My Journey to You

'' There is no wall in this world that can stop the sun from rising. ''

After more than a month I could not finish few dramas that I started (which I had alot of interest in them at the beginning but all of that wane away when I reach middle 2/3rd of the story) , finally kudos to myself for being able to finish this one successfully. The fact that this drama only has 24 episodes does help I think.

My thoughts:

✅️ Cinematography & fighting scenes : 10/10. I loved the extravagant setting and how each scene were artfully filmed . Even if the story's bit lacking I was busy eye feasting with the beautifulness present in every scene.

✅️ OST: 10/10 . It was the best! While I usually enjoyed only one or two songs from a drama , I enjoyed all the songs here. Probably this become my favorite cdrama OST of the year. That song that has 'ge' in it was often played in Gong Shang Jue and Gong Yuan Zhi scenes really suited these two brothers relationship. Both since young have lost people dearest to them but later find solace and support in each other's arms. It does have a beautiful lyric.

✅️ Costume , hairstyles and visual : 10/10 . Everything is beautiful except I noticed one flaw that disturbed me for awhile while watching . They blurred hairline for all male here probably don't want us to notice how unnatural it look like lol .

☑️ Plot : 8/10 . Interesting beginning, a bit dragging in the middle but exciting ending. This drama surely have a lot of talking ,scheming scenes with non ending poetic languange in it script which definitely make you feel bored if you like more action in your drama. I remember being mildly bored and became instantly elated when a fighting scene is about to start lol. I think you need to be patience while watching all the talking scenes in order to understand the story better. About that ending scene. I am not even surprised anymore . Cdrama just love to have such an ending huh. Actually it was kinda expected because when we reach the last episode, Gong's mission to eliminate Wufeng still not achieve yet. Thus, 24 episodes is not enough to do it all. However I would not hold my breath waiting for season 2. Read somewhere that it is probably not going to happen.

✅️ Acting : 9/10. I think my most favorite character in this drama is Gong Zi Shang. I was never bored watching her dramatic antic. She was adorable to the max . While everything else in the story is dark and bleak she brings the sunshine into the story. I enjoyed all her scenes with Jin Fan. I'm happy she got her HEA. I think the main leads down to supporting characters did great in their given roles. While I did think that something is lacking in FL's character. I feel that her background story was not shown better . Other than her connection with Yun Que and Han Ya Si we know nothing else about her . Yes she talked about it with Gong Zi Yu but I prefer telling with showing rather than just telling only. Thus we inevitably feel detached with her character. Heck even Yun Que and Lady Wu Ji 's background stories was shown better than our FL. While everyone in the page comment section praises SFL for her performance here I have a different opinion . Something in the way she talks irritating me . It was the way she articulates each word looked and sounded greasy to me lol.

✅️ My Overall rating : 8.5/10

MJTY to me is like a beautifully wrapped -limited edition- candy with chocolate filling. You will feel good while eating it but after that it will leave you yearning for more .

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Worth it for Ryan Cheng's bombastic side-eye

==Breakdown==
Background plot - 60%
Romance - 35%
Misc comedy - 5%

Background plot - Excellent in some parts, rushed and sloppy in others
Romantic chemistry - Excellent for second leads, tepid for main leads
Misc comedy - Good
Production value - Ranging from good to excellent

Ryan Cheng stole this one. Except a few crumbs stolen by Lester Lin, Ryan Cheng staged a heist and legit burgled the whole dang show.
THINGS I LOVED:
1) Every scene with Ryan Cheng (or Lester Lin) was captivating.
2) The fight scenes were awesome.
3) Cinematography and set design
4) Costumes
5) Background of story and set up of story

THINGS I DIDN'T LOVE:
1) I love Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He, but the script was not great and many of the scenes were waaaaaaaay to slow. By all accounts, Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He had good chemistry, but weren't given the scenes or the dialogue to demonstrate it. Their interactions were boring after a while (because of the pace and script), which was a shame because you could tell (with their expressions and eye contact) that they gave it their all.
2) Someone said in the comments that every scene was overly dramatic. I co-sign this statement. The panning to everyone's face to see their facial expressions and reactions would've been fine if it had been used as a device for one or two scenes, but it was waaay over used.
3) Not only was it slow, but the show had a huge amount of repetition, showing the same scenes over and over.
4) Also, this was weird: the show did this thing where they'd show a character once and then kill them (someone I'd never seen before or hadn't seen much of) and then do a flashback with that character for 20 minutes where we were apparently supposed to get to know them via a summary of their past and then feel sad about their current death. This never worked. I just fast forwarded these flashbacks after the 4th time this happened.
5) The second to last episode was absolutely nothing but exposition wherein the bad guy spent 45minutes telling us how he did it. That's just lazy storytelling.

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When I first heard about this show, I didn't really care about it and it didn't appeal to me at first. Then when the show actually started airing, my sister persuaded me to watch it and I did. Boy was I not prepared for what I had watched.

Every episode has so much detail and so much going on, we are given that the whole story revolves around 2 "families", Wufeng and the Gong residence. We are then introduced to our assassin Yun Weishan, whose goal is to complete a mission in the Gong residence. The show does a really good gob at characterizing each person's personality traits in the show. Every one of the Gong people are so unique and special in their own way especially Gong Yuanzhi, I loved his character.

Not to mention I was already stunned and impressed with everyone's acting and makeup, but then the show brings up the characters in the back hill and I completely lost it. These humans only get more handsome and prettier. I felt like I had a crush on everyone in the show. Not only was every character impressively gorgeous, their acting skills were even better. I'd never thought Yu Shuxin to be the type to play an assassin but apparently she pulled that role off super well. I was also mesmerized by the Xue Chongzi's acting, a 12 year old boy can act better then some adults in other dramas I've seen.

The OST is so depressing yet beautiful to listen to. I love how the show plays music when it portrays sad scenes, and it only makes me cry even harder. The costuming was also really good. I don't think the show invested a lot of money into costuming but you can clearly tell the costumes are designed very elegantly. The fighting scenes were also very impressive and has sparked the entire Jiang Hu dramas.

I really hope to see a season 2 of this drama, season 1 was way too short, and left with a cliff hanger. The best thing this drama does is every episode ends in a cliff hanger so it only makes you want to continue to watch the next episode. This show made me take such wild conclusions that I fee like I should be a detective sometimes!

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A great drama can go downhill in a second

my journey to you is one example where a superb good drama can slip downhill in a secon. damn this drama starting with a great steps imho. the character was so satisfying, the costumes is feast to eyes, and the most importan is the cinematography! it was amazing.. dark yet aesthetic, even there is time when i think that this one is drama with best cinematography as far as i can remember. so… my mistake to having a high expectation, after some episode the story getting draggy, the weak-mainlead not having character improvements at all, at first i think he was gonna becoming zero-to-hero character, but again despite all that happen in story he becoming more dull, blame the poor plot for that.

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Visual Feast

I do love the director's works, and this My Journey To You seems to be more in line with the current aesthetic than the ones made a few years ago. Not only are the male characters very handsome, but the female characters are also pretty and bravr. The director Guo Xiaosheng is good at capturing the emotions between two people, whether it's love or affection, and it always gives me a deep feeling. Whether it's the main characters, or the minor characters, they all have their own stories and I felt the whole story line is rich. And some of the scenery in the show is so incredibly beautiful that it could even stand alone as a landscape movie. Really enjoy watching it

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So much potential

This TV drama had so MUCH potential!

Finally we have the pairing of the FL and ML (I've seen them not together in Love Between Fairy and Devil) and Esther is not being her annoying, cutesy, whiny, child voice. She actually is mature, and graceful.
Except when she only has one whispery sad voice, and facial expression.

The cinematography, the lighting, the REAL voices (as opposed to annoying dubbed) and the start had so much potential to get to something REALLY good. There was mystery, there was an interesting premise... and even some good romance from the 1st ML and FL and 2nd ML and FL...

But I began to get really lost, confused half way through.

There are too many prolonged conversations which I think were intended to be loaded and filled with clues, but they just go too long winded.

Then there was the strange flashbacks that sometimes revealed something, but most times started to make me wonder the point of it all.

It didn't make sense, then I read that the ending was not just open ended but that it just seemed UNFINISHED. Like it had the potential to finish up properly, but ended up being vague and just incomplete.

So comes down to bad planning, bad writing.

Sadly I dropped it even having got so far as 21 episodes, because I preferred to spend those hours of my life watching sometimes that paid off rather than this that had the sparklings of a good story, but fell flat on its face.

I wish I could say the OST was good - but there was just some weird background music most of the time, not in line with the atmosphere or mood of the scene. There is again potential good songs on the OST, but just wasn't used. Usually I'd be like, oh good they did overuse it or variations of it, but they didn't use the music well for the scenes that needed it!

Don't bother. OR watch first few episodes to appreciate the filming and scenery and then ditch it because you'll end up frustrated and confused by the end. I totally wasted 21+ hours on this and wish I could have spent it reading or sleeping instead.

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Re main CP v second CP

Some reviews say that series fail because the second CP more popular than the Main CP I totally disagree, the second CP was for me annoying and too much time devoted taking away from the main CP which is the reason I watched the show. The second FL voice was soooo slow as calculating as the character she portrayed and second ML and his hanger on fake brother ( more like his gay lover) were just jealous of ML driven idiots, so how can such characters be of any interest to viewer. The main CP is the attraction in this series. The Main couple looked good together, they grew as the show progressed into more mature characters, they were influenced by each other so their relationship was one of growth and depth unlike the second CP who from the beginning just used each other their only progress was physical they had sex which is the only depth of their relationship not love

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An Intriguing Mix of Suspense & Romance

Set in a fantastical universe, My Journey to You reunites “Love Between Fairy & Devil” co-stars Yu Shu Xin & Zhang Ling He. This drama is a long overdue treat for those fans who secretly shipped Yu Shu Xin & Zhang Ling He’s characters in LBFAD and hoped to see them together in another drama. If you are one of those fans, then it is time to rejoice; because this show pretty much hinges on the natural & refreshing chemistry between Yu Shu Xin & Zhang Ling He. Directed by Guo Jing Ming who is well known for helming fantasy artworks like L.O.R.D 1, L.O.R.D 2 and The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, the show has the distinctive Guo Jing Ming signature. It is a big budget project with a high production value; set in a cinematic universe, everything about this drama screams opulence. Jing Ming never spares any efforts when it comes to building a fantasy world that is rich, divergent and intriguing; My Journey to You follows through on the same premise. You can’t help but gasp or swoon at the lush green locales or the snow-clad mountains; the settings are mesmerizing and beautiful. The costumes are resplendent and understated. Starring alongside Yu Shu Xin & Zhang Ling He are Ryan Cheng, Lu Yu Xiao who have prominent roles as well.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2023/09/08/my-journey-to-you-first-impressions/#more-114

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Dark and gritty mystery, with surprisingly a touch of comedy!

What a fun mystery series!

This was a really good dark and gritty series. I loved watching all the plotting, scheming and mystery behind the Wufeng spies and their mission to infiltrate the Gong family. I had so much fun coming up with my own theories and watching the revelations. The web of lies and mystery had me on my toes!

The only frustrating thing was that a lot of the fighting capabilities of the "good" characters seemed quite inconsistent. They'd win fights against strong people but lose to weaker people so it had me scratching my head at times. I just wish they found a way to move the plot along without creating that kind of inconsistency.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't really care much about the romance in this. Like it was nice, but I personally would have preferred more focus on the bonding between all the Gong brothers/cousins etc. I wish we got more scenes of all the brothers working together than the romance plot imo. But I'm still overall satisfied with how things played out.

I loved the OST in this drama so much! I loved that we got to see the backstories of some of the spies and why they became what they were. The way the ost was used during backstories and all throughout the drama was A+.

Also, scene stealers for me in this series were the scenes between ZiShang/Xiao Hei, and ZiShang/Jin Fan. Common denominator being ZS. I just loved this girl so much. She's so wacky and every scene with her brought out so many fun and light moments that gave us a break from the bleary and dark tones of this drama. Everybody's acting in this was amazing. Shang Jue's menacing glares but rare soft smiles, Yuan Zhi's psychotic smirks but childish nature, ZiShang's happy go lucky personality covering her sadness/desire for love, Yun Weishan's girlish nature hidden behind her cold upbringing, Zi Yu having a boyish/unserious nature while wanting be acknowledged and taken seriously. Each one of these characters played their roles so well and I loved that they weren't one dimensional characters. More so, I loved that we were given enough time to actually flesh out these chsracters and see their true nature behind the face they put on for the world. Everyone on the cast did a fantastic job.

I don't like that this was set up for a S2 but there was still some plotlines and character backgrounds that beed to resolved so it makes sense that a S2 will be needed and I'm more than likely going to watch it if/when released. I also just want to see my man, Shangjue, be happy and smile. Sigh.

Overall, it was a really engaging mystery drama!

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It could have been the best based solely on the aesthetics

The strength of MJTY lies in the cinematography and the various eye candy actors yet it still falls prone to the C drama Achilles heel where the audience is given a taut beginning that rapidly descends into hum -drum. Time and again the middle will drag and answers that could have been provided incrementally are dumped at the last minute. In addition, there was barely any chemistry between Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He with both performances verging on robotic, meanwhile, Ryan Cheng and Tian Jia Rui's looks and performances overshadowed the main leads.

Also, the fight scenes were a tad acrobatic-ish (and boring) with multiple skirts flying amid the ridiculous gymnastics but overall a good drama

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