Enjoyable but more of the same
I am attracted to this drama because Xiao Zhan is the male lead. And certainly the second male lead Fang YiLun does very well too. Their performance is stellar. A number of other cast are very good too but their parts are of lesser weight. I would sum up to say an excellent cast, beautiful CGI, lovely costume and melodious music especially the ending theme song.The 5 male leads are handsome and the second female lead is very good looking. As for the main female lead, she acts well but is frequently caught in the wrong angle - I could not help but think a nose job could perfect her look. Acting alongside the handsome Xiao Zhan, her look is lacklustre - and they not seem quite compatible. In the entertainment industry, good looks certainly help.
China has a lot of acting talents and musicians. But creativity in story writing seems a bit lacking. All these dramas seem to use the similar themes. When watching this drama, many of the sub plots feel very familiar - I can almost identify in which drama I had seen a similar sub plot. And the ending sucks. I think the drama should end with Yuan destroying the God of Destruction together with Shi Ying and Zhu Yan, and not have dragged on. As commonly happen in Chinese dramas, this drama tries to come up with a clever and impressive ending but ends up with a lousy one.
Dying and resurrection, walking a path of torture to exit a chosen path, misunderstanding because the lovers are not communicating properly, keeping too many secrets and lying for the good of each other, couples fighting each other to the end (as in Fu Yao), a petulant female lead character - do these sound familiar to you? Fantasy dramas should have the most leeway for creativity; it is a shame not to capitalise on it.
So I would conclude: a great production but a rather cliche story.
But nevertheless worth watching if you have the spare time or have not watched much Chinese fantasy dramas in the past to spot more of the same.
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Justice comes at a price
Overall, I rate this drama highly. This detective story was interesting - it was difficult in most part of the drama to pinpoint the real villains and there were some surprises.Zhang Ping, an impoverished orphan who did not know who his parents were, went to the capital city for the imperial examination and ran into Lan Jue. Zhang Ping was an impetuous fanatic who wanted to become a detective with the Imperial Criminal Investigation Bureau. Lan Jue was a well-groomed mandarin who was secretly investigating the case of his father's treason. He believed that his father was righteous and wanted to prove his innocence.
Zhang Ping and Lan Jue started off at loggerheads over the case of a stolen bead on the belt of a foreign merchant. Zhang Ping was convinced that Lan Jue had something to hide and was the one behind this thief. As the drama progressed, they were drawn into the investigation of various murder cases. These eventually led to uncovering a massacre which dated back 20 years and the uncovering of two hidden identities.
What I like about this drama?
- The most important success factor in this drama was: the story was interesting and full of mysteries. Who was the mastermind behind the massacre 20 years ago? And who was the culprit behind the series of murders, and why was he doing these?
- The main leads especially Jing Bo Ran, Song Wei Long and Hong Yao performed their parts very well and so did the rest of the cast.
- The camaraderie and bromance among them were very well played out, with no suggestion of homosexuality - that's how I prefer it. I am not homophobic but do not appreciate display of same sex affection - it does not arouse any empathy with me.
- The story was very tightly woven, so you won't be left wondering how things fit in. And there were no questions unanswered.
- Most importantly, justice was served. I am happy that the mastermind behind the massacre was uncovered and punished. However, I did feel a little sorry for the murderer who was actually a victim of this hideous massacre - for him, the price of justice was high.
What I dislike about this drama?
- Some details were a little laughable. For example, when attacked by a poison mist, the advice was to cover their face with a wet cloth. Had anyone tried this? You don't get killed by the mist but you would get killed by suffocation.
- The English translation of the title is deplorable. A league is a group of people, countries or groups. So Nobleman is a grammatic mistake. The plural version Noblemen should be use. But Zhang Ping was not a nobleman, so this is wrong as well. Then, it could be A League of Noble Men, with the meaning of Noble being honourable. But Gu was not an honourable person. Perhaps a more literal translation, A League of Gentlemen is more appropriate, accepting that Gu was a gentleman despite being a little evil.
I give it a thumbs-up. If you like detective stories or mysteries in a period setting, you would likely enjoy this.
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Korean Rambo?
Yes, there were the underground boxing scenes - that was the only thing similar to the movie Rambo. But the story was far from it and much more meaningful.The story centred around a 20-year autistic old boy whose father died suddenly and his guardianship was passed to his estranged uncle. The father and son ran a cleaning service for the deceased. As the story unfolds, the reasons behind how the differences between his uncle and father happened are revealed, and so was the true relationship between the autistic boy and the father. The unwilling uncle took on the guardianship with his eyes on the only property the father had left behind but much more developed after.
While this was interesting, what was more heart-rending was each of the stories behind each deceased and how the boy insisted on carrying on his father's tradition of helping the deceased fulfilled their most important wishes. This drama helped those who thought they were the most unfortunate people in the world realised that they were often not - in the same way as had happened to the uncle.
The acting is superb especially the 3 main leads. No beautiful costumes and dresses - just simple casual clothes and boring uniforms. No glamourous princes and princesses but the average lower middle class and lower decile individuals. The music only just meet the mark, suited to the story. And I might not watch this again. But I enjoyed this drama tremendously - it was more meaningful than a lot of other highly rated drama I had watched and therefore I decided to give it a full 10.
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A lovely romance story
This fantasy drama appeared on my YouTube recommendation, likely because I watched a lot of Chinese dramas. Initially I was not quite sure I wanted to start on this. In this era where names like Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Luo Yunxi, Dilraba, Zhao Lusi, Bai Lu etc dominate the drama scenes, it was difficult to envisage that the lesser known actors and actresses like Sun Yi, Jin Han and Tan Jian Ci would lead any top tier dramas. But I was pleasantly surprised. Once I started on episode 1, I was captivated. However, don't watch the version on YouTube - it mute whenever the music is playing and you will miss a lot - search for a website with the music and opening theme song intact.The story started with WenXin as the sole survivor of a brutal rebellion started by General Lu YuanTong, that lasted 7 years. When she was finally killed, she met a mysterious spirit Er Yu who sent her back to 8 years ago as she wanted to stop the rebellion and prevent the deaths and destructions she had seen. Back to the past, the first person she met was Feng Xi, a charming mandarin who was smitten by her and gave her the name DongYue as she could not recall who she was. When she regained her memory, she warned him that his subordinate and himself would be killed by the General.
Unwilling to be associated with a corrupt mandarin, she left Feng Xi to strike out on her own and walked into the third prince Pang Yu. As she retained the memories of her previous life, she told him that a snow storm was coming which would stop the drought in the capital. He did not believe her initially as it was middle of summer until she was proven right. DongYue built for herself a reputation of a half-deity as she was not only able to tell the 'future'; she could heal herself when injured by dipping in water. The story got complicated as FengXi and Prince Pang Yu were linked by a secret of the past, FengXi was not what he appeared to be, and both of them fell in love with her. Times and again, it looked like DongYue was unable to stop some events from happening. So would she succeed in preventing the rebellion that lasted 7 years and prevent FengXi from being killed?
What I like about this drama?
- the romantic setting: it was a combination of the on-screen chemistry between the male and female leads, the endearing looks between them, the backdrop, the verbal exchanges, the cinematography and the music that conjured up this romantic feeling.
- there were very few music pieces in the drama, but they were all very good, especially the opening theme song and the flute - I love them.
- the on-screen between the female lead and the two male leads were fantastic. It was difficult to tell initially who she would choose.
- the male leads are handsome. Jin Han (Feng Xi) is a bit unusual in his look with his slitty eyes and a high nose bridge - not the typical look of a Chinese actor. And Tan Jian Ci (third prince) has this innocent but sad look about him which fitted the character very well. And of course, the actresses are very pretty.
What I do not like about this drama? There are very little I do not like the drama except for the following:
- Like a lot of Chinese drama, the ending was always a bit disappointing - it was open-ended leaving the audience to guess whether the woman waiting for the hero in his garden was the heroine. And if it was, why did she return and how?
- If DongYue continued to exist and WenXin was still a young girl, so there were actually two WenXin co-existing? In a way, it was clever, now both male lead characters would end up with the woman they loved, as the young girl had chosen the other 'side'.
- I do not like that the capable ended up not working for the emperor - wasted talent.
I think this drama is underrated on mydramalist.com. But reading some of the reviews, I guess you may end up either loving or hating this drama. Nevertheless I highly recommend it.
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'Sob' opera - Tears of the Crane
This drama focussed on the romance between Crown Prince Xiao Ding-Quan, an out of favour prince and Lu Wen-Xi who was trying to save her father and brother. The synopsis on mydramalist.com is fairly accurate, so you can always read that to get an idea of what the story is about - not always true for some dramas. So I shall focus on my reaction to this drama.The chemistry between Luo Jin (the Crown Prince) and Li YiTong (Lu WenXi) was amazing. And their tears were like a tap that they could turn on and off at will. Overall the cast was outstanding and played their parts well. The silly Zhang Shao Yun (acted by Dong Chun Hui) is worth a mention - he looked clueless and was quite pitiful as his love for WenXi was not reciprocated and was eventually framed by her. And so did the actor who did the role of the eunuch - this seasoned old actor was amazing especially toward the end of the drama.
I have always like Luo Jin's acting - very realistic and very expressive - especially after watching Princess WeiYang and this drama. Unfortunately I think he is becoming one of the more mature actors who are getting forgotten as the newer faces like Xiao Zhan, Wang YiBo and Gong Jun steal the limelight.
For Li YiTong, there were some mixed reviews of her acting skills. But I must say she was absolutely brilliant in this drama. One of the problems perhaps was she was always acting the well-behaved well-bred ancient ladies - characters that are not quite that exciting. This drama suited her as there were a lot of emotional scenes and she reacted them well, although as yet another well-bred lady.
I was not quite keen on the story. It was very intense with a lot of heart-rending scenes. Generally I do not like dramas where the villain always win and the good are always placed on the defensive. This drama was on my watch list for a long time before I started on the drama - as I knew it was going to be heavy. The Crown Prince was repeatedly sabotaged by his elder brother who was vying for the throne, and his cronies. The emperor favoured the eldest son but kept Ding-Quan as crown prince because of his promise to the late empress' brother, General Gu for his help in seizing the throne. He was a jealous father who felt that his son was closer to his maternal uncle who commanded a 200,000 strong army than him.
The reason Lu WenXi stayed at the palace seemed quite lame as she did not play a big role in helping her father's and brother's case. Time and again she was supposed to leave but stayed on for some equally lame reasons. In the drama, she was repeatedly blamed for crimes she did not commit and was severely physically punished - but of course that always open up opportunities for the hero to save the damsel in distress.
The last few episodes were just sobbing and draggy. I think the writer could have ended the drama five episodes earlier. The complicated plot that Lu WenXi fabricated to get the villains to confess their crime dragged it on for a few more episodes and finally lead to the finale, and also sealed her fate as she could not now reveal her identity. I think China has a lot of acting talents; but drama scripts always lack realism.
All other elements are great - gorgeous costumes, beautiful backdrop and excellent cinematography and one of the ending theme songs was lovely.
For a title, I would call it 'Tears of the Crane' which would be closer to the Chinese title instead of 'Royal Nirvana'. In Buddhism, nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism. (I am not a buddhist but checked out the meaning.) This story was far from it. Crane in this drama represented the Crown Prince, and he was always crying.
In spite of my criticism of the story, the drama managed to make me stayed up for several late nights as I was keen to find out what was going to happen next. If you do not have depression and enjoy heart-rending dramas, this is a drama worth watching.
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Romance story
Cheng Shi and Xiao YuanYi left their youngest daughter Cheng ShaoShang (pet name Niao Niao) to the care of her gender-bias grandmother and wicked Aunt Ge when they went to war. She was ill-treated and grew up uneducated, uncouth, rebellious, scheming, distrustful and insecure - all the negatives you could think of for a young girl. But it also trained her to be very independent; by nature she was precocious, intelligent, and kind-hearted.In this part 1 of the drama, her parents finally returned and her father was awarded the title Marquis. Her mother realised the ultimate nightmare any parent could have with their young daughter and tried to trained her but was met with great resentment and resistance.
Finding it difficult to educate her, the mother sent her away with her paternal uncle and wife as they travelled to Hua County to take up his governor position. This aunt doted on her and the love-deprived Niao Niao was more receptive to learning from her than her strict and military-style mother. Along the way, she developed a very cosy relationship with Lou Yao from a complicated aristocratic family, who pandered to her wishes and spoiled her. Breaking from an engagement to his spoiled temperamental fiancee, he proposed marriage to Niao Niao who was happy to be leaving her family and Yao was keen to leave his as well.
Earlier on, Niao Niao had caught the eyes of the highly educated and talented Yuan Shen and the emperor's adopted son Ling BuYi , a fearless general known for his ruthlessness. Both were handsome, highly accomplished and very popular with the aristocratic and high society ladies. The former was impressed by her intelligence and the latter for her 'righteous' help to arrest her maternal granduncle.
As with a lot of dramas, the story went through numerous twist and turns. At the end of Part I, Niao Niao was eventually engaged to one but she resented the marriage proposal imposed on her. What is going to happen?
What I like about this drama?
- The one thing that made the audiences very happy in this story was the righteous always win and it had no hang-ups on replacing the incapable for the capable.
- Of course, the two main leads - Leo Wu (Wu Lei) and Zhao Lusi - their on-screen chemistry was amazing.
- All the hygiene factors - excellent cast, lovely costume, backdrop, cinematography.
- The grandmother who was both annoying and funny.
- The rivalry for Niao Niao was heart-breaking as well as interesting to watch.
What I do not like about this drama?
- Most of what I do not like about this drama was in Part two, which I will cover next.
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Wow... fantastic production
Three women (and good friends) of low social status was driven to the capital of Kaifeng during the Song dynasty due to unfortunate circumstances in their love and married lives. This is a period known for high class consciousness, highly conservative values and prejudice against women, especially those from the lowly slave class. They struggled to setup and run a business, and pitted their wits against commercial bullying and political sabotages.Zhao Pan-er's father was punished for disobeying orders as a general and was killed. As a young girl, she was branded as a lowly slave and was trained as a dancer to entertain senior government officers but was eventually freed from her slave class. Intelligent and commercially savvy, she ran a successful teahouse for a living along with San-niang. While helping a scholar to prepare for the imperial exam, they fell in love. The scholar pledged to marry her when he passed the imperial exam, and they were engaged. Unfortunately, good news came along with bad. He was ranked as the second scholar and he was matched made to marry the daughter of a high ranking officer. Not believing that he was a faithless man, she was determined to travel to the capital to confirm the truth.
Sun San-Niang formerly worked as a butcher and built great physical strength. She was also a very good cook and a good mother. Her biggest ambition was for her son to succeed in the imperial exam when he grew up, so she could be awarded a set of tiara and ceremonial gown as the mother of a scholar. Unfortunately, her husband had other plans and fostered her son to his late cousin's wife on the pretext that his son would inherit the cousin's estate. He divorced San-niang when she discovered that they were having an affair. To add salt to her wound, her son chose to take side with the foster mother as she pampered him in contrast to his mother who forced him to attend school and do well academically. Greatly hurt, she jumped into the river in a suicide attempt.
Song Yin-Zhang was the top pipa (lute) player in the Qiantang province. Being a performer, she was also regarded as from a lowly status class. Anxious to be freed from her registered status, she ran eloped with a 'wealthy' merchant, against the advice of Pan-er whom she regarded as her sister. She was unfortunately mistreated as her new husband tried to extort money from her.
Gu Qian-Fan, a commander in the Imperial Capital Bureau, was well-known for being ruthless and earned the nickname, 'Living Hades'. He was assigned to investigate rumours in the capital and to trace a painting which would reveal a great secret against the Empress who had been assisting the Emperor in court matters and was hated by the ministers fighting for power. While on this mission, he was made the scapegoat for the murder of a minister and his family.
Zhao and Gu were at loggerheads with each other as Zhao hated the Imperial Capital Bureau which arrested her father. However, along the trip to the capital, they crossed each other's path and had to help each other to get to their destination.
Would these unfortunate souls survived and eventually find they love they deserved? Who exactly was Gu? Why did the new prime minister help him?
What I like about this drama?
1. It depicted the gender prejudice during that era and how three women braved the odds in their lives to run a successful restaurant. While at the same time, there were a lot of light-hearted moments. You might expect it to be quite dark for a theme like this, but it is not. Unlike some dramas where the villain always wins throughout, this drama is the oppose.
2. The chemistry between the lead actor and actress as well as that between the secondary leads was phenomenal.
3. The dance performance at the opening of the restaurant was the best I have seen in all dramas (I have watched a lot).
4. This drama is full of good looking actors and actresses - Chen Xiao (Gu), Liu YiFei (Zhao), Xu Hai Qiao (the villain), Liu Yan (Sun) and Fei Xia (Song). Call me shallow, but good looking actors and actresses with good acting skills always make a big difference to a drama.
5. The flirtation between Gu and Zhao - subtle initially and more obvious later. The exchange of words was so poetic in episode 5 when Gu visited Zhao at the inn, if you can understand Mandarin.
6. Liu YiFei playing the seductress to hoodwink ZhouShe in the story - she was absolutely superb.
7. Excellent overall production: lovely cinematography, excellent cast, beautiful costumes, well choreographed dances, lovely opening and closing theme songs - very well executed from the beginning to the end.
8. Last and not least, it earned my empathy and tears not from a dying scene of the hero or heroine (a departure from the usual) but from the appeal against the prejudice of that age.
What I dislike of this drama? As with most dramas, it was not without questionable moments. Here is my nitpicking:
1. Gu was severely injured during one of the scenes. Zhao appeared to help him, took a flare from him and fired it for help. Wonder why Gu did not fire it earlier himself when the assassins appeared and not get himself so badly injured.
2. Song Yin-Zhang's playing of the pipa is completely out of sync with the music. It appeared she knew nothing about playing the pipa and was not even musically trained.
3. The opening and ending theme songs were lovely but I wish there were more musical moment in the drama.
The story appeared quite straightforward. But still it would keep you glued in front of the screen, trying to find out what might happen next. I am rewatching it as I write this review.
Highly recommended. This is the best drama I have watched over the last 2 years.
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The true hero is the loser in the love triangle
Amazingly good. This drama is underrated on Mydramalist. I watched a lot of dramas - this is the first that made me stayed until 3 am - I am usually quite disciplined in managing my screen hours. This drama appears to be an entertaining light-weight comedy during the early part of the series but gradually reveals heavy weight corrupt politicians and evil-masterminds, and the mood become sober.What I commonly observed of dramas produced in China over the last decade are good looking cast with excellent acting skills, beautiful cinematography and lovely costumes - the 'technical' aspects. There are so many outstanding good-looking acting talents in China. Lovely theme songs are common among the better produced. Although there are a lot of good creative stories among Chinese dramas, realism is often lacking. Stories development still tends to be the weakest link with a lot of weak spots, influenced by strange old school martial art ideas like flying swordsman, energy transfer, strange cures etc. These are stuff that I accept and appreciate in fantasy dramas but not in realism dramas. And it is always convenient the hero always suddenly appears from nowhere to save the damsel in distress - there should be a reason the hero is there.
What I like about this drama is it does not have flying swordsman, energy transfer and quite realistic in its setting. The closing theme song is lovely. It has two gorgeously handsome male leads - Leon Lai (Yi) and Allen Fang (Yi Lun) - and pretty actresses. Hope to see Leon and Allen more often as leads. A triangle love story is a major part of the drama - with the true hero being the loser in the love story. The cinematography and costumes are good. What is obviously badly managed is the cut - there is an obvious disruption in the series which suggests some censorship had happened.
For a country with heavy censorship, the film industry has obviously depended on other creative factors to produce successful dramas, other than using sex to sell, and has done well. It is a renaissance in recent film-making Chinese history
It is worth watching and I may watch it again later.
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I watched it a second time and enjoyed it better initially. I thought I would come back and improve my ratings but changed my mind during the last one-third of the drama. The pace slowed, and became very verbose and draggy. As most of the mysteries were already uncovered, there were not much holding my attention. Although there was an unexpected revelation towards the end, it did not add to the suspense during the drama. As it proceed further, it felt even boring as events were more of the same.
I am not impressed with the female characters - pretty but mostly dumb - not the type I am impressed with.
The story was haphazard with a lot of contradictions, many times within the same episode. It almost seemed like the story was made up as the drama was produced and moved along. However, it would still keep you captivated as you want to know what is going on.
There was a lot of crying and tantrums as each character insisted on doing things their way to the extend I find it tiring to watch - just want to slap them. The drama had failed to stir any emotion in me.
Characters in the story are suicidal and masochistic - not healthy mental states.
The heavenly emperors are so bureaucratic that at times I sympathise with the demon king.
I heard this so many times in the drama - 'you go; no, we go together' - just to create some suspense as danger was imminent and the characters are engaged in this tag-of-war. It was so cliche.
If you make season 2, please improve the script.
Overall, not too impressed with how the story is put together but I am giving it an 8 for the strong cast.
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The scheming good-looking prince was a key attraction to the drama but it ends there. As usual, there is a love triangle but the chemistry between the lead actress and her assistant was quite poor.
How the girl was lured to becoming an assassin and who was behind the assassin cult were interesting. But how her lover turned out to be yet another prince and how he conducted the affairs of a battle were a little lame - almost a case of a lose-lose situation.
If the story was better developed, it could have been a great drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
It is the on-screen chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba that shines through
There are a lot of negative reviews about this drama on mydramalist.com, which is a surprise to me. I think this period drama is underrated here. I thoroughly enjoy the drama and think that it is very well produced, although I must say there are some sub-plots that could have been better. Part of the reason I am able to accept the drama better is I have not read the original novel and do not have the loyalty baggage to the original story.What I like about this drama:
1. The initial few episodes are hilarious as Ren Anle (Dilraba) flirts shamelessly with the Crown Prince in a bid to get his attention and to get close to him. Her boldness is really humorous.
2. The story keeps you in suspense: will the fake Ziyuan succeed in marrying the Crown Prince? Will the Ziyuan camp succeed in getting justice for the Di family? Is the enemy Qin infiltrator going to undermine the defence of the Jing? Of course, I already know some parts of the story from the trailers released. But it is more of how the story would develop and whether the good guys would be hurt before they win.
3. I am one who have been quite hardened by the emotional tricks used in dramas, as I watched too many of them and mostly the good ones. But when MingXi (Liu YuNing), the second male lead, is executed because of diverting the army to save ZiYuan (Dilraba) and violating the military order, it really rend my heart. The chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba really shines through. Dilraba does marvellously well as she weeps over MingXi's death. This scene manages to stir up my rather stagnated emotions.
4. In dramas I had watched earlier of Liu are he was always acting the bad guy. But this time, he is an upright capable but sickly man holding onto what he is entrusted with. I hope this drama is going to elevate his acting career further. He wins my sympathy and this is one drama where I would have been quite happy for the lead female character to marry the second male lead instead, because he deserves it for all he has done for her.
5. The ending theme song is rhythmic and melodious and the lyrics are beautiful and Liu has a beautiful voice. It is also very apt that Liu sings the ending theme song - the lyrics seem to be singing about MingXi's dedication to ZiYuan rather than the Crown Prince's dedication to her.
6. LinLang's dancing, particularly of the initial few episodes is very well choreographed, instead of some lame duck dances I see in many dramas.
7. Seeing the emperor as a loving father (although not a terrific emperor) - is a refreshing break from the usual story of a emperor father suspicious of his crown prince son.
8. Of course, the other hygiene factors are also present: the CGI, and the costumes, and a good looking cast who acts their part well.
What I think are a bit lacklustre in this drama:
1. Gong Jun acts the Crown Prince whose character is a bit uptight, so it hinders the on-screen chemistry between him and Dilraba, the female lead. He is always playing the dodge with her. When situation like this happens, it always compromise the on-screen chemistry. But they both act their part very well.
2. I nearly stop watching the drama after the episode when ZiYuan presents the case of the Di family's innocence as it seems the climax is over. Then the start of the war when the enemy is attacking after thoroughly infiltrated the Jing's defence begins a new chapter.
3. However, from the point when Han Ye, the Crown Prince, takes over the defence pushing ZiYuan away, the story become quite stupid. As a rather meticulous and clever man, he chooses to fatalistically stand alone against the on-slaughter of the massive Qin army. He could have plan better: save the people he cares for and wins the war. And cliches after cliches happens: falling off the cliff and goes missing, becoming blind and then regain the sight. What really trips me is the hair turning white: a fashion returning this year. I call these cheap thrills - conveniently added to dramatise the story but with very little new creativity.
4. There are more insults to the intelligence of the audience: pretending to be marrying someone else to draw out the true lover - surely this is the best way to push away someone who is already keeping away; hiding away ignoring that they might be hurting the people including the father, who care about them.
5. And then there is this: keep the truth from the person they most care for, when they have done so much for them. When there is credit, claim it for goodness sake. When the credit is not yours, don't.
6. The ending trailer gives too much of the story away. So when it happens in the drama, it dampens the effects.
7. At MingXi's death amidst fireworks in the background, there could be more to stir up the emotions - opportunity missed.
But overall, it is a lovely romance and suspense story. So watch it and enjoy. I am debating whether it should be a 9 or 9.5. Well, 9.5 wins.
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As with a lot of Chinese dramas, it does well on the hygiene factors: beautiful scenery and computer graphics, strong cast (with both Yang Zi and LiYing Zhao in it), good looking actors and actresses, lovely costumes, lovely music. But the story is somewhat lacklustre - it is just a regular story of guy from good sect and girl from demon sect falling in love and faced a rough journey to be together.
There are a lot of frustrating moments/elements:
1. The first: too long. Series 2 is a continuation and the total of the 2 series is 73 episodes. As expected, when a drama is that long, there are a lot of draggy moments and flashbacks, to fill the time.
2. The evil always survived and lived to create further havoc. It was not until the second series that they were killed off one by one.
3. The main lead was always doing good but the top sector leaders failed to see it, busy with their adherence to rules and rather questionable principles. But instead trusted all the traitors. A bit like the bureaucracy of a large organisation.
4. It is all the cliche stuff - save the damsel in distress or the guy in distress. Not all that well executed for it to feel romantic.
5. The 2 lead characters were all ready to die for each other, and so are the 2 wolf demons. But really, life is that romantic? And Xiao Fen did not even turn his head at the beautiful Lu except for a short brief moment when he met her at the gathering for briefing at the competition?
6. It is all about loyalty. Again, really? Loyalty, adhering to promises and gratitude are good values but should not blind anyone to right or wrong. Xiao Fen's stubborn silence about his weapon and martial art was a the verge of stupidity.
7. Very judgemental and self-righteous: expecting the other person to act as they wanted them to and believing they knew what was best for them, regardless of the wish of the individual. When they refused, they are labelled stubborn. Jing Yu went as far as to sabotage his bro and leaked his seeking the resurrection stone to the enemies because he did not want him to save Bi Yao, indirectly causing his turning away from Qing Yun.
6 and 7 could be about the Chinese culture but 7 is definitely not pretty.
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Highly humorous and secrets keep unraveling...
This drama was highly humorous. I watched it a second time and added this first paragraph. After five years, I could not remember many of the sub-plots while watching season 2. Season 2 made a lot of references to events in season 1. Then I realised how good this drama was. Exchanges were witty and the characters were scheming enough. I kept wonder what Fan Xian was going to do next when sabotaged.If you are reading this review to figure out whether you should watch this period drama, I say I highly recommend it. It had all the hygiene factors of an excellent drama - interesting story, excellent acting, handsome lead actors, pretty actresses, lovely costumes, beautiful cinematography and melodious theme songs - elements that many contemporary Chinese dramas exhibit. The story around the lead character was mysterious. Things were always not what it seemed to be. Just as the story unveiled a perpetrator behind the assassination of Fan Xian, another revelation was uncovered. This is only season 1, and the story ended at less than the mid-point of the story.
However, if you are watching this because of Xiao Zhan, then you might be disappointed. He only appeared towards the last few episodes and he was a far cry from his outstanding performance in the Untamed. The role in this story did not suit him at all. The character was like a block of wood and did not give him the chance to perform his best. It is likely he would appear in future seasons and I hope he does better.
Chinese dramas can be very creative but in general tend to demonstrate a lot of weaknesses in the stories as well. In this drama, the link of the story to the writer and professor was quite redundant. Even if this link was removed, the drama could have proceeded well, so creating this link was really not necessary.
The actress playing the part of Fan Xiao's mother was a rather poor fit. When the episode showed her coming out of the mysterious temple, I was expecting the dramatic appearance of someone exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, but was rather disappointed to find a seemingly silly teenage girl with crooked teeth. She might have done well in a role of a bubbly teenage girl but did not fit the important role of Fan Xian's mum who was to have an immense impact on the politics and a highly successful business woman. Since it was a very short appearance, it seemed like she was just conveniently roped in - perhaps the more established actresses do not want the role.
I think details in the stories are something that Chinese dramas need to work on to perfect their dramas. Even successful epics often demonstrate illogical bits, highly stretched parts that do not gel together well or scenes conveniently thrown together to make the story progress as desired. Someone needs to fine-combed through the scripts to sieve out these bits without dampening the story, or better still, enhance it.
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Absolutely nonsensical, hilarious and entertaining
This drama is outrageously funny and wildly entertaining. I laughed so hard I nearly went hoarse, especially during the earlier episodes. The premise is delightfully absurd: an actress is pulled into the very drama she is supposed to be acting in. As if that were not enough, even the scriptwriter gets dragged in—and to make it even crazier, the rules within the script keep changing.Yet, amid all the hilarity, the drama also makes you cry out in frustration. You watch the Emperor, General Chu, and Prince Rui mistreat Prince Nan Heng for a crime he never committed. When a nation is ruled by muddleheaded leaders who neither seek the truth nor protect the innocent, disaster is inevitable. Heng’s true love, Song Yi Meng, does everything she can to avoid marrying him. Prejudiced by the original script she read—where he was portrayed as a villain who faked love for political gain—she cannot see his sincerity.
But in this dreamlike twist, the script changes. Heng falls deeply and genuinely in love with her. It is amusing to see the women in this story boss their men around, though I am not convinced that, in real life, any man would remain so devoted to such sharp-tongued shrews. So, young women, take note: do not be fooled by this drama—real life does not work that way! Of course, one could argue that both Nan Heng and Shang Guan He are men weighed down by their own insecurities. Song Yi Meng, despite refusing to marry Heng, had already shown him her true love in countless ways throughout the drama. As for Shang Guan, his vulnerability lies in yearning to be cherished by a woman of higher social standing—an ache for validation as much as for love.
The soundtrack deserves special mention. Liu Yu Ning’s song is breathtakingly beautiful. True to form, he once again claims the best theme song, whether he is in the cast or not—and rightly so, as his voice brings it alive. Both Liu Yu Ning and Li Yi Tong dazzled in their parade of costumes. Li Yi Tong, in particular, looked stunning; her headpieces suited her perfectly and accentuated her charm.
At first, I assumed this would be lightweight fare, just another drama about actors falling into the worlds they perform in—stories that often turn out mediocre. But this one surprised me. In the original script, the heroine was doomed to a bizarre death. Here, however, you are left constantly wondering: will the story stick to the original or deviate? And if it changes, how? Can the characters’ efforts really alter fate?
All in all, this is a drama well worth watching. It is hilarious, entertaining, and addictive enough to make me binge-watch—and not many dramas can achieve that.
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No women's right here
Yang Zi is definitely one of the best contemporary Chinese actress. She is always able to strike up excellent chemistry with her co-actors. I first saw her in Ashes of Love about seven years ago. She was good then and I think her acting skills have improved over the years as well. Her onscreen chemistry with Li Xian (as Jiang Chang Yang) was outstanding. Li Xian's cheekiness was very amusing and entertaining. The second male lead was very good as well, with his portrayal of sadness, grief and disappointment. Overall the cast was excellent.Costume and make-up were a good portrayal of the Tang dynasty fashion scene. Historical facts were good. East and West markets existed in ancient Chang-an (XiAn today) - there were two major markets - the East sold mainly domestic and high end goods, and the West was more of foreign trade. (I visited XiAn last year and can testify to this historical accuracy.)
Story was very interesting. The drama depicted the difficulty of women during those time - bullied while running a business, forced to be subservient to the men in their lives and treated as a second class.
Soundtrack was lovely: the opening instrument piece and the ending theme song were beautiful. Also, the dances were some of the best in Chinese dramas - I actually enjoyed watching them. In the past, I termed the dances in Chinese dramas lame duck dances.
In the drama, He Wei Fang (acted by Yang Zi) was fooled into marrying into the Liu family to Liu Chang. Her in-laws believed a fortune-teller that her horoscope would bring great fortune to their family. She was robbed of her dowry and almost killed as the in-laws were after her family's money. Pretending to be dead, she found her way to the capital city Chang-An, tried to make a living and was nearly raped.
She ran into Jiang Chang Yang, a close friend and entertainment officer of the Emperor. Jiang seemingly was a happy-go-lucky guy who was corrupt and only interested in amassing money. On the pretext that he wanted Wei Fang (aka Peony) to help him made money through her flower-growing skills, he helped her set up her business. Along the way, it was obvious that he was falling in love with her. Emotionally damaged by his parents' relationship and in self-denial, he continued to pretend that it was all about money.
Complications set-in as Peony's husband, Liu Chang, discovered that she was still alive and he was in love with her. Her in-laws had their eyes on the county princess as their new daughter-in-law and set out to sabotage Peony's business and get her into trouble with the law. She was declared a slave in the court.
Human dynamics were interesting. Peony teamed up with Qin Sheng Yi to start their business. But Qin's character was a direct opposite of hers - brought up in a family that undermined a woman's status in society, she was emotionally weak, insecure and had a severe inferiority complex. Liu Chang was a proud, stubborn, upright but weak person. In spite of being in love with Peony, he could not stand up against his parents' choice of daughter-in-laws. I also suspect he desired woman he could not get - forbidden fruits taste sweeter to him.
This story was interesting and high on action. Pace was also well managed throughout - not too slow and not to hurried. Music was good and apt.
Overall, it was an excellent production. I rewatched the drama and re-rated it a 10 instead of 9.5.
The English translation of Chinese drama titles are always a bit odd as it is difficult to work out a direct translation between the English and Chinese languages without losing the poetic feel in Chinese . I think The Beauty of a Nation would sound much better or less ideally Beauty and Youth.
The ending was open ended. We were left to wonder whether Jiang and Peony would eventually truly marry, what would Liu Chang do next and whether the Emperor and Jiang would succeed in their conspiracy. A sequel is being produced according to Yang Zi and I cannot wait to watch the continuation of the story and hope it has an convincing ending. I hope it won't have a lame ending.
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