the leads: kind of poor. They seem wooden and constricted. Because of this, they create unnecessary emphasis on the characters' looks, which I don't find pleasing. They're saved by how fitting they are to the characters.
The FL looks ghastly and scary at times. Her emotions are limited.
The ML acts well in fight scenes, but one-two dimensional in most others; he tries to act cold, ruthless, tough, uncaring unsuccessfully.
Sweet moments between these two are just okay. So I don't get their online shippers' hype. But I must say, on a regular basis, they have a good, healthy relationship of two people who love and respect each other and enjoy their companionship.
- Ji Yong could have been a better, more memorable character.

3. The bad:
Plot goes downhill around episode 20 with needless minor details and unexplained motivations [SPOILERS] (ie. Song Mo's deadbeat-dad is just ass; Song Han is unusually detached from his brother's misery and attached to his shit-father).
The first few episodes make the main villain so interesting. But a big bad is never developed, which cripples the story.
Got me real annoyed and skipping a buttload until I decided to just leave it there and read the rest of the plot online. Maybe I'll do as suggested here and watch the final episode.

Conclusion: Kind of an eyecandy, wasted potentials.

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Where Confusion Finds Its Meaning...

Not every story wants to be understood immediately. Some prefer to stay unclear....at least for a while.
Light Shop builds itself on that idea.
It doesn’t introduce its world, its rules, or even its characters in a familiar way. Instead, it keeps shifting to new people, new situations, and no clear connection in the beginning and that's why for some, that will feel intriguing. For others, unnecessarily confusing...

The drama relies heavily on fragmented storytelling. You’re expected to pay attention, remember details, and trust that everything will eventually come together. And it does.... but not always smoothly. The transitions between characters and timelines can feel abrupt, and at times, it creates distance instead of curiosity.
Where it works is in how those fragments slowly start making sense. What once looked random begins to connect in a different context, and that realization is one of the strongest aspects of the drama. It doesn’t depend on big twists, it depends on understanding.
The mystery and supernatural elements remain controlled throughout. Instead of loud horror or dramatic reveals, the drama chooses a quieter, more unsettling tone, focusing on the idea of being “in between” rather than clearly defining everything.
At the same time, this approach becomes its limitation. Because the story withholds clarity for so long, emotional attachment to certain characters can feel interrupted. Just when a story starts to settle, it shifts.... again,,,,which can weaken the overall impact in parts.
The casting and screenplay structure, however, feel deliberately chosen. Ju JiHoon holds the center with a restrained, almost unreadable presence that fits the role perfectly. ParkBoYoung, as the nurse, stands out for a different reason ,her performance carries emotional weight that feels raw and unfiltered, making certain moments hit harder than expected. The rest of the cast fits naturally into the narrative, and even with limited time, they contribute to the overall cohesion of the story.
In many ways, the way the characters are placed within the screenplay feels intentional ,nothing excessive, nothing forced. Just fragments that slowly build into something complete.

In the end, Light Shop is not for viewers who expect clarity or immediate engagement. It demands patience and attention. It rewards you ,but only if you’re willing to stay through the confusion.
It’s not without flaws. It loses momentum at times, and its structure can feel uneven. But when everything finally aligns, it leaves behind a quiet impact that stays longer than expected.
Confusing at first, uneven in places ,but when it finally makes sense, it stays with you.

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Fiasco in Styles

Prior to watching “Veil of Shadows”, I admit that I have a lot on my plates right now, with “Love beyond the Grave” still ongoing and other stuffs catching behind. I wouldn’t have been tempted to have a peek on “Veil of Shadows” if it hadn’t been for my pretty boys (Tian Jiarui, Yan An, Chang Huasen, and more on the deck) casted in this drama. To be honest, I try to remind myself to be as realistic as possible to the painfully obvious fact that we’re dealing with the one of the most notoriously controversial directors, Guo Jingming. Back in 2024, I had an unpleasant experience of binging “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy” and “Fangs of Fortune” simultaneously – and ended up giving the latter a 9.0 due to my gullibility. But this time, it’s going to be another way round because I won’t be deceived for the second time anymore. I’m also fully aware that this may be an unpopular opinion, yet I still have the urge to pour out my inner words in this review, because I can’t bear to see a lot of people wasting their time on this type of drama. There will lots of yapping below (I can even yap about Youku as the laughingstock of all C-drama's platforms, or even Ju Jingyi's controversy about tax issue with Siba Media and yeah, I know that company is always up to no good), so please bear with me.
Edit: You can simply skip the first paragraph as I've changed my mind quite a lot from my earlier perspective.

“Veil of Shadows” is an original script written by Guo Jingming himself and is loosely based on one of his previous movies, Painted Skin: The Guo Jingming Edition. The story itself features four leads who are divided into two couples – the first couple comprises of a vengeful flood dragon demon Wu Shiguang and a cunning nine-tailed fox demon Wu Wangyan; the second an innocent-looking demon hunter who turns out to be a Dragon Deity himself, Ji Ling and an equally sly nine-tailed fox demon Lu Wuyi. Through interwoven fate, they meet in a chance encounter, when Xiaowei (a traitor of Formless Moon Sect) devours humans’ hearts and wreaks havoc in the human world, thus reluctantly join hands to catch Xiaowei. However, fate hasn’t stopped fooling with them yet, as they are faced with numerous life-and-death trials involving the blooming love of hundreds of years prior to this era.
Edit: The storyline improves gradually as the drama proceeds, even I begin to find my pleasure in watching "Veil of Shadows".

All the paragraphs below will be dedicated for my yapping session as I find numerous issues in this drama. Beware of spoiler alert too.

Firstly, the overly loud BGMs and the painfully inaudible voice-over. Honestly, I grow frustrated over times because of adjusting the volume of my buds and sometimes the BGMs are ear-splitting too. However, I still have to praise Guo Jingming for his bold move on using EDM-based BGMs with strong bass and beats in historical dramas, which is rarely seen in other historical counterparts. The more I listen to them, the more I'm getting possessed by those instrumentals.
Edit: I'm no longer yapping over the BGMs, rather I'm waiting for the production crew to release them globally. More people need to appraise those beautiful instrumentals.

Secondly, Guo Jingming still sticks to the so-called label of “all styles no substances”. Why do I say so? If you pore over the drama properly and strip it off from the xianxia trope, you’ll see that the main core of the plot is of murder mystery VR game-esque (if you have watched “Love Between Lines”, you can try to compare them), with the leads sitting and discussing what they should do to catch the murderer (Xiaowei) while trying to do something productive at the time being. Furthermore, the drama is plagued by tons of shallow empty talk which leads to nowhere and ends up becoming a humdrum to me, even ChatGPT can write a better script than him. Those dialogues aren’t even meaningful too, just an obvious attempt to force the plot to move from one scene to another. And who in their right mind would still flirt when murders are happening left and right (pointing out to Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi)? The only setback may be the main couple's interactions and the void conversation they have (sometimes I fast forward the second couple's scenes due to similar reason too).
Edit: EP 12 and 13 show remarkable improvement and no longer stick to the VR game's scripts, beginning to venture into a more intense game of manipulation amidst the hunt of the Star Stone. Another thing is that I'm completely invested in Li Jie and Yuan Wuhuo's backstory and I badly want to see how their arc will evolve (six-eyed butterfly demon is a nice choice, though. I always love butterfly demons). Also, EP 21 will become my latest favorite as my baby Tongguang finally shows up with his own love story (I mean Chang Huasen). In addition to that, we get a proper revelation of Li Jie and Yuan Wuhuo's flashbacks and how they are created. EP 24 showcases a lot of emotional impact regarding Ji Ling's flashbacks, why he volunteered to become a fake dragon deity, and his gradual transition from a simple-minded little fox to a mature and emotionless god.

Thirdly, Guo Jingming’s tendency to include sismance (and perhaps GL) stuffs as the girls always have intimate touch with each other. This also occurred in “Fangs of Fortune”, but it can be categorized as a minor issue to me.

Fourthly, Guo Jingming also loves over-the-top theatrical flair, which can be tedious over time. I know that he means to create huge emotional impact for the watchers, but I don’t feel anything at all – just staring blankly with a meh on my face. I’m not someone who can be affected by emotion, so maybe I’m an exception here, but who knows?

If you read this yapping session and perhaps, you’re a hardcore fan of Guo Jingming, you may see that everything is dedicated to castigating Guo Jingming. Well, I can’t blame the actors because they’re given those materials and have to make do with them. The boys are fine so far (but I don’t fast-forward Tian Jiarui and Yan An’s scenes only). For Joseph Zeng, I’m sorry that I’m no longer your fan, so let me fast forward a bit. The girls are more troublesome, and I literally fast forward all of their alluring tempting small talks – Chen Duling and Ju Jingyi have both worked hard to embody the vibe of nine-tailed vixens, but I still can’t help it and have least sympathy when skimping through their parts.

There are 20 OSTs in this drama, which is a shocking number for a moderate drama like “Veil of Shadows”, but my favorite will be Zhou Shen’s title song and Tian Jiarui's about the innocent fox. Other than that, I also like Yan An's song for Li Jie's theme. It hooks me up since I play the OST preview in loop.

I also want to commend the production team for creating grandeur background settings, beautiful costumes, and dozens of magic trinkets and artifacts. After a back-and-forth consideration, I decide to go all out with a 9.0. Honestly speaking, I should've made the score lower, but I can't bear to do it myself as I'm rooted deeply for "Veil of Shadows". Who cares about substances anymore?

All in all, I take back most of what I yap before, and perhaps I may rewatch the part where the over-the-top EDM tracks are played. One more thing I need to remind you is that don't get dizzy after going through the whole yapping. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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A tagic yet a beautifull story

it's over.. finally over ... the story come to an end.. and its a happy ending for me .. a tragic yet beautiful story .. a meeting and separation .. willingness and obsession .. between love and hate ... all beautifully summarized .. ups and downs like an epic story that will always be remembered .. and i will always remember how i felt that was tossed and turned .. there were laughter and tears that i shed .. but unfortunately my heart is not that strong to watch it again anytime soon .. maybe someday ...

i give the biggest applause to all the cast in this drama .. their acting is very good and will make you carried away .. in it there are several story units that i think are not inferior to the main plot .. but honestly in some plots there are still some that feel empty .. and ohh the cgi in this drama is very good and the action scenes are also very cool .. this is what makes me always watch gjm's drama ..

for you my dear tian jiarui, in this drama your acting is getting more mature and good ... some the characters you portrayed are so different from each other.. and to my beloved Chang Huasen who guest played Hanba/Yanbi, great job!

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Unfortunately, this is real :) the drama is frilly but ep 8 from min 31 has THE message

This is so ... well... I dont know how to say it - so revealing of Chinese culture, this very strong belief that this is real. And in fact... it is :)

The filming and topic totally reminds me of Stephen Chow movies, such as Kung Fu Hustle and its dark poor and/or underground hoods. And It has this wickedly twisted dark humor, such as Third Crown Prince looking like a hippie-biker with a lollypop...

The movie has all this glitz special effects
but the value of the movie is the very rare but powerful dialogue, such as Buffy's dying message towards the end of ep 8, starting at min 31.

She asked him to love the world for her, whether it is messy and even the gods cannot do anything about it.
She said: "I that the ones who might really change the world for the better are just ordinary people like us. "

She asked him to wish for world peace. Bc -
An old man told her once:

magic cannot defeat spiritual power,
spiritual power cannot defeat karma,
and karma cannot defeat a wish.
So a person with a wish is strongest of all.

So actually the drama should be rated 10 for the messages
I gave it 8 bc of all the frills :) I watched ep 1,2 and then fast forwarded through all the special effects etc
and watched ep 8

Buffy Chen is an amazing actress, really.
ML actor is ... meh...

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Starts off slow but picks up pace midway

It's a good watch but it definitely starts slow like I think I fell asleep multiple times before episode 4/5 then things started to get interesting.

There's not much character development at all like every character is pretty one dimensional and they tried hard with the reporter. The vigilante protagonist is like Keanue Reeves in John Wick just not much going on but apparently he can kick some ass. The other side characters they introduced were interesting and sets the vibe up for season 2 to be a bigger badder scenario but still they're just basic.

Story is condensed and it's short episodes.

Lots of things don't really make sense so you have to just ignore this and that. I won't spoil anything but there was a club scene I was like what the hell they just glossed over this and that... so weird.

I'm confused how people rated this higher than a 8 it's just not like an amazing series. I feel like the series Daredevil touches on vigilantism better like way better and that Daredevil is more multi-dimensional in the characters that exists.

I'm assuming the high ratings maybe the guy is cute or something but I don't really watch for cute guys and it's not like he takes off his shirt at any point.

Just bland.

It's a fine watch but honestly MDL got some weird ratings going on cause Daredevil is an 8.6 and I swear if you want vigilantism story that is really good. This is more like something I'd like if I was a teenager and my brain wasn't developed enough to analytically assess how the story and characters evolve.

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Best Xianxia drama of the year (2026)

This concept of exchanging the five senses feels new and refreshing among the xianxia dramas I've watched. The unique storyline, which involves a predestined relationship between spirits and mortals, really piques my interest. Especially with the dominance of FL, I feel like this year is one where women dominate the male field. From UJ to LBTG, these dramas continue to showcase strong women without having to disguise themselves in men's clothing. I appreciate it!

The last 5 ep tho... my eyes hurt now from crying so much earlier. Especially when He Simu, who was left by Duan Xu, ached to the point of being choked up. Her cries of not wanting to be left felt painful. Their wedding, which I had been waiting for and imagining with smile and joy, was filled with tears.

The two individuals who initially only had hidden intentions, turned out to be bound and compatible with each other, then fell in love with each other but had to separate because their different worlds drew me into their world so that I smiled widely like an idiot seeing Duan Xu seeking He Simu's attention, getting irritated every time Yan Ke appeared on screen, crying when they suffered. Like, my emotions are going up and down because of them

The costumes were beautiful, the ost are so good especially the singer when i hear his voice i know it's my fav (Zhou Shen). The cinematography was stunning, I was also happy when I found familiar faces in the supporting characters such as the actors who played Jang Ai, Yan Ke, Mai Zi, Han Ling Qiu and Duke Pei.

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Another JTrauma

There is a specific category of Japanese anime and movies that are called Jtrauma, because of how traumatic they are. They often have really touching relationships and romantic love stories that make you giggle and blush, and then when you least expect it, they are going to hit you with one of the characters dying. It's gonna come in such an unexpected way that it’s gonna hurt like a punch in the stomach. And this movie belongs right to that category.

So this is my warning in case you don't want to cry, but if you are crazy just like many of us, this was a great movie. The story is so sad but a great experience. Dayum, I thought I got used to these Jtrauma after watching so many movies like this, but it seems like I still have not built enough tolerance 'cause I was sobbing the whole time.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the cinematography and the use of light. The contrast between the couple and the world outside was fascinating. The room seemed much darker, almost foreshadowing the tragic ending, while the light coming from outside was soft, bright, and full of hope. This contrast intensified the emotional impact of the story. I did find it a bit annoying how high the brightness was compared to the darkness, as I had to constantly adjust the brightness on my screen. Still, it was a clever choice to emphasize the difference between life and death.

Definetly a great movie and worth watching.

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finally an actually good fantasy drama LOL

sorry i really haven't enjoyed any of the recent popular fantasy cdramas until now. from the story, production, casting, music, and characters, i feel like they hit everything quite well.

want to preface this by saying i'm a really picky romance drama fan in the sense that i will not enjoy it if i find the ml ugly which is more times than not because i don't usually like most male actors in general lol
- although i didn't necessarily find tian jia rui to be "attractive" but i really loved his character(s). he pulled of his role SO well, and the styling was top tier omfg like why don't more fantasy dramas do a better job like this im sorry like the sparkly fits long hair makeup accessories YESSSSSPLEASE
- any scene w the dragon deity ended up being what i cared abt the most LOL

although the airing time between the two couples was kiiiinda disproportionate i really felt like i connected with all 4 of them. lu wuyi's character was so insanely interesting, although i did get thrown off that we suddenly really stopped seeing anything from her pov in the entire last quarter of episodes (when her role was most important)

thought the story was well executed and i expected that silly open ending sacrifice thingy with ji ling i'm glad the actual plot was solved in a way that didn't waste all the build-up from all the previous episodes.

chen du ling is so beautiful and mesmerizing in all her roles. wish we had gotten more from her has a "main" lead!

was interesting to see how all the side characters stayed important throughout the plotline just random cameos (on that note yay huasen appearance)

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ABSOLUTELY WORTH WATCHING DRAMA!!! I LOVE LU WUYI I LOVE JU JINGYI SO MUCH!!!

First of all, I rarely write a review. So this is my sincere opinion of this series. I watched this drama because of Ju Jingyi.
At first, I didn’t have high expectations, because I’d seen many of her previous dramas and didn’t really like her acting that much. But the set photos and previews all said her acting was great this time, and the director even said, “You’ll see a Ju Jingyi you’ve never seen before,” so I decided to give it a try.

However, I fell in love with the character Lu Wuyi starting from the very first episode.
What shocked me the most were Episodes 23 and 24.
Oh my god! Her acting was absolutely explosive.
The immersion was so strong too—the sense of fragility was off the charts. I felt like I was hurting and exhausted right along with her.

And her eyes! They were so expressive!
This is what people mean by “the light in the eyes is gone.”
Seriously, at the very beginning, she went in with hope—her eyes were bright and full of hope.
But as she grew weaker and faced failure after failure, her gaze shifted from determination to the despair of someone who has lost the will to live.

Every time she traveled back in time, it caused tremendous harm to her body. She became physically numb,
yet you could still see her resolve and obsession in her eyes.
Her acting was seriously so good.

To save her beloved sister, Ji Ling, and everyone else,
she endured so much pain. If it were me, I would have given up long ago.
But Lu Wuyi, this brave and pitiful little fox, never gave up. How noble she was 😭

Her eyes held unwillingness, heartache, courage, resolve, despair, and defiance against fate—
but never self-pity.

She never saw herself as a victim. She didn’t wallow in misery just because she failed again and again.
Instead, she grew stronger through struggle.
Her bravery was the kind that kept fighting upward.
Beyond her sincere love for the person she cared about,
as a puppet, she also showed disdain for this world.
She had this fierce spirit of “I will rise” and “I refuse to accept my fate.”

Her birth and her feelings were all created for her.
Even when she was doubted—by her sister, by her loved one—she never felt sorry for herself.

Given her life from the moment she was born, she should have been deeply insecure.
But when doubted, she didn’t use weakness to seek comfort,
nor did she use her suffering to show off or gain sympathy.
Instead, she understood the reasons why people doubted her, and swallowed her own sadness alone.

She is the only character in the show with no original cause,
yet she bore all the consequences!
I honestly cried so hard.
I don’t even have the words to describe how sorry I feel for her, or how shocked I am by her acting.

I truly recommend everyone to watch this drama.
Every actor performed amazingly.
Personally, I think it’s one of the best dramas in recent years!

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Everything

Honestly i thought I'm not gonna obsessed with arthitdao story but Arghhhh I need special episode or part 3, I really love their story and I'm gonna miss them, especially the whole gang.. How i am supposed to live without my babies 🥺😥 Please Wabisabi hear us! We need special episode of arthitdao and I'm looking forward for Ngern and Oat to become fixed partner although they are from different companies, but who knows, right? MaxkyBass aren't on the same companies too, but, now they are fixed partner and have a new series already filming.. I hope in another series our doctor gang and our babies gang work together again! I will miss them so much 🥺❤ Especially my arthitdao ☀⭐

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Familiar but fast-paced concubine drama with sizzling chemistry

I was in the mood for Yue Yu Ting dramas last month so I picked this one because of its running time. Yue Yu Ting and Chen Tian Xiang have collaborated many times so I knew what to expect in terms of chemistry. They delivered and I enjoyed this drama.

What I liked:
1. Execution - It uses a familiar plot (woman fighting for survival in the palace by becoming favourable to the emperor) so I have seen many. This one was well-executed because of the tight screenplay. Conflicts were not dragged out.
2. Acting - Both leads and Zhang Si Qi were great in their roles. Gosh, I hated Shen Shu Rong.
3. Length - 1 hour 17 minutes. Good for one sitting.
4. FL characterisation - She was smart with her moves to survive in the tough world.
5. Romance - There was intense attraction between the leads. ML certainly was enamored by her. I loved the intimate scenes even some were orchestrated. I liked the confession scene.
6. Styling - Love their outfits.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - Shen Shu Rong was atrocious for her scheming. I also disliked the empress and other concubine / aspiring concubine & servants. I also disliked FL's father for the favouritism.
2. ML's action - I wasn't convinced that ML was truly in love with FL. I felt like he didn't do much to protect FL from vicious attacks.

Favourite scene
When FL seduced ML

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