The Rebirth (2025)

The most amazing short drama of this year

Oh, what a fantastic story, intelligent script/dialogue, beautiful characters, seamless editing and gorgeous cinematography under skilled direction with really good actors wrapped in the music that created pure magic.
If you watched costume dramas for a while and enjoyed finding easter eggs in Dream within Dream (in form of references to other dramas) you will like how this production positions familiar scenes in a new context with incredible skill and emotional impact. That iconic slide to embrace her in Blossom? Check. The hair accessory wedding between MLs in Untamed? Check. The bites from Fated Hearts? Check. The kickass general falling for supernatural boy from Shadow Love? Check as well. But not in the way you think and not with the result that will leave you frowning. There is plethora of smart humor like that 3-way stabbing in the opening scene of another drama, except you get 3 men fighting for 1 woman. And the lines that actors deliver with incredible feeling are just awesome.
I was glued to the screen for 5 hours (that is how long the entire 24 episodes take without the breaks for opening and closing credits). The music, both songs and BGM instrumentals, is so fitting, soulful and beautiful. The natural light used for some shots are truly giving the feel for what the characters are experiencing. The camera work, framing and close-ups are done in such a way that you don't notice anything but what the director wants you to notice - the weight of thoughts and emotions that permeated the setting in that moment.
Saying that this is a vampire story is like saying Love Between Fairy and Devil is about losing Hell Fire and gaining something more powerful instead. First of all, the male lead drinking blood is poisoned and not a vampire. Like every woman on the planet, he too during full moon, becomes irritable/unreasonable and drinks blood to save himself. Secondly, FL is not reborn but gets a soul transfer into another body and gets revived at exactly same moment she dies. Thirdly, another ML is not a villain. Every character here is solid, complex and almost heroic. This is not a romance in the usual sense but a masterful storytelling of how a woman who lost all her power can still kick ass. And unlike in other fantasy full length dramas there is nothing here that is superfluous as a filler. Flashbacks are done in a clear and self-evident way. 3-way romance is totally believable given the history of the characters and current circumstance. No unnecessary cruelty, humiliation - just good people in impossible dilemma doing things that make sense in the moment but with dire consequences. Sacrificing self without a fanfare of being a good guy and with heaviness of recognition that one is being manipulated and needs to stand by something more important than just loyalty. Oh, what a spellbinding watch this was!
Any shortcomings? Some, but not serious enough to drop points. Any criticism? Again, there could have been better continuity logistics, but it was a fantasy world so anything goes. Altogether it worked like the world of LOTR: they kept going because they were holding onto something-there is good in this world and it's worth fighting for.

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Trashy vampire romance done right

I know this song and dance, trashy vampire period romance but add revenge, green tea, soul migration and a touch of fantasy (they have some kind of powers linked to plants ?). This is bordering on vertical soap to be honest but I don't mind, all the blood, violence and bare skin fit the gothic theme. I liked the execution and pacing a lot, even if I didn't always 100% understood what was happening (can't say if it's the fault of the mediocre translation or the script though). Sometimes the writing bends reality to fit the narrative but it's more hilarious than annoying (they had the perfect magical item for everything, lol). I had just finished Enslaved by Love with Xu Zhen Zhen and the same director when I started this, and I like the ML of this drama better : Ye Sheng Jia is damn good as debauched prince Pei Su, and his character has a darkness and layers that make the romance gripping. Secondary cast is also pretty good and rounds up the story nicely, as our heroïne has not one but two shady romantic interests, doubling the fun. Villains are your usual cackeling greedy cliches, but the actors have fun with it and the drama succeeds at slowly unraveling what is really happening and who is the true mastermind. Love the styling (the hime cut and choker are adorable on Xu Zhen Zhen, Ye Shang Jia looks gorgeous in open neck robes) and Deng Zhan Neng is a pro at making those shorts look expensive. The drama becomes tamer and less scandalous in the second part, loosing some of the initial spice and tension, but I felt the resolution was worth the investment. I also recommend this if you want more of what Shadow Love was doing with blood slavery/contract in short form, with a ML who is more wolf than puppy.

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