Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (2024)

Why did this show have to have Esther Yu????

After watching melody of Golden Age, I was looking forward to another drama by Ding Yu Xi. I loved him in all the dramas I have watched with him so far, except moonlight, which I couldn’t finish because of Esther Yu, but I still wanted to give this one a try, despite Esther Yu, just because of Ding Yu Xi. I just managed to watch a trailer and that was enough to put me off the show completely. I am sorry Ding Yu Xi, but you need to choose carefully who you are being cast with, if you want your work to be appreciated. As for Esther Yu, what do I say, I feel she jinxes every male lead that she works with, by overshadowing their hard work with her kiddish, silly acting and her toddler-like voice, which is frankly like pouring burning hot oil in one’s ears. I mean the woman is almost 30, acting in a drama where she has been cast as an adult, can she not act her age for once? Do people seriously like her so much that they can overlook her pathetic acting and baby voice and keep showering her with false praises? Nothing against those who think this drama is worth ten stars, I seriously wanted to give it a sincere try, even if it was just for Ding Yu Xi, but the trailer was sufficient to put me off it forever! My sincere apologies to Zhu Shu Dan and Yang Shi Ze as well, I love you guys, and I wanted to watch you so much, if it was not Esther Yu I had to watch you guys with. Please do more dramas minus Esther Yu and I promise to watch all of them!

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Only when you love yourself first can you truly love another.

I wish I could write a coherent review for this series. Truly one of the most heart-warming shows I've watched in a long time, which I didn't expect at all, considering how the story's concept didn't seem all that serious in the beginning.

[Some vague or random spoilers ahead, but spoilers nonetheless.]

Ling Miaomiao, the female lead, get sucked in to this book world with a game-like system, into the body of the book's supporting character but also villain, Lin Yu, when she writes a hate post about the said book's plot and crappy ending. Right away, she's thrown beginner tasks after beginner tasks which proceeds to show one of the most hilarious first three episodes of a cdrama I've ever watched. I don't remember laughing out loud as much as I have during the first three episodes of this show. Miaomiao also has the funniest voiceovers, thinking out loud the viewers' thoughts - criticising plot loopholes, admiring handsome characters, wondering about the CGI budget, etc. and I would say these voiceovers were the life of the first third of the show.

Miaomiao survives her hellish trial period in the game and it is revealed what she actually has to do to leave the game - defeat the book world's main villain - the Resentful Woman, and make the novel's male supporting lead, Mu Sheng, fall in love with her a.k.a. have positive 100% favorability towards her. Which is practically the same as having a snowball's chance in hell since Mu Sheng hates her guts a.k.a. views her with -250% hostility.

But Miaomiao, armed with her knowledge about the book world's fate, begins to change not only the main characters' trajectory but also the even lesser supporting ones. The arc with her book father is one of most moving subplots in this show and it made me tear up (happy tears!).

How the drama then proceeds to show the transition from the horrendous -250% to the humble 55% was very "kilig"-inducing. Episodes 7-10 must be my favorite episodes aside from episode 20 and the last episode. Episodes 7-10 are really where the magic happens and I got to know more about Mu Sheng or Ziqi, as Miaomiao calls him. Ziqi's book character is cruel, manipulative and only cares about his adopted sister, Mu Yao - the book's main female lead. But then Miaomiao comes along and she slowly but surely tiptoes her way to his heart. And when inside, you can bet Ziqi's eyes are practically glued to her.

Other than the main leads, all the side characters gets their own mini storyline (without taking anything away from the major storyline) rather it elevates the storytelling even more with a rich world and characters. The writer really shows everyone is the hero of their own world and story. Even the minor demons that they encountered along the way all had touching backstories.

I really liked how everything, the demons' stories included, was linked to love. To love and be loved. The extent of one's love. How love changes you. How you gain strength because of love. How you become whole first in order to truly love someone else. This was the theme of the show.

Even Ziqi's parents had such a touching love story and I like how it was revealed [spoilers!!!] that they weren't separated by external forces as what I had initially been led to believe, but rather it was their choice, as it was the best choice for everyone they loved at that time. The most beautiful love doesn't always have to be kept. Sometimes it is let go, and only then will it take root and spread to others (in this case, it was in the form of Ziqi who survived because of his parents' sacrifice).

And now the ending, which I absolutely love!

[MAJOR ENDING SPOILERS AHEAD].

When the end came, the reveal about Ziqi's real self and modern background story was everything. It turns out Ziqi (yes in the real world his name is Ziqi) is actually the author Fu Zhou (his pen name) and he was born with a disease that made his life, his family's circumstances and his growing up very difficult. But Miaomiao, like how she became the sun to book Ziqi's world, was actually originally real-life Ziqi's sun in the real world. She inspired him and that's how he started writing stories. Every story he wrote was for her, every beautiful ending he crafted was for her. But he had always stayed afar. And when his disease caught up to him (the same time Miaomiao is experiencing the book world's ending), he makes a choice in the real world to bravely undergo surgery. And in the book world, book Ziqi, after experiencing the predetermined catastrophe of the book's ending, realized he was Fu Zhou all along. He lets Miaomiao know he has always liked her and he has always wished she would know. With the strength that Miaomiao gives him, Ziqi saves the book world and in the real world, Fu Zhou goes under the knife, his last thought being his three wishes, the last of which was running to Miaomiao and telling her how he feels. And that's exactly how it ends. Miaomiao wakes up with only a vague recollection of her time in the book world and she remembers she had loved someone. She attends Fu Zhou's book signing event and sees two people (who resembles two characters in the book - Cui Cui and his grandpa) which makes her pause as if remembering something. Then Ziqi calls her name~ at first she's surprised but at she looks at him (we're not shown Ziqi unfortunately), she slowly smiles!

The closing line is one of the best ending lines ever. Watch it yourself but the summary is the title of this review.

To me, it's a clear happy ending, not an open ending. The book Ziqi that Miaomiao has fallen in love with is the same Ziqi she meets in the real world as he, through his pen name Fu Zhou, wrote himself and his circumstances into the book. Miaomiao's feelings are real. And Ziqi has always liked Miaomiao since the beginning. The impact she had on his life actually made me tear up. She's the source of his inspiration, his sun. His wishes were to survive and let Miaomiao know how he feels. And that's practically what the ending has set up.

Real-life Ziqi is already in love with Miaomiao. And Miaomiao transmigrated into the book to learn and figure out just how much. And she does! "All my novels were written for you," book Ziqi had said when he realized he was Fu Zhou. Honestly, there couldn't have been a sweeter confession than this, especially to a fan from the author she has admired for years. So even though we aren't shown, I'm 100% sure they will catch up with each other, get to know each other more and Miaomiao will recall her time in the book world slowly or even vaguely and they will spend lots of time recounting to each other her experience in the book as opposed to what Ziqi/Fu Zhou wrote. It's a clear happy ending!

Bonus favorite parts of this show: Yu Shuxin as Miaomiao and Ding Yuxi as Ziqi. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing their roles. Esther was everything adorable in this world and Ryan had the most soul wrenching eye acting ever.

Thank you for a very wonderful two weeks, Love Game In Eastern Fantasy! You will be missed and will be rewatched from time to time!

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(Warning! So many spoilers here) Showing Appreciation to Emotionally Relatable Characters

I loved all the characters in this drama. I always enjoy analyzing each character and comparing them to myself and the relationships I encounter in real life. That’s exactly what I plan to do here as well. I didn't see anyone talk about side characters that much, so I might talk about some of those I found interesting. This is my first time writing a review!

Let's start with the novel's FL (SFL), Mu Yao is someone who shoulders every burden by herself, always protecting others but neglecting her own well-being. Her overwhelming sense of responsibility is both extraordinary and excruciating. In today’s world, she represents those hardworking individuals who feel guilty or fearful of taking a break, constantly worried they might not be strong enough to face life’s challenges and protect what they ought to protect.

Then, the novel's ML (SML) Liu Fuyi is a character driven by a desire to repay the kindness he has received. I deeply connected with him in the sense where I often feel the need to repay those who have supported and strengthened me and sometimes feel tied/chained, especially when I do them wrong. Despite his background, he strived to be good to others. However, when he has failed and felt like he betrayed those he values, he shoulders the blame entirely, even to the point of self-destruction. His principle of "forgiving oneself is difficult, instead focus on atonement" is admirable, but a powerful reminder to let go of unnecessary guilt. He taught me that while our actions can have serious consequences, not everything is under our control. I actually really liked his back story. I don't know why some say it was boring and unnecessary.

Cuicui was the most innocent character, and I loved how he was designed as a bamboo shoot incapable of hiding anything. Him giving the letter to Ziqi was the best and most relieving thing that happened in the whole show for me. I felt so thankful to him, he saved our CP hahah! They relied on him so much, in the forest with the water demon and at the end, to help save the "novel world", it was sooo cuteee! Cuicui is the real hero! He is the cutest, the best!

Fuyi’s master and Mu Yao’s father’s friend was the most tragic character for me personally. The friendship fallout between him and Mu Yao's dad was a reflection of how friendships often falter after deep disappointment. Some might say, “Well, then it wasn’t a strong friendship to begin with,” but pride and failed expectations can make reconciliation incredibly difficult. His regret was heartbreaking.

Now the leads, (ML) Mu Sheng/Ziqi, a half-demon, struggles with self-acceptance. He is an insecure character, distrustful of others because he doesn’t trust himself. I can relate to this in the context of social interactions—how we sometimes hesitate to reveal our "inner demons," fearing judgment of being different. His journey felt deeply personal, reflecting the challenges of self-love. There will always be parts of ourselves that we must learn to love and accept, despite how hard it is. There are people who will accept us and love us, no matter how ugly this "inner demon" is, which was kindof shown in episode 7 (this was my favorite episode).

(FL) Miaomiao was the most relatable. She was tired of her mundane everyday life. Her days are brightened by reading novels, a feeling that resonates with me (and probably most people here). We often rely on dramas as an escape from the stress and monotony of reality. I believe her purpose in traveling to that alternate world was to reflect on her conscious and unconscious desires:
1. Rewrite the ending of her favorite author’s novel and feel less betrayed by giving a HE instead, (even at the end, her desperation for a HE remained strong, also because she felt all the characters' genuineness)
2. Fulfill her longing for her late father (this was the most emotional part of the show for me, this made me cry the most)
3. Experience a sense of accomplishment in her job (to compensate for feeling overworked and unappreciated with her real world job as an office worker). In the novel she becomes a demon catcher who helps fight against Revengeful woman. Even got the Apocal Power (she was so cute trying to brag about her powers hahhaha).

I feel like it wasn't just a world Fu Zhou created to fulfill his 3 wishes, but also for Miaomiao to fulfill hers. that's why both of them got sucked in it. Plus, Miaomiao experienced love and met Fu Zhou as Mu Sheng/Ziqi, who she overlooked and didn't interact with in the real world. It was a chance for him to show his love, her chance to feel that love, and theirs' to experience the love they both deserved. I didn't read the novel, so all of these are based on my understanding of the drama alone, so I'm not entirely sure I'm making a point.

Some other aspects of the drama that I LITERALLY ADORED TO THE CORE:
Showing the favourability percentage WAS SOO EXCITING!
Everytime it was shown, i felt so giddy, it's so unique, don't you think? It showed the development of their relationship in a more "quantitative" way than a "qualitative" way HAHAHH as a science person, numbers just makes everything right! haha
Also, -200% was HILARIOUS!

The reflection domain made me scream! IT WAS JUST AMAZING, I can't find words with how incredible it looked, the contrast colors (i don't know what you call that), how the transition was done! WAAAHH, I was just in awe!

The soundtrack is also really good! I am also biased, but when Ding Yuxi sang his version of "stare intently", I just cried of happiness.

Ding Yuxi, i've been his avid fan since 2020. I have been waiting for this drama since I saw the news of them being cast, it was like waiting for a lifetime, but the show ended too fast, I needed more. I totally loved Moonlight, (I think I've rewatched it at least 5 times including the time after watching LGIEF hahaha). I have been watching all his dramas, never has he disappointed me, EVER!!! I fell in love with him at first sight as Zhou Shiyun in "Intense Love", were in delusional relationships with his other roles like Chu Kong in "Love you seven times" and this year, I married Shen Du (Melody of Golden Age) in my head (haha) and again fell crazy in love with Mu Sheng/Ziqi (his Fu Zhou appearance was drop dead hot, him with those glasses just made me go crazy). I think they really did a great job with his costume in this drama. He looked so good in other dramas as well (like in Love you seven times ) but he looked 100x more handsome in this one! His chemistry with Esther Yu is again no doubt exceptional, they slayed in both dramas : Moonlight and LGIEF.
I hope Ding Yuxi gets more dramas, he had so many this year, which made me so happy. I'm now waiting for "Black and White Forest", him in another type of role, I just cannot wait!

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A vibrant, heartwarming, and funny series that delivers

This is easily one of my favourite dramas of the year!
A vibrant, heartwarming, and funny series that delivers everything I look for in a transmigration show.

What I Loved About This Drama:
-Relatable Premise: The story of a day-to-day corporate slave escaping into the world of fiction immediately drew me in. It’s a setup that feels so grounded yet perfectly whimsical.
-Stunning Visuals and Costumes: The costumes in the game world are incredible. It’s clear that the production team put a lot of thought into them, as they beautifully reflect each character’s personality.
-Comedy and Storytelling: This show has excellent comedic timing and clever storytelling that hooked me from Episode 1. The humour is consistently on point, keeping the mood light and enjoyable.
-A Bubbly and Funny Female Lead : Esther absolutely shines in this role! She brings her character to life with hilarity and charm, making it impossible not to root for her.
-FL vs. "The System": Watching the FL constantly fight and scoff at the "system" is hilarious—those moments had me laughing out loud!
-A Tsundere Male Lead : If you get past the first few episodes, the ML evolves into such a lovable character. DYX was born to play this role—his portrayal made him insanely attractive to me!
-Off-the-Charts Chemistry: The leads’ dynamic is pure gold. Their bickering and banter are endlessly entertaining, and their chemistry has only gotten better since their previous collaboration in Moonlight.
-A Wholesome Team: The supporting cast adds so much to the story. Their camaraderie and adventurous journey together are delightful.
-Unexpected Twists: The plot is far from simple. I loved the twists and reveals sprinkled throughout the series, keeping me on my toes.
The Flaws (Because No Drama Is Perfect):
Of course, the show isn’t without its shortcomings. I wish they would’ve showed more romance and kisses of the leads instead of focusing on subplots and backstories that were not that interesting to me, after all, it’s so rare to find a pairing of actors that instantly make you smile when you see them together, but even that did not make me dislike this drama.
For me, the drama hit a lull between Episodes 21–25. These episodes felt less compelling, and I found myself skimming through them.

That said, the story picked up again around ep.26, and the finale—though rushed (as is common with C-dramas)—provided a satisfying closure for me. I suspected the ML is the author of the novel and somehow got sucked into his book, but it is so much more than that. It transformed the drama into a profound journey of self-healing and acceptance. The overarching message that you can only truly love someone if you first love and believe in yourself was deeply moving.

Final Thoughts:
Despite its flaws, this drama is one I’ll re-watch countless times. Kudos to the cast and crew for creating such a memorable series! While I’m still mad af that we didn’t get a proper kiss between the leads (a forehead peck doesn’t count!), skipping this drama because of that would mean missing out on a fantastic show. Highly recommended!

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No drama Chekhov's Gunned the way YYXH did

This is the first time I'm writing a public review ever since I've started watching dramas (which was a long time ago). I usually only write reviews on my private account for my close friends to see, but the brainrot that YYXH left me to have really calls for a review.

STORY:

Every little thing that was put in the novel or game world tied up nicely to Ziqi and Miaomiao's reality. Every single detail that they have introduced here and there served a purpose in the story.

This was very much evident in the last two episodes where everything came to a full circle and the audience are given a chance to have THAT realization on why the plot of the novel was like that, why the characters are acting a certain way, and why this and that happened along the way.

These details added depth to the Ziqi and Miaomiao of the real world, making us feel for them the same way we did for the Ziqi and Miaomiao of the novel or game world.

Usually, transmigration shows have the same formula. The MC would go into the novel or game, the MC will try to change the story to survive, the MC beats the final boss and reaches the end of the story and they're brought back to their real world—where, if they're lucky, they might meet their love interest again. The End.

In this show, up until the 2nd to the last episode, they followed that formula, until they deviated from it—Miaomiao goes into the novel, Miaomiao tries to change the story to survive, Miaomiao beats the final boss and reaches the end of the story BUT just when Miaomiao was about to be brought back to the real world, THE TWIST HAPPENS.

And it's ultimately revealed how the novel or game world is not that far from Miaomiao's reality. In fact, the real world is heavily integrated into it. Miaomiao herself is heavily integrated to it.

It's kind of meta, if you ask me. And that's one thing I like the most about the story. It's very much "aware".

My interpretation is that:
- When Miaomiao still had her memory, YYXH's plot was on track. She made fun of the novel, made her own changes, and this is what we, as the audience, loved to see. This is what made us watch YYXH.
- But then, Miaomiao lost her memory. The plot faltered. And of course it will, our player is no longer playing—she FORGOT that she's playing. The plot is on auto-pilot now. YYXH is following Catching Demon's plot. It's natural it's going to be "bad" at that point, Miaomiao judged it as "bad" herself.
- Then, towards the end, Miaomiao finally regained her memory. AND IT WAS PEAK.

I won't say anything more to avoid spoilers. GO WATCH THE SHOW AND BE THE JUDGE!

BONUS: I love how they utilized the System. Usually, for shows like these, the System is forgotten midway. But here, the System is constantly involved and it only stopped being involved when Miaomiao forgot about it—which, again, shows that the story is very much "aware".

The production team definitely knew what they were doing.

ACTING/CAST:

I'm not really an authority when it comes to acting. My only criteria to say that an actor is good is when I'm able to enjoy the show while watching him or her. (My opinion is that it doesn't really matter how much technical skills an actor has. If the actor delivers what he has to deliver and make me feel for their character, then they're good in my books.)

And I definitely enjoyed watching the show. In fact, it was a joy to see Ding Yuxi and Yu Shuxin on screen again. They deliver what they have to deliver and their chemistry is a wonderful sight to see.

The chemistry of the ensemble cast is lovely, too. The found family vibes is too strong and it made me want to see more of their adventures.

The side characters are also good.

(Can I also say: I love how there's no definite villain in this show. They have their own considerations and when you think about things in their perspective, it makes sense why they acted the way they did. It's just realistic in a sense that everyone has their own life and it's just a matter of having different interests on why they're on different sides.)

MUSIC:

The soundtrack SLAPS. All the BGM and sound effects were properly placed and adds to the overall watching experience.

REWATCH VALUE:

For all of its easter eggs, one watch is not enough to catch them all. There's so much detail put into this story that if you watch it again, you'd notice something new.

In fact, even before you finish it, there are already a lot of scenes where you can't help yourself but go, "Oh, I have to watch that again."

OVERALL:

To be honest, the story is not anything grand—like, you wouldn't go into this and objectively think, "Oh, this is a masterpiece."

But there's heart in it that even when it's as simple as can be, you just FEEL that it is definitely a gem that you want to keep. It's definitely a comfort show more than anything.

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Disappointing Otome Isekai, with extra cringe on the side.

WHO RATED THIS A TEN???

Okay, I am a sucker for Otome Isekai, especially those where the MC is reborn as the villainess character. They are one of my favorite subgenres and I would like to think I have watched enough of them to be a bit of an enthusiast. However, this drama was not it for me. The plot is that of a typical mediocre otome isekai story, MC transported to another world into the body of the villainess in her favorite book series. I did have high hopes for this series as the plot description caught my attention. However, the storytelling just wasn't there. The writers made the weirdest choices, and it felt like honestly they were just asking Chat GPT to give them conflicts and character depth. Not to mention, the FL gave me so much second hand cringe. Her acting was so bad, it was difficult to keep watching. I felt like my skin was crawling as I watched her attempt to portray this character, it fell flat and she just seemed like a goofy moron who made the worst choices possible, and needed the ML for everything. (A departure from typical really good villainess otome isekai which is female-centric with a powerful FL.) In her defense, the character isn't that great to begin with, and the script was also really bland. But also, she's just really, really bad at acting. There was not a drop of chemistry between her and the ML and I wondered how they could even end up together. To be honest, it felt like they were more friends than anything, and sometimes felt like she didn't like him at all despite what she was saying. His acting was so much better than hers though, so the balance was off as well - it was like he held all the chemistry and she was just goofy and oblivious, nonchalant and uncaring. The special effects were cool, the music was pretty decent. I will never rewatch this. I barely slogged my way through it the first time.

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Truly disappointed

I love both Yu Shu Xin and Ding Yu xi. I have watched most of their dramas. I loved their chemistry in Moonlight.

But!!!!!
Alas! Sigh!
I had so much expectation from this drama. I loved the cast and even the genre. But the story was so bland... Nothing exciting, not to mention direction was often off the track. It started as a game with a mission for the FL but later it just became like normal historical drama where the main leads set off for adventures.
And what was about the amnesia part? Why did they have to put that in the story when it didn't bring any purpose?

The final Boss!!! Don't get me started. It was so rushed... they spent so many episodes on other side characters but when it was the main villain's turn, they didn't even put any effort into the fight. They killed her twice in a single episode!!!

More than the main leads, the story of Mu Sheng's parents was much more interesting. The only two things likable about the whole drama are Mu Sheng's parents and the story of Fu Zhou (Even though the ending was vague)

Lastly, the ending... An Open Ending!!! seriously... why? They didn't wrap up the story properly in the game or even in the real world.

Disappointed... Truly!!!

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i must love myself, before 100% loving someone

i just have to say, this is my favourite chinese drama for 2024. i wasn't expecting much but upon seeing the trailer on xiao hongsu, it caught my attention immediately. what do you mean, travelling into a book being an evil second lead and needing the evil second lead to fall in love with you 100%?!

i would say that miaomiao is actually a gift to musheng, muyao and liu fuyi. she helped musheng to not be ashamed of his identity, allowed him to walk it out and turned him to a softer musheng. she is muyao's best friend where muyao finally found a girl-friend that she can talk to and adore. she informed liu fuyi about his loveline before hand.

i love how miaomiao and musheng's chemistry with each other, which we have the thank esther yu and ding yuxi! the musheng we had, is filled with youth/young energy that i love! the progression of -200% to 99% was such a rewarding process to see as you get to see the change in calling each other such as from "mu gongzi / ling xiaojie" to "ziqi/miao miao"

i love how they didn't downplay muyao's character and continued to give her the main character energy! i really love it when muyao found out about ziqi's identity. rather blaming on him or anyone, she blamed it on herself. blaming herself for not knowing about it. the fact that liu fuyi also tried his best to help was heart-warming to see. hence, the changes in the script was well-written.

the chemistry between the 4 master of bamboos are pleasing to me as well. i want to pack them together so they can be together forever. where-ever the 4 masters of bamboo go, they are so much fun to watch and the way they know what's going online and would just say it out! it is just so funny to me.

and yes, i am waiting for their next work together as 4 masters of bamboo or musheng x miaomiao or liu fuyi x muyao. i am ok with any- please just give it to me

there are so many things i love about this show. such as, ending credits in the first 10 minutes, getting electric shock with the bones and many more. iconic moments such as musheng's beautiful crying scenes, miaomiao's "thank you ah, musheng-er", our 4 bamboo masters. my favourite ep? ep 22, i love how they got together, had each other's back and showing the team spirit.

the outfits are pleasing to the eyes too! i really love each characters' outfit and you can see the design team really put in effort in designing and sourcing for the outfit and hairstyle. usually main characters would get flashier outfits, but over here, everyone is a main character in their own story and the outfit and dressing really prove that statement,
(spoiler!) the ending could be a little confusing but i believe that fuzhou ded -> ziqi went in to his body! + lowkey moonlight call back with the fireworks and bunny apples.

there are some complains about the ost but i personally really love it! to me, i just feel like it hits on the spot. in fact, i love all the tracks for this drama.

a little out of the box, this show really deserved its popularity because the production crew listens to the fans well. you want it, you can have it. i am so glad that that people are able to discover this show. for me, i think it is rather fresh. and i am excited to see their variety show!

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Lighthearted and fun, solid first half

I’ll preface by saying that I saw Esther in LBFAD and decided her style is not for me. But I still wanted to watch this show because everything else about it seemed like my jam. I love a feel-good, lighthearted xianxia. Since I chose to watch Esther’s show, I did my best not to get annoyed at any cute-acting.

Given this context, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the character of Lin Miaomiao. I found her to be fairly down-to-earth and self-aware, especially in the first half. There’s a bit of the cutsey style, but the things she says are not-dumb and fairly funny, so I actually really liked her. She gets thrown in ridiculous situations and has to muddle her way out. She also has a sad backstory with her dad, but she’s still overall cheerful and good-hearted, which makes her likeable.

The first half was solidly enjoyable. I’ve played a lot of video games and loved the game-related jokes. Miaomiao’s view of a historical setting from a modern perspective adds a good dash of humor; her sometimes-snide commentary is funny, but never mean or rude. The meta-ness of her knowing where the story is “supposed to” go, and trying to direct it, is a fun twist. But it had me wondering the entire time how they would handle the question of what is reality, as the world of the game started to feel more and more real.

The male lead, Mu Sheng, starts off hostile but is soon uncovered to be more emotionally damaged than anything else. Ryan Ding does a great smirk, unfortunately (for me) the character evolves so we see less and less of it as the show goes on. Also in the band are Mu Yao and Liu Fuyi. Their story is a bit less developed and more bland, but I was still happy to see it progress when it did.

That said, the show becomes a bit less fun and enjoyable as it starts to steer away from the meta-ness. Video game references, jokes related to the world being “fake”, and Miaomiao’s awareness and references to her modern world, all but disappear. As my appreciation for Miaomiao declined without her snarky commentary, so did my tolerance for her cute act. Why does she simper and say things extra slow and cutsey when she could just talk like a normal human?

Her loss of self-awareness is not random- it’s explained by the plot- but it does make the show less fun as it turns into more of a classic xianxia story, good vs evil, sad backstories, etc. And the show doesn’t quite have the plot to stand alone in that capacity. It’s a bunch of cliché plot devices, which are fine when you consider that within the show it’s a story written by somebody, but not that fun to watch it play out episode after episode as the main story.

Add to this that I didn’t quite feel the relationship between Miaomiao and Mu Sheng. I don’t know if it’s just the FL’s cutesy style that makes me not want to root for her CP- I can’t understand why he’s so into her, so it feels founded on nothing. (This was, btw, also how I felt about LBFAD.) Or maybe it just didn’t quite develop and build up naturally enough. Either way, not being into the CP unfortunately makes the show less enjoyable.

Stylistically, most of the fighting seems to be wire stunts and CGI (as opposed to wielding “real” (prop) weapons). This is not good or bad, and I thought it’s done pretty nicely. I didn’t quite like Miaomiao’s makeup or all the doodads in her hair (she’s on the road, who’s doing her hair?) but that’s a minor quibble. There was some nice whimsical styling for the different kinds of demons, and other fun details.

I’d give this a rating of 9 for the first half, and maybe 6 for the second (5 would be a show I’m not into, this one I still cared a little), averaging to 7.5. Not modified for the ending; read ahead for my take (contains spoilers).

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





First of all, for a light-hearted show like this, I’d be really surprised if it were anything but a happy ending. And I consider it happy. But many people didn’t like it, probably wanting her to stay with her new reality in the game. I believe this is what happens in the novel source material, but the drama was limited by censorship which bans transmigration.

I spent the entire show wondering how they would handle the dual worlds aspect. To what extent would they make the show’s actual reality have elements of supernatural? The novel went all in, but the show went in the other direction, with the supernatural elements limited to maybe a shared fever dream between Miaomiao and Fu Zhou (if that’s how you interpret it- never quite figured out what happened).

Personally I liked that they maintained a realistic world, because it makes the whole thing so relatable. It’s easy for us viewers to get lost in a story too, but in the end we all have to wake up and deal with our mundane lives again. I like that Miaomiao has to face this same reality as we do. Of course I got attached to the characters and world of the game, but reality- for Miaomiao and us- is that we slowly forget these things and move on.

While watching, I figured the best ending might involve her finding her same friends in her modern world, and I was happy that this is kinda-ish what happened. Do I wish they had shown a bit more of it? Yes. They could have easily shown us an entire episode to tie things up in the modern world, and everyone would have been much happier. They had episodes to spare (under the 40 limit) and no source material tying them down (because they’d already changed so much), so why not? Cdramas seem to feel like the right thing to do is leave viewers wanting more.

By the way, the last couple of episodes were such a mess! I was honestly flabbergasted… I gave up trying to figure out what was going on. Then finally she “wakes up”. At least, if you think of it all as a dream, then that nonsensical stuff makes a lot more sense.

Consistent with the chaos towards the end, bringing in the author came a bit out of left field. I still liked this plot element as a way to tie things together. I just felt that this, like all the other “surprising reveals” crammed into the end, as well as the self-love message (nice message, poorly executed), should have been foreshadowed better throughout the show. It would have felt a lot less chaotic and random if they focused more on developing themes and threads throughout the story, then tying them up at the end, rather than inventing new ones last minute.

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This drama is surprisingly good, but the ending leaves much to be desired.

Tropes: Book transmigration, hater to friends to lovers, found family

This might be the best idol-period fantasy drama of 2024. The plot and themes of the drama are nothing new; we have seen this story time and time again but what differentiates this drama from others similar to this one is the pacing, storytelling, and acting. The director has done a good enough job of setting up the characters and their background stories so that they feel real and relatable. I like how they have shown bits and pieces of the FL´s life in the real world. It helps us understand her character better and the actions she takes. I also like that they have tried to explain why she transmigrates to the novel world game and it doesn´t feel random.

The best parts of the drama are definitely the cast, music, and CGI. This is the second collaboration between Esther Yu and Ding Yu Xi, and you can clearly see that they have great chemistry. Every scene they have together is just so charming and makes you root for Miaomiao and Ziqi. The SFL and SML have also done justice to their characters. And of course, Cuicui is the most adorable character in the drama.

I am most impressed by Ding Yu Xi´s portrayal of Mu Sheng/Ziqi. He completely embodies the character and his micro-expressions are on point. He is just perfect for the role. Even tho he´s dubbed in this drama I think they could´ve kept his original voice. As for Esther Yu, I personally find this to be her best performance so far mostly because the character Miaomiao is close to her acting style and it´s her comfort zone. I can't imagine anyone else doing this role. Though I'll be honest there are moments where she goes overboard with her child-like mannerisms, expression, and baby voice but for some reason, I was able to get by those in this drama mainly because I was invested in the story.

The relationship development between Miaomiao and Ziqi is quite nice from the beginning but once they are together the director just kinda leaves the romance to the viewers’ imagination and it´s a bit disappointing. There are so many missed opportunities for a nice romantic kiss that never happened. Still, I am most disappointed with how they handled the ending. I would never get why the writer and director couldn't just give us a satisfying ending. Feels a bit sadistic on their part. The stupidest thing they did was to not show us Ding Yu Xi´s face in the end when he calls Miaomiao despite him shooting the scene. like please, make it make sense!!!!!

They totally robbed us of a good ending and ik many people are okay with the ending and consider it HE but I think it´s more of an OE and ruined otherwise a good drama.

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