The Long Ballad

Almost what I wanted because it has revenge and exile

The drama would be excellent if during the revenge period in this drama Li Chang Ge was driven by revenge but smart in a way that she isn't just mindless reckless woman who seek revenge but that she is alone the entire time during her exile and all her emotions are pointed toward strategizing on how to accomplish her revenge and than when she finally be done with her exile time that than she reunit with the ML because I like how the drama isn't harem revenge and isn't made annoying but already there are multiple nice events like the best one for me when "poor horse lost life" when they had to jump over the roped wooden bridge and she had to fall in the river...but her exile is actually filled with some people and it doesn't feel very strong because it have easened sense of Li Chang Ge's heart so I don't feel the thrill of her exile plus they do hunt her down but not intensively...the scenes feel unlike a hunt from Ever Night 2 where they were constantly in fear abd were hunted down more eagerly than in a long ballad and 25th episode was annoying asf because Ashile Sun did not kill Ashile Sher that episode made me so angry and disappointed that the rating if I'd be able to rate this episode alone it'd be 0.0 and yes Chang Ge's exile was not pitiful enough because she had A Dou with herself in her company

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the LONG ballad fr

If you like a cdrama that is mainly focused on politics this is for you! One of the things that I noticed the most is that the FL is written like how they usually write MLs, for better or for worse which makes sense for the story they wanted to tell. She's a soldier and a war strategist more than a princess. The thing that left me disappointed tho is that it's really slow in some episodes, it tends to drag some of the sad moments a little too much expecially if it's about the secondary characters rip. like the friends of the main characters are always into some tragic stuff it gets a little boring lmao
Still, it was fun and I really liked how they showed the diversity of the people living in the same country but with different backgrounds and cultures. Hao Du my beloved.

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Watched this for Zhao Lusi and Dilraba, my first of Wu Lei (Leo) and Liu Yuning. The Long Ballad was not what I was expecting at all. I was thinking a centered romance around Li Changge and Ashile Sun and a little bit of Li Leyan and Hao Du with little to no character development. Boy was I wrong. Li Changge being powerful and able to fend for herself was commendable, the love between her and Ashile Sun was pure and the chemistry did it's thing. First: Li Leyan's character development. With Li Changge's life being turned upside down and Li Leyan being naive and immature in the beginning, I thought she would stay that way during the whole show. Despite it being centered on Changge, I don't know how they had time to ground Leyan. She reached the real world away from a glazed life in the palace, and learnt a lot about life. The development is crazy with this one, the stark contrast with the Leyan from the start to the Leyan in the end. This just shows how much a real world life can do to perhaps a spoilt child. Moving on from Li Leyan to Changge and Ashile Sun: their romance was tangible from the beginning, although Changge was focused on justice, and was initially captured by Ashile Sun to be his military strategist, they slowly shifted their relationship. The visuals served and the cast came together naturally with no strain in sight. This drama was a good watch for me, no forcing myself to finish watching just for the sake of it, despite the lengthy 49 episodes. All in all, I highly recommend, and a solid 9/10. (Ignore my rating for music, unless it's really good I just put a two for everything)

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High production historical drama but romance is sub-plot

I started watching this drama because of the high praise even though I'm not a huge fan of war dramas. From the start you can tell it's a very high production, with amazing actors, set designs and costumes. The storyline and characters felt very realistic for the time period it's set in. But be aware that romance is a sub-plot so you might be disappointed if you are mainly watching for that. The beginning of the drama is very slow and I'd say after around episode 12 is where it started to get really interesting.

CHARACTERS:
There are lots of characters that we follow throughout the story but I'd say mainly we see the story of the two girls who grew up together as best friends. The first princess is the female lead who is a tomboy, very skilled and intelligent. She is betrayed by her uncle at the start and looks for a way to take revenge for her family's death. The second female lead is her best friend (and uncle's daughter) that reluctantly becomes the new princess. She is very sweet, gentle and sensitive. Both have huge character developments and go through many intense challenges. In fact the storyline of the second female lead is one of my favourites as it's done so well. There are also three male leads that are love interests and closely connected to the war storyline.

ROMANCE:
I'm a huge fan of romance so naturally my enjoyment will highly depend on the romance aspects of the drama. Even though I loved the romantic scenes in the drama, they were not enough for me. Main couple is mostly about saving each other from life and death situations and the second couple has kind of a love triangle (but it's done really well, without jealousy or annoyance). In fact, the second couple has a more romantic feel to them but towards the end of the drama. There are no proper kiss scenes so as mentioned above, if you are mainly wanting to watch a romance story, you might be disappointed.

OVERALL:
It's a very well done historical drama, the war scenes are not too much or intense. It's about personal growth, overcoming challenges, friendships, finding love in the most unexpected ways and fighting for justice and peace. If you are not craving a lot of romance, this drama is perfect for you.

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A Ballad Like no Other

I watched this drama 2 years ago and was a tad bit disappointed because I keep comparing it to the manhua and of course the manhua was much better. Due to the tweaks and changes that the show writers did, I was very prejudice against the show when watching it then. Now with a new perspective and after rewatching the drama without judgement, I found that the drama was very enjoyable. The story follow our main lead Li Changge (Dilraba), a head strong princess who's on a quest of revenge. Along the way she met Ashile Sun ( Leo Wu) and many others who showed her friendship, loyalty, and love.
The drama gave us a solid introduction, great characters, and story building. I appreciate that the show writers made our female characters strong in their own way. Changge is not your typical princess. She's strong willed, smart, and loyal. Opposite her is our typical princess, Leyan (Zhao Lusi). She's cute, soft spoken, and caring. At first I thought she would be a useless princess, but as the story progressed, she became one of my favorite "weak princess" character. And who have thought that our main villain was also a woman, Princess Yicheung. She's a mix of cunningness, switching between a weak forgotten princess and a tactful Khatun. Our male characters were also a delight to watch. The romance is there, but you won't be seeing any fan service of kisses from our leads. I particularly liked watching the interactions between our second couple in the drama, Liyuan and Hao Du (Liu Yuning).
My only complaint about this drama was the cartoon portion of it. It should have been left out or portrayed live. I was glad they didn't use it too much throughout the drama.
Overall, this drama is a great watch. Would I watch it again? Of course! (I already did and would not miss it for a third time.)

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Incessant war holds little to no benefits for the common man

Li Changge, a princess well-versed in martial arts, escapes out of the palace with a vow to return for revenge. She encounters a hundred different difficulties that test her abilities, her relationships, her trust and most of all, her purpose.

Star-crossed lovers, intelligent, power couple at that with a proper thread of good, interesting plots that wrapped well on the whole and plenty of visually appealing landscapes, awesome cast and acting, and many side couples as a cherry on top - this is a brilliant production. Almost miraculous that something like this was delivered. I didn't find it perfect however. They gave everything they could possibly though - so I guess I'm being a little greedy lmaoo.

Leads - I really appreciate them as characters. I can't say all their actions were without fault, but definitely all their motives, reasoning, and purpose were commendable which made it worth watching. Their romance was okish, not bad but um.. like I said greedy me. But their action was so so good. Both actors have really delivered their very dynamic roles so nicely from start to finish.

After everything, what captured the romance department was a princess and bodyguard couple haha. To be fair, Hao Du & Leyan were excellent so they deserve the credit.

Plot - Each arc was different - in the sense some were better than others. My favourite would be the events in Louyang (I liked it a lot :)), followed by Shuzhou maybe.

MINOR SPOILERS:

While main thread held, there just seemed to be some things that I couldn't not be a little disappointed by or things that were unconvincing. In some instances, FL's abilities working so well, allowing her to move around anywhere & everywhere, escape anything, pretty much a Houdini, only she didn't even have to implement any great tricks to do it every time. Especially when she was a prisoner in Ashile. I wasn't convinced by the ML much in that one either. Not to mention, their romance which was unclear in some places and the way it sometimes influenced the leads but sometimes didn't. Yicheng giving Mimi chances over and over again after getting betrayed every time, seemed to be a classic villain weakness given to smooth things over for later. Like I'm glad about in the good vs evil perspective, but in a critical writing and story wise, not so convincing. And I guess, small things like that here and there.

Overall - 8.5/10

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Too long, but still good overall

Damn. I finished this. The middle and the last couple episodes were… long, and I admit that I skipped a ton to get ahead. I think 35 episodes would have sufficed to tell the story; I don’t know why it was nearly 50😭.

HaoYan is indeed an incredible couple. Hao Du is like a pillar, a rock, that’s always been there to protect her. I think it’s because he was also so consistently there that she kind of didn’t think more of it. The competition changed everything though 😏. Even when their feelings weren’t as strong, his highest priority was ensuring her safety, something Wei Shu Yu simply didn’t do. He was so useless in general: losing Le Yan, losing the Crown Prince, losing Chang Ge, not speaking up when he should (Le Yan confessing her love and letting her think he accepts her feelings only to sister-zone her???) etc. Hao Du had to clean up WSY mess, AND he would die for Le Yan, and gladly so (as we see when he joins the competition for her marriage, he does so because he didn’t want her to marry someone she didn’t love – even if it meant she would reject him). Both Le Yan and Hao Du grew over the course of the show, they matured and learned to communicate their feelings and how to trust one another.

I also enjoyed Chang Ge’s and Ashile Sun’s relationship. They were each other’s safe place, and a very smart, calculated couple. It was nice to see them have some sweet moments towards the end of the show.

What I didn’t like:

- The camera work and editing felt very sloppy and unflattering sometimes. Very disappointed in that department. How do you make Dilireba, Wu Lei, Liu Yu Ning or Zhao Lu Si look kinda bad? And why would you waste pretty scenes with a weird light??? Shining brighter than the sun damn.

- The show was too long, and I really didn’t care about the Ashile tribe. I liked A’Sun, but the whole tribe and its inner politics?😬 After a while, I got tired of it, and I also felt like those parts of the middle dragged the most.

Overall, a really nice show that shines due to its stellar acting, great costumes and sets, and amazing music that underlines every situation perfectly. It should have been a little shorter though, and the camera work/editing could have been better….!

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One of my favorite dramas of all time

I really fell in love with the Long Ballad...the music, the characters, the cast, the production...and when it was over, I went right back to the beginning and rewatched the whole thing again because I did not want to leave its world or its characters. I think it's such a great drama because it has something to offer for just about everyone: battles/wars, betrayals/revenges, emotional and mental struggles, love for one's people/country vs one's personal needs, hate and forgiveness, and all kinds of relationships(romance, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, family, enemies to allies, etc, etc)....and lots 'n lots of character growth. There are tragedies but, at the end of the day, there are also a lot of positive messages and all kinds of good morals that the story offers to its viewers. The Long Ballad doesn't drag for me. It starts off with a bang and continues at a relatively good pace the rest of the way. By no means is it a flawless drama, but it does so many things well, and is simply so enjoyable, that the little things that aren't all that believable(e.g., we're supposed to believe the main female lead can pass as a male) can be overlooked.

The two leads are Li Changge(Dilraba Dilmurat) and Ashile/Ashina Sun(Wu Lei). Li Changge becomes an exiled princess of Tang when her entire family is massacred by her uncle during a coup for the throne, so she hardens her emotions, and seeks to gain an army so that she can come back to take revenge against her uncle. Her journey isn't so much about revenge, however, as it is about character growth. Along the way, she runs into Ashile Sun, a general of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the foster son of the Great Khan of Ashile tribe whose grassland people are in the process of invading Tang.

Dilraba and Wu Lei are fantastic in their roles, and their two characters are the ones who move the main plot. For me, they're also the two most interesting characters. I love that both are so mature, wise, courageous, selfless, and capable of impacting the world around them. They're powerful individuals in their own rights but, together, they make a great duo and powerful allies. I think an enjoyable love story starts with a great relationship, and Ashile Sun and Li Changge have one of the best(most mature, understanding, non-toxic) relationships I've seen in a while. That isn't to say that their relationship isn't without any conflicts(far from that), but the mature way in which they handle their conflicts is remarkable. There really aren't any of the usual drawn-out misunderstandings or any blaming/grudge-holding between them. All of that despite being enemies! The two of them truly have a strong foundation for a good relationship...and I really like that what they share has dynamics that go beyond just two people who have romantic interests in each other. They admire, respect, trust, believe in, and view one another as equals...something akin to that of a "brotherhood"(Changge is disguised as a male for a good part of the drama).
The rest of the cast also did really great in each of their roles, even if I did not care so much for the 2nd leads as some others did. I didn't find them very interesting characters or their love story all that compelling or properly set up, and they were a bit disjointed from the main plot of the story. That really wasn't enough to detract from my enjoyment of the overall story though, as they didn't actually have all that much screen time anyway. For anyone who hasn't watched The Long Ballad yet, I will definitely recommend it.

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To see and review without moderation!

A truly excellent historical drama, breathtaking, in which we stay hooked without getting bored for a second.

The story is well put together, embodied by great actors (Leo Wu ❤❤❤ et Dilraba Dilmurat). There are multiple twists and turns, but they are well put together and believable. The relationship that is built between the 2 heroes is strong and moving, we are wholeheartedly with them.

The secondary characters are not forgotten (again, the actors are great) and the secondary romances are too cute. Even Mimi's death is sad but consistent in context.

I love the concept of drawn passages (Manga side).

In short, to see and review without moderation!

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Revenge will not bring you peace, but friends and love can do it

The long ballad is one of the first Chinese dramas I've ever seen, and after watching it, I was sad that it was over.

+ The atmosphere that carried the story forced me to look further and further, and I don't remember an episode in which event wouldn't take place.
+ Plot almost didn't stand at all and it was very easy to find out where something was going on.
+ Most of the war scenes, as well as several others, were carried in a cartoon version, which only made the whole drama special.
+ There was not a single character that would obstract me at the end.
+ The chemistry between Li Chang Ge and Ashile Sun was evident.
+ Until the last moment, I wasn't know the end.
- At the beginning, Li Chang Ge was little bit annoying, but as I said before, I noticed a big change of herself in the end.

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This is perfection.

I finished this show within 3 days, then rewatched again right after. I love absolutely everything about this show to bits (oh well except Mimi!). It is a masterpiece. I have been looking with no success for something equally good or better. Nothing has come close..yet.

First of all, can we all just acknowledge that this show’s cast are not only beautiful but portrayed brilliantly in each of their own roles. I became aware of Dilreba in You Are My Glory, but her performance in The Long Ballad made me her fan. Great performance!

And then there’s Wu Lei, look he didn’t made much of an impression when I first saw him in Fight Break Sphere, and in fact I haven’t finished that show (I have to confess, I watched it because of Xiao Zhan and Gu Jia Cheng), but I kinda got bored. Then I tried TLB out of curiosity, and the the next thing I know I now worship Wu Lei. I never knew him as a child actor so that didn’t influence my bias. Contrary to whatever else were saying, I cannot imagine any other actor playing Ashile Sun. He is and will always be Ashile Sun. Period. Fantastic performance, I can watch him over and over again. The way he conveys his emotions with his eyes. If looks could kill. Oh my goodness. He perfected “the looook”. I also adore his Eagle Division brothers.

The story is phenomenal. Right from the first 15 minutes of the first episode, I felt the spark of excitement and I was hooked. It was truly riveting and every scene with Ashile Sun and Li Changge is impactful. That Cuju game was everything.
TLB had all the elements that I love in this genre, hidden identity, strong FL and ML, intrigue, hidden plots, revenge, war, politics, enemies to lovers. Amazing, it is just amazing. I cannot stress how beautiful the cinematography is as well. Episode 15 with Li Changge’s surrender to Ashile Sun, that scene is epic and beautiful. The soundtrack is also great.

A lot of the gripe that I have seen is the lack of romance. I personally think it just had the right amount of romance. Everytime Ashile Sun shows his love thru actions and words, it gives me the feels. I also wasn’t bothered by that blurred out kiss. And the ending, while everyone were wishing to have more lovey dovey at the end, I think its just fitting.

This must be the longest review I have written to date. Look, do yourself a favor and watch TLB. This one show with some serious epic chops. I haven’t seen anything yet that is just as good!

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Roll eyes drama

Whenever I see the lead female protagonist come into action , I’m really rolling my eyes all the way. All she does is “act smart “ , act benevolent , create trouble and others , causing others to die cos of her stupid decisions . She’s really not very intelligent but she thinks she is . This occurs throughout the whole drama and I wonder why the lead actor will fall in love with a woman like her . She should just die in the 1st epi along with her family . Reminds me of another drama love like a galaxy . Not sure why the directors recently like to portray the “strong “ female characters and overdo it . Just so lame .

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