One of the most romantic Cdramas ever!
I started this drama blindly, but I wasn’t expecting to love it so much. The chemistry of the main leads was insane, it just felt so natural and real. If you are looking for a romantic cdrama with mature leads who deal swiftly with misunderstandings, are openly affectionate with each other and willing to sacrifice for each other over and over again, you can’t go wrong with this drama.This drama also made me a huge Arthur Chen fan. I binged Lighter and Princess because of this drama, and it was amazing too. Without a doubt, He is one of the most promising among young Chinese actors, and he dubs himself too...which is so amazing cos his voice is the truth. I hope he releases more dramas cos I’m looking forward to his works. Wang Yinglou also did an amazing job, can’t wait to see more works from her too.
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A Romance That Stole My Heart
The finest and best romantic xianxia drama I have watched. I never had a favourite in this genre, but now I do, and it’s definitely this drama.I went in with zero expectations, and just a few minutes into the first episode, I was completely sold. Admittedly, the pacing was sometimes irregular, and the story itself isn’t particularly unique or different. But the romance and chemistry between the leads absolutely stole the show for me.
What made it so memorable was how the romance unfolded. It was fast-paced, direct, and deeply expressive. The leads weren’t hesitant to show their feelings for one another, and their relationship made me fall in love with the very idea of falling in love. They built their bond on trust and clear communication, which felt refreshing to watch. The skinship between them was natural, the drama fed us generously with many sweet kisses, and the ending, as expected, was well executed and satisfying.
As for the actors, I had seen ml before, but this drama made me a true fan. His acting has improved remarkably, and his micro-expressions were so captivating that it made me rewatch many scenes. His eyes conveyed anger, hatred, and love with striking clarity. It was my first time watching fl, and she did quite well too. Her comedic timing was spot on.
One aspect I genuinely loved was how fl never tried to change ml. Instead, she accepted him as he was, understood his pain and the reasons behind his behavior. She didn’t just sympathize with him—she truly empathized. This acceptance, combined with the trust and communication between them, gave their romance greater depth and meaning.
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the slacker and her sugardaddy
what I liked- I adored the leads! their characters, the performances and the actors themselves were all just lovely! this is the 2nd time i've seen them both and they did not disappoint.
- the romance was extremely satisfying. the way they used the fantasy aspect and the soul manor to emphasize their intimacy and deepening bond? I don't think i've ever seen a romance written so robustly in a fantasy drama, when tingyan said in the end that she was content with their relationship, you really feel that as well.
-i liked nianjiu and sima jao's relationship. he really stayed sj's baby all the way until the end and that was just so adorable
- the world building was nice, I like how they moved from realm to realm to realm, it kept things fresh. it was so good you really find yourself wishing the entire thing wasn't a dream in the end.
- production was good, especially the costumes and set. I only heard that one dominant ost though
- I like that the story is very character driven and firmly centered on our two leads, i think the story was so successful bc they didn't bog us down with second leads and side stories.
-tingyan's slacker behavior - hilarious and relatable! made the first half of the drama
-the ending, it was thoughtful and respectful with just the right amount of aching, I really liked it. also watching tingyan dive back into the hustle immediately after she wakes totally justifies all her slacker attitude.
what I didn't like
- no reason for shi qianlu to be around for that long, and the drama's 2nd main villain was also equally underwhelming.
-on this episode of they would never write a man that way: tingyan was a kitten for too much of the drama. if she had been a man (we've seen many such lazy and unambitious male characters e.g xing zhi from shen li, or any of the other mcs in the male centered time travel dramas) , they would still have found some way to empower her. while their romance dominated the story, it did get tiring watching her be kidnapped, strung up, tortured, beaten, bullied, used against her beloved, betrayed, and deciding none of that mattered, her man will handle it. all the romance in the world will never make that palatable.
- its essentially another weak woman and her big strong man drama, only this one is coated in multiple layers of strawberry and cream and it is 'what she wants.' bc she would apparently rather die than learn to defend herself and her dissolute way of life.
- many of the bad things that happened hinged on tingyan resolutely remaining helpless, trusting, naive and defenseless for much of the drama, like a pet. and well that's just not nice
- the 2nd half was generally weaker than the first half even though so many things seemed to be happening.
in conclusion, the drama did exactly what it came to do. it has some well written fantasy elements, enchanting romance, and Liao Tingyan, the absolute queen of all self insert characters
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Arthur Chen great acting! Wang Ying Lu great acting!
What do i like about this drama? The Acting, especially at the beginning.The Story is in the Romance Sector, but in everything else is also rounded up.
Not only with the main characters but also with the other roles as well.
Wuxia check. Demon VS Immortals check. Beeing lazy as a Fish check. Eating delicious Stuff check.
Clan Intrigue check. Palace intrigue check. And even with all that in the Mix the pacing is still very good.
For instance in other dramas you would have like these filler episodes between episode 10 - 24 or so.
At least for me here it wasn't like that at all.
And while it doesn't show explicit scenes, it isn't reserved either.
Like waiting 20 episodes just to hold hands, this drama isn't like this at all.
Also for me it made sense when they had warm interaction and when it turned very cold.
Thank you for making this great drama!
(And it's good seeing Arthur Chen again, after every night, really great acting there as well)
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My precious
I watched it because I saw a clip, which reminded me of LBFD. I was *what?are they imitating it? It looks cheaper*.So I gave it a try. And as a lot of viewers I was smitten.
-I like both leads.I think they are talanted enough.
-I liked the salty fish thing.Refreshing.
-It is 33 eps but first 24 fly by .Then til 30 is the hard times. 31-33 they get to wrap things.
I was suspicious because dramaland often is serving pretty but tasteless dishes. Good ideas, poorly executed.
But this show suprised me. It was light, it was funny(not cringy fun), it was heartfelt.
It is a happy end. Maybe better than LBFD and LGEF. It could be better but...
People are talking about 2 season but is too soon. Maybe as the trend goes - a new drama with same leads in a modern times.
I don`t think is retelling or copying LBFD. I suspect someone maybe tried to learn form major hits. I think it would be smart thing to do,especially if it is smartly executed.
I was suprised by the Romance.It is a well done, a superb chemistry and a lot of tastefull skinship. Is it a c drama? Wow.I feel cheated by other dramas. Why are you sleeping instead of doing something like that? If you are making a romance story do it properly.That includes choosing the right actors. Most viewers do not expect some ultra explicit scenes. I understand that some actors are not comfortable in those kind of roles. But Romance genre is what it is.
There are so many moments which will stay with me .They make this drama rewatchable.
I love their first/last meet. I loved the otter thing. I liked how they made him competent and capable for the most part.A lot of times after some eps they make the ML completly helpless. I know why but still. At least do not prolong it. Here when he was a human, she was there to ptotect him. A lot of times the vilains are always one step ahead. Here I think its the good guys a step ahead.
I could find problems with the show but it is nothing major.
I saw people liking the costumes.I though that some were OK but others were bad.They combined reds and blues and very few were likable.I liked his early clothes - dark and mostly plain. The red ones sometimes were clashing either with undrelaying ones or with each other colours. I dont know for sure .Am I the problem or am I right?
Compared to LBFAD it looks cheaper. But WDBTD is beating LBFAD in the romance and skinship . Way more than LB...
I am unsatisfied with dramaland oferings these days so I almost missed this gem.
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they tried making it interesting and it went all over the place
1- it has real world, fake world, imaginary world, old world, current world2- one of the two is always either in pain or in trouble AND they keep on saving each other- it feels REPETITIVE.
The first 15 episodes were nice. Something that we watch every time, but still interesting. After that it was tiring.
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When destiny brings the demon
Initially this drama was good but later on it got boring. I'm so frustrated with xianxia dramas like why does the male lead have to suffer so much. Even in this drama, almost every trouble comes from the female lead being stupid and dumb. Like can you give some brain to FL's in xianxia?.The male leads have to suffer so much like here in WDBTD the FL does nothing except bring trouble. The ML has enough problems and is traumatized due to his past sufferings now he even has to protect the damsel in distress everytime. Come on!! Make a good drama where the FL has brains and can protect herself and at the very least not cause trouble for the ML.
I like watching xianxia but this type of trope is making me sickkkkk!!
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Made want to fall in love
I can't belive it is over. The whole TV show was more than an experience, it was was everything. If you look it carefully, you'll still find me here: a huge piece of my heart, brain and soul. It's been ages since a couple got my attention like this, and made this obsessed, daydreaming like crazy.Liao Tingyan and Jiao Jiao had me dancing and giggling in my room almost every scenes. It was unpretentious but still so heartwarming and fun. Their chemistry was so insane that I got blushing at the bts and promo videos as if I were a teenager.
I cannot keep myself from wondering what it would've been like if we had the full 40 episodes and no censorship.
Hope we get to see more of Feiyu and Yinglu, whether it's an extra or another drama.
What an adventure ❤️
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When Destiny Brings the Demon: Beautifully Made, Fatally Unoriginal
I made it to episode 25 before finally giving up on When Destiny Brings the Demon. The drama started well enough, lavish visuals, solid world-building, and a promising setup, but it quickly unraveled into clichés and recycled ideas.The female lead is disappointingly flat, offering no real depth or growth, which made it difficult to care about her journey. The predictable amnesia arc drained what little momentum the story had left.
Worse still are the overwhelming similarities to Love Between Fairy and Devil. The dragon companion becomes a cobra, the ML reads thoughts instead of emotions, he retreats into years of seclusion after her “death” much like the 500-year dream in LBFAD, and the same inner-fire power dynamics reappear. The parallels are endless and hard to ignore.
The one major difference lies in its anticlimactic ending, predictable, constrained, and ultimately hollow. It raises the question: if certain themes and resolutions are so heavily restricted under current industry restrictions, why keep producing dramas that follow this formula, knowing the conclusion will never truly satisfy? Even with an impeccable ML performance and polished visuals, When Destiny Brings the Demon ends up as little more than a beautifully wrapped disappointment.
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A Great Xianxia Poetry!
Shock! Delight! And terrible regret! Regret that I had to part with this wonderful xianxia poetry. And I really didn't want to!Sometimes you look at a book - a strange cover and an even more ridiculous title, you don't know the author. But out of boredom you take it from the shelf, sit down in a chair and begin a simple reading, thinking that a cheerful, slightly silly novel awaits you, just right to while away an evening with tea. With approximately these feelings I began watching "Offering of Salted Fish to the Master". Expectations - zero. But how wrong I was...
Under the colorful tinsel and bright colors, a real journey awaited me. A journey into a wonderful, sometimes funny, more often sad xianxia ballad about great love, capable of everything: changing and warming a crippled soul, overcoming space and time, separation and finally death itself.
The image of the Great Master, Sima Jiao, is grandiose and majestic. He was born for a great purpose, his enemies were the strongest immortals and Heaven itself, he carried within himself a great blessing and at the same time a terrible curse. And with this burden, Sima Jiao languished in prison for 500 years. He has long forgotten what simple, sincere feelings are, he does not know such a concept as pity for enemies and compassion. Time and circumstances have hardened his heart to the extreme, making him suspicious and gloomy.
But when Liao Tingyan appears in his life, everything changes radically...
And then the real magic begins. Thanks to the amazing chemistry between the actors, the talent of the screenwriter and director, we see how the most ordinary, banal plot turns into a cinematic masterpiece.
Chen Fei Yu's incredible performance gave the character of Sima Jiao that greatness, that power and depth that made your heart skip a beat. Goosebumps from the Great Master!
Wang Ying Lu also surprised me a lot! How she plays! As if she lives. As if a beautiful, immortal, all-consuming love for Sima Jiao really blossomed in her soul, like a beautiful lotus flower. And what a magnificent development her character received. At the beginning of the drama, funny, a little awkward, but so sincere and open Liao Tingyan changes as the plot progresses, becoming more and more self-confident, and in the end acquiring greatness equal to her powerful lover.
The plot develops interestingly and logically. There is not a single empty episode, not a single stupid or unnecessary dialogue. All 33 episodes the viewer's attention is literally riveted to what is happening on the screen.
I definitely recommend watching the drama! Personally, it evoked so many thoughts in me, so many important questions were raised here. But above all, it is a story about a beautiful and eternal love through time and space
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A love that transcends the three realms!
This is my first time watching Arthur Chen/Chen Feiyu on my side here.I mean, I have known about him since he was cast as Mo Ran in The Immortality which is a Danmei Adaptation to 2HA "The Husky and his White Cat Shizun, and if that drama would have aired(which will never be T.T), I would have gotten to see him as Mo Ran on my side here.
I am still sad that his character as "Mo Ran" was shelved and we never get to see him as Mo Ran with Luo Yunxi as Chu Wanning, but I am happy I have come to find out about this Drama (When Destiny Brings the Demon), because I honestly have no complaints about his acting and portrayal as Sima Jiao.
I love to see more Male Lead like Sima Jiao to be honest, where the Male Lead is powerful, domineering where everyone fears him, even the Female Lead, but then the Male Lead (Sima Jiao) is leaning more towards a "Grey side", where he is neither good or evil, he just will do what he see is his right path. His character kinda reminds me of Tantai Jin as well but only this time he loves a female lead who is devoted to him and is worthy of his love.
Just by judging his character as Sima Jiao, I know he will do his character Moran justice if that drama were to air but overall even if I know Immortality never gets to air I am glad in a parallel sense I get to see his character as Sima Jiao if that makes sense.
I love Sima Jiao from the beginning and I found him awesome/cool when he asserts his power (Spirit Fire), and scheme against those "Righteous" Celestial Cultivators where the 8 Palaces Leader played a role to sealing him for 500 years just because he was from the Sima Clan, and they all fear his Spirit Fire. When he took revenge on those who did that to him, I found him so cool in that scene.
I love Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan love story and chemistry. I love how Sima Jiao have the ability to use the Truth Spell on those people and get the truth/answers that he asks for, that was so refreshing to see, instead of the typical miscommunication/misleading information. When he use them on Liao Tingyan and most of the time the answers she gave was out of what Sima Jiao expects, it's just so hilarious.
Sima Jiao is a character I came to really love on my side here, and I love his journey with Ting Yan (Female Lead) in this drama, where even when he falls in love with her, he never stopped his plans to take down Shi Qingyv (who is the mastermind to his suffering for all this time).
While the story involving their love journey have it's ups and downs, but I do see that this is a pairing that goes through life and death and is always united as one, even in their soul manor, they have formed a very intimate relationship between the main pairing.
Overall I really enjoy the drama, but if I have to be totally honest, I just wish the ending was done better. I was never one who support Open Ending on my side here, especially not after all they've been through. I wanted a more conclusive happy ending and I wish they would have gotten their happy ending in the Xianxia(Sima Jiao world). I don't like an ending that raises more questions for me because I wanted a more conclusive closure for my favourite couple.
In the end, it raises questions for me, because this whole time while it happened in Sima Jiao world, in Zou Yan world (where she was Liao Tingyan when she transmigrated, only lasted for 1 day at most, then what actually happened in the end, when we saw the him in the modern world, was that really Sima Jiao that transmigrated to Zou Yan(Female Lead world) in the end? Because he did said no matter what he will find her again. I really want to believe that is Sima Jiao at the end, and I wish they will have a continuation in the Modern world. I need another drama between Arthur Chen/Chen Feiyu and Wang Ying Lu in a Modern Romance setting!! I really enjoyed their chemistry, and I hope they will have another Modern Romance Drama together. One where Arthur Chen/Chen Feiyu carry the same hairstyle as the ending to this Drama (When Destiny Brings the Drama).
Overall I give this drama a 9.5/10. It lost 0.5 because I honestly wish the ending was a better/happier one in a conclusive way, oh well. I guess it does bring out that theme that his love for her can transcend the three realms if he can go to her world like that in the end, and I am inclined to believe that is really Sima Jiao at the end, because he did promise her that he will find her again, and the ending before she "dies" she said she live in a world that is beyond the three realms. Even, when time works differently in Zou Yan(Female Lead) world when compared to Sima Jiao world, but he managed to find a way in the end, so they got their happy ending in the Modern Setting.
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It's nothing like what you had expected
I just happen to see this drama, I had no high expectations buh the acting of the FL suddenly ignited my interest and being that she was different from other actress, to me she had a new look. Acted truly like someone who was in a new world and does not want to belong in there...I got hooked till the end. I would have said much buh I've commented and cried with others. This drama was just too good...the kisses were real, no awkward moments or pauses after every kissing scenes and that was what made this drama stand out for me personally amongst many.Was this review helpful to you?
