The story about Chang Ge and Ashile Sun lack “edge”, maybe because Dilraba isn’t a really good fit as a main lead. The male main lead doesn’t quite fit his role either.
The story about Leyan and Hao Du is less predictable and more interesting, although it’s not feasible that someone who is supposed to be good at embroidery would mess up weaving yarn the way Leyan does in the story.
Chinese historical dramas have a lot of “shang tian” and “lao tian” which westernized translators misleadingly translates as “g#d”. It doesn’t correspond the associated biblical “g#d”.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Such Wonderful Characters
The Story:The Long Ballad follows the journey of Li Chang Ge, the daughter of the previous Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. After her beloved uncle massacres her family and takes the throne, Chang Ge finds herself fleeing for her life. During these events, she encounters and befriends Ashile Sun while both are using different identities. Ashile Sun is a general and foster son of the Khan of the Ashile Tribe who also happens to be one of Tang’s fierce enemies. After defeating Chang Ge in battle, Sun takes her back to his camp to save her life and eventually makes her his military advisor. After a series of unfortunate events involving shattering losses to both, Chang Ge and Sun are separated with Chang Ge lost to how she should move forward. After discovering her new path and finding their way back to each other, Sun and Chang Ge begin to fight for their life together and for peace for their kingdoms.
The Cast:
Wu Lei as Ashile Sun was quite a wonderful casting choice. I haven’t seen him in anything since Nirvana In Fire so I didn’t know what to expect or hope for. His styling as Tegin Sun was beautifully done and complimented him so much. I was so happy every time he was in his grassland outfits instead of the bland Tang outfits. His acting was very impressive, especially for someone so young. My heart broke with him at his losses and I felt his pain and frustrations whenever Chang Ge would turn away from him after he continuously sacrificed so much to keep her safe. I now have high expectations for Wu Lei and wish him luck in his future projects.
Dilraba is someone I’ve followed since Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and I think The Long Ballad was a personal best for her. Dilraba is no doubt gorgeous and I think that hurts her sometimes as an actress. I’ve never felt enraptured by her acting, compelled by her crying scenes in the past, nor have I ever related to any of her characters. However, her portrayal of Chang Ge was just so well done. You can tell she put care into her portrayal and she brought life to Li Chang Ge as she transformed from the privileged princess to exiled outlaw to Eagle Division’s military advisor to just being whoever she wanted to be. Her journey encompassed heart break, disappointment, loss, self-reflection, and discovery and Dilraba played it all perfectly.
Special shoutout to Zhao Lusi as Li Leyan as well. Like Dilraba, I’ve followed Zhao Lusi for a while and The Long Ballad was also a personal best for her. It was quite a different path from the usual comedies she usually does and I’m so happy she got a chance to flex her acting skills. Leyan was perhaps the only other character who truly went through life-altering changes throughout her journey. Zhao Lusi did a wonderful job portraying the meek, naive princess who was forced to wake up from her privilege and work for something in her life. Her struggles pushed her into realizing being a princess was more than a name and because of it, she came out so much stronger and more resilient. I look forward to more projects that challenge her acting in the future.
What I love:
The cinematography was so well done!! I loved how scenes were captured from every angle. It added so much depth to the drama. The styling was very pleasing overall as well. I do think I preferred the Ashile Tribe stylings to the Tang one just because the Tang styling was quite bland and no one really stood out in those outfits. The fight scenes were spectacular! Starting from the Cuju game in episode 1 to all the fight scenes afterwards, I send lots of praise to the choreographer. Their hard work truly paid off!
The soundtrack is beautiful! Zhou Shen’s “Cocoon” is still on repeat for me. Each song perfectly reflects the characters’ mindsets and convictions and are played strategically throughout the drama for when they are the most poignant.
The Relationships:
The selling point of this drama were the relationships present (excuse the long post):
My 3 favorite relationships in this drama:
1. Chang Ge-Ah Sun:
I really loved the relationship between Chang Ge and Ah Sun. The drama itself wasn’t romance-focused but I think that was one of the reasons I loved the romantic parts. It was a slow-burn romance with Sun falling first but their journey together and all the trials they faced made it so their love wasn’t just based off of meaningless encounters. Sun fell for Chang Ge because of her resilience, intelligence, and stubbornness. Unfortunately, those are the same reasons why they had to separate for a period of time.
Normally, I feel like separation between leads is just unnecessary filler..but that wasn’t the case for these leads. Chang Ge was brought to Eagle Division against her will and although she eventually came to see them as her own and tried her best to protect them, she never thought of it as her home. Because of this, she was constantly trying to leave while Sun was tethering her to him. This caused a lot of tension between them and as a result, they both paid the price over their stubbornness. I felt they were suffocating each other too much and although I hated Chang Ge for just leaving him, I knew it was necessary if I had hopes of them coming back together later. Because she left, she was able to discover herself and when they were reunited, they were of the same mind and heart.
It was obvious when the shift happened because it was no longer him fighting to keep her beside him, it was also her telling him that they will face every thing together as a united front.
The main reason I love this coupling so much is also because of their convictions. While they love and would die for each other, they won’t compromise their loyalties and beliefs for the other. Despite standing by Sun, Chang Ge makes it clear she will not betray Tang. Likewise, when Sun leaves his position of Tegin of Eagle Division for her, he states constantly that he will not do anything that’ll cause harm to Ashile Tribe. It’s beautiful because they are aware of their different roots and are conscious to the fact that their decisions will impact many other lives.
2: Chang Ge-Le Yan:
The perfect example of sisterly-love. If any drama wants to portray a good sister-sister bond, then this drama should be used as a template. Chang Ge and Le Yan’s relationship is so beautiful and heart-warming. Growing up together, Chang Ge was always Le Yan’s champion and protector and when everything went downhill, it was so painful to see Chang Ge so defensive against Le Yan due to Le Yan being guilty-by-association. Despite all this, Le Yan and Chang Ge still sought each other out when they heard news of the other. Once misunderstandings were cleared and each found their own paths, it brought tears to my eyes to hear Le Yan proclaim her intent to protect Chang Ge from that moment forth. Le Yan continuously warning Chang Ge of potential dangers then Chang Ge volunteering Sun to fight for Le Yan’s hand so she can avoid a marriage to Sh’er showed just how much they loved each other and I appreciated their bond so much.
3. Ah Sun-Sh’er:
Ah…the exact opposite to Chang Ge-Le Yan. What could’ve been but wasn’t. Unlike the previous two, Ah Sun and Sh’er, despite also growing up together, were not taught to love and protect each other. Rather, they were forced to compete and hate each other because they knew well that one of them would become leader to Ashile Tribe. There’s so much to dig into their relationship that 1 page wouldn’t be enough lol
While Sun is intelligent, far-sighted, and cautious, Sh’er is the exact opposite. Impulsive, foolish, and only living in the moment, Sh’er causes a lot of grief for Sun, the Khan, and Sh’er’s own mother. His only goal being to surpass Sun, Sh’er’s inferiority complex causes him to make an irreparable mistake which causes him to lose whatever was salvageable between himself and Sun. Sh’er is by no means, an evil person. Unfortunately for him, he reacts too slowly to events that transpire around him. Their brotherhood could’ve been epic and at the very least, Sh’er does redeem himself and he and Sun are able to part ways with closure.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama very much. It was not perfect and there were times when I felt the chemistry between Wu Lei and Dilraba wasn't there (many of the physical scenes between them, whether it be hand holding or hugging, didn't make me feel that romantic pull). I loved Wu Lei as Ashile Sun and I loved Dilraba as Li Changge. I even loved Ashile Sun and Changge together...but I didn't care for Wu Lei with Dilraba. The romantic chemistry was just nonexistent.
I did give it an 7.5 rating instead of a higher number because the ending made me feel . . . empty. I was neither happy nor unhappy. It just felt like it ended ... there was no lasting impression and no desire to rewatch except for a handful of scenes I thoroughly enjoyed.
If you like a drama that's not overly dark/heavy and pretty much provides closure to every character, then check this one out.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Perfect Blend of Adventure, Friendship and Romance
The Long Ballad, adapted from a popular ongoing manga, Chang Ge Xing, by Xia Da (夏达), won over me with its inspirational characters and life lessons, strong friendships and bonds, and unique storyline. Not only did it provide me with an amazing drama watching experience, but also made me sympathize and feel for many of the characters. In case you didn’t know, the Long Ballad’s title comes from Li Changge’s name. Li is her surname, while Changge means ‘Long Ballad’. (or long song)I have to admit that I set my expectations quite high for this drama, as it has a star-studded cast, a cast filled with actors and actresses that I have watched in other dramas before, and impressed me with their acting skills. Adding on to my excitement was the director, Chu Yui Bun, who had directed 3 dramas that I exceptionally loved. But even with my bar set high, this historical Chinese drama won me over.
Something especially unique with the Long Ballad is that it provides some connections and reminders to the manhua. Quite a few war scenes and other scenes are in a cartoon-ish form. The actors may be in the scenes, but the backdrops are green screens. The transitions were a little abrupt, but I really enjoyed these scenes and they were very beautiful. I also really loved the costumes. They were absolutely gorgeous, and fit the different settings and period very well.
Story-9.0
As I started the drama, I was introduced to a bustling Chang An, the capital of the highly successful Tang Dynasty, which lasted from 618 to 907 AD. Many historians consider the Tang Dynasty a 'Golden Age', specifically of arts and culture. During this period, people from all around the world came to China for education, traveling, business, and many other reasons. During the reign of Li Shimin, also known as Tang Taizong, civilians lived in peace and happiness, and without poverty. It truly was a beautiful time. The drama also motivated me, who already had some knowledge of the Tang Dynasty and Tang Taizong's achievements, to research more about this era. My research also resulted in the knowledge that quite a few people in the Long Ballad are real people that lived during the Tang Dynasty, including Ashina Sun's cousin, Ashina She'er, Wei Shuyu and his father, Wei Zheng, a well-known Tang Chinese politician and historian, and the crown prince of the drama, Li Chengqian.
The beginning of the Long Ballad is not set during the most famous prosperous period, though. It is actually set right before Li Shimin's successful reign. Li Changge is a Tang Dynasty princess, the daughter of the crown prince, having everything and even more that a girl during that time or even now could have. But her entire family is killed by her Second Uncle, Li Shimin, and her life is turned upside down. At first, I was worried that the drama would be centered around a normal revenge plot, but thankfully, I was very wrong. Revenge might have been something that Li Changge focused on, but this is not the main topic/theme of the drama. The Long Ballad also explores strong friendship, cute romance, loyalty, family, and so much more.
The drama is by no means centered around politics or war. Politics is almost nonexistent in this drama, which is a relief for many, although power played an important role in the Long Ballad. We are shown that power was very important for one's success in ancient times, and this can also apply to us during modern times.
The main goal of the drama is not for the characters to gain some mystical object, but rather to show their immense character growth, and the growths are shown very realistically. I was not only entertained, but was also given different perspectives of life and the many relationships in our lives. The plot was not very predictable, and the plot twists made the drama experience even more memorable.
Fortunately, the actors and actresses also did very well with the fighting scenes. We are provided with well thought-out and practiced fighting scenes that look very polished and natural. Bravo!
There were a few loopholes, though. I won’t elaborate too much on this, but there were a few spots in the drama where I felt that the characters could have done something differently for a better result. Otherwise, I wouldn’t change anything else about the drama. The plot is very propelling, and unlike some other historical Cdramas, is not very slow-paced.
Cast-9.5
The cast is one of the reasons I decided to watch the Long Ballad. What better to watch my two favorite Chinese actresses in one drama, along with the handsome and mature Wu Lei? And Liu Yuning is a plus!
I had absolutely no problems with the 7-year age gap between Dilraba and Wu Lei. In fact, they looked so compatible together that my smiles and fawning were almost always uncontrollable. It is more than evident how much Ashina Sun and Li Changge care for each other, from their actions to even just their facial expressions. The Long Ballad is not centered around romance, but it does have a good amount of it. We are given a few couples, each with their own cute scenes.
Leo Wu, at age 21, just awed me again. For those who have watched Nirvana in Fire, he is nothing like that cute and innocent Fei Liu. I mean, Ashina Sun is also handsome (amazingly handsome) and cute, but in a much more mature way. His aura spreads everywhere. Ashina Sun is a man of righteousness and kindness. Although he seems cold and perhaps a little emotionless, viewers start to see his real personality as he interacts more with the ones he cares about, including Changge. Not only does he have a great personality, but his fighting skills are also one of the best, with him being able to hit a certain point with his bow and arrow long distances away.
Li Changge is not an easy character to play. Her determined personality becomes even more prominent after the deaths of her family, as she becomes even more determined to avenge for their deaths. No, she is not that naive and bubbly little princess. She is a strong-willed, talented, and intelligent young woman who, as she leaves the place she had called home for her entire life, discovers the real world and the things that lay ahead for her. Again, Dilraba impresses me with her portrayal of this awesome Tang Dynasty princess.
Now we come to Li Leyan, played by our lovely Zhao Lusi, and she is the daughter of Li Shimin and the cousin of Li Changge. I admit, I was hoping for a "stronger" Li Leyan in the beginning, as her personality was quite naive and perhaps a little too generous and kind, but she, like Changge, entered the real world, where there were no servants to wait on her and no jewels and crowns for her to wear. Li Leyan's growth is phenomenal and inspirational. In the end, I absolutely adored her character. She, unlike a few other characters in the Long Ballad, is not completely useless. Li Leyan's kindness spread throughout the nation, from donating food to saving civilians from natural disasters. She is almost the perfect princess, with a little more intelligence and thoughtfulness sprinkled in.
Hao Du is another favorite character in Long Ballad. Liu Yuning acts him out very well, being quite disliked by Leyan at first, he shows her that he does not have a heart made of stone. In fact, he cares for his friends and family very much. Unlike Wei Shuyu, he was not born into a very wealthy family, although he was adopted by his godfather. He was taught at a very young age to work hard for the Tang Dynasty, to even sacrifice his life for it. Along with many other characters, Hao Du’s personality slowly grew on me.
Some other characters, although minor, were also essential in this story. A few good examples include Mu Jin, Ashina She’er and Mimi Guli. There were many other characters that I both loved and hated. At first, the main antagonist was not very clear, but as the story progressed, everything was revealed, providing me the very person to despise and wish for the worst. The antagonist, which I will not say, does have a considerably good reason to do what they did, and they were a major obstacle for the protagonists of the Long Ballad to pass. Sacrifices were made, along with alliances and friends and enemies. There were many characters in the Long Ballad, and it was a little hard to remember everyone's names at first, which is the norm for Chinese historical dramas. But most characters had their own special purposes, and everyone acted very realistically and well.
Music-9.5
Amazing osts. Period. When I watched the first episode, and first heard the opening and ending songs, I already fell in love with two Long Ballad osts. If you are an avid Cdrama watcher, you probably recognize the voices, or even the names, of these singers: Zhang Bichen, Zhou Shen, Sa Dingding, Liu Yuning. They have sung osts for countless dramas, and are very well-known in China. The soundtrack for the Long Ballad is very enjoyable and unique, with wonderful melodies, voices, and lyrics. It’s very hard for a drama to have one or two good songs, let alone five or six.
Rewatch Value-8.5
The Long Ballad is a very good drama to rewatch, for both the plot and character development. I’m not high on rewatching, so my rewatch values are often pretty low for most dramas that I have watched. But this drama certainly has many scenes to rewatch and to re-enjoy. I'm also happy to say that I was more than satisfied with the ending, as it gave me an amazing closure for many characters.
Overall-9.5
The Long Ballad has creeped up to my top 10 Chinese dramas, and probably my top 5 Chinese historical dramas. As a big fan of historicals, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It provided me with an amazing sense of what Tang Dynasty life is, and the goals and perspectives of people living different lives. It would seem impossible that a Tang Dynasty Princess would meet and fall in love with a Turkish prince, but it happened, and made many of us fall in love with the couple. I highly recommend the Long Ballad for Chinese drama watchers, especially ones that like to watch historical adventure and romance dramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
Almost worked
I usually skip Dilraba Dilmurat works as I don't think she has chemistry with anyone. Yes she's beautiful and her acting skills gotten better but she still didn't pull off what the story required. Her big eyes always looked kind of blank & I am sure there will be lots of people offended with that comment.What worked:
Story - overall interesting at least for the first 30 ep. Then the last portion dragged on w/ the the evil witch
Character growth was well written: FL, the princess & Hao Du were my top 3
Strong overall cast and supporting cast:
Zhao Lu Si (Princess) - I always watch her dramas even the subpar ones. She's always a delight to watch. Her character growth was the best in this drama.
Liu Yu Ning (Hao Du) - Loved his character the most
Leo Wu (Ashile Sun) - The little kid that was in Nirvana Fire grew up! Ok I didn't think he had any character development but every drama needs that hero
Random super cool swordsman - standard new character introduction with a pop in rescue
Ending - It's NOT the typical everyone dies kind
What didn't work:
2nd 1/2 - dragged on and the whole evil plot wasn't that entertaining
The disappearing martial arts of the FL. It happens a lot in many dramas. Fierce FL started out can beat a 100 men and then as the story goes, she needs to get rescued by literally everyone
Not enough screen time of Zhao Lu Si & Hao Du. There was a huge gap where she just didn't even appear in any episodes
Was this review helpful to you?
Now for the first time, after so many series: I was more drawn to the second leads\couple. There were so many emotions going on with these two. It was heartfelt, sweet and somewhat exciting too. In truth, you get more development from the second leads than from anyone else. You also get a beginning, middle and conclusion. Yes, no cliffhangers.
Overall it was fair. It’s not on my rewatch list. I really did love the music.
Cast: I am definitely a fan of the female lead. I have enjoyed almost every drama she has stared in. Today I can officially say that the ML is also going to be an actor that I am watching for. He’s performance in this series with amazing. From the main leads to the secondary to the supporting cast, every cast member performed well. The energy that they brought to series really made it what it was.
Action: there was tons it. The fighting in this series is one that had me rewinding and re-watching them more than twice. Some of the choreography in terms of how they maneuver around and did all of these moves while they were fighting is something that was commended by followers and viewers while watching this series. I can almost guarantee that if you watched it you are going to rewind a couple of these scenes at least three times. They did not dial back with the action. In truth it almost look like these people are good actors but they’re not but it always looks so cool real.
Plot: what can I say? Initially I wasn’t really sure what the flight was but if you read the synopsis you will get somewhat of an idea. In reality it’s a battle of kingdoms. And not multiple kingdoms there’s really just one main one and then you have a few small little class but there is bickering and plotting amongst the minor one toward the larger one. I believe that the bigger plot about one princess a.k.a. the female lead fight for justice and her revenge. Although the revenge is really not a major part of the series. From start to finish you don’t really feel like the theories were all over the place. Everything had a clear point and added value.
Romance: yes I put a romance tag here because it’s listed under the genre historical romance. To be completely honest I liked the series a great deal but in terms of romance, it wasn’t present. Which leads me to my next point; the chemistry between the leads was almost nonexistent. Hilarious point is when they have a kiss scene or about to kiss, they’re replaced with a bird kissing each other supplement. Throughout series I also felt like they were just not in sync. I guess another word it just means that I didn’t really feel the intimacy. And yes you can have intimacy without all of the censored singing is it spell more like friends not lovers.
Characters: most of the characters were likable. Of course in every series I have to be a villain and we do have one here. The twister that is the villain is kind of an unexpected one. My favorite character in the series is best ‘Sher’. He’s not the main lead but for me he appears to be loyal, sweet, and passionate.
2nd FL and 2nd ML were great. They had such character growth.
No really overly annoying cast members.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
One of the most complete, well-constructed and interesting historical c-dramas ever!
This drama is a story of adventure and coming of age.GENERAL:
The drama is well constructed from start to finish. There is a beautiful progression and evolution of the story. The characters will experience many diverse and varied, sad and happy adventures. They will meet new characters, learn new things, lose and win.
This is not a harem drama, nor a political drama, nor a wuxia drama. So it really stands out from other historical dramas.
There aren't countless characters to follow nor a lot of complicated and noxious storylines. Above all, we follow the leads and the people around them. This drama is written with great intelligence and respect.
It is a drama which wants to be accessible to a young audience therefore, it is not dark while being serious at times.
The episodes follow one another smoothly, the story moves forward without dragging too long. The script can sound classic yet smart and dynamic which makes it better than a lot of other stories.
CHARACTERS:
The 2 female leads are cousins and, unlike many dramas, are not going to fight. They sincerely love each other and will each live their own adventure, their own romance and their own trial in life. This is one of the most positive things about this story. There is no toxic second lead or unbearable love triangle.
Each girl represents in her own way a version of a woman (the "traditional" and the "rebel"). But each has her strength, each has her weaknesses and each will show that she is courageous.
The same goes for the 2 male leads which have their own evolution without any ridiculous rivalry. We follow two talented and cold young men who, in contact with the two cousins, will gradually show the sensitivity they hid in their heart and learn to impose their point of view instead of being blindly obedient soldiers.
The FL is really well done: strong, intelligent, capable, knows how to be restrained, sensitive, courageous etc... She's not perfect, she knows she's too impulsive. She also still has a lot to learn. But unlike some "revenge drama", this character doesn't let herself be consumed by hatred and rage. Her character is writted so accurately, it's really nice.
The ML is really well written and performed. We feel all his nobility, his leadership, his intelligence. We understand from his gaze all his doubts, his fears, his thoughts, his love for the FL... It is really the best Male Character to follow because he is all in relief and, above all, he is extremely respectful of the FL. He does not try to impose his wishes and opinions on her, he respects her abilities, her objectives, her convictions.
It's nice to see two main leads with their own belief, their own goal, their own obstacle respecting each other. They have common values as well as an intelligence and capacity on the same level.
The SFL may be quite innocent and unconscious of the world, but she is not made stupid or incapable like some can be. Her young age and her life in her golden cage make her inexperience understandable. But we see that she is fundamentally kind, that she is capable of taking initiatives to help others or to survive. And it's interesting and cute to watch her gradually discover the real world that people of her lineage come to rule.
Her trial of life will last for some episodes but it is really useful for her evolution and to break the cliché of the "weak girl in distress".
ROMANCE:
Romances are slow burns but they are built from the first episode and were really wonderful! The main couple spoiled us with beautiful scenes and incredible dialogue throughout the drama.
The characters support, respect, admire and protect each other. There is real equity in the relationship between men and women and it is great to see!
OST:
It is certainly one of the most beautiful OST there is. All the songs fit wonderfully into the drama.
ACTING:
The older actors are pretty much all very talented (with the exception of the main villain whose I didn't like the acting).
The main actors are also at their best. Dilreba is playing one of her best (if not the best) roles. Her playing is convincing, she aptly mixes rage, determination, hesitation, doubt and timidity. Even if it is clear that she is not 16 like her character, we sincerely come to believe that she is a young girl.
Wu Lei is an extraordinary actor. He carries a lot of the tension and stakes of drama on his shoulders and he does it to perfection. He also achieved the feat of making us forget the age gap between him and Dilreba. At no time did I have the impression that she was older than him. I sincerely believed in their character's age and in him being the oldest. That he was able to do that is great.
The rest of the cast play their roles well and none of them seemed over-acted.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
I really struggled with the way of speaking of the main villain.
ADVICE:
The drama is inspired by a manhua. Due to the covid and out of respect for the original work, several scenes are animated. There aren't that many either. It is mainly at the very beginning of the drama and sometimes during flashbacks or battles. But, if you have prepared for it in advance, apart from a few scenes, it's not disturbing at all, on the contrary, it gives a style to the drama.
REWATCH:
This drama is so complete (whether by its story, its romances, the evolution of the characters, the many adventures lived) that it clearly deserves to be seen again and again.
This is definitely one of the dramas that I would have no problem seeing more than twice.
CONCLUSION:
I highly recommend this drama!
If you like action, adventures, battles, healthy relationships, beautiful friendships, life lessons, great romances, go for it!
It has it all. The editing is very well done, the music is magnificent, there are also beautiful views. The characters are all diverse, varied and interesting to follow. The main romance is one of the best there is.
This drama is lighter than the usual historical dramas. If you like intrigue, politics, mature characters from the start, this might not be the drama for you. Here, the cast is quite young as we follow their entry into adulthood. But there is a maturity in the writing and in the evolution of the characters that makes this drama a success. I'm an adult and I loved it!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Addictive, Cool Fight Scenes
TLB was very addictive and fun to watch, but it's not perfect.What I loved:
-the fight scenes, especially at the temple, between Sun and Sheer, and ending were well choreographed.
-touching story- I loved Chang Ge's last conversation with Lishimin - I cried lots!
-the cast - I've really enjoyed all the nuance. I've never watched Leo and Dilraba and I was impressed with their acting.
-the character development of She'er, Hao Duo, Leyan
What Could be Improved:
-Sun had very little character development - he was "perfect" from the beginning so the lack of growth was disappointing because even the side characters had shown growth.
-Sun's romantic love for Chang Ge seemed one-sided. Change Ge seemed to like Sun because of guilt (seemed more platonic love than romantic love).
-Chang Ge's grassland arc should be longer to show her strategic worth to the Eagle Division and build camaraderie; instead, the palace politics in the end was too long and didn't make too much sense.
-the makeup: Chang Ge should not have such heavy makeup when she is dressed up as a boy. She's gorgeous dressed as a princess.
What I despised!
-Canaries! They shouldn't have even bothered.
Overall, I would highly recommend TLB. Just remember that it is a drama, so there are some pretty big plot holes to overlook. The acting is very good and there are many touching storylines.
Was this review helpful to you?
its ok
its a really okay drama. theres a reason why it received the mixed ratings it did on douban and i agree with a lot of them (reba’s stiff acting, very strange choices for the animation inserts, predictable story). tho i do think dilireba has improved a lot since she first began her acting career, ive still yet to be taken by her. she’s beautiful, i think that goes without saying, but it was hard for me to feel moved for changge at all. zhao lusi and liu yuning were surprisingly incredible. like...wow, her expressions? her character arc? i wasn’t moved by the story, but i def teared up when leyan suffered. i didn’t know who either of them were before and in the end i skipped most of the drama just to see what would happen with their characters. their love story is also a predictable one but they carried it out with ease. otherwise ur enjoyability of this drama generally weighs upon how much you like dilireba and wu lei, and i think its safe to say that if you love them, then the drama’s a pretty huge win for you.Was this review helpful to you?
Posterity for the birds
This is my final thought, ramble, rant... call it what you will.This may have a mild spoiler proceed with caution.
Good plot, good acting, excellent OST. Interesting main and side characters who all managed to standout on their own. Good pacing but it did lag towards the end. I really think they could have worked to make this ended at 42. Unnecessarily dragging it out to 49 did the drama a great disservice.
What I liked:
* Hao Du - Best boy. Only character that mattered from the get-go! You can’t imagine how much I like him. I watched Zhao Lusi for you TT (okay, I'll admit this character fitted her well but still... only for Hao Du!)
* Changge- was she perfect? No. But she was a great character to watch. A strong, defiant, smart and fearless character who puts loyalty and country above personal grudge. She is impulsive, cold, unreasonable at times too. The drama shows you how each experience shapes her, how it layer by layer peals off her shell, her anger, her resistance. Overall, this was a very well developed character.
* Li Shimin - okay the actor did really well in this role (this role fits him so much better than the one he played in LoF. He really came off as comical in that)
I'm a little disappointed though that we only got to see the empathetic side of him. He's Emperor Taizong and he's considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history! You don't become someone like that by ruling with benevolence alone. He had to also have been shrewd, cunning and calculative and a bit of ruthless to some extent. All great men who leave their mark on history are and I'd have liked to see a little bit of that instead of just showing his kindness.
* Minister Du - I know a well written character when I see a character that you initially dislike or feel is going to be the antagonist to the end but as the story progresses you see parts of their personality that makes you reevaluate your initial impression. Not because they went through a redemption arc, they are still the same people with the same principle but you find that you understand them better now. This was a character I didn't expect to be moved by this much but I nevertheless was (why am I surprised, he raised Hao Du!)
* She'er - this is a very stereotypical character. The arrogant, seemingly cruel misunderstood character but is in fact the innocent of them all. I think I like him because he's a cliched character, sometimes there is comfort in the known.
* Princess Yi Cheng/Khatun - regardless of how you may feel about her, I thought this was a very good, multi-layered character. Unrepentent to the end, which’s a large part of why I like this character, she still manages to pull on your emotions. She is not just one person - an innocent girl, an abandoned princess, a wife, a mother, a Khatun - in every version of her I have found genuine reasons to either empathize or sympathize with.
* Richard Wang's cameo - even if it was brief, the man showed up looking like an elf and giving me LoTR's crossover images I didn't know I needed.
* Underrated CP: Xu Feng and Shi Ba ❤️
What I didn't like:
* Li Change's lipstick - and this is why I HATE cross dressing/gender bending dramas. The lack of commitment. Dilraba did a very good job acting as Li Shi Si with her demeanor and aloofness but yet time and time again they have her in bright shades of lipsticks. Why? were they afraid she wouldn't look attractive enough for fans? Didn't she still get criticize for the 2 hair strands? If you can't please anyone at the very least commit to your craft. I don't need all my leading actor/actresses to stand out. I rather they play a convincing role. I'm already suspending logic pretending I don't see their chest.
* The anime- I had initially thought it was actually pretty cool to incorporate the anime in the drama but the drama ended up replacing ALL the battle scenes with manhua. WTF! It was very underwhelming. How are you going to ask me to be invested in the outcome of a war when I'm looking at drawings? I want to see blood, and stabbing and cutting and hacking. I want to feel the panic of watching the enemy creep up on a character from behind....There was no tension whatsoever so it was less impactful. To add to this, the badly CGI'd actors pretending to charge into the manhua scenes was so ridiculous, I burst out laughing each time.
Ya, I'm not buying this was due to COVID. It may have started that way but it feels like it's Tencents way of saving money. You'd think at least they'd spare some change and get Changge a 2nd outfit. The girl wore the same blue outfit from Ep 39-46.
* Wei Shu Yu - I know air is free but really we still shouldn't just waste it. Consistently mediocre, a glorified messenger, has neither brain nor spine... I could go on but I don't want to waste any more time on him.
* A'Sun in ep 42 - I really wanted to reach through the screen and throw him off the balcony. It's fine though because Hao Du exists. (okay, this reason is petty and I know but I don't care)
* Mimi Guli - annoying for most of the drama. Am I sad? Yes, but she is still annoying as a character and the dubbing voice didn't help at all. Every time she whined my ears suffered.
Editing this to add how much I hated the birds. This drama should be proud of its accomplishment in making me have strong averse reaction to two cute birds.
Was this review helpful to you?
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
This is the empowering, female focused historical drama that I have been waiting for. Finally in Li Changge, we get a strong, smart, independent female lead character who seeks meaning in life beyond being just an extension of the male lead and his dreams. Not that Wu Lei's Ashile Sun is anything to throw popcorn at because this man is a total keeper from his fabulous thunderbolt eyebrows all the way down to his baby toes. No, I haven't actually gotten to his baby toes, my screen appears to be ahem... stuck... in a perpetual loop around about his stunning bare chest but I am sure they past muster. Even disguised as a man, Dilraba is such a peerless goddess no male lead ever seems good enough until Wu Lei rocks up to turbocharge this smoking hot OTP into one of my all time favorite drama couples. Don't be fooled by my shameless, shallow gushing, this is so much more than just another idol drama. All of the main characters in this drama start out as young people who don't know who they want to be when they grow up. They go on an incredible journey of self actualization to discover their true values and best selves.This story begins with Li Shimin's bloody ascent to the Tang throne over the bodies of his brothers, to be the greatest Tang emperor. Li Changge, a fictional character, is his much adored niece and daughter of the deposed crown prince. Disguised as a man, she flees the capital, vowing to avenge her family and tries to marshal her father's remaining supporters to undermine her uncle. Thus Changge embarks on a long and difficult quest, making many friends including the delicious Ashile Sun along the way. She is young, naive and makes costly mistakes with irreversible consequences along the way. In the process, she discovers that the truth is never simple and there are causes far greater than hers; that an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Dilraba's performance as Changge is several notches above all her other works; she is not afraid to ugly cry or allow grief and rage to ooze from every pore of her being.
I picked up this drama because Wu Lei's Fei Liu is one of my all time favourite drama characters. Who would have guessed that irascible kid would have grown up to be such a sexy beast of an Ashile Sun! And Wu Lei has not lost any of his agility in delivering thrilling, heavy hitting action scenes, with his kick ass fight with She'er being one of the drama highlights. But what really is on fire is his chemistry with Dilraba; their mutual attraction does not have to be expressed in words. When Sun tells Changge "From now on, you are my slave" his entire being screams "From now on, I am your slave." It is so refreshing to have a couple that understands each other, is honest with each other (even about lying to each other) and shares the same world vision. Ashile Sun's manliness comes from the fact that he is not threatened by Changge's independence and strength, he glories in it. Together they find that forgiveness brings peace and liberation. I am also most pleased that not all the men fall in love with Changge, Mimi is more the femme fatale.
Changge's cousin and closest confidante Leyan is inadvertently thrown on a similar journey. They are polar opposites by nature and deal with challenging situations in completely different ways but both show immense courage and fortitude. Leyan is the character that shows the most growth in this drama and even though usually weepy characters give me rashes, I was not allergic to Zhao Lusi's empathetic portrayal. Fair to say, the princess and the icicle is very cliche but Liu Yuning and Lusi really capture what made it such a popular trope to begin with. Sadly they must have cut those scenes where the uptight Haodu thanks Wei Shuyu for buying him looser underwear with tears in his eyes because poor Wei Shuyu never gets any love despite how he redeems himself later on.
As much as I find this drama's character development addicting, it must be said that the plot is flimsy and requires heavy suspension of disbelief. This is partly because the plot development is constrained by historical facts. While it is very cool to journey with our characters to all the historical hot spots and watch them interact with great historical figures while history plays out, the plot itself doesn't amount to much more than that. Changge's mother's story is tragic but anti-climatic as far as mysteries go and that is the problem, the drama doesn't really have a climax. The entire last arc is not only implausible, the main antagonist was mis-cast and their acting was so appalling I really cringed through many moments of the final few episodes. As for the ending, I found it most fitting. Weddings are not the same without family, permission was asked and received and beautiful vows were exchanged. We don't need more than that.
Broadly speaking, men are followers of women in this drama making it is the ultimate female fantasy fiction that on sheer addictiveness and enjoyment factor alone merits a 10/10. But objectively speaking it also has some flaws that make an overall 8.5/10.0 more fair.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I want to start by saying that I was looking forward to this series. The amazing cast and the hype around this series were the two things that made me add the series to my watchlist. From the OST clips I’ve seen, I thought the series was a full-on romance with a little bit of politics with the royal family. I was extremely disappointed to find out it was the exact opposite – more politics and very light on the romance.What I like about the series:
Liu Yu Ning’s character of Hao Du, I was rooting for him the entire time. I couldn't help but notice the way he looked at the Princess the first time. I am so glad there was one thing from the series that did not disappoint me.
The storyline was very well thought out, there were a lot of side characters that were added each time FL faced a trial that developed her character growth.
The OST. Lately, I have this tendency to listen to OST before watching the series. I love fan-made clips of the series, sneak peeks always get me excited and I look forward to these scenes. I also love how Sa Dinding’s 'If you come back' was used in a lot of “dramatic” scenes. It was probably one of the songs I had to look up right away.
Did I mention Hao Du? My favorite scene of his was when Hao Du jumped in, fighting off She Er to win the princess's hand in marriage.
The cinematography did not disappoint, the one thing I really enjoyed was how some scenes transition from live-action to manga. I found this to be very refreshing. I prefer having this transition rather than an overload of CG.
The cast, I am familiar with some of these actors and actresses so I was super excited to watch this. The last I’ve seen any of Dilraba work was in Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and the spin-off Eternal Love of Dream. Zhao Lu Si has been one of the actresses I’ve been following this past year. A lot of her series was light and romantic, thus I was looking forward to seeing her in this role. Other familiar cast played minor roles but it was enjoyable to see them.
The bad:
This is more personal, and I think most folks will either hate or like this. I skipped a lot mainly because I’m not into politics and the military strategy and the scheme. I was bored out of my mind as I kept skipping these sections, which was a good chunk of the series. I probably grasped onto enough to understand what was happening and didn’t care for the minute details.
They're probably more that I didn’t like but I am not going to list them all. I don’t have a long list to make a case and to justify that it made the series bad, it was more of my personal preference.
Personally, my rating is 6.5/10. I think the second lead made the series enjoyable, I looked forward to seeing how Hao Du slowly changed from this cold heartless man to someone dear and loving. But they only play a small role, the entire series was on Sun and Chang ge, and simply I just didn’t like the politics. As much as I love the second leads, I know I won’t re-watch this series.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Long Ballad -- saved by its beautiful cast
The Long Ballad is a very entertaining drama. If you have never seen a Chinese historical, I would highly recommend you to watch this. But for those who have seen several historicals, The Long Ballad is an optional watch....TLB has 4 leads-- Dilraba Dilmurat, Wu Lei, Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning. They are young and beautiful actors. Especially for Dilraba, Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi, who have put in very remarkable performances in this drama (I have seen them in their previous dramas and there are notable improvements for all 3). I'm happy for Dilraba who finally has a strong FL character who does not have a tragic ending. Wu Lei had felt like the wrong choice for Ashile Sun, military general in the grasslands would not look like him, but his acting convinced me! Zhao Lusi's Leyan has very good character developments that kept me worried for her for a long while... which is good, otherwise I might have dropped the drama in the 20+ eps.
The director did a great job and kept the plot going at a good, fast pace almost for the whole drama. The good thing about The Long Ballad is, it has no drag, every episode is essential. Even when it cuts to Leyan's arc, the slower plot developments there still keep our attention as we worry for her.
My greatest, and only issue is on the script. The script feels like it is written for elementary school children. The simplicity of the plot really comes apart in the last arc, that last 7 eps where I have to watch at 1.5x speed else I be falling asleep. I like Dilraba a lot, and kept reminding myself, it is only 7 eps left, finish this for Dilraba.....
I must say the plot, the main plot, is really good. It has a lot of potential.... unfortunately screenwriter has simplified it to juvenile levels.
-- Change Ge was stabbed/shot at in her chest, near the heart area, several times in the drama. Even falling down from a great height into a river. Yet she survived. FL halo is over-used here. And because of this, no matter what danger that Chang Ge is in later, we do not feel anxious for her becos scriptwriter has made it very clear that she cannot die...
-- Chang Ge was able to command Gong Sun He's army in the battle against Ashile (she has only been taught in warfare by Masters, never been in a battle)... and that scheme that they used, flooding the enemy troops with water. That should take several days, weeks to arrange. How to setup that in one night....
-- Middle part is generally okay, or maybe I tried not to be 'too picky' and shut down my brain as I continue watching. But in the rescue of the Tang general from Ashile camp. It is unthinkable that such a clever Chang Ge would act so foolishly... and when the escape plan failed and Ashile soldiers were catching up with them (literally just a few metres away, on horses), the three had a lot of time to chat and even got Shi Ba (the general's most junior disciple) to acknowledge Chang Ge as her new master..... I was like, um folks, the soldiers are coming on fast horses, so can you get going??!
-- I really do not like the last arc.... the part when Chang Ge and Ke Dun were plotting and scheming against each other. Those tribal heads are much older than them, yet they can be sooo easily manipulated??!! Yes, the excuse is Ke Dun had held them hostage with their family members. But dear scriptwriter, they are GRASSLANDS TRIBAL HEADS, big macho men with their own brains and capable of independent thinking. It is not convincing that all of them become cowards because loved ones were held captive. They are MACHO men.... at least a few would want to stand up against Ke Dun even if at the risk of their families.
-- And that fire at the end. For such a big fire to start so quickly, Ke Dun would have poured fuel on the floor much earlier. The hall was enclosed (windows closed), so when Chang Ge entered, she should have smelled the fuel.... um, maybe Chang Ge had a nose block that day? cough cough.....
And the kiss scenes in the drama..... why even bother putting in romance if you want to be PG about the kisses?
China has produced much better historical dramas, with better attention on details and the plots. The Long Ballad is only a fun and entertaining watch, with a very beautiful and talented cast. Please ignore the script, and you can enjoy the drama fully.
Was this review helpful to you?
