A lot of likable characters
Started this drama with no expectations because I had nothing else to watch. Dropped Princess Gambit, A Dream Within a Dream, and Prisoner of Beauty. Pleasantly surprise that I kept on watching. Good story. Love all the leads. The story is engaging. I consider a story good when I have to buy the express package to watch all the episode earlier. Didn't like Ao Ruipeng before but now I really like him.Was this review helpful to you?
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The villain won
The ending ruined everything. They changed a lot from the novel, killing off characters who were alive in the original just for shock value. They took a pacifist approach with the villain. They didn’t even let Yan Ze kill him because of that approach, and due to Yan Chi’s intervention, Yan Ze ended up dying instead.What kind of revenge is that when everyone believes the villain was a good person? His death felt completely undermined compared to the cruelty he committed. And then they made his son the emperor, which is exactly what the villain wanted. So he basically won.
Nobody knows he was the treacherous, fake emperor, and the people who actually tried to get revenge, like Yan Ze, had their names tarnished just to preserve the villain’s reputation. The main leads didn’t even get proper revenge, and most of the so-called “villains” in the story just ended up committing suicide.
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This Is Giving—Matured Drama, I Love
Finally!!! My kind of drama. The kind I've been dying to watch. You know, the one that doesn’t rot my brain with love triangles and recycled tropes. Let’s start with the plot—because damn, it’s good. Some parts had me so confused and stressed, especially with all the cases they had to solve. I was literally sitting there like, “Do I need a criminology degree to keep up?” But honestly, that’s what made it fun. It’s not your typical background-noise drama. You actually have to watch it.The characters were portrayed so well I almost forgot I was watching a drama and not some real-life docu-series. Shen Wan, the female lead? A rare gem. She’s not out there wasting time on petty drama with jealous sisters, rival cousins, or some rich girl with too much screen time. Nope. She minds her business and uses her brain—love that for her.
As for the male lead, Yan Chi? He’s giving green flag, green field, green forest—the whole ecosystem. Their relationship? Ugh, chef’s kiss. They actually trust each other. Imagine that! A C-drama couple who doesn’t spiral into a misunderstanding because someone looked in the general direction of the opposite gender?? It’s wild.
And Shen Wan? She’s not scared to admit when she’s jealous. In other dramas, you’ll see the FL blushing, stammering, denying it for 10 years—but this girl? “Yeah, I’m jealous. So what?” Iconic behavior. And don’t get me started on her doing autopsies—it looked too real. Like, girl, are you licensed? Should I be worried?
Their whole dynamic is so refreshingly mature. No dragging jealousy scenes, no possessive ML drama. When Shen Wan wanted to fight alongside Yan Chi, even though she clearly can’t fight and wouldn’t know what to do with a weapon if you handed her one—he said yes. Not because he needed help, but because he respects her choices and knows he can protect her. Period.
And the plot twists?? Brutal. Twisted. Just how I like it. Each case had me holding my breath and side-eyeing every character like they were the killer. The twist during the Capital Time arc? I audibly gasped. I swear I looked like that shocked Pikachu meme for five minutes straight.
Also, bless YL and YN for being the emotional support clowns of the show. When the suspense was killing me, they’d pop up and give me the dumbest lines in the best way. Comedy kings.
And can we talk about the villains? They weren’t even in the drama for that long, but they still managed to traumatize me. That’s power. Even with their limited screentime, they made impact. Not just filler villains to stall the plot.
By the end, everything was solved. No dragging plot holes, no “wait what about that one guy in episode 7?”—everything wrapped up neatly. For once, I finished a drama and didn’t have to Google explanations or cry in confusion. Love that for me.
So yeah. This drama? Going straight to my favorites. And to the cast: YA’LL ATE. I hope casting directors start giving y’all the screen time and budget you deserve.
This is a super duper highly recommended drama of 2025. No regrets, no skips. Unless you hate good characters, clever writing, and actually functional romance—then yeah, maybe skip it.
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Self-righteous leads, mildly entertaining mysteries, better towards the end
To start, this female lead is too infallibly good at too many things. I’m not inherently opposed to an OP FL- it’s not realistic, but I’d still happily watch her kick butt as long as I like her.The problem is, I like more down-to-earth characters, and she is not. She does a lot of moralizing. I don’t disagree with everything she says, but her self-assured, self-righteous tone as she goes on about justice bothered me, especially at the beginning.
I wouldn’t have minded so much if the show acknowledged how naive it all was, e.g. by throwing her a morally complex case that challenges her simplistic ideals. And the show actually does focus a lot on horribly wronged people who seek their own justice. What justice truly means seems to be a theme- but it’s not explored that deeply. Our FL never strays far from her convictions that righteousness will prevail and the law will make it happen. We’re not here to watch her grow, only to watch her kick butt.
While I’m rolling my eyes at her preaching, the ML is oozing in admiration. She smiles demurely in response. I think the FL is pretentious; the show thinks she’s noble. This is a fundamental disconnect that permeated the show and made it hard for me to enjoy it.
As for the ML himself, he seems tailor-made to be her perfect boyfriend. Super supportive, caring, everything good, etc. He’s also her perfect work partner, with a complementary approach and perspective. Overall I did not find him very interesting. Too artificial.
Their relationship starts early- he’s pretty much a sap for her right from the beginning. While this is unusual for dramas, I think it’s fairly realistic in the present scenario. Their relationship is refreshingly free of misunderstandings, develops at a normal pace, and is ideal in all ways.
Unfortunately, I just did not enjoy their sticky sweet romance. Watching two people you don’t care about be happily in love is boring at best; here, I found it downright cringe. Their romance is full of contrived, overly dramatic scenes. He saves her from every over-the-top situation you can think of (fire, water, assassins, etc). I fast forwarded through a lot of it.
The side characters are alright; I didn’t feel too strongly about anyone. For better or worse, their friends all pair up neatly. This means there are multiple sweet relationships for you to feel good about, though I found some of them a bit cheesy at times.
Looking at the characters and their relationships, this show is actually quite a treasure for female empowerment. There are strong female characters and good relationships between them. Even the ML feels secondary to the FL. It’s just a shame that they overdid the FL’s sainthood to the point where I couldn’t stand it.
Plot-wise, the first half or so of the show covers ~4.5 independent cases, one right after the other. These cases are methodically developed, spanning several episodes each. I like this slower pacing because it gives me time to consider the evidence.
But for some reason, I found these cases incredibly easy to guess. I would inadvertently figure out the culprit based on things like classic drama patterns (eg it’s usually some nice-seeming character that shows up fairly early in), and who’s facial expressions they keep zooming in on. I would then have to wait patiently while the leads continued to put together evidence and act lovey dovey with each other. Overall, the mysteries were still interesting enough, but I wish they had been a little less obvious.
As the plot progresses, the FL’s path is surprisingly smooth. She doesn’t make any real enemies; in fact, she is loved and admired by many powerful people. I don’t necessarily object to her lack of obstacles, since there is plenty of other intrigue. However, I found myself rolling my eyes at everyone doting on her.
The main plot is pretty much just classic palace power struggles, but I thought it was fairly well done. As a result, my rather low opinion of the show improved towards the end. I like the way our leads slowly uncover the backstory, the growing ambiguity, and the way everything falls into place with the final reveal. This last point is particularly fun to watch, and works out so well thanks to the show’s careful setup. If not for the last few episodes, I would have given this show an even lower score.
Acting wise, since I don’t like the FL, I’m tempted to blame the actress, but that might not be fair. I’ll refrain from commenting on acting since I watched a lot of this on 1.25X speed. I did find Ao Rui Peng’s martial arts technique to be surprisingly good- crisp, clean, and solid.
Other production-level stuff (music, settings, costumes, etc) were all decent. Cinematographically, they do some artistic things with camera perspective and reflections. I liked most of it, except for the views upward from inside a cadaver. As if bodies are just empty sacks.
The segways into my final rant. If you are going to pretend to be an expert in a field, you better show me that you’re serious. This girl does not even wear an apron to conduct an autopsy; she ties up her sleeves, but you can still see them dragging across the corpses. Even worse, her idea of an exam is to reach into a small incision and pull out an entire human organ. Uh, ever done a dissection? It’s nowhere that clean and easy.
These may seem like unimportant details. And I get it- “she fearlessly conducted an autopsy while everyone else puked at the side” is all we’re meant to take away. Still, representing a profession without properly doing research is somewhat offensive. Get it right or else don’t try. Personally, I think they should have kept it all off-screen, like Imperial Coroner.
Overall, I appreciate some parts of this show, but mostly I couldn’t stand it. If I’m honest, most of my complaints probably cascade out of not liking the FL- thus cringing at her romance, rolling my eyes at her popularity, picking on her dissection technique, etc. Perhaps if they had been more subtle about her sainthood, I might have enjoyed this show.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
I consider this a happy ending. All the major protagonists make it through and are launched into happy futures. Not much time is devoted to showing where everyone goes, but it’s enough to give you an idea.
Still, I found the ending surprisingly dark. Not that the show was that light to begin with, but a lot more people died than I expected. It’s as if they decided the cleanest way to tie up loose ends was to kill off all these morally ambiguous characters. And some ending scenes were overly contrived and dramatic… this show really does have a thing for drama.
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Revenge vs Justice
While this is not the most elegantly written or sophisticated drama, it has its entertaining qualities. For those expecting super smart cases to solve or a political thriller palace drama that builds logically, this is not one of those shows. The plot moves from case to case until you reach a blisteringly chaotic climax, involving the royal family and its many dark deeds. By the end, there is the attempt to tie everything together, but there have been ultimately too many elements thrown together so not everything hits exactly right emotionally or thematically.Still, Li Landi and Ao Ruipeng make an adorable couple on screen, with a comforting, healthy relationship that remains steady throughout the show. There is not a whole lot of tension romantically or politically throughout the drama so some may find it all a bit bland, but this may be a nice show for others to unwind to after a difficult day at work or school. Watching the good guys win and justice being served (and not just pure rage revenge) can be a welcome respite from the craziness of today's real world.
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Fast cases & Flat emotions
I am currently on episode 32 of Coroner’s Diary, and I have to admit this drama has been a letdown. What started as an interesting concept slowly became more and more dull. I was initially drawn in by the historical setting, the promise of forensic mystery-solving, and the female lead playing a princess. Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired.The more I watched, the more I realized this is not really a case-driven mystery drama. Instead, it leans more toward being an idol romance drama centered around the main couple. I can understand why it’s rated higher by some if people love the lead actors as a pairing, that might be enough for them. But for me, it lacked substance.
From the beginning, the female lead is handed opportunity after opportunity without much effort. She saves the Empress Dowager once and somehow becomes a princess by episode 24. The male lead, too, faces little to no struggle. They are both portrayed as near-perfect characters with no real depth or conflict, which made it hard to stay invested in their journey. I am like at this point why watch this show?
The biggest issue for me is how quickly the cases are solved. Each investigation is wrapped up with little to no suspense or buildup. There is no time for the tension to grow or for the stakes to feel real. Everything happens so fast that it becomes repetitive and predictable. It started to feel like background noise rather than something I was excited to keep up with.
The female lead’s performance felt flat. No matter the situation, her emotional range stayed the same. Her reactions rarely changed whether she was solving a case or experiencing a significant moment. It made it hard to connect with her character or care about her journey. I expected a stronger presence from someone playing a royal role.
The romance was also disappointing. There was no real chemistry or meaningful development between the leads. Their connection felt shallow, and their scenes together lacked emotion. It felt like the romance was just added in without much thought.
Side characters felt forgettable and underdeveloped. Many of them seemed like they were added to fill space rather than enhance the story. I had trouble remembering who was who because they made so little impact.
Visually, the drama has moments that look decent, but the lighting and styling often felt awkward. It did not give me that immersive period drama feeling I usually enjoy.
Overall, Coroner’s Diary had all the right ingredients on the surface, but the rushed pacing, flat performances, and lack of emotional and narrative depth made it a very boring watch for me. I kept hoping it would get better, but by episode 32, it just never did.
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The best pair of all timee...THEY ARE THE GREENEST FLAGS♡
Everything about the drama is perfect 🥹the cases, the pair, the villains, the story everything. The revenge is solved perfectly and every character has importance. I watch a lot of c dramas and according to mee it's very different from the other dramas that I've watched NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS, NO BREAKUPS and all the villains get what they deserve....LL and ARP love youu guysss💗💗Guys please don't miss this drama you'll love it🫂🤍
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Shen Wan is no ordinary girl. She possesses medical and forensic skills. She's also fortunate to meet Prince Yan Chi, a young general who is also very intelligent and skilled in martial arts. Not only that, he always protects and looks after her for Shen Wan. He not only makes promises but also shows sincerity through his actions 💞💘. He's truly a green flag man 😭💘.
All the actors and actresses here played their roles so well, to the point where I was sometimes overcome with emotion—sadness, annoyance, joy, and nervousness—I felt like I could feel all of it in this drama. Congratulations on your 10,200 views on iQIYI! Thank you all for your hard work, the entire team, the director, and the writers of Coroner's Diary 🔥🎉👏🏻👏🏻🕵🏻♂️🕵🏻♀️
I also love some of the OSTs, like those sung by Zhou Shen and Curley Gao, and our two main actors, Ao Ruipeng and Li Landi, also sang their own. Your voice is so beautiful and you deliver it with so much feeling in every lyric ✨💘
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I am genuinely impressed by the quality in all areas.
I am genuinely impressed by this production. The lead actress, FL, with her remarkable talent, breathes life into her character, infusing her performance with a captivating authenticity that truly resonates with the audience. Unlike the often one-dimensional portrayals of maids in many dramas, her maid is not annoying.One of the biggest revelations for me is Ao Rui Peng, who has showcased significant growth as an actor in this role. He brings depth and charisma to the male lead, convincingly carrying the emotional weight of the story and truly deserving his position at the forefront of the narrative.
I want to give a shout-out to Cheng Hong Xin. He truly deserves a leadership role. But every support role are spot on. I am unsure who kept their original voice but the final result is well done.
While some character personalities may feel reminiscent of archetypes from other dramas—such as the goofy young aide who provides comic relief, the mean mistress Qin who evokes frustration, and her imposing butler—I found the casting to be superb, with each actor bringing their unique flair to the roles.
I have a minor observation to share. The bodies used on the table were the same size for both male and female mannequins. This was quite noticeable, especially since the feet on the mannequins representing female bodies were disproportionately large. Most females are petite, so it was obvious that the same mannequin was being reused.
Costumes, makeup, structures (the underground water wheels were impressive), special effects, and martial choreography were all excellent.
Moreover, the creators have invested substantial effort and resources into the original soundtrack and visually striking opening sequence, which not only accompany the narrative beautifully but also elevate the overall atmosphere of the series. It delivers a complete and immersive viewing experience that is truly commendable.
After reflecting on the overall production and performance quality, I wrestled with the idea of assigning a rating but ultimately found nothing much to criticize.
If you enjoy “coroner” dramas, I recommend “The Imperial Coroner” and “Miss Truth”.
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1A lovely gem in the world of mysteries
"Coroner's Diary" captivated me right from the start with its intricate storytelling, stunning costumes, and outstanding performances. Here’s a breakdown of what impressed me and what didn't.First, while some viewers might not enjoy the 'love at first sight' trope, I find it a refreshing approach to romance in historical C-dramas. Typically, these dramas stretch out the characters' realisation and acceptance of their feelings for each other until halfway through. The phrase 'love at first sight' exists for a reason, after all—it's not impossible.
Second, the cases featured in the drama are uniquely charming, each with its own mystery and resolution. The first case stands out the most for me because it helped me connect with the various characters being introduced. The scene where Wan'er reconstructs the headless corpse, set to the haunting song "Wind and Rain," is particularly memorable. The official and the victim's loved ones quietly mourn her during that moment, making it poignant. Beyond the romantic scenes between the leads, this scene has truly stuck with me.
Third, regarding editing, I noticed some minor flaws, but overall, it was acceptable. I especially loved the costumes, accessories, makeup, and hairstyles throughout the drama. Yan Chi and Yan Ze’s looks exude a specific aura while still giving off a sense of calmness. Yan Qi is portrayed as devilishly handsome, and the crown prince has a charmingly naive quality.
Fourth, the acting across the board is commendable. The entire cast did a brilliant job, including the child actors, who were quite convincing. For instance, the child actor playing Yan Sui, the youngest prince who eventually ascends the throne, and the younger version of the boutique owner killer were both impressive. I love the grandmother figures, too!
Finally, one of the standout aspects of "Coroner's Diary" is its music and background scores. All the songs are lovely, but my favourites are "Wind and Rain," "Don't Sigh," and "Morning Snow Records."
In conclusion, I would recommend this drama to anyone unsure about watching it. It can be seen as a classic C-drama that follows the female lead’s journey to uncover the truth behind her family's injustice, aided by powerful allies. Along the way, she falls in love with the male lead. While some story tropes may be predictable or cliché, reviving these elements in 2025 isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially since many dramas from the past couple of years have left audiences with unsatisfactory endings.
Additionally, the pacing of the story is worth noting. Unlike some historical dramas with a similar feel, "Coroner's Diary" doesn’t drag on excessively. There are a few plot holes in certain cases that remain unexplored, which can leave viewers a bit confused, but we can overlook that. Overall, this is a drama that is certainly worth my time! ✨
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If you like Scooby Doo, Halloween-type mysteries this is for you...
The one thing that impressed me the most with this drama was how graphic and racy it was for a cdrama. There were an abundance of three scenes here:1. Graphic/gory images (you won't be enjoying any meals while you watch this show)
2. People vomiting (another reason why)
3. Violence against women
I did not care for #3 but I can handle these topics as long as they are being presented as issues that our leads are fighting against. If you are sensitive to topics about abuse towards women and children, r*pe, slavery, cheating, etc... I would skip this entirely.
Although the topics are scandalous, the cases are solved pretty seamlessly by our leads. You're never really worried at any point that things won't go well for Qin Wan and Yan Chi. They are both always the smartest and the luckiest people in the room, as well as the best looking. If you are the type that likes to watch a little more of a challenge, than you will be waiting the entire drama for the main, over-arching case to be solved. Despite having committed sinister and horrible crimes, all of the villains (except the performer) are all pretty ridiculous. They are all the whining Scooby-Doo type with extreme mental instability and no remorse or real purpose for their crimes other than being self-serving. They were just as sloppy as they were rotten, no intelligence or intriguing characteristics at all. Which I guess helped to keep the overall vibe more silly than serious for me. Also, there was a decent amount of comedy that oddly worked well. I found myself laughing pretty hard at the parts that were meant to be funny so I feel like the comedy was better executed than the mystery at times.
Our main CP clicked from day one and are basically Sherlock Holmes and Watson together. They have separate strengths that come in handy at the right times and compliment each other well. Yan Chi is forest of green flags. It's always a good sign a guy is actually a good guy if he's got multiple aunties/older women who love him like a son. And he loves everything about Qin Wan. At one point, after she awkwardly ends one of their intimate moments, he basically tells her he is the only one who can handle her eccentricities. And he's absolutely right. He keeps her grounded, supports and protects her. Yan Chi is perfection and carries a lot of this show.
The romance wasn't great. Once they confessed all passion was gone and they acted like they have been married for 40 years. I'm trying to justify it by telling myself the show was trying to be realistic to their personalities. It was nice that there were no serious love rivals or silly break ups or misunderstandings. It just kind of felt like with their romance the sweet scenes were misplaced or forced in towards the end. Like in the middle of solving a case the writer's were just like "are we forgetting something? oh yeah the romance!" I mean this CP even talked about work during their wedding night.
Other characters: I loved Yue Ning and Fuling and how much they loved Qin Wan. Bai Feng and Yan Li were also a highlights. I'm a sucker for sidekicks and they are now on my favorites list. But sadly, for a lot of the Moonlight Mystique alumni, they all played less likable characters in this drama. Qin Shuang did grow on me by the end, but Qin Xiang was such a waste of screen time. After she showed no appreciation or character growth after being rescued from the murdering doctor, I figured they'd make her a full blown villain. And then she'd play some sort of major part in the end. But nope, she never served any other purpose but being bitter and annoying. As for the royal family it was nice to see one so closely knit. But by the end that kind of faltered.
The ending: Happyish. There were still a lot loose ends and questions I had about some of the side characters. I wasn't thrilled that the main mystery and villain had a manic, but silly vibe to him as well. There were a few disappointing things in this drama keeping it from having a higher rating for me. I doubt I'll be rewatching this but it was interesting enough to be worth completing.
OST and Cinematography: not terrible but not memorable either.
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A Comfort Watch Disguised as a Crime Drama
This drama was an unexpected delight — not because it broke new ground plot-wise, but because it delivered familiar elements with a kind of sincerity that’s hard to resist. We get a mix of mystery, revenge, a splash of courtroom politics, and — to my complete joy — one of the most solid romantic pairings I’ve seen in a long time.The premise is a classic one: the female lead, whose entire family has been unjustly annihilated, reinvents herself to seek justice and clear her family’s name. Thanks to her sharp medical and forensic skills, she gains the trust of powerful allies who help her inch closer to the truth. The early crime-solving arcs were genuinely engaging — and while I can’t vouch for their forensic accuracy (I’m no CSI aficionado), I was happily entertained.
As the episodes roll on, the investigative element gently bows out, making space for the romance and palace intrigue to take center stage. And here’s where it gets personal: while the court politics occasionally felt like a slow crawl (read: 75% snooze fest for me), the romance more than made up for it. No angst, no toxic twists — just two people who admire, support, and truly *see* each other. The greenest of flags, if I’ve ever seen one.
The chemistry between the leads was tender and believable, and the fact that we’re gifted a happy ending felt like a reward in itself. This isn’t a pulse-pounding thriller — it’s a warm blanket of a show, perfect for decompressing after a chaotic day. The kind of drama where the comfort comes not just from plot, but from the steady presence of characters who genuinely care for one another… while occasionally dissecting corpses, of course.
It may not have kept me on the edge of my seat, but it certainly carved a soft spot in my watchlist.
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