Joy of Life

Super brilliant drama

I know this drama had a high rating but i don't have any expectation. I don't usually watch political drama but this JoL is brilliant. I can't believe I'm finishing this drama. Super amazing plot and twist that make me crazy haha lol.
I have watched other period cdrama but in this JoL I love how FX and the step mother can get along and support each other. And i like how the each character that has strength and power help FX.
FX brother so hilarious and FX sister i think she is strong and smart women too.
This drama has a unique story from the first episode. a story full of surprises, strategy and the unexpected. characters that will be remembered (at least, remembered with strong, clever and tactical characteristics).
I'm more shock with the ending, so Because of the curiosity I'm reading the last part of the novel. And now I know, how to breath in joy haha. I hope you enjoy this story too ^^

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Masterpiece

This show is an absolute masterpiece. I bypassed it countless times, finally giving it a chance solely for Li Qin, but I was captivated from the very first episode. I will try to not put any spoilers in here because it will take away from the experience of watching it.

The writing is incredibly tight; every character serves a purpose, and every decision follows a clear logic. It takes tropes that usually annoy me in other dramas and executes them to perfection. The scheming characters are intelligent and motivated, and their actions have genuine consequences. As for the protagonist, the writing is beyond words—he captures the very essence of what it means to be human.

The storytelling is incredibly dense but not so much so that it feels rushed. I had to pause the video every time I left the room because missing even sixty seconds meant missing a pivotal moment. The series is completely devoid of fluff; it refuses to waste time on distracting side stories, keeping the focus entirely on the driving narrative.

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Best acting i have ever seen.

minus the time travelling part. this has to be one of my favorite dramas of all time. the strongest acting and chemistry i have ever seen. it was like every single person was born to play their part. even the child actor is amazing. there was literally 1 scene in the entire drama i can say the acting was not 100% perfect. the chemistry between all actors is spectacular.

if you have not watch it. DONT, they might film season 2 sometimes in 2021, you will regret every moment after you finished it. took me several days just to cope with the fact this show finished.its that good, here we are 30 dramas after just so i can stop being sad. this is a drama that needs to be binged watched all 3 seasons and all your 1000 questions answered. hopefully the acting will be as strong season two with the same cast.

and for all your king haters. i love this characters. probably my favourite.

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Unexpectedly hilarious royal politics cdrama

Unexpectedly hilarious royal politics cdrama with a sassy, jovial, badass protagonist who aspired to just enjoy life, only to be embroiled in royal politics within and between two warring states (Qing and Qi) as he began to uncover the truth of who wanted him dead, and the truth of the death of his mom. The protagonist Fan Xian sizzles with the veteran co-stars (Qing Emperor, Chen Ping Ping, Wang Qi Nian and Teng Zi Jing) and with not the FL, but the equally badass Haitang Duo Duo.

Joy of Life effortlessly stands out as an enjoyable transition series of the MDL top-ranked costume cdrama trilogy, with a good mix of political scheming seen in Nirvana in Fire and hilarious comedic antics from a sassy, badass, frivolous protagonist with a pure righteous heart, seen in The Untamed.

The sci-fic/time travel elements and cliffhanger ending dent an otherwise brilliant, credible and enjoyable Season 1. A peep at the baidu page on the JOL novel on how the story will continue, especially the Qi King, is kinda wildly absurd plot-wise for me. That said, I’m still eagerly looking forward to Season 2, especially if Xiao Zhan continues as Yan Bing Yun, to see the growth of both Yan Bing Yun’s character and Xiao Zhan’s performance, plus Xiao Zhan’s chemistry with Zhang Ruo Yun’s Fan Xian and the veteran co-stars.

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What a circus!

First off, let me comment on the actors. Finn Han really looks a lot like Zhang Ruoyan and is such a talented kid. Ruoruo is such a wise sister. Ruoyan's bangs make him look like an old lady 😅 Glad he ditched that hairdo at the second half. His character and personality here is very similar to Sword Snow Stride.

After finishing it, I finally understood why some people gave a low rating. If I had watched this early and there was no season 2 yet, I'd probably vent about the ending too. All the plot twists and turns amounted to nothing with the way season 1 ended. The concept seems a bit similar to the Truman Show.

So this drama is divided into two parts: the first part being in Nanqing and the second part being in Beiqi.
The first half was entertaining and what really kept it going was wanting to find out the answer to all the mysteries and why FX was being favored by the higher ups. Only the first part had some sort of romantic element, which wasn't really anything fantastic mainly because she was weak and sickly. FL didn't appear at the second half anymore, which became a bit mundane and didn't really appreciate the filler episodes just to let some of the characters show some "cuteness". I agree with a lot of the comments that FX had more chemistry with Haitang. Wonder if she'll still be in season 2. So the mysteries were unfolded in the second half and some parts made no sense, especially the parts about FX's mother. So many unanswered questions about her still. Also, Uncle Wuzhu just disappeared without any explanation too. I'd be really frustrated if I didn't know there's another season.

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Masterclass But Drawback

Season 1: One word outstanding. Overall production absolutely perfect. Every character drove to their high performance. besides scene production are awesome. Why because its holds you in sit to continue until the end.

Season 2: Grounded for changed overall production including scenes. Long gap for reproduction season fallback to vibe. Personally watch lost the gravity to continue the end of season 2. Although finished full season due to storyline. Most disappointment is that when characters are coming back own role lost the performance what was they gave in season 1. This is big drawback secondly story and scenes are dropped to catch the season 1.

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Low expectation but ended up Jaw dropping

Story
Before i watch this drama, i just finished watching Nirvana in Fire i think NIV is of the best drama that can pair with Game of Thrones in this genre. But after i watch Joy of Life, damn...i find another historical drama with intense political intrigue as good as NIV. The better thing in Joy of Life, there is not only one hella smart person, there are many ! (Fan Xian, Emperor of Qing, Chen Ping Ping, Shen Zong even the unexpected one - the 2nd Prince! ).
I love the ending how Yan Bing Yun choose to kill Fan Xian, it's going to be more intense later when someday he will find the truth about his real identity as Xiao En's grandson and he finds out that Fan Xian has known it for long time and choose to hide it considering this truth will ruin Yan's life.
Finally can't wait to see Fan Xian resurrected and i believe he will get more memories about his past life.

Cast : more than Excellent !
Honestly i dont know much about Zhang Ruo Yun but must admit it..the cast director did a great job to choose him as male lead. He has so many facial expressions and i love it. He can potray Fan Xian very well ! smart, manipulative, deliquent, loyal friend and easy to win people's heart.

Music : overall is good, only there is one part that sound likes Italian modern music which is not suit for historical drama.

Rewatch : Do it if you have spare times. But i prefer to move on to my wishlist drama that i haven't watched yet.

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Overall Ratings:

Excitement While Watching: 9/10
There were several exciting moments throughout the show where my heart was racing. I often felt nervous about what was going to happen next, and the overall sense of intrigue kept me engaged.

Overall Enjoyment: 9/10
I really enjoyed this show. It held my full attention from start to finish and made me want to binge-watch every episode.

Pacing: 8/10
The pacing was very good overall. Some parts felt a little rushed, while others moved a bit slowly, but it was generally well-balanced.

Directing: 7/10
Throughout the show, there were a few moments where I felt confused by the editing. Characters would appear in one location and then suddenly be somewhere else in the next shot. At times, a character would disappear from a scene without explanation. These moments pulled me out of the story because I had to rewind and piece together what had happened on my own.
Filler: 8/10
Some scenes felt unnecessary, but nothing significant enough that I would recommend skipping them.

Romance: 7/10
I felt very little chemistry between the two leads. My favorite part of a romance is usually watching the initial bond develop between the characters. While I liked the "love at first sight" trope, I felt that much of its potential led to disappointment. The romance often felt like the characters were telling each other how great their connection was rather than showing the audience why they were the perfect match. During some of the more intense romantic moments, I found myself distracted by the male lead's tendency to laugh or smile, which lessened the emotional impact. I actually preferred the relationship with the second love interest later in the show because it felt more like two people genuinely getting to know each other rather than instantly declaring their love.

Overall Story: 8/10
The story was very enjoyable, although it is not the best strategy-focused drama I've seen. I appreciated that the show did not spoon-feed every detail to the audience and trusted viewers to connect the dots themselves. However, there were a few plot points that felt unnecessarily convoluted, as if complexity was added for its own sake.

Characters: 8/10
Most of the characters were very likable, including many of the villains. However, I would have appreciated deeper insight into their motivations and decision-making processes.

Acting: 8/10
There were many strong performances throughout the show. However, as mentioned earlier, some scenes involving the male lead felt off to me and occasionally pulled me out of the story.

Visuals: 7/10
The visuals were solid overall and helped support the atmosphere of the show. While there were some memorable shots, nothing particularly stood out as exceptional.

Audio: 7/10
The audio team did a good job overall, but there were a few musical choices that made me laugh unintentionally. I especially noticed this during some of the comedy transitions. I remember several intense scenes that were abruptly followed by comedic music, which sometimes weakened the emotional impact of the moment.

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is this what they call an “isekai”—except not that much, admittedly

TLDR; The cinematography is amazing, and for the most part, the transitions are so smooth. I watch for the romcom, so this one had spotty rom parts but definitely didn't lack on the com. So many plot twists I almost forget this was a story within another story. What a cliffhanger tho.. Acting is amazing, and even the minor characters have phenomenal performances. Music is pleasant to listen to, although bgm doesn’t always use more traditional instruments since it’s like an “informal” historical drama (you’ll see what I mean in the first ep). Rewatch value is one-and-done for me just bc it’s p long, but still amazing nonetheless.

Story: This is the most chillest emperor I've seen in a drama, but that's also probably bc this show is more lighthearted than others. There are a ton of funny peak moments and interactions between characters that somehow fits into the dramatic/serious scenes. Something I've noticed that I haven't seen in other mystery-type shows is the parts where they replay scenes when they have different context, which I find rlly helpful, since there are so many eps. There are a lot of calculating ppl in the story, so it’s hard to keep track of how that ties into motives or story since I kinda just go w/ the flow, and I don’t try to theorize what happens next bc my brain is too small for all that.

Acting/Cast: Sheesh for the lightheartedness this show usually has, when smth goes down, the actors don't disappoint. Each character has their own quirks, and they're lovely in their unique way. The ml's snarkiness adds to the comedy aspect and makes it more enjoyable. I also like how not every fem character is a love interest, and it's refreshing to see a best friend dynamic that's just them hanging out and complaining about life's woes.

Music: I was surprised to hear 李建 singing the intro haha, but it does foreshadow events in the story. Bg music is very silly but enjoyable nonetheless.

Rewatch value: Lots of stuff/clues to look for after a rewatch, though that is a bit off-putting since there’s so many eps, and like I said before, once the plot gets new info, it replays flashbacks w/ new context. Not to mention there’s a S2, so I think this one is a one-and-done for me. Good show regardless!

—我们都要好好活着，对吧？

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It got better and better for me

Joy of Life is a much beloved older show (as I write this in 2026), but it actually took me quite a while to get through. I guess I just didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else, though it grew on me by the end.

The protagonist, Fan Xian, is cheeky, irreverent, and smart. He’s kind of a transmigrator except he comes in as a baby, so “born with modern memories” is more accurate. It’s actually all explained later- uncovering this mystery is not the only thing the show is about, but this background underpins a lot of the plot, and is interesting when it does come up. I was pleasantly surprised at how the show handles this “transmigration”, including the way it affects Fan Xian’s attitudes and worldviews.

The thing is, the first 10+ episodes are mostly about Fan Xian obsessing over a girl after meeting her once or twice. Fan Xian only wanting to live his own life, with no great aspirations (despite being in position for it), is kind of relatable- for all of us who can’t be heroes. But being so consumed over a girl he barely knows is something I absolutely cannot relate to. I didn’t even see what is so great about her- she might have been impressive if she were 12 years old, but she isn’t- and I didn’t understand why he thinks she can fill all his emotional voids after seeing her act cute a few times.

Well, it's true that infatuated people are generally not great at thinking critically about their infatuation, so maybe this is realistic. But that doesn't make it any less annoying to watch.

Luckily his love life becomes less important as the story progresses. A big part of the plot is about various schemes and counter-schemes, figuring out the political situation as well as who is out to get Fan Xian and why. It’s alright to watch, but didn’t stand out to me from all the other shows about power struggles.

Then, in the last 10 or so episodes, I finally started to like the show. It’s still mostly about watching smart people be smart, but for whatever reason, I found the last Beiqi story arc more interesting as I followed the different entanglements. It also has some really touching moments and fascinating reveals which left a strong impression on me.

On top of that, I think Fan Xian’s character shines through more towards the end. He’s fairly likeable through the whole show, because in addition to being cheeky and smart, he also has decent levels of kindness and compassion. He doesn’t have a spotless record- still lies and tricks people, for instance- but I think it makes him all the more relatable, like he can’t pull off everything while being perfectly moral too.

But towards the end, we see more of his personal and existential struggles. The music is very good at setting a certain mood and highlighting how weighty events pass through our lives. I especially love the existential tinge- separated from his love interest, but surrounded by new and interesting characters, Fan Xian is still struggling to define what he wants out of life. His super smartness is not relatable but a lot of his emotions- shown more than told- are. I liked him by the end, and even forgave him for being so obsessed with a random girl at the beginning.

The side characters are not bad; there’s nobody I really love, but some characters grew on me, especially from the last arc. The characters have some fun quirks and details (like Haitang Duoduo can’t be bothered to wear shoes properly) but overall they feel more like real people than a lot of other shows. This might partly be the way they look, though. I love this show’s lack of idol vibes, both in the overall style (eg not oversaturated colors) but also the people styling. People aren’t ugly, they just aren’t always gorgeous, and they’re not wearing overly heavy makeup. They look more like normal people.

The acting is also very good. The expressions really convey lots of meanings and I thought everyone does a great job, from Zhang Ruoyun to the supporting cast. Did I already say how much I like the non-idol vibes? They just all look so real.

The fighting and choreography is quite good, as is the soundtrack that accompanies the fights. Some of the scenery is very pretty, and looks real. For the music, OST/songs aren’t used much, but I really like the background music. It sets the moods very well.

I’m sure there is tons of discourse around this popular drama, but I haven’t read it, so here’s my unresearched opinion. Many of the things that make idol shows idol shows- the excessive focus on looking good at the expense of logic or realism, the heavy makeup and filters, the overdramatic scenes and developments, the posing- are actually things I don’t like. But when I check up recommendations for non-idol shows, I see a lot of gritty, realistic, depressing-looking stuff, while the idol shows offer imaginative settings and fun plots.

What I like most about Joy of Life is that it still has an imaginative plot but without those idol vibes. Add to that the touching moments, great reveals, and existential musings near the end, and I’m left with an overall positive impression of this show. But it might also be that it took me so long to finish that I’ve forgotten how annoyed I was at watching Fan Xian obsess over a random girl for 10+ episodes, and it is also true that I struggled to stay interested in a lot of the political scheming that forms the meat of the show.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





It ends on a cliffhanger. I don’t think this show is standalone- even setting aside the new conflicts introduced at the end, there are still some parts of his backstory that I feel are unexplained (eg where his mom came from, and what's the deal with Wu Zhu). Season 2 took 5 years but is out now, so I guess I’ll head over there.

At the very end they pull out a layer to frame it all as a book with the ML as the author. I wonder why they did that. Personally for me it just created a little extra confusion and annoyance (on top of the annoyance of the cliffhanger).

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I commend the script, direction, and action scenes; they were excellent. Although the scenes in Northern Qi were a bit drawn out, overall it was very good. The comedic moments and dialogue were perfectly executed and contextually appropriate.

Ye Qingmei is a character we barely see in the drama, but she's the source of everything. Every character is connected to Ye Qingmei; she's the reason all the characters are involved and the complications arise, making the drama incredibly captivating.

Almost every cast member delivered a superb performance.
Chen Dao Ming and Wu Gang deserve special mention for their acting.
Personally, I loved the chemistry between Fan Xian and Wang Qi Nian.
The child actor, Finn Han, who was probably only 9 years old at the time, playing young Fan Xian, also gave a fantastic performance.

I loved everything about this drama. After finishing it, I had to stop watching Chinese dramas for two or three weeks because other dramas I tried weren't as enjoyable.

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