Lots of people have a problem with the pacing, but I don't find anything wrong with it at all. Every character is introduced properly and every plan/ruse is explained thoroughly, and the main story directly starts at ep 1.
I see ppl say that you need a bit of brain with this story. Common sense you mean.
Yes, the wording the characters use is difficult, but guys we have English subtitles come on.
The plot is entertaining and not draggy at all. A power fight between princes with lots of conspiracies. I don't mind slow/too little romance. This is indeed about the relationship between Ning Yi and WeiZhi, but there is much more between them than only romance. I also can't stand too much sugar so thank god.
I guess too many people are used to dog blood shit 24/7, aka that either someone dies or some love affair happens every chapter. Well excuse you because this is some mature and realistic shit. Not saying that those dog blood stuff are bad, but don't rate this bad because you don't like these types of serious stories. It's like talking bad about a romance story while not liking romance.
The plot starts great, gets better in the middle but towards the end it declines. At the beginning you mainly see Ning Yi succeeding, and just as I was so done with the MC-only-wins stuff, he finally encountered trouble which made everything more exciting. But as the ending neared, I could feel that characters without proper backgrounds were added just to fulfil certain events of the story, and that events happened for literally no reason at all (aka the ending) just because the scriptwriter wanted it to end that way. But thank god all this rush only happened at the end.
There are many good written characters, with proper background and development. Especially Ning Yi, who's a multilayered anti-hero, who accepts and respects the FL's decisions instead of planning out her life for her.
But some characters annoyed tf out of me. Do guys like girls (aka Shaoning and Si Yanle or smthn) who are stupid and ask for trouble all the time, and thinks that everybody should listen to them? Cuz if that's the case I can at least understand.
Another down point was ZhiWei's character. She's like book-smart but not practise-smart, which rly annoyed me bc like choose a side, u stupid or not? Her storyline had 0 contribution to the powerplay in the beginning, which is why it bored me. But that's just my personal preference. She did develop a bit in the practise-smart area, but that still couldn't save my annoyance.
The acting is so on point. I can't talk enough about Chen Kun's acting. Apparently people find his acting overdone in the beginning. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE OVERDONE BC NING YI IS ACTING LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF HIS BROTHERS ON PURPOSE FOR FUCKS SAKE.
As said before, Ning Yi is ultra multi-layered, and Chen Kun is able to act out all those layers while making sure that he is still playing ONE character (with that I mean that he doesn't act every layer individually as if he's acting lots of characters). Ning Yi's fake crying is funny af, while his true crying looks so real it makes your heart ache.
Chen Kun's acting in this drama is phenomenal, especially towards the end when Ning Yi let out all his emotions.
Other major character's actors are on point too. Ni Ni's WeiZhi looks real. You know someone is good when they can repeatedly cry and make it look real (cuz crying seems rly difficult in the industry cough cough).
Also I never knew Bai Jingting could act so well.
HOWEVER some actors weren't good at al. I hate it when producers (aka all producers) don't make an effort to regulate the acting of small side characters.
I have nothing to say about the music. It wasn't bad, wasn't ear-catching either. It suited and supported the story normally when it could.
9.5/10.
Would've been a 10 if WeiZhi's character didn't bore/annoy me in the beginning and if the ending wasn't rushed.
To conclude I love the tenth prince.
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So memorable that I can't remember
Throughout the entire series, the most memorable part of the series is how unmemorable the series was. Maybe I wasn't entirely invested in the drama like other people, but I went through the drama in such a daze. Now, don't get me wrong, the drama had an intricate plot and is overall great, there's a lot of things happening that made me get - essentially- "lost in the sauce." This drama requires so much attention and thought to follow up with the plot that it can sometimes become more tiresome than enjoyable. BUT keep in mind this is my experience WHILE WATCHING the drama. Looking back on it as a whole, I can confidently say this drama IS WORTH THE WATCH. The settings/sets are spectacular, the costumes are superb, and the acting is simply top-notch. (There is a little overacting from the ML, but it's honestly not a big deal). As a lover of historical dramas in general, this drama is one of the best I've watched in a while. A lot of historical dramas nowadays incorporate wuxia (which I really don't like), but this drama kept it real (real as in no guys flying all over the place). But a disclaimer: although there is a romance tag, it's more political and a lot less romance.If you've read up to here, you might have thought "wow this person just said its a bad drama but also a good drama? like wtheck?" And yes, I did give this drama a high rating because of the quality of it. Simply my experience was not good in the beginning but as the drama slowly came to an end, I came to enjoy it fully. It definitely takes time to grow on you but push through till the end. You may or may not be satisfied, but still, give it a shot and you'll understand.
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A gripping story
This is a gripping story told at a good pace. The twists and turns of the plot and the action have a good flow. One can see that great attention was paid to the period costumes and sets, the palaces are beautiful and the houses are genuine rather than computer generated.It is not just a love story, it's mostly a political story which encompasses vicious struggle for power, misplaced loyalties and fatalistic acceptances, but there it has humour too.
Handsome Ning Yi is an almost neurotic prince with lofty ideals and clever scheming with the collusion of the superb Head of Qingming Academy, Xin Zi Yan. One particular highlight is his return from Minhai to the capital as he rushes to and enters the palace to save the woman he loves, Zhi Wei. She's an interesting character, strong and independent, at times irritating, ugly when impersonating a man and yet beautiful when she is herself. The tormented Gu Yan is a quiet but powerful character and Zhi Wei's bodyguard, Gu Nan Yi, is very huggable. The not so likeable Emperor character is excellently played by Ni Da Hong.
I have not read the book, but I understand this ending is not the same as in the book. In my humble opinion the chosen ending is hurried and it feels like a let down.
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This review may contain spoilers
My lowest review ever, unfortunately.
So, where should i begin. I was minding my own business enjoying this 70 episode Cdrama, and then the final episode came, and the last 5 mins of the show, and that ruined everything for me.This could has easily become one if the great historical drama out there, the acting was phenomenal, i loved the ML and i loved the FL, i loved the story, i loved the chemistry and relationship between the leads as well. i loved the costumes and all the political stuff too, and I don't usually like those, but it was great.
But.... like are you kidding me, after everything that happened, the way it ended was sooo sad and disappointing. I kinda understand that there was too much animosity between the fallen kingdom and the current one, but to end like that, after all the ML did to save and protect her, after so many people died for her, I couldn't think anything else but that I ⁷wasted 70 hours of my life for such a sad and depressing ending. Maybe if it had been done a different way, but the way it was done, it wasnt worth it for me. That last scene with FL it ruined all for me and i felt like i wasted my time. They went through way too much and too many people died for her to end that way.
We all have our own preference, so the ending isn't a happy one, not only that its just tragic so watch on your own accord.
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First of all, it was different from any other Chinese drama ive watched so far. It was kind of Hollywood way, great photography, no fake CGIs, great montage, minimal clothing, hair and scenery, but yet impressive!
As for the male lead, Chen Kun he rocked! I mean, he gave the character its full lenght, and even more! Charming, expressive, handsome in every way. He is also very interesting as a person as ive seen in some interviews.
I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to see quality drama and i ll definitely rewatch!
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This review may contain spoilers
PSA on the Dangers of Method Acting
The plot of this show seems complex and intriguing. I love dramas with politics, intrigue, and schemes galore. But this drama showed me I have a firm line on crazy. ***SPOILER**** I get acting like you've lost it when playing the long game. hell yeah. do you scheme it up. but my dude - it's too far. THOSE CRAZY EYES HAUNT ME. He didn't just dip his toe in crazy he did a full belly flop in the deep end of lunatic. There's absolutely no subltety or nuance to the performance. Just absolutely insane, creepy eyes. His unhinged acting takes me out of the story. I'm so distracted from the overacting I can't enjoy or focus on anything else than his one-dimensional portrayal. It's painful to watch.I don't know if this was method acting gone wrong (the actor or the character) but fam this is not it.
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This review may contain spoilers
História desnecessariamente longa, que a torna maçante e as vezes sem nexo, pq ela é focada muito no lado político e em conspirações pelo poder. Atuação do atores é muito boa, o ator principal da show. ---------------- Alerta de Spoiler --------------
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Final sem graça e infeliz. Não recomendo, não vale a pena o tempo perdido para ver estes 70 episódios, se ele fosse resumido, todo enredo caberia em 10 eps ou menos (copiando o estilo japonês de quantidade de episódios/drama), pelo menos a trama teria mais ritmo, seria empolgante, e com certeza seria menos cansativo e sem o efeito sonífero.
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Des personnages d’une rare complexité Le véritable cœur de la série n’est ni l’intrigue politique, ni la romance. C’est l’étude de deux personnages brillants, brisés, et irrémédiablement liés. Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni) : Intelligente, mesurée, lucide — un personnage féminin qui n’a pas besoin d’être idéalisé pour captiver. Son parcours est une montée silencieuse, une prise de pouvoir méthodique, sans jamais sacrifier sa dignité. Ning Yi (Chen Kun) : Stratège redoutable, héritier blessé, prince imprévisible. Sa performance ne cherche pas à plaire, mais à dominer l’écran — et elle y parvient. Leur relation n’est pas une romance au sens traditionnel. C’est une lutte d’égal à égal, un respect mutuel qui évolue vers quelque chose de plus profond, de plus douloureux, de plus vrai.
Une lenteur assumée, jamais gratuite Beaucoup qualifieront cette série de "lente". Ils auront raison — mais ce serait une erreur de voir cela comme un défaut. Cette lenteur est une stratégie narrative. Elle donne du poids au silence, de l’importance aux regards, de la crédibilité aux choix politiques et émotionnels des personnages. Ici, la tension naît de la retenue, et l’émotion ne jaillit pas : elle s’accumule, jusqu’à l’inévitable rupture.
Une œuvre d’art visuelle et sonore Chaque plan est une peinture. Chaque costume, une déclaration. Chaque composition visuelle a un sens narratif. Rien n’est laissé au hasard, et surtout pas la beauté. Le travail de William Chang (direction artistique et costumes) mérite d’être salué. Cette série est esthétiquement l’une des plus abouties jamais produites en Chine. La musique, quant à elle, ne souligne jamais les émotions — elle les enveloppe, subtilement, comme un écho lointain.
Un final impitoyable, fidèle à sa logique Oui, la fin divise. Elle déstabilise parce qu’elle ne cherche pas à rassurer. Elle ne récompense pas l’attachement du spectateur avec un “happy end” facile. Elle le confronte aux conséquences, à la douleur, à la réalité du pouvoir. C’est une conclusion tragique — mais nécessaire. Et surtout, cohérente avec tout ce que la série a construit pendant plus de 70 épisodes.
Conclusion The Rise of Phoenixes n’est pas un divertissement léger. C’est une œuvre exigeante, ambitieuse et profondément maîtrisée. Elle ne plaira pas à tout le monde, et c’est précisément ce qui la rend si précieuse. Ce n’est pas un drame qui cherche à être aimé. C’est un drame qui cherche à être grand. Et il y parvient.
Revoir ? Absolument. Pas pour comprendre ce que j'ai manqué, mais pour admirer ce que la série n’a jamais raté.
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Me gusto que fuera un drama con casi nula fantasía ( inmortales , poderes , etc) ya que lo único fuera de la realidad era el vinculo padre - hijo .
El elenco muy bien elegido , los actores principales tenían mucha química y al no ser un drama de romance esta química hacia creíble la relación entre estos 2 .Es decir si estas buscando escenas románticas este no es tu drama .
La música ambiental esta justo para cada escena , pero a mi que me gustan los OST me falto una con letra llamativa para recordar el drama .
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El final no es el mejor de el mundo pero bueno masomenos es lo que se espera ya en determinado momento del drama.
Pd: ame la sonrisa de la protagonista, es hermosa , una excelente actuación de su parte igualmente del protagonista masculino, una excelente actuación.
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I expected a lot but i'm so disappointed
I finished watching the first 8 episodes. Still I can't really love this drama as much as the previous 5 cdramas i watched before. I cant get excited each episodes unlike other cdramas i have watched. The episodes are full of conversations. Like the fighting is once in a blue moon. I think I may stop watching at episode 8. I downloaded the eps via netflix up to episode 10. It is such a waste to delete the remaining episodes. But i really expected a lot from it, since i have seen lot of good reviews here on mydramalist and comments on youtube but I just don't like the plot. I also read, this drama has lot of restrictions from the government? Such a waste.Was this review helpful to you?
