Reviews

THIS IS NOT AN OBJECTIVE REVIEW

Writing this literally after I finished watching it. I feel so empty. I wish I could erase my memory and re-watch it.

The highlight of this drama has to be the fact that there is no drama, whatsoever. It's not exactly slice-of-life, but not so far from it either. We witness Shengsheng, a talented up and coming composer with a beautiful voice, and Mo Qingcheng, an acclaimed voice actor and a doctor, fall in love with each other's voices and slowly with each other. Their journey as they get to know each other, supporting both their respective careers is just so beautifully portrayed by Zhou Ye and Tan Jianci.

The setting of the story is very much focused on voice acting and singing, and even though I cannot guarantee the accuracy of how it is portrayed in the drama, I feel like it treats that subject matter with a lot of respect. There's a running theme of found-family and friendships that formed within the close-knit voice acting community. The music of the drama is definitely a main character, there are so many beautiful songs I can't even choose.

Note of warning, make sure you have food near you, or you've eaten plenty before watching. Food is pretty much the love language of Shengsheng and Qingcheng and the drama prominently features a variety of delicacies with detailed shots of them being prepared. Apart from that, you can feast your eyes on exquisite scenery in Yangshuo and Qiandao and of course the visuals of our main couple (❁´◡`❁)

As much as I love this drama, it is definitely not for everyone. I have seen some people express their displeasure about the lack of conflict and I see where they are coming from. Which is why, I would recommend this drama for people who just want to relax, unwind after a long day as it transports you to a musical, love-filled dimension with great food.

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Don't miss it out, Bae!! <3

After so long, watching a drama, I feel so empty in my heart. Literally, it’s the best kdrama I have watched so far! A mixed emotion engulfed me while watching it. I was very upset imagining Min Kyu's situation that how could a person live without anyone? His and Ji Ah first two meeting was hilarious! Their kiss in the rain, kitchen counter gave me butterflies. Again, when Min Kyu got to know that she is President Jo, that scene made my heart twisted in a painful way. Oh yeah - the best part of the drama, this is when we kiss! The ending was just purr-fect! I'm not into giving reviews but this is really worth watching. Go for it!!

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must watch

even tho it has bad reviews i think it was underrated many people where not able to understand it. it's just your normal childhood friends to lovers series. but much better because there where lots of other aspects the second lead couple was also good and much better then many series i have watched of that year. then it's up to you but in my view you should give it a try

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Overall a worth watching character-driven and action-packed drama.

If you're looking for a drama that shows significant characters development, that can make you feel fully engaged with them and focus on their journey, then this drama is for you.

Everything that i enjoyed a lot in this drama:

1. Equally strong and smart leads

FL (Ren Ruyi) is THE lethal yet graceful assassin you'll ever see in Cdrama land. This is her story in finding a new purpose in life, to be more humane than just being a "killing machine," from a lone wolf to finally finding the wolf pack that can fight together with her.
ML (Ning Yuanzhou) is a former assassin and leader of the country's intel organization. The greenest of green flags ML ever. He's heroic, charismatic, affectionate to those he loves, not an annoyingly cold character but still ruthless and unrestrained to enemies.
Ability-wise, we can say they're the the birds of a feather that flock together.

2. Very mature and healthy relationship between the leads

The love line is a delight bcs they integrate modern approach in the dialogues about relationship and how men and women should treat each other. Their attraction toward each other started with seduction and temptation, but smtms all you need in a relationship is proper communication, warm/ tight hugs and little kisses. Props to Liu Shishi and Liu Yuning for delivering the emotional scenes in a very believable way and their off-the-chart chemistry, making them the type of couple that you'd want to root for along the way. I'm also glad that their relationship didn't turn them into a total love brain, they still stick to mission and priority till the last moment!

3. COMEDY

The comedy is gold, unexpected but on point!!! you can just watch for the comedy bcs its so worth it!!

4. Intense fight scenes

This drama gives everything that you want to see in a normal wuxia drama: Heroes with great martial arts, sword-fights, fist-fights, bows, spears, machineries, war scenes, solo and group fights. The fight choreographies are top-notch!

5. A group of likeable characters with their heartening/ inspirational relationship

We get so many likeable characters, be it bcs of their personality, character development or backstory. My fav female characters: Ren Ruyi, Yang Ying, Mei Niang, Empress of Wu, and Chu Yue. They're strong women in their own way. Fav male characters: Ning Yuanzhou, Yu Shisan, Yuan Lu, Sun Lang, Qian Zhou. They can do bloody fights, but can also make you giggle bcs of their cute friendship and humour antics! Special mention to Deng Hui and PM of Wu, they are also full of the complexity and arc of human nature. It's very rare for me to find a Cdrama where many female and male characters are equally likeable. Last drama i watched with characters like this was Nirvana In Fire.

6. High quality OSTs
The OSTs are just incredible, provided with high quality by both legendary veterans and rising young singers in Cdrama OST circle.

The minus:

1. Smtms there are poor cuts/ editing in some scenes, though it didn't bother me that much lol

2. I can accept how our beloved characters end that way, as long as its proved to contribute a lot for the greater good. I also found that the ending relates so much to the Chinese title and some of the OSTs' lyric. But i still wish the scriptwriter/ director concluded the ending in a better way. I wonder if the real ending couldn't pass the broadcast review, bcs this drama does touch sensitive topics. The story even started with both leads barely got loyalty to the crown and almost forsaking it..

Despite the 'uncommon' ending, there are still many factors that make this drama deserve the love and praise from audiences. I am also thankful to this ensemble of actors who dedicatedly brought their characters to life, we wouldn't be so invested to the story without their impressive acting!

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Bigg exception to the world of dramas

This drama gave me different emotions at different times....
I liked it but i didn't loved it.....
It was good..... But tooooo good to be true...

Male and female meet very soon and already has a liking towards each other even before meeting and soon after meeting in personal.. They come in relationship...
But after this.... There's nothing much to the story
Just normal regular life of both of them together
Male as doctor was not shown dealing with much prblm... Neither female as college student had any difficult time.....
Like literally there was nobody else in show who liked male or female except themselves
No drama... No twist.... No story.... Just regular day

Romance.......Even though they became couple very very soon..... Was slowwww burn.... Like literally after episode 15-16, kisses and hugs came

Just got bored from episode 9 to 15...

I like dramas with romance and i don't like too much of drama or twists but.... This drama was literally nothing...
Its good to have a show with everything good... But still there must be something for audience to connect with... To hold them to the show...

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its like the webtoon - cute little watch

did i have to sit with gritted teeth from the cringe sometimes? yes
was it worth it? also yes

I had already read the webtoon and from the looks of it the cast fit based on my knowledge of the story so I was really happy with the casting choices. the actors all do a fantastic job of portraying the characters they were given. i just wish Eunwoo would stop going for these roles that have no range on the ML's facial expressions. poor dude always looks the same. but if you're already used to that, then you won't have a problem with this.

the drama can be a bit frustrating in the sense that people here lack common sense and good planning/problem-solving skills so it can get you to cringe real hard at times. but only for seconds at a time lol.

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weird...

bro ... the entire time I was watching it felt like nothing made sense.

first, I feel like the story is overall a bit hard to follow, and second, the writing is not all that good.

third, this has a harem theme/trope???? why is this harem-type trope still a thing? I get that you can be a popular guy and have different people like you at the same time and have multiple love interests and whatnot but they never define who he is dating or if he is even interested in any of them other than the "sister." which is also a problem. I don't care if y'all ain't blood-related, your parents are married so you're siblings. the step bro step sis thing is so old and lowkey gross just because of the parents being married situation alone. I don't know why people still find this trope cute.

but yeah, he never really even expresses attraction or love or anything of the sort.
he kinda just goes with the flow? and lets these girls just fawn over him ???????

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I am not happy with the ending

End disappointed me. Starting was the story was good. Modern era connected with historical era. Story of the prince who worked according to his father who was a king . The father was always cruel with his son . He made him doing the cruel thing and because of that the prince image infront of the public was a cruel . Because of this the female protagonist hated him . She killed him . Here there is a suspence which I will not reveal. His soul was not liberate . In every reincarnation of her his soul was always around her. In one of her reincarnation he got the body of dead person and since at that time he started taking revenge from her but since at that time gradually many things started reveal infront of him .

Two things not satisfied me here were her reason of killing him ,second what was the story between father and son why he made his son cruel infront of his people.

Story end with the scene if she didn't kill him the story of theirs would be different and their ending would be different.

The series left me puzzled when the female lead chose to end the life of the male lead, a moment depicted around the third or fourth last episode. The motive behind her action remained unclear to me. The notion that they could never meet led her to this drastic decision. In my view, it seemed more reasonable for her to place trust in him, or if trust was unattainable, they could have faced their fate together, finding solace in each other's company until their last breath.

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You will cry and laugh

This drama is about the FL, who went back in time to redo all her wrongs in her first life. The FL has three main guys in her life. One is her best friend, the other one is her first love, and the last one is her one true love.

This drama is also a kind of harem, in the sense that there is harem drama with the queen dowager. Anyways, the FL tries to redo all her wrongs and finds out the truth to save the people in her life.

I enjoyed this drama, and really like the ML. Love the ost, and cinematography in this drama.

I would watch it again :). 8.5/10.

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Unexpectedly good!!!!

It is what it's titled is, A Journey to Love. This drama tells the story of Ruyi aka Ren Xi. She met the ML, Yunzhun and they embarked on a journey to fight justice for their country. In other words, they are both spies from different countries. Also, they both left their spy job and became nomads. However, they meet and go on a journey to fight for justice for their countries, and along the way they fall in love :). The romance in this drama is fresh, sweet, and lovable. It's not overly done, and it's just lovely. It's parental guidance or pg-13 at best if you will :).

I also really enjoyed the Power Ranger team in this drama between the brotherhood with Ning Yunzhun, Shisan, Yuanlua, Qian, and many more of brothers. It was a nice journey to see the brotherhood bond unfold as they faced life and death together, and their brotherhood grew deeper and loving towards each other like family.

The princess was an interesting watch, as she went from naive to smart and strategic. She is the MVP who improves her skills and improves her outlook on life as the plot progresses.

The ending was a little rushed, and it's an ambiguous ending; it was a happy ending since they all basically died and united together in the afterlife.

Overall, I say this is one of the best dramas at the end of 2023. The fight scenes were great, the cinematography was beautiful and the script was almost perfect :). 8.9/10.

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It's a journey you must watch!

For the first time in a long while, I'm able to watch a drama without skipping any episode. I applaud the writer for her originality and most importantly, making the flow of the story very sensible and entertaining. In addition to that, the directors did a fantastic job for bringing the story to life. All the characters in the show are well rounded regardless if they are the main, sub main, or supporting characters. I would blab for too long if I talk about each character that stands out to me (because they all do!) in the show, so I will only briefly mention my top three favorites. Liu Yu Ning played his character, Ning Yuan Zhou, flawlessly. I already liked him in the Long Ballad, but now it's more like love. Liu Shi Shi's comeback to drama land as Ren Ruyi has been her best performance so far. I love the fact that the writer made the two main characters so similar and fitting for each other; Both are leaders, strong willed, smart, and loyal to their country and men til the end, yet when they stand apart they both shine differently. You will need to watch the show to appreciate the chemistry between Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ruyi because words cannot justify the feelings you get when watch the main leads tangle. Yang Ying is the third character that I came to love. She is the one that I see has grown the most in her character as she journeyed into the unknown and utilized the power of her royal blood not for her selfish desire but her country.
This drama overall started well and ended well, but not satisfactory (warning for those who wish for a happy ending). However, because of the merits the drama has built up (i.e. character development A+, story development A+, music A+), I came to accept the ending as is. My one and only complaint of this show is the last scene in the last episode. I feel it should be Yang Ying instead of Chue Yue because Yang Ying had a closer relationship with all the members of Luido Hall and Ruyi. She was practically part of the gang! Her presence in the last scene would generate a stronger sense of appreciation of seeing Ning Yuan Zhou, Ruyi, and the rest of gang galloping through the fields and tie it all up nicely. Would I watch it again? Of course! 40 hours of your life will be well spent if you binge this show (and it should be binged).

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A disappointing remake of the original story "My Dear Boy"

I understand why a couple of people rated a high score on this series, it might be that people didn't know that this was a remake of the original Taiwanese series My Dear Boy. I am basing my review here because I have watched the original version and couldn't help but be frustrated with how a beautiful plot was butchered in this remake. From the production to the added storyline is a big disappointment.
PLOT - This is a noona romance and slice-of-life drama. The ML chasing the FL, divorcee FL, annoying side characters that don't fit the bill,36 episodes with a lot of nonsense conversations, VERY SLOW BURN, and ended very casually with no romantic sizzle.
PRODUCTION - The ML was depicted as a poor character guy however, it doesn't make sense as to why his wardrobe throughout the series is just the same. He has a job and is not a beggar but his clothes are the same throughout. The FL character is a director and has her own company however her clothes aren't classy enough to depict a famous director. Her hairstyle was tied up throughout the series prolly because she looks young if her hair is put down. At the end of the series, both of them went to attend an awarding ceremony however both of them were wearing casual jeans when all the others were in formal wear. This can be overlooked but is annoying since again it is a 36-episode series .
CHEMISTRY - People say they have good chemistry and I also felt the same during the first episodes. I realized there was no real chemistry after several episodes. Prolly the chemistry is because both actors are good-looking. It felt like both of them were in a mentor-business-partner relationship and no real romantic spark even though there were hugs and eye connections.
PACING - The story was butchered from the original version as they added annoying side characters that did not build the
main plot. The sister-boyfriend hockey player was added to the story but did not provide any slice-of-life storyline or build the connection between the ML and FL. The father of the FL probably provided a lesson to the story about forgiveness but still did not build any relation to the plot. This is 36 episode series but the FL and ML just became a couple at episode 30. There was very little screen time for romance and even when there was love between the characters they are shown as just dating and not deep love. The original story depicted that the ML became a successful and famous director however in this remake the FL received an award rather than depicting that the ML was the one who became successful. The ending was a bluff, a very blunt acceptance speech of both of them on stage and just a hug. The end.

If you are looking for noona romance and some comedic feels, please watch my dear boy and pass this one!

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"No pain no gain"

This drama starts with a childhood story, but the journey is there too. The mental of a CEO should be strong from the beginning. The path won't be flat, there would be obstacles, and also failures. This drama has it all, when the FL (Seo Dalmi) wants to build a start-up company. I learned a lot about some management methods here. And the nation's favourite.. Han Jipyeong the good boy. All of his scenes with the halmeoni is really emotional and heartwarming for me. Well, Dosan also has a part in my heart (since Joohyuk is my favourite actor) because he also works hard. I'm very emotional while the Samsans came back from the States and visit their first ever office for the last time. They had gone through lots of things from that small office, until they can work in the States. The "no pain no gain" phrase is the best phrase to describe this drama. In my opinion, this drama isn't only about Dalmi's first love, this is also about self improvement, responsibility, and "good things take time".

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Bold, epic with a slight stumble to the end

There is a lot to love about this drama - it is epic in scope and dares to tell a complicated tale not only of love but also of friendship, duty to one's country and respect for your fellow man (or woman). Above all, it features many complex characters that develop throughout, notably several strong female characters including our fearless female lead, Ren Ruyi (played by Liu Shi Shi).

Ren Xin, a former deputy leader of the Scarlet Guards of the State of An, is framed for the death of Empress Zhaojie and forced to reinvent her identity as Ren Ruyi. While on her own quest to avenge the Empress, Ruyi comes across Ning Yuanzhou (Liu Yuning), himself also the former deputy leader of the State of Wu's Liudao Pavilion (a sort of spy organization not dissimilar to An's Scarlet Guards), who is busy trying to leave the world of court politics behind. They find themselves working together and join the diplomatic entourage bearing special envoy Prince Li (who is actually Princess Yang Ying in disguise) to An to rescue the Emperor of Wu.

While the story may sound complicated on paper, it is actually quite easy to follow and watch, a testament to the strength of the show's writing and performances. Particularly in the first half of the drama, with the entourage's long journey as the framework for the show, we get a terrific balance of adventure, exciting fight sequences and character development. Under Ruyi and Yuan Zhou's guidance, Yang Ying (He Lan Dou) transforms from cowardly princess to steely prince in what is to me the most satisfying and interesting arc of the entire show. Along the way, we also get to know NYZ's gang: the pretty playboy Yu Shi Shan (a hilarious Alen Fang), kind and cheerful Yuan Lu (Chen You Wei), stoic and loyal Qian Zhao (Wang Yi Zhe), and lover of all furry things Sun Lang (Li Huan).

At midway, the drama sags a bit when Li Tong Guang (relative newcomer Chang Hua Sen) meets up with the rest of the cast as his character devolves into an injured puppy in what is probably the least desirable arc of the show - his obsession over his former master Ren Xin. I would not have minded a few episodes of this, as I understand what the writer was probably going for. Having suffered a difficult childhood and losing his mother and master during his youth, I can see why he would latch onto his master at their reunion, but 10 episodes of this is overwrought and threatens to undermine his character's development from boy to man and from general to de facto leader of a nation. Fortunately, LTG's scenes with Yang Ying towards the end of the drama somewhat salvage things for me. But it is a bit too little too late.

Then we have the final 6 episodes or so, which zoom by at a more frenzied pace, making one wish perhaps less time spent on obsessive LTG would have translated to a smoother build to the climax and a more satisfying conclusion. And while I enjoy Chu Yue's (and Chen Hao Yu's performance) scenes with Yu Shi Shan, from a writing standpoint the story did not really need her character in there to work. Personally, I would have liked the ending scene to have included YY and LTG instead. Looking at the narrative and characters, these two are the most affected by our main leads, and lacking a conclusion (or at least some kind of denouement) to their story is a disappointment.

Ultimately, however, the many merits of this drama outweigh the downsides, and this is one you do not want to miss for this year if only for the truly great creation of many strong, multifaceted female characters (including villains). If I had watched this before Story of Kunning Palace (to which I gave a 9), I probably would have rated Kunning lower, as this is by far the superior of the two recent costume dramas in terms of story, characters, performances and music.

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