Reviews

If it was me, I could wrap up this whole series in 4 episode

This series started out soo good. It was intense, suspense ,drama. I was really invested in the story. The acting of the cast was also promising. First, off all with the story. The writers had soo many options to put into the plot, they could have given us plot twist after plot twist. The story has the potential to do that. They could have given us such a suspenseful unexpected plot twist with the twin thing. Could have just made Blue alive or shown how and why Nail looks soo much like Blue. But there was absolutely nothing.

Unnecessary,characters and story made the show just a boring watch right after the first few episodes.

The running time of episodes shortened and BTS time increased to a point it felt like we had 20 minutes of episode and 40 minutes of BTS.

Nail and Him just forgave Te, when he literally tried to kill Nail... !! With a scooter (LOL!!) , but still tried killing and there was not any redemption or anything.

That guy Pai, on the earth doesn't looks like a tattoo artist. Please!!... There were like 0 tattoos in his body. Is that even possible?

Although I am really disappointed with the writers and directors.
I truly liked the acting of the cast. They were good and it can be seen that they took their job seriously and delivered well, with what they were given.

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I haven't written reviews in a while, but I think my young self would hate me if I didn't write one for a long awaited Yu Yu Hakusho live action adaptation.

Here's the thing about this one: it's way too good for them to have adapted just this small portion of it and, with the script adaptation they had, they wrote themselves into a corner if they were interested to continue it.

The cast is sublime. I was expecting stellar work from Shison Jun (who you may recognize from other manga adaptations like Tricornered Window and that one shojo about a toxic monk) and Hongo Kanata (who you may recognize from other manga adaptations like The Prince of Tennis and GOTH) but Kitamura Takumi as Yusuke, Uesugi Shusei as Kuwabara, Furukawa Kotone as Botan and Shiraishi Sei as Keiko were all *chef's kiss*.

I don't think I can totally convey how very "Yusuke" Kitamura Takumi was. The facial expressions, the body language, the tone of voice. This guy got the assignment 100%. They all did.

The fight choreography was amazing, they all look so grounded and real, which is key for a shonen like Yu Yu Hakusho, in which battles are more rooted in the street fight and less on the grand effects (which we also get here, don't get me wrong).

They also did a great job with costume and make up, with added details in the classic outfits of characters like Kurama, Hiei and Yukina (the embroidery???).

The problem is that, with all the amazing ingredients they had, they still didn't have the confidence to pull a script that would allow them to continue this organically if they wanted.

Yu Yu Hakusho has four main arcs, the first one being the introduction to the world and Yusuke's detective work, the second one being the best arc in the manga/anime (and one of the best in manga/anime history maybe? am I exaggerating?): The Dark Tournament. For the Tournament to have the gravitas that it did, it required a lot of world and character building, introducing the human world and the demon world to then combine them together in this epic scenario.

This adaption merged the first and second arcs, getting rid of the Tournament setting and introducing The Big Bads of that arc in this one. They used pristine ingredients to cook only a snack.

This is not the first time (and probably won't be the last) in which an anime/manga adaptation blows the storyline in a first part, having to attempt to mend the pieces as best as possible in later adaptations, once they figure out it was a good idea to make more. Fullmetal Alchemist is a great example of that, with a first movie that changed a lot of the plot and having to fix it in the next two films, which thankfully were much better.

With this, though, it's very difficult to know how they could save it if they wanted. In order to do the Dark Tournament they'd have to change the characters they're going against or pull some writing gymnastics to justify it. And making another season with the third arc, Sensui's arc, wouldn't be at all impossible but it'd feel like we're missing the best part of Yu Yu.

I'm also not sure if there was enough room for this introduction to convey all that it had the potential to show to an audience that's unfamiliar with the source material. I think it will be entertaining and engaging to newcomers, it will most definitely interest them to know what happens to these characters next, but it would have probably been a lot more certain had they had the time to develop it more, like the anime/manga did.

All in all, it's a great adaptation, but it's disappointing that they squandered it in such few episodes, attempting to cram so much of the plot in them. If these 5 episodes would have been just the introduction of the world and characters, before the Tournament, it would have left the door clearly open for more, and I think audiences, fans and newcomers alike, would have wanted to see it. I hope they do make more, because this cast and director deserve it, but it's going to be a challenge to see how.

If I had any decision making power, though, I would also humbly request them to record the character songs because I feel they'd slay. Just saying.

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WASTED TALENT WITH WORST SCREENPLAY

This drama had potential.
But it's irrational.
By the time the character development happens, it's almost over.

This is by far the only drama, that too coming of age in which the characters are so complex and indecisive, especially the FML
She's mundane.
Absolute low-crushing spirit throughout.
The MC is a m0r0n , who keeps going on and on after her.

The whole friend group is a cross-loving quad-entangled web.

I would say many of us watch dramas due to the script involving interesting characters.
This drama could be liked by those who can accept human irrationality to the point of zero expectation.
Coz one way to look at it, more than 50% of such people do exist.
It's an ordinary script.
Think of the most non chalant way of interaction b/w your day to day peers , zero spark , tons of foolish emotions only to be wasted at the end.
All the characters are hypocrites except the MC .
And the FMC is the biggest hypocrite of them all.

Man, I'm so disappointed coz I only watched this due to MC', since his script selection has been credible.
Avoid this one .
It's nothing but a pain in the a3se to watch .

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Not sure?

The first few episodes were really REALLY good. And then it starts going downhill, tbh i was a bit generous in my ratings purely due to the first few eps and it comes up to a 6. I remember being super excited for this show to the point of watching it without good subs.

The sci-fi aspect of the show literally made zero sense and towards the end i was so bored i wanted to get it over with.

another infuriating aspect is how we had very basic characters, i can literally describe all of them in less than 1 sentence and you would know everything there is to know about them in the show
ml and fl -> smart and solve every issue and instantly in love but they actually met as kids
the gang of three guys -> seem like bad guys but good and loyal at heart
shy girl-> jealous of fl (bestie) having a life but gets over it eventually
streamer girl -> seems like self-absorbed but has a past
bully+rich girl -> crush on ml and ofc hates fl for no apparent reason
fencer girl -> strong but has trauma
coward boy -> funny side kick who likes fencer girl
driver -> seems like a nice man but secretly the game creator ( and MAJOR spoiler : related to dad of fl)

Now something that absolutely pissed me of was how gullible the leads were, i understand all the side characters being dumb but how can the leads act that way too? They literally keep going to the HQ of a technology company and break in without knowing there are cctvs? also they sign contracts without fully reading through them and dont learn fro their mistakes after getting cheated on again and again.

The ending was honestly SOO boring idk how i got through it, especially with bad subs.I purely watched this for miles wei and saw hope in the beginning but all of it was lost unfortunately. Its almost like the writers are trying to throw us off by making the most random explainations to these sci-fi shows and they are so random that they make no sense

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It Doesn't Matter If You Don't Know the Plot, Watch It, But Don't Read The Spoilers!

"A Lucid Dream" is a short-length series (around 3+ hours total) with a clever story-telling, full of surprises, and a plot twist. You'll definitely enjoy the fun ride, IF (I capitalized the word for a strong emphasis) you don't read spoilers anywhere on MDL. It is as the native title 不知剧情也无妨 suggests: it doesn't matter if you don't know the plot. Although this review doesn't contain spoilers, I know romantic drama watchers always want to know if the leads get together in the end or not, so I will only spoil their romance, not the big secret.

STORY:

Who said that short-length series only copy the plots of mainstream (normal-length) dramas or are full of cliches to milk profits? This drama plot is rather unique, and the story flow is well-written. By reading the synopsis you got the idea that the Female Lead Zhang Yi Meng (Wang Ya Jia) is delusional and thinks she has time-traveled to the past. To cure her mental illness, the Male Lead Song Jing Cheng (Cheng Yu Feng), a psychiatrist, plans drama therapy, a psychological treatment process that contains a reenactment of the ancient time Yi Meng believes she's in.

But as we watch the drama, we start seeing strange things and surprises. Adding to those things are funny incidents behind the scenes, for example, script changes that make certain characters confused about how to act in their roles. We are entertained by surprises at almost every (ending) of each episode, cliffhangers so to speak, until a plot twist is introduced. Then when the audiences look back, things make sense.

There is slight romance, but because the topic of the plot is the drama therapy/reenactment, romance is not the main focus.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the 'behind-the-scene' process shown in the drama. For example, the selection of the cast, the choice of the script (the additions and deletions), the filming, and the (uncomfortable) costumes and props (that we see as funny cos we know they're fake). And mostly what urgent measures they took when incidents or unpredictable events happened.

CHARACTERS:

People wrote the leading actor and actress were not charming or their acting was so-so, but imo actors and actresses have to start somewhere, right? I don't remember seeing them before. The only thing I say is actress Wang Ya Jia looks like Chinese actress Chen Yu Qi. And I found out the actor Cheng Yu Feng was in the drama The Inextricable Destiny last year, playing the Female Lead's second brother. But if you watched that drama you know why we don't remember him being there, lol.

The funniest character imo is Li Mu Yu, who played the Third Prince in the reenactment. Although his character is supposed to be the annoying Second Male Lead, it's hilarious for us because he practically knows nothing since nobody told him anything, including his dad, who is the reenactment director, lol.

VISUALS:

Although they made a reenactment, surprisingly the visual designs are decent for a fake 'drama'. I was mostly surprised by the cinematography. It's well done for a short-length series.

OST:

I'm surprised that they put several nice songs for the ending themes:
1. "Fireworks Fragments" (烟火碎片) by Xin Wen
2. "Parting Sequence" (离别序) by Xin Wen
3. "Waiting for Mist and Warm Rain to Stop" (等烟暖雨停) by Wang Xin Yi

ENDING (only for the romance part)

















Happy ending. Zhang Yi Meng and Song Jing Cheng got together in the end (real world). There is also a secondary couple.

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Drama is confusing. Initially, it seemed like the female protagonist was sent to resolve the conflict between the Devil and humans on her own, but unexpectedly, a male protagonist joined her. However, this male character had a dual role - one as her lover and the other as her master, complicating the storyline. Despite his love for her (her master), his role was ultimately sacrificed, leaving me puzzled. I anticipated that both characters would merge into one, but the conclusion revealed they were distinct individuals. Overall, I'm dissatisfied with the ending and strongly disagree with it.
I shipped the second leads especially the female lead.

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Good cooking aesthetic... But that's all! Nothing else!

I like both ml and fl that's why I started this drama, I loved the starting episodes! But then, idk where it got lost, everything felt messy! Completed it only bcz i planned to not drop any drama this year!
Pros :
The cooking!!!it's Aesthetic ! It literally made me hungry, and I always eat something while watching the drama !! That's all

Cons :
One dimensional characters
Over confident fl & ml with no reaction
Ml was pathetic! Delusional
Irritating sister (i finally liked her a bit in the final episode)
The second couple... Annoying!
It's not slow burn, it was dragging
Was there even music!?? I remember none!
Plot, opening was good but second half, nah, completed last 7 epsiodes in about 2 hours!!!
Made one of my favourite character join hand with villain for DUMBEST reason
Rushed ending!!

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Most natural and genuine romance with diabetes chemistry.

“They give me butterflies just by them being in the same airspace.” - me

Wu Lei & Zhao Jinmai, my all-time favorite couple from now on. I absolutely adore the organic evolution of their relationship, from the initial awkward, blind-date-like tension to becoming utterly smitten with one another. It’s rare to maintain such palpable chemistry throughout the entire series, especially considering that they got together relatively early on. Most shows struggle to keep the romantic tension once the couple has formed, but this series deftly keeps the spark alive in every interaction. What’s even better is that their connection feels incredibly natural and genuine, with unbeatable on-screen chemistry that is both sizzling and enthralling, a testament to their exceptional acting prowess and talent. I'm particularly fond of their meticulous attention to detail, evident in the subtle nuances of facial expressions and deliberate gestures executed by the characters. I can genuinely sense the level of hard work and dedication they pour into their acting behind the scenes, as they excellently presented the delicate interplay of ambiguity and tension inherent in the process of falling in love, and how their interactions still shine after coming together.

Quoting roughly from Wu Lei’s acting teacher, Teacher Cui, on them: “Wu Lei is a very serious person. Every time he takes on a role, he always fully immerses himself in the life of that character in advance. Every frown, every smile, every movement is executed with professionalism and in deep immersion of that character. No wonder so many people like him, because the quality he brings to his performances is exceptional. The manner in which they both handle intricacies and communicate when they're together makes their couple pairing very good.”

Lovely, therapeutic, mesmerizing, heartwarming, soothing, wholesome, tender, and comforting.
An absolute treat that cures depression, yet causes diabetes.

I found the casting to be perfect. Alongside the Lin Yiyang-Yin Guo (Yi-Guo) couple, I thoroughly enjoyed the supporting characters like Wu Wei & lil bro Meng Xiaotian. Their presence injected a playful energy into the story, often through subtle teasing or reactions to the leads, while consistently remaining strongly supportive of them. The bromance and rivalry were superb too—the trio Lin Yiyang, Jiang Yang & Meng Xiaodong all harbored mutual respect and admiration for one another, adding to the wholesome feel of the show. Furthermore, all of them played the role of wingmen well, putting in a decent amount of good words for Lin Yiyang along the way. So how can one not like the cast? Heck, even Yin Guo’s friends are good wingwomen.
I also loved the scenic filming locations that contribute to the gorgeous & cozy vibe of the show—filmed in Finland, France, and China; 3 countries & 11 cities. The BGM adeptly complemented the mood of the show, seamlessly blending with the atmosphere and drawing me in, with the OSTs being catchily good as well.

Some people don’t understand that the plot IS the interactions and the growing relationship/romance. The reason some perceive it as dull, draggy, or devoid of any plot is simply because they don't vibe with the chemistry between the couple as much. And for a series that heavily depends on the dynamics of the couple, this can make-or-break the show for you, so just give few eps a try and feel the chemistry urself to see if you’ll like it or not. And if you are skipping/ff-ing their scenes it’s totally pointless/invalid.
Just know that I love the tension and the tender relationship between the two throughout its entire run.

As someone who enjoys playing 8-ball/9-ball pool & snooker, I appreciate the cast’s efforts to learn the sport from scratch, training hard for a few months, immaculately capturing the aura of a professional player and successfully showcasing some impressive plays.

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Here’s a brief overview of the gameplay for those who have never played before (feel free to skip):

In snooker, players must pot a red ball (1 pt) first before they can attempt to pot a colored ball, which carries varying point values (yellow-2, green-3, brown-4, blue-5, pink-6, black-7 pts).
This alternation between potting reds and colored balls (red, colored, red, colored) continues until all the red balls are cleared from the table, after which players must pot the colored balls in sequence from yellow to black. To maximize their points, players need to strategically position the cue ball (white ball), ideally near the black ball (which yields the most points), after potting a red. They must also position for the next red ball after potting the black. The colored balls are spotted—placed back onto its designated spot once they’re potted, as long as there are still red balls on the table.
Players will also need to deal with being "snookered," where their opponent skillfully blocks the path to the required ball, typically as fewer red balls remain on the table. Failing to hit the required ball results in a foul, with the opponent gaining a minimum of 4 pts (misses all the balls, or hits any colored ball lower than 5 pts). Contacting let’s say a blue ball when you are supposed to hit a red ball will be a foul that gives the opponent the blue-ball points (5 pts), while illegally contacting pink or black ball will give the opponent 6 or 7 pts respectively. The one with the most points at the end of the game wins, obviously, with the maximum break score of 147 attainable (potting red and only black in alternation) which is insanely challenging even for professional players.

For 9-ball pool, it’s simpler, players just have to pot the balls numbered 1 through 9 in sequential order, starting from the lowest numbered ball. The player who pots the 9-ball (yellow stripe ball) at any point wins the game (so a legal shot—hitting a required lowest numbered ball first, but successfully potting the 9-ball in the process results in an instant win). In the show, you will also see the players determining the order of play or break through “lagging”. This involves each player simultaneously hitting their assigned ball from the head string (horizontal line running across the table) towards the opposite cushion of the table, aiming to return the ball closer to the head cushion (the cushion nearest to where they initially hit the ball) than the opponent. The player whose ball stops closest to the head cushion wins the lag and earns the right to break the rack of balls to start the game.
Breaking first is usually more advantageous since the likelihood of pocketing any balls at the break is quite high. This is even more so for skilled players as they have an even higher chance of performing a run-out or clearance, where they pot all the remaining balls on the table in a single turn, thereby winning the game.

Most people (myself included), at least for recreational/non-competitive players, find snooker to be a much more challenging game than pool. This is primarily due to its larger table size, tighter pockets, and smaller balls, making potting more difficult as there is less margin for error, demanding more precise shot-making. Moreover, snooker’s greater number of balls and its scoring system, which includes more extensive rules and fouls, further adds to its complexity (possibly more strategic depth), and a game of snooker is typically longer than a game of 9-ball pool so it can be more mentally taxing as well.
That said, both snooker and pool demands precise ball control (power, spin, accuracy) for positioning and strategic thinking, since players cannot simply pot whichever ball they want and must always plan for the next or several shots ahead.
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I’m now a huge fan of both Wu Lei and Zhao Jinmai. Their chemistry is electrifying and off-the-charts. If they don’t win the best couple award, I’ll riot, because I don’t know who else could.

Please, for the sake of humanity, give them a few more dramas as lovers, because their chemistry is too good to be wasted on just one project.

I’ll miss this show greatly.
And yes, their chemistry outweighs any negatives for me.

10/10.

Weibo Content (BTS, Interviews, etc):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-tVcTH8XLtaimpDae1dtmGkXAfbvTcLCERXHEwrl61Y/edit?usp=sharing

Episodes: 30
Runtime: 23 Hours

Please refer to my review’s comments section for further details and discussions regarding some of the criticism or complaints towards the show.

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Had potential but turned out - boring

I remember reading the description for this particular drama and thinking that the storyline had a lot of potential but i was truly disappointed after the first few episodes of this show.

Pros:
1) the relationship was very unproblematic with little to no drama, there were no exaggerated fights or arguments and everything got solved quickly
2) majority of it was filmed at an overseas location so it was a change of pace from your usual dramas
3) the osts were pretty good

Cons
1) the biggest issue of this show is the lack of plot besides the romance, im sure the writers wanted to take the "mature" romance with no problems route but there should have been something besides the romance to intrigue the viewers. The sports part of this show was quite boring in the sense that there was no real competition, you always know that either yin guo or lin yiyang will win the match AND even if they lose they lose to another Chinese member so at the end of the day they are all winners
2) all the scenes were forgettable - I don't know if i'm the only one that experienced this but i literally can't remember anything truly memorable from this show and that is imo a major flaw.
3) No struggle for the main leads, all though we see lin yiyang's troubled past, we dont get to see his struggle in getting better at the game nor do we see him lose when he has a comeback after more than a decade, same goes for yin guo. Also the only time ml loses is when he has an injury which made it seem like he was "undefeated".

To conclude, this is the kind of show that i purely watched to see if it could get better and unfortunately it didn't for me. The acting was pretty good but their potential was limited, after having watched the fl in reset and the ml in love like the galaxy, I feel like their talents were limited with such a lackluster script. The romance scenes were good but they weren't memorable, you could find it in literally every other drama but this one just had much more famous cast. They should have also made lin yiyang's comeback one with more setbacks because it is impossible that he still retains same level of skills after 10+ years of not competing professionally. Yin guo's skill should have been backed up with evidence of her struggle as none of the leads were shown to have truly struggled in order to get better. The rewatch value for me is close to 0 because there is no scene that i particular find unique. I definitely want to see the two leads in a more plot heavy show (myb historical?).

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A suspense drama, also no director name.

Probably the first series from China cinematography I come upon from the genre "suspense movie". Here no information of who the director is, and in suspense movies, the Director is a figure of prime importance.
So out of that, is the genre not popular in China?
Not that the movie is bad, but the tags in MyDramaList have mislead me, I would not have watched it, if I knew it was suspense.
Regarding the production - there are triller elements, there are crimes - and investigations.
Also, the ratings ctriteria that MyDramaList provided do not include aspects of assessing of the cinematography and the contribution of Director.
Regarding the plot - the FL marries the CEO of a company with the main purpose to get access to the company archives in order to obtain information regarding the past, involving one of her parents. We do not get assurance that she married out of love or that she developed unconditional love for her husband during the timeframe of the series.
The drama ends with the FL leaving her husband with a wish to have someone in the world that would love him unconditionally.
In the very end, her husband is taken to the scenery where they first met. Someone comes behind him taking a picture - he turns and smiles. This gives the viewer a hope for this unconditional love - whether the FL or not is just another suspense.

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