Dance of the Phoenix

A top-watch series with a few flaws

I judge a C-drama on whether I can watch the entire series without fast forwarding. This is one of those dramas where I was entertained throughout without the need to hit the FF button.

The acting was on point. The main couple was well matched, as was the secondary couple. The side stories and adventures were interesting and you could tell the main group cared about- and supported- each other and their Kingdom / people.

The bad guy who wasn't all bad and, along with the main FL, had the most growth throughout the series was just as interesting to watch as he was in the Untamed. I'm in agreement with other reviewers that he should get a ML role soon.

Spoiler Alert:
Now, here's what I think is lowering the ratings for this series. In the last few minutes, the main FL is collected to go from where she came, wherever that is, with no explanation. The ending was so abrupt, it defied logic. Why let her get married only to "collect" her before she can even celebrate her wedding day with friends and enjoy her wedding night with her new husband. It was just a ridiculous plot scenario. It also left you to wonder what that meant for the second couple, who were revived and tied to the main FL through the spirit ring. There was zero closure on where she came from and was returning.

Another area that could have been better: The ML came in to save the day at the end, dispatching the Demon Lord. With the FL having shown tremendous growth throughout the series with her defensive abilities, we are left to wonder if she could have handled the Demon Lord without the ML. With her Master enhancing the ML's abilities so he could help at the end, it would have been more dramatic if he zipped around at lightening speed to turn the tide against the people fighting right outside and then showed up just as she was dispatching the Demon Lord, or both of them dispatching the Demon Lord at the same moment, proving that the series' focus on her struggle to regain her abilities paid off in the end.

Even with its flaws, the series is a top watch for me. Perhaps they will have a second season to give closure to the story.

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✨️ The Left-Footed Phoenix °6.8° °good&bad°

The 2-sentence review: This is a show for lovers of 🇨🇳fantasy. It's a tasty snack for the initiated, but it will not win over new fans to the genre.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” wrote William Congreve. It's a good thing I looked it up because I thought it was Shakespeare. Anyway, women scorned are the primary conflict generator of this show.

DotP Follows the 🇨🇳fantasy template of Immortals, or Cultivators (think ancient superheroes), sailing through the sky over ethereal blossoms, bamboo forests & bouyant waterfalls. We will see many warriors, men and women alike. Their swords can act like both magic wands and flying carpets.

There's plenty to enjoy in DotP, however, it is still one the lesser 🇨🇳fantasy pieces I've seen. If I watched this before Love Between Fairy & Devil-8.9; Douluo Continent 9.4; Handsome Siblings-8.7; Ancient Love Poetry-8.6; or Love and Redemption-10, no doubt, I would have loved it. Stacked against the greats, it doesn't measure up.

At least, that's what I wrote in my original notes. But I never finished the review and a couple years went by. I put the show on to brush up on some facts now that I'm circling back to reviews I never finished due to extreme illness, and I got sucked right back in again! Clearly, I didn't dislike it as much as I first thought. I initially scored this a 5.8, amended it to a 6.3 but now I see this as closer to a 7. I've also since watched a couple 🇨🇳fantasy shows that are much worse (The Legend of White Snake-4.9 being an example). Fantasy fans will want to see this. There's many great elements. It's a shame there's a flaw to match every positive. On the 2nd watch, I realized this show is marvelous through the mid teen episodes, at which time it slows significantly and loses its spark.

Meng Yuan is in medical school, but not for long. We don't get the details until the show's nearly over, but she was magically transported to an alternate reality and now lives in the personage of Feng “Wu” (Yang Chao Yue of ‘Love You Seven Times’, who looks quite a bit like a female Xu Kai with her round face and full cheeks). Wu was born with ultra powerful & rare phoenix blood. The only other person who carried the same power was the legendary hero, Mu Jiuzhou who conquered the demons but mysteriously disappeared just before he obtained immortality.

So, Wu's a child prodigy. The family wasn't able to keep it on the down-low. She garners lots of attention; not all good. When Wu was young, her father passed away which ushered in bullying of her & mom. Wu walks the forest one day in frustration over it. What's this? 😮 She looks down to see a strange ring in the middle of the forest. When she looks up, a man is standing before her! Mu Jiuzhou's spirit was in that ring! He offers to be her master - he'll teach her how to cultivate power and protect her mom. Why? Mu was the last person to live with powerful Phoenix blood. Wu is his spiritual heir. Soon, Wu's one of the most talented & powerful young cultivators on the continent. There's only 1 other woman who can rival her. Unfortunately, that woman doesn't want a rival. She ambushes Wu & steals the Phoenix Blood by dark means. Then she kills Wu.

Or did she?

Wu woke up! She's in the forest with no memory and no cultivation base and Master Mu is watching over her. First things 1st: To restore her power she will need to restore her base. For that, she'll need the Nine Transformations Spirit Restoration Pill, which is made from the Celestial Fruit. (Nobody outdoes the Chinese when it comes to naming things🏆). Mu continues his info dump, but all Wu is thinking is: “Who IS this weirdo?” Memoryless Wu simply has no clue! Wu must snatch a fruit that ripens every 60 years. It won't be easy, as every cultivator on the planet will be after it. Even if she gets it, she won't be allowed to keep it. She will go in disguise. Before any of that, she needs to /understand that she needs it/. She brushed off most of what her master told her; it was too.much to process. The show does a poor job with the exposition, but this is likely when the soul switch occurred - this is when her personality completely changed. It changed so drastically that her family sent her away to live in a hovel near the border. Everything about Wu's life is now a mess. She resorts to selling medicine at the border town. For some reason, she now has a passion for medicine.

Before we get too ahead of things, let's check in on Wu at the Tea House enjoying a nice snack with her friend when AHBL (all hail breaks loose). A monstrous creature (The Firecloud Giant Hawk, which looks part dragon) raids main street. The cultivators come in to expel the threat, but just before they're about to clip the Hawk’s wings, it snatches up Wu and flies away with her. Jun was there. In fact, when he reached his hand out to summon his sword, Wu put her hand in his thinking he was offering to help her up. He shook it off like she was covered in slug slime.

So much for first impressions.

Jun follows after Wu. They end up in Frozen Forest where the Celestial Fruit is. The whole forest sequence does not feel unlike a Harry Potter book; there's even dementors. Cultivators are already wandering around looking for the fruit. Jue's rival, Mingye, the casual, almost cheerful evildoer, is there. He gets the most enjoyment from competing with Jun, but he actually takes no glee in anything. "In the best case scenario, I won't kill anybody on my birthday as a way to celebrate it.". He does what he does and there doesn't seem to be any difference between doing it or not doing it. His heart just isn't in it. He seems like more fun than the CP, Jun, with a more complex character. While in the forest, he falls for a plain girl (Wu in disguise) based on her personality and tenacity. (True, he saw Jun help Wu. It seems Jun cares for Wu, therefore, he MUST have Wu for himself. It next turns into true feelings). He wishes he had met her earlier in life, before he was tainted by what he was forced to do while growing up. He's also sincere about Wu. It might be a better story if those two had ended up together. No kidding. By contrast, CP-Jun is a little dull (though handsome and decent); Wu will have to be the life in the relationship. He may be a bit boring, but he does have true passion for Wu. She is adorable, and she makes the show fun, but I'm not always convinced that she loves him. The secondary romance is just straight glazed icing. It's a sweet light cover over the feature.

Reality is cracking and demons are wreaking havoc, we learn. Wu has a vision in which the Firecloud Hawk (in the form of a tiny bluebird) talks to her. These are dangerous times, and she must figure out a way to wake up Master Mu. He gave up the last of his Phoenix blood to save Wu's life, so he's in a coma.

As for the players, Xu Kai Cheng (Novoland: Pearl Eclipse) portrays Jun. At 30, he's alittle old for the role and it shows, but he does a good job. He's so serious! In Well-Intended Love-7.5 he seems stern at first, but he's an affable goof. He & Wu were engaged before they ever met, but Jun canceled the engagement a few years back. As for Wu's rival, elegant beauty, Jinna Fu (Heroes, You Are My Destiny-6.8), plays Zuo Qing “Luan”. Usually the most beautiful woman in any feature in which she appears, this is the 2nd time I've seen her land in 2nd place for the affections of a man. In some ways, she represents outward perfection. The ML passes on perfection, favoring the more human-fun-down-to-earth woman. Luan makes quite the descent in the course of the show, from a perfect goddess to a hardened mean girl who cannibalizes her own heart. It started when she couldn't contain her jealousy.

The king is silly and overestimates his own importance. He seems to believe all the nonsense that people say in his presence. On the other hand, the queen is diabolical. In some shots it's easy to tell that the Queen is a beautiful woman. However, they managed to make her look creepy. She's never in a truly flattering color or hairstyle. Her lipstick is too dark for her face, her ghastly makeup is caked on but colorless without the accent of rouge, and weirdly, her teeth look the same color as her skin. The effect is unsettling in a way I've not seen before. In all, the character molding is weak and ill-defined early on, but things take shape as we reach the halfway mark.

They go to magic school! Located in the capital and more like a grad school, Junwu Academy is the most prestigious of all schools. This is where the mean girls kick it into high gear. (Jun is such a starched shirt. He cannot believe his 😲 eyes when he looks across the row and sees Wu sleeping in class!) Not everyone is a fan of Junwu. The Dark Knight Court is opposed to the place and actively fights against it. This goes beyond mere school rivalry - it's racism, too. The DKC is composed of demons, and in Chinese fantasy, demons are merely another race. Most shows expect the viewer to accept or already know about the tension between humans and demons. In another fantasy show the explanation is that it takes much more time and effort for demons to cultivate. One shortcut is eating humans, as consuming one human is worth decades of cultivation for a demon. Some demons succumb to that temptation and the whole race is tarnished by it. No one wants to trust a demon.

DofP is truly wonderful in the opening episodes. The first pothole we encounter is in ep7. Wu's cousin is jealous. She loses her mind one day and attacks Wu (Dong Yan from Sword Snow Stride is Feng Liu). They were using the scene to awaken some of Wu's abilities, but it's ham-handed. The saddest thing is that for every good element there's a handful of problems. It's sloppy and lackluster. They took shortcuts, cut corners, and didn't tie up loose storylines. There's poor, or unrelatable motivations, characters acting out of character. The problems lead to dead ends and unnatural cutoffs. There are unclear origins for some of the plot devices - things spring out of nowhere, and that is NOT an example of good writing. In the 1st couple episodes, Wu is under an ugly curse. The way they represent that in China is, sadly, by darker skin, freckles, and bad hair. They caked on the bronzer. It's quite a contrast to the other actors who are almost as white as their silk robes. Ah, tan skin, messy hair, and freckles - arguably, that version of Wu is cuter. This millennia's old light-is-right mentality has roots that aren't as deeply planted in ethnic hatred as they are status. Working in the fields is associated with darker skin and therefore a lower status. Not all the old ways are worth perpetuating. The overall effect is emotional flatness. In fact, toward the end, it became too difficult to maintain focus. Riveted to the screen, I was not.

The art, costumes, sets, are very pretty. There's nice camera work. From a technical standpoint, the directing is good. There's no lag & the timing's good for half of the show, Their first (intended) kiss, for example: She turns. He catches her hand and pulls her back as the camera looks way up at their silk & locking lips from a mouse's view.

Some special effects are clunky and nearly antique appearing, which is evidence of budgetary constraints rather than skill. The demonic beast in ep10 is fantastic, but more of the effects are distracting in their lacking. Generally, one has to put up with this to watch Chinese fantasy shows. As every other element is magnificent, I find that quite easy. What I don't find easy is films in which all the money goes into the effects and the plot and dialogue are awful. (Deliver me!) There's some fun, positively catchy music. The old school bell is magnificent.

Suspicions abound. Wu seems very suspect to Jun. Part of the conflict is Jun working through his feelings while wondering if Wu will turn out to be evil. Evil is even closer to home, though. Sometimes this dynamic is funny: When Wu is being questioned by Jun in front of Bai, the ancient potions master, she fake-cries. Bai's expression is priceless. He is astounded at her boldness and doesn't seem to think she has much chance of convincing anyone. They keep suspecting Wu of being in league with DKC, especially after she befriends Mingye, but it's another bigwig who is working with the villains. “No matter how chaotic the world is, be kind and don't stoop to evil’s level,” Mu tells his student.

After watching twice I'm still conflicted. Guilty pleasure? Don't think it qualifies. 1st of all, it doesn't give one enough to feel guilty about, and the pleasure trade-off is not enough, either. Guilty pleasures are something that is generally panned or disliked, but you just like it. You like it enough to watch it again. Maybe again and again, even though you know it's bad on many levels. This is a show that is mediocre part of the time, fun part of the time, and exciting part of the time. The worst thing is that the very ending is lame - it's awfu/l❕ I have to pretend it didn't happen.


QUOTES🗣️

It's good to be kind. But kindness without principles and bottom lines is just cowardliness.

Don't argue with those who are nothing like us

No matter how tough a man looks, he must have a soft and vulnerable side.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division decide the universe.


〰🖍 IMHO

🎬7 🖊〰6 🎭7.2 💓5 🦋6 🌞4.5 🎨7. 3⚡6 🎵/🔊6.5 😅2.7 😭4.5 😱3.5 🤢2.5 🤔4 💤3 🔚3

Age 13+ $h!+ hell, violence 5/10


Re-📺? My first thought is NO WAY. But, eh, never say never. I love 🇨🇳fantasy. My ratings aren't my personal favorites list. I can like a show that I've given a 7 rating to more than I like to show I've given a 9. At the end of the day, technical confidence matters but ultimately, it doesn't have a chance against what touches the heart. Once a show is in the 6's I would probably never want to rewatch it… until this one. I liked it more the 2nd time around. This show is like a dirty diamond. It still has plenty of sparkle.

2020 release. Episodes: 30 @45 min ea. Director: Chan Ka Lam (The Untamed, The Last Immortal), & Wang Zhu Ming (Weaving a Tale of Love).



🎎 -
C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

🔮🐉-
C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

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Simple But Quite Important To Be Ignored

In the synopsis it is written that a woman from the modern world suddenly enters the body of a woman who lives in another world. But until the end of this series, I did not find any explanation, scenes, flashbacks or anything related to this woman's life in the modern world. In my opinion, this is necessary to build the audience's imagination to enjoy this series.

I quite like the storyline. All problems are solved over time. In terms of acting, each actor is able to get into the character they play, especially Yang Chao Yue as the main character. She acts as if it is her own life. She is able to position expressions and emotions that match the storyline. And for the background music aspect, honestly I don't find the right moment with the right music. Every time an episode ends, I even forget whether there is an important moment in the episode accompanied by background music or not.

After all, I quite like this drama. I will rewatch this drama only when I miss Yang Chao Yue and the other cast.

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Great Series

my first review , before watching each series , I tend t o check out the reviews but I also take note that each and every review is based on personal preferences so....

PRO
1. I love the actors , especially the ML and FL , their chemistry is great and I really feel that.
2. I love martial arts so , a plus for me , the action scenes , very satisfied.
3. I love the scenes , the flying , fight , feels right and not too much
4. The story is good except the end part

CON
1. feels like sad ending , I don't like to watch sad endings BUT as the FL said , it's not really the ending that matters but the journey.....so in a way , I am satisfied , better if there is a season 2.

So if you like romantic , wuxia , a little comedy .... this series is for you. try it

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I think I liked it?

Nah, Im sure I liked it... at the time. But again, to be honest, I do not remember a thing. I watched this after that banger of Ashes of Love, expecting another xianxia masterpiece, but it was lacking in various parts. Here's what I wrote at the time:

UPDATE: Well... I'm finally done. The last couple of episodes did have me in tears however, I think this show deserves no more than a 7 because of the ending but I cannot bear to give it a low rating after all the happiness I felt in the first half of the show. I loved this but the ending felt very rushed so I will be changing my rating from a 9 to an 8.

Sooo, I’m like 3/4 done w/ the show and gahdamn the men in here is fine asffff esp Xuan Ji and Cinnamon ifykyk… you guys have my heart <3.. anyways, love the story plot, very interesting and funny. Character dynamics is PHENOMENAL.. they all have their own traits that I absolutely love abt them… I will make an update as soon as I finish the show, which I’m low key scared to cuz ppl say it’s not a happy ending :( WOULD RECOMMEND SO FAR

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Enjoyable drama

I enjoyed this Drama. I did feel like I watched it before especially towards the end. If you like adventure and excitement this is for you.
I did feel like there was no answer to certain parts of the drama especially the beginning and endings. They really never explained how and why she crossed universes. I expected the ending to be more accountable to answer these. Maybe a part2. I am still lost on why she was sent there and how come is had to leave.. Unless she was a heavenly spirit that fell from heaven and when feng wu was pushed off cliff(I had to rewind to. Beginning) you see both body connecting

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Watch this with a open mind

I don't really know what to talk about for this show. It was decent, like any typical Wu Xia/Historical drama with the sword fighting, pretty sets and costumes, complex plot for power etc. Nothing really surprising or different.

Story :
First the story was good, the way the female lead came into this world and entered some random girl's body(nothing new) big change in personality, lost memories, etc. The story was good and very engaging, kept me hooked for some episodes. The ending was really confusing and didn't make sense. Once you get to the middle of the drama, the plot gets a lot more confusing and a lot of unecesarry events start taking place, which just creates more problems. I couldn't understand what was going on. Nothing really fit together and it feels really choppy, it was either they ran out of money or got lazy and gave up because the start was really good and intriguing, where you can actually understand what is going on, but as you approach the middle everything goes downhill.

CGI:
Not a lot to comment on for the CGI but it was ok. Definitely felt more real and you can't really tell there was any CGI used as it was pretty flawless. Some scenes looked a little fake, like when the main lead flew up a mountain high in the sky with like cherry blossom trees or something. Nothing really special.

Music :
Boring intro music, didn't show much clips of what will happen in the show. The song used for the main leads was nice but nothing really moving. The OST was boring and didn't really provide much.

Acting:
The main leads acting was pretty good, the male lead having more experience in this field did ok, nothing too special, but at some points felt really stiff. The female lead is relatively new, so some of her acting didn't seem right or was just cringy? Especially the parts when she would make up stories to the male lead and like start to act sad and pitiful, it just made me cringe. The chemistry between the leads was nice, I love how the male lead fell in love right away and couldn't even hide it because of some disease or something which prevents him from feeling affection, I don't really know. The second lead was also pretty cute, didn't ever need to confess their feelings with each other but they knew which is so sweet <3 Man give my man Feng Xuan a lover too, he fifth wheeling but he's so cute and obsessed with Feng Wu.

Ending:
The ending, I cannot. The most confusing ending I have seen. I don't even know what happened. The battle between the good and the evil, the main villain not even battling the heroes but having other people who work for her to?? Like girl is useless. The second female lead doing everything to impress the male lead just to find out she never liked him but only liked the power and title she will be given(not surprised). There was no big battle, the main villain just said to the main leads, "you win" and kills herself?? After the big fight, if you would even call it that, the main leads get married, with the whole ceremony and everything. Everyone happy just for the WEDDING TO NOT EVEN HAPPEN, and her master comes from no where and says girl I'm talking you back, like after all that we don't even see them happy together. We don't even know where the female lead came from so like there's no point in going back, and when she goes back what happens to the body she was in before, because that person died long time ago. Doesn't make any sense. Then the audacity for the female lead to say, "you don't need to worry what happens next, just remember the memories, laughter and love we experienced" like tf you mean. Then she looks up to the sky and the show ends. Like ain't no way you make me watch 30 episodes just for that ending.

So if you wanna watch it, go ahead but don't expect much.

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Beginning

At the first episode the story was very promising and intriguing but there was to many loopholes and leaks in the storyline towards episode 20.

Acting
For me the support role did a lot better than the main characters I mean after all the hate she had she never gave any hints of being in love all of a sudden she's blushing and asking her self if she's in love with him.
Secondly the second male lead was the one who challenged JL to date FW after he allegedly claimed to love her.

Ost
Ok there was no real ost

Storyline
First she is told that she isn't FW she didn't any one then she is told that she is FW she tells everyone that she isn't FW . Secondly how can ZG speak and understand the language of the beast . After her shifu releases miss wolf how can her destiny be to die instead of giving birth to her pups .
Thirdly how can her shifu come back with out the third piece of the shard

Ending
One why did her shifu give his powers to JL yet he didn't do anything with it.
Two what with it clothes change to match hers after he gets the powers.
Three how did ZG know how to use the red sacred bead when she heard it that day.
Four why was nothing said about the second male leads ending .
Five how did ZG and XY come back after they died.
Six her teacher just comes saying on her wedding day he's here to take her to where she belongs without a word to the others she follows after giving a speech I mean what the hell.
Seven why was the first male lead not shown again there was no word from him and the other characters no future and no past .
Will there be a season 2 because I am truly dissatisfied and disappointed with the movie .

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No chemistry between the FL and ML

The story itself is not so bad. It's an idol drama, so don't expect so much from the plot. It's a very generic plot with a very similar twist and character development.

I do like most of the actors and actress. There are some very good scenes but there is nothing very special. I do enjoy the characters interactions with one another. I think it is very cute.

I do however, have one complaint, and that is the chemistry, or better yet the lack of chemistry between the ML and FL. They just don't make sense together. I understand why he like her, it is because she's cuter and smarter than him but I don't understand why she like him. I feel like the relationship is still very forced and not natural. There nothing special about him that make him attractive. I don't understand why someone like her would fall in love with someone like him. He's not very supportive of her character and he doesn't bring out the best in her. He is also not helpful at all to her.

The ML is this very BORING character who is suppose to be a very talented martial artist but yea. URMmm that's all that he got going for him.

The FL on the other hand is a more three dimensional character. She funny, sweet and driven. I love how she tries her best to do whatever it is that she is doing.

I do like the FL with the second ML more because he supportive and upfront with her. I think naturally and progressively if this was the real world, then she would have fallen in love with the second lead organically. I love how supportive he was of her when she entered the small fight competition. He gave her advice and his support. I also love, how he told her that she was not as beautiful as her ugly alter ego because her alter ego had a beautiful heart unlike her, but that was only after she had called her alter ego an ugly woman. I just think that he is so sweet to her.

But sadly we all know that the second lead is not going to get the girl.

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