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!Was this review helpful to you?
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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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A sharp scalpel that never cuts deep enough.
I went into Hyper Knife expecting a gripping psychological medical thriller, but it ended up being a disappointing watch.The premise of a genius neurosurgeon seeking revenge against her former mentor sounded exciting, yet the drama moves at an incredibly slow pace. Many episodes drag with long conversations and repetitive confrontations that add little to the story.
The performances, especially from the lead actors, are strong, but they can't fully save the weak pacing. The mentor-student rivalry should have been intense and emotionally explosive, but it often feels stretched out rather than compelling. Several side characters are underutilized and lack meaningful development
Se-ok's increasingly dark and obsessive behavior is revealed too early, reducing the suspense.
The series spends so much time building toward the final conflict between Se-ok and Deok-hee that the eventual showdown feels surprisingly underwhelming. The ending attempts to be emotional and thought-provoking, but it leaves too many plot points unresolved.
Overall, Hyper Knife has an interesting concept and good acting, but the sluggish storytelling and lack of payoff make it a below-average thriller that never reaches its full potential.
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Beautiful Storyline
I rlly liked it. A cute short Drama with many side love stories. I enjoyed watching it, and finished it pretty quickly. I loved the character personality and and the comedy in between. The ending is kept short and its what i liked. I loved how plot twist kept appearing , while some were pretty obvious but enjoyable. I really recommend it. I often wished for the second male lead to have more of the spotlight and more love complexes in between the main lead and second male character, to spice it up.Was this review helpful to you?
A truly beautiful healing drama
This drama completely exceeded my expectations. Going into it, I expected a lighthearted summer romance, but it turned out to be so much more than that. From the plot and performances to the directing and scriptwriting, everything came together beautifully. Honestly, many of the complaints I've seen feel like they come from people who either weren't paying close attention or were expecting a completely different genre. For me, the drama had very few flaws.One of its greatest strengths was its pacing. Nothing felt rushed, yet nothing dragged either. Every scene served a purpose, whether it was advancing the story, developing the characters, or delivering a meaningful message. The narrative unfolded naturally, making the emotional moments hit even harder.
The acting was exceptional across the board and completely immersed me in the characters' world. Although many viewers criticized GXT's performance, I personally thought she portrayed Qing Ye wonderfully. Qing Ye is a complex character—a wealthy young woman who lost her mother and grew up with a father who was either absent due to work or emotionally unavailable because of his own mistakes. As a result, she closed off her heart and came to believe that money could solve anything. Yet beneath that tough exterior, she was always kind and caring; she simply didn't know how to express it.
GXT captured those contradictions beautifully. Qing Ye was sharp-tongued, straightforward, hardworking, and showed all the qualities of a future leader. What I particularly loved was that even after she softened and opened up emotionally, she never lost the core of who she was. Around Xing Wu, she still retained that spoiled-princess attitude, throwing him judgmental looks whenever he teased her. Their dynamic remained playful and authentic while her growth felt gradual and believable. As she and Xing Wu became each other's confidants, soulmates, and eventually lovers, her walls slowly came down. If you pay attention to the details of her character and the experiences that shaped her, I think GXT's portrayal becomes much easier to appreciate.
As for Li Yunrui, he was outstanding. I've watched nearly all of his works, and I genuinely believe Xing Wu is one of his strongest performances yet. This was the first script he chose after his breakthrough success, and it proves he has a great eye for meaningful projects.
What impressed me most was how completely he transformed throughout the story. You can compare the ambitious young Xing Wu full of dreams with the burdened, debt-ridden Xing Wu later in life and immediately feel the difference. His eyes alone tell the story. His eye acting is phenomenal, conveying emotions with incredible subtlety and depth.
Another pleasant surprise was his vocal performance. The way he adjusted his voice, tone, and delivery depending on Xing Wu's age, emotions, and circumstances added another layer to the character. He could sound youthful and hopeful in one moment and mature, exhausted, or determined in another. It was incredibly satisfying to watch. His OST with GXT was also addictive to listen to. I've always appreciated that he dubs himself because it allows him to bring an even deeper understanding of his characters to the screen.
Xing Wu would not have been the unforgettable character he became without Li Yunrui's performance. Every expression felt precise and emotionally accurate. His styling throughout the drama was also excellent. As a young dreamer, he appeared innocent and full of hope; during his years of hardship, he looked rugged, strong, and weathered by life; and as an adult, you could see the maturity, calmness, and emotional growth reflected in both his appearance and demeanor. I'm still not over his smiles or his crying scenes. He truly is a remarkable actor.
The supporting cast also deserves tremendous praise. The performances from Grandma and Li Langfang, in particular, delivered some of the drama's most emotional and memorable moments. Their scenes left a lasting impact and added so much heart to the story.
The writing and directing were equally impressive. I'm genuinely glad the adaptation chose to diverge from aspects of the original novel because the result felt far more cohesive and meaningful. What could have been a story focused primarily on messy relationships and romance became a thoughtful, realistic, and emotionally resonant drama about growth, family, dreams, sacrifice, and love. The script was filled with beautiful metaphors, memorable quotes, and life lessons that stayed with me long after each episode ended.
Overall, I believe this drama deserves far more praise than it receives. It was heartfelt, beautifully crafted, and emotionally rewarding from beginning to end. I'm genuinely grateful that I got the chance to watch it, and I know it will remain one of the most memorable dramas I've seen for a long time.
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Pure rage bait
I expected a lot for this but this deceived me wdym fine shyt died in the hands of the woman he loved ?!?!? like btch yall confessed 2 seconds ago??? Also why aren’t they fcking smart? somethings were so obvious I wonder how they didn’t noticed bro. worst part is that one guy (Giho) filming everything and not giving a single shit about his « friends » plot twist was kinda obvious. even though the actors did a great job at interpreting the characters I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. no rewatch. please just skip this movie.Was this review helpful to you?
Realistic? No, overall good time? Hell yes. A digestable show with a heavier plot
In a couple words i would describe this drama as FUN, ACTION PACKED, NOT REALISTIC, FEEL GOOD STORYAfter i watched this i worried people would give it a lower score because if you went in with the expectation of REALISM
THIS IS NOT THE SHOW FOR YOU.
The best way i can explain this is, its like an ANIME but Kdrama the fights are very stylised, semi realistic but with a couple eyebrow raising things such as a highschooler being powerful enough to push people through walls, metal doors the bad guys if this was realistic lets be honest would all be armed with guns but then there wouldnt be as many fist fights and thats what the charm of this series is . Maybe also a bit disney-esque with the friendship beats all theme.
In my opinion it is never a problem, maybe the only scene where it was a little goofy was episode 10 When Yun Gan Min used the 10th forbidden Uncle technique and started speeding against walls that was the only scene i thought that was maybe a little too much.
The actual plot and story is very deep and dark, but i am honestly kind of glad they only dipped their feet into it not getting into the actual DEEP or fleshing it out too much with too many heavy elements. Because of that in my opinion this is a FUN ACTION packed show with what is a very heavy subject, but kept at a surface level making the series DIGESTABLE and not too HEAVY and emotion filled.
Because honestly, sometimes i dont want a masterpiece of a realistic drama like the kdrama THE GLORY with brutal realism, gut wrenching sad scenes and tragic bullying that depresses you. Sometimes i want a fun action packed enjoyable feel good story, when preserverence and friendship beats the bad guys.
And this is a damn good one, i had a blast every episode i full on laughed atleast 1 per episode, THE CHARACTERS were FUN and every actor fit and honestly i didnt feel dissapointed with any of the characters other than maybe for GEON YEOP i expected him to be more involved with the story, but from the way theyre setting up for a season 2 they are definitely gonna involve him more in s2.
i liked the chemisty and i kinda hope that in s2 they flesh out my favorite cps Le jun,Ji wu and Hee won and Se Hyeon.
I just very much enjoy their bantering
Now a point i usually dont care that much about but the MUSIC, was very good. it fit the whole vibe and i loved when a badass scene happened and the music started happening they realy nailed it. This series is one of the rare ones where musi is actualy in my review because its just so good.
It was realy funny when whenever he started fighting he would push up his glasses, and remove them before beating peoples asses. Super satisfying. I will 100% rewatch it its just a good rewatchable series.
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It's Good but Something's Missing
Let's start with the positives b4 I get into all my unanswered questions1. I did enjoy how the story started. The beginning highlights what many adults, and especially former gifted kids, might go through. The unfortunate realization that all the hopes you had as a kid will not come true. The career you wanted is out of reach, your actual work life sucks, and while everyone is doing great for themselves, you are broke and drowning in debt and uncertainty about your future. The feeling that you want to simply disappear from your life (the disappointment and shame that has become your life). That part gut-punched me (is it because I can relate to it? We shall not talk about that)
2. A 2nd chance at love. This is exclusively with the main couple. I liked how people not recognizing him allowed HXY to get closer to CHW. To talk about their unresolved issues and better understand why CHW acted the way he did and said what he said back then. The barrier that was created by everyone being unable to recognize him allowed him to have conversations that he likely would've never had if CHW (and his father) had been able to recognize him
3. Xi Xi - She had this interesting goth x part witch vibe about her that I'd have liked to see explored more. Especially her connection to the supernatural. Also, the switch from her goth persona to the normal stressed writer persona should've been shown more.
4. NC scenes - I love it when NC scenes are done well and with care. The ones in this show are filmed very beautifully, and they are very sensual. Hats off to everyone involved. Episodes 8 & 12... Chef's kiss
5. The island setting, the cinematography, and the natural tanned skin tones of the cast. Beautiful
Now to the less-than-satisfactory/confusing parts
The more I think about this story, the more I'm convinced that the fantasy element should've been taken out. On one hand, I can see what they were trying to say, especially regarding He Xiang Yong. I think the overall message here was that we shouldn't try running from our problems but face them head-on. Running away may offer reprieve, but that's only temporary. You are likely to lose more than you think, than you can afford if you keep running.
However, on the other hand, a lot of the fantasy leaves a lot of loose ends, and I, the viewer, confused.
For example.
1. He Xiang Yong's punishment when the wish started backfiring was that everyone forgot him. He basically lost everything. Friends and family included. But what about Li Wan Zhe? Why was his punishment seemingly lesser? Hama-chan forgot him, for like a day, but they were back in love pretty quickly, so...? Yeah, he forgot their brief history, and he has less single-minded devotion to LWZ, but compared to HXY's punishment, this is so little.
Ps. I liked that Hama-chan became less dedicated/attached to LWZ after the wish backfired/broke. While this level of devotion and love can be cute in theory, seeing Hamachan change his life and give up his dreams, basically lose himself to be with LWZ, made me uncomfortable
2. Why wasn't the doctor ever given a chance to change his wish? Was it because, unlike HXY, he wasn't willing to die for it? Or was it because he was complacent? Resigned to his fate of never leaving the island?
3. Why did HXY's actions in the latter episodes have a positive impact on LWZ's wish but not the doctors'? Was it because HXY & LWZ made the wish on the same night/same time, and so they were sorta, maybe linked?
4. What was the overarching role of the god, his helper (Hong), and Xixi?
5. What on earth went down with HXY & CHW's jobs? One was bullied excessively and somehow ended up with life-crushing debt, and the other made bad investments, losing his clients' money, which led to panic attacks. They show these parts briefly but never fully explain them. It all should've been explained better
6. They should've found a professional to do HXY's sketches. I'm sorry, but they... They were not good
Final Thoughts
I will say that I loved the performances from the cast. The plot outside of those last 4 episodes is rather good. I liked the conversations and the lessons.
However, because so much of this plot was intertwined with the wishing, the fantastical element being so messy makes this story feel a little incomplete, confusing, and underwhelming. The drama after episode 8 - where he basically becomes fully erased from everyone's minds and lives - felt unnecessary and overly dramatic.
Rather than all that, I think it would have been better had HXY & CHW had to work together to find a way for everyone else to remember HXY, with help from LWZ and Hama-chan. Or maybe, just remove the fantasy element altogether and have the drama be a slice of life where the main character deals with not reaching his perceived potential, 2nd chance love, and all its angst, as well as trying to fix his r/ship with his dad. The 2nd couple... maybe they'd have been dealing with falling in love while navigating the potential doom cloud of a long-distance r/ship? IDK
All in all, I wouldn't be quick to recommend this as a must/immediate watch. We are currently experiencing what I can only define as the 2026 BL avalanche. You can find something else to watch. Save this when we get hit by a BL drought
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Sick of repeated nonstop OST
Actors and actresses are good, even without much kissing scenes is not a problem, after all they're only high school and first year university.The dialogue is a bit disconnected
The songs are good BUT the constant NON STOP OST destroyed the drama, is this a music video or what?I got soooooo sick of the music I have to fast forward it every single time
Producers and editors get educated and listen to our feedback stop being lazy and stop using ost nonstop as fillers too much of the songs turned viewers off!!!!!
Other than that it's an ok drama and Wang An Yu Yu is really good
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Started out well, ended up dark, depressing and emotionally vacuous
By the time this ended, I disliked almost everything about the drama.Starting out incredibly well, it turned into just a vacuous cesspool of depravity, evil and narcissism, with nothing good coming from any of it.
Feng Shao Feng's performance as the iconic Di Ren Jie, and who was initially portrayed interestingly, turns into a truly arrogant, lecture-y and constantly-berating-others caricature, while Li Yu's always-shouting-at-high-volume Duan Shi Si is annoying as hell, and the other bland two might as well not even have been there, as mostly useless as they turn out to be.
There is also no chemistry between any of the leads who, IMO, did not seem like a team at any point during the entire story.
The cases themselves are dark, depressing, nasty and without much redemption.
For me, for dramas like this to work, there has to be some goodness comes out of the evil occasionally, or it ends up being just a debauched slash-fest with no substance, which this turned out to be.
Like one of the main characters said at the end about all the people in town just going about their business as if they had no part in the mess - De Ren Jie lecturing them was pointless. Just as pointless as this drama.
And it's why Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, with its humor and its cases sometimes working out for the best, works and this one doesn't.
From the drama deliberately being titled 'Season 1', I'm presuming there will be a Season 2. I doubt I will be watching it. Not unless the plot is markedly different, as I'm not interested in something this dark with no conceivable goodness or redemption to it.
Not if it's the same self-indulgent, emotionally empty, and ultimately bland and draggy mess.
Eventually gave it a 7 out of 10 as the cinematography and set design is gorgeous, the opening animation is beautifully created, and I loved the ending theme (even if it is, apparently, AI-generated? Disappointing as well, if true.)
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