19th Floor

"19th Floor" - A Captivating Chinese Drama Review

Overview:
"19th Floor" is a Chinese drama series that delves into similar themes as "Night Has Come." Initially stumbled upon while searching for a mystery death game series, this show surpassed my expectations. While I had previously thought only K-dramas could handle such intricate themes effectively, "19th Floor" blew me away with its captivating storyline and capable main leads.

Plot and Characters:
The plot revolves around Chun Yu, who finds herself in a mysterious game environment after an accident with her classmates. Alongside other players, she embarks on a journey to survive each game and ultimately take down the game's creator. Despite being new faces to me, the cast, particularly the female lead Chun Yu's actress, delivered impressive performances. The series boasts a cast of characters with depth and smarts, keeping viewers engaged throughout.

Execution and Pacing:
"19th Floor" kicks off with a promising start, hooking the audience with its intriguing premise. The mind games portrayed become increasingly complex, though there is a slight dip in clarity during the middle parts. However, the series manages to catch up, ensuring that any initial confusion doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. While some viewers may find certain plot points predictable, I would argue that the narrative still holds enough surprises to keep audiences guessing.

Production Values:
The music in "19th Floor" is decent and effectively adds to the atmosphere of each scene. Understandably, as a death game series, it may not be the highlight, but it complements the storyline well and enhances the viewing experience.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, "19th Floor" stands out as one of the best series I've watched in this genre. With its compelling plot, capable main leads, and intricate mind games, it offers a thrilling viewing experience from start to finish. Despite minor pacing issues and some predictability, the series succeeds in delivering an engaging narrative that keeps viewers invested throughout.

Read More

Gripping start, slippery finish

I'm not entirely sure where to begin because this drama left me with a whirlwind of mixed feelings. The first half was exhilarating, keeping me on the edge of my seat, but from episode 20 onward, it felt like everything started to unravel into a chaotic mess.

It’s as though the drama desperately wanted to inject more excitement with some unexpected plot twists, but unfortunately, they just didn’t hit the mark. Instead of adding depth, these twists only served to complicate the storyline, making it increasingly disjointed and hard to follow.

There were several aspects that really bothered me, but the worst offender was the depiction of the equipment in the control room. This was supposed to be a high-tech environment, where characters were dealing with the complexities of consciousness, the brain, and other advanced scientific concepts. Yet, the control room looked like it was cobbled together from a low-budget music or recording studio. It irked me to no end watching the characters randomly press and twist buttons, completely undermining the gravity of what they were supposed to be doing. It felt like a slap in the face to anyone expecting a serious portrayal of cutting-edge technology.

Another glaring issue was the sudden transfer of Chun Yu’s father’s consciousness to Uncle Lin. It made absolutely no sense—none at all. Sure, I get that it’s a sci-fi drama, but even within that genre, the reasoning they provided was absurdly weak. It felt like a lazy attempt to introduce a shocking twist, but without any solid foundation to back it up, it just came across as nonsensical.

It seems the writers were aiming for a dramatic revelation to explain the villain's motivations, but once again, it fell flat. The attempt at adding depth to the villain’s backstory was so poorly executed that it only highlighted the overall sloppiness of the writing.

By the time I hit episode 20, my patience had worn thin. I ended up watching everything at 2x speed, and even then, I found myself fast-forwarding through scenes that dragged on with no real purpose. It’s a shame because the drama started with so much potential, only to lose its way in such a disappointing manner.

Read More

Unpredictable and Riveting: Why 19th Floor Deserves Your Attention

19th Floor is such an underrated show, and definitely a star among the released 2024 c-dramas. From the start, I was hooked with the interesting storyline, that for me was quite unpredictable. In each round of the game that they played, I was left surprised with the unfolding of the events which made me very invested and excited for each new episode. A highlight was the characters, I was very attached to all of them and I loved seeing all their character growth as they either solve their own problems or explore their past. Seeing them all support each other despite literally being pitted against each other in life or death situations gives a very warm sense of feeling. There is a good balance of thrilling, emotional and comedic moments throughout 19th Floor that are delivered by a set of very capable actors! Despite this, I found this drama to be quite unrealistic, especially how gullible the team is despite being done dirty so many time, and how they managed to sneak into a high tech facility multiple times without being caught? Having 30 episodes does make this drama tend to drag towards the end, and I think it could of been done with much fewer episodes. Overall, this is a drama you won't want to miss in 2024, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it!

Read More

A game that tests your emotions

This series is really good. I finished it in February. I'm still very much in love with the concept. A group of people end up in a VR game every night and have to pass dangerous levels that take them to different places. They have to fight against beasts and solve riddles. This alternates with events outside the game where the characters have to deal with personal problems like their imperfect family life. At the same time they have to figure out why the VR game was created and how to escape and - more importantly - how to survive it every night.

Unfortunately, the suspense wasn't quite balanced. There were very exciting phases and then very calm and perhaps rather boring phases - but I actually liked this duality. It worked for me.

The plot is very character-driven, and it's done well, which is a BIG PLUS for me!

One of my favorite characters is female lead Chun Yu. She's smart but not very talkative, seems cold and unshakeable at first. I love her tomboyish style. Her hair is usually slightly disheveled and her lips rather dry. It felt so natural to me. And she rides a big motorcycle!

My other favorite character is Zhang Tian Qiang. I didn't like him at first. He was so annoying. But that changed quickly. Well, he is still annoying but at the same time such a dumb and lovable cutie. He has the best character development. Very believable and heartwarming.

I cried happy tears because of all the good teamwork in the end.

P.S.
The outro song of 19th Floor is such a banger~!

[finished watching on 17 February 2024]

Read More

Something New and adventurous

I usually don't write reviews but looking at the popularity and reviews on this drama page I thought maybe many people don't know how good this was...I didn't have any expectations before watching this one...but this is so good it keeps you intrigued in the show with the mystery and adventurous setting.

CGI, OST, Production everything was perfect I came here to watch this for "Miles Wei" but storyline itself will not disappoint you.

I did not want to give any spoiler about the storyline so watch this yourself and then decide how it was ??? And It was a happy ending for Lead CP.

I wish you will have a great journey while watching this...I'll definitely recommend everyone to watch this at least one time.

(⁠◔⁠‿⁠◔⁠)

Read More

The story got weirder from episodes 18 onward, I am no longer interested and dropped it.

19th Floor is a suspense drama about a group of college students recruited to play a virtual reality game to save lives.

The Synopsis:
Unconscious after a car accident, university student Chun Yu and her best friend Qing You mysteriously find themselves inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Several other people have also unwittingly ended up here, and they soon discover they were all involved in the accident - except for substitute teacher Gao Xuan, who claims to have fallen asleep. Seeing no other option than to play the game, they eventually beat the level and wake up ... only to return the next night immediately.

Faced with deadly monsters, puzzles, and mind games, the players must learn to cooperate despite being unsure if they can trust each other. The pressure increases when it turns out that people who die in the game fall into a coma in real life. And then several more students are dragged into the game! The group spends their night.

My Reviews:
1. It is like Squid Game but less gory.
2. It had interesting plots with good thrillers and suspense values in the first 8-10 episodes. Still, as it progressed, it became draggy and boring. It would be better if it finished in 16 episodes instead of 30.
3. It was something different for Miles Wei, unlike his typical rom-com role. I am glad that he is branching out to other genres.
There is no romance between the main CP, even though it is insinuated.
4. It is predictable, and for every challenge they take, I know they do it without sacrificing someone.
5. I have watched 23 episodes and am no longer interested in completing them. I am dropping it.
6. The FL was hypnotized and stuck into a cocoon, and her dad is a chef who sacrificed himself to save her, which was weird.

I am giving a 5.5 rating because the story is getting stupid and draggy from episode 10 onward.

Read More

DESERVED MORE RECOGNITION!!!!

I just recently found out about this drama and since Iam a huge fan of the genre I decided to give it a chance and so far it's amazing.

Yes I have seen this concept many times before but I love how the drama still managed to be consistent in their story telling to the point that the drama feels engaging and thrilling as the episodes go by....the acting is so far good and the characters are pretty much diverse which adds to the fun.

Iam only 10 episodes in and so far it's going well ....can't wait for more episodes.

I need more people to talk about this because I badly need someone to discuss this drama with....and share theories with but Iam not seeing more people talking about it and it hurts because it's good.

Read More

Not every show can be great like Spirealm

As you can see, The Spirealm & 19th floor aired almost at the same time. Both dramas are from China & revolves around same plot, characters got stuck in a VR reality game & had no choice but to continue. 19th floor started off great, and I loved the characters (Biker FL, ML, masc fencer girl) but after ep 10, it turned out as a nonsensical show, full of cliches. I literally don't know why maximum Cdramas feature this trope - ML & FL knew each other when they were children & always ML recognises her in present. And FL's bestie, I thought she is a sweet, innocent, ray of sunshine type of girl, but no, she's just so possessive of FL & she even posted that video too. This isn't friendship, and she disliked ML for no reason. Plot literally made no sense at all. As a die-heart fan of The Spirealm, I decided to give this a shot but got disappointed so much. Don't waste your time.

Read More

I need season 2 pleaseeeeee...

*** Spoiler Alert (PERSONAL FEEDBACK)
Title : 19th Floor – 2024 (Complete 30 Episodes)
Personal Rating : 9.5/10

Chun Yu (played by Sun Qian) is a genius introvert university student. Known to be the most ruthless and heartless demon king from High school. She doesn’t care much about the world since her mother died. She only believes and trusts herself. She doesn’t care about studying and everything is meaningless to her till she gets herself inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Then she met other players who became her friends and perfect teammates.

Gao Xuan / Zhao Lei (played by Wei Zhe Ming) is a handsome well known senior university student and a substitute teacher. He is calm, smart and a childhood friend of Chun Yu.

Unconscious after a car accident, university student Chun Yu and her best friend Qing You mysteriously find themselves inside the dangerous world of a VR game. Several other people have also unwittingly ended up here, and they soon discover they were all involved in the accident - except for substitute teacher Gao Xuan, who claims to have simply fallen asleep. Seeing no other option than to play the game, they eventually beat the level and wake up ... only to immediately return the next night. Faced with deadly monsters, puzzles, and mind games, the players have to learn to cooperate despite being unsure if they can trust each other. The pressure increases when it turns out that people who die in the game fall into a coma in real life. And then several more students are dragged into the game! The group spends their nights trying to survive the next level and their days investigating who is doing this to them and why. As they grow closer, friendships and budding romances are repeatedly put to the test by the stress of the situation and the evil machinations of the people behind the game... (Source: kisskh)

~~ Adapted from the novel "The Nineteenth Floor of Hell" by Cai Jun

It’s a WOOOOOWWWW to me! I think this is one of the best thriller, mystery, and brain-storming dramas. It is so engaging that I binge-watch it. You will get hooked in every episode. Every game becomes difficult and scary because you don’t know who are the players left for the next game. And in every game, they started to trust each other too because they really have to. They have the perfect team and sync when it comes to games. Their friendship is one of the best in both real life and games. There are no political schemes or drama here but you will be pissed at Yan Ming Liang!!! Love every players!!!

Overall, it is a must watched drama if you like ALICE IN BORDRELAND (Japanese Drama) or SQUID GAME (Korean Drama). The CGIs is amazing!!! There is not much romance here because they focus more on the games, friendship and a little in family but still the story is great!!! It has a happy ending too but short ending.. They should make the ending a bit longer. Chun Yu is definitely a girl crush, She rocks the boyish outfit!!! I need season 2 ppppleeeaaaassseeee!!!!!

GENRE – Adventure, Thriller, Mystery, Youth , Modern

LEAD CAST – Sun Qi , Wei Zhe Ming or Miles Wei

Read More