A MASTERPIECE INDEED!!
I love the cast, the storyline, and OSTS..Back from the Brick is an underrated Chinese gem that hits all the right emotional chords. From the very first episode, it draws you into a raw yet tender narrative that’s both heartbreaking and healing. The story follows a former delinquent who tries to rebuild his life after years of chaos, finding unexpected warmth and purpose in the most unlikely places. What sets this drama apart is its grounded storytelling every character feels incredibly real, flawed, and deeply human.
special mentioned to Zhou ye Read More
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The good, the bad, and the rest...
To start off, this drama took me two tries to get into. After the first fifteen episodes though, it was - for the most part - smooth sailing.To be quite fair to this drama, it was actually pretty enjoyable from episode fifteen to probably around thirty-ish. I really liked the characters, the relationships, the plotline, and the love story is pretty chefs kiss. The way Tianyao looked at Yanhui was enough to steal even a dragons breath away. The villains were extra villainous too. Proper evil and enough to send any sane person to a mental asylum for some much needed tlc.
That being said, the problem lies in the length and the script. This could have been concluded in probably thirty episodes or even less, and if the two villains, and even the "good" guys left the main pairing alone, maybe less than that. It became a game of waiting for the same event to happen, the same sacrifice to take place, the same villain to show up with their evil cape of misunderstanding, and worst of all, angst just for the sake of angst to the point it legitimately didn't make sense no matter how many times I rewatched a scene. It became a game of suspend your belief and bolster your patience down, and not in a nice way.
By the end, and I was genuinely enjoying it up until the last ten episodes at which point I just wanted to push through, I really just wanted it to be over. Even the ending was personally lackluster and once again lacking in explanation. The only plus is the main couple and the fact that the actor for Tianyao is extremely lovely to look at + his acting is very enjoyable. Other than that, I'm not sure I can recommend this unless you don't mind repetitive villains, overused tropes, and have an immense amount of patience.
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I CAN HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA when you are bored with standard scenarios! :)
This is definitely not the best one that you can watch, but still worth your time. especially when you don't have anything else to watch.+ The story is unique. Every character has the reason to be who they are. No one is only on the right or bad side. This fact makes everything stick to the whole point of this drama - no one is born evil or good - we re making our own path, thanks to our words and actions.
+ It is really touching and funny. It is always subjective - you will like it or hate it.
+ I adore the simple ending. I personally think, that we are left with something unspoken and in the same time everything was said. Some people in reviews said, that they wish, that the ending was longer, but it will be to cheesy and unnecessary. During the drama, characters said lots of the things about their future together, and you can simply imagine what could happen, if the story was continued.
- Sometimes I couldn't stand the LMD. At the beginning everything was fine, he was helpful and funny, but later it became creepy.
- I felt that in some parts the story were too fast, and in some episodes it was going slow. Especially in the end, when she was having those dragon powers again. Where did it came from? Why she realised it so fast? Why did she died? I remember one hint about "good" power coming to her unexpectedly, but for me it wasn't enough. When the final battle is happening you should have those breathtaking moments, tears, empowerment, joy or sadness. I was feeling that this drama, has many emotional moments, so I understand that is really hard to make better and better scenes, but the beginning and ending should be the cheery on top. They should add something more unexpected.
In conclusion: Good drama. Good chemistry. Nice CGI. Amazing actors.
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the first Chinese epic drama that I finished, really liked Neo especially the chemistry with Zhou Ye was really strong, from the beginning it was exciting because it seemed like the two of them relied on each other so they weren’t bound by strict family/royal rules, both of them were pitiful especially when their love was unrequited, but fortunately it was a happy ending even though we had to wait until Neo had gray hair Was this review helpful to you?
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Meeting and trusting the right person
Okay, first, I stil couldn't get used to this kind of fantasy drama with various power and things. So, sometime I found it irrational, but that's no offense it's my personal preference.Two, the story was pretty much entertaining in the first 20 eps, but got boring after. I had to watch it in 1.25 faster mode instead of normal mode. Sometimes I even had to skip it.
And I don't get the two woman (sisters) from that sect could be that annoying, that sister obession in reviving her husband's memory is just toxic.
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Finding the light in darkness
This is a story about a Dragon King who was cruelly betrayed and dismembered by his love and a girl who was expelled from her cultivation sect. Unknown to them, their fates have been intertwined from long ago. Their fateful meeting leads them on a journey searching for his lost body parts, while maintaining the light in a world that has been clouded by evil and darkness.Highlights:
- The main leads: I watched this drama mainly because of HMH and ZY. They literally look like they walked straight out of a manhua with beautiful aesthetics and chemistry. Those who are like me may find themselves shipping the two like Bai Xiao Sheng (haha). The actors were perfect for their roles, and the characters they portrayed were endearing. Among the many xian xia's I've watched, Yan Hui is one of the few female leads I admire - for her courage, compassion, and for being true to herself from the beginning to end. It was refreshing to see a female lead who plays the protector. The development and love story between the two was what kept me engaged in the series. I appreciated the more 'mature' relationship illustrated by Yan Hui and Tian Yao, especially with the way they navigated the trauma Tian Yao carried. They were each other's pillars of strength in their most vulnerable moments. Their relationship is a great example of how two people can bring out the best in each other. I hope to see HMH and ZY in another series one day!
- The OST: This drama had a solid soundtrack. You just CANNOT go wrong with Zhou Shen and Liu Yu Ning. I also really liked HMH's OST, he has a beautiful voice.
- The themes and lessons in the story: This drama touches on how each person has both light and darkness in their hearts, and which parts we nurture is ultimately our choice. We get to see this theme illustrated through each character's journey, as well as, through their relationships with others. It was touching and meaningful.
The 'meh':
- The storyline: As much as I love the main leads and their love story, the plot was not anything unique. The plot fillers, cheesy scenes, and flashbacks were sometimes a little too much. Some parts felt draggy and uneventful. After reading snippets of the novel, I can see why some people commented that they had watered down the characters and the storyline. It's unfortunate because I would love to see the darker and more complex story come to life, but can understand the limitations due to censorship and other reasons (simplified for the viewing experience). However, I did not want to be too nit picky this time around because I watched it mainly because of the actors - just to have a simple 'easy' watch. If you don't focus on the details and just come for the love story between the leads, then it is still enjoyable.
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A nice little surprise with a bunch of shortcomings
So I started this out not really having any expectations and it has pleasantly surprised me. The humor was quite good (even the more sillier ones were quite funny), I actually don't hate the FL-she's quite likable in fact, the story was interesting...somewhat. The really good thing about this was that some plot points were quite fun to watch, it didn't bore me (well the parts with the ML and FL at least), like I was genuinely enjoying it. I'm mentioning this particularly because I am also watching like 7 other dramas at the same time and though some of them are good, they made me lose interest and get bored really quickly. My ADHD is flaring up for some reason so I'm constantly seeking another drama to watch on the side to cure this painful sickness (╥﹏╥). For this drama I started to get bored around the late mid section where I skipped over a bunch of side character scenes and watched the rest of the show in 2.5X speed (lighting-speed subtitle reading skill development practice lol). Literally didn't lose any important info at all.Favorite part without spoilers: baby dragon! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
Now the bad: the acting of the FL was quite good but everyone else's acting (including the ML from like the mid section onwards) was a bit cringy and unconvincing. I feel like ML is good at stoic and angry scenes while quite bad at romantic scenes like I don't buy it with his expressions. The costumes were okay, nothing too awe-worthy, and ew the CGI was so bad. But the worst thing this series had was the amount of times someone *dies* then comes back to life. Like you'd have a very sad scene and then literally the next scene its just like poof! nope, that didn't just happen sike!! (although... this is a common thing in a lot of xianxia/wuxia tbf which I think should be stopped because it takes all the weight away from the previous scene) And don't even get me started on the ending for the villains, every single one of them felt anti-climatic and I just sat there like (⊙_⊙) "that's it??? ain't no way???" There were so many 'oh we defeated the villain, just swatted them away like a fly, oh wait, no, their alive, how can that be, lets swat at them again!' moments I lost count. The ending of the story... well, while not bad, left much to be desired.
Overall, its a nice light-hearted series to watch especially if you are in a slump!
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A beautiful romance blossoms in the mist of devilry and obsession
The villains in this were the absolute worst. Infuriating, especially the self righteous and hypocritical female villain. Suying was obsessed with a man who DID.NOT.WANT.HER. She committed some pretty vicious acts to "keep" him, including torturing that poor soul who was the object of her obsession. Her behavior was selfish and reprehensible. It was extremely frustrating that her demise wasn't nearly as painful as it should've been.The romance in this was epic though. Tianyou and Yanhui encountered much adversity throughout their relationship but always had each other's backs. Even when they were just friends, they would move heaven and earth to protect each other. Not only that, they had a deep connection and an awesome working relationship, which made their love story one for the ages. The side romances were well done as well and added nice layers to the main plot.
I will say though, the SML, Bai Xiao, was not as endearing as I think the writers wanted him to be. He was helpful and fun to start, but after a while he got annoying and eventually became a straight up interloper to the OTP. At times, he almost ruined the progress of the main couple. He became so annoying that about halfway through the series I was ready for him to disappear and never return.
The acting in this was very good. Zhou Ye, the FL, was fantastic. Excellent acting on her part. The main plot was interesting. The leads had good chemistry as did the side characters. The romance was lovely. Though it could've used a LOT more PDA, but this is a C-drama so PDA will be scarce. Lol. The ending was satisfactory, but could've been given much more of the OTP. They were married twice and never got a moment of intimacy. Huge omission by the writers, which was so disappointing considering how much the leads loved each other. Overall this was a great series though. Definitely worth re-watching.
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Im torn on this one
I am enjoying the comedy parta of this drama that is for sure. I find myself torn in regards to the love story. The Dragon has been hurt by the last person he looked so I get why he's so guarded. It just feels like he shows very little to know emotion regarding the female lead. He can stab her in the heart with little regard for her life. I get that happening in the beginning, but to do that with no emotions regarding her to save his little elves kind of bothers me. Hope that in time this will change, but for now I'm not too fond of this Love story.Was this review helpful to you?
I can't... hope others can enjoy
I really dislike dropping dramas, but I simply got too bored to continue. (take my words with a grain of salt because this is my 3rd xianxia so I'm not experienced at all)Story
-at first, the balance of comedy, cheesyness, and seriousness was really good. Soon they dipped into plot hole territory with not enough romance (when this drama is literally focusing on their romance)
-I love this fl. She has common sense and is rational. Everything she did was understandable
-the ml couldn't stop stabbing people (joke) but at least he's nice and not toxic (can't believe I have to say that)
-I liked how the fl and ml communicated (mostly the fl initialized while the ml had to learn to do it)
-the beginning was good until the 2ml and fell in love with the fl, then it got annoying.
-other than than the ml, fl, and 2ml, the other characters felt shallow and useless. Wish we got more understanding of them
-Although the story (at first) moved fast to my liking, they added all these filler scenes which was annoying. Like, we're trying to find this dude's body parts, like shouldn't we be hurrying?
-by the early 20 episodes, the slowness really hit me. It just felt kind of stupid.
-the plot kept on being thrown off track. If you've ever studied writing books just a bit, you would learn that scenes and moments are used for the plot (character development must also push the plot), but here its kinda like they stuck the plot in the trunk and drove other places
Acting/Cast
-I loved Zhou Ye here. I watched her in Love me, Love my voice, and her personality here is so different (but she still loves to eat!) I felt like she really portrayed Yan Hui very well.
-Hou Ming Hao was what I expected. I watched him in A Girl like me, and he still only has 5 facial expressions. I feel like Zhou Ye deserved better...
-I didn't notice any chemistry. The fl had more chemistry with the 2ml than the ml. This was very disappointing because chemistry is what draws me back to a drama if the plot flops.
-the 2ml did very well
Music
-the soundtrack is gorgeous, like it's really good
Visuals
-the cgi was kinda tacky ngl
-the magic tho looked good
-but the clothes need mentioning. They were stunning
-the makeup also was very pretty
Overall, if you are patient and like the laughs, then watch!
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