In heaven love comes last.... or will have you killed
In a world where love not only does not come first but is is completely prohibited and punishable by death (annihilation of ones soul) , we are taken on a journey that proves that you can forbid love all you want but it won't stop people from falling in love and obsession... As open or not people will scheme, betray, sacrifice and what not in the name of obsession and love... oh and some power too.. I can not help but draw parallels to other loves who are forbidden in certain parts of the world and wonder how this drama passed the Chinese censorship... Still I am glad it did as I found it pretty interesting to see what happens when mr. upright, self righteous, by the book, bully iceberg is unavoidably drawn to ms, smart but naive cheerful, justice seeking sweetheart... Did I mention they lived in a world where love is forbidden.. yet they inevitably do fall in love... Which leads to a lot of cranberry, blueberry, strawberry and black current syrup splatter (different shades of blood), a bunch of misunderstandings, and one disaster after the other.
As mr self righteous seems to think he knows best... when he obviously is just a control freak... But I still love him... So basically what I got was a drama that is frustrating, interesting and at times a bit draggy...
What I like about the drama is that it has me wanting to choke a whole bunch of people, making Homer Simpson hands to the screen over and over again, without being overly annoyed by any character, nope just pure anger and hate from me.I also like a lot of the scenery but will admit that they could have paid a bit more attention to detail as the CGI is less than perfect and at times I got to see parts of the wing I should not have seen...
I am also happy that I waited to watch this part till after part 2 was released and am now looking forward to part 2...
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“In the future we stay forever to the end”
Immortal Samsara is a very beautiful drama, the budget in this project must be a lot and it shows. The costumes are all beautiful and the designs with the colors particularly play off the next very well. When two characters are with each other the costumes never overpower the person next to them, so I would say the character design is also done very well.Whats worth watching for Immortal Samsara is the stunning effects. This drama is so crisp to look at, especially with a 57 inch tv.. This drama is so beautiful, and that alone was the reason that I was intrigued. But is that all compensating for the story and acting? Is the drama overlooking cinematography because it has flashy effects? I would say it doesn't.
What I look for when I review things is if the drama is succeeding at what it's trying to do. Immortal Samsara is a romantic costume drama, and it is definitely above average. I wasn't expecting the story to be as easy to follow as it has been so far. Barely into the mortal realm as of episode 12, I'm excited to see where the story continues. I love the dynamics between the characters and they aren't written badly. In fact, each episode I get through I understand them better and am pretty impressed with how they are developing. Specifically the main pair: YanDan played by Yang Zi, and YingYuan played by Cheng Yi.
Yan Dan is the main character, and from a first glance I thought she was just typical.. the annoying and childlike type that is innocent. But Yandan isn't she has her motivations and her pride, and what really rounds her out is her counterpart sister who is pretty much a foil character to her, ZhiXi played by Meng Zi Yi. Both sisters come from a lotus flower, and one of them is the weak one while the other is the strong one. Zhixi so far is growing to be one of my favorite characters, knowing she is weaker as she was hurt before but she really holds her own. I understand why she is jealous of Yandan but doesn't really put it out there, instead she holds her pride and rejects her sister when she tries to help her succeed. Yandan isn't annoying or boastful when trying to help her sister, she is a bit more carefree and wants her sister to have the opportunities she deserves. Opposed to a character that gets in the way where there naive nature is used for comedy, Yandan grows from that pretty quickly.
From the first shot you see her falling from a cliff in what's assumed to be a self sacrifice. That sets up for the viewer to know that she can make impactful decisions and isn't playful and clumsy all the time. She is a deep thinker, and feigns that for her wish to live carefree most of the time. The drama moves quickly with her character and it is very satisfying.
What's even more satisfying is the development between YanDan and YingYuan, which is very natural. I've seen a lot of other costume dramas just have the female lead be naive with the male lead to be the grounded one for me to wonder why they would even like each other. Yandan and Yingyuan have there moments together that make me understand. Yingyuan is an emperor with a lot of responsibilities, and Yandan shows him how to be happier through her natural attitude. There aren't any coincidences pulled to keep them together, instead the characters themselves just want to be with each other.
Finally, this show wouldn't deliver if the acting wasn't there. Yang Zi is such a good actress, she is amazing. I've never seen a drama with Cheng Yi, but he is also very very good. They both play off each other naturally and unnaturally also when they need to be. The emotional scenes are where they both do there best at, and I'm looking forward to watching more so I can see their full depth of acting range.
The criticisms I have right away is that sometimes the effects are a little too ambitious. With the first long battle, the overlays were obvious and kind of an eyesore. The whole dragon fight was almost hard to watch, I much rather would have hand to hand combat over green screen effects. But I think when the characters get to the mortal realm that there will be more of that. So other than that I just have my concerns. Will the drama hold up? Will it bite off more than it can chew with it's very vast story and world? Will the story run out its time and become boring and cliche? I hope not. As for other peoples complaints, the one I’ve seen a lot is comparing it to Ashes of Love. Immortal Samsara is similar with its opening act, the immortal words and mortal realms. There aren’t two male leads with the same dynamic as in Ashes of Love and Yang Zi’s character although isn’t completely different- her character is much different in terms of writing, Yandan comes to terms with her surroundings a lot quicker and isn’t as aloof. She’s more grounded here.
So far this drama is really good, a solid 8.5-9/10. It is very much so above average in terms of acting, styling, effects, etc. I recommend this as it isn't bland. Give this drama a chance if you like romance with emotions, impressive fight scenes, and flawless visuals.
Finishing up this part I rate this even higher now. This drama truly is beautiful in every way. The story never fell flat and there were always interesting storylines to follow. Even into the mortal realm the dynamic between YanDan and Tengzhou was done very well. The whole tragedy between them is something I’m a sucker for, I love tragic and dramatic things. Yumo is my favorite character. He is selfless and I admire him for all the things he does for Yandan without expecting her love.
There is a lot going on in this drama but it is all interesting, beautiful, epic, and fun to watch. Overall very good and this drama is underrated so I recommend
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I mean I watched it
The film style and production seemed so similar to Ashes of Love, I actually thought they were made by the same people.Visually it was beautiful. Part of it felt promising. The first half of the show is better than the second, but if you want to compare it to Ashes of Love, Yan Dan feels like she was meant to be a 'smarter' Jinmi.. but this is largely arguable considering it takes her 800 years to forget a guy who she basically kills herself over, and then literally breaks her body apart again and again for said same guy. The character style and acting is so similar, there's fewer differences and than similarities between these characters and you can't help but compare as the actress is the same, and the filming style between these two shows are so similar. Yan Dan's character development is also similar to Jinmi, as she gets more serious throughout the show, and she cries so much, it's no wonder audiences were upset about the actress having a worn out appearance for much of the show. With so many crying scenes, no wonder.
The main male lead character is so useless in terms of love for much of the show. Punishments and plots, like many Xianxia, either don't make sense or feel poorly explored. I really wasn't rooting for them by the end of the show, and really didn't care that they died. Wish they had cast someone else for the leads and created second lead syndrome because the story could have tugged at my heartstrings for the second lead, but sorely didn't.
I won't watch this again, but I did finish the show.
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Addicting
I really loved this drama. It is so addicting. Once you start watching you cannot get over it, you really wanted more. The actors and actresses in this drama are great in portraying their roles. The couple has a great cp vibes, they complement each other. I want more episodes of this drama. I want to see them more. I love Cheng Yi’s acting! He can convey the message using the body language, movements of the eyes, lips, ears. Yang Zi, I love her comedy antics and the way she cries will melt your heart. Over all 10/10 for me, i loved it 😍.Was this review helpful to you?
Bland story
Acting - bland( actors are behaving like they have nothing to do with surrounding and story)Graphic - look like done by some newbie
Story - there is nothing creative more like travel log of some commoner
Chemistry - nothing worth looking for , regular Chinese troope, where multiple male character fall in love with females lead for absolutely no reason or for silly reason.
Female lead spend most of her time with second male lead for reason unknown
Overall - nothing special , feel like diary written by some individual
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Better series are available
The story is too bland. Casting is good but rest is just so so. No chemistry between the leads. The plot is so draggy. The only thing that kept me going was Cheng Yi and OSTs. The whole 60 or so episodes only focuses on the story of the leads and yet cannot add taste to it. Love is forbidden in the heavenly realm but the reason is not convincing enough. Many of the characters just vanished and suddenly appear after 20 episodes. No connections between the events. The whole series is a mess. I had high expectations. I am really disappointed.Was this review helpful to you?
Cheng Yi, let me count the ways!
xian xia drama that is completely delivering on all fronts. Excellent acting, CP, fast paced storyline, angsty emotional scenes, amazing fight scenes, humour, a non pathetic or evil second male lead, a brave non- irritating female lead, love from early on, and a couple that have lots and lots of moments together! And Cheng Yi looking so hot most of the audience have melted.I have to leave 500 characters. Surely this is enough?!!
Ok, what more? Cheng Yi with white hair is the best thing my eyes have seen, I can die with no regrets now.
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Ying Yuan: "Agarwood has turned into dust" "But there is still the warmth of our love"
"If the agarwood hadn't turned into dust, could we go back to how things were?"
- His eyes were filled with tears, painfully staring at her expressionless eyes. Hopefully asking for the answer that he wanted but she is still cold towards him.
If you are searching for the drama where FM is not only strong but also intelligent and so mature enough to understand ML, then Immortal Samsara is for you. CGI of IS is so breathtaking and touching! IS also teaches us that love isn't everything sometimes, you can't sacrifices everyone's precious life just for your greediness over love.
The story is so beautifully written as Ying Yuan & Tang Zhou's love for Yan Dan is so pure while Yan Dan's love towards both Ying Yuan & Tang Zhou has always been sincere.
Yan Dan may be childish at the beginning but after she experienced the pain from love and everything, her maturity never fails to amaze me. Yan Dan realizes that the true definition of LOVE = Protecting what your beloved ones cherishes!
Ying Yuan loves Yan Dan in his own way, he chose not to recognize to keep her save from the punishment, he still has to protect Three Realm as without the peace of the world, he will lose Yan Dan too. Yan Dan misunderstand him but she later witnesses with her own eyes that what will happen if Ying Yuan chooses her over the responsibilities.
Tang Zhou, who is the real SML, suffers a lot between Ying Yuan & Yan Dan, he didn't do anything wrong, just purely loves Yan Dan but he never got her love back until the end because of his past life. He became the punching bag between them for Ying Yuan and Yan Dan to finally realize that they can protect each other while choosing the responsibilities too.
The real love triangle is between Ying Yuan - Yan Dan - Tang Zhou, three of them are actually innocent. They just fell in love with their beloved one but the fate is so cruel towards them no matter where they are, Heavenly Realm or Mortal Realm.
Huge respect to Yang Zi & Cheng Yi and all actors, actresses. I can totally sense the differences between Ying Yuan & Tang Zhou, all thanks to CY's amazing acting. His eyes speak everything, YY and TZ is the same person but the personalities, expressions and love towards Yan Dan are so different. Thank you Immortal Samsara for keeping me accompany all the time!
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The most beautiful love story
Seriously the most beautiful love story I’ve watched in terms of xianxia. This story solely focuses on the trials of the main leads, and I love it. It has heartache, laughter and strong love… a strong ML and FL that shows character development. No annoying side characters. The outfits and styling are top notch and beautiful. And the soundtrack is top notch. I was so touched by this show that it has now overtaken Ashes of love as number 1. For me. A happy ending completes this masterpiece❤️. I will miss YY and Yandan.Was this review helpful to you?
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I REALLY LOVE THIS
It's been such a long time since I've watched a historical drama and this is really good. The emotions really got me in this one and the soundtrack for this drama IS SO GOOD!!I can't wait for season 2 to come out and I hope it comes out soon! But i really recommend this! There's too much heartbreaks in here and the 3 main characters DID not piss me off at all which is very rare for me. I'm just really mad that I watched this while it was/still airing and now I have to wait for S2 and I HOPE it comes out ASAP!
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A cliche mess
This drama is a testament to everything that is wrong with the xianxia genre. It's too stylized with little to no room for imagination. A stoic ML in a position of power? Check. A childish FL with a baby voice? Check. Immortal realm - good, demons - bad? Check. Self-righteous Taoist sects? Check. Incomprehensible love rectangles? Check. Everyone under the sun falling in love with an immature FL? Check. Rebirth and amnesia? Check. B*tchy and jealous side chicks? Check. This drama follows the same tired tropes without skipping a beat, and it only gets worse with the next episode.The first 15 or so very slow episodes were mostly about the relationship between ML and FL. FL started out as a child-like fairy and became more serious as she developed feelings for ML. It was a good character development for her because of the life-changing trauma caused by heartbreak. Unfortunately, as the story moved to the mortal realm, Yan Dan regressed back to the childish turd that she was in the immortal realm, but even more so than before. Even though she lost her memories, I thought the trauma she suffered would be a life changing experience leading to a more mature and thoughtful person who was given a second chance at life. But, that was not the case here.
The drama reminded me of Ashes of Love, which was a dumpster fire, with Yan Dan being a slightly smarter version of Jinmi. This was a stark contrast to Love and Redemption, where FL was only clueless about love, but she was sympathetic and thoughtful otherwise, and, her interactions with ML were meaningful. Similar to Jinmi, Yan Dan acted like a child continuously bickering with ML and having a multitude of braindead males falling in love with her. And, because of her over-the-top behavior, her interactions with ML lacked romantic chemistry looking more like an adult babysitting a kid rather than two adults falling in love.
Another issue was Yan Dan's lack of motivation. In the immortal realm, she had some purpose to protect her sister. After she lost her memory, she went wherever the wind blew. First, she swore allegiance to Yu Mo and became his "concubine". Then, she ran off with Tang Zhou and did not give a second thought to Yu Mo or the fact that he could be looking for her. I also thought that the writers spent way too much time on Yu Mo's and Yan Dan's relationship. It was apparent from the start that they will never be a couple, so milking that unrequited love and giving them more screen time than necessary completely deviated from the plot and unnecessarily dragged the story.
In all honesty, I hardly have any interest in finishing part 1. So, it's unlikely I will be watching part 2.
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