Reviews

ABSOLUTELY DESERVES TO BE CROWNED ONE OF THE BEST DRAMAS !!!

Honestly, this drama is too good, to the point that I kept putting off finishing it because I simply didn't want to leave the world of this drama. You know that feeling when you're watching something you really love and instead of rushing to the ending, you start slowing down because you already know that once it's over, that's it? That's exactly what happened to me.

And after finally finishing it... YEP. IT REALLY DID NOT DISAPPOINT !!!

❤️THIS IS WHAT TRUE LOVE IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE. TWO PEOPLE WHO COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER AND, WHEN PROBLEMS COME UP, CHOOSE TO FACE THE PROBLEMS TOGETHER INSTEAD OF MAKING DECISIONS OR TRYING TO HANDLE EVERYTHING ON THEIR OWN AND CREATING UNNECESSARY MISUNDERSTANDINGS, NEW CONFLICT AND ENDS UP MAKING THE RELATIONSHIP EVEN WORSE.❤️

Almost everything about this drama works for me. The production, OST, cinematography, costumes, sets, there really isn't much I can complain about. Even the color tone is beautifully done and fits the atmosphere of the story so well. And whenever the snow appears, the visuals are just gorgeous. It's the kind of drama where sometimes I catch myself paying more attention to the scenery because everything looks so beautiful.

The acting is also consistently great, from the main leads all the way to the supporting cast. Even the child actress playing Fan Chang Ning deserves some credit. In the earlier episodes, her acting was still a little awkward, and there were moments where it felt like she was looking somewhere else instead of fully being in the scene. But she noticeably improved throughout the drama, and by the end, you could really see how much more comfortable she had become.

And the chemistry between the cast is honestly one of the things that makes the whole drama feel alive. You can actually feel the relationship between the characters rather than just being told that they have feelings for each other. The main couple's feelings develop naturally, and you can genuinely see them falling in love with each other. The second couple has that love-hate dynamic that is fun to watch, while the third couple feels more like a youthful, almost teenage kind of romance. Each relationship has its own flavor instead of every couple being written exactly the same way.

What impressed me the most, though, is how well the web novel was adapted and visualized. The story translates really well onto the screen, and the drama manages to communicate the characters' motivations and emotional development without making everything unnecessarily complicated. Every episode feels like it actually has something worth watching.

And THANK GOD there aren't endless misunderstandings and dragged-out conflicts just for the sake of filling episodes.

This is probably one of my favorite things about this drama. When a problem appears, the characters actually deal with it. Things get resolved without feeling rushed, but they also don't keep dragging the same issue for ten episodes just to extend the runtime.

We don't get all those tired drama clichés either like the third person creating a misunderstanding that lasts forever, one of the leads suddenly choosing someone else "to protect" the other person or the FL suddenly falling into another man's arms and vice versa, unnecessary kidnappings, pointless sacrifices that nearly get FL or ML killed just to create another conflict, or a dozen other mainstream tropes that exist purely because the writers need another obstacle and conflict to create tension. I appreciate this so much.

The drama trusts its own story enough that it doesn't need to manufacture ridiculous problems every few episodes. The characters have actual conflicts to deal with, and the story allows them to solve those conflicts like actual people instead of constantly making them misunderstand each other for the sake of drama.

The character development is another huge strength. Almost everyone gets their own story and their own path, so the characters don't feel like they're only there to support the main couple. You can actually feel that every person has their own life, history, motivations, and future.

But the biggest character journey for me is definitely the FL.

Watching Fan Chang Yu go from a simple village girl who dreams of raising pigs and becoming a butcher to eventually becoming a great general is honestly one of the most satisfying parts of the entire drama.

And what makes it work is that she doesn't suddenly become amazing overnight just because she's the FL. Her circumstances force her to grow. Her family's past, the situations she finds herself in, and the people she loves gradually push her onto a completely different path. She starts out with such a simple dream — basically just wanting to raise pigs, become a butcher, and live a peaceful life — but life has other plans for her.

Eventually, she becomes a general not because she suddenly decides she wants power or glory, but because she wants to protect her family and the person she loves.

Tian Xi Wei did such a great job bringing Fan Chang Yu to life. She really made the character feel like a person rather than just "the strong female lead."

⭐And this is what I think a TRULY INDEPENDENT AND STRONG FEMALE LEAD should look like.⭐

She's capable, but she doesn't need to constantly announce that she's strong. She's smart, but she doesn't suddenly lose all of her intelligence whenever second male lead or another man enters the scene. She can fight for herself, make her own decisions, and deal with difficult situations without constantly needing the ML or another man to rescue her.

📌That's something I get frustrated with in a lot of dramas. They introduce an FL as "strong, independent, and intelligent," but the moment she interacts with a second male lead or another man, suddenly all that strength and intelligence disappears. She becomes helpless, makes stupid decisions, or needs someone else to save her.

Pursuit of Jade doesn't do that.

🌟Fan Chang Yu remains Fan Chang Yu.🌟

She grows stronger, but she doesn't lose the innocent and straightforward side of herself that made her who she was in the beginning. Her development feels earned rather than forced.

And the same goes for the ML. Their relationship isn't simply about him saving her or her becoming dependent on him. They grow together, support each other, and eventually become partners who can actually stand beside one another.

By the time I reached the ending, I really didn't want to say goodbye to this drama. That's probably the biggest compliment I can give this drama.

For me, Pursuit of Jade genuinely deserves to be one of the best dramas of 2026, and honestly, it might even be one of the best dramas I've watched.

There are plenty of dramas that I enjoy watching once and then never think about again. This isn't one of them. This is absolutely a drama I would rewatch, and considering I literally delayed finishing it because I didn't want to leave its world, I think that says everything.

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Could have been better

I started this drama with pretty regular expectations and to my surprise I was actually quite enjoying it despite its cons until episode 27. From that point onward it became a complete mess.

First the pros:
> I liked the little friend group the main characters had going on. They could put social norms aside to protect each other unconditionally.
> The masters of Li Fei are great. They really do their best to let her live as a normal girl and stand up for her where necessary.
> A lot of side characters were pretty enjoyable to watch such as Deng Xi Guang and Ge Lin. Honestly, I think I enjoyed the side characters more in this show than the main leads.
> I mostly enjoyed the Chufeng Academy arc where the main cast were still students and spent time on learning, discovering, and bonding with each other.

Then the cons...
> Lei Xiu Yuan and Li Fei. While I dont dislike either of them, I found that Li Fei's character was overshadowing Xiu Yuan's character. There were moments where the ML had almost no dialogue going on while the FL took most of the screentime.
> Related to Xiu Yuan's story, I was surprised that they didnt get into his experiences in the past with the Gaolu clan at all. We know practically nothing of how he spent his life there besides being Ye Ye's double.
> Towards the end the story becomes very inconsistent and weird. I didnt like how Li Fei ditched Lei Xiu Yuan so easy considering he stood up for her MULTIPLE times. I hated Luo Sha as character but she was kinda right when she asked her what she did for Xiu Yuan.
> Watching Ji Tong Zhou become insufferable was hard to watch, but even harder was seeing his treatment towards Miao Qing and her still liking him EVEN WHEN SHE MISCARRIED BECAUSE HE PUSHED HER WTF. That made no sense to me, was Miao Qing really there just to be the scapegoat of Tong Zhou's insanity?
> A more minor con is the overall production quality. Battle scenes looked goofy most rather than cool most of the time and there is no memorable music track, unfortunately.

Overall, I still had a pretty good time watching most of the drama despite its flaws. I don't think its a must watch but it could be an option in case you wanna watch something that isn't complicated after a tiring work day.

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Masterfully done! 10/10!

I usually don't write reviews but I feel like I must, for everyone who may be debating if they should watch this show or not. Please DO! Trust me!

I must say I really do love politics in shows, but I acknowledge that is not for everyone. In this show it works because it depicts a real life historical event: The Siamese Revolution of 1932. This in fact, helps shape the world and the characters behavior, actions and ambitions masterfully throughout the whole 11 episodes. This show did a fantastic job at balancing everything out, I didn't find myself being bored, not even for a second!

I'm a sucker for complex shows with complex characters.

~spoilers ahead~

Firstly, the main couple's storyline and acting was a 10/10 in my book, so gut-wrenching and sweet at the same time.. I ugly cried at the end when I thought Phob may very well be dead for real, despite a part of me still being in denial the whole last 20 minutes or so while I kept checking how much of the episode was left. I wished to see though just one more tiny episode of them just living together, cooking, enjoying the little moments, hold hands next to the cotton rose bush/tree(?) one more time, stress-free. They really deserve it!🥺 Something like in episode 6 (which was my absolute favorite!), just at the end after that whole roller-coaster of a final act.

Now to the reason why I wanted to write this review in the first place. POND! Pond's character was the cherry on top! Whoever thought to cast him for this role and whoever thought of the storyline for him, I just want to shake your hand omg you have the golden touch please teach me your ways!🙇🏻‍♀️ It was so simple, yet so impactful. I could see right through him from the beginning... I actually had to stop to have a monologue alone in my room at 3 am about him in the middle of episode 5. He just wanted his dad to acknowledge him and be proud of him! All of his actions stem from that. Yes, he is a bit slow and makes many poor decisions BUT, in his defense, NO ONE really stopped to show him/guide him in the right direction from what we've been shown. It was always implied his dad deemed him a lost cause from the beginning, since he wasn't as book smart as Tin was since an early age. Also, comparing 2 siblings is never a good idea, it could lead to unnecessary rivalry as well as bottled up resentment or hatred.
In the last episode we got a glimpse of what could've happened if Chat wasn't actually a good person deep deep down. What broke my heart is that in that moment, his father actually believed Chat could be capable of hurting Tin... (yes we could argue it was because he accidentally hurt him before, but still!)... when it was shown previously how much he cared for his little brother. Needless to say, if you'd ask me to pick which one of the 2 (Tin & Chat) resembles Vasin (the dad) more, I would without a doubt pick Chat. If anybody disagrees, you're wrong! There are so many parallels between the 2, starting at the ANGER MANAGEMENT ISSUE! I believe Chat was such a cruel person to others and so spoiled because that's all that he knew. If all your father does since you're little is to come and yell and tell you how incompetent and useless of a son you are, of course you would internalize that and think "oh so he'll like me if I just become more like him, acting angry and superior all the time". Since I doubt he was as quick to praise him for doing good as he was to harshly reprimand him for doing bad.
The end scene of them in prison broke my heart most.. Their storyline was so impressive and so fresh, it really shows you can do so much with so little.. Their past.. Chat's behavior and motivations from the first episode and up until the end made it fell like he actually had a life before the director yelled "roll the cameras". His pain was so real and the acting so raw. I related to him so much despite not experiencing almost anything of what he experienced.

Also, I loved Siri so muchhhhh!😍❤️

Hands down the best show of the year for me! 10/10

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Very early review, but really enjoying this series so far

First, I love the premise of a flight attendant deciding to become a pilot. What I like even more is that it's apparently inspired by real stories. Plus, I read that Liu Xie Ning actually learned how to fly a small aircraft for the role, which is impressive.

I'm really enjoying the playful tone. I was worried about Fu Ming Yu (the ML) in the first episode, but I warmed up to him quickly once the show transitions to the present timeline. The dynamic between him, Ruan Si Xian (the FL), and his assistant is fun to watch.

I also love the locations. I don't think I've seen Qingdao featured in a show before, but there are plenty of impressive and very distinctive shots of the city. I especially like the view from Fu Ming Yu's office.

My rating may change depending how the series unfolds, but so far I love it.

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why was this made?

the only way this show could have redeemed itself is by having a sad ending. you cant have such an angsty, predatory and just straight up horribly written character end up with the person they want. but even then, this was such a hard watch, the acting was fine but the dubbing made it really hard to follow. the mom and the brother, and all of that didnt really bother me, i appreciate when characters have to overcome obstacles and their lives arent rainbows and butterflies all of the time. but when the characters themselves dont seem like they want to survive and overcome these obstacles... it feels a bit repetitve and annoying. lu feng keeps fucking up and apologising and xiao chen just doesnt seem to want to be with lu feng ( not enough at least). not to forget how there was an SA scene between the mcs , that was glossed over and treated like a normal nc scene. i guess my question here is... what message is this trying to convey? what was the vision? the actors have great chemistry for sure, but you cant just take that and run with it. the story had potential it really did, it just keeps getting more and more meaningless, at some point while watching this, you will ask yourself, why am i still watching this? why do i want these two to end up together?
no hate to the actors nor the creators, the whole point of making art is to confuse people, not to be understood. however this story needs so much reshaping and rewriting to become at the very least confusing and less repelling.

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Perfect Opposites can make a Perfect Pair

I was really looking forward to watching this drama and overall I ended up enjoying it.

I will have to admit that while there were many things about this drama that I liked, there were also a few things I didn't.

One of the bigger things that I found lacking was the world building. The reason for that is because it's the foundation on which the story is built and if it's lacking or incomplete, it can easily ruin the whole story. In this drama what bothered me most was the lack of detail in explaining the immortal world. For example, by the end of the drama the whole world is in peril, but no other immortals even appear to help. The Heavenly Emissary constantly harps on the importance of the Infinite Stele, but no one lifts a finger to help protect it. But hey, they are always ready with their punishments. The only other immortals we get to see are the Four Venerables, but they are useless and a complete waste of screen time. Why were they even included? The problem I have with this is that we're never really given an explanation on the structure of the immortal world, it's rules, the hierarchy, ...

Another big problem I had was that I couldn't warm up to a lot of the supporting characters. They just didn't get enough screen time to develop into much more than caricatures. Admittedly, I also never warmed up to Zhang Suan, who did get enough screen time, but remained bland throughout the drama.

If there were a few more episodes these things might have been executed better.

That being said, the saving grace of this drama for me was the main couple. The two main leads had great chemistry and portrayed the characters convincingly. The thing I liked about them the most though was their dynamic. The two are perfect opposites right from their birth. And from the beginning to almost the end we are shown just how different they really are from superficial things to core values. When together they both clash and stubbornly try to prove that they are right. The most beautiful thing is that they are both not wrong. They just see the world from a different perspective. They both value different things and they are both right. Eventually, we are also shown the things they have in common and they both learn to see things from the other's perspective and find a balance, because right from the beginning while they may be perfect opposites, they are also a perfect pair once they find that balance. They are stronger together. That part of the story is executed beautifully.

In relation to the development of the two main characters, I liked the moral and philosophical themes that were explored.

Another thing that I liked was how visually beautiful this drama is. Everything looked stunning.

All in all, I enjoyed this rollercoaster journey.

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Cultivate and don't love anyone is what I take from this story

This drama was actually delivering on the comedy part, I laughed out loud and the jokes were well written and executed. Meanwhile, the drama of it all was lackluster.

Plot conclusion - love suuuucks. Every bad thing happens because someone loves someone. Ofc, I'm exagerating to make a point, but many people are loving others to the point of unhealthy obsession. Story line was beautiful but either the translation wasn't that good or some plot points simply made no sense. Basically, love concurs all (but it also sucks).

Random slow motions in weird places for no reason.

Acting was good from the ML. The FL was so so with dramatic acting.

Visuals were really pretty, the sets were amazing, but camera work felt two dimensional (and there was this one 3 sec cut in in the one before last episode, from a high up angle, that was make from a different camera or something, worse quality and very weird that it was left in because it made no difference to the story) and not working to the full potential of the vibrant sets that the actors worked in.

Music was OK.

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A satisfied fan!

I found the story good and the actors great! The ML delivered exactky as I expected. I saw him first time in Fated Hearts and was captivated by his performance and he didn't disappoint me here. All of the actors were great. I've read negative comments about storyline getting lost in last epsiodes, but I watched regardless and in my opinion the storyline never deviated or got lost. Guess people wanted this written their way. I did hate that some beloved characters got killed and in my opion wasn't necesaay, but....it is what it is. These 2 lead actors are great and honestly all of the cast was great. Story didn't get stuck and flowed along at good pace. Watch it for yourself and be the judge. I doubt you will be disappointed 😁

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Wayyy beter than I expected.

I honestly didn't expect a lot from this series. I'm not sure why but I automatically assumed it wouldn't be amazing but all the reviews really proved my first impression wrong so I ended up watching it anyways. I am honestly surprised at how good it is!! I think that the representation is amazing. The plot is original and the characters make you really attached to them. Before you watch this a trigger warning is the

The acting was amazing in this series. Both Seto Toshiki and Nakata Keisuke are talented!! I already knew Seto Toshiki and I think he is an amazing actor in each BL that I've seen him play in. As for Keisuke, I didn't know him before but he really made me hate Kusakabe Ritsu during this whole show, and I think it's a good thing when actors make you hate a character. The side characters were amazing as well and I'm sooo happy they had Idegami Baku casted!! I'm not sure about their pronouns but from what I've read it seems to be just he/him. I love how he played a character that was struggling with their gender and during the last weeks finally got the confidence to wear clothes they feel comfortable in. Tomimoto Sousho looked sooo young and he was apparently 20/21 when they filmed??? That's insane.

I got a huge attachment to the side characters. For most of the series they felt like a sort of family. Like Masumi and Ritsu adopted Yuma and then Meguru just being there. Honestly I would've put her as Yuma's crush if they didn't make it feel so weird through the show. I'm not complaining about their feelings or Meguru being trans girl/crossdresser, but rather by the way they portrayed the teenager but that is just my viewpoint as a teenager myself. I don't like how the series made him seem more stupid and stuff. Masumi was 100% correct to Ritsu when they were having an argument about the boy. Why did fucking Ritsu give a child PILLS to KHS?? Ritsu really pissed me off. Aside from Ritsu being an absolute dick, I do really like the found family vibes it had.

The plot is reallyyy original. It would've been a bit nicer if they slightly took more effort to make it look real. I do really love the message behind it though. Like spending your last week on earth and who you would pick. I think that if it wasn't their last week that they would've never ended up together. I wonder if Masumi would regret choosing to spent time with Ritsu in his last week. Ritsu is an absolute asshole. He almost killed a younger person, cheated and totally played Masumi. He was sooo toxic but from Masumi's point of view I get why he came back to him. I know many people don't understand I but I feel like Masumi just wants to have someone by his side who he feels familiarity with.

Overall this was amazing, I am extremely surprised by the quality and the amazing story. I wouldn't call this very romantic though... May this type of love never find me.

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