Love of the Divine Tree

One of the Best CGI in Chinese Dramas

Love of the Divine Tree is about Su Yi Shu a talented cultivator who met Mu Qing Ge who tricks him into becoming her disciple. Su Yi Shu then fell in love with her as she gave him a 'home'. She was then presumed dead leaving Su Yi Shu heartbroken. With Su Yi Shu's efforts, Mu Qing Ge managed to reincarnate as Xue Ran Ran eighteen years later. Su Yi Shu and Xue Ran Ran met and have their master-disciple roles swapped.

This is the first xianxia drama that I was able to watch until the end. After reading the synopsis, I was not convinced to watch it, however after seeing the reviews and having people recommend it to me, I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did. The story immediately got me hooked with its 'he fell first, he fell harder' and an 'I changed him' trope. Not to mention, I also love a strong and independent female lead, which is why I became such a big fan of Mu Qing Ge and I wanted her to have a happy ever after with Su Yi Shu. However, after her reincarnation as Xue Ran Ran, I felt anxious because Xue Ran Ran was so different than Mu Qing Ge. I then got even more anxious when Su Yi Shu and Xue Ran Ran fell in love despite knowing that Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran are the same person. I just love Mu Qing Ge's personality for Su Yi Shu. I also find Mu Qing Ge's character to be way more appealing and interesting than Xue Ran Ran who in my opinion, is rather boring. I do wish we could see more of Mu Qing Ge. I really like the revelation scene when Mu Qing Ge said jokingly, "how dare you make your master a disciple?!" that gave me a relief and a major fangirl moment. I also love the ending scene when it shows Mu Qing Ge/Xue Ran Ran and Su Yi Shu's little family with their kids. Such a cute closure for me as an audience.

My first thought when watching this drama was "wow, what a visual!" The CGI was impeccably done, the set, costume, makeup was beautiful, and the visual of the actors stunning. I particularly applaud Xiang Han Zhi's makeup and styling for both Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran. The makeup and styling for both characters were so different yet so iconic in representing both character's unique personalities. On that note, the actors did incredibly well in this drama, especially Xiang Han Zhi and Deng Wei.

Playing two characters with two very different personalities, Xiang Han Zhi did an amazing job. I would even think they are two different people if not for the same face. As mentioned before, the makeup and styling were also so different. Mu Qing Ge has a bolder makeup compared to Xue Ran Ran and she often wears red. Xue Ran Ran, with a softer makeup, often wears more lively colors. Mu Qing Ge exudes charisma, elegance, beauty, intelligence, maturity, power, and a reliable aura. Definitely befitting for a female master. On the other hand, we can clearly see a difference with Xue Ran Ran being more youthful, cute, cheerful, immature, just like a teenager. Xiang Han Zhi did an amazing job at bringing the two characters to life. Aside from Xiang Han Zhi, Deng Wei also did an incredible job at portraying Su Yi Shu as a person with a past and later grows into a mature, kindhearted, powerful, intelligent master. We can clearly see Su Yi Shu's character development and transformation throughout this drama. The chemistry between the leads were also great! It was very clear how different Su Yi Shu's relationship and chemistry with Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran was.

After failing to finish my first xianxia drama, I admit I had my doubts with this being another xianxia drama. However, I instantly got hooked on the story and even got more surprised with the CGI, as well as the character development. In my opinion, this drama is a hit or miss. Despite so, I would still recommend it as an option for those looking to watch a xianxia drama.

Read More

XianXia With Refreshing Elements: Love Rooted Through Two Lives!

It was such a captivating drama that I literally binged the whole drama. It was a pleasant watch overall!

PLOT
It follows typical XianXia tropes but with refreshing twists. It's the first time I had seen a C-drama pull out an Uno reverse card on master-student dynamic, but it really made the story more enjoyable. However, the plot twist is predictable. It was so blatantly obvious I figured it out in the early episodes. The double amnesia trope is really irritating! And the endgame was really underwhelming (due to lack of viewer/reader emotional connection with the villain and poor acting skills of the cast). The plot definitely has some loose points, but it serves just satisfactorily overall.

ACTING
Only Deng Wei truly understood his character and portrayed it excellently. Julia Xiang's acting is just okay. It feels like in some scenes, she didn't know what expression to express (which makes me believe she didn't really have a deep understanding of her character). When both of them are acting in one scene, her lack of skills makes it more obvious. Her acting is amateur, while Deng Wei's acting skills seem more polished. Of course, both of them still have a lot of room for improvement and have the potential. However, supporting actors barely tried, and it sort of ruined the quality of the drama. Especially Zhang Wei Na has a long way to go. Wishing the best for the whole cast!

CONCLUSION
Despite the flaws, it is an enjoyable good drama. Don't hesitate; give it a watch!

Read More

A limited production that made the most of what ressources it had

Julia Xiang is bubbly and charming, but still convincing as a sect master, and Deng Wei has improved. They are a tad green for their roles and I do think this cool story deserved better actors, but they still make a cute duo of underdogs, taking turn at subduing each other. As usual with recent ambitious xianxia the format forces the writer to cram a lot in their allowed number of episodes, but she still tries to get everything to fit, and it does pay off, even if you have to take in a LOT of information (I don't recommend this as a first dive into xianxia, you're going to get a headache). Once you get past all the magic rules, proper nouns, and a slightly underwhelming introduction, the show becomes super addictive, and every new arc is better than the one before. On the visual and budget side, it's not a huge production but it's beautifully shot by Yin Tao, makes a great use of outdoor scenery, and gave me exactly what I wanted from some disappointing better financed projects with similar premises (The Longest Promise, to name one). The secondary cast is also charming, I had a crush on Deng Kai who makes an adorably tsundere demon lord with his own cute love story to boot (yay for a righthand lady who won't settle for scraps !). Finally the drama takes time to deliver an awesome ending AND conclusion true to its spirit and ambitions, something many xianxia fail to do. If you're a xianxia fan, don't sleep on this one.

Read More

Excellent in the hygiene factors but a little light on the emotions

Lovely costume, beautiful cinematography, interesting cast and a rising male lead. The lead here was Deng Wei who hailed from Lost You Forever as TuShan Jing.

The story centred around the romance of Mu QingGe and Su YiShui. She was a priestess/spiritual seeker and was 'killed' trying to save YiShui who was the Demon Child. An entire conspiracy surrounded him trying to push him to demonise. QingGe on the other hand was trying to save him from this fate. YiShui went on to resurrect her through the Divine Tree by sacrificing half of his spiritual core.

QingGe returned with memory loss of her previous life. Later in the drama , YiShui also lost his memory because of a manipulation by a powerful but evil deity. Love couples taking turns to lose their memory and therefore turned against each other is not something new or creative in dramas. But this drama had its other creative development through a hidden conspiracy. The drama would take viewers down the path of uncovering this.

Overall, the story was interesting. The female lead was good at acting the part of a lively Mu QingGe. However, when it came to the emotional parts, it was a bit lacking. When the lead couples were confessing their feelings for each other, it felt like they were merely reciting a memorised script. To be fair, very few actors or actresses were able to transcend this well.

As this was a fantasy fairy-tale drama, the screenwriter had the creative liberty of creating heavenly or spiritual rules and then created another that allowed those rules be broken. Similarly they could create a crisis or problem and then create a solution that solved it. Just as in this drama, deities or gods in heaven were not supposed to cross the the mortal realms but suddenly they were able to because certain conditions were created for them to do it. And these happened a lot in this drama to the extent that they became unconvincing. When something nasty happened, I expected a solution would pop up conveniently and often I was right.

I am usually generous with my ratings which were usually higher than that on Mydramalist. My rating of 8.5 is for dramas I believe are very good but not among the top league. Against a rating of 8.6 on Mydramalist, it implied that I think the rating of 8.6 on Mydramalist was over rated. I expect the rating on Mydramalist to come down over time as the initial enthusiasm cools.

Regardless, this was an entertaining drama if you are looking for something to spend your leisure.

Read More

A MUST watch for xanxia lovers!

A well produced drama that made the fantasy believable with great sets, fantastic cgi, good wire work, fantastic costumes, a decent story and a lovely couple to drool over & tug at your heart strings.

When most of the elements are well done, it’s easy to overlook any minor logic or pacing issues. So easy to let yourself believe in all these super powers when the cgi looks fantastic. Makes it hard to watch older xanxias when the technology was less advanced.

Most of the costumes were a feast for the eyes and really spoke to me as this is one of my favourite parts of these types of dramas. Seeing the beautiful flowing fabric in different layers and colours when they walked, flew through the sky and even fought was breathtaking. And I even liked the non-flowy costumes as the attention to detail was beautiful especially the Crown Prince’s gold & black costume.

Didn’t really enjoy the story behind the FL’s sister after she joined hands with the villian. Can’t belief how she was able to keep getting the various sects to trust her despite all the proof that she was up to no good. Then out of the blue, she is shown to have feelings for someone who sacrifices himself for her…

I loved seeing the ML’s diverse range of expressions & mannerisms. So different from his character in Lost You Forever which made it even more memorable. The FL’s different lighthearted persona as the master and later as a disciple was a treat as I have never seen this actress before.

If you’re into xanxia, you MUST watch this.

Read More

you're missing out on an amazing xianxia series with an incredibly talented cast!

*⁀➷ 仙台有树 review! .ೃ࿐
rating: 1000/10 (my honest rating.)
9/10 (realistically speaking rating)

storyline! unique. 🌟 refreshing. 🍃 one of a kind. 🔥

saw some comments saying that they thought this drama was funded by gov budget HAHAH cause of how good it is, especially the cgi.

i saw somments saying that they spent all the budget on cgi HAHAH but it's really very pretty and fitting, very flawless as well.

every episode has it's meaning and objective, each character had their 高光时刻 too

im an absolute fan and lover of the fighting scenes - the 打架戏s are all so flawless. the amount of hardwork put in by the cast and the crew. the amount of teamwork from the crew and the strength of the cast to pull off the stunts. they had to remember all these while managing their facial expressions well. super proud of 为子 and 涵之 for pulling the scenes off (i think one of them was injuried during filming too ☹️)

love the romance, there's good number of sweet scenes ! 😆
the chemistry between 邓为 and 向涵之 is so amazing, so fire, hoping for a 二搭 (modern or historical, ANYTHINGG).
all of their scenes were very natural, you can see the chracter's love for each other through their eyes and through their actions.

lastly, satisfying ending
yes it's a HE with all the characters alive - very rare for 古装 to have HE ya

all in all, the plot is really very different from other dramas. the 2 lifetimes, from being the 徒弟 to being your 师父's 师父 HAHAH

for me, there needs to be something that keeps me going and hooks me for me to watch till the end
for this show, there's 3:
1. the goal of the 正派 to destroy the 灵泉
2. will 冉冉 regain her memories as 沐清歌?
3. how 苏易水 and 冉冉 will have a happy ending after all the suffering and all that they've been through

the reason why i -1 is because i felt that the part where 苏易水 lost his memory was quite painful to watch and a lil unnecessary (it felt like a bit of a filler)
because the things he's done for her for the past 19 years, only for that to all change within a matter of seconds was so sad
but in the later episodes, i do get why it was necessary - to show that 苏易水彻底入魔, he had to forget about his feelings
good side is, he got his memories back (otherwise i won't forgive the director HAHAH)

would rewatch this any day!

okays next is the cast!

first, our ml - DENGWEI 邓为
ive watched 重紫, 长月烬明 and 长相思 (yes im such a #realandloyal 为子 fan 😇)
he suits the very guai persona and righteous figure, who would go all out for the one he loves. but in 长相思, his acting was a lilll bit stiff (okay tbf, that's how 叶十七 is) so tbh i was lill worried BUT also excited about how he would carry this show and how this show would turn out.
i am VERY proud of how much 邓为 has improved from his perf in these 3 dramas. if you want to see actor improvement, watch like a few eps of 长相思 S2 (he did so well in S1 icl) and then watch 仙台有树.
in this show, he had to act as SEVEN different personas:
1. 苏易水 when he was first adopted and full of hatred
2. 苏易水 as 魔子 (1st lifetime)
3. 苏易水 after 苏域 took over his body
4. 苏易水 as 魔子 (2nd lifetime)
5. 苏易水 who lost all his memory of 沐清歌/冉冉
6. the real 苏易水 who loves 沐清歌/冉冉 in every lifetime
7. the cute 苏易水 who became a cat 🐱 meow

so you can imagine how VERSATILE 为子 needs to be, to bring out the different characters and personalities of these personas.

and 为子's 眼神戏 is VERY good, you can see the emotion changes in his eyes through each persona.

all in all, i was looking forward to this drama very much cause of his villian arc, and it wasn't disappointing at all.

i was surprised by how much he has improved from the past 3 dramas of his that i have watched and i just wish and hope and pray that he will earn more recognition, become more popular, secure better drama deals, work with more artists and continue to deliver amazing top-tier dramas which i will definitely support (and you should too!)

next, our fl - XIANG HANZIII 向涵之
i haven't heard of this actress before BUT SHE'S SUPERRR UNDERRATED
her acting is amazing. and as her first time in a 仙侠 drama (i think), she did so well in all the fighting scenes, pulled it off perfectly.

all i can say is, she's made for 沐清歌 (1st lifetime) and 冉冉 (2nd lifetime). in the first lifetime, she had to act strict, playful, smart and fulfill her responsibilities as one of the highest level 仙人. and of course, how she was willing sacrifice her life js so that 苏易水 can live.

in the second lifetime, she was carefree and easygoing, until she became a 西山弟子 and had to learn to become stronger, step up, fight and protect. not js her, not js 西山, but most importantly, her 师父 and the world, continuing to fulfill the responsibilities she shouldered in the previous lifetime.
even so, she was still playful and very smart.

涵之 did an amazing job and she's an actress with js so so much potential. hopefully she can act in more 古装 仙侠 武侠 dramas. i'll definitely support her dramas after this and oh she's SO PRETTY TOO.

the director of this drama is the same as 少年歌行 so there are a lot of familiar faces. needless to say, they've done so well too.

1000/10 drama, must watch, otherwise you're losing out on an amazing drama!

Read More

An amazing story from start to finish!~

This drama is far from perfect, especially with it's storyline but it remained satisfying and captivating for me to continue till the very end. So with that said, I'll go ahead and break my review into two main parts!

PROS: When you get first introduced to the main leads, there's a certain narrative that's being told to the audience. But soon enough, the audience gets told the actual events being unfolded and I just want to give some highlight to this specific moment. These two contrasting scenes honestly gave me vibes of "history is written by the victors" statement and it couldn't have been any more true then in that moment. I really love how this was portrayed in the story and how much this echoed throughout the entire show!

Not only was the chemistry between the two main leads were really amazing, the other couples in the shows were also awesome with each other. One thing I want to also point out is that I really like how a lot of the other couples that were shown in the show weren't taking up too much screen time. They were there, yes, but the show never made them the focal point- giving the main characters the pure spotlight they deserved!

I also want to give a little bonus note about Su Yu. With such a twist of fate, I love how he goes from someone you, as the audience (and ofc myself), can find him likeable to someone you so painfully despise yet hold the faintest of sympathy despite it all. I really enjoyed the absolute insanity he ended up driving himself into yet making him still so human. He's genuinely the epitome of human greed, regret, and desperation.

CONS: Now I have two major icks with this show and that's towards two main characters, mainly our two main protagonists. Wei Jiu and Dun Tian.

Although Wei Jiu is more of a supportive protagonist (that ends up becoming an antagonist instead), his character is very..."one trick pony" type. His overall character just felt too shallow and his character development was horrendous. There were moments where the show hinted or even went in the direction of character development with him, it suddenly does a 180 and we're essentially back to square one with him. His sudden change of character occurs at the very last episode with a very convenient time jump/pass. I really wish his character development was built more developed instead of throwing a random character change at the last second of the show :/

And Dun Tian- oh man. He's the main protagonist and I just want to point out that he's probably the lamest protagonist I've seen in a while. Like every story with some form of a villain, there's always a reason why they became the way they did and his reason is as shallow as Wei Jiu's personality.

He claims and cries to the universe that he regrets giving up his wife and kids for immortality and ya know, for a little bit, I could completely see that. After all, he lived his life trying to be righteous and he was more or less in a tough position at the time which was take the chance to kill the demon lord from the world or save your family from the demon lord and potentially ruin your one chance to kill the demon lord.

But what completely shattered this perspective and his overall motivation is when he met his wife's resentment of him abandoning her and his kids. He went on a self righteous speech towards her and how killing the demon lord was more important than them. He not only refused to take accountability for his actions but back tracks? What's even more interesting is that we get a glimpse of his life as an immortal and how he had asked one of the immortals there about his wife and kids and potentially bringing them back. The immortal told him that he needed to let go because even if he wanted to bring them back, its been HUNDREDS OF YEARS. So not only did he do nothing or find a way to bring them back but instead pester someone else about it. I was left baffled guys-

What I find really funny is during peak fight with Dun Tian, Mu Qing Ge called him out saying his reason to destroy an entire realm over a regret he supposedly had was ridiculous and borderline childish. I couldn't help myself but let out a laugh when I heard her say that.

I think they had a solid enough reason for Dun Tian's motivation but completely butchered it to be honest. If they had just fueled his regrets and obsession correctly instead of having this back and forth narrative, I think it would have been a solid 10/10 villain for me.

Read More

The Most Beautful of the Immortals

Finally a happy ending. I didn't think the story was particulary unique or original (maybe because I watched it after a long marathon of xianxia and now I'm oversaturated on tropes), and as much as I adore looking at the leading man, something about him being 'the most beautiful of the immortals' really got on my nerves. It was too on the nose for me (yes we know he's hot guys, but mentioning it makes it less so and rather cringe). Also the set up of the romance between the female lead and him was also irritating. She was just like 'oh I'll have this one' and without any meaningful development it just sort of...happened? With her magic powers? There was no significant moment where it went from 'I don't like you' to 'oh maybe I'll like you now' to 'okay now I'll die for you to get you reincarnated.

I get that they wanted to accelerate the love plot development, but I still didn't feel it. At the very least there could have been a backstory or some sort of exposition. Also doesn't Deng Wei look hilarious in that wipsy beard? It just makes him look like a girl with a beard! It's like 'who is that girl trying to pass for a man?' It really kind of took away from him trying act evil, it didn't really land for me in the beginning - beard or no. 'He's supposed to be evil? Damn he just seems kind of like an annoying teenager.' But Deng Wei really nailed the evil role in the end. And he's just so beautiful while doing it. Did I mention this already? *sigh*

But the ending was great, nobody died tragically, everyone lived happily ever after and had a healthy crop of babies. I'm so relieved! It was wonderful seeing him be a dad, and hilarious watching him try to seduce his new wife (who, after about 70 years of not sleeping with her man, is still all nervous and confused when that moment comes, even with her past life memories!). But the dialogue in that scene is extremely funny and cute.

Also let's mention the VFX. I watched this right after 'Til the End of the Moon' and the difference is huge! I have a very good eye for that sort of thing, and even though they were shooting on a greenscreen for so much of it, the compositing was really good compared to most other xianxias! Nothing took me out of the scene. The fx sims looked really good (I do cringe at the thought of how long it must have taken for so much magic, but it was worth it!). Really worth the investment, and thank you thank you VFX supervisor!

And I could watch many series worth of Deng Wei being a cat. Please more cat roles for him. And he's definitely my favorite bai boy. So gorgeous it almost makes me upset.

Read More

Fated love... even after

This drama starts slowly being not convincing at all till Mu Qingge’s death. Su Yishui (ML) takes the oath to bring her back to life even if the sky were to fall (very beginning of ep. 6). From that moment on, the drama gets interesting and well structured with fewer flaws. Ran Ran (FL) is a lovely and lively character, Su Yishui wants to protect her at all costs and try to be a good Master even though he is the demon’s child and has to sacrifice his life just like Mu Qingge sacrified hers to save him. So, can we really expect much from this ? Certainly : many twists and turns till last episode !

KEY POINTS
- Good characters, nice casting, good actors
- VFX aren’t the best I have seen
- The sound track is terrific
- The two last episodes could have been just one, battle scenes last too long
- Demons are too stereotypical
- Real fantasy from episode 16 onwards
- ML is great, heart touching and handsome BUT Su Yishui's versatility can be annoying (good guy/bad guy, strong /weak, in love/indifferent...)
- Episode 26 puts us under pressure when we get to fully understand Yu Su’s character and plans. A drama that can surprise us is quite rare...
- Very nice and sweet moments to watch and rewatch
- Also tense moments that make you realize how cruel life can be (unrequested love). So, yes this drama deals with love, from the best to the worst moments. All those « love » scenes are really well written and staged. You can feel love, hate and broken hearts : valuable moments where you feel and share the emotions of the characters.

All in all, a good drama to enjoy.

Read More