My first older woman, younger man drama
I had been skeptical about this drama for wayy too long. I have never been a fan of older woman younger man romances because it just seemed absurd to me. HOWEVER this drama took me by surprise. Li Jinyu was not the typical ML who's childish and shows every sign of the younger man instead he acted like a grown man and honestly it didn't even feel like there was any difference in their ages at all. Both the leads did an amazing job in portraying the characters. I especially liked YE MENG, she gave off such badass cool woman vibes---i aspire to be like her one day. Their scenes together felt sooooo gooddddd omg i cant even- I loved bi wenjun and zhang yuxi's chemistry in the drama so much. This was everything i needed to get me out of the pain of finishing road to success ( i cant let go of this drama)Was this review helpful to you?
you know this love/hate pairing will be iconic
first time i watch republican-era dramas, the reason is my last sentence.so far lots of underwhelming things about it:
>>>ai-slop opening, the scenes sometimes feel off in the way the actors look frozen or extra melodramatic and the scenes have the pace of a short drama, the overly edited effects...
about the ai and editing style: it's only natural to see more and more attempts like this that seem to rely less on human creativity, and more on average/generic expectations.... i heard BTS content was more impressive visually.
all of these have nothing to do with this 'era' drama,
But i still love it so far
>>>the attention to the details and dialogue are really nice.
>>>extravaganza melodrama is so fun đ
>>>ZLH roles of hate/love are really iconic like kunning palace, i think this role will also be incredible tension! especially with WCR as co-lead. i just hope the direction gave them enough room to showcase the nuance of such a tende relationship! so far it seems still so dramatic that it doesn't leave enough room for the greyzone...and the growth of these characters doesnt look well established yet...
but one thing for sure, i know these 2 main leads will carry this show regardless!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Stunning Visuals, Underwhelming Story
I really wanted to love this drama, everyone was calling it one of the best xianxias in recent years, and visually it looked stunning. Unfortunately, it just wasnât for me.I watched until episode 30 before giving up and reading recaps for the remaining episodes because I was honestly bored out of my brain. I kept telling myself that maybe the next episode would finally be where everything clicked, but it never really happened. The only episodes that completely grabbed my attention were episodes 22â23. The whole sequence where Shen Li burns the sea was absolutely amazing and easily the highlight of the entire drama. I wish the rest of the series had maintained that level of excitement.
The biggest issue for me was the pacing. The drama is much more of a slice-of-life xianxia than an epic fantasy, and I donât think that style really worked here. It constantly felt like things were happening, yet at the same time nothing significant was actually happening. There was so much talking, staring into space, flashbacks, and everyday interactions that I found myself skipping scenes more and more as the episodes went on. For a 39-episode drama, the actual plot felt surprisingly thin and could have easily been condensed into around 20â25 episodes.
Shen Li was easily the best part of the show. She was an absolute badass from beginning to end and carried almost every scene she was in. She had such a strong presence that I honestly think I could have watched an entire drama focused solely on her without the romance.
What frustrated me the most, though, was how weak the supposedly divine characters felt. Theyâre ancient and incredibly powerful beings, yet theyâre constantly hungry, tired, injured, sleeping, or needing to be rescued. It honestly became ridiculous after a while. I never got the feeling that these were all-powerful beings. Instead, they felt strangely ordinary, which completely took away the sense of awe and high stakes that I expect from a xianxia.
I also wasnât a fan of Xing Zhiâs styling. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I hated most of his robes. They looked sloppy and unflattering on him, and he was constantly adjusting his sleeves and robes, which became distracting. I kept wishing they had dressed him in black because I think it wouldâve suited both his character and his appearance much better.
Despite all my complaints, I canât deny that the production quality was beautiful. The cinematography, landscapes, soundtrack, and CGI were all impressive, and the chemistry between the leads was genuinely good. Thatâs what makes this drama even more disappointing for meâit had everything it needed to become one of my favorite xianxias, but the writing never lived up to its potential.
In the end, The Legend of Shen Li felt like a huge case of wasted potential. It has beautiful visuals, a fantastic female lead, and good chemistry, but the story lacked urgency, complexity, and enough meaningful plot progression to keep me invested. I really tried to give it chance after chance because everyone seemed to love it, but it just never clicked for me. By episode 30, I simply couldnât continue and chose to read the ending instead.
If you enjoy slower, character-driven romances with gorgeous visuals, youâll probably have a much better time than I did. But if youâre looking for an epic, high-stakes xianxia full of action, tension, and memorable plot twists, this one may end up feeling as underwhelming as it did for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great drama
Even though it does look like that they shoot in hurry, i like it because story is interesting not the cliche they been talking about i have been watching cdramas for 15+ year and i know that much and i like the past relationship and short story of their past its so â¤â¤â¤ romantic. Believe it or not this is a nice drama and keep you hooked up if you watch till 5 episodes. Don't give review just after watching 1 or 2 episode keep on watching and you will know why???Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This was the original?!
The gayest homophobic movie I have seen. I kept thinking like: "is this the Taiwan version of the red envelope?" and then I realised this is the original HELP. I have to say there are quite some differences between the two versions. That intro was sooo gay I genuinely loved it, but I don't remember it from the Red envelope. I thought he was rlly hooking up w him and then that police plot twist I'm crying. I saw a lot of mixed opinions about this movie, there's people who love it and people who hate it, personally I like it but I was quite distracted while watching it (which is totally on me).The scene's in this movie are fucking insane. THAT CHASING SCENE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD JESUS. I'm not even joking. I don't know what they used, stuntman or perhaps cgi but it was incredible. I don't watch a lot of series/movies with chase scene's in it but this is by far the funniest and nicest to watch one. I was kinda expecting a more censored movie but I'm really happy they didn't sensor this. I only watched 2 Taiwanese series including 1 movie (this one) and I'm super impressed about the quality each time. This really is a sign for me to watch more from Taiwan because it leaves me impressed every time.
Greg Hsu and Austin Lin both nailedddd these roles. I love Greg's acting, it's amazing. I have one question though, is it just me or why is Lin Tzu Ching in the cast as main characters?? She wasn't really a protagonist at all and she had some longer scene's that's it. I know she is a main character in GG Precinct aswell and maybe she falls in love with Wu Ming Han but... idk bro. One thing that could be better was honestly the stereotypical gay moments, which the red envelope had wayyy more than this one. It was overall just missing but it was nice to have this version.
So do I prefer the Thai or the Taiwanese version? It kinda depends, I have to admit that the Thai version was a little nicer but this version felt deeper. Like I took the Thai version barely serious and with this one I did. So if you're not sure which one to start with, I would say choose this version and then the Thai one. It feels like the homophobia from Wu Ming Han is wayyy stronger in this movie, but in the Thai version Mao Pang Yu or Titi is more of a protagonist. This sounds weird but I feel like the Taiwan version is more focussed on Wu Ming Han rather than Mao Pang Yu. Some scene's are the same, some aren't.
The ending was a bit boring until Wu Ming Han almost died, that was so emotional. The whole fight everything it just bored me, while normally I like those type of scene's. Honestly I doubt I'll watch the sequel since it doesn't look very appealing (GG Precinct). I wish this version had a longer scene or like an extra few minutes to show how Wu Ming Han felt quite empty after Mao Pang Yu kinda died? If you understand what I mean. The red envelope has this better. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing the two to much...
Anyways. Overall extremely nice and there are a few things I liked less about this version. I still liked this one and this might be my sign to watch more from Taiwan since I have not yet ever been disappointed in their series or movie.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Fresh Take on Campus Dramas
I started watching Road to Success with almost no expectations. I had been watching too many modern C-dramas lately, and every costume drama I tried ended up getting dropped. So, I decided to stick with modern Chinese dramas for a while, and I'm so glad I gave this one a chance.I had already seen both leads, Chen Jing Ke and Esther Yu, in other dramas, and I really like both of them. What I loved the most was that this isn't your typical campus romance. It has a completely different plot, and there wasn't a single annoying character throughout the entire drama.
The real stars of the show, though, are the boys. They completely carried the drama with their amazing chemistry, teamwork, and friendship. Watching them grow together, struggle, and support one another was genuinely heartwarming and one of the biggest highlights of the series.
The supporting cast was equally impressive. The male lead's sister and his former manager were so entertaining, and the female lead's best friend surprised me the most. At first, I thought she would create unnecessary drama, but I was completely wrong. She turned out to be a lovable and supportive character.
What makes this drama stand out is that it doesn't focus only on the romance between the main leads. Every character has their own story, purpose, and development, making the entire drama feel rich and engaging. No one feels like they're just there to fill space.
If you enjoy school dramas, strong friendships, team spirit, and football, this drama is definitely worth watching. It's entertaining, emotional, and full of fun moments that kept me invested from beginning to end.
Rating: 9.5/10 â
Was this review helpful to you?
Just Finished the Series
This is my first review and one of the main reason is that I just read a review that said this is the weakest arc. I completely disagree. This was one of my favorite arcs and it felt the most complete without weird gaps or anything. We really get to see the MC fall in love itâs wonderful. Maybe itâs because I relate with the Tiger character who fell for my best friend. But overall, really enjoyed it. None of the arcs were perfect, but Iâm really starting to find the stories by this company to be better than GMMTV (recently). I noticed myself watching series from there because I like the pair more than liking the story. No shade thoughâ I like em all but still, back to this series. I really enjoyed it. I thought the acting was good. There are two things I wished they had expanded on and one thing I wish hadnât come off the way it did but I felt the same with Arthit and Dao. Loved their slow burn arc and then a moment hurt that series but I just pretend it didnât happen đ. But yes, this pairing with Nao and Tiger won me over. Fun factâ I also learned I work at the same university Tiger went to school at :) Iâm two for two since my last job was where Book from GMMTV went to HS.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Enjoyed this drama for its wonderful romantic scenes, great cast performances and good pacing
I have a column on reddit called Drama Duo, in which I compare 2 short dramas that are adapated / remade from one source. I decided to watch this drama for an upcoming post. I must say I was surprised that I enjoyed this drama because the version Shi Tong and Huang Hao Wen bored me to tears.What I liked:
1. Romance - The dynamic is delightfully engaging, filled with playful teasing from the ML, intense eye contact, intimate hand-holding, and a satisfying number of kiss scenes that made me giddy. It also warmed my heart that they cared for each other - evident when the scenes involved cooking and drying one's wet hair.
2. Acting - Lou Xin Yue and Xu Jiang Shuai gave great performances both individually and as a pair. Their natural chemistry brings every romantic moment to life effortlessly. It's wonderful to see Xu Jiang Shuai portraying a ML with fun personality because he always played intense ML. Zhang Yu Linâs portrayal of Bo Yan was another highlight for me. Instead of turning the jealous, possessive ex into a clichĂŠ caricature, his understated expressions and handsome visuals gave the character surprising depth and made him genuinely sympathetic.
3. ML characterisation - I must say I really liked his personality. He was fun, caring and nice. I also enjoyed watching his interactions with his parents.
4. FL characterisation - It's interesting that FL is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. I am glad that she wasn't mousy. There were moments she stood up for herself and I applauded them.
5. Family - Family was the core theme of this drama. I saw the love FL had for her adopted family and ML's family was loving too.
6. Pacing - This drama is 2 hours and 42 minutes long. I usually struggle with vertical dramas longer than 2.5 hours but not this one because of the good performances by the cast.
7. Supporting characters - I really liked ML's mother and ML's assistant. His father, grandfather and FL's adopted family were good too. I didn't expect FL's cousin to be nice but that was a pleasant surprise.
What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - FL's ex and his mother were cold and nasty. I loved it when FL broke up with her ex and stopped entertaining his mother's demands.
Favourite scene
When FL told off her ex at the hospital
Was this review helpful to you?
somewhat got just ok
story semi complete, i think this is one of does series that has run into a problem in the middle of production cos the last 2 episode fill lke it was rush compare previous episode where it focus more on the daily interaction of the on the office.i say i was rush because the ending is just ok becaue they just compact many plot on a single episode some character just pot and disappear like the main villain in the 2nd half and the childhood friend and some key scene is not present like the meeting of the ML and his mother lastly the villain didn't suffer of there action they even made an appearance in the hospital to taunt the lead and then we hear nothing of them untill the end.
on the side of the side character are just there of the comedic act .or just patch in the story i love the funny one but not his story he treated like a disposable by his partner and he still persue and came back to here just because she what his and ask him to beg her??? i saw like what i was ok on there situation where they are just colleague.
Was this review helpful to you?
All Bark and No Bite
For all the hype this show had it just isn't really hitting that hard. I don't really care much about the intro being made with AI and all that stuff but it's the editing and characters of the drama that is somewhat of a letdown.I wanted to see an ML who is grey, clever and ready to go scorched earth after all the pain he went through but all I see is a zero self respect love struck idiot who is still naive and weak when it comes to planning and plotting plus keeps getting played again and again. One tear from FL and in a second he loses his manhood and anger only to give in to her words, it's quite pathetic to watch. One of the most pathetic male lead characters I have ever seen.
FL on the other hand is damn good. Instead of being a damsel in distress she is mission focused, cold at times and knows how to get things done.
The story is decent and too some extent keeps you engaged but the editing is so choppy that it also ruins the vibe. The acting is decent by everyone nothing too great but not too bad. The cinematography is average and VFX is simply bad for a big budget drama it was promoted as.
..
Was this review helpful to you?
Powerful first episode
This first episode was really powerful, a great beginning the production is really great and you can see they put budget on it, the cast is doing a great job you can clearly see the difference between the evil Gaew and the sweet hearted Dr Great. I watched the 2018 lakorn and at least for now I can say this new version is keeping up with the OG one they kept the 2018 lakorn vibe but it's also like seeing something new. I hope we can see more of evil Gaew and in the next episodes and also a little more of Dr Great and his friendship with Rit before the accident.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A well made Kamen Rider show that becomes an historical artifact
Quite a good series, to be honest, I liked it.The suit design deviate from the Heisei series, they are much more slick and modern looking, it fits perfectly with the business-AI theme.
The characters were interesting and felt vey alive and real.
I like the plot, I love when Kamen Rider has terrorist organizations and politicking. Here we see yet again how companies can be the bad guys in Kamen Rider, and how the forces of capital can engeneer war and suffering. But in the end, they do resort to a "human malice" as the ultimate antagonist. This malice makes AI turn to violence, posing technology as neutral and is able to be used both for good and bad depending on human action. That is one of the core themes of Kamen Rider, that is here dealt with in the context of AI.
And regarding AI, despite this series beign made in 2019, it couldn't be made today. As a reviewer pointed out, this takes the 20th century classic sci-fi approach to AI, with robot coming from the czech robotnik, "forced worker". They are basically an oppressed class that do the dirty work for humans but are actually capable of thought and self-awareness (the singularity). That's quite different from our modern perception of AI isn't it? An episode where a manga artist has to learn to appriacete his AI assistant's work isn't writable today, when the fact that mangaka Inio Asano has expressed extremely pro-AI views has lost him a lot of fans. Really, this is a show for a bygone era, perphaps at the cusp of the shift in public perception of AI. Really, the fact that COVID impacted this show like it did only goes to show the historical moment in which it was made, when technological advancements are so fast that a TV series from only 7 years ago is now completely disconnected and out of touch from the reality of the impact of technology on society. This is almost and archeological artifact to be honest.
Anyways, very good stuff, reccomended. As far as Kamen Rider show go, this is probably A tier or something, even if towards the end it is very rushed (when i started watching episode 42 i thought I had skipped ahead by like 3 episodes, I guess that it's the showrunners that skipped ahead...).
Also the tournament arc was fun, even if unexcpected. And the main charchter has an Ai girlfriend which is his secretary, which is beyond funny. And the belt jingles were also fun.
"WHEN THE FIVE HORNS COLLIDE, THE GOLDEN SOLDIER THOUSER IS BORN!!! đŁď¸đŁď¸"
But the episodes became kinda samey towards the third fourth of the show. Also we finally have a two female Kamen Riders (and one of them is a secondary rider)!!! But, as if by equivalent exchange, we don't have enough homoeroticism.
Was this review helpful to you?
Biggest disappointment of 2026
It's really disappointing when high budget drama fails to fill the expectations.After watching upto episodes 7,I decided to drop it,Biggest disappointment.The editing feels like a sequence of short-form social media clips stitched together.The VFX looks too childish.They must have used all their budget on makeup and clothes.Instead of letting emotional moments build naturally, scenes cut abruptly from intense confrontations to sudden tonal shifts (thriller to comedy to romance), breaking immersion.
I am frustrated with the productionâs lighting and color grading. Rather than having the rich, moody aesthetic typical of Republican-era pieces, the sets look overly bright, sterile, or flat-washed.
Intrusive Sound Design: The background music (BGM) is overly loud, mis-timed, or jarring, pulling focus away from the actors performances.Overall the drama is 5.5/10 for me.They are only depending on intimate kiss scenes,other part of drama is a huge failure.
Was this review helpful to you?
A cozy and heartwarming office romance with amazing chemistry
I started watching because of the atmosphere, but I stayed because of everything. The OST, the chemistry, the cozy feeling, and especially Kang Si U completely won my heart. Every episode feels warm, comforting, and relaxing after a long day. The characters are lovable, the romance develops naturally, and the office setting never feels boring. This drama has quickly become one of my favorite dramas of 2026, and I genuinely look forward to every new episode. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves soft, heartwarming, slow-burn office romances.Was this review helpful to you?
ok drama
I don't think it's a completely bad drama, just a bit disappointing considering the hype it had, and the ending wasn't very satisfying. It didn't meet my expectations; it's a forgettable drama. If you like the actors, watch it, but it's not their best drama. It's a shame because the main couple is cute together, but the drama is a mess. The music is okay, the acting is decent, the main couple has good chemistry, the effects are okay, but overall the story is very bad, confusing, and boring. It starts out interesting, then gets boring.Was this review helpful to you?
