Reviews

try pursuit of my happiness

It’s been a minute since I’ve watched a Chinese historical series, and I can’t say that I miss them, though I have missed out on a few things, such as the humor, amazing cinematography, fun action, and good camera angles. If I were scrolling through Netflix, Pursuit of Jade would have never caught my attention, but it was on my aunt’s top 5 list, and it was her no. 1, so I gave it a try despite our usual different tastes in shows. Spoiler alert: I haven’t seen the final episode and won’t watch it because I guess they’re going to spend a lot of it on the Marquis and Changyu’s wedding, and I’m not a huge fan of wedding scenes in finales.

I’ll start with the pros, then move on to the cons:
- The acting was great from both main and supporting characters. It’s obvious that sometimes the child actors are just reciting their lines, but they’re kids for crying out loud, so no hate there. Just found it cute at times. For the most part, the characters and actors have good chemistry. I actually enjoyed Fan Changyu and Sui Yuanqing moments, despite him being mostly creepy. I found it interesting that more people weren’t hitting on Changyu. The villains in here were villainizing, so it was nice. The whole cast is also good-looking so it was a bit refreshing?
- Music was top-notch and amazing! I did wish they had used a different song for Yan Zheng’s return as the Marquis, but otherwise, the music and sound effects were phenomenal
- Funny moments were sprinkled throughout the show and were actually funny. The King is a coward, but boy, he cracked me up. The Pig Butcher Squad was also very fun and lightened up the mood.
- The village: every moment inside and within the village was fun. Although I knew they would eventually leave the scene behind, I sort of wished they had shot more of it. Kind of a bummer that we didn’t get to see them protect and rebuild it.
- Cinematography was amazing. The sets were amazing. Probably some of the better ones I’ve seen in a while.

Cons (in no particular order):
- You cannot perform CPR on someone with a pulse or heartbeat. They did CPR at least three times throughout the show, and the people weren’t flatlined.
- Let’s talk about Yan Zheng’s free-floating bangs. His bangs were always blowing around, even when there was no evidence of wind or a draft coming through. It’s like they’ve set a fan in front of Zhang Ling He’s face and just had it blowing all the time. I don’t know if he was hot or something and they were trying to avoid him sweating, or if it’s for aesthetics, but it started to annoy me after a while. If they’re going to blow his bangs, they might as well blow Changyu’s too. I mean, I guess they did when they put a fan in front of them after their bed scenes towards the end. Why was it so windy in their room???
- Changyu slayed two main villains just like that? A man whose strength equals 10,000 men was defeated just like that..? The other man, who’s had over 20 years of fighting experience, was killed, just like that? Uh okay, thanks for their anticlimactic deaths.
- The force kissing. All of a sudden, well-mannered and patient Yan Zheng can’t control himself and has to keep forcing himself on Changyu? Yan Zheng’s jealousy, which led to a forced first kiss, was also uncalled for. Still annoyed, he never cleared that up with Changyu. Gotta admit, I skipped all their kiss scenes because why tf would I watch them?
- The lengths Zheng and his men went to hide his Marquis identity from Fan Changyu were both interesting and extreme. Although it created funny moments here and there, most of the time, it was just annoying that he wouldn’t tell her the truth.
- Gongsun Yin and the Grand Princess’ relationship was weird as heck. Grand Princess went from admiring and daydreaming about Gongsun to suddenly constantly being mad and acting proper/pompously towards him. Also sad that we didn’t get to see more of their Go moments later.
- It was always snowing, but there was no buildup of snow…how are they not knee-deep in snow? Especially after a snowstorm?
- Why was the whole village always gathering around Changyu for anything and everything??? On more than four occasions, people would flock to any Changyu activities and leave the whole village/town empty from a far distance (the director should have clocked it multiple times). I get that she’s the main character, but it throws off the naturalness of everything. Her life can’t be that interesting for everyone in her town to pause for her.
- Have I mentioned not liking Yan Zheng and Fan Changyu towards the end? Yeah, they became unlikable really quickly and were always pointing fingers at everyone and the past. It got annoying fast. They had great communication in the village, but outside of it, it’s like they had to learn to talk again.
- Why tf is Yan Zheng fighting his uncle in the biggest battle against Qi Min??? Especially after his uncle was mocked for having almost no soldiers? Yeah, I stopped there, wasn’t interested in whose bigger and better.
- Is the white bird fake...? Not that it matters, but just curious.
- Some revelations were outright boring and flat. Examples would be how Changyu found out that Zheng is the Marquis. Grabbing her from the battlefield isn't it... The master finding out that Zheng and Changyu (his student) are the married couple, was drier than the Sahara desert. Mandi's death was poorly executed. Obviously, he was going to be killed off after their portrayal of him in slow motion, then the show did a plot twist where he actually didn't die. Then we get another plot twist where he does die, and at that point it was "...okay? Who cares?".
- I enjoyed a lot of the action bits, but there wasn't a lot of it. I'm actually surprised that, as the Marquis, Zheng had very few action scenes, probably even fewer than Changyu. His war strategies were also NOT new and were very shortsighted.
- All in all, I believe the actors did well for their roles, but the character design wasn’t the best. A lot of characters did a 180 out of nowhere. Wen Kan was also an oddball. Song Yan was also weird, talking about taking Changyu in as a concubine, and not having mentioned anything about the village or his mother after she was slaughtered was also strange. He started as a genuine guy who was known to help the villagers due to his intellect and had good feelings for Changyu, but suddenly, he’s this petty and ambitious guy who doesn’t even recognize Changning’s voice.

The series is a decent watch the first time around, but unless you really love Zheng and Changyu or other characters together, you’ll probably have a hard time finishing it, too.

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Melo movie

I really liked this show. I liked the fact that we could listen both perspectives of the main characters and how they viewed each scenario. As well as their feelings and opinions which made me understand more about the meaning behind their actions. Also I liked the way the male lead made all this effort to regain her trust to win her back with the small ''coincidences'' that he planned which really showed his character.
I also understand that some people say that it didnt have enough of the movie aspect they expected however , i think that the way the show was presented was like a movie ( the colors , the way that scenes were presented ) so it could give the audience the feeling that they are wayching a movie.
Overall it was a very comforting show , from the way communicated ( after they reunited ) to the way they showed their love to one another and it was very easy to watch.

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This is such a great series to hook viewers who needs brain simulation with the back to back plot twists it offered. Some were unexpected, which I fell in love with as I have a hobby of predicting plot lines.

The chemistry in acting by couples and as a whole for the casts, it went so good as everyone was excellent with their performance. Not to mention, the aesthetics didn't disappoint. It is so satisfying to see when they matched so perfectly.

I was already a fan of Dudu but this sold me to Joseph, Ju Jing Yi and most especially Tian Jiarui. I am looking forward to checking out other works of GJM and the casts.

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PERFECT

This is the best BL for me yet the story is so good and it doesn't have too much action and politics which can get boring but it has the perfect amount of it and the slowburn is just perfect i love slowburns and this one was the best slowburn series I have ever watched though there were some parts that were a little weird or unrealistic like how are 5 random boys doing all this and not getting killed and the connection between black and white is a little weird because it's kind of like bluetooth it only works if they are close but everything else SERVES even side characters are written so well and each ship has some depth to them.

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Can this love be translated?

It is a unique and refreshing drama with a creative concept that I genuinely enjoyed. The chemistry between the leads is great, and the story feels original compared to many other romance K‑dramas. However, the series also has some noticeable flaws that made it feel incomplete at times.

Both main characters seem to exist in a world without friends (eventually he becomes friends with kim yong-u but he is his only friend)

Another issue is the way the drama handles the mental health issues te fl has. The fl clearly struggles with serious psychological problems, but the story never treats them realistically. The male lead never encourages her to seek professional help (even though he knows almost all of her psychological problems) , and her trauma seems to disappear almost magically by the end. This is not how mental health issues work in real life, and it made the ending feel rushed and unrealistic.

another issues is that he says that he doesn't understant her language but this never gets solved properly and it is never mentioned again

Despite these problems, I still think the drama is enjoyable and worth watching. It’s original and entertaining. it just could have been a better drama.

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Refreshing and heartwarming drama

This is one of those dramas that I regret not watching earlier. This was absolutely adorable! It's been a while since I felt so much feels, giddiness, and butterflies over a romance story. Nanase and Kairi is that cute couple that made me question my single life. This was 10 episodes, but it made me smile all throughout (plus satoh takeru's constant smoldering) . 100% would recommend to someone looking for an easy and refreshing drama. Plus, what I liked about it is that it wasn't slow burn, unlike many. I like how they got together around episode 5, established a relationship, and slowly fell in love with each other more throughout.

To anyone still hesitating on watching this, WATCH IT!

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A great love story based on emotional depth with characters that truly belong together.

I’ll give it a 10, not because it’s perfect (nothing is) and i have no criticism over it, as a book reader especially, but because it really made me feel a lot of things unlike most series, especially GL ones.

I can talk a lot about THE characters, because here they are complex and multidimensional like real people, but i don’t want it to be a spoiler review. Just know that you WILL root for them individually and together, which doesn’t happen often to me.
Script itself starts as comedy turns into melodrama and drama as this story goes on, the series delivers very delicious angst, moral dilemma is my favourite reason for drama and it’s acted out perfectly.
I understand that family drama is a hard topic and isn’t favourite plot of many but it is justified here, bringing characters to full circle even more as karma works.
Because of certain plot twists and turns and wonderful nuanced acting this series definitely will make you want to revisit it to notice the little things
Chemistry of actors was so strong and authentic, it survived effortlessly through angst, cuteness and passionate moments.
Acting is really a top notch, both comedy and drama and i’m not just saying it, you need to experience it yourself, what a ride it was!

Overall it’s a very special, solid series with beautifully written and portrayed main characters, a great love story based on emotional depth. It evolves in style and mood throughout just like sea changes its behaviour over time.

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A drama with a complete storyline

For those who cared to read the synopsis of the drama before started watching, should aware there are 2 key interlinked storylines in this drama, the murder mysteries, and the story of the 2 first loves the main leads.
Like every murder mystery, the drama gave very little hints (or just a little) on what actually happened, nor the detailed background stories of them. As usual, answers were only reviewed near the very end, so successfully keeping everyone guessing throughout in the series. The short series not giving too much spaces for relax, so never boring.
For the other first loves storyline, if one watched this drama carefully, based on what it told us, there are consistent setups and hints throughout giving indications the most likey outcome. Right in 1st episode the fl is setup as a single mother, so making her available. And the ml always playing mahjong in mahjong house in his spare time outside works, rather than returning home to his girl friend, writing is in the wall in their relationship right at the start. And this is a rare mixed genres Japanese drama that actually had a fitting ending totally consistent to all the hints given in the story throughout.
The characters in this drama all had flaws. But they were only 12 when the first murder took place, and the fl a single mother at 35 had a son to look after. So there are circumstances that caused them covering the truths. And if they are perfect matured characters there won't be any story to tell.
With perfect casts, it is a rare Japanese drama I enjoyed thoroughly.

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What a disappointment

After searching for this show for nearly a month and finally getting 4 episodes with eng subs, I payed out of pocket for a translation app for episode 5 and 6 only to be very disappointed.

So many people were saying this was better than the Thailand reset version, and my expectations were set, only to be immensely ruined. Like, how did they manage to completely miss the mark? Japan usually produces some of the best supernatural thrillers, so what went wrong?

This version is not even remotely close to the original at all; it feels like 2 different shows. Nanno, in this version, does not feel like a supernatural entity, but a high school girl who wants revenge. Almost all the storys are boring and end without very satisfying revenge. Tbh, this felt like a low budgeted, cheap remake rather than something done with precise thought, and it's a shame because the actress was good. I feel like with Netflix theatrical quality, she could have easily demolished this role up.

Such a shame and a waste of time and money I spent. I would rate this much lower if not for the actress, who was carrying the series on her back. Try for yourselves, but for me? I'm out 12 dollars.

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Good plot, bad show

First and foremost, the K-drama was very promising from its trailer and clips I saw online(which led me to watching it). The earliest episodes seemed witty and showed the complexity of relationships at times, especially with the main leads and the baby. But as the series progressed, and as the second lead started making frequent appearances. The story felt dragged and weird. It was almost as if the writers were forcing a love-triangle between the leads. Although tripe like these are very common in dramas, it felt suffocating. The kdrama is supposed to be about two in-laws trying to figure out how to live with a child, then why is it so that they keep pushing the second lead in to the picture. Why does the second lead have more screen time? Why is he always the one there for Hyun-jin during those important scenes? Why whenever the SECOND male lead has a moment with Hyun-jin, the music shifts into some cheesy OST track, while they downplay the actual male leads moments with her? It’s already obnoxiously funny that a second male lead is prioritized, but let’s be real—Hyun-jin has no backbone either. She doesn’t set clear boundaries with him. How come your boss has such easy access to your home and your nephew? It’s not just weird—it’s aggravating. If the writers liked the thought of a first-love story so bad, then they should've just switched the two male leads roles anyways. They could’ve also had the choice to make Tae-hyung and Hyun-jin have a shared childhood memory if they love living in the past. It was also weird were they kept scrutinizing Tae-hyung as a bad person for choosing himself over men who abandoned him, especially towards his father. The story line was inconsistent. One episode, she’s realizing her feelings. The next, she’s having a date with her boss. The whole show just feels like the producers were joking in our faces. Out of a 12-hour series, I probably only watched 3 hours maximum because of how many skip scenes there are. For a production that decides to use AI for intros and outros, the least you could do was fix your storyline

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Great contrasts but the ending was rushed.

This was a decent watch, an easy binge with a decent take on the measurements some must take to survive in an exhausting world... Boundaries and the way one is perceived while just trying to make it trugh the day.

The season has a bit of second hand embarrassment, some over the top moments and at least one character I wanted to send in to small dark room to rot. Some parts dragged out a bit to long while others were cut short, especially the ending flet like they skipped a chapter or two just to get to the point. That said the contrast and growth of communication between the leads was fun to watch and the episodes truly did just fly by...

Also I am not a fan of multiple seasons, but somehow Yumi makes it work, I am not sure if Im hoping for another chapter/season or not.

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