Back from the Brink

All I Say is YAN HUI and TIAN YAO that'll be enough

Great show with superb casts. All characters story line perfectly wrapped up and most beautifully presenting by the casts an enchanting Xianxia drama.

After "Till The End Of The Moon" i did'nt expect YOUKU to make such a beautiful xianxia drama with such an amazing cast it really felt to heart the ending of TTEOTM and BFTB

"Back From the Brick" successfully explores themes of resilience, redemption, and the power of forgiveness. It offers a well-crafted narrative that keeps viewers engaged throughout. The drama is visually appealing, with excellent set detailing
Hou Ming Hao and Zhou Ye our leads pour life into the Tian Yao and Yan Hui characters Perfectly. The strength , endurance , romance, love and comedy.

Each episode builds up to the next and pace of story captivates viewers, every episode ends up with mystery and we viewers have egarly waiting for the next episode
For the ultimate, unequivocal show down between good and evil; for the most worthy couple; for side characters that get enough vibrancy to live on in your mind, rather than just existing to move the plot; this drama is the one, Also all the characters got their own time to shine, no one was extra and unnecessary. Everyone had their own role to play.

All in all I really loved this show and BFTB has become my third favourite Xianxia Drama behind TTEOTM and LBFAD. It' s story is a welcome change from the usual Xianxia storys like its always a cold and powerful lead such as TANTAI JIN and DONGFANG QING CANG but in this its light and warming lead who wants to get his dragon body, ( Although i love the dominating, cold and powerful leads who fell for the one and only her and for her destroy anything and don't care type )

I'd finish by saying that the incredible chemistry between the two lead was more than convincing, I couldn't ask more from the acting ( couldn't believe this was the same HMH that played the majestic dragon king and the milky dragon at the same time, Zhou Ye was absolutely versatile and made cry along her character many times) the whole cast was also so deeply involved and sincere with the viewers, spending hours answering fans questions on weibo and making lives. They deserve the whole world, they deserve to be praised for their performance and for their hard work.
And yes rewatch value is high at least for me

Read More

Same old

Overall, same driving plot we've seen in other dramas.

The white power sect are known as the good guys fighting the black power sect known as the bad guys, but all along, the white power sect are really just hypocrites misguided by their superiors who lack communication skills and the ability to clearly see right from wrong.

I'm so tired of this same old repetitive plot and endings.

My favorite thing about this drama was the OST and comedic moments, specifically because of Bai XiaoSheng. I also really liked Yan Hui's character, mostly she had a lot of self respect which you don't really see with a lot of FLs , especially when it comes to their romance with the ML.

The romance between YH and TY was okay, but I think the lack of intimacy sorta took me out of it. They had cute moments, looking at each other softly, talking to eo softly, hand holding, hugging, but it still fell short to me. Coupled with the recycled over arching plot, my attention unfortunately wasn't held.

As for the acting, I found the supporting leads acting more satisfying than the main leads. FLs acting felt like acting to me...if that makes sense. Specifically, during romantic scenes, it just came across so apparent that she was playing a character rather than her being the character herself and expressing herself more naturally. The ML pretty much had the same expression throughout the drama. The only big change was when he had to play the baby version of his character, that was really the only time the actor showed a different portrayal, which was good.

If Back from the Brink was one of the first xianxia dramas I'd watched, I probably would be more satisfied with the drama, but because I've seen many other xianxia and wuxia dramas with similar stories, I'm being a bit more critical about the plot. So, if you're someone new to xianxia and you're looking to watch an adventurous, funny, moderately romantic story, you'd probably have a good time watching this. However, if you're more seasoned in this space, you wouldn't be missing out on much if you decide to skip this one.

Read More

One of the best dramas this year

This is my first time writing a review for a drama in MDL. I am not really much into xianxia but this drama became one of my favorites. So let me tell give a review and my opinions. I have already read the novel so I can say that there are a lot of changes made to the novel in the drama adaptation. A lot of characters were added and even the main villain is different, but I still feel like they all add up smoothly to give a conclusion.

Also this drama is for those people who like a light-hearted plot (there was angst and some sad parts too but it's still light-hearted considering that it's xianxia), a healthy relationship between the leads with fewer misunderstandings, a warm and naive male lead who turned cold after getting betrayed, a strong and sassy female lead, character development of the leads. Some may say that it was a bit fast-paced but for me it was perfect.
It will let you experience everything- comedy, romance, friendship, costume, fantasy, cute moments, grief and suspense. Give it a shot, trust me you won't be disappointed.

SPOILER AHEAD:
So the our male lead (Tian Yao ) is an all powerful dragon demon. He was initially innocent, naive and a warm person but turns cold and is full of hatred after he gets betrayed, used and badly wounded by his first love and that too on his wedding day. His ex dismembered him and sealed his body parts into different places. So his soul escapes one day and finds a mortal body. 10 years later he meets our female lead (Yan Hui). YH is a weak disciple (by weak I don't mean physically or emotionally, it's just that she had a seal placed in her body by her master which prevented her from using her magical powers to the fullest) at chenxing mountain who got kicked out because she defended spirits (taoists and spirits are generally at feud in there). She is a free-spirited, lazy, straightforward person who loves eating and wants to lead a lavish lifestyle. She was initially reluctant but after listening to TY's story started to sympathise with him and decided to help him find his body. In the beginning, TY was wary of her because she was also a Taoist just like his ex who betrayed him and only wanted to use her for finding his body. But after she saves his life, he begins to slowly warm up to her and trust her. They started to help and protect each other and facing all the difficulties together, thus forming a stong bond of mutual love, trust and understanding.
Now let me tell you in the novel, TY is the one who fell for YH first but in the drama, it was YH who fell first and confessed first. This makes sense because YH is a free spirted person who won't back down while TY is someone who has been hurt badly before and find it difficult to love again.
Our second male lead Bai Xiao Sheng was added in the drama. Now for future viewers this is a piece of advice:
In the beginning he is really funny and supports our main couple but then he falls in love with our female lead. At first he really doesn't plan on doing anything but then comes the only misunderstanding arc between our main couple. Both BXS and our female lead misunderstands the male lead and that's when he tries to create a rift between the two of them because he thinks that the male lead doesn't deserve her. So I saw a lot of people complaining about this arc and dropping the show there. For them, please have some patience. Many of you may find it annoying but once the misunderstanding gets cleared he backs off and gives his blessings to them. He even saves them twice. So yea, the misunderstanding arc will last from episode 17-24 but it will get better. Also, this arc, even though was not there in the novel but still important because this is where our male lead realizes how much our FL's trust and love meant to him. It was a moment of character development for him because he learns the need to explain himself and communicate well with FL.

Next, I would like to say that if you have seen or read somewhere about our female lead being a damsel in distress and always needing a male lead to save her, then that's not true. I saw these comments somewhere but I never understood. Yes, she was a bit weak in the beginning but there are times also when she saved our male lead and fought bravely. Her character development happens mainly in the second half of the drama where desperate situations force her to become a stronger version of herself. From someone who just wanted to lead a carefree life and eat baozi to being a strong, responsible, and protective person who is ready to burn down the world to protect her loved ones and eventually saving the day in the end. I feel like this is the best part of the drama adaptation. TY also got his own character growth, from being naive and innocent who got betrayed and became full of hatred but never changed his true nature, from initially planning to use the FL to selflessly loving her.
I know a lot of changes were made in the drama but I feel it was for the best outcome.

Ok, there are a lot of cute moments but the kiss scenes are not great. (I heard that the director instructed them to kiss like kissing a wall, so not the actor's fault).
Plus the OST's are perfect.
Also all the characters got their own time to shine, no one was extra and unnecessary. Everyone had their own role to play.
CGI was not that good but its not that bad either given the fact that it's not a high-budget drama.
But still kudos to the director, scriptwriter and actors for all the effort they put into making this a better version of the novel.

Overall this was undoubtedly one of the best xianxia dramas this year.

Regarding the ending, let me spoil it, it's a HE so watch it without worry. And the ending is quite satisfactory(at least for me)

Read More

Love this so, so much

This is possibly my favourite drama of all time.

Luckily I had a Mandarin speaker in my house to translate the final part to better understand the ending— this is a drama that will take weeks to recover from.

There was no filler; no weak, self conscious acting; and I even loved the effects as they seemed like children’s book illustrations and fit the mood. In short, for me there were none of the usual interruptions that push you out of the world that has been created. If you want to make me cry, just play me the opening song and watch me melt into a snotty mess on the floor.

For the ultimate, unequivocal show down between good and evil; for the most worthy couple; for side characters that get enough vibrancy to live on in your mind, rather than just existing to move the plot; this drama is the one.

Read More

A hot mess of finding my dragon body parts!

DON'T TRUST THE OTHER PEOPLE WHEN THEY SAY THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA OF 2023. THIS DRAMA IS FAR FROM IT... Had high expectations due to reading the reviews from others. This drama started good but lost me during half of it.

Like the storyline was for the male lead to find his missing body parts that the cruel ex lover scattered all over the world. The female lead got the protection scale which became her heart. She and male lead are destiny to be together. They go on a journey to find the remain parts of the male lead dragon body.

If they just focused on that part it might of been interesting , but adding too much on the sidelines really confused me. Like the male lead took his revenge pretty early on in the drama. i watched to 29 ep and still they only have found his leg, and his teeth aka sword? too slow...

Plus the leads get together really late. The male lead is just too afraid of getting hurt again... Poor female lead.

The female lead is pretty hilarious in the fact that she is really bold and not afraid of others.She stands up for the truth and for people/demons who are weaker than her. She also loves punching people.

Read More

Just cause Neo Hou & Zhou Ye

Another drama that make me hang till the end cause of the actor & actress, this time of course Neo Hou & Zhou Ye, they are also the reason I'm watching in the first place.

So long not watch a drama that I don't care about the story of the drama, but hang till the end. Truth to be told, I don't too understand the story in the first place. Don't know the story just make me uninterested to follow or just to care. But they just pick the right actor/ess so for me seeing them still make me interesting to keep watching, at least to see them in my screen.

This drama open with stupid woman [Su Ying (SY)] that willing to do anything in the name of love, in this case killing Tian Yao. Stupid why...? Cause later on we learn the man that she love not even love her. Even after knowing that, SY still do anything just for hang him around her.

As usual with XianXia world we always deal between dark/evil & good force. As the story goes we learn that evil already infiltrate from long long ago. And as usual too always interesting to see how they try to combat their inner evil force, especially this time for Yan Hui

Even though the story not very interested to follow, but every time I start get bored they give us cute scene or story to attract us again. Like with the story of Tian Yao become pure like baby again, really cute to see Neo Hou act baby like.

Overall this just another XianXia story that ever exist....

Read More

A fresh and very amusing love story

Back From the Brink is a true gem among historical c-dramas, charming with its compelling narrative of love, betrayal, and vengeance. It truly sets itself apart from other dramas with a delicate balance between lightheartedness and seriousness, often injecting moments of delightful humor.

Tian Yao and Yan Hui not only make a remarkable couple but also stand as enchanting characters in their own right. Yan Hui, in particular, breaks the mold of the typical female lead. Her unwavering determination, when added to her feelings for Tian Yao make for a refreshing change, deviating from the common trope of pining for love. Furthermore, her fear of death (although it may seem like something basic and obvious) adds a nuanced layer to her character in many moments, distinguishing her from other FLs in the genre.

At first glance, Tian Yao may appear as the archetypal male lead, but as the story unfolds, we witness the unveiling of a pure-hearted individual with a touch of innocence and youthful charm.

While the story may have a slightly slow start in the initial episodes, it quickly gains momentum and it becomes quite interesting moving forward. However, there are some plot points in the middle, particularly the love triangle involving Bai Xiaosheng, that feel underdeveloped and lack proper buildout. Another issue lies with the main antagonist, Fu Yin. His origins and true desires remain unclear, leaving his motivations seemingly rooted in baseless anger towards the world. This shallow portrayal fails to elevate him to the status of a formidable major villain. In contrast, Suying proved herself as a stronger antagonist with a comprehensible motive. Her obsession with Lu Musheng, which she misconstrues as love, drives her to take extreme measures to save him and get him to love her again.

Despite these flaws, the drama's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. The romance, in particular, is expertly executed, eschewing the tiresome cycle of on-again-off-again relationships. Once Yan Hui and Tian Yao come together, they remain steadfast, a welcome departure from the endless obstacles that often plague main couples. However, more passionate and intimate moments between them would have further enriched their connection (and the few kiss scenes felt somewhat lacking passion).

Zhou Ye once again delivers a stellar performance, portraying an immensely funny and charming female lead. Her ability to convey emotions and provide comedic relief is commendable. Hou Minghao also impresses as Tian Yao, showcasing remarkable facial expressions that effectively convey his character's emotions (the reactions when Yan Hui unloads his own trauma onto others are especially noteworthy for their hilarity.).

Regarding the OST, there is little to critique. It is good overall, with a great opening theme, but it fails to leave a lasting impression or emerge as a standout aspect of the drama.

In conclusion, while Back From the Brink may not be a drama I would rewatch in its entirety (although certain parts, such as the Dragon Valley arc, Tian Yao baby arc, and the episodes surrounding the wedding, are worth revisiting), it is definetly a drama I recommend to anyone who enjoys xianxias. This drama does particularly well what it sells and brings a fresh perspective to the genre, offering something new and captivating to watch.

Read More

" I live so I can meet you. "

If I was to compare BFTB with the other xianxia I've watched this year, I enjoyed this more than The Starry Love but slightly less than TTEOFTM. My actual rating : 8.7/10.

The plot : A story of a human girl and a broken dragon who went on an adventure, healing each other along the way, facing challenges together and later fall in love with each other. I think the plot was excellent . One of the best I've seen. It was neat and detailed. I liked that everything happens for a reason .Most of the times the plot will left you confused at first but later will give answer to all your questions when the time comes. You just need to be patient.

The acting: This was my second time of watching Neo Hou after AGLM which I did'nt finished .Visually, ML is as pretty as FL and it was distracting lol. His acting was good and I enjoyed watching our Pretty Dragon in action ( Here is what I could'nt understand and find it annoying when everyone - village people,taoist people- called him Evil Dragon everytime they saw him. What evil thing he did that they saw I really wanna know. Like come ooon he had done nothing bad and never harming anyone how could they be so blind and keep believing on hearsay. Stupid people...) . This was my first time watching Zhou Ye as FL and I enjoyed her acting too. I think she did great at every emotional scene she was in. Acting of the other cast also not disappointing. My favourite was Riley Wang as Bai Xiao Sheng , our michievious third-wheel/ matchmaker. His character provide comic relief in this drama and his synergy with FL and ML never failed to entertain me while watching.

Romance : To describe the romance here, it was sweet with little angst. Both leads had good chemistry with each other. I liked the fact that our couple except for that one time always practice healthy communication with each other. There's nothing better than watching a couple being honest to each other about their feelings like what shown in this drama. Any conflict they had usually get solved right away and not predictably dragged to 5 till 10 episodes like in most drama. We did have 2nd and 3rd couple here but I skipped most of their scenes as I'm not deeply invested in their stories.

Cinematography & CGI: I have no complaints and thought it was great.

Music /OST: It was just okay. None made me eager to download it and put it on my spotify playlist.

Overall, BFTB was one of the best xianxia I've watched this year. If you like dragon, kind male lead, headstrong and kickass female lead, adventurous plot, romance with healthy communication & little angst in your story , watch this & you might enjoy it as I did.

Read More

great chemistry between the main leads

I started this drama not having any expectations mostly because I was not particularly interested in Zhou Ye and did not even know who Hou Ming Hao was.

The first 8 episodes were slow, story was average and relationship between the two main leads was very typical of c-drama couples who first met: bickering like enemies.

I watched on, however and was gradually drawn into the story and drawn into the developing camaraderie of the two main leads, from getting used to each other to falling in love and even dying for each other.

Basically, the entire story was simple, about the male lead finding the decapitated parts of his body after being harmed by Su Ying and the female lead helping him albeit initially unwilling. Lots of adventures along the way as they tried to find the parts together and lots of things happened which also tested the strength of their love for each other.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama more than I expected and was glad that I started and continued with it because it became one of those dramas I waited for episodes to drop and couldn’t bear for it to end. I was touched by the love they had for each other, something which was not sudden or out of the blue but developed as they went through each adventure. This was largely because of the strong chemistry between the main leads - Zhou Ye and Hou Ming Hao - a winning factor in any xianxia and they look good together in the drama, like a real couple.

There were some comedic parts in the show, you know it when the music changed, I was perfectly fine with them. It gave the show a lighter feel and I did find some humour in some of those parts.

There were no illogical moments or irritating characters in the drama, at least nothing that I want to make a hoo-ha of. The only negative thing would be the amateur acting of some of the cast. Though they were not important figures in the story, when you could see the flaws, your emotions would somehow be affected.

So, yes, all in all, this was a good watch, I would recommend this to anyone who likes to watch xianxias with adventure and a strong chemistry between the main leads.

And yes, Hou Ming Hao did look rather charming in the drama.

Read More

Pretty Average Not Worth the binge (better if you just want side entertainment when cleaning lol)

I have a lot of things to say about this show. Let's get into it!!

LOVE TRIANGLE + OTHER RELATIONSHIPS
< Tian Yao & Yan Hui & Bai Xiao Sheng >
I despise love triangles, I hate it so much, there's so many issues with love triangles which I won't get into, just wanted to point this out that I absolutely hate it. However, it wasn't as terrible in this show for the main leads + second lead. At first the relationship between Yun Hui and Bai Xiao Sheng was super funny, every time they had a scene together I laughed because they feel like they would share the same brain cell sometimes, and it was so funny when he was the matchmaker for Tian Yao and Yan Hui. So at first they felt like best friends so I was so relieved their wasn't going to be a love triangle when he appeared, oh dear I was wrong. After a little bit I kinda did ship them just a little, however that was only because I thought Bai Xiao Sheng wouldn't end up liking her and how there wouldn't be a love triangle and how I was wrong yah that, and then he did end up liking her so then I had to feel bad, only up until when they needed to "fake" their relationship to achieve the book. During that arc that was when I stopped shipping them, and realized they aren't really compatible with another, and I ended up thinking their relationship felt better as friends, because of how Tian Yao had been the type of person to pay attention to Yan Hui to know her more, while Bai Xiao Sheng didn't kept attention to Yan Hui in that way, so then it felt more like a crush? Maybe even admiration, or just love without the romantic aspect. Anywho, so this love triangle wasn't as painful and it did make me support the main couple for sure. So his rejection, I don't feel at all bad, because I don't ship them anymore.

< Su Ying & Lu Mu Sheng & Yun Xi >
Now this love triangle here, so messy like what the actual heck is going on? Su Ying is obsessed with a man she saw a few time like we only got like 3 different scenes locations of them together, and it makes no sense, there's no real history between them that explains her undying love for this man. 40 episodes, I was waiting to know how the heck did she fall in love with him THIS BADLY, why the heck did he forget about her, and married another women for 20 years? Like there's not enough information about this damn love triangle at all. We are just expected to know, this women loved this man because of these 3 scenes, and this man doesn't remember her, even though he worked his ahh off to learn how to fight alongside her allegedly because he get no scenes about this just words, but despite his achievement for the women he said he loves, he suddenly was married with another women that we don't even know how they met, and how he forgot about Su Ying, nothing about what the heck happened during those 20 years. It really irks me because I really wanted to know what is their deep level of relationship that makes her this obsessed to keep him alive no matter what, how in the world did he end up with Yun Xi, like what the heck is going on I need more context. I really pitied Su Ying's sister, Ling Fei. She was already wrongfully taught by her community, and then misguided by her delusional elder sister, so yah it's understandable she ended up with so much hatred. (Thought I don't support her she was really irritating in the show.)

< Tian Yao & Su Ying >
How the heck did Su Ying seduce Tian Yao? Like I swear there is not enough context for big relationships like these that takes up so much of the story and character trauma, like no context what so ever. How did he make him fall in love with her, how long did it even take, like I can just image her not even smiling at all around him, so did he like that? Was she so mysterious he wanted to MARRY HER? Like history man, I need the history between them too.

STORY + LEADS
The story was honestly kind boring. It was surprisingly a tad bit more enjoyable when I watched it on 1.25x speed on Youtube lmfao. The FL wasn't too irritating however her character is also pretty boring, even though she was kind of over powered I did slightly enjoyed her not being weak, and being able to save the ML (which is almost all the freaking time so girl power!) The leads only kiss about I wanna say 2 or 3 times so this show is very PG13. The leads aren't bad, like I mentioned in the 'Love Triangle' section, they are written to be pretty compatible, and with Bai Xiao Sheng being the second lead, it made me not ship them with anyone else. My only complaint is that their relationship isn't that memorable. What I mean by this is that, they are plain and boring so the entire 40 episodes, and when they had the flashbacks, I didn't care for it because those weren't very memorable main lead experiences for me to sob over for. The acting wasn't so bad, though the actor for Tian Yao made the same "concerning" expression over and over again made me kind of hope he give me other expressions. His baby egg hatched era was just not for me either.

DEATHS IMPACT LEVEL (in summary / horrible)
1. Yan Hui's Master = Zero Impact
Again, I'm a big softie towards elders dying in shows, however his death wasn't impactful for me. It's because the relationship between the Master and Yan Hui is way too weak for me to care about what they had, and the time they had together. The flashback was just a waste of scene time.
2. Yan Hui = No Impact Either
I couldn't emotionally attach myself to this character (or any character in the show honestly)
3. Fu Yin
His downfall/defeat felt so rushed or not as impactful as it was escalated to be.
4. Zhu Li's Father = What the heck was that death...
Bro... his death was the most disappointing of all like, I can't stand sacrifices like this. He might as well went with him what the actual heck.
5. Zhu Li's Mother = Eh
She was an extra character that was added onto the origins of the plot. I will say the actress for her is gorgeous

ANIMATION
The animation really through me off honestly lol. It felt so goofy and silly I just couldn't take anything seriously.

ENDING + OVERALL
The ending sucks. Well not suck, but was very underwhelming though I didn't expect much since the story was already pretty boring. This BIGGEST weakness of this show is the lack of developing the relationships, and the story, context, history. I don't want just a simple 2 minutes back story if it isn't impactful. There are short back stories from different shows that are so beautiful that I wished they were longer, for this show, these short backstory need to be longer to understand the characters as well as the story.

Hopefully I covered everything I needed to say in this review. :)

Read More