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Deserved a standing ovation in my room
This review is filled with ADHD brain fueled caffeine induced brainrot so best believe its not cohesive at all.The characters in this adaptation were written so well. Chu Zhao’s development surprised me the most (until Ep. 33 happened) bc he wasn’t that deep imo in the novel. I am also extremely grateful that they kept He Yan’s buddies alive, I was clutching my pearls the whole Rundu Arc.
I was giddy every time Cheng Lei shows up on screen. It was like “Sexy Back” was playing whenever he shows up on screen. I couldn’t imagine other people playing their characters, he and Zhou Ye gave justice to Xiao Jue and He Yan!!! Their eye game and the subtle details make their chemistry work, it made me re-read the novel for the nth time fr.
Also, they gave depth to Song Taotao and Cheng Lisu’s characters. That they’re not just children running away from marriage, but also medics essential in the battlefield.
They removed most of my least-liked characters (except Lin Shuanghe hes my guy) and gave essential depth to side characters. The Jiyang Arc was so short and I thought Liu Buwang’s battle and divination prowess will be highlighted more, but he portrayed Buwang and Hongjin’s painful dynamics well.
I know most people might not have liked the “unnecessary” Chu Zhao - He Yan imperial marriage decree, BUT it was an essential plot to ME!!! It was the angst that I needed and GOD their delivery of lines, of desperation, pain, and contempt. Eventually, the emperor decreed another one for Xiao Jue and He Yan this time okay!
All in all, with multiple setbacks that occurred, they finally got this drama aired and it got a STANDING OVATION in my room. Imo, they gave the novel justice, the changes the drama made room for some audience to also read the novel to explore more. And it definitely deserves a high rewatch value (FOR ME).
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A flawed albeit watchable 'Hua Mulan' drama
The drama depicts the story of He Yan, He family’s daughter, who disguises herself as her brother, "He Ru Fei," by wearing a mask to protect their noble title. She meets Xiao Jue at Xianchang Academy, but leaves to change her fate by going to the battlefield. After returning home as the hero General Feihong, she is betrayed by her family when her brother reappears to ‘take over’ from her. He Yan then takes on the identity of a city gate officer's daughter and joins the military in Yezhou under Xiao Jue’s command, who initially suspects her of being a spy. There she befriends Chu Zhao, a protégé of Prime Minister Xu Jing Fu with an agenda, and proves her military prowess through several challenges thrown at her at the garrison and tribulations, i.e., the missions at Jiang and Rundu cities with Xua Jue, on the road to reclaiming her real identity. As He Yan and Xiao Jue face life-threatening encounters on the battlefield, their relationship grows stronger, and they gradually realize their true feelings for one another.‘The Legend of the Female General’ was penned by Qian Shan Cha Ke, the author of ‘The Glory’ and ‘The Double,’ previously adapted to screen, successfully.
On paper the synopsis is a copy-paste Mulan reproduction with all the elements of a grand story. The multi-dimensional main characters: He Yan and Xiao Jue, contrast and balance each other out; they are the true yin and yang, the invisible ouroboros representation of true love. The solid supporting characters i.e. Chu Zhao and He Ru Fei advance the story, with their own Machiavellian actions adding layers of angst to the plot, rather than pointlessly existing; and the story’s silver-lining, a woman’s goal to be recognized as the great general that she is by the emperor, ‘society’ and the patriarchal universe where she lived in. Backed by her strong feelings of justice, her beliefs, motivations and honour, that has honed her body and her mind, both physically and emotionally, He Yan rises above fights and battles to fully embody her true self, a legendary female general with an imperfectly crafted journey; an inspiring story of female empowerment … on paper.
Fans have endured the endless wait for the drama’s release, the uncertainty, the longing, and the shattered illusions, so to watch He Yan’s story finally come to life on screen seems like ‘The Legend of the Female General for Dummies’. In short, an infantile script with a travesty of the production team, who had a higher budget to work with than The Glory’ and ‘The Double’ did, yet disastrously managed to release an inferior-quality drama with poor acting, amateurish dialogue and editing and inconsistent episode duration. It is wondered whether or not the producers of ‘Legend of the Female General’ genuinely believed that they held ‘the snitch’ in their hands or they just needed several pairs of glasses to see that they held fictional ‘blugers’ instead.
It's tragically surreal how He Yan was reduced to a one-dimensional woman on screen, obsessed with revenge and ‘dudu’, while Xiao Jue’s was ‘magically transformed’ into Prince Charming in a panoply, continuously rushing to save her from harm. He Yan didn’t need saving. The audience did, from this poorly executed series, from the standardized facial expressions that showed nothing, possibly in an attempt to cultivate wisdom and compassion, and from the absence of the invisible web tapestry that faultlessly connected all the story’s arcs to the overall plot. Adding insult to injury, the supporting cast’s narrative was substandard, with their uncreative, recycled plots, whose portrayal didn’t add value to the story, i.e., He Ru Fei ‘childish’ actions, tantrums and manipulations; Chu Zhao’s active passiveness for the majority of the drama; Xu Ping Ting’s frivolity, jealousy, and revenge attempt; and Commander Li’s misogyny, making the characters presence appear dull and lacklustre in the grand scheme of things, which was dismaying. They seemed to clutter the plot and distract audience. Cheng Li Su and Song Tao Tao’s subplot was pointless 90% of the time and didn’t support the drama’s narrative, feeling slightly out of place and unnecessary. The guest roles on the other hand, i.e., Peter Sheng’s Yan He, Ma Tian Yu’s Xiao Jing or Karina Zhao’s Song Wan, added a little bit of flair to the drama which was nice but didn’t remove its mantle of invisibility.
Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei’s stoic performances as leads didn’t stand out at all, perhaps a result of a lack of screen presence to command the audience’s attention to their roles. If they had more emotional depth and range and looked more authentic it might have been different. This is something that can be improved i.e., through non-verbal communication and acting technique workshops and/or courses… Despite that, both actors seemed to have connected with their characters and their technical skills were good. The battle sequences and the fighting were top notch but the overuse of the word ‘dudu’ was not.
Zhang Kang Le’s Chu Zhao meek period performance was prosaic, however when the character goes full on psychotic mode with his delusions, disorganized thinking and hallucinations about He Yan, particularly after seeing her and Xiao Jue kissing, the actor delivered. Chu Zhao should just be happy for them and be happy himself instead of going all the way cliché undiagnosed schizophrenia, Heathcliff mode when he knew that He Yan only had eyes for Xiao Jue. His emotions and actions were all over the place which was pointless but it did add a layer of angst to the story.
Bai Shu’s rendition of He Ru Fei was irritating to the point of wanting to advise the character to see a psychologist. In this way, Bai Shu’s performance was memorable, in spite of his forgettable acting. He Ru Fei needed help him heal his brattish behavioural issues, his inner child that has clearly suffered from abandonment, and his misplaced hatred for He Yan, who was forced to take over his identity. After his recovery, He Ru Fei might actually become a better human being and live a happy life with a partner, alone or as a monk. It would be interesting to see how Bai Shu would fare in his interpretation of these happier, lighter imaginary versions of the character.
All of this made the drama a disappointment, however, once all its shortcomings were ignored and all the preconceived thoughts of what it should have been were shed, including the ‘beautiful kiss scene’ that added a level of stupidity to the romance with an alternated focus on He Yan’s shoes, the series was extremely compelling to watch. It resembled a live-action of the 1998 animated film Mulan, bringing to consciousness the love for the Disney story and that was all that mattered, not the logic or the reason or the facts that mentally weakened the drama.
He Yan’s journey at Yezhou garrison with her motley crew, the challenges and the struggles, the determination to become stronger, to prove her worth in a masculine army world were poignant and truly a delight to watch. Her loyalty and love for Xiao Jue were unwavering and heartwarming and sweet as was her longing for the Qinglang sword, which Xiao Jue returned to her before her sparring match with He Ru Fei, in front of the emperor and his ministers at the palace. That scene was so captivating that had to be rewatched, particularly the part where He Yan pins He Ru Fei’s sword down with the tip of Qinglang. It was beautiful.
Xiao Jue, well Cheng Lei is handsome and visually serviceable in the drama. He’s not exactly Li Shang but the world is imperfect anyway, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and Xiao Jue and He Yan are great together, and the ending, despite being cliché, that is, showing their wedding, was satisfying.
Overall, the drama was extremely flawed but enjoyed for the most part.
To truly and fully appreciate the story… a suggestion: read the novel.
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Ignore the negative reviews!
Don’t know why some reviewers are hating this so much? Maybe they were “hired” to spread bad reviews lol. I personally am enjoying it very much.He Yan is the female lead- from young she had to grow up as a boy to so-called replace her stepbrother because he was sickly ? Not quite sure why, but she grew up strong and proved herself worthy and smart and became a renowned general. True the first episode was very quick to explain the background story- how she was “late” to help with the battle and her mentor was killed. She wanted to explain the situation to the palace but was poisoned and blinded, and eventually killed. However, she was saved by her master (I believe the one who taught her martial arts and how to fight) and now she wants to get revenge and start over, having to train and rise up to the ranks of General again.
I LIKE THE PLOT! It’s very good, and there’s a good balance of conspiracy, humour (amongst the other recruits in the training camp), romance (for sure!) and fight scenes. I must say, the unfolding of the plots are moving very fast, which I kinda like. Not like how Cdramas always dragggg it out till after 19 episodes before the big reveal. The ML is hot (not gonna lie haha) he has a death stare that will melt your heart! He accidentally finds out he is a she already in Ep 4. Their chemistry is sizzling!
It’s a definite highly recommended so far, and I’m wishing they release all the episodes now so I can BINGE WATCH!! :):):)
Update after completion:
The last two episodes were a tad disappointing after completing this. Too much screen time was given to Chu Zhao who tried to manipulate the king to marry He Yan to him. Instead, they shld have focused more on the final battle scenes, the strategies and the tragedies. Yeah, so the ending left a sort of unsatisfactory taste of what could be a great great drama!
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Let’s Explain Everything to You Dear Audience!
This is an entertaining watch thanks to the actors. No permanently petrified wood faces is a plus. The story; however, is preachy, constantly lecturing about equality in a period costume drama. Instead of the female leads characters frequent and awkward lectures, they could have just shown the character through actions. In addition, the screenwriter should give up writing if the entire plot has to be explained through expository dialogue between the main characters.Good OST. Zhou Shen theme song is much appreciated. Hard to say if I will finish this one or drop, because, as others have pointed out, it really began to go downhill starting with episode 25.
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So far, so good
Ep.11/36 - waited for this one and so far i'm enjoying it. ML gaze is magnetic and the chemistry with his FL is just at the right level. The story, until now, is keeping me attached to this drama and make me eager to the next episode. I usually wait till the last episode to binge watching the whole drama but this time i'm not...the curiosity keeps me impatiently wait for the next day. For He Rufei i would have chosen another actor who has the same body structure as the FL...the difference is too evident, how could everyone not tell they are too different people? Until now it's a 9/10 for meWas this review helpful to you?
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It's going to be loooong review(hopefully i will update every few episodes)
Day 1 of watching the series:I have been waiting for this drama since they put it here like few years ago(or i felt like this). I'm very glad that they didn't made the ML thinking he is gay plot (it happens in every other female general drama). I also liked the FL very active but felt that we haven't seen her break down yet. I needed some more emotions in those betrayal moments ngl. The only shocking thing is ML can feel something is off with her they way she handles the horse but doesn't feel that the general literally changed that he known for ages.
Day 2 :
He Yan is so adorable when she's drunk, and the way ML gazes at her is just the cutest. I've also begun to appreciate how FL expresses herself and embraces her feelings. Considering her past, it all makes sense.
Day 3 :
I'm already starting to feel a bit sad about it coming to an end. Just 23 episodes to go, and I can't wait to watch them uncover the truth and live happily. Zhou Ye is honestly one of the most beautiful and handsome women I've ever seen. Plus, those fight moves are pretty awesome, even if they look a bit strange, like they're fighting in zero gravity.
Day idk what:
I can't forget He Yan in her red armor outfit it haunts me that she's looking so good. Also two MC's finally starting to know who is the other and feel sympathy. She's on her way to becoming a general and cutting that twink into pieces. I need to see the Dudu's smile/smirk it's been 2?4 episodes since I've seen that.
Last Day:
Can't believe I finished this emotional package. Also very circus looking moves while fighting but at least their face cards never declines. It feels like we can feel the heavy plot armor, the villains die or banish so quickly last 5 episodes and mc's get their way with every move. I liked the fast phase but I would have preferred more emotion from both mc's. Surely they look heavenly good and little smirk exchanges from both takes our breath away but crying few minutes for the last ones felt surreal.
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The action scenes are excellent. The aesthetics, costume, scenes were very pretty.
Also has a kind of clingy Side male, wars and palace politics.
Anyone who feels a woman general who doesn't need anyone, fights and defeats everyone throughout and just want to see her journey- This is not for you!
Anyone who wants love support between the leads, few wars, action scenes, a woman general who is determined and can fight her own battles, takes revenge- This is for you.
Novel readers- The drama did some changes, but 270 chapters into 36 episodes, is not a matter of joke. They did well.
Personally, I have never been so much emotionally invested in a drama before this while it was airing. Loved it and its a solid 10/10 as per me.
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A Must-Watch Drama with Fierce Leads and Unforgettable Chemistry
I’ve been waiting for this drama for nearly two years, and as a devoted fan of the original novel, I can confidently say—it was worth every second. The adaptation stayed true to the heart of the story, and the changes made were thoughtfully executed, enhancing the narrative without losing its essence.The plot captivated me from start to finish, and He Yan’s portrayal as a fearless Female General left me in awe. Her strength, intelligence, and grace made her an even more admirable character on screen. Huge kudos to the entire cast—you all delivered stellar performances!
Cheng Lei absolutely stole the spotlight. His acting was nuanced and compelling, and I’m thrilled to see him finally receiving the recognition he deserves. I’ll definitely be checking out his other works, but I’ll need at least two weeks to emotionally recover from TLOFG. Until then, I’ll be rewatching my favorite scenes with my ultimate power couple.
I truly hope both leads receive awards for their unforgettable roles as He Yan and Xiao Jue. And fingers crossed for a modern-day drama collaboration soon—they’d be phenomenal together in any setting!
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best costume drama of 2025
what can I say I just loooooove when a woman is disguised as a man and slays them so well… I have been eating this trope my entire life… but… this is the best I have seen executed this trope… the FL… I have watched almost all of her series… but here… she is just so brilliant! amazing! I love her so much how well she shows all the facets of this character… the best!the only downside for me right now… that the love is so slow… I don’t really like slow burn romance… however taking into consideration we are not even half the way of the series I understand… I just cannot wait for more 😅but the tension between them is there… the hidden glances from the ML… his cold demeanour on the surface but warm caring actions in the background… I cannot wait to see his romantic side 😅
for me personally this is the best costume drama of 2025! as the episodes drop I am watching them because… wow… just wow… it deserves even 9+ rating but 8,6 is also amazing considering that people here like to judge way harsher than necessary.
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BINGEWORTHY General lovebirds ❣️❣️
The premise revolves around the female general and her struggles to achieve greatness. She meets a male general who wants to restore his father's honor and their lives get TANGLED beautifully .The ML is such a treat to watch. Its hard not to fall for him ❣️ He is a great general, very calm, composed and seasoned at playing politics.
The FL is a true match. She's brave, loyal and extremely resourcefull.
Both of them have a SIZZLING CHEMISTRY with each other. FIRE ON FIRE 🔥
The pacing of this drama is great. The episodes aren't too long and its probably one of the greatest strength. I must applaud the editors of this drama for making it bingeworthy...even though I think they could have made the episode transition a bit more seamless.
One thing I truly enjoyed about the drama was the fact that the female lead is FULL OF LIFE. They didn't suck out her charm and naughty attitude to make the character hypermasculine in the most boring way. They retained her feminine charm too...which makes her unrealistic but absolutely ENTERTAINING TO WATCH. I don't care about realism here because the actress has done such a good job with quirky attitude.
It also some elements of
1) enemies to lovers ...
2) Student mentor romance
3) Introvert extrovert romance
So I can confidently say that they have NAILED the romantic aspect of the drama.
As for action 🎬, I did enjoy the action choreography quite a lot. Even the sword dancing was beautifully choreographed. It leaves you in awe of the character.
The politics is not not packed heavily in the plot so you won't get bored with it but necessary sub plots are there and those are very important to keep people engaged in the ultimate battle of wits!
I enjoyed a drama this much AFTER A LONG TIME! Highly recommended
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Strong female lead leads her way through the moonlight and finds the moon on the way
This drama is my first historical/costume drama that I've FINISHED. I've tried watching a lot of them but never was able to finish them. In terms of story and chemistry this drama is unlike what I've seen before and because of that I was obliged to finish this, and I did end up loving it.Zhou ye deserves her acting flowers, portraying a powerful general who had to pretend to be a man in a man's world. She is independent, hard working and persistent. She had been masked, blinded and then killed. But in her heart, at night the moon would know her real face, her real identity, her real beauty. On the way to her finding her real identity she finds her moon, clothed in a childhood friend's cloak and basked in a general's suit. Together they reach their goals. The younger son who shoulders the family's reputation, brings recognition back to his father's grave. The daughter who was never treated like one, earned her much deserved title back to her real name. The commander who never smiles much and the soldier who makes him smile, together they love each other, never throwing away each other's potential, and never shadowing the other's light.
Cheng Lei couldn't have portrayed Xiao dudu anymore perfect than he already did. His eyes, minuscule expressions and soft smile captured the love of a stern commander softening for a female general. Xiao Jue never felt threatened by He yan, never tried to dim her light, rather have always been in awe of her capabilities. Just like the moon, his love is soft, persistent, and just there, shining and guiding her path without her knowing.
The drama was beautifully portrayed, from fight sequences to soft moments, everything was choreographed perfectly. Honestly speaking, I'd never forget Xiao dudu and He Yan, they'd forever be in my heart. And strangely whenever I'd look up at the moon I'd always remember He Yan's terrible embroidered circle on the back of the pouch.
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