K-Drama 
Familiar Scents and Déjà Vu
Eternal Fragrance is a fantasy drama packed with CGI, special effects, magic, demons, immortals and enough mysteries to keep you glued to the end. Its 7.6 rating feels a little low to me because the drama is actually rather well produced. Originality, however, is another matter. At times, I found myself thinking, “Haven’t I seen this somewhere before?”The drama begins on a rather silly note, with Xiao Bang Chui — later renamed Jiang Li Fei — following her Shifu around scamming wealthy superstitious families. After her Shifu leaves her, she fights for a place at the prestigious Chufeng Academy, hoping to find his elder disciple. There she runs into Lei Xiu Yuan again — unfortunately, this time as her competitor.
They soon meet the highly talented Ji Tong Zhou, aka Prince Ying of the Yue Kingdom. The three become friends and allies and, as almost required by the laws of Chinese fantasy drama, both handsome men eventually fall for the same woman.
Several scenes gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. Li Fei's disastrous attempts to learn flying reminded me of The Journey of Flower. Chufeng Academy has a touch of Harry Potter's school of magic, while Li Fei being raised into the air as punishment and the mysterious seal within her reminded me of Legend of Fuyao. Perhaps Eternal Fragrance borrowed a little fragrance from several other productions. 😄
Still, the drama has enough hooks of its own. Who exactly are Xiu Yuan and Li Fei, and how are they connected by their past? More importantly, will Xiu Yuan become evil? Characters from his past keep trying to lure him back to his former ways, while his own inherited nature is hardly helping. Watching him struggle between darkness and goodness is one of the more compelling parts of the story.
Credit goes to Song Wei Long for convincingly switching between a menacing reincarnated figure and a gentle, almost docile lover.
I also find it interesting that demons in this drama — as in many Chinese fantasy dramas — are treated almost like another race. Some immortals fear and despise them, while others believe they should be allowed to coexist. And one lesson remains universal: obsessive lovers are scary, whether mortal, immortal or demonic.
Meanwhile, the immortals are busy fighting among themselves for power and control while a huge calamity approaches and an enemy is practically at their doorstep. Sound familiar? It is rather like a workplace or family crisis where everyone argues over what is right while the house is burning down.
My main disappointment is the ending. It works, but it could have been much more dramatic and moving. Since the Yecha clan was originally of divine origin, I would have preferred the Yecha Lord to sacrifice himself saving the world, be mourned, and eventually be resurrected as a deity. Now that would have been an ending!
I also felt sorry for Prince Ying. He began as such a promising righteous young man that I would rather have seen him awaken, redeem himself and go on to lead a worthwhile life - but for dramatising, this drama works.
One thing in period dramas always makes me smile: the unwavering one-man-one-woman devotion. Really? Ancient men were hardly famous for having only one woman, yet our heroes remain faithful through three lifetimes and a few thousand years! 😄 And why must the women cling to Choice No. 1 if he turns out to be a disaster?
It also kills the suspense—we already know who will choose whom. And the trailers often make it worse by revealing the winning couple before the romantic race has even begun!
Of course, like many Chinese fantasy dramas, this one comes with a generous helping of gobbledygook about divine cultivation, spiritual powers and mystical realms. And naturally, no one ever takes their medicine without first putting up a heroic fight against the poor person trying to feed it to them. Apparently, swallowing medicine willingly would ruin the drama.
Overall, Eternal Fragrance may not win prizes for originality, but it is entertaining, visually impressive and mysterious enough to keep you watching. Sometimes borrowing familiar ingredients still produces a pretty enjoyable dish.
Debating between 8.5 and 9, I settled on 8.5. It is very well produced and thoroughly entertaining, but the lack of originality cost it that extra half-point.
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A start of something but....
This drama left me with a strange impression. I really enjoyed the beginning, and I absolutely loved the first 10 episodes because I really like stories about characters with hidden powers who join an academy and do a group of friends. But very quickly, we end up with several different storylines being introduced, and everything moves way too fast. The whole process of entering the academy is almost brushed aside.When I finished this drama, I felt like I had watched the beginnings of several different stories, but that was it. I was missing that sense of character development and accomplishment, as well as any real depth to the characters. Very quickly, the drama moves from one action sequence to another, jumping from one situation to the next without really taking the time to properly establish the story.
Yes, it’s true that the CGI is really well done. It’s beautiful to look at, but that’s not enough to carry the whole drama. The writing has some major issues. It’s quite frustrating because, as I’m writing this review, we’re in a period where there’s a real lack of good xianxia dramas, and I feel like this one is such a waste of potential. While the first 10 episodes had me completely captivated, the rest barely managed to hold my attention.
In the end, I’m going to try to focus mainly on the positives so I don’t feel too frustrated. Ju Jing Yi is still as beautiful as ever and a good actress, while Song Wei Long is, as always, very good. It’s a shame they weren’t given something better to work with.
Now I just need to find a xianxia drama I’ve somehow missed so I can satisfy my current craving.
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A huge disappointment; They crammed too much into 33 episodes
It could have been so much better.I was half-way through episode 31 when I realised I didn't want to continue watching it. I think I stayed so long because I both felt like it would get better and for the actors. The truth is I felt like I was missing scenes early on. It felt like scenes had been cut and it just got worse the longer I watched.
And did I mention that this is a complete mess?!!! Oh my god!!! Why did they feel like they had to cram so much into 33 episodes?! There was so much covered in every single episode we never got a break!!! And don't get me started on the cartoonish villains!!! Their laughing was cringe-worthy. I ignored it because I liked this. I really did. I feel like it started going downhill around episode 25? I don't know the exact episode but that seems about right. It was shortly after [redacted] died. And then it came to a point when I didn't know who was on which side because their stance was so blurry. One minute two people were on opposite sides and the next episode they were scheming together. The betrayals were EVERYWHERE. It is so damn messy in the last few episodes I watched. And the pacing!!! It's horrendous. It's fight after fight after fight! Sure, there's a few moments in between where someone says something inspirational but after that? Another fight with a twist villain OR a previous villain! It started getting so damn tiring around episode 29.
Okay, now onto the love story, because this IS a love story. It has multiple pairings some of which are very poorly done. The main pairing though I think has suffered from the story being squeezed into 33 episodes. I felt their bond after the academy... for a short while and I felt like they were really falling in love... and then that feeling fizzled out but apparently they are deeply in love? I didn't feel it. After some research, I discovered that this is adapted from a two book series. I think it would have turned out better if they'd just adapted one book and then the other instead of cramming them into 33 episodes. The friendships felt shallow. The romance felt shallow. Why did I stick with this so long?!
I don't have much else to say other than the fact that the actors did a really good job.
I am so very disappointed in this. I had mediocre expectations in the beginning but hoped. And the passing of time was done so damn poorly...
What a shame.
Also: Two characters ended up being REALLY annoying. (Well, three really, but the third is excusable because he's a good villain he was slimy but the best villain of the series, I think - UNTIL HE WAS JUST KILLED!!!) One is a woman who keeps popping up and destroying ML and FL plans even though apparently she's on ML side but keeps undermining him. The second is the second ML. I liked him at first but the more I watched the more he frustrated me. He didn't love FL at all!!! He just wanted to possess her!!!!! And he {REDACTED} which I think was the second to last nail in the coffin. He then [REDACTED} which just made me think "Right. I can't watch this anymore!"
This should have been two seasons, 20 episodes each.
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My thoughts so far (Ep. 12):
Okay First of all, the start was actually so good. I love fantasy dramas, and I loved all the fantasy elements they introduced. The world-building had me hooked from the first episode. SWL was so insanely powerful too... I was like yeah..😭But then after he met her... idk, it just feels like he became a completely different person.
LXY(his character ) is actually testing my patience SO bad. Like why are you still begging and chasing someone just because of some old memories?? and when the hell you fell in love with her?? I get y'all have history, but that's not enough for me to understand why he's making these choices. At this point I'm more annoyed than sad for him. also remember his brother is dead(he killed him) still all he know is to asking for forgiveness?
And JLF(her character) girl, I'm so confused idk why her character is acting like that. Maybe I'm missing something that'll get explained later, but his brother literally just died and she barely seems affected?? I expected way more emotion. It's making it really hard for me to connect with her character. She's just annoying fr
One thing that ALWAYS annoys me in dramas is when a character has the power to change their situation but instead chooses to suffer because they're in love with someone who barely gives them the time of day. Like STAND UP PLEASE. 😭 That's exactly what's happening here and it's driving me insane.
After everything that happened with his brother, I genuinely thought LXY would be focused on grieving, getting revenge, or at least finding out the truth. But nope... he's still running after her. WHY?? 😭 And she's over here acting all cute like nothing even happened, which is making me even more frustrated.
I'm really hoping the later episodes change my mind because this drama genuinely has so much potential. The fantasy setup is interesting, and both leads are really good actors, so I know they can pull it off. I just hope the writing starts doing them justice.
But as of Ep. 12... these characters are stressing me out way more than they're making me emotional.
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a MESS of a production
do not watch this. it was so messy. it felt like I was watching someone skip/fast forward through a drama but I was watching it real time. thats how little this drama made sense. there was no cause effect half the time stuff just happened without any logic or a stated purpose. i didnt understand the character motivations of anyone who wasnt the leads and even they got murky at the end. the director and screenwriter should be ashamed tbh. this is a really pretty drama that they clearly didnt give a fuck about making. or maybe censors chopped this thing to hell? I dont know but i SLOGGED to finish this thing or get as far to the end as I can without paying anything. ew.Was this review helpful to you?
Good Story, but little confusing
This is a very good story, but the story has some confusing aspects. According to the story, the Female Lead has unlimited spiritual power, but still she is projected as a weak character. When anybody, who is weak or strong, tries to take her spiritual power, she does not even try to stop them. Then what is the use of having immense power.Otherwise, the acting of everyone is good. The character of Female lead is projected as a weak character. Very sorry about this
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A Story Where Friendship Outshined Romance(For me)
I wouldn't call The Eternal Fragrance the best drama of 2026, but it was definitely a decent watch. Like most dramas, it had its own strengths and weaknesses. What surprised me the most was that I ended up loving the friendship far more than the romance between the main leads. I really wish the bond between the six friends hadn't fallen apart. Their time together, especially in Qingqiu, was filled with some of the most precious and heartwarming moments in the drama.Starting with Lifei, I absolutely loved her character in the beginning. She was carefree, cheerful, and lived without carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. However, after she gained power and following the Lu brother's incident, she gradually became more reserved and complicated. I understand why her character changed, but I wish her transformation had been executed differently. If she had evolved from a carefree girl into a confident, fearless "baddie," I think it would've felt more satisfying. Instead, I felt like something was missing from her characterization—some of the fragrance(iykyk)
As for Xiuyuan, the man spent half the drama completely lovesick. Song Weilong did a great job portraying him. There were moments where Xiuyuan felt emotionally restrained, but those scenes were balanced out by others where his emotions came through beautifully. What I appreciated most about his character was his sense of responsibility. Even after becoming the Demon Lord, he prioritized his people by sending the demon clan back to their homeland before facing the Sea Calamity himself.
Then we have Tongzhou... honestly, I don't even know where to begin. Watching him go from righteous to completely wicked was frustrating. It would've been wonderful if the six of them had remained friends until the end. I genuinely felt sorry for him when his brother, his uncle, and his kingdom fell apart. But after everything he chose to do afterward, all my sympathy disappeared. His obsession with Lifei became unbearable, especially after discovering she was the Divine Tree. He never truly moved on and kept hurting everyone around him because of that obsession. In my opinion, he deserved neither Lifei nor Miaoqing. Honestly, he and Lanya would've made the perfect wicked couple.
Now for my favorite character—Gelin. She completely stole my heart. She looked absolutely stunning throughout the drama, but beyond that, I loved her personality. She wasn't the strongest or the most powerful character, yet she always knew the difference between right and wrong. She stayed true to herself despite everything happening around her. I was so happy that she eventually found the person she loved and received the happy ending she deserved. It was heartbreaking, though, that she spent a decade not knowing her sister and Ye Ye had died. Out of everyone, I loved her friendship with Lifei the most—it felt genuine, comforting, and unwavering.
As for Changyue and Ye Ye, I never connected with them as deeply as some of the other characters, but their deaths were genuinely heartbreaking. If the writers had decided to kill them, I honestly think there could've been a better scenario than having them die at Tongzhou's hands. Part of me still wonders if things could've been different had Ye Ye listened to Changyue when she sensed something was wrong with Tongzhou and simply escaped. Maybe they would've survived.
Lu Li was such a supportive gentleman. I absolutely adored his relationship with Gelin. One of my favorite moments was when Gelin said she wanted to stay at the academy, and instead of arguing or forcing his own wishes, he simply chose to stay with her. Considering they were already husband and wife, that quiet understanding between them made their relationship even sweeter. Their dynamic was wholesome, healthy, and honestly one of the cutest couples in the drama.
Then there's Miaoqing. Her sacrifice left me speechless. But I still don't understand why she fell in love with Tongzhou in the first place. Just because someone saves your life doesn't automatically make them the right person to love. Throughout the story, Tongzhou barely acknowledged her as herself. He constantly treated her as a replacement for Lifei. It was only after her death that he seemed to realize how important she truly was to him.
One relationship I also want to mention is Lifei's bond with both of her masters. The master-disciple relationships were written beautifully and became some of the strongest emotional anchors of the drama. Qingcheng's death absolutely broke my heart—I genuinely cried during that scene. It was one of the most emotional moments in the entire series.
As for the romance... I honestly don't have much to say. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't the highlight of the drama for me. The main leads spent a large portion of the story apart, so I never felt fully invested in their relationship. Because of that, the emotional payoff didn't hit as hard as it could have. Ironically, I found myself caring far more about the friendships and the individual character journeys than the central love story.
Overall, The Eternal Fragrance was an enjoyable drama with both memorable highs and noticeable flaws. A lot of beloved characters lost their lives, and by the end, only three members of the original friend group remained. Despite everything, I enjoyed the journey. The final scene with Riyan was unexpectedly hilarious. After making me emotional for so many episodes, the drama managed to end by making me laugh. That felt like the perfect way to close the story.
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Worth the wait: Love BTWN Fairy & Devil 2.0!!
Honestly, the delayed release turned out to be a total blessing in disguise. There has been a real dry spell for epic fantasy lately, and this drama arrived at the absolute perfect time to fill a huge gap in the 2026 lineup. Watching it instantly brought back that wonderful nostalgia from when Love Between Fairy and Devil was airing. Ever since that show ended, I have been searching for a drama that treats its characters' feelings and internal struggles with this much respect and depth.The Eternal Fragrance successfully brings that authentic, deeply emotional Xianxia energy straight into 2026, making me fall in love with the genre all over again.What makes this show so special is its deeply human heart. Even though it is set in a massive fantasy world, the core of the story is all about the raw, vulnerable emotions of the characters. The absolute highlight of the series is the incredible partnership between Song Weilong and Ju Jingyi. They don't just play standard lovers; they truly feel like "forever soulmates" bound by a shared moral compass.
Their chemistry is built on mutual respect, sacrifice, and a deep understanding of each other's pain. You can see it in every single look they share.Behind the thrilling plot, which gives us constant excitement, complex double love triangles, and heartbreaking betrayals. is a beautiful story about choice and loyalty.
The characters aren't just pieces in a fantasy war; their decisions actually matter, and their pain feels incredibly real. It has everything a masterpiece needs, wrapped up in a strong belief that love can overcome any betrayal. This is an unforgettable, deeply human journey that was 100% worth the wait!
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It was good
All i want to say is that it started out very nicely and the plot was set from the very beginning. I love this kind of xinxia dramas but I think it was too predictable for me. After around ep 12 or something I felt that it started to get dragged which i personally didnt enjoy but others might like it. I wanted them to show more of the divine tree and demon lord past which we didnt get. Everyone's acting was great. for the CGI it wasnt the best but since this was filmed 3 years ago its understandable. I can say that I had high expectation since I was waiting for it to air for 3 years. thats all....Was this review helpful to you?
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Pretty? Yes. But It's So Much More Than That
OKay, firstly, this drama is oddly uniquely pleasing to the eyes, it is strikening but also very un-strikening as well...IDK the possible words I can use, but it is exactly like that for me.....Please, do not misunderstand, I do not mean this is bad, it is not, it is just very unique---AHHHH, i feel like you will understand if you have checked out one or two eps.. BUT ALL IN ALL, it is veryyyyy goodddd....I'm really enjoying it... Okay, so lemme start with the characters because...I fear they've already got me.Lifei is such a breath of fresh air. She doesn't have to be loud, sassy, or constantly proving she's "not like other girls" to be interesting. She's just...her. Curious, kind, a little stubborn, and so easy to root for. I found myself smiling whenever she was on screen because there's something so genuine about her.
And Lei Xiuyuan...sir, could you perhaps show ONE emotion? 😭 Every time he's on screen, he has that "I know 17 secrets and I'm telling absolutely no one" face. I'm eating it up though. The slow build between him and Bang Chui is exactly my kind of romance. No forced chemistry at all!!
Now...the third wheel(s). 😅 I'm sorry, but they're just not doing it for me. Every time the drama starts hinting at another romantic possibility, I'm just like...can we please get back to Lifei and Lei Xiuyuan? Their chemistry is already strong enough that I don't need a love polygon to convince me. If anything, it just interrupts the flow whenever the focus shifts away from them.
At this point, I'm way more invested in watching Lifei and Lei Xiuyuan continue to understand and choose each other than I am in any extra romantic complications😭.
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Not special at all
This series - albeit its top-notch effects and acting - is over-rated for nothing. The story is not that intriguing nor special in any way and the romantic aspect is lacking in every aspect that is. I saw no real attachment between the two main heroes to be called romantic, effective or heart-wrenchingly moving! To be honest, I had to force myself to complete the drama simply because I hate starting something and not finishing it rather that being interested in the events. How could we be not bored when we see the heroes always wounded and in need of healing most of the scenes! Be real!Was this review helpful to you?
The story unfolds slowly and looses it's edge as it ends but hooks u till the end
It hooked me as it starts and literally bringing joy.i usually drops the drama that doesn't have much to show but they managed to hook me up. The cast is 10/10 and u will like it them perform the story is bit inconsistent and don't have many plot holes,also the story is about romance but not all about it.They throws it all at u as ending arrives overall a great watch.
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