Joy of Life

Joy of Life is MEGA!!!

Truth be told, I'm relatively new to watching Chinese Costume Dramas...but have recently gotten hooked based on the quality of the storyline and acting. JOY OF LIFE is PAR EXCELLENCE! I don't watch these movies because of the cast's popularity or celebrity status...if you're a great actor or actress I'll watch...bottom line I don't chase after celebrities. Yet JOY OF LIFE is definitely worth REWATCHING and I can't wait for season 2. Yes indeed...from start to finish the screen writers, production team and performers hit a home run with this one!

So very glad I didn't read any of the reviews before I watched this JOL...I don't like to be tainted about a show. Afterwards I saw some reviews about one of the cast members that was rather unfortunate. Viewers should give credit where credit's due... 'cause JOL is simply a fantastic product with great performers all around!

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Self-insert protagonist fulfills author's delusions in a questionably "intricate" plot

Given the rave reviews about its humor, characters, and political intrigue, I was *very* excited to start "Joy of Life." Unfortunately, for me, at least, it fell flat.

The first reason comes from characterization. In a drama about political intrigue, the hidden motivations and personalities behind the characters are the key drivers behind the plot. While each character did have their distinct personality and motivations (more evident in the side characters such as Fan Sizhe), their actions and relationships didn't line up compellingly with their characters. Without believable characters, it's difficult for me (audience) to buy into almost any of the story.

Almost every female character, whether the ML's prisoner or a respected warrior from the enemy nation, ends up with "some romantic feelings, if not entanglement" for the ML, Fan Xian. Many times, there is no compelling reason *why*, and this ends of harming the depth of the female side characters. The more complex side characters, E.g. Qing Di or Chen Pingping, do have interesting schemes and politics. However, they fall into the cliche boxes that "strategic characters" in C-dramas usually do; they are endlessly ruthless to achieve some "not-yet-revealed, power-related" goal. Their lack of humanity make them one-dimensional and less compelling than similarly strategic protagonists such as Nie Huaisang, Jin Guangyao, Mei Changsu, Consort Jing, Xue Fangfei, etc. are. That is not to say there are no compelling characters in "Joy of Life"; Li Yunrui is a cliche evil-stepmother in a complex way, and Shen Zhong is an interesting break from the "silent, serious strategist" trope.

My biggest gripe lies with the main character, Fan Xian. He is a character with some talent in everything and the same, flippant sense of humor in almost every situation. He experiences character growth in scheme and intelligence often with no catalyst, never stops to reflect on anything (despite being portrayed as an "apotheosis of morality and justice for Teng Zijing" he kills his betrothed's brother and lies about it), participates in a romance warranted only by "love at first sight", and has no clear ambition (that ambition can be to be a regular person, even). These pitfalls mean the story has no arching, clear direction. The story is guided by the protagonist, and the protagonist needs to pick a lane— and stay there— to give the story a beginning and an end. To be clear, I am not against morally gray, complex protagonists— Fan Xian is just inconsistent and somewhat devoid of meaningful substance.

With that, my second problem lies with the writing. In a drama about political intrigue, there are few "symbolic" twists or moments that aren't just the "death of an antagonist" (because obviously, death is the only way to solve problems). There are few schemes with a broader purpose than "this person challenges my power/life and needs to die", which leave the char It is not like "Nirvana in Fire", where the revelation of certain information drives the plot forward by galvanizing character actions. The story seems to be complex but ends up coming off as "simplistic." Longer schemes, like Chen Pingping's, tend to be loose enough to come off as "afterthoughts".

That being said, these flaws are with the story, and given that the show is adapted from a novel—were likely inevitable. The acting and production itself is alright, though nothing to write home about. The script does have lighthearted and humorous characters (Wang Qinian, Fan Sizhe, etc.), but their characters end up becoming "one-trick ponies." The jokes are alright, but some of the puns (as a fluent Chinese speaker) are... so bad they're funny.

Anyhow, "Joy of Life" is definitely better than a lot of other attempts at a good revenge story that are being produced these days. Maybe it's time for me to go back an revisit "Nirvana in Fire."

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A Chinese Drama that you most possibly wont fast forward or skip scenes often if any.

So I just couldn't wait to finish the drama and write a review for you guys to know how I feel so far going 3/4 into the series. First off, im the kinda guy that when watching something whether its a tv series or movie, I tend to skip scenes I find boring or non important character/non sense a lot. Almost every drama I watch, I have some skips including this one but its very rare I skip only because the scene of a boat sailing soo long as an example. So anyway here we go, first off, if you are like me, who skip scenes constantly and get bored easily on dramas, think again for this one as I have seen so far, almost every character in the show with scenes gets interesting enough to keep watching. The thrill and excitement comes from almost every character whether minor or supporting ones is, its always interesting to keep on watching. So far this show kept me over 3 days watching due to me not skipping much at all. For a 50-60 episode series I have watched, I tend to finish within a day to 2 skipping a lot but this one, took me a good amounts of days to finished. The plot and each character plans played out are soo simple but yet captivating to the extend of keeping you glued to the seat without fast forwarding. That is what I like in series, when compare to Ten miles of blossom, I skip a bit on that show due to some characters I dont like to watch, but this, almost never skipped. That is how good it is. Let me tell you, the most useless character I find in the show to be boring somewhat is the main female lead, but its just to let you know the level of thrillness I find that if you like the female lead scenes, then almost every character scenes may again captivate you just like me. I also like the main lead, the story is always revolve around him, very rare that the whole drama you only find mainly to the lead, 9 out of 10 times, its a split multiple lead couples storyline. Give it a shot and see for yourself. Waiting for season 2 as the story continues.

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Fan Xian is a very smart and strong man. His background is very mysterious. His mom was dead when he was born and he never knew who she was. This is a drama that contains a lot of surprises and mysteries. I liked this drama a lot and you guys should watch it. If u guys are watching this for Xiao Zhan, he mostly only appears about the last 10 episodes. He appears in the start but we didn’t see much of his face. Also as u have seen I liked this drama a lot but also rated it poorly. Most of the main characters especially Li Qin or Wan’er didn’t appear more than 10 episodes. Also I thought the ending was bad and I couldn’t see what I wanted to truly happen.

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Don't get fooled by the poster. This drama contains everything that you are looking for.

Initially I was a bit hesitant to watch this drama because of the serious looking poster. But then I gave it a try. I immediately fell in love. It is a mix of comedy, politics, sci-fi, cinematography and it is one of the best stories in c-dramaland in my opinion.

This is the first drama where I was not interested in the romance between ML and FL but was very much hooked to the story. Uncle Wu zhu has this charm that makes you fall in love with him even with his eyes closed. Also this is the drama where I didn't fast forward scenes (I am a chronic fast forwarder) and watched everything in its own pace.

I didn't like the FL, don't get me wrong, I am not able to tell why I don't like her but other Female Leads had amazing chemistry and very strong characters. Again, this drama is not about romance, it is about the strong story that keeps you hooked.

I finished this drama in 2 days and now I am very sad because I have to wait for season 2.

In summary best thing about this drama is its fantastic story and my new found crush Uncle Wu zhu (ahem) <3

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I can’t remember a drama with as many beautiful people (young or old, good or evil, main character or random person on the street). Mades it harder to follow the plot, haha. (It’s easier for KDramas. If a guy is good looking, he’s often good; if he’s bad looking he’s bad. If he’s good looking but bad then he gets a sad backstory to explain his badness.)

I like the main character who is funny, smart, principled (but not sanctimonious), and kind but not a pushover---he can, and does, match all of the schemers around him scheme for scheme. There are a number of great female characters, including his faithful sister and a sidekick/rival (whom, unfortunately, I like much more than the primary love interest). The fact that some of the most unlikely characters are actually martial arts experts made this especially fun and interesting.

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Fan Xian, what the hell are you?

It was a series that was completely gripping, intriguing, active, exciting, and had high emotional intensity and stress. There was love and there was love. Separations too. Friendship, camaraderie, ambition, grudge, hatred, fight, war, intrigue, espionage activities, groupings, desires for advancement, fights for the throne, they were all there. There was also a humorous narration. Zhang Ruo Yun is an actor who is very prone to comedy. He is an actor who can perform casualness, humorous approaches and lively expressions very well. This role suits him very well. That's why Tian Yu and Guo Qi Lin, with whom he was in a relationship, accompanied his joke beautifully. We can even add Liu Duan Duan. There were plenty of humorous jokes in the series. Even though he tried to frame her in the end and we learned that he was actually the one behind trying to kill her, the relationship level was humorous. Same with Xin Zi Lei. We can also count Cui Zi Gang and Jia Jing Hui. These always seemed to me to be related in a fun, humorous way. That's why I never got bored while watching it. In fact, it ended very badly. It was an intriguing ending to the next season. I'm looking forward to the second season. I expected Yan Bing Yun to do something like this. Because the more open Fan Xian was to him, the more closed he remained. He didn't even openly claim the woman he was in a relationship with, he was dying for her. He didn't mind. Even though he knew the Spy Names, he did not give them. He constantly evaded every question. Just as he did not trust himself, he did not trust the other person either. I was guessing that he was not on the road, but when they arrived at the relevant office, he would do a trick, make speeches against Fan Xian, give information, and say things against him. But he dealt the fatal blow. He found an excuse for himself by saying he was doing this for Qing. It's as if others are doing it for another state. This means that this person was also one of the 2nd Prince's men. He was working for that group. Let's see what will happen in the second season. I am waiting. I liked the first season very much. I would recommend it to everyone.

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I was biased, when I first saw the name of the drama Joy of life I thought it was some boring drama, I like Chinese costume dramas some of them were good and interesting to watch, so I decided to give it a try last year and started, and I was really shocked to find the show turned out far better than expected never watched something like this, male lead is shown weak when the story starts, but he is very smart, and he is living a protected life, and he decides to leave there.
I am writing this review from my memory, so after a rewatch will update it more.
Things I liked about this show, story is very interesting it never gets boring have lots of twist and turns, great cast and better acting good background music, interesting characters, my favourite scene was when male lead meets the emperor, and he talks about poetry and that he know about things from another world when he is challenged by a master there he starts reciting the poetry that scene is excellent and well performed by male lead, this show was the place he could show his acting talent, don't if any other actor could have done this better.
I liked his relationship with his sister and scenes with them together, the female lead sadly at least in season 1 has nothing big to do other than being love interest of the male lead.
Best part is that unlike most c dramas, this one doesn't waste time dragging the story adding unnecessary scenes etc even if viewer might feel the story world is dark and danger is hiding in every corner and death can happen any time the show don't turn depressing they don't waste time focusing more on bad guys winning or making male lead weak, male lead faces challenges and viewers might feel he might lose, but he uses his wits to overcome crisis.
Interesting part is male lead has better chemistry with Saintess Duo Duo than female lead, also liked the interactions with Si Li Li.
This show is one of the best costume dramas I have watched, along with Sword Snow Stride, both of them are must watch for fans of wuxia/fantasy/martial arts genre.
I heard it's a Trilogy and season 2 is not here yet, I might just read the novel.

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Offbeat and witty, but tight and well executed plot

This was one of the best dramas I have ever watched (and at this current point in time, my highest rated). I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did but once I had reached episode 10, I binge-watched the rest of the episodes in five days.

The plot is fascinating and keeps you guessing and almost all characters are likeable, intelligent and memorable with realistic motivations. Protagonists and antagonists are not black or white and it is easy to feel sympathy for the villains at certain times. In one case I almost had to go back to remind myself why I disliked the character so much in the first place! Emotional moments in the show were well expressed and easily touched the viewer. I loved how Fan Xian was supported and guided by many of his seniors as father-figures, which is a great contrast to so many other dramas I have seen where the MC has an excessive amount of adversaries. Because of this, it feels logical that Fan Xian was able to emerge unscathed in so many situations (although I presume that stakes will be much higher in future seasons).

Visually, the fight scenes were beautifully choreographed and edited, making it impossible for the viewer to tear their eyes away from the screen, lest they miss any of the fast-paced action. Also, whilst Fan Xian was presented as a great fighter, I liked that he was definitely not “the best”, as there were plenty of other stronger characters in the show.

A point of contention between viewers is the music. Personally, the score worked very well for me and it complemented the quirky sci-fi aspect of the show. The music that interjected some fight scenes was hilarious. The opening and ending songs were also beautiful, and extremely hard to skip even after 40 episodes!

A downside for me was an irritating misunderstanding in the early episodes between Fan Xian and Wan'er. The romance between them was not to my taste (especially as I am not a fan of love at first sight romances). I much preferred the chemistry between Fan Xian and other female characters. Hopefully season 2 will be able to flesh out the character of Wan’er if she is going to continue as the FL.

I also think it is quite unfortunate that as a non-Mandarin speaker, some of the language-use and puns are lost on me, which English subtitles just do not capture perfectly. In particular, a certain poetry scene would probably have been a LOT more impressive if I could understand the intricacies of the language.

Overall, an almost flawless drama with a very tight plot. A definite must-watch!

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This drama is one of a kind and I'm glad that there is three seasons to it and that it's spaced out so we can truly get an amazing product.

Story: When I first watched this drama, I was slowly wondering where this drama would go as I did not read the synopsis or anything about it. I came for Zhang Ruo Yan (ZRY) lol. However, as I kept watching, I found myself to be wanting more. There were so many twists and turns and suspense but every surprise made sense and you can't help but wonder how FX is going to deal with the surprises. The ending is a cliffhanger but it's not a bad cliffhanger because you start to wonder why it happened and you start to predict what would season 2 bring.

Cast: ZRY never disappoints and he was perfect in this drama. If we look at just his character as FX, FX is a main character that never gets on your nerves because he's not too good but he's not too perfect. He's funny, brave, smart, witty, and all of the above. It was very refreshing to see a protagonist like him out of all the protagonists that I've seen before. As for Wan'er, I actually really like her character and don't think she's boring at all. I think it's because FX left too soon so we don't get to see how Wan'er could help him or be more "important". I know a lot of people ship FX with Duo Duo but I see them more as best friends or at best siblings as they are too alike. I actually really like him w/ Wan'er because she's not apart of the drama but FX is willing to explain to her and tell her the truth which is something I rarely see in couples in dramas lol. Xin Zhi Lei nailed Duo Duo and I freaking love her lol she's entertaining. I love CPP and the emperor and I will fight the director if they do not reclaim their roles in the next 2 seasons lol .

Cinematography: The scenes were beautiful and I love the fight scenes as it looked real and cool :)

Overall: This drama took my breath away. I am having withdraw symptoms as I am writing this. I can't wait for season 2 especially after the ending of this season. I highly recommend this drama as it's different and the fact that they planned for 3 seasons, it has rarely happened in the Chinese drama industry so I know there must be a wonderful plot coming up. I really am looking forward to season 2 and 3 and honestly I would rewatch this season again bc it's just that good.

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Just WOW

I have nothing to say. This drama is WOW. The characters are so wise and clever which makes it more interesting to watch. I never got bored with it. This drama keeps your mind thinking about stuff that just doesn't seem to fit in.

The ending.... Ugh!! I did not expect it. One from my fav characters in the drama turned out be an effin' hypocrite!!! I was also fooled by him! I want him dead!!

I hope the 2nd season can be released faster and wish to still see Xiao Zhan in it.

I hope they don't change the actors for the 2nd season. I'd like to see them all again. The 1st really amazed me. I can't wait!

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