Reviews

Enjoyable until they butchered it

This was an interesting drama. You have two leads who are incredibly strong and remain strong throughout the drama. Yes, we don't get another FL who is super strong in the beginning but turn weak near the end (which is a plus).

Our two leads, both assassins, both skilled, and both vibing with each other. The relationship definitely got stagnant after they became official official. It also got tiring how many times one would nearly die throughout the drama.

The side characters for this drama has more charm than many others. I definitely adored Yang Ying the most and honestly would've loved to just continue watching her arch. She was by far the most interesting character. The trio amigos each hand their own distinct character but ultimately were boring after awhile. Shisan was really the life of the party with his player game. The Marquis guy was wishy-washy but I was lowkey starting to ship him when he was working towards sanity with a particular character.

Action sequences were okay but tiring after a certain period. There was too much time skip, repeated deaths and overall plot repeats. It was very convoluted honestly but entertaining enough.

Definitely hated the ending and the rush of the last 8 episodes.

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Another Academy costume drama meant for teenagers

While watching "Another Academy young adults with love-hate script", I had mixed feelings. Some parts of the script were enjoyable, but other times I found myself losing interest. Some episodes were difficult to follow and left me feeling confused. However, I found the female lead to be a refreshing change from the usual doormat characters found in so many dramas. Her sassy personality was a highlight for me. I also got a good laugh out of how they gave the same hairstyle to the bad boy hero. But, the character that really stood out was the millennium-old man and his beloved dog.

Overall, it was a watchable show, but not something that I would put on my rewatch list.

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Plot ≠ WEBTOON, But Has Its Own Charm

Before I begin, let's introduce the fact that I read the webtoon (which is still ongoing), making me very excited once I heard there would be a drama adaptation. Great, moving on.

Plot: Since this was based on a WEBTOON, the plot came from there. But if you're expecting it to be the WEBTOON in drama form, you won't get that. It starts off with a scene that, while enjoyable, was DEFINITELY not in the WEBTOON, and a person who should have had a certain role ascribed was not given such because it would have created more scenes. HOWEVER...as a standalone, the plot was pretty well done. My favorite WEBTOON scenes were shown, they cut out a lot of fluff that I thought dragged down the WEBTOON, and although they rearranged the order of events, I hardly cared given how well the story flowed anyway.

CAST: Wonderful. I'll admit I was skeptical when I saw the cast list because I didn't think Do Guk was casted well, but wow was I pleasantly surprised. He gave off a more rugged aura but it worked so well and he definitely brought both the charisma and eye candy factor. (*secretly wipes drool*) Ahem...Han Iju was casted well also, I loved her character portrayal. And the villains, wow. I really hated them, and that proves how good they were. Especially Han Yura, I kept thinking "she doesn't have the villain look, she looks like a cute FL" but she really played her role so well that while I hated her, I also pitied her. Her mother on the other hand...first of all the actress is beautiful, but wow I both wanted to punch her and cower in fear. Even the minor characters came alive. The story fleshed them out so well that they all felt like integral parts of the story.

Music: 10/10. I loved all 5 tracks, especially the first 2, which I couldn't stop replaying. "Halo" is probably my favorite, and the song that plays at the opening credits "Meaningless" is *chef's kiss*. I love how it even sounds like a vengeful song, it works very well with the opening credits so much that I never skipped a single one. Applause all around for the singers and everyone involved with the singmaking processes.

REWATCH VALUE: I'm not the best a rewatching things in general, but as a fan of the WEBTOON as well as being impressed with the adaptation, I'd say I would rewatch it for sure.

Overall, not the same as the WEBTOON, but has its own charm.

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I laughed, I raged, I fell inlove, I cried, and bawled some more

From start to finish, there was no boring moment. This is the first Cdrama I watched in 2023 that I didn't speed through. I went through their journey all the way to end, that's why I was so invested on every character. They gave me so much joy and respect.

Their ending was tragic, and I myself am devastated, yet it was something I am able to accept. They gave their all for loyalty. Not to the throne, but to the people they love and wish to protect.

I will not change my perfect score because of the last 6 episodes...because the last 6 episodes were one of the greatest performances of the entire series. It was action-filled and gut-wrenching. I could hear my heart shattering into gazillion smithereens by first strike starting at Ep.35. By fifth strike with Yuanzhou gege, my whole body is numb, tears frozen.

The last 6 episodes were a show of acting prowess from everyone, excellent cinematography, perfectly choreographed war scene, and amazing directing. I would like to thank everyone from the cast to the production team who made this awesome show.

My thoughts about the cast...

Ruyi was the first who captivated me. She is beautiful, scheming, and ruthless, a woman who knows exactly what she wants. You can see her change her perspective on some things as the show progresses. She will come to understand and realize that her initial goals might not be what she truly wants.

Ning Yuan Zhou, oh, that scene at his residence when he stabbed that thoughtless guy and his face covered in blood...for some reason (which is disturbing...a bit?) it looked hot! (Maybe I need some help). But anyway, moving forward, NYZ is a character who is warmhearted to the people close to him and ruthless to everyone else. In a way, he is very similar to Ruyi, the difference is, he actually has people he considers his own, while Ruyi is truly a lone wolf. Thank you Liu Yuning for bringing Ning Yuanzhou to life and giving it soul. Your Ning Yuanzhou will forever be in my heart. A character I truly admire and respect.

Yang Ying was a character you'll probably think is a bit annoying at first because of her naive thoughts, yet she will be the one person who you will come to love at the end. Yang Ying has one of the best character developments I've seen in dramaland. From an innocent and naive princess to embracing everything Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou taught her. He Lan Dou is such an exceptional young actress. I look forward to her future roles.

Yu Shi San, the person who can make everyone laugh however dire the situation is, a man who seems to be always unserious, but you know you can count on him on crucial moments. I love all his comedic antics.

Yuan Lu is their maknae, the little brother they all want to protect...in the end, it was him who protected them...sob...sob...

Qian Zhao, a man of very little words. He had his own reason for joining the delegation, a deeply hidden revenge plan...yet he gave his life protecting the man he vowed to kill. I bawled at this scene...

Sun Lang, the seemingly clueless brother. He is not much seen as the others, but together with the team, he is also not overshadowed.

My two cents on LTG, such a character wasted.. Maybe they should have cast a better actor, or better gave the character more depth.

With the exception of that one character, everyone is perfect for their roles.

I will probably rewatch this after sometime...or just a compilation of the sweet moments between RY and NYZ,

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Prepare the tissues

This drama has to be one of my favorites this year. The action, the story and the characters I love it all. Just when you think you know what will happen you don’t, and all the characters grow exponentially from when we first meet them.

Everyone has a reason for why they do what they did. I haven’t been this invested in ALL the characters of a drama for a long time. You become very attached to them, even some characters you wouldn’t expect to like.

Don’t let reviews about the ending put you off this drama.

Yes the ending is sad but it honestly makes sense why things happen the way they did. At the end of the day the main cast were assassins and spies, their endings were very befitting of them.

The music truly brings the mood together, the sound effects are perfect. Especially the funny ones.

The acting was amazing, I can’t see anyone else play these characters and give them justice . The actors were perfect for their respective roles.

I honestly recommend this drama even though i’m not personally a fan of sad endings this is worth it.

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it gave me whiplash so bad I got amnesia and forgot all the reasons why I loved it - A Rant

FYI: this is mostly a rant on the ending with a LOT of spoilers, please don't read it unless you've watched the drama.

Something light to begin with... the OST was good... until they played it at least four times each episode. Damn, tone it down a bit will ya?! The foreshadowing in the lyrics is another story, lol.

Now let's get to ranting:
If a sad ending is done well within one episode, I'll cry and rate the drama highly because I remember the good times but if a drama gives you whiplash and throws a million plot turns and character deaths your way for 6 hours straight I just get angry and mad.
One could search for the reason, is it censorship that doesn't allow for more than 40 episodes? So they squeezed all of their plot into the last 10 episodes... or is it because in historical c-dramas characters who (visibly) kill a lot on screen, whilst not being a general or something of that sort, have to die in the end? Who knows.

Once again we've gone through hell the last few episodes only to see a weird fever dream-esque scene, that will divide viewers for eternity, debating whether it's some "secret happy ending".
But don't get fooled... we've seen this happen one too many times to know better... to know that (especially) costume dramas tend to have this type of ending when the broadcasting platforms realize that they've got gold in their hand and want to keep the hype alive, even after finishing. Because who would try and find clues about a possible happy ending, if there wasn't this all-so-kind little scene at the end, so that we - the viewer - can ponder about the ultimate fate of the characters we grew to love, for days and months to come?

Frankly, I am sick of this sh't and if you are going to make a sad ending at least have the guts to not ruin it like that.
This drama was wonderful and if the last 2 episodes would have been sad - so be it - but for it to have 9 episodes of war, death and destruction... completely washed away any love I had for it. I'll give it an 8.5/10 regardless, since it ended up on my top 2 2023 dramas list (until today) and for that it deserves some respect.

Some things that angered me a lot :
EP29/30 we suddenly got a new CP, Yu Shisan and Chu Yue. Very surprising and thrown at us a bit like a curve ball. Nonetheless I quickly grew to love these 2 together. Now looking back at it, they rushed it way too much, should have been a red flag right away. Brings me back to my point earlier... I believe because of the 40ep cap, they cut or shortened this CP's story by a lot and just kept the essential... which doesn't work for romance. Especially not if you have a flirty playboy. No way he's gonna get whipped like that so fast. And then they didnt see each other for 8 episodes and guess what? we didn't even see their reunion! They just suddenly stood next to each other... but their dialogue gave away that there must have been scenes in between we didn't get to see. Poor girl didn't even get her father's necklace back.
Then for ep31-32 the narrator suddenly took over and things happened super fast without actually showing the scenes. That was very strange. Sure, dramas speed up at the end but they ALWAYS have a few calm moments in between. Not here. Because even if one character is sitting down for a moment, you can be certain another one is dying on the battle field in this very instance.
Plot armor, oh thy holy plot armor has done us so good for 30 episodes. What happened? Characters dropping like flies left and right. And then the big show down. Can I even call it that? Because by ep40, we've been through at least four show downs in the last 10 episodes. When the last 3 characters die, the scenes speed up even more and while we got 10 minutes to mourn the previous deaths and seen it in slo-mo, that is denied for the final 3. To be quite realistic, non the deaths were important to the story for the way it was going 30 episodes in. You can't tell me all those twists and turns of war and bloodshed was vital to the story. I mean... it even made me forget half of what happened before because it crashed, burned and set everything ablaze. Just as I am writing this rant I start to remember the good things earlier on. Is there such a thing as drama-trauma?

Lastly. No baby making was involved in this drama. That right there is where everything went wrong (if you know, you know)
'enough said. I'm just really let down by this ending. Heck, not even ending! The issue is it was 9 episodes of pure torture!
I watched Goodbye My Princess and The Rise of Phoenixes, but neither of them had such a butchering of main characters.

'since everyone in this drama got stabbed, why not stab the audience too?' - the makers of this drama probably.

post-ending clarity edit: The acting was really good, I loved the character dynamics and the lack of certain tropes. Loved how strong the girls were and the unconventional love story. Just everything after ep30 sucked.
My ideal ending, even with accepting losses, would have been blind YSS & Chu Yue to make it out alive and together… their story was cut short and I felt the most heartbreak about the "the one that got away“ situation. And of course our leads NYZ&RY to get away and live their life.
Or even an action movie type ending where everything settles down and suddenly they get a "call“ to save someone - the end! So their lives will go on and it’s not so final but rather their story continues off screen.

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I held on as long as I could

I love the male lead and like the female lead as well but her character makes me
want to turn my tv off. She did look down on those under her. I feel she did
treat people under her like they wasn't anything. Like she was all that and as
when she was out drinking with the girls her attitude was she's the shit and
the people that had been under her was nothing and she could talk to them
anyway she wanted. Even though that chick under her was trash I'm surprised
something like this hasn't happened to her long ago. Overall I really didn't like
the female leads character at all when she was in the big city and my dislike for
her got worse once she went home to the small town. All she did was hide and whine
about what happened to her instead of fighting. I mean damn she worked hard to get
where she was right? It took her mother to drag her out to set the record straight to all
the gossiping people around town and word of what her mother said quickly spread like
wild fire🤦🏼‍♀️. Six eps in and this is definitely NOT a show that I would rewatch hell I'm struggling to
make it to the end of this. I won't go into any long details about what I think of this after giving it two more eps but I did at least hang in there half way through. I really wanted to stick this out because of the leads but I'm just not feeling it.

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Entertaining Ensemble

When you're trying to tell seven different stories in twelve episodes and make sure that watchers will love and sympathize with the characters, it's always a balancing act.

Wednesday Club came pretty close.

I started watching this series shortly after the second episode aired, so this time I had to do the Weekly Wait thing rather than binge.

I'm going to watch it again, and I'm going to binge.

The premise of the story is pretty relatable--lonely people get together and form friendships that then start to effect the lives of all seven of them. Granted, this is done to varying degrees, and there are a couple of episodes where one of them(usually Mac or Pali) didn't do much other than take up space on the screen, but it was still entertaining to see what hijinks everyone else was getting up to.

Pali's storyline was a little bit flat, and I felt kind of bad that Nani didn't really have much to do in the series other than stand quietly in a corner(at least for the first half), but once Mink showed up, Pali had more to do, and that helped. One thing I'm starting to figure out about Nani is that he when he gets a script and character that mesh with his acting style, he's GOLD, and when he gets one that's...a little bit of a mess he misses by *that much*. I hope "High School Frenemy" is the former, cause Nani can deliver snarky and dry asides really well, and this series looks like it'll be full of them(and Kay is in that one too!).

Tam's story made me cry. I mean, how much shit can this poor girl go through in one series? Apparently, a lot. Her struggles with finding her place in her family, and her relationship with her grandmother hit me right in the feels and when she sobbed after she was literally alone in the hospital I did too( and it's REALLY HARD to watch something when you can't see the screen through your tears, so that episode took a little longer to watch). Film delivered the way she always does.

I....could not sympathize with Kul. Like at all. I tried, I really did, because I love watching Phuwin, but something(maybe the way Kul was written?) just didn't vibe with me. That being said, Phuwin played Kul to the hilt and even if the character was unevenly written and his storyline was kind of a mess, Phuwin's acting was not.

May and Pheem are the cutest couple ever. Their relationship stays low-key without getting to over the top dramatic and makes me grin like an idiot. Also, when may meets Pheem's older brother and has a day out with him made me awwwwwwwwwwwww. Satag and Piploy should be paired together more often, cause their chemistry is fantastic and natural.

Kong. What can I say about Kong. I---kind of wanted him to get up to more hi-jinks, I guess? I mean, the opening shot of Ohm and Nani running down the street in their birthday suites was GOLD, but then it all seemed to peter out, and I wanted Kong to do more to move the plot along. He did, sort of, in later episodes, but he was spurred on by the other characters, which was a little bit of let down.

Having just come from "Home School", the best surprise for me was Kay's performance as Mac. This is a complete one eighty from Hugo and Kay is so good! Rather than wanting to shake him like I did in "Home School", I wanted to hug him. He was so sweet and humble and the look Mac gave Venus when he was in trouble broke my heart. As an added bonus, sometimes when Kay was on the screen as Mac, then AJ and JJ were there too(as Ma Han and Wang Chao, two other boys who are not in the Wednesday Club, but are close friends of Mac) so it was kind of fun to see the three of them again(they were also in Home School together).

I didn't read the novel, but being a writer I know how difficult it can be to balance multiple storylines and make them stick. "Wednesday Club" came close(although, as with "Home School" they did the "girls gets shot protecting her friends" trope which was kind of a cop out, but I went with it), so I'm watching it again when I need fluffy messy entertainment.

And I'll also rewatch for Kay and Satang and Piploy and Film, because their performances were !!!!!!!!!!!

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I thought I’d like it more

My history with kdramas is not long but I have watched a few and I have my favourites and the few that I did not like that much. I thought this one would belong to my favourites based on the hype but I feel like it did not deliver. The actors were great, the story had potential but something is definitely missing.

First of all, I think the main couple did not have that much chemistry. I love Jo Bo-ah and her character here but I think she looked much better with Rowoon. It was much more believable in Destined with you that they are an ill-fated couple who love each other so much.

In Tale of the Nine-tailed the what kept me with the drama was actually Rang and Yeon’s relationship as brothers. I felt more emotion and complex brotherly love and it was the highlight of the story.

ML and FL are both great actors, loved their performance but something just didn’t click for me with them. It was still enjoyable and watched it fairly quickly, but will not be my favourite for sure. Though I think I’ll watch S2 as I saw the reviews are much better.

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Basically a cute dumpster fire

I think most students learn to write summary statements for stories in elementary/secondary school, if I recall correctly; sadly, this one would be unbearably difficult to write one for. Perhaps it's the poor writing, or the combination of fluff scenes with no intention/purpose whatsoever and a typical, overdone romance plot... or is it the absolute empty-headedness behind each and every one of the supposedly intelligent characters? Regardless, these factors make for a drama with a storyline held together by a single thread and simply not worth watching.

Where do I even start? Ah, maybe the characters that are so easily contemptible...

The FL has got to be one of the most braindead characters I have ever seen. Going into the drama's first few episodes, admittedly, I was pretty interested in her- what's not to like about a smart, strong, bubbly, yet ambitious female lead? With most C-dramas portraying the FLs as weaker, cutesy (at best), and mellow (not that there's anything wrong with that), this one was a promising change of pace where the FL (Zheng Shu Yi) chased the ML and established herself in a difficult career... but oh. OH. Now, we're flopping. By episode 26, ZSY became absolutely unbearable. She did not represent any love or affection, loyalty or caring, etc. towards the male lead more so than a warning against all male audience members against similar women (oh, the woe). She ended up going out a couple times with another man during the 'break-up, cold shoulder stage of all C-dramas that we just can't do without apparently', who she knew harbored romantic interest for her. But of course, we have the ML to love her despite all her brainlessness and lack of morality...

The ML, Shi Yan, could easily be the subject of a tragic love story- one of unrequited love. While you could say some of the relationship faults (communication, etc.) were his, he probably didn't deserve what he got from the naive female lead. Furthermore, his lack of personality and development just did not make him stand out... at this point I remember only that he's quite good-looking and one of those 'tsundere' (in anime terms) characters that pop up here and there.

With that being said, the side characters do manage to salvage the show. The second lead couple is cute and depicted realistically, and over time, I just wanted more screen time for them and less for the main pairing. This one's worth watching, especially to get to know the lesser known female actress who does a beautiful job portraying the bubbly, warm, and affectionate Qin Shi Yue.

I guess that's about it for the characters. Moving on the story, it was more of a culmination of fluff scenes (with no real purpose in the development of the characters' relationships) and every dumpster-fire trope (love triangles, distrust, break-up and then back together, etc.) that's ever existed. It's not really worth paying attention to, and beyond the love story, there isn't much to explain about the story. It's not particularly memorable, either... actually, it's just pretty terrible. The holes and lack of logic is too much for even me (who fills in most logical gaps for shows because I notice them easily).

BUT, this drama does have a saving grace.

To those who love an eye-candy main pairing and cute scenes, some of the scenes are cute enough to watch separate from the drama and the two lead actors do a great job for what they're given. Bai Lu's wonderful (as always) and Wang Hedi portrayed Shi Yan handsomely (though it's not like I couldn't imagine another actor doing the job). The 2nd leads were wonderful as well (Shen Yu Jie particularly), and I would definitely look to find more of her shows.

The music isn't bad either, and reminds me of the typical modern-drama music. Nothing special about it, but definitely nothing bad either. The lyrics are pretty cute for what it's worth and the songs are not absolutely terrible to listen to : )

So, to conclude this long review (hopefully not to boring), you should watch this only if you like cute scenes between two very charming actors. Or, if you watch just the beginning episodes, it's bound to be nice. But if you want a drama that you remember until the end of time, or one with beautiful writing, or one with a realistic, logical love story, please, PLEASE do not watch this. There are better things to spend your time on.

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Lawless flower

It's safe to say I hit a wall around episode 9-10 of that drama. Everything felt like a lullaby—monotone and sleep-inducing. Later on, things didn't improve much, but I guess I sort of got used to the dreariness. However, that last episode was a total distaste. It crammed in so much last-minute chaos and then ended with an unsatisfying departure that seemed like an afterthought. There were two things I hated in particular about this drama that were too glaring to ignore and subsequently detracted a lot from the drama, not that it was gonna be something spectacular without them anyway. The gags/comedic-relief moments accompanied by the unpleasant comedy cue made going through the episodes just a tad bit tougher than it already was. The other reason was Sung Ji Hun in general, the man sucks on a cosmic level, both the character and the actor. It would have been infinitely better to completely strip the drama from this deplorable attempted romance. Any love triangle that involves Choi Tae Joon is usually an unquestionable bad time right out of the gate.

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Well conveyed dreams

The series are unique depiction of job searching company. This alone attract my interest to take a sip on it. Good narrative has protagonist and antagonist to create tension along the story arcs. While the dorama has protagonists, the antagonist remained on first arc. Subsequent arcs do not have any antagonists, so we won't find any common tension found in normal stories. I suppose the early antagonist was created as pilot propelling the story abound. That being said, the story keep intriguing to the end. You see, this was relayed as episodic journal of job seekers. Yes, single job seeker per episode. Although some episodes intertwined couple clients, like the final one.

Theme per episode has practical wisdom in it, usually in ML line within the episode. FL said the theme line once to show how she had groomed to a full-fledged career advisor. The story actually shown that ML returned favor for FL, previously saved him from despair albeit she didn't remember initially. It was beautifully construct, subtle and strike to the heart. To summarize the arcs:
1. FL succumbed from blood-sucking job and superior.
2. FL started job in her aunt company.
3. FL gradually healed, both her mental and physical. She can actually taste again!
4. ML-FL growing bonds, attraction tension.
5. Third party MS interested in FL.
6. Aforementioned MS inducted to regulars.
7. Closure to ML past and properly healed by FL.
However, due to time constraint some segments seemingly forced and like too easily flipped. That is one of my complaints.

Acting of both leads are top notch, very natural. You can see the relationship curves so smooth. From slight chemistry to strong close ones. This was my first exposure to Fuka Koshiba, I am impressed. I will watch her next in Nami yo Kiitekure. Then again, because of the episodic nature of the dorama they need different guests per episode to cast in. This is hit and miss, some are good some are not so good. To sum them all it was so-so, a pity should they have brought stronger guests the impact of the episodes would be more gritty.

Opening theme portrays ML characteristics, funny I say listening them for so long. Ending theme got mellow hinting romantic. I have no objection of both, seen coloring the dorama atmosphere.

Should I rewatch them? I rarely rewatch doramas, but this one I will save it for later due the unique theme it brings.

ps: thank you for fatemasubs subbing project I can watch them in delight!

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they took all that potential and threw it out the window

You've got two cuties, at least one of them with stunning visuals, and you just kind of dropped the ball.

The story wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I like a childhood sweetheart type of trope, especially when they meet again after years. But this one didn't really make much sense, and they didn't build the story enough to make it mean much. The office romance aspect was cute but just.. there was no point to it. I honestly wonder if they wrote all of the "fun" scenes before writing the story, and then wrote a story so they could showcase some of those scenes.

The acting was... okay. Honestly after watching a couple of clips, I thought the chemistry was going to be fire, but it was just meh. There were some tense scenes, but they had such potential to do more with these actors, it was super disappointing. Personally was not a huge fan of the main character, he was the damsel in distress type that can't do anything himself, and the times you're supposed to see him as "cool", you're really just watching him be saved by other people.

Overall it wasn't the worst, but you could definitely do without watching the whole thing, even with how short it is. Out of all the KBLs I've seen, this one is probably lowest on the list.

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The best C-drama probably until the end of time

I've written a review for my other favorite, TTEOTM, and decided I should write one about this one (I watched it years ago).
If TTEOTM was a culmination of arcs and ideas that were exploited satisfyingly (albeit with some plot problems), this one seemed to start at a single point and expand outward relentlessly from there. The pacing is intense and substantive, the story is complex and masterful, and the acting is nothing short of wonderful. Very rarely do elements come together to form what could be an alternate universe or a chapter in history... Nirvana in Fire manages this, and is probably thus one of the best dramas I've personally ever watched.

Where to even start? Probably the story, the most wonderful thing about this drama. Although this meets the eye as the typical revenge plot with an ambitious strategist as the protagonist, there's so much nuance and many dynamics under the surface level that truly connect the dots together. How Lin Shu's history is intertwined with the present for many characters including Jingyan is beautiful, and the little twists and schemes involved (completely impossible but riveting) from how Mei Chang Su deals with Nihuang's suitor contest to how his aid towards Prince Yu helps Prince Jing is magnificent. Not only are the details critical and brilliant, they play a tremendous role in how the drama ultimately develops. Despite the numerous arcs, etc. that are present in the drama, they still fit into the narrative on how Lin Shu achieves his revenge goal. The writing in between, including the dialogue and script, excellently achieves this effect (not sure how the countless translated captions fare in corroborating the intent of the original script... watched this in Mandarin). Cleverness and wit are woven into every aspect of this drama and its characters' motivations (they all make sense given the time, personality, etc.). How the drama doesn't seem forced (besides its pacing at times) as well as the plot's fluidity is really impressive storytelling; it's also what separates this from similarly good Wuxia/Xianxia that doesn't reach its heights.

That being said, its complexity makes elements of the plot sometimes difficult to remember beyond the initial watching. That makes it satisfying to rewatch, and every rewatch I still find myself astounded by the numerous twists and ideas present. Given this, know that I watch a drama for the ideas and cleverness more so than the execution/logical sense (this one for the most part fulfills both, but there are some plot holes you find if you think carefully enough), and therefore I'd probably enjoy gripping stories much more than most/prioritize them over other things to make/break a drama.

I guess that's enough time spent on the story. I think the second thing to note here is the acting.

To be fair, there isn't much character development in most of the characters more than a change of motivations/desires, etc. I do think the characters fit perfectly with the setting and situation, but for those looking for those coming-of-age/character development arc dramas, this one is probably less so your thing... I'd push you to TTEOTM to see Tantai Jin if you wanted to see character development. The characters are mostly well developed already in this drama, and because of the abundance of motivations and schematics, it's hard to follow individual characters throughout (even the protagonist).

Given this, I don't think this drama would be a rave review for any individual actor. Instead, the entire cast does a great job portraying their parts to really make this story work. From Xia Jiang to Xie Yu (antagonists along the way), the antagonists of this drama are played amazingly. Their micro expressions, desperation, and different emotions are played realistically and believably for the plights they find themselves in. I do think a special shoutout has to go to Victor Huang who plays Prince Yu; his scenes are done beautifully to portray a pompous and crafty prince who eventually devolves into resignation. Additionally, the characters really do interact with the story and plot's purposes, something that I find often missing from a drama. The protagonists are played similarly well, with Mei Chang Su (Hu Ge) displaying the depth needed for a sick strategist who needs to finish one final task. He did remind me of Tantai Jin (Til the End of the Moon), but this one is significantly less dramatic of a portrayal (I think it's fair for the role Mei Chang Su plays) and therefore also less memorable. It's great acting nonetheless, and other protagonists like Consort Jing do really come alive with the acting of a splendid (and very expensive) cast.

Finally, I'll talk about the OST a little. I personally quite enjoyed the song 红颜旧 sung by Liu Tao (plays Mu Nihuang) and think the majority of the songs are quite pleasant. I did enjoy their melodies although I oftentimes found the singing subpar (that's okay, I do think it's more representative of the cast when sung by the cast). It's one of the great OSTs I've heard, despite having few songs. I wouldn't watch it for the OST (like I would Love Between Fairy and Devil), but it's kind of a bonus :)

Definitely the best drama I've ever watched and will be coming back to it over and over again.

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'if this tragedy is end of our story'

this is one of the best c drama i have seen so far. the acting, writing, cinematography and the badass female lead and male lead with great visuals , strong characters with great character development nothing was miss for even a moment. i have to specially say the soundtrack was great just as the our female lead li yu shi shi as the ruyi and the liu yu ning as ning yuan zhou even though it's his first main lead character drama which was best start to him. the personality of the leads match perfectly just as they both fierce and skilled,stunning,elegent.
'one is ruthless and other is even more ruthless' as yu shi san said. this drama mainly started with the political war struggle of the An and Wu state,and the final struggle with beipan army which cause the tragic. the former scarlet guard left emissary named ruyi as FL who ruthless yet lethal and beautiful just as her and the liudao hall commander liu yu ning the skilled leader of 8 paths not least but he's brothers which was highlight in whole story and uncontrollably bond of them.the martial arts skilled was just nothing left to answer,absoulute the best.
the ending was tragic but the story is great yet best martial arts and teamwork,romance that 100 % worthy. definitelyyyy recommenddddd ! .
i cried long time as i came the end of the drama but still seem to can't get over with because i hoped for their happy ending every time, even though most of time the best c dramas ends with sad and tragic ending but this drama hit the spot.

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