Love Game in Eastern Fantasy

Big love for my bamboo sprouts!!

What a wonderful show this was🥹💗 I had such a good time watching this drama over the last couple of weeks. Visually, it was incredible, and I just loved the styling and little details here and there. Such as when Zi Qi was invisible, and we could see Miao Miao’s hair ribbon being played with; or when they were sitting on the stairs, and all we could see were the marks their butts had left🤭🤣

I just loved Esther and Yu Xi together, I cannot believe their chemistry was even better than in “Moonlight” (which says a lot because I LOVED them in “Moonlight”). They were both so fun on screen, and I loved seeing Zi Qi yearn and long for Miao Miao throughout the show😭💞 I also loved our little Bamboo gang in general, and the friendship that they had! 🎍🎋

Acting wise, this was great! Yu Xi has such great expressions, and his eyes can convey so much; truly, such a good actor!! And Esther was wonderful as well, she can act cute so naturally I love it so much! I also enjoyed the rest of the cast, I just wish the second male lead could have had more room to show his talents, I feel like he was a little underutilized to be honest. Regardless, I loved the cast, everyone had great chemistry and worked well with each other!🌟

The OST, cinematography and visual effects were also so, so good – this drama was such a feast for my eyes and ears, I loved it!! Although I have to say that it lost me a little bit after episode 23/24, but episode 28-32 were great again, so it’s fine. I will miss this drama now that I’m done with it … 🥹💞

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Fantasy Game or Book?

I’ve actually been putting this drama off since it came out on Netflix. The trailer wasn’t pulling me in. Every time the trailer comes by, I kept saying NOPE, not right now. Plus, Esther Yu’s baby voice just irritates me. No hate to her. She is really cute with her acting. I did watch her in Love Between Fairy and Devil and enjoyed it. I never read anything about this drama, so one day in the beginning of May 2025, I decided to dive into it without high expectations as always. I’m glad I gave it a chance. I surprisingly enjoyed it. We follow the story of the FL, Ling Miaomiao, who lives in the modern world and one day gets sucked in the book she was reading. A female voice starts talking to her and gives her missions of what to do. I was kind of confused, because the title says it’s a game, but it’s actually someone’s novel? I didn’t know who the ML was going to be. First time watching a full drama with Ding Yuxi in it. He did a great job here. Now I’m officially a fan and can watch all his other dramas now. I love the storyline, the twists and turns, the characters, and how they were all intertwined. The CG effects were great, too. Love the little dust demons that looked like tiny white mushrooms. I loved everything about this drama. It made me laugh and cry so much. There’s a lot to learn in this story, like not giving up on hope, friendships, love, family, and coexisting peacefully with everyone. Music was so good, too. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. It was a little meh, to be honest. They could’ve made it better. Why do writers do this? The dramas starts out so good and when it comes to the end, and it’s as if they lost their momentum on delivering a good ending. My heart hurts at the end. I just wanted a better one. *sigh*

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Cute and interesting storyline .

I was not planning to watch this drama but since I didn’t have anything to watch and i had already caught up on my already on going dramas , i decided to give it a go and to my surprise, i ended up loving it so much that i binge watched all the 9 episodes today .
The storyline is so cute and funny yet so interesting.
Esther yu is killing this role . I love her character so much . Ryan is doing so well too as always .
I hope they show us the modern world too after she completes the ancient game . And i‘m guessing mu sheng is the author of this poorly written story .

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The Moonlight Trio reunite!

This has been one of the series I was dying for since more than half a year, and I have to say my waiting period was really worth it. I watched Moonlight for this show, and since I loved Moonlight, I knew I was gonna love this one as much!

Moreover, I really loved the storyline, and the kind of video game theme it has with the pixelated illustrations and really colorful and vibrant costumes for the characters. Yellow and black really suits Mu Sheng, Ding Yuxi rocked him exactly like in the manhua! Like always, anything cute suits Esther and especially the fact she could play her role as Lin Yu totally opposite to her original evil character as in the novel was really amazing! I was also looking forward to Yang Shize’s role here because I really loved his relationship with Ding Yuxi in Moonlight, and his role and character as Liu Fuyi is just as great!

The OST here was really one of my favorites. The song by the main casts, Esther Yu, Ding Yuxi, Yang Shize, Zhu Xudan, Fei Qiming, Li Yizhen and Lu Yuhao was really a great OST by the casts I’d heard in while. The MV: https://youtu.be/4w0JbGUNg8w
The cast SLAYED the dance and they were even better than the original girl group who did this song before!

Overall, the cast, the layout, Special FXS, the colors and the natural acting makes this drama one of the greatest fantasy dramas I’ve watched in a while. Totally recommendable to people who loved Moonlight and those who like a good novel+video-game theme！

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Esther Yu

The series is very well-known. It's a game of going back to the past and changing things. But I didn't understand this in the first three episodes I watched. I didn't understand the plot. I didn't understand what was being said. I didn't understand what the actors were doing either. It seemed to me like Esther Yu's game of doing some funny things with her eyebrows down or drooping as if she was sad. She's being funny. Does it suit her? It's debatable. Childish things. It's not a style that appeals to every viewer. It seemed very unbecoming to me. I didn't like it. This understanding of the game also affected ML. It didn't suit her either. It dragged that actor down. The actors are good, talented actors. I was surprised how they got a role in such a scenario, in such a child's play. It's unbelievable that Esther Lu could play those roles with her face shape and eyebrows. I think she should stop being comedic. She should be more solid. She should do more dramatic roles. I don't have any objections to her acting, but it doesn't suit her. Sorry. I haven't mentioned the voices yet. It didn't work. I barely watched the three episodes. I couldn't bear it.

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A feel-good fantasy that heals the soul

This was genuinely the best feel-good fantasy drama ever. The comedy was amazing, and the dynamic of the characters were superb. The concept of the show had me hooked from the first read, and the way I dropped absolutely everything when I saw that this was completed just to watch it is not even funny. I have no fucking regrets. Stayed up until 4am giggling and crying my heart out. I swear, the dynamic of the main couple is honestly what I live for. I haven't seen a bickering couple like this in so long, and I loved every second of it. I was a wreck, A FUCKING WRECK, tears and buckets of tears coming down my eyes when Miao Miao realised Mu Sheng loved her. My heart actually broke into pieces, and I just know I'll end up crying again if I watch that scene again cuz you just remember how happy and giddy Sheng was when prepping everything until shit hit the bloody fan.

Now, that being said, everything was a 9-10/10 until that final episode. I liked the ending, don't get me wrong. That ending was exactly what I expected and I wouldn't have it any other way, or think of anything more suitable for it. HOWEVER. What was that last episode? Granted, I cried buckets watching it, but still. What was that? That shit came out of no where man. Yall could have built up to it a bit, but nope. They just shoved that shit in and completely forgot to foreshadow anything. What they did, and the message they were trying to tell was good, but bro? You can't just dash in last minute plot twists like that. It just makes it seem like it came out of no where and got crammed in cuz the writers wanted everything to be about the main leads. Also, what was that whole spiel about the black lotus? Ain't anyone going to explain that?

But honestly, other than that disappointing last ep (except ending), this was a top-notch fantasy drama. I need more found family, fighting demons, and going on adventure type shows. Or characters going into books/games and trying to get out plot lines. It's such an easy sell, and I'm its biggest victim. I'll eat it up every single time.

P.S. Ding Yu Xi with a long pony tail with bangs out had to be the prettiest thing I've seen all year. I genuinely could not stop staring at him. Had to pause my screen just to gawk and squeal.

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Came for Esther Yu, Took Ding Yuxi Home

In my 20+ years of watching Asian dramas, I haven’t gotten so addicted to a show like I do with this one. I watched this first on Netflix (no expectation, just to fall asleep with), it was so good that I had to get Viki subscription to watch the rest immediately, and now I’m rewatching on YT premium. They made this so enjoyable that rewatching isn’t a problem because it’s beautiful and fast paced. Hardly no fillers so I don’t mind watching over and over again, I’m so inlove with the cast & how they portray each characters! The chemistry overflows even without kissing, it blew my mind. Esther & Yuxi’s acting were superb! The supporting actors are just amazing!
Thanks so much to the producers and all the staff, you guys did an amazing job!!! The ending is ok, I don’t mind open ending, and I totally get the message! Thank you for gifting us with their show The Shining Stars, it’s delightful and very fun to watch. Especially the escape room!

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Worth a watch, Needed more romance

Bit of a slow start, the romance is very subtle, not a lot of tender moments so the chemistry leaves much to be desired for both couples.... There were not many points to believe in their love as overcoming all obstacles, well except for miao miao

The story line is ok, keeps flowing and ties in together well, however the game system just seems to go quiet so you forget that was the point.

Yu shu xin as always her acting is fab, you feel every emotion with her, she is cute, cheeky and comical.

Hated the makeup it made the cast look odd.

costume is lovely and the FX are good although a bit over the top.

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Its cute and has good chemistry but the length is too long for me

I liked watching it
Loved the FL and her cuteness definitely suited this script. She was a good casting. Her comic timing is decent and I have laughed way too much at the medicine scene when she struggled to live.

The male lead actor is one of my favs and he did a good job of making the enemies to lover interesting. If you enjoy slapstick comedy, this drama might just be for you.

They have also done a very good job at properly gamifying the entire drama. Let's say that they put more effort and it has excellent production quality.

I loved the costumes as well. The costumes of FL where wallpaper worthy and really helped in imagining her as a funny character.

Overall, its a light and cute drama

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