Superb rendition of a historical drama!
I have never like Chinese historical dramas due to the plot oftentimes being pretty slow-burning and a lot of times there is little action and Alot of talking...This drama has completely changed my views abt historical dramas. I chanced upon this drama because I have been following several Leo Wu's dramas. His latest - The Long Ballad is another classic hit.... Read my reviews there.
It turns out this drama got a 9.1 rating on Mydramalist hence I decided to put this up in my must watch list.
It has not disappointed me at all. I loved everything abt Mei Chang Shu /Lin Shu. He plots, schemes and is able to turn greatly unfavourable situations to his advantage, and in ways you never expect it.
I sacrificed 2 sleepless nights to finish watching this as it was such a mind-blowing story! Kudos to the author /novelist who first wrote this story... Double kudos to the entire production team and cast for the EXCELLENT & EPIC performance too! Only thing I did was to play the drama at 1.25x or sometimes 1.5x speed just so that I get to the end faster...🤭
Was this review helpful to you?
Give it a try!
Normally I don't like this type of complex political-type show, but a lot of my friends were recommending it so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I'm really glad I did. As a person who has anxiety and really hates misconceptions in shows, this drama had quite a low amount of plots that had me super anxious. Instead, it's really cool seeing how Mei Changsu is going to navigate the latest dilemma and what things he's got hidden in his sleeves. I absolutely loved his character, as well as Prince Jing, Meng Zhi, and Fei Liu. The acting for everyone is amazing. Even if you hate the character, you have to respect the actor and the script-writer for their work, because I was amazed every time. This show really gets you invested from the second episode (the first has necessary set-up) and really makes you want to re-watch to see everything that you missed, especially if you're like me and haven't read the novel. There are truly no filler episodes, and the only tiny thing that lagged was the semi-romance but frankly it wasn't at the forefront of the show so I didn't mind. I really recommend it, not only because of the plot, but because every aspect is really well done.Was this review helpful to you?
A Series that Just Gets Better with Every Rewatch
There is a saying that the first viewing of a great series/ movie should be done for the plot, second watch for the details and third watch for the craft. While rewatching things (especially a long series) has never been one of my favourite things, i had done it for a very few JP dramas, which definitely the ones i love the most and since they just have a little number of episodes. Recently i had the chance to binge-rewatch this, and the sole reason was because i was triggered after seeing the series’ six-year anniversary post on twt LOL. I first watched it three years ago, though i had to finish it in haste before the university’s end of semester exam period coming up. I remember i loved the overall quality of the series, admiring some of the amazing casts, repeating the theme songs, looking up for the fanficts, but didn’t manage to rewatch it until this year, when i finally have more spare time and less thing to watch on my list.STORY - They served us with the damn near flawless presentation of story and ideas, with a very well-written & executed plot, and various pacing for every arc. I didn't even touch the fast-forward button because there were no dull and cringe moments, made the 54 eps felt short honestly. I've watched so many great Asian series with great plots and production, but in terms of story-telling and characterization, nothing can top NiF on my list until now, with 1 Litre of Tears (JP) and Mr. Sunshine (KR) come next. The amount of subtle forshadows throughout the series is insane, every dialogue, manner even cinematography does matter to build the dramatic tension and suspense that will keep the viewers turning the page.
Note that if you're looking for a cute romance, then this series might not be your cup of tea. But if you're like me, who prefer a longing and tragic, but still an unwavering and beautiful love story, then come join the club~
ACTING/ CAST/ CHARACTER - It's an ensemble of stellar casts! I started watching this series as a total stranger to any of the actors, and i didn't expect to find a remarkable performance from EVERY actors that could brought me into their realm of thoughts and beliefs.
About the MLs, i like how Hu Ge acted with his whole body as Mei Changsu, he pulled off the cold demeanor and perseverance naturally, but also showed various ranges of emotion through that restrained expressions and gestures . His character was so resolute about his plans as he had a limited time & breath, he wasn't easily distracted by other things & always ready what to plan even in the last minute. He's smart indeed, but i prefer to say that he's a great observer and opportunist. He fought with psychological warfare, preparing for 12 years should have resulted in nearly perfect scheming capability.
As for Wang Kai, our Prince Jing with his utmost sincerity and fidelity toward family and camaraderie, i like how his character developed throughout the series without him erasing his roots, ideals and loyalty. Wang Kai did really great to act as a hot-headed but lovable prince, i did hope to see him doing more sword fights though!!!
There are a dozen supporting characters in this series with important roles. Mei Changsu and Prince Jing are indeed the pivotal characters, but the key figures who executed the major events are mostly the supporting ones, and that's soo satisfying to see them taking actions together for something of greater importance. Also this show is fun because it's not always the fight between protags vs villains, but the protags scheming for fights between villain vs villain!
Next, though this is a male-centered series, it exceeded my expectation by having the female characters stand out with different strength each. They're not superwomen, they have their own weaknesses but it's not a reason for them to back out from the difficult and unfair environments. We got the physically strong and loyal women like Nihuang, Xia Dong, Gong Yu. The benevolent & quick-witted Consort Jing, clever but ruthless strategist Qin Banruo, the mentally strong & brave Grand Princess Liyang! The first drama ever where i admire all of the key female characters.
MUSIC - I'm just glad that our 3 main leads are also singers in real life and they gave us the beautiful and legendary OSTs that i'll never forget, and all of Meng Ke's instrumental musics are absolutely another amazing thing in this drama!
REWATCH VALUE - it's all going back to the headline and introduction section of this review. For me personally, who hardly find a C-drama that mainly focus on palace politic intriguing back then (i only loved watching wuxia/ xianxia/ republican ones) and was a stranger to the actors (i only found out that Hu Ge played Liu Lang in The Young Warriors 2006 after like 20eps in!) this show is truly a gem and i could see why it was a BIG HIT, even bagged soo many awards for the creative team and actors. And guess what, NiF was also claimed by Chinese drama industry as the work that restored the confidence in historical/ costume drama back in 2015 due to its realistic setting and respect for history and the source material, and it started the cinematic style trend for historical drama. The deep messages, which is absolutely not about revenge, but about how to live, how to die, how to admit past mistakes, accepting our weaknesses and try to give ourselves and other people a chance to change into the better human-being are very well conveyed to the viewers. The lingering awe that were left for it's brilliant script, character dynamics, the warmness and slight comedy revolving around Su Household make every rewatch of this series worth my time.
A 10/10 overall score, which i rarely give to a series, is not an exaggeration. I'm happy that in this lifetime i could find such a masterpiece and the amazing actors involved there. To you who have just started watching this series, don't give up even if it doesn't hook you right away, everything will be unfolded beautifully as you follow the flow of the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
This drama is what you would call a masterpiece, from the story to the acting and the set. Everything is made for you to fall in love with this drama. This drama didn't need any romance or any filler episode to make your heart flutter or your eyes turn red.
First of all the first episodes are here to set the pace and background story of all the characters. So you will discover the main one Mei Changsu aka Su Zhe who came to the capital to help one of the prince to become the crown prince but is actually helping this forgotten prince Jing to become the future emperor. As soon as the backgroung is set, you will fall into a rollercoaster of emotions between happiness and sadness over the interactions of the character but also their own stories which are heartbreaking. And I do think that all of these details doesn't make any of these characters fall short when it comes to this drama. They are all here for a reason, and which one of them has a story to tell and a goal to achieve.
Second of all the directing is magnificient. The set where they filmed the drama was thougth on a delightful level where your eyes will be cleaned from it. It it beyond beautiful. The costumes are beautiful. And each dressings was thought according to the personality of each characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
WOW. I never expected this drama to be this good
This drama is amazing. Nirvana in Fire deserves to stand alongside The Untamed. The story, the fighting scenes, the chemistry between the male leads—it’s all top-notch, I almost dropped it in the beginning, just like I did with The Untamed, but thanks to all the fans on MDL, their comments really helped!What can I say—Nirvana in Fire feels like The Untamed Season 2, even though the stories are different. I’m a bit disappointed that Season 2 of Nirvana in Fire with different cast.
There is a little bit of romance in Nirvana in Fire (maybe only 2%), but trust me, the female lead is not annoying at all—she’s a strong woman. I like her. There are no intimate scenes, but I completely fell in love with the brotherhood and the action scenes in this drama.
Highly recommended!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Cast: - You will love the main character, I mean who doesn't love Hu Ge? I wanted to see more sides to him in this drama. It would have been cool to see different mini versions of the drama with the same plot but just Hu Ge with different characters. Knowing the past of the main character, how would the story developed if he was still aggressive and cunning? Or silly and clumsy? It would have been way cool to see Hu Ge fight in this drama. At first, I didn't get a good glance at the princes and I found that I didn't like her until I had a clearer look at her. She's beautiful! Wished they had more romance. Overall, the acting cast is great, they chose a good set of experienced actors and actresses. You can tell that it's not your typical mediocre cast. The main characters bodyguard was young and could tell he was a newbie but he has more fighting scenes than he does acting/talking scenes.
Music - I didn't pay attention to the music, I just like the opening song which was just music, very enjoyable. Other songs or soundtrack didn't stand out too strong for me.
Rewatch Value - I wouldn't watch this again because most of it is just political scheming. There are probably one or two scenes I'd go back to rewatch, that's it.
Overall - I rated this 7.5 which is a fairly high score for me. There were some things I was really looking forward too but I was left disappointed but it didn't make me hate it. Most reviews for this drama put a 10 and seemed to be absolutely in love with it, I wasn't. But it wasn't terrible.
Was this review helpful to you?
Plot: The series revolves around a man who was betrayed along with his father, family and fellow soldiers by ambitious men both equal and superior in status. Our lead suffered greatly and as a result he was away for a very long time. The series starts off by showing his reentry into the world that wants betrayed him and his effort to seek revenge and clear his family‘s name.
It should be noted the series is predominately about revenge and revealing the wrong that has been done. There is a significant amount of brotherhood and loyalty shown within the series which made it more pleasant.
You will see the normal power-hungry royals and those people who will stop at nothing to please them and maintain their sense of value.
Message: Although it was revenge driven, I do believe that there was a significant message within the series one in which I believe that we can all relate to it in terms of admitting mistakes.
What I liked about the series was that it it had action as well as an intense amount of intellectual plotting. The young male guard was fun to watch.
Well I just like about this series with that it was extremely slow. The people tops slow. They walk slow. They argue slow and they plotted slowly. Everything just seemed so slow. I also feel that it was dragged on way too long. Although there are many significant moments that happened near me and it just felt draggy. Once the major event happened/big reveal happened the show kept going. That being said the last two episodes really added no value to the series. Nothing changed it was really anti-climatic and the ending was just blah.
I actually feel weird saying this but I really did not like our male lead. He did so many things and used people to obtain his goal but he is suppose to be good. He seriously used and betrayed someone who thought that he was a good friend.
On another note, I felt there were loop wholes. How he got to where he was. He just was.
Action: Some
Plotting: endless
Politics: yes
Romance: none present
Good acting: yes
Brotherhood: yes
Betrayal: YES
Karma: slow but yes
Suspense: sort of but not really.
Rewatch for me: nope, too long and slow.
Was this review helpful to you?
I don't understand the hype
I've heard so much hype about this Nirvana in Fire and the sequel Nirvana Fire 2. I watched both. Unimpressed. Overall this series dragged on way too long. I found myself skipping so many parts and sometimes entire episodes. I only sat thru the entire series just to find out what happens to see if the show redeems itself at the end. It did not.Characters: While the acting wasn't bad, I was never truly invested in any of the characters, including the ML. The lead couple had zero chemistry. The only character I rooted for was Concubine Jing (wonderful actress, saw her in Rise of the Phoenixes).
Music: The OST wasn't bad but nothing memorable.
Was this review helpful to you?
-Great Cast!!! I think Im in love with Hu Ge... LOL
-Well shot, the cinematography is quite amazing... it is traditional yet some very active switch shooting style in critical point. (al tho most ppl will not notice it)
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
