This review may contain spoilers
Philosophically rich story
A Moment but Forever’s premise rests on a goddess being asked to retrieve a powerful divine object from the High Priest of an immortal clan. The goddess is convinced that since High Priest is a bad man, he deserves to have this object severed from him., and in this process he deserves to have his life taken away. Although this may sound like a story one might have heard of before, the show turns out to be something different: a deep, philosophical story of what it means to be kind, what it means to be human when the whole world may seem to be against you. Each of the conversations of this brilliantly-written and executed xianxia is layered - characters pour their hearts out, and through their words we experience a rich exploration of fundamental philosophical questions. Many xianxia address the philosophical questions of who is good and who is bad; are all demons bad, and are all gods good? What makes a god or what makes a demon?Tan Yan and Liu Xueyi each give a fantastic performance - as Ji Tanyin and Yuan Zhong, respectively. She is the titular goddess - with an extraordinary backstory. Her brilliant craft (mechanical engineering to be precise) makes her ascend to godhood. Indeed both Ji Tanyin and Hannv both become gods on the basis of their work. For Hannv her embroidery skills are otherworldly. Yet that is the extent of the similarity between these two. Ji Tanyin really takes her job as a goddess seriously - she is kind, cares for everyone without judgement. Hannv, on the other hand is embittered by life and as Mei Shan says later on, she doesn’t deserve to be a goddess.
Obviously, this brings us to the question: who/what makes a god and who/what makes a demon. As Yuan Zhong observes: “one thought demon, one thought god”. While possessing the divine hand, Yuan Zhong is expected to act like a god - his powers were necessary to win the wars. Yet the very display of god-like powers (not by his own choice, but those forced upon him), makes the elders of Youhu clan fear him. As such Yuan Zhong is not wrong- they were jealous of him, of what he could potentially do to them and that led them to make him suffer. For a being that made major contributions to the world, Yuan Zhong was not celebrated but feared, his freedom was curtailed and he was asked to take pride in his own suffering (based on the elders lying to him that such suffering would allow him to ascend to godhood). It is ironical that Dingxiu later on claims that Yuan Zhong is a demon - and everyone readily joins in (while knowing that it is untrue). Actions are more important than words. For all their righteous words - the Youhu clan elders were cruel, jealous, fearful and unrighteous. Yuan Zhong thought of making the sinful world suffer (after what he had been through it made perfect sense to feel that way) but that was a thought and not acted upon. Now for Hannv on the other hand - resentment led to action. However one of the points Hannv makes is very valid - that consequences of actions are unequal: the guiltless suffer, and the guilty go unpunished.
The excellent screenplay discussed a lot of philosophical issues: the importance of knowledge and the sin of ignorance, cause and effect, thoughts versus action. As Yuan Zhong observes ignorance is a sin, so he keeps on learning. True knowledge and awareness and a lack of ignorance also means to be able to discern between truth and falsehoods. When Hannv uses her goddess self to incite the people to strike Yuan Zhong, the people are easily convinced by higher power. They do not question, they follow. To be free of ignorance is to be able to question.
Another part of the show I loved was the parts with Ji Tianyin’s teacher. That particular sequence in the story draws attention to the pursuit of excellence; of loving what one does and doing what one loves. The scene between teacher and student in the end was heartbreaking - the student surpassed the master, and was worthy of the master’s respect. As her master observes though, she hardly changed and ascension did not make her conceited. To remain humble despite making achievements is a rare thing. Ji Tanyin bore all her duties with kindness, careful consideration. She was never swayed into acting immorally. There is no doubt that she is probably the best goddess I have seen in xianxia. She’s a genius inventor who is so kind that she forgives Yuan Zhong even after he kills her (in what was the show’s funniest moment). She sees his heart and sees what he really is and what he could be. Yuan Zhong is heartbroken when he feels that she has “sentenced him” in what was one of the best moments on the show- he wanted to be understood. Surely, the ending was extremely tragic. The second leads never got a chance. The goddess who sacrificed herself (to save someone who suffered all his life) was found everywhere in nature (and yet nowhere).
This is one of the best shows this year, even if it may not be for everyone.
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A Drama with Exceptional Worldbuilding and Real-World Resonance
I don’t know how to express my satisfaction with this drama. A Moment but Forever (AMBF) has exceeded my expectations and could potentially set a new direction for xianxia (Chinese fantasy) in the future. I enjoy the story so much that I can overlook its somewhat low production quality. The story is truly a gem.AMBF shows strong points in its story, acting, and music. The OST and BGM are beautiful and add depth and nuance throughout the story. The performances of the male lead (Liu Xueyi) and female lead (Tiffany Tang) are flawless, full of subtlety, emotion, and chemistry in every on-screen interaction. They are truly talented actors who portrayed Yuan Zhong and Ji Tanyin wonderfully. I can overlook the occasional odd styling choices because the characters are so captivating to follow. The music and acting are perfect, but the most important thing we have is the story.
Xianxia is famously known for its tropes in Chinese dramas. Since Three Miles of Peach Blossoms (2017), we’ve been endlessly served stories revolving around “three lives, three worlds,” the power of love versus dark evil, and the same old plots of godhood, tribulation, and rebirth. This has made xianxia—stories of gods and goddesses—feel increasingly repetitive and lacking in creativity. AMBF arrived this year like a breath of fresh air because, for the first time, we get a story told from the perspective of mortal humans. AMBF explores the struggles of living as mere mortals in a world full of danger. I’m surprised by how relatable and relevant it feels.
AMBF explores a wide range of issues. We are presented with philosophical debates on whether humans are inherently good or evil, the origins and nature of evil and sin, the power of unconditional love, the acceptance of life as it is, the meaning of life, and—most prominently—death, as well as the struggle for peacebuilding. The discourse on death is particularly compelling, as it is mentioned and emphasized several times as a defining attribute of humanity. Death is inevitable and might be seen as a human weakness compared to demons, immortals, and gods. However, the existence of death becomes a source of "soft" power, pushing humans to grow wiser and build lasting, prosperous civilizations.
Because death is an undeniable fact, humans do not obsess over it; instead, they strive to live as fully and meaningfully as possible. They are not consumed by the pursuit of longevity like immortals who desperately seek eternal life, nor do they exist idly like gods, who, without struggle, risk becoming stagnant and purposeless. By weaving death-related themes thoughtfully into the narrative, AMBF avoids the typical tropes of rebirth and reincarnation. Instead, it offers an empowering story about coping with loss, focusing on how to move forward rather than wishing for a lost loved one to return miraculously.
Another aspect that makes AMBF especially fascinating is its incorporation of both hard and soft science into the worldbuilding. Believe me, this is extremely rare in xianxia, which typically relies heavily on magic. Worldbuilding is usually the weakest aspect of xianxia because we’re so accustomed to the same templated elements: a heavenly kingdom where most of the characters reside and a mortal world that serves merely as a place of tribulation and a stage for conflict. There’s often little exploration of what truly constitutes their world.
In AMBF, each place is explored in considerable depth, especially the human world: its structure, history and lore, culture and customs, civilization, technological blessings, and even the mundane details of daily life. Common people play a significant role in the story, not just as background figures or cameos, but as integral parts of the narrative. Through them, we gain a real sense of how this world is built and sustained. It is really a hidden gem, a fantastic creativity.
I really hope many people will take a look at this drama and enjoy how seriously excellent it is. I hope, maybe, there will be a remake with better production quality in the future, to make it a bang for a greater audience. Really, really wish for that.
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This review may contain spoilers
Beautiful Drama Happy/Sad Ending Depending on how you look at it
A moment but forever has been a magical journey and I must say that the Fantasy aspect of this drama was just phenomenal from the graphics, to the costumes, to the different story plots... sometimes even feeling like it was a Disney movie...Ji Tan Yin was a very loveable female lead talented in the art of craft hence why she was the God of craft...
Yuan Zhong is a high priest and also holds immense power and position in the drama as male lead.. They both have great chemistry and I think that their love story was also something that was developed pretty well.. The build up of everything was just wonderful...
I think anyone who likes Action Romances and Fantasy will definitely love this drama!
I am bias to Liu Xueyi because he's one of my favorite Chinese actors for Traditional dramas and I find that he never disappoints... much like Dylan Wang.. He deserves an award for his acting and being able to get very emotional and vulnerable with his roles....
Additionally from being a seasoned Traditional/ Fantasy Drama watcher.. I would say that alot of the creative plots are inspired by The Chinese Mythology and what they believe in so that being said.. I'll move into the spoiler aspect of my review which entails me explaining the ending of this drama to those who are not that familiar with the Chinese Mythology.....
SPOILER!
For me I would say that its both a happy and sad ending for everyone... Second lead couple also didn't really end up together because his lover grew old and while he remained an immortal...
Ji Tan Yin died in the ending of the drama due to old age and the fact that she removed her devine bone ( which identified her as a God ) which now she is no longer.. So she dies from old age however that's not after they got to spend a number of years together, I had to Rewatch part of the episode to confirm this.. there's a part where male second lead writes to his lover and he said that it had been years since he's been exploring and seeing the world as she did.. then they switched to main leads... and thats when female lead looked a bit tired and a little older and then she died at the very end from old age so hence why its not really a sad ending because they got to spend years together first before dying a natural death and hes immortal thats why he lived on, also throughout the drama she kept telling him that no matter what happens she will always find a way to come back to him.. and she told him that when he sees the butterflies and dragonflies etc just know thats its her...
A little while after her physical death... Yuan Zhong was visited by one of the Gods from the heavenly realm where they asked him to ascend to heaven and become a god... ( Chinese believe that humans can become gods based upon their deeds on earth ) and he also told him that Ji Tan Yin is still alive.. ( Her predominal spirit that is ) They also believe in reincarnation so basically because he is now going to become a God... He now has the power to re create her because of the fact that her predominal spirit is still alive... it ended where a dragon fly landed on his hand and the god told him that he can definitely meet her again and he said he agreed and the show ended.... So when he becomes a god he will more than be able to recreate her and bring her back to a fleshly form and so they can be together again....
This is a Fantasy Drama and these plots can go in all kinds of crazy directions but understanding how their history works can help explain the endings.... because it might appear to be a sad ending but in reality it really isn't... he's going to re create her shortly after becoming a god.... and to be fair... she died a million times in this drama while being a god and came back to life because of her said ( Predominal Spirit being alive ) so he can more than revive her ! And lets not forget they did spend a number of years together before she grew old and died....
Overall I give this drama 5 Stars 🌟
And acting and cast was 5 Stars 🌟 as well ... no complaints...
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Good cast but story is slow and boring
I really like the cast, especially the male and female leads, whose performances in other dramas I’ve truly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this particular storyline felt painfully slow and lacked the engagement needed to keep my interest. The pacing dragged considerably, and the dialogue often felt like it was playing at half speed, making it a challenge to stay invested.I also found it hard to understand the overall direction of the plot. The male lead came across as overly possessive and jealous whenever the female lead interacted with other men. On the other hand, the female lead seemed far too willing to accommodate him—at times to the point of sacrificing her own dignity, even acting like a maid just to soothe his fragile ego. Watching their dynamic often felt like watching a maid trying to calm down a wealthy but sulky schoolboy constantly throwing tantrums.
That said, I’d love to see both leads together again in a different drama with a more compelling and well-written storyline. Their talent deserves a script that allows them to truly shine.
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A Masterpiece of Emotion and Humanity
A Moment But Forever is one of the most emotionally profound dramas I’ve ever watched. It’s subtle, poetic, and beautifully written—quiet on the surface, but deeply moving underneath. The characters feel real, layered, and unforgettable.Yuanzhong’s journey especially touched me—his silence, pain, and inner world were portrayed with such depth and care. His story is one that stays with you long after the screen fades. This isn’t just a love story—it’s a reflection on grief, trust, and healing. It’s the kind of show that finds its way into your heart slowly and stays there.
I truly recommend this drama to everyone. It’s not flashy, but it’s powerful in all the ways that matter. A rare gem that deserves to be experienced.
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If coughing up blood is a drinking game
This drama started off strong—fast-paced, full of intriguing twists, and totally addictive. Up until episode 23, I would’ve easily rated it a 10/10. The writing was sharp, the plot intricate, and the emotional pull was real.But then… it was like a completely different team took over. The story lost its direction, characters started acting out of sync, and it all just spiraled into chaos. And seriously—how many times can a character cough up blood before it becomes a drinking game? It was dramatic the first time, but by the tenth, it felt like unintentional comedy.
Overall, A Moment But Forever had so much potential. It’s worth watching for the first two-thirds, but be warned—the ending might leave you yelling at your screen.
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Missing a little something.
This was very underwhelming.The premise is great, and the story of an immortal/deity having a special fate with one of their followers with whom they fall in love is very Heaven Official's Blessing (HOB). Sadly, this really failed to live up to the potential and promise of such a premise, and certainly does not at all reach the level of HOB.
The story overall is just not satisfying. It starts off very interesting, but over the course of the show, one comes to realise that it seems that there are no consequences for anything, and the feeling I got was that really nothing actually really happens. There is no development in what feels like any of the characters with the exception possibly of the ML, played by Liu Xue Yi, and even then that didn't feel solid to me.
What do I mean by this? There was a vow made to the gods that a character must not fall in love with another. They do, but - nothing happens? The other vows they made, which included not telling anyone who they were, had consequences - anytime they tried to tell someone their identity, they experienced pain - but for some reason, no pain or any adverse effects at all when breaking the vow of developing feelings for this other person; not when kissing or hugging or even agreeing to marry them. When finally they do tell someone else their identity, I thought it had been said that they would disappear into ashes, but apparently this didn't immediately happen either.
The ML, Yuan Zhong (YZ), is supposedly this morally grey character whom Ji Tanyin (JTY), a goddess, falls in love with. The reason is apparently that he is a "good person", who has not killed anybody, but there was a scene where he quite literally watches someone - someone who as far as I could tell was simply on the boat ML was on - get attacked and does not do anything to help them; and they do the whole slump to the ground thing while continuing to be attacked which, to me, indicated that they might have or probably died. There is later another scene - or several scenes, actually - shown where bombs were literally hitting parts of the city, which he had called down. Apparently though according to JTY, it's all fine because supposedly no one died. I found this incredibly hard to believe. Sure, we saw three separate places get bombed and people crying and running in terror, but somehow no one died? All g, then, YZ gets 10000 brownie points for being able to change his mind and not finish bombing the entire city. Hopefully no one's maimed or anything, and surely no trauma occurred because sometimes fire just falls from the heavens, you know how supernatural events are. Actually, in fact, it's two little flowers that fell spontaneously from the sky. Twice. No other flowers blowing by or anywhere to be seen at all, but suddenly there come two flowers, the exact same ones each time, falling from the sky.
No one learns anything in this drama, either, which is also what I mean about a lack of development. The second couple start with a story of having missed each other, with the 2FL nearly dying of old age without ever having even expressed herself to the 2ML. Then, after they both spend time together again after 2ML finds out about this, in the end 2FL decides to hide from 2ML while he goes around looking for her, although she somehow still receives all his letters to her (how does he know where to send them? Who knows). So much for all that talk about having missed each other - she didn't express herself the first time, and then she chooses to hide herself away in the end - so it was a choice on her part all along, which never changes despite having lived one life before.
Because of things like this, throughout the show I found myself going "What?" most of the time, because what were probably meant to be emotional beats just did not hit with any sense, including what was probably supposed to be the emotional climax of the two leads' romance. At many emotional moments, that was my main reaction. There were many emotional moments where I was moved and cried - especially when it related to the FL (played by Tang Yan)'s teacher; but I genuinely think that was more on account of the music than anything else.
This was a very annoying watch for me. The writing and execution - pacing, editing - did not live up to the possibility of the story. Characters appear and disappear, we never see them again and there's no resolution. How did one of the characters somehow get to heaven when the stairs were supposedly broken? I have no idea, actually. One moment he was on top of a mountain (why was he on top of a mountain? And why is there a single waiter there with him who has food? Where is this food from???) and then the next he rode something to heaven somehow. JTY, upon hearing and seeing him, does not ask why or how he is in heaven. He dies. There was some mention of having experienced thousands of tribulations so if they had ascended they must have been very powerful, but - he just dies. Another recurring character is trapped and then let out and we never see him again. At one point, JTY suddenly starts living with another character, and YZ was there pretty much all the time too for that while, although he was apparently living somewhere else himself. What happens to them afterwards? No idea, we never see that character again, even though they lived with both JTY and another recurrent character for that whole period. We never hear the female weapon spirit talk, pretty much. In fact, the weapon spirits completely don't appear after YZ changes his mind. The five important gods are apparently also so easy to fool; and the actor who plays Taihe literally has nothing to do but stand still apparently. Finally, I also agree with other commenters that the demon god's defeat was like a blip. Side characters are just not fleshed out, as others have pointed out in the comments.
Liu Xue Yi does his best in this, but while watching after having seen Love of the Divine Tree (LotDT) not long ago, I couldn't help comparing the two 'morally grey', angry and traumatised MLs from each; and YZ loses badly to the ML in LotDT. Tang Yan was... okay. Her character felt like a cardboard cut-out at times, she was so two-dimensional. I don't know if she was supposed to be meant to be shown as 'innocent' and 'naive', but she certainly didn't have much depth. I also found her voice a little grating. The final voiceover is just several times of the same phrase on repeat too many. Finally, as a going-towards-being a couple, YZ's distrust is understandable, but I also felt the extent of it was incredibly annoying - JTY literally dies several times and then they still keep having waves of distrusting each other.
I actually started watching this purely because of Qian Lin, after seeing a gifset of him on a social media site. I don't regret having watched this - Daniel Zhou, who plays him, was really quite good in this, and I enjoyed watching him - but I wouldn't watch it again; nor would I really recommend this to anyone unless there is a specific actor they would like to watch.
Sets, costume, and make-up: I actually thought the sets were fine. The costumes were also mostly okay - I wasn't a fan of the wedding attire, and it's not like the costumes were amazing, but they weren't awful. Make-up and style... the blue eyebrows though, yeah what was that about??? And I agree with the commenter who said YZ's hair-down wig was atrocious. Shame to make Liu Xue Yi look like that.
TLDR; -
Acting was fine.
Music was good, honestly this was what did most of the emotional lifting for me.
Story - untied ends and holes aplenty. I don't think that character needed to die either and it really just hammered the sense of nothing being satisfying in this drama.
Rewatch value - personally, I would not rewatch this.
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So so good until Episode 26 then…
Not your typical xanxia as the story hints at so many parallels that you can see in real life - how fear drives people to imprison innocent heroes, how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (my favourite example is the noodle stall owner in Yandu) and how easy it is to manipulate words to your advantage (see how the elders justify removing the shackle and compare it with their arguments on why he should wear it…)Interesting bits of modern day inventions pop up as pleasant surprises like solar panels ;)
Unfortunately, also not what it seems visually as I expected better. Sets look unrealistic and the bright lighting made it even more obvious - I almost skipped this drama when I saw the trailers. Make up was hmmmmm and the ML’s wig when his hair wasn’t put up looked so fake but…
How the story unfolded has kept me hooked! Like an onion that is peeled back to reveal yet another layer, it is one of the few dramas that has continued to surprise me each episode without reusing old troupes.
Would you expect the ML to not lend a hand when people are dying around him? That scene sticks in my mind because of his expression and there are so many more just like that which is why I just love the ML. One of the best acting I’ve seen to date and I’ve already rewatched many episodes to savour his various facets - gullible, tormented, calculating and dumbfounded when he just can’t figure out the FL. So easy to turn a blind eye to his lack of intelligence when it comes to figuring out who the FL is.
I am not too invested in the storyline of the second couple so hope it ties in to the overall story later on. Some of the numbers there don’t add up - she grew old waiting for him… she had white hair, wrinkles etc so I am assuming it was a ripe old age of 80-90 then a miracle prayer turned her young. 10 years passed and she returned home. Seeing her younger brother with streaks of white hair was expected but her father is 90 years old? So how old was she when she got her miracle 10 years earlier?
Episode 26 ended on a big cliffhanger as the FL had clearly broken the heavenly vow that is ingrained in her heart and she collapsed. Then the next episode shows her recovering from her coma so easily… so the vow was not broken? My rating has dropped from 8.5 to 8 because of Episode 27&28. Can’t bear to watch anymore for the time being. Will come back to it later as I’ve heard the ending is not that great.
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Eternally yours, Yuan Zhong/Ji Tan Yin
I watched this for the leads, mature but skillful actors and aesthetically pleasing too. Without them, I would have stopped a quarter way through. Much of their dialogue holds hidden meanings despite the seemingly simple words uttered. Saying without saying - that’s the lingo to describe the roundabout way they speak sometimes. It makes one think and some of those scenes are delivered with such intense emotions they fly out of the screen and ram straight into the hearts of the audience. The one they had at the wishing well was particularly memorable for me.Ji Tan Yin’s skills in craft are also formidable as is how Yuan Zhong stays unfettered when weapons fly within an inch of his face. I like how the drama took time to develop their characters and their relationship - slowly and steadily - to one that I am inclined to believe will run eternal. It’s a wistful end but beautifully done.
I said this in another forum but I’ll say it again in this review - YZ’s belief in JTY is so strong it’s almost a religion.
The strength in her convictions is enough to turn an atheist into a pious believer. That belief is stubbornly held onto by a man whose life changed because of the woman who gave him hope. Love too. She’s his reason to live. And to wait for day they may reunite. I don’t believe she’ll return but she’ll exist in the dragonflies, flowers, the wind and in his heart. Not sure about his lifespan and how long he has to wait or if the wait would bear fruit, but he defied death, and where she is concerned, the gods have strange rules. Hope lives.
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Good vs bad and other moral dilemmas
When I started watching I throught I wouldn't like this one too much. Let's be honest, the visuals in this drama are awful. The customes are simple going on ugly and the wigs (specially the one on the ML when is not tied up) are hideous.But they deliver a very interesting story: More philosophical than other dramas I watched, it talks about the good and bad in this world. There is a clear parallel between our hero and the villain, both living the same experiences but reacting to it in a different way.
Youngzhong wanted to be good and Jin Tanjin help him to see that good. Hannv, the villain, didn't really wanted to do good and not even Taihe, a God, could get through her.
I really like the idea of the five sins described in the drama: Hypocrisy, obsession, cruelty, jealousy and ignorance.
No one in this world could really avoid all this sins so we are left trying to do our best. Youngzhong keeps trying even when at points I feel he was right in his idea of destroying the world (everyone is so awful to him, they really don't deserve him)
the fights in the last episodes were pretty good and the end was very appropriate also. They avoid the happy ending just for the sake of it and we got a more realistic one.
But there is also a lack of balance. Tanghua and Quin Lin barely have any development but, the little we saw, gave us a hint of pretty interesting stories (specially Quin Lin and his brother, there was so much you could say there).
The spirit weapons that were so important during basically all the drama were completely discarded at the end. I guess this makes sense because they weren't actually human beings but still, after everything, you get attached to them and is a complicated change of pace. I also don't particularly like that the only spirit weapon that we didn't get to meet at all was the female one 🙄🙄🙄🙄.
would I recommend it? I don't know 😅😅😅. The story is good but is lacking something.
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A heavy story and narration, good acting
It was a series that I liked in general. I watched it until the end. Although the story was not perfect, it was a good story but it had a slow rhythm. I got bored sometimes while watching. The long conversations were especially boring. It confused the story. The beautiful series sometimes fell to the ground. However, the savior was the actors. Get rid of the actors, the story remains below zero. The series stopped being a series. The actors saved the series.It does not suit the series to give everything away just because we are watching a fantasy series. Even gods die, some so-called gods even eliminate their superiors. They play tricks on them, they deceive them. A deity who is an ceremonial god rules the entire world, no one hears his soul. A god packages a city and sends it 250 km to the other side. The person next to him cannot understand who he is. Who has the power to do such a thing? He learns at the end of the series. After that, there are angers, resentments, etc. The man cuts his hand and throws it away. They wake him up. He returns to the world with his healthy hand. What happened to that cut hand? You will say, the man is dead and you are asking about his hand? It is really such a situation. I gave examples to explain the seriousness of the series. They even hit the bottom of fantasy. It didn't happen. What a shame for these beautiful actors. If it weren't for them, it wouldn't have been watched anyway. They should pray for the actors, I gave the score for the effort. Liu Xiue Yi is a very good actor. His face goes well with every game. He has a pale and calm facial feature, but I should call it an actor' face. He looks older than he is. He looks mature. He goes well with every role. He is a successful actor. I appreciate it. I last watched Tiffany Tang in "The Legend of Xiao Chuo". She was much better. She is a good actress anyway. I liked her acting in this series too. Sometimes there can be a good or bad distinction between actors. The male actor may be more dominant, but I think Tiffany, who got married and had children, showed her acting again and did what was required for her role. The other supporting actors were also perfect. Especially in the 30th episode, master actor Tang Jian Chang made an acting debut, her performance in her short role was applaudable. I applaud her too. Cristy Guo, Wang Hong Yi, Daniel Zhoi, Zhang Li, Jiang Kai are the prominent actors. I liked the entire cast but I thought I'd write some of them again. No offense to those I didn't write. The acting was good and the action was good.
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1Could be so much more with a bigger budget and better execution
Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75At first I thought “A Moment but Forever” is one of those dramas that has been refrigerated for a few years, and only brought out to air because of Liu Xue Yi’s popularity in recent years. I was so surprised to find out this was shot in 2023! Why was I surprised? Because the production quality is horrible for a drama with actors of Liu Xue Yi and Tiffany Tang’s caliber. Is it because they are older and not young idols anymore, so advertisers are not interested?
If you are a drama watcher that doesn’t care much about costumes, color grading, CGI and poor voice dubbing, then you might enjoy “A Moment but Forever” a lot more than me. Unfortunately, these factors can annoy me to no end despite how good the acting or interesting the plot could be. They affect my overall enjoyment of the drama, even though they can’t replace good writing and acting. Therefore, I am not rating this drama any lower than a 7.75.
Let’s start with the negatives. The costumes look plain and low quality, the colors look faded and washed out, the sets and props look flimsy and cheap, and some of the actors' wire work could be better. The scenes in the heavenly realm blinds me with the white costumes with super bright and white background. Recent xianxias are so colorful with much better CGI and cinematography that it’s really hard to enjoy this drama. The drama also has some plot holes here and there. Most of the actors are dubbed, except for the leads. However, even with their own voices, they don’t sound very good.
Acting wise, there’s something about Tiffany Tang that doesn’t quite sit well with me. If you say she’s bad, she’s not really bad, but not good either. Her acting is a little inconsistent. During some scenes, the subtle acting speaks volumes, yet in others she appears emotionless. I feel the same way about Zhang Li’s acting as the goddess. She has this elegant fakeness to her, which is perfect for her role, yet in some scenes she seems wooden. The secondary leads, Cristy Guo and Wang Hong Yi, are OK but not great.
Luckily, Liu Xue Yi is excellent and I am watching “A Moment but Forever” because of him. So glad he did not disappoint. His role as the grey Yuan Zhong is interesting. Yuan Zhong can be reserved, snobbish, aloof, cunning, evil, loving, petty and adorable. Liu Xue Yi acted perfectly to showcase all these different personalities. However, I have to say, it is weird to see him act all cute and lovesick. He looks way too mature to act like that. Aside from Liu Yue Yi, Daniel Zhou, who plays Xia Qian Lin, is my other favorite character. I think Daniel Zhou acts so much better than Wang Hong Yi.
Speaking of Daniel Zhou, I really enjoy his fight scenes with his fighting staff. Many other recent xianxias only have the characters standing around, moving their arms/fingers and have CGI does the fighting. I am happy to see some actual fight scenes and that the actors actually have to move their whole body and use real weapons. Not saying these are beautifully choreographed or executed, but the intention is good, just execution could be improved.
I think one of the biggest positives of “A Moment but Forever” is the plot. Yes, we do have the 3 realms fighting and other common xianxia elements. But the main story is not about good vs evil, or the gods are the bad ones and the devils are the good ones. It’s actually about the retrieval of the special arm and romance between the leads. The two leads are unique characters, both are intelligent and strong, and our FL is not a damsel in distress but with special fighting skills and magical devices. The romance is slow burn with decent chemistry. It’s not a frustrating love triangle marred with misunderstanding galore.
Unfortunately, this is only an OK watch for me. Too many elements annoy me and the good parts are not good enough to overshadow the bad. I could only imagine what “A Moment but Forever” is like when it actually has a larger budget. It has an interesting plot, with some slowness in the middle, but with a decent last few episodes and ending.
Completed: 4/20/2025 - Review #567
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