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High Expectations Fell Flat
I went into this directly after having watched Eternal Love, so I really did have high expectations going in due to how much I liked the two of them in Eternal Love.I really, really wanted to like this. This drama...... I know this is based on a novel, but I feel they could have cut down on 10-20 episodes and it would have made it so much better to watch. This drama, to me, felt painfully slow. There was just so much filler fluff to me, and the humour in it felt so forced that I couldn't laugh. I still enjoyed the relationship between Dong Hua and Feng Jiu, but that was basically the only thing that kept me watching. Their acting was decent, but the acting for most of the others was painful and amateur - and I'm not even sure if this is just them or also due to a bad script.
I get this is like a 3 worlds thing, but the latter part of the show where they were in the dream world, I just did not care about at all. They really tried to get me invested in their alternate universe selves who I had absolutely no attachment to, just because they looked the same as the main characters. I liked the two main leads due to their personalities as themselves, and not as other people, so it was a definite miss for me.
The main couple had their sweet moments that kept me going but everything else was a pass, which is a shame, The OST also wasn't as good as the one for Eternal Love, which was disappointing. All in all, lacklustre drama and acting.
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If you didn't read the book, please read the book first.
This is different types of drama. No connection between old drama Eternal Love. And this drama follow the real novel.Story: Story is too deep. The novel has promising story.
Acting: overall good. Acting is developing carecter by carecter. Leading role are so good at acting.
OST/Music/Song: Too good. All musics are heart touching.❤️ Better than Enternal love.
VFX, graphics, animation all are good. Better than Eternal love. The fox is quite good. And fox animation is so natural.
Colour gradient too good. This is so charming for eyes. Totally eye catching.
Story, acting, VFX, graphics all over first class. I think leading role will be acting 3 different types carecter. I must say that this pillow book is so good. And I cannot wait for next episodes.
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This drama maybe start a little bit slow for some people but for me was cute and funny, not everyone will have the same taste. But if you are patience a little bit you will find the story really interesting. Fengjiu and Donghua story is totally worth and you will melt in sugar every time you watch those two spread love everywhere.
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This review may contain spoilers
Positive: Vengao and Dilraba were made for the role. They are superb actors, attractive and have good chemistry. I love the concept of a masculine, intelligent ML, and a feminine FL, though they could make her a bit smarter. Donghua/Fengjiu characters are closest to my ideal kind of lead. (My pet peeve is pale, waif-like male leads.)Negative: You could probably skip half of the first part of the drama. Many concepts are inconsistent, not very well explained, not very well done, and character development is not so good; the reason for their actions are not believable.
Music: It's ok. Not the best like Love and Destiny. The only songs I really liked is "Book of Fate" and "Heart's Desire at Peace". Dilraba naturally has a good voice when she speaks, but her singing needs to improve.
This drama was a disappointment to me. I really wanted to like it because of the cast, and because I liked the Donghua character and story in "Legends of the Eight Immortals", and feel this drama did not compare. That drama's love story made more sense, not wishy washy like this drama. But in truth the TMOPB dramas are over-hyped. I feel the storylines are wish-washy and inconsistent. For this drama, it felt like watching a really bad 80s movie, where the concepts are all over and nothing made sense except just watching two beautiful people on screen.
They tried a similar misunderstanding at the end, like TMOPB, but it was awful. First, Donghua is a very upfront and direct person. He does not hide his sufferings or hardship like Ye Hua, so it didn't makes sense for him not to share the problems at the end with Feng Jiu. Donghua is a very aloof, reserve person. When he loves and trust someone, he is open and direct with them. But when he doesn't trust or know you, then he doesn't say much. So being he loves and trusts Feng jiu, he would have shared what was going on with her.
Second, Feng Jiu is inlove with Donghua, she would chase him to the end of the world, as long as he doesn't tell her he doesn't want her. Well, he didn't, so she would have stayed. So these are inconsistent with the personality of the character. Another criticism is Dilraba looks the part, but sometimes her expression does not show how much inlove she is with him.
And there's more inconsistency in the scripts and actions, this why I give it a low score. Please re-make with same lead!!! LOL.
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The costumes are ok, no big deal at least for me. The CGI is really good and the scenery is beautiful, totally different for TMOPB. The scenery in ELOD is more realistic (at least I see it like that) the Fox world ( I know the name bit can’t write well) is beautiful.
The Characters are great, even the news ones. Their acting are really good and make you feel the moment. A’li is adorable <3
I can’t wait for the rest of the episodes, As a one that read the novel 2 times already knows that this drama is worth watching it. Highly recommend.
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This drama is beautiful, touching, and you get to experience love and trial throughout three different lives. Fengjiu and Donghua story can be recapped as a deep love with shallow fate. Bittersweet.
Story:
10/10. Beautiful story following the two protagonists struggles through three different lives. The drama followed closely with the book, though with different sequencing. The mortal realm arc was slightly lengthy, but it was still worth watching. I’d say it has a slow start, but after episode 20, it evolve to become an unforgettable story.
Acting/Casts:
10/10 There are so many casts from Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and the familiar faces makes us feel nostalgic in a good sense. I cannot imagine anyone else playing Fengjiu and Dong Hua instead of Vengo and Dilraba. They are perfect couple with amazing chemistry on screen and offscreen. They portray three different characters so well in three different lives, and if anyone says they can’t act, I hope you take a good look at this splendid drama. Side characters like Siming, Liansong, ChengYu trio also did their roles well, providing comedy relief with right timing. Evil characters like Jiheng was able to stimulate all my hatred, so kudo to the actress. Everyone did an amazing job and Yang Mi cameo was one of the best moments to see in the drama.
Music:
10/10 Splendid music. I feel my skin crawls everytime I listened to the opening and I reminisce their love story everytime I listen to the other OST.
Rewatch Value:
10/10 I will definitely go back and watch my favourite scenes, maybe all the scenes from episode 20 onwards. I might leave out the mortal arc, since it isn’t the most enjoyable.
Overall, this drama is splendid and did not fail my expectations. I’m really glad they used the same casts, I cannot imagine how this drama would have went with a different crew. The cinematography is beautiful and I can put this side by side with Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. This deserves the rating it gets, and it’s a must watch within the cdrama community.
Highly recommended.
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NOT A SEQUEL TO TMOPB.....BUT A MUST WATCH REGARDLESS
I don't have the patience to review a drama unless its absolutely necessary. Its either that drama belongs in the shit house or its a must watch.I waited 3 years for this and i am glad to say it was worth my wait. For someone to really appreciate this gem and why i waited so long i encourage you to go and watch ten miles of peach blossoms (TMOPB) if you haven't already. First get this clear this drama is NOT a sequel to TMOPB. They are related yes, but with ELOD you will not get a continuation of Bai Feng Jiu (BFJ) and Dong Hua Dijun (DHD)'s love story from TMOPB and neither will you get a continuation of YeHua and Bai Qian's story (BQ cameos only as Bai Qian and thats all and no YeHua/MoYuan). The characters are the same yes BUT its a different story. This story ventures into the love of our two protagonists BFJ and DHD. You can watch it before TMOPB and understand the gist of things fairly easily. I deliberately mentioned TMOPB because i was too heartbroken by how those 2 ended and like many other fans shipped those two so ELOD is a story dedicated to those two and those two alone.
Like i already highlighted i will not spoil the drama its too good to have someone spoil it for you. Another piece of advice the drama is adapted from the book with that same title and the screenwriters did a fantastic job adapting this book. However, they made little changes to the story in the book and in my opinion those little changes did create quite a sizeable loss in terms of the emotions one feels reading the book. The changes didn't affect the overall story and can be ignored. So my advice is if you enjoy reading, read the book first then watch the drama you will thank me later. If you don't have the time or patience then jump right in. You will still love the story.
Okay enough about the storyline. Now to the cast. I gave this drama a 9.5 because of 1 bad apple only. Thankfully that one apple did not spoil the whole basket neither did it take anything away from the drama. This apple happens to be lady who played the role of JiHeng. One expression from the beginning of the drama up to the very last episode. She was just so plain and so pathetic merely narrating lines.
Apart from her the acting was superb. I fell in love with Yan Chiwu and his immaturity from episode 1 to 56. And that walk ????. Nie Chuyun ??.
To wrap this up THIS IS A MUST WATCH. A 10/10 for me. Definitely worth your while if you are into wuxia, costume, fantasy dramas and if you watched TMOPB (our ship finally sailed ?)
This story will melt your heart.
Am i going to rewatch this again? YES DEFINITELY.
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Do yourself a great favour and watch this drama!
There are already so many reviews, but I felt compelled to add mine since this is now one of my top favourite Chinese dramas. Now, I have not seen Eternal Love, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms After Story, nor have I read the novel, so my review is entirely based on the show alone.I didn't expect this show to be so addictive! I was so reluctant to watch the last few episodes, and I even waited for a couple of weeks before I finally finished it. I just did not want it to end. It is also my first show that is longer than 50 episodes. I have a habit of needing to complete any show (and not dropping it), so I tend to avoid long period dramas. However, I made an exception this time because of the great chemistry between the main leads. The trailers drew me in, and my only regret is that I did not watch it sooner. I really love the story! Even though some reviews stated that certain parts got draggy, I truly enjoyed the different arcs - from when Feng Jiu became Dong Hua's pet fox to the final battle at the end. Of course, fortunately for me, the ending was a satisfying one; otherwise, I would be so heartbroken that I would probably swear off Chinese period dramas for good.
Dilraba and Vengo really nailed their characters! I cannot imagine anyone else playing Feng Jiu with so much sass. Dilraba is mesmerizing, and it is completely believable when the character was described as a legendary beauty. She portrayed the future Queen of Qing Qiu with such grace and I love that Feng Jiu was also intelligent (albeit naive at times), good in martial arts and weapon making, and her culinary skills so exceptional that it won Dong Hua's attention. The same thing with Vengo - he played Dong Hua Di Jun with perfection. His acting range shone as he switched from icy handsome god to adorable pouty lover with endearing, smoldering looks reserved just for Feng Jiu. Also, while I have not seen that many period dramas, I cannot think of anyone else who looked so attractive in white hair (other than his own offspring)!
I also look for micro-expressions when it comes to acting skills, and both of them pulled it off so well. After all, they each had to portray three different character personalities, and they went through so many emotional periods of different levels across the various realms. The chemistry between these two was off the chart, and I truly enjoyed watching them fall in love even when they did not realize that their relationship was forming. I usually keep my interest strictly within Dramaland, but this is one of the very very few couples so far where I hope would become one from reel to real. I totally ship them together.
As for the rest of the cast - major applause! All of them did amazingly and so many good looking ones all in a one show :-) I was genuinely interested in the different characters - Lian Song, Cheng Yu, Chi Wu, Si Ming, super cute Ah Li, Zhe Yan (Baron!!!), Su Mo Ye, Qing Ti, Meng Shao and the list goes on! These characters completed the show. And yes, I have to mention Ji Heng, who was the one character I hated, not the actress who did a good job but the character - boy was I upset with her actions towards the end!
Other than that, the CGI effects were fantastic. It was obvious that they put a lot of thought and effort into creating the various realms and worlds. The fox was so well done, and I could not find any bad effects. Music-wise, also well-done! I have already added the OST soundtrack to my playlist.
The rewatch value is high for me since I am already rewatching it. Haha! As I said, this show is addictive!
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Expected more
So this is gonna be a long review basically because since I watched 10miles Dijun has been my biggest crush in 3L3W and I absolutely love novel’s Fengjiu. So if you’re patient enough to read this, read knowing it’ll be full of comparisons to my expectations (and ofc, spoilers).* What I liked the most: Reba and Vengo's beauty, the sweetness (those pet moments, nose kisses, forehead kisses… all the fluffiness one may ask for!). Also, how they followed most of the facts. And how they gave us the end we’ve been long asking for! (end with an in coma Fengjiu has always been too cruel, so thank so much for that!).
Not to mention that see words coming to life is always great, and I especially liked to remember things I had forgotten, understand things I hadn't understand and observe things I had passed by (after re-reading my favorite scenes, it was great to clarify many things).
Now…
* What I didn't like…
1) Minor points:
a. effects (damn, hehe, not surprising though)
b. the focus on Miao Luo ends up reducing their fight against destiny to another gods x demons. Come on, Dijun is so much more than that! He created the Huiming Realm, and he’s the one to put it back in order!
"To protect the Mortal Realm, Donghua created another world in seven nights to absorb the excess toxins which the Mortal Realm could not withstand. This world was the Huiming Realm
If one day the Miaoyi Huiming Realm were to collapse, it'd be the end of the world as they knew it"
c. some important moments missed: when he denied the book of destiny, when he clearly reject JiHeng back in FH (well, this is only for my personal interest lmao), and others.
d. missed steamy scenes (hohoho)
2) Major points:
a. The childish tone, damn, I almost dropped from the very first ep because of that. I hate that kind of “I’m dumb but cute” voice style, luckily it got better from the mortal realm.
The consequences:
~ I couldn't see the Fengjiu in my mind, that is a strong young woman who gave her everything for her teenager love, but when it didn't work, she moved on. Not that she didn’t love him anymore, but the fascination had passed. The Fengjiu I saw in the entire drama holds the silliness of the baby fox that used to idolize anything about Dijun.
~ Dijun's character got lost in the 2nd half. Yeah, he's shameless, petty, but not that childish, please!!!
b. The fact that Fegjiu knew Xize was Dijun. Why? It blocked their love and character development from both sides!
~ In the drama, we can barely note Fengjiu's loneliness, there’s no need for her to lose her hopes since she knows he was there, she knows he came for her, he confesses, he proposes. She has her teenager love feed and so she keeps it.
The novel is completely different, she feels abandoned again. Actually, if we take the part just after the fire, we can even say she was abandoned by the same man in his 3 versions: she doesn’t know Dijun is there, Chen Ye leaves her to go back home alone just after saving her, Xize, her supposed husband, is too busy worrying about her sister. This absolute solitude would never allow her to keep the same childish love. So the love she gives Xize later on is entirely new, she's ready to love someone else, someone with whom she shared good moments, someone who is there for her. Not a mere idolization. A woman's love.
~ It also blocks Dijun development. This is supposed to be his moment to realize his love, the moment he should face his regret of not knowing about her first, the fear of being too late, the fear of not being loved, the moment to fight for her love. But in the drama everything goes easy for him since she knows who he is and loves him unconditionally. His sadness in ELoD makes him look as a petty drama boy unreasonable jealous of his own shadow. A meme creator.
Sorry if I’m not holding back but I was so angry with that! After the rain scene I lost the rest of the interest and finished the drama like a mission to accomplish.
I’d say the rescue before Aranya’s dream, her breakdown after the fire, and the rain moments are my fav ones. They represent his realization of love and her last hope, her decision to give up, and his fear. They’re all essential moments to me, that I expected with high hopes and unfortunately left me disappointed (maybe exactly because I waited too much).
* Would I recommend the drama? No. The novel? Whenever I get the chance!
* My hopes: that the movie will give us the maturity the novel holds. I might even accept the change for more mature actors to play Dijun and Fengjiu (which was unacceptable for me before). But please note, not because I don’t like or trust Reba and Vengo, I’m sure they just followed directors instructions (easy to see on the different DongFeng we have in 10 miles and ELoD), but it could be hard on them to ask for a change after this.
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Apart form the different setting, this series is very much like the eternal love series . I like how it shows the background story of their love, and how it came to be what it is. It’s really beautiful and the scenery it’s espectacular, more like breath taking. What a fresh and new concept and the colors is so vibrant and gorgeous. Overall I’m very pleased with the few episodes that have been released and I hope and look forward to a great series.
I've been waiting for this drama to air. So far it has exceeded my expectation. You don't need to have seen Eternal Love to watch this drama.
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