KiKo Tsukino

This was an enjoyable watch that got me into E-Sports!

I got into watching this because of Xu Kai, since he's become one of my favourite actors, and I wanted to watch something while waiting for Ancient Love Poetry episodes to be uploaded. So I decided to watch this one. The story did started off slow at first for me, and the romance takes a bit slow to build into the story, but the characters/story is really loveable. I love ZGDX and the members in there are all very loveable to me. The second couple story, is quite enjoyable too.

Once again, Xu Kai acting on his character, Lu Si Cheng does not disappoint, I love how he leads his team and give advises when they are doing playing E-sports against other players, he can be quite intimating at times hahaha XDD But when he smiles, and when he acts sweets, he's very adorable to me. He have a very nice smile IMO. I also love the way he expresses his love for Tong Yao, like he is really good at showing me, that when he starts to love her (which you can evidently see it), he really does these little things to show his love, which is nice, and honestly I don't have any complaints about his love for her.

But for Tong Yao, I don't know, I feel like she lacks something for me, I feel like the way she shows me her 'in love' with Lu Si Cheng, I don't really feel the chemistry, well aside from the story says that they're together and she loves him, I don't get that from the actress, Cheng Xiao, in expressing her love. So that's something I don't quite enjoy. But ignoring that, I don't mind the pair, they are still enjoyable to me, thanks to Xu Kai's great acting, and his ability to show his emotions/love when portraying his character.

The ending finale, of the Esports game, against YQCB in the finals championships, have me at the edge of my seat, in terms of how the game ended, it was done beautifully, no complaints there! But in terms of the main cp ending, it is more of an happy open ending, so that was not very satisfying if I was fan to that pair, but since I am not, then it's okay for me, no hard feelings (lol), since I know that they will be together, if I was a fan to the pair Lu Si Cheng and Tong Yao, then I would have wanted a closure for them since that's a must when it comes to my favourite pairing. But the second couple got their happy ending since they got their wedding, so that was nice.

Rewatch Value: I will be rewatching this again from time to time, since it's an enjoyable watch for me. If you're interested in giving something light-hearted to watch, you can check out this drama!

Read More

Unnecessary deaths for the side characters done in a very unappealing way

First of all, I will make myself clear that I didn't watch the Donghua or read the Manhua. Nor did I watched Red Moon Pact. I only jump into this because I saw this Drama on my recommendation online and Neo Hou is in this one (but alas, he was a cameo and he died in episode 2).

Second of all, I will make this clear for those who read this review of mines, if you love the drama and give this a 10/10 then good for you, congrats for finding something you love and enjoyed, when I said this I am being genuine, and not sarcastic, I won't judge you for loving this drama, BUT if you judge me for not liking this drama towards the end in writing perspective, and not giving this a full 10/10 then I WILL judge you for this because you are judging me first and not respecting how we all are entitled to our own preferences on what we like and dislikes.

We all watch the same drama, but can interpret certain scenes differently, just because we find certain scenes questionable, it doesn't mean we didn't pay attention to the explanation provided BUT it just means we don't agree with it, and we question why the writers have to handled it this way since it could be done better.

Now, with all that being said, time for my review, and I will try to maybe summarize my feelings, and will (try!) to keep my review short (although I doubt it since I have a tendency to express in lengthy reviews to express my feelings).

Acting-wise, I won't go into the full cast, since that will be long (like I said, I will try to keep this short). There's a few familiar faces here, and one of them, I will have to say Joe Ma. He surprised me to see him in this drama since I grew up watching him in TVB (Hong Kong) dramas, but in this one, he was given a role as Wangquan (Hong Ye and Zui's father). Although he can be considered more as a guest actor in this one.

Zhang Yun Long did an excellent job in portraying Wangquan Hong Ye. I actually didn't mind the mask he was wearing at the beginning since it makes it more mysterious than just a half face mask like the others was wearing. In terms of pairing chemistry, I do like him with Dongfang Huaizhu (played by Liu Shishi). But I didn't like the kiss scenes between them because they are those "dead fish" kiss scenes as we call it. So honestly, if they can't give us a decent kiss scene, than perhaps it is good to go without it imo, since they still have chemistry with expressing their love without these kiss scenes so that in itself, shows them having chemistry.

Ding Yuxi role as Zhang Zheng is among my favourite character in this Drama, I found him appealing at the beginning when he made his brief appearance and I was looking forward to his scenes. When we finally got those scenes, I came to like him even more and his backstory with Mu Yuan (played by Meng Ziyi). They have a nice backstory that built up to them being together as a couple, and I was so excited for Zhang Zheng to finally join the Mask Group, since I always wanted him to, so you bet how happy I was when he was finally part of the Mask Group. But that happiness didn't last because how the writers handled his ending really just ignored all the growth and developments he went through, which is why I found it so off-putting that they have Zhang Zheng (played by Ding Yuxi) go through that growth to FINALLY accept and allow himself to be happy and right after that he was killed off. What pissed me off and annoys me is he wouldn't have died like that if it weren't for Mu Yuan(the woman he loves) being manipulated and controlled by the Black Fox... I hate these tropes to have the couple from one side kill the other.. that's the worst kind of ending for me...

I was totally cheering and praising Zhang Zheng for breaking free of his own inner darkness and then he got given that ending... He didn't lost or died because he was weak against the Black Fox (since he was able to break free from the control and manipulation) he died because he was killed by the woman(Mu Yuan) he loves, because he didn't want to attack or kill her and he let his guard down when she put that sword through him and when she pushed it in even further, I don't want to watch it anymore!!!

What's worst is, the writer wrote a similar scenario for my other favourite couple, being Yitan and Wangquan Zui. This pairing is really likeable, and I really hope they got their happy ending but this was another pairing the writers made one side kill the other due to the manipulation.

I honestly hate these tropes and I cannot express just how much it actually ruined the pairing strong love for each other because it really made me question was their love for the other person not strong enough to overcome the darkness at all? They didn't even display a sign of struggle to show they want to break out of the control on their side... Was there no light or love in them at all to show their struggles in wanting to overcome this darkness when they are facing the person they love?! But how it ended was their love wasn't strong enough and the darkness took full control where both Mu Yuan and Yitan kill the one person they love....

The writers really did give them the worst ending possible and yeah I hate how it turned out and nothing can change how I feel about those two scenes of having the pairing of one side kill the other...

Also, I felt part of their downfall was because of Yitan was being controlled when he broke their barrier....but then he was being controlled, so can't blame him(?!) BUT it doesn't mean I enjoy it because I didn't like it on my end for what happened.

Give me a break honestly, they all just happened at the same time, that it is hard to sink all this in!! These Deaths and being killed off on our beloved characters is SO UNJUSTIFIABLE, and they are NOT my favourite trope when characters I like being controlled and do things that will hurt them in the long run!

You know what the irony here is? when people were complaining about the deaths of the side characters in Moonlight Mystique but at least in Moonlight Mystique, the death has meaning behind it, and it is not killing off for the sake of killing off and each character deaths have an important role to shine, also, in Moonlight Mystique, they were given hope they will come back later but in Love in Pavilion?! NO, they are gone/dead!!

In Love in Pavillion, how their deaths was handled is everyone just died so tragically in the worst way possible and it makes us question and brings realization to us that their death wouldn't have happened if they believe in that light in their heart where they can break free of Black Fox darkness. Just like evidently how Zhang Zheng had darkness entered into him, but he managed to break free from Black Fox manipulation because he was strong enough, but the others who gets manipulated (and controlled) is like a contrast to how each person have darkness (or hatred) inside of them, which gives Black Fox the ability to take control of them. I don't like this, I mean I get the logic behind it, but how the writers handled it like this (the deaths of everyone in the mask group except Wangquan Hongye and Qu Zhou) is NOT my cup of tea. They are my honest feelings here.

So as much as I like and enjoyed the drama at the beginning to midpoint, the drama just went downhill and lose a lot of points towards the end. After they killed of Zhang Zheng, Mu Yuan, Yitan and Wangquan Zui, I already don't feel like finishing it but I kept to it since I love the main pairing but then again the writers have to do questionable things that made me question 'Why!' And they were certain actions I don't like what I saw in how the plot was handled in 'that scene' when Hongye came to rescue Huaizhu, he really should have used that opportunity to kill Jin Ren Feng, this was something I wish was done better but didn't, how the writers handled that scene, in the end lead to the death of Huaizhu because of the poor decisions made by the writers choice in pissing off the viewers, and how Huaizhu explained in her dying moments that when Jin Renfeng gave her a hit to try and stop her bloodline and from then on she's been losing her life force. This really puts emphasis in that point that IF things were done better in 'that scene' when HongYe came to save her, than perhaps Huaizhu wont die...This was indirectly highlighting it in a subtle way that the writers handled it poorly. If not, then their ending will not be subjected to this tragedy.

Sure, it was explained that Hongye lost a lot of power after killing the Black Fox, but I don't see that at all. Honestly, Hongye came into the scene displaying his powerful aura, despite his original sword broke but the real Wangquan sword appeared and with the help of the forces he gathered in that scene, you can't expect me to believe he is not strong enough(with the others help also) to fend off and defeat Jin Ren Feng right? Yes, it was explained Jin Ren Feng took his master sacred fire etc, but I don't see him as that strong if he have to use underhanded method to poison Huaizhu first which shows he was a coward, so this is what I don't like, the writers just let that bastard Jin Ren Feng off for the sake of the plot device added to give a reason to kill off Huaizhu later, which Huai Zhu provided the explanation on why she was dying, so knowing this, the drama DID lose its charm for me near the end...

I just felt like there is no real purpose for the writers to do this or go this direction, except to make it tragic for the sake of it being tragedy and this is what I don't like... Unnecessary deaths...

Well in the end, I know I might be a minority but I am not happy with how the drama was handled near the end. I know some people likes it but I don't so this is my personal journey from watching this drama. Don't come to my review and try to justify the actions and decisions by how the plot was handled near the end, and don't judge me for feeling differently to you. Like I said at the beginning of my review, I won't judge people in loving this drama, so don't judge me for feeling differently to you because I don't like how things were handled near the end for my reasons provided. We can watch the same drama but feel differently. We are allow to feel differently since everyone is different. What appeals to you doesn't mean it appeals to me. I question how it was handled because I don't agree with those actions...

Characters sacrificed so much and in the end they can't get their happy ending. Poor Wangquan Hongye lost everything in the end and I really cried when he was grieving everyone's death. I feel so sorry for him, he had finally found his light and happiness to move on with Huaizhu when he found out she's pregnant, he finally got that light again and smile and look forward to their child being born and him raising their child together with Huaizhu and then Huaizhu being killed off.... and her explanation to why she was dying was because of that 'one scene' is why I didn't like how the scene was handled when Hongye go save her from that bastard Jin Ren Feng. In the end, it was another tragic and unnecessary death IMO. The writers is so cruel...

I don't know if I will watch this again. Maybe on the scenes I like and pretend the ending for this drama ended at this certain point before they fought against the black fox...

Also an honorable mention to Jiu Huo and Jia Lan. I can't believe I am feeling this way but their tragic backstory grow on me when I learned about their past and story. To me I actually separated the Jia Lan from the past from the Black Fox version of her since the original Jia Lan had love and she was sincere towards Jiu Huo but the reborn her is pure evil. Poor Jiu Huo, I did got teary in that scene when he died though especially all he ever wanted was to bring her back since he loved her. Its a dark couple but appealing one.

All the best to future watchers. For me, I certainly won't be recommending this unless you want to see all your fav characters die in the worst way possible, in a very unjustified manner too IMO.

Maybe if I have watched the Donghua or Read the Manhua (the original source) then I can come into this being prepared, but no I didn't so how the ending was handled was a slap to the face for someone who enjoyed and like the story and characters from the beginning...

In the end, how do I summarize this drama? Your hardwork doesn't gets paid off and reward you with the happy ending. You persevere only to found out that you are destined to not have a happy ending. What you fought for or believed in only to end with sacrifices that rewards you with this sad ending. To me, this is NOT a happy ending, I wouldn't even call it Bittersweet either. It is more of a Sad ending, although I felt it more like a Bad Ending at the end, I don't care if this continues to the sequel, I just want the characters I love to get their happy ending first and next generation second. They deserve it. We (as viewers) deserve this after following the Drama since release date!

Read More

Hot, Passionate love with great chemistry!

I've watched quite a few Short dramas before, but this is among the first, if not the first short drama where I felt like doing up a review, to support my love towards this hidden gem.

To be honest, short dramas are usually something I want to avoid due to it being short drama for a reason and it always lack those developments that I enjoy when compared to the long dramas. When I said long dramas, I meant each episode have like around 40 something minutes.

But Facebook has been recommending me this drama and when I saw clips on it, I recognized the actor Li Dai Kun, so I've decided to check it out for Li Dai Kun and I'm glad I did because this drama made me love and appreciate his acting to a whole new level!

This isn't the first time I've seen Li Dai Kun. The first time I've noticed him was in Word of Honour where he played as the Scorpion King(personally, I never disliked his character in there, quite the contrary, he's among the character I like XD), the second drama I've seen him in was in The Journey of Chongzi as Mu Yu/Tian Zhixie. He is among my favourite character in The Journey of Chongzi.

So yes, when I noticed that Li Dai Kun also acted in this drama, I wanted to give this short drama a chance, which I'm glad I did because, Yes, the trailers, title and tags can be off-putting or even triggering for some, but it's more than what is shown in those trailers.

I love how the couple in this story actually had a back story between them, because that imo, gives them more depth and want viewers to find out what actually happened between them. Their break up was due to a misunderstanding caused by the crown prince.. I also felt a lot of sympathy towards Li Cong Huan (played by Shao Yu Qi) and Mo Jin (played by Li Dai Kun) respectively because they both loved each other deeply but was also deeply hurt by each other at the same time.

The stabbing scene really hurt me and made me cry for Mo Jin (ML), that got to say something despite this being a short drama, that the actor and actress did a really great job in portraying their scenes here. While that stabbing scene hurts, but I love the scenes that played out afterwards. It's the development and direction that I love. Their misunderstanding didn't drag out and I personally love that as their misunderstanding was cleared in episode 14.

Oh, I have to say that the pairing scene is passionately hot. Li Dai Kun is definitely going on my list of good kissers!

I am also glad that despite it being a short drama it had a happy ending. Definitely better ending than some of the long running series ending in my eyes. This pairing love story and journey, despite it being a short drama is worth the watch if you want to take a break from those long running dramas. Each episodes is around 20 minutes so it is just about right. Not too long or not too short.

After watching this drama, I search up Li Dai Kun profile and found "Bell Ringing", and decided to give that drama a go and I also love that drama. Although the ending was bittersweet it is still better than some forced bad ending that didnt make sense(yes, I'm looking at you, "Beautiful Lie" -_-).

But anyways, my rating for this drama is on the scale of other short dramas which is more lenient when compared to the long running series. Even so, it is definitely a drama that I intend to rewatch again on my end. I'm glad that Li Dai Kun character in this drama have a happy ending, since I'm still very sad with how he got a sad ending in The Journey of Chongzi (Tian Zhixie!! T^T)

Honestly, Li Dai Kun is such a versatile actor, he is really great with those subtle expression and expression sad scenes. He deserves more recognition and should be cast in more leading roles. I would love to see him in a modern drama on my end, but he looks great in both IMO, and he's really handsome in this drama (Mistaken Love).

I actually rewatched The Journey of Chongzi again because of this drama, how it made me miss him and want to see and rewatched his other dramas!

Thank you to both Li Daikun and Shao Yu Qi for bringing your characters to life with your great acting and chemistry!

Read More

Recommending this to all MDZS Fans! (It's actually better than I initially thought!)

Well, this is going to be one hell of a long review, so be warn of spoilers! xD So if you don't want to read spoilers, just skip this review!

Knowing this adaptation is based on my favourite novel 'Mo Dao Zu Shi' by MXTX, at first with the rumours flying around how they were going to make Wen Qing the love interest, I was so annoyed, and I told myself, I am NOT going to watch this!!! Because Wangxian is the ONLY ONE FOR ME!!! How dare they trying to make it heteronromative!!! But when this started airing, and also because I have also follow other online social media sites, I heard fans said that the first episode doesn't disappoint when it comes to Wangxian side of things, so I decided to just check out one episode to see what it's like, and wa-lah! Just one episode in, and I'm sold! Wangxian is indeed strong in the first episode, coming from Wei Ying's pov, and I actually love that change they put in showing just how Wei Ying feels about Lan Zhan <3

To be honest, there are definitely changes in this adaptation (when comparing to the novel), some changes are for the better, some weren't. Well, it's the same as each version have it's pros and cons, and I accept that.

E.g.

Likes:
- Jiang Cheng's character for me, in this adaptation, I actually love him better, whereas in the novel, I didn't really like him until the end, when he changed. Jiang Cheng is actually a positive change in this adaptation for me, because I love seeing him showing concern/care for Wei Ying like a family member (and not as a subordinate kind of feeling which I got in the novel). There are instances when Jiang Cheng showed me he cares, I just can't help but like him more in this adaptation. I love how he go against what his father said, and still went out to seek Wei Ying (when Wei Ying went out on that journey with Lan Zhan) and bring him back (because he was worried about him), that's plus points for me. While others may not like the Jiang Cheng x Wen Qing ship, for me personally, I do love it, despite that ship went no where in the end, because it is through this ship, that makes me like Jiang Cheng better, since he shows that he doesn't hate all Wen's. (Wen Qing excluded).

- Another change I love about this adaptation is how strong they made Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's bond is, even in the past, I love how Wei Ying doesn't set a clear line with Lan Zhan, I love how Wei Ying actually welcomes Lan Zhan to help him, and I love how he actually shows me that he really cares how Lan Zhan sees him, i.e. Lan Zhan's trust on him, means a lot to Wei Ying, and I love that, you can really feel how happy he was when Lan Zhan shows he trust him, similarly, how sad/disappointed he was when Lan Zhan shows his doubts. So, yeah that was a change I welcome in this adaptation.

- Wei Ying and Sizhui relationship, I love their whole reunion, and how Sizhui remembered, that whole scene was really touching to me <3

Dislikes:
- I didn't like how instead of calling out "Lan Zhan" (like in the novel) when Wei Ying was held captive by Jiang Cheng and when Fairy was drawing nearer to him, Wei Ying called out "Shijie", that's actually left a bitter taste for me, because I love that moment in the novel. Since I find that something subtle to show just how much Wei Ying can rely and trust in Lan Zhan to subconsciously call out his name when he needs help.

- I didn't like how they downgrade Wei Ying's powers, because in the novel, he's stronger than this. I was most upset because Wei Ying is supposed to be the FOUNDER of this path, NOT some stupid Wen's, and how SuShe out-did Wei Ying (through the help of Jin GuangYao) at Nightless City, and when Wen Ning lost control, I just literally swore, because OMG, I will be less bitter if this was Xue Yang or Jin Guang Yao, but seriously, that scum, SuShe?!

- Poor NMJ got robbed of his screentime as a fierce corpse, they really tamed down the whole theme of what makes it 'MDZS' when it comes to those fierce corpse (bye bye Fierce Corpse NMJ :( ) Bye, bye, painted eyes, blood bath granny/Wen Remnants...

- I will never understand (due to plot inconsistency) why it took Lan Zhan 3 years to go down and find Wei Ying's body, when in the novel, he went right away after he found out. I know it's because of the discipline whips (and this is another change I didn't like, I didn't like they change the reason behind Lan Zhan's discipline whips, Ok, I know why Lan Zhan got it, but the novel touched me more). So this is why I am personally glad they never bring up the reaosn why Lan Zhan got the brand mark(scar) on his chest, since I don't want them to distort the original meaning. Just leave it there, to show LZ love, but novel fans will know the reason without an explanation. I am fine without an explanation in CQL. Anyways, when Wei Ying fell down the cliff, Lan Zhan clearly didn't have the discipline whips yet, but did he seriously not went down to search for Wei Ying's body, right away? This doesn't make sense to me.

- Lan Zhan's decision in the end where he just 'suddenly' decides he can't travel with Wei Ying, even when Wei Ying never think of walking separate paths with Lan Zhan, since he was thinking where they will be going next. I don't know but this is really just OOC to me when it comes to Lan Zhan's feelings, and Wangxian pov, when compared to the novel. Sadly because of what I have been shown here, I just can't take him as MDZS Lan Zhan anymore :( I personally didn't like why he can't do this together with Wei Ying, I didn't like that it comes from Lan Zhan to make this decision, because this doesn't fit my understanding to Lan Zhan's character (in canon), By that time in canon, heck even when Wei Ying came back into MXY body, he don't want to leave Wei Ying side again, and the irony here is, CQL! Lan Zhan did said that he regret not staying by Wei Ying side during Nightless City, but in that final episode, Lan Zhan's decision hinting to 'each to their own paths'... Just felt out of place, and I felt like it was a slap to the face, for those who actually believed in him for always staying by Wei Ying side T.T No matter how much fans shed light, that moment just really hurted/disappointed me on a personal level and it's really heartbreaking. Wei Ying was sad/hurt, but he is trying to be understanding, I am too, but I just can't, you know, like what I was shown in that moment. I just wish that it didn't have to come to this, even if it's temporary, or it didn't come from Lan Zhan.... I know Lan Zhan have things he needs to do, and he's honoring the promise that they made together, but here's the thing, their wish is the same, can they not do this together? Anyways, I just can't like it because for me, I RATHER THEY DO THIS TOGETHER!. In CQL, I can take any heart-break, but this, really hurted me so much that I can't really accept it...

ENDING:
When I first watched the ending, I was really confused, because I didn't understood if there was a time-skip or not, but after others pointing this out, I went back and watched it and realized they indeed made it very very very subtle about this, and I'm like, I wish they made it clearer T.T But then again, I guess they are trying to play if safe and make it ambiguous, So, for me, I am very thankful to Xiao Zhan (who plays Wei Ying) by reassuring us, when he said:

"In the end he's still smiling because the light he has been waiting for has finally arrived"

And I find that so romantic, because this really confirms and emphasize that Lan Zhan is his light, and that whether Lan Zhan returns or not, this is how Wei Ying feels, i.e. he will continue to wait for him <3

In terms of ending goes, I understand it is a HE, and I'm honestly extremely glad that they stayed true to Wangxian, and managed to give us a HE by having Lan Zhan return to Wei Ying, even though we don't see them standing side by side, but there's no doubt that, the person who called out "Wei Ying" at the end was Lan Zhan. I still prefer to see them standing side by side before the credits roll, but I'll take this calling out "Wei Ying" over nothing at all.

While there may be some parts I wish was done better (for all said), but taking this like an AU is not so bad, I come to appreciate this ending in a different light, because through their separation, and when Wei Ying plays their song (Wangxian/Wuji), it really does connect him to Lan Zhan, because it shows me how much he actually misses Lan Zhan, and I love that, the whole yearning, the whole waiting, and how Lan Zhan can find Wei Ying again, no matter how far apart they may be, is just simply romantic.

There is a lot of sub-text, and hints showing how strong Wangxian is, where they referred to each other as 'Soulmates', and I love that.

Actors - 10/10 for me, I love both Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo as Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. At first I wasn't convinced with the casts, but when I got into the drama, I just came to love them and I have grateful to both Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo for their great chemistry that makes it very fun to watch! Xiao Zhan is awesome for understanding Wei Ying's character indepth! And he is the perfect RL human Wei Ying for me! Wang Yibo is awesome for bringing out a natural Lan Zhan that I can appreciate, and he deserve an award for this, because Lan Zhan, imo, is a very difficult character to play, but Wang Yibo expresses his emotions very well in this area! <3

Music: I fell in love with Wuji/Wangxian, and knowing that it's sang by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo makes me love this song more!

Ofcourse, the other character songs are nice too!! <3

Rewatch Value = Definitely! I am rewatching this again on my end anyways! <3 In this review I just wanted to be honest, because there are indeed things I didn't quite like and wish was done better, but when looking at all this censorship, I can't really put it against CQL since they really, really did their best in remaining faithful to the original source, and for that, I am forever grateful. They really didn't have to give us that HE, but they did, and I'm grateful to them for giving me this (otherwise, I wouldn't have liked it). Looking at this in an adaptation pov, it's definitely a good adaptation, and I feel like it has taken a life of it's own in their world (kinda like an AU), and I do recommend this to all those MDZS fans, and don't worry about queer-baiting on Wangxian, because I can guarantee you, Wangxian is the only one in this series, and that is why I love this live-action on my end, because they stayed faithful to Wangxian despite all the odds, so I am grateful for them.

Personally I love the novel better in terms of overall story, consistency and the ending for Wangxian, but I still love/enjoy CQL on my end, because they were able to bring out something, which made me love/appreciate and made me so head over heels in love with this drama, that I wouldn't even mind streaming on my phone using my phone data! I am sad that it has ended! But at the same time, I'm happy because now I don't need to worry about 'the ending' or 'anything bad happening to this drama'. I'm just happy that this drama was able to aired smoothly. Honestly without all these restrictions, I do believe that CQL would have been even better than it is now!

So in the end, I do recommend this to all MDZS fans, and please don't hate on this drama, because it's still great in it's own way!! Don't make this a novel fan vs CQL fan because, that's just sad! Enjoy it for the love, and that we can get this masterpiece adapted, even when it's loosely based on canon, but CQL did their best to give us so much, so let's just be grateful to the cast/production team! <3

Read More

I don't understand the hype to this drama tbh

This drama was airing around the same time as The Journey of Chongzi, and people were going to MDL in The Journey of Chongzi and was saying how great this drama was and recommending this drama was better than The Journey of Chongzi...

I wanted to not leave a review about this drama, until I fully watched it.

I did tried the first episode back then to "The Starry Love", and I couldn't get into it... So I left it on hold and then waited until this drama finished airing before giving this another chance.

After finishing this drama, I honestly don't get the hype to this drama to be honest, like to me, it's just "Okay...." at best, and I felt like I am just watching it for the sake of passing time, since I have nothing to watch at this stage.

The story and characters is okay, but it wasn't memorable to me.

The Male Lead Actor, Chen Xing Xu, I have seen him before as Yang Kang in "Legend of the Condor Heroes", and he's my favourite character in there.

This is my first time seeing the Female Lead actress.

I have to say that I didn't like the time when she have to collect the "Soul Shards" (the three different version of him) to revive Shao Dian You, because after he successfully got one, he left him at this place, and moving onto the next one.... And during that time, I felt bad for "La Mu" because he thought that his "Wife" Ye Tan was out chasing the other 2 more Soul Shards of him to revive Shao Dian You, and during that time, it is really off-putting because it really did felt like she was jumping between one guy to the next, even when they are all the same soul (person) in the end, but I cannot rub off that feeling that it gives off in the end for me... Since they each is their individual person.

Anyways, for me, the main pairing is okay, it wasn't enough for me to fangirl for them like I do for some other pairings I fell in love with in the drama.

Music was okay too, but it reminded me to the music in The Blue Whisper.

Overall Drama was OKAY (LOL)

But if I have to say something here, while this drama (The Starry Love) is airing around the same time as "The Journey of Chongzi", for me, I love and enjoyed "The Journey of Chongzi" >>>>>>>>> The Starry Love. The Starry Love, didn't make me love it like it did for some people in here... I guess this really goes to say something, i.e. every one is different.

Like I said, for me personally, this drama was OKAY at best. It wasn't enough to keep me motivated, or absorbed into the story/characters. Most of the time I was like "When is this episode going to end?" So yeah, I am not really a fan to this drama, only watched it to see why people keep comparing it, and what's the hype about, I don't get the hype on this drama....


Well, not a memorable drama for me to want to watch again, I can move on to watch the next one ~~~

Read More

This drama exceeds my expectations, and is better than the novel, for me at least

I know this is actually/probably the first time I’ve given a full mark to a series review in all areas. But, I just really have to considering, I am really into/obsess with this drama on my end. It’s definitely one of the best, if not, THE BEST I’ve seen. I cannot count how many times I have re-watched this on my end, I’m so glad I gotten into this drama because I don’t regret watching it. It has really given beyond on what I have hoped for, and more (so this is definitely my all time favourite Chinese Fantasy Romance Drama).

Aside from a few characters that gets on my nerves (but what series doesn’t have those characters to add in the drama?), I do love a lot of characters in this (which I will do a list later (in this review) to show some of the chara’s I love). What I am impress with is, the writer actually manage to solve everything (without any plot-holes) by the end of the story. Like, all the obstacles was removed, with no more questions left. At first, I actually had a question that was on my mind since the beginning and then when it was revealed I was like “ohhhh… so that’s why…”. I love how the love story was executed, and how each character did their roles well. I love Ye Hua’s love/devotion to only Bai Qian(Su Su), and no matter what happens, he loves her, and only her. There are times where I think the writer might do something stupid which adds to more drama, but in the end, it surprises me in a very good way, like when Miao Qing secretly add the love-potion into the soup that she made for Ye Hua but Ye Hua didn’t drink it because he knows there’s something in that soup, and I’m like “Yes!” and when Su Jin created that fake Su Su to seduce Ye Hua (when Ye Hua was doing his heavenly trial in the mortal world (without his memories at all)) to anger Bai Qian, he still didn’t disappoint me, because he’s only been waiting for one woman i.e. Bai Qian because he made a promise with her when she visited him when he was 11 years old that they will get marry when he’s older, his whole life, he waited just for her, and I’m like “awwww”. Seriously, Ye Hua didn’t disappoint me, and I love that about him! I also love how Ye Hua gives me a feeling that I can believe in him and that he’s strong from beginning to the end… Strong in terms of character, and his power level was consistent and doesn’t disappoint, I also love how the battles are executed…(honestly Mashima (Fairy Tail) can take a lesson from this -.-).

On my end, I’m a sucker for a good romance story, and Eternal Love has it all! I love how it was truly a touching love story for the main pair (Ye Hua x Bai Qian), with a lot of obstacles that comes their way (that made me cry), it was an emotional roller-coaster but what I love is where there are times I have my doubts but the writer didn’t disappoint and gave me more to show me how much they only love each other. I love the scenery and the effects, omg…. where am I going to find another series like this?! I love the music too! There’s alot of characters I love but there’s also those I hate with a passion but glad they got what they deserved in the end..but in the overall what I love the most is, the pairing/otp I love can get a HAPPY ENDING that they deserve, because that’s the most important!!! It made me feel so happy for them!!!

And this is going to be a long comment about Ye Hua to shed some light to those who blames him and doesn't like him, I thought I'll give you some light to Ye Hua here:

* long comment, be warned! *

I think what people needs to realize is that a story needs imperfections and dramatic plots to build on, if there isn’t any, then there won’t be a story to tell. If a character is perfect and all the drama is avoided, would there even be a story to tell? Also, we all know that Ye Hua isn’t perfect, he have his flaws because no character is entirely perfect… That’s too good to be true and that’s very unrealistic. Their flaws is what makes them realistic, and that’s what gives the writer a way to build/develop on said character. If Ye Hua is flawless; and all this drama is avoided, then the story wouldn’t have developed to the point where I fell in love with him and his love/devotion to Bai Qian and this pairing. Ye Hua have his flaws, but he’s easily a loveable character to me because his actions/and the things he did for Su Su/Bai Qian have touched my heart. I never once doubted his love for her. If I were her, I would fell in love with him as well (I wish someone like this exist IRL, but no, it’s too good to be real…)

Su Su being disappointed in Ye Hua, yes, Ye Hua have a role in this but he only did it because he thought that could protect her (even though he was wrong), and it was unfortunate that by the time he realized his mistake, it was too late and Su Su had already given up on him altogether (but what matters most is he learned from it). From Su Su eyes, I understand why she was disappointed, but from Ye Hua’s perspectives you need to understand that what he did, he did to protect her. He saw everything his second uncle went through when he stood up for Xiao Shing and saw how much they were both willing to die for each other, Ye Hua knew it would be a 100 times worse for him and Su Su because she is a mortal, and he’s the crown Prince (how great it will be if they realized earlier that she’s Bai Qian? All this torment would be avoided, but then the story wouldn’t have 58 episodes long to tell…). Ye Hua isn’t afraid of dying for her, he would do anything to take the suffering in her place instead and die for her (and this is what I love i.e. his devotion for her), but he doesn’t want Su Su to go through any of this, that’s why I truly understand why he wanted to fake his death so he can ensure a happy life with her, and him giving up on his title for her, that actually touched my heart. No one can predict what’s going to happen, and he did plan meticulously on his end, his plan didn’t go wrong, but all the problems came when Su Su was discovered and went through that barrier that Ye Hua set. This was beyond his control because fate have to have Su Su feel like something happened to Ye Hua thus leading her to be forced into the Celestial Palace where their tragedy began…. This misunderstanding also stems from that bitch Su Jin, because she did everything to make Su Su believe that Ye Hua never love her, when we know that isn’t the case. Su Jin is a bitch and I absolutely hated her every actions in this series!! But as much as I hate her and as much as it frustrates me; in the end, I understand that this drama is needed to push the plot along and to actually have a story to tell.

And things aren’t any justifiable/better when you have someone like this Heavenly Lord to rule the palace, no matter what Ye Hua did, he will always take Su Jin side because he’s BIAS!! And he wants Su Su gone… Ye Hua and Di Jun is better at judging people than the Heavenly Lord imo. But like everyone should know, without these annoying people like Su Jin and someone like Heavenly Lord… then there won’t be a story to build on. It would be boring if everything is perfect…I understand why Su Su would want to jump off the Zhuxian Terrace looking from her pov, I also understand why Ye Hua did what he did to protect her… I don’t blame neither of these two because they have really suffered through those unjustifiable confinement of the palace regulations and rules.. Yes, it hurts Su Su when Ye Hua took away her eyes, in her pov, and I feel for her when that happened. I also feel for Ye Hua because it hurts him more to have to do this to her, in Su Su eyes, him taking her eyes away is like he doesn’t believe her, but we know this isn’t the case, because it’s really the only way to save her life. The Heavenly Lord, I really do hate him because he’s not a good ruler in judging cases, when he asked Ye Hua what he would do to appease everyone, the Heavenly Lord already have plans to punish Su Su, so even when he takes the 3 years torment in her place, and having that as the only punishment, no one including the Heavenly Lord would be appease, so Su Su eyes was inevitable… But Su Su didn’t know Ye Hua took the three years lightning torment in her place; he just suffers and take this punishment silently for her because he didn’t want her to worry. The thing about Ye Hua is he keeps things to himself and he does suffer silently because he doesn’t want Su Su to worry, I see it as a selfless act, but it could easily lead to a lot of misunderstanding, I don’t hate it on my end, what matters most is… In the end, Bai Qian found out (not through Ye Hua) but through a third person, and when she realized it, that made me teary…. So in the end, I do love Ye Hua a lot a lot, his actions really touched my heart, and it’s not like I blame him for those decisions he made, because I understand why he did what he did, in the end, him realizing his mistake, and grow from it is what matters. All he did, he did to protect Bai Qian.

Mo Yuan and Ye Hua are twins, so naturally they would carry the same taste/characteristics. Mo Yuan is selfless in his love for Bai Qian. He doesn’t need her to know, and I think he’s just happily content that she’s by his side. For Ye Hua, he’s also selfless in that sense that (which is different to Li Jing in comparison), he would have Mo Yuan revived sooner, because he knows this is what Bai Qian wants and will make her happy. He went as far as to offer the Soul Gathering Lamp, Get the Divine Fungal Grass, lose an arm, used up his cultivation to create the Elixir and have Zhe Yan give this to Bai Qian, telling him to not let Bai Qian know it comes from him because he doesn’t want her to feel guilty about it. That’s a selfless act. He even said the night before he left her that it’s probably the last time he can have her to himself… Signifying that if Bai Qian wants to be with Mo Yuan, he would support her happiness with him. That’s selfless. So honestly, I do love Ye Hua on my end. His actions have proved to me over and over again, how much he loves her > himself. Yes, he isn’t perfect but he’s perfect in that sense (for me) that his character is relatable and I love his actions/devotion for Bai Qian. He’s perfectly written in that sense that a beautiful/touching love story was created because of how his character is portrayed, which I have come to love. And what makes me love Ye Hua more is, there aren’t many stories where I love a character but that character gives off a reliable feeling where I can rely on him to get the job done. For Ye Hua, I get this feeling. He is capable, and he’s strong and I love that the writer is consistent about this.

Ye Hua x Bai Qian is my otp, and I love them on my end. I also love Mo Yuan selfless love for Bai Qian as well, and Mo Yuan is also among my favourite characters, but I don’t ship Mo Yuan x Bai Qian because I’ve grown to really love Ye Hua x Bai Qian love story. I will ship Mo Yuan x Bai Qian if Ye Hua wasn’t in this story though, even though it’s wrong for master-disciple to be in a relationship, but meh, that doesn’t stop me in loving a pairing. Anyways, all that aside, I love that in the end, Mo Yuan felt happy for Bai Qian x Ye Hua because it just adds more appeals to Mo Yuan’s character for me. If Su Jin was like that, I wouldn’t have hate her on my end… But what’s a story to tell without these annoying characters? LOL. What matters most is they get what they deserve.

In the end, I just want to say, Mark Chao, kudos to you in bringing out Ye Hua’s character effectively!

>>>>>>Favourite Character(s) <<<<<<
(1) Ye Hua (no.1 fav on Male side) and Bai Qian (no.1 fav on female side)

The below is not in ranking order:
(3) Mo Yuan
(4) A Li
(5) Zhe Yan
(6) Bai Zhen
(7) Di Jun
(8) Feng Jiu
(9) Mi Gu
(10) Lian Song ( Ye Hua’s third Uncle )
(11) Nai Nai
(12) Kunlan First Disciple (Die Feng)
(13) Kunlan 16th Disciple (Zhi Lan)
(14) Li Zhing
(15) Yan Zhi
(16) Di Jun Star Lord(Si Ming)

Music: 10/10 <- I love the OST in this one!!!

Rewatch Value: 10/10 - Oh yeah!! Definitely on my rewatch list, to me, this being a 58 episode while it seems long at first glance, but trust me after going through all those episodes you will want more!!! This drama is totally recommended to those who enjoy Xianxia/Fantasy romance, with a touch of 'true & touching love story'.

Read More

A Drama that exceeds my expectation

Love of the Divine Tree (LOTDT) is a drama that have been on my watch list for a while now.

But back then I wanted to wait until I have the right mindset to watch this because after watching Moonlight Mystqiue (which is another one of my top favourites), I was in that phase for a while and I couldn't really get into anything new for quite some time after MM ended. So this Drama have been on my watch list and I was kinda just putting it on hold until I was ready.

So now after I have finally watched it, I am glad to say this drama didnt disappoint me. Although there are indeed some plot points I find draggy like the amnesia arc as I was waiting for that to be over.... but overall, I do really like how Su Yi Shui(ML) played by Deng Wei was written.

If I have to say anything, that would be I love how Su Yi Shui character is written where he's not your typical "good/righteous" cultivator at the beginning, but he's someone who have started on the "devil/demonic" path due to his harsh upbringing and how he was mold into a character, where he is seen as cold, "selfish" killer seen as a "chess" piece of his "father" at the beginning, so in this regard, how he wanted to take revenge on those who treated him badly, and his unfair treatment, did kinda remind me to Tantai Jin in Till the End of the Moon.

However, all this change where Mu Qing Ge gave him that warmth, care and love his heart longs for ever since he was a child. So Mu Qing Ge was the person who changed Su Yi Shui path from walking down that devil/demonic path to who he is in the end, because she was able to awaken something in him which he thought he once lost, so how Mu Qing Ge was able to guide Su Yi Shui and how he wants to become a better person for Mu Qing Ge made his character more portrayed like a Grey character(to me), where he is neither purely good nor purely evil, as one example is seen how he would go through such extremes (which challenges morally white portrayal of heroes), as he was seen to activate the side to him to absorb Wei Jiu source of demonic powers into himself, to protect Xue Ran Ran/and the Mount Wester Sect. I find these characters appealing in that sense because they challenge the traditional black-and-white portrayal of heroes and villains, so bringing back to how his character did remind me somewhat to Tantai Jin, but unlike Li Susu who failed to show me she deserves Tantai Jin's love despite she was his light that changed his character from that Devil Path(into who he is in the end), but what Till the end of the Moon failed, this drama(Love of the Divine tree) succeeded imo. I won't express why Till the end of the Moon failed and disappointed me, if you want to find out you can check my review page for that drama in here. But simply put this drama did exceed my expectations in the end in terms of how they handled the plot, pairing, characters, developments and not to mention, the ending.

I love how Su Yi Shui will do whatever it takes to protect the 1 person he holds dear which is Mu Qing Ge/Xue Ran Ran (played by Julia Xiang). I love how he doesn't show mercy to anyone who dares hurts her, and he will secretly get back at that person tenth fold. I love how his character development was handled in terms of the portrayal of his character from his childhood (which formed him to be the SYS at the very beginning), to how he came to care for Mu Qing Ge when he opened his heart to her. It really symbolizes that Mu Qing Ge is that light that lights up his path because of his sad upbringing. Deng Wei did a good job in portraying his character which holds several layers with different character persona, and even when he is under the demonic influence, I still do like him on my end and I found that is interesting to watch him in portraying the different characters like this.

I love Su Yi Shui has his own "Dao/Path" that is not defined/restrained by good or bad but he just walks his own path. Those type of characters appeal to me more than the typical xianxia characters in the righteous cultivation sect where they put the protection of the other people(other realms) over the person they love(romantically) or there's conflict in their choice in choosing to protect that one person over the world etc

I do love the pairing chemistry between the main pairing Su Yi Shui and Mu Qing Ge/Xue Ran Ran, although for me I find Mu Qing Ge character appeal to me more than Xue Ran Ran but overall how the writers handled MQG and XRR they are the same character to me. I do love watching their developments onscreen. While there wasn't really a moment that made me fangirl for the main pairing but I did enjoy and love their scenes when I see them interact.

This is my first time seeing Julia Xiang, but this is not my first time seeing Deng Wei. I first got to know him through Miss the Dragon and he was my fav character in that one even when he wasn't the main male lead but his acting and story appealed to me more than the male lead (Dylan) in Miss the Dragon

I love how they handled the fight scenes in this drama, that was nicely done. There was quite a few familiar faces as well, like I recognized Cao Yu Chen who played his role as Zeng Yi, since he was in the Untamed as Jing Zixuan lol. And I also find the actor Bai Shu familiar too, he played his character Liang Wu Meng in LOTDT but he also played as Teng She(Lord Flying Snake) in Love and Redemption and another actor I found familiar is He Zhong Hua since he was in LAR and LOTDT.

There is also several other pairings and characters in this drama that is nice too although I am not a die hard shipper but it is nice to know they got their happy ending too.

And this ending gives a really wholesome happy feeling that is fully satisfying for the viewers which is very nice. That fully satisfying feeling that gives a wholesome feeling reminds me to Love and Redemption which I really love and I missed from the good old days where Xianxia still gives us these type of endings so I am glad LOTDT have this same ending and honestly more script writer and director should learn from this because no matter how painful the journey is, we viewers just want a fully satisfying ending for our favourite characters!! What I found interesting is I did search it up and realized that both LOTDT and LAR have the same scriptwriter and director so that was very nice to know!!

Overall in 2025, this was a nice drama that even though there are some draggy parts I felt like skipping but ignoring those I did enjoy the drama as the overall and this drama did bump itself up to my top favourites! In 2025, aside from Moonlight Mystique which that one is my absolute favourite drama, LOTDT is definitely sitting next to Moonlight Mystique for me!

Thank you for this lovely journey! It is currently on my rewatch list.

Read More

Ignore the poor Editing and sequence for the last few episodes, it's a good drama

I first encountered this drama while I was waiting for episode 23 to Ancient Love Poetry to air (the torture of the delayed schedule for that drama lol), so I was clicking into 'Mydramalist' in here under the 'Xianxia' category and came across this drama 'The Legends 2019' by accident. And watched the trailer first before seeing the cast, and noticed there's Xu Kai and Bai Lu in this one. I have seen both these actors (Xu Kai) and actress (Bai Lu) in their respective dramas, Xu Kai in Ancient Love Poetry, and Bai Lu in Love is Sweet, so yeah, I decided to watch this, while waiting for more episodes to air for Ancient Love Poetry before resuming (like I said the wait was a torture).

At first I watched this in Youtube, until I was up to episode 18-19, episode 19 started off out of place to me, and I was like "What the heck is going on??? Did I missed an episode or something??" And turned out that there was a portion that was cut out from episode 19... So I have to result to watching this in Viki instead. And then there was another time where the whole episode was NOT included in the Youtube version, I was like "What the heck????" So honestly, fans, just go with watching from the Viki version. That is at least better sequenced and have UNCUT scenes.

I didn't know what fans or viewers was complaining about the editing and poorly sequenced, each scene meshed everywhere... But now I know...And I agree....

Well, like, like I said, ignore the poor editing, if you can get past that and use your braincells to put the scenes together yourself (even some scenes don't make sense and felt out of place), then you will enjoy this drama.

For me, like everyone else who does, really love Bai Lu and Xu Kai's chemistry, they're just so natural and they definitely have chemistry, and I LOVE the character Mo Qing (Li Chen Lan), I do felt sorry for him for being possessed, but I still love him though.

I DON'T like Jiang Wu at all, would have liked him if he didn't provoke Mo Qing on his end to push him further to his insanity when Mo Qing was doing fine, and his best to control his inner demons, and I hate the fact that the death of Jiang Wu's 'Xiong Di' died, Jiang Wu blamed it on Mo Qing', and I'm like "Well, yeah, Mo Qing did it, but he LOST CONTROL, and why did he lost control? Because YOU(Jiang Wu) freaking provoked him, not once but twice!" -__- and then later he killed Ah-Da just to get back at Mo Qing... AND THEN further later, he sealed him in the same place that his father sealed him, which forced him to fall into darkness when he needed to break free to save/protect Zhao Yao, honestly at that point, I don't like Jiang Wu so much so I said to myself, that, even if he died, I am not going to feel sad for him...

I did feel sad though when Han Guang died T_T. His death, thanks to the the hypocrite of the Gold Diety...How he survived makes NO sense to me... But the fact that Han Guang died because of that b*stard, god, I want to tear him to pieces!!!

If I have to say something that disappointed me is that.... I can't believe that Zhi Yan and Cang Ling didn't end up together... And we even saw Cang Ling married someone else, I was like "Wow, your love for Zhi Yan can have you fall in love with someone else??? While she's still single??? -_- (not true love there)" But oh well...

I also hate the whip girl (don't remember her name lol), glad she's finally dead in the end, took her long enough...

The ending, ah, the ending, I've just finished watching the ending.... but it was confusing >.<

At first, from my understanding to the pairing ending is a tragic and a happy ending (that is based on one's choice's that lead to that outcome).

(1) Tragic ending - Is when Zhao Yao made the decision to fight against him and stop his madness, that's how they ended up in that same cave where the demonic sword was sealed, and in the end, Mo Qing decided to sacrifice himself to end the madness

(2) Happy ending - Is when Zhao Yao didn't want to fight against Mo Qing so she tried to calm him down and take him back to the Wan Lu (their) sect (home) and he was able to regain control.

I am saying its two ending because when Mo Qing was stabbed and fell down the abyss, Zhao Yao was looking for his body, and then......

The next moment the scene got transitioned "back to" where the scene was originally cut after they killed that bastard (the golden diety), and Mo Qing darkness was emitting from him but he's trying to maintain in control.... which with what follows after lead to their happy ending.

But then omg it is still confusing lol, I told myself to treat this as two alternate endings for them based on what I grasp in the 2nd last to the last episode, but then in one of the sequence that shows "5 years later"(the writer sure have a thing for doing a "5" year time skip lol, since this is the third time), Zhao Yao retired from being the sect leader because she want to wait for Mo Qing to come out from seclusion, at that time, she wears white and changed her hair style and her scar on her forehead is gone..... but then when its shown that Mo Qing sealed the sword and came out of seclusion, she's back to wearing red and her original hair style AND the scar is back, and I am like "????????? What happened????" But well in the end, they are implied married because we see their son and daughter that looks like them lol.

I think what the writers did is trying to let the viewers see two alternate endings based on a choice that you go with, because in the first ending (tragic one) when Mo Qing was stabbed, and Zhao Yao didn't want to push further in, but he did it for her T^T he told her that "this isn't my destiny, but is my choice", telling her to not blame herself for being the one to kill him *cries*(literally did cried in that ending though)

But like I said, at first that's what I got from my first watch, and then someone sent me a link to a Youtube video explaining the ending, which made sense to me so I was like "Oh okay"... Honestly, if there's anything I critic about this is the poor editing and placement of scenes towards the end, because its such a mess and some scenes didn't transitioned smoothly that made me go " HUH??" when it happened. But ignoring that part, I did enjoy this drama on my end, and I don't regret watching it, because I love the main pair, and I love Mo Qing's hair colour (in the present time), where it's navy blue, he's good looking hahaha, even at the beginning with the marking on his side cheek, I DON'T think he's ugly or looks ugly, because it reminds me to another character I love (*cough* Jellal *cough*). It has it's charm point, but yeah with that all said, I will rewatch this again on my end when I have the time, or but this time, with another perspective to that ending. There's also another thing I wish was done better is that I wish they didn't make Mo Qing weak when that idiot (Jiang Wu) came to crashed their wedding, because I don't understand why he's weak??? And I was like "???" he should be stronger than that, and I was like "Did I miss something again".

Read More

You can watch this for 2nd leads: Xue Qian Xun and Qing Qing, and their love story ~

I don't even know where to start with this review, so bare with me here, and this is going to be LONG, not intended for it to be that way, just ended up that way in the end

***WARNING **** IT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS, THAN SKIP MY REVIEW...

Okay to start things off, I won't say this drama is the worst, because I have seen worst drama's out there, but I won't say this drama is the best either. There are certainly areas which I wish was done better.

Personally for me, I don’t have any problems with the Male lead, since I enjoy some of his scenes, but mainly his scenes with Xue Qian Xun LOL. I felt like they have more chemistry (bromance-wise) than the main pairing LOL. I just wish they had a proper closure for them in the end, because Xue Qian Xun wouldn't have done any of that if he was in control of himself, I actually wanted proper closure, and not Longyan misunderstanding him...(But I am going to assume he understood and know the truth because he got that 'alternate' ending, to be with his soulmate, thanks to Xue Qian Xun's help)

I really tried my best to watch for the main pairing, and I did enjoyed it at the beginning especially since I can see a reference to 3L3WTMOPB, how Liu Ying (FL) save the Yuchi Longyan (ML), which happens to be a Dragon, in which she thought was a Snake lol(Sound familiar? Yes, Su Su(BQ) on Ye Hua), so that was a cute reference, although poor dragon's have to be mistaken as a snake 2 times in their respective stories LOL. Their story was okay, and I felt like it could have been better, but as their story progresses, and when I found out that Longyan changed Liu Ying memories and have her “fall in love” with someone else, making her believe her love for him (Longyan) was for someone else instead, I didn’t like it…At that moment, when she was married off, and was pregnant, I was like “????” Okay, so what is there to ship now??? She is married and pregnant with some other man’s baby for goodness’ sake. And then I realized it was meant to be for 3 lives before she can be together with him. I was like, when she was married off, and have to forget about him, in her first life, can she not stay single until she died?? At least that kept to the faithful part. Do she have to be married with someone else instead??

The main pairing story felt so redundant and repetitive, I mean, even if in each life, she's a different person, but it's the same outcome, she is born, grows up, meets him, she falls in love with him, he loves her too, but he can't be together with her (yet), so he have to watch her be with someone who can be with her, or is in love with her... And then, she dies, and then go to Luofeng Pavillion and drink that special tea that makes her forget (except with her second life, that she didn't drink that one), and then, gets born into a different family, setting and environment, the cycle restarts all over again and Longyan have to wait for her to grow up etc etc, and go through that life-cycle again. It was getting so repetitive, that I literally just lost interest in their story, that I ended up fast-forwarding their scenes, even when I fast-forward it, I wouldn't have missed much on my end... The third life when she was a general 'Feng Cheng Yue' was the most boring life and focus for these two for me, but at that point I was mainly just skimming through their scenes on my end.

The other reason why I don't enjoy the main pairing as much is also because I am not someone who is fond of the theme of having the developments up to a certain point wasted, and then restart again. It is like, you built the developments/affection point up to a certain level, and then resets, because she has to die, and then get reincarnated to her next life, and then start all over again… Do you get how redundant that is?? This is also the reason why I am not so fond of ‘amnesia’ plots because it is the same thing for me, I am someone who values ‘development’ and ‘consistency’ on my end. The main pairing, each time gives me something I don't enjoy seeing (in terms of developments being wasted, consistency felt disconnected because she have a different identity in her next life....), and while I understand that it is her soul that Longyan loves, but the portrayal of their story is not my cup of tea, with that all said, I don’t hate them though. I actually wanted that at the end of all these 3 lifecycle, in her fourth life as Qing Yan, she and Longyan can finally be together (even though that was futile..... It made all their trials, and tragedy be for nothing in the end, so it made me question, why did they have to go through all that, just to get that ending there? -_-)

On the contrary, I am thankful for the second leading characters Xue Qian Xun and Qing Qing, because their characters and love story is the saving grace to this drama for me. I have to admit that I did find Qing Qing annoying at first, but she somewhat grew on me, and had matured throughout the story, so I ended up loving her, and I do love her past-self as well.

For Xue Qian Xun, I love this character right from the beginning, because the moment he was introduced, he was said to be cold like an ice (his personality), and impartial to his role as the Lord to Luofeng Pavillion, but when he met Qing Qing for the first time, that all changed for him, because he can finally feel something on his end. Upon their first meeting, I immediately sense a potential between these two as past-lovers or something, so for me, I already love the focus on Xue Qian Xun's character, and his love for Qing Qing, I love all their screen times together. Whenever Xue Qian Xun is in the picture, I will watch the scenes properly for him, even his scenes with Longyan LOL. Ofcourse I will watch it for the second leading couple(Xue Qian Xun and Qing Qing) in this drama, because I love them on my end, they are literally the only focus that tied me to this drama to be honest and would want to make me finish this drama for them. Like I said, how can I not find them appealing? I mean, I actually found them appealing already when Qing Qing was captured by the Luofeng Pavillion guards when she first arrived at Luofeng Pavillion, because when Xue Qian Xun saw the meteor mark on her forehead, he felt something, and that “something”(and that flashback too, which was very vague), so I already find them appealing on my end, in that moment, when he kept her with him to be his maid for 100 years, instead of killing her, I already love what I saw, and was most interested to see how this pairing gets developed, and I was looking to find out about their past, and what exactly happened. As they show me more of them, I just ended up loving them, and then they became my favourite focus <3 And my favourite pair in this drama. This pairing is a gradual build, and I love how he came to love her, because she's different and she can make him feel all these emotions (she can make him smile, she can even make him jealous of Longyan LOL, I find that adorable hahaha), but when he help her paint the peach flower on her forehead was really sweet in my eyes. Yeah, he also didn't know what it's like to feel love, but then, I love how his eyes (he's good with these micro expressions) shows his love for her. It's different from his normal poker face. They really do have chemistry IMO.

I find it rather hard to rate this drama out of 10 for some reason, so I did the below to help me rate this out of 10 better. If I am going to give each pair out of 5, it will be as follows:

Main pairing (ML/FL): Liu Ying / Yuan A Yu / Feng Chen Yue / Gu Qing Yan: 2 out of 5

Second leading pair (2ML/2FL): Xue Qian Xun and Qing Qing: 4.5 out of 5 (0.5 mark lost because I wanted to see more of their scenes!! But even those little scenes, I can’t have enough shows me just how appealing this pairing is, for me, and in addition to this, I wish they have like a proper kiss scene ahahaha, since I wanted to see that, and when they finally kissed, something happened >.<, and I’m like “NOOOOOOoooooO!!!! T.T”)

Ending ~
Okay, I don't know what to say about this ending... Let's start off with the Main pairing, since they are the main pairing... Well, I will just say, I didn't really like that ending, I consider that to be, a sad ending for them, because they have been through 3 life times!!!! 3!!!! (and going through her 4th life time as Qing Yan), and she still can't be with Longyan properly in the end, I just find their ending to be somewhat, sad to be honest, I mean, this really shows they've been through all these trials for nothing, although their spirits will forever be together, but this isn't really a happy ending to me, I think it was 'satisfactory' at best, but personally for me, I don't really like their ending, I felt like they should at least get a happy ending after all that to be honest....And I don't even like the main pairing, but looking at all they've been through, it just felt unjustified IMO, but I guess this is all subjective, since some people consider that to be a happy ending. A happy ending for them to me, is they get to keep their 'human' form and get marry after all this, not that kind of ending... But well, at least their spirits/souls will always be together.... I am glad I am not invested in this pairing, because I will be so heart broken on my end, if that's the ending to my favourite pairing. I won’t spoil the full detail of their ending for you, happy or sad, you decide.


The ending for the second leading couple Xue Qian Xun and Qing Qing:
Okay, I will just say I am glad that Xue Qian Xun didn't die on me, nor did Qing Qing, and that they both can be alive at the end, but I don't know how I feel about Xue Qian Xun going back to his former self, but I guess I will take that as a good ending for him, since he don't need to be the Lord of Pavillion anymore, and they definitely deserves to be happy since they have waited and separated for 1000 years just to get this happy ending. I am going to just pretend that his poison and control is lifted after he "died" at first and then how he can return to his former self (although this lead me to think, that he never died in his first life, I always questioned whether he did or not, but when he said "3000 years ago...." he didn't remember the details" etc etc, so he did live through all those years, and then in that flashback that revealed his back story, it showed that he used up his powers to save "Qing Qing" from falling into the black vortex (which I think if she did, then her soul will be shattered, and won't be able to be reborn), and then, it was said that from that moment on, his memories was erased and that's how he became the Lord of Pavilion, name changed to Xue Qian Xun (but that's how I deciphered it, since it wasn't really touched on it),

So for the ending, I have mix feelings on my end. I definitely wish it was better, but I will just take what I can get, it's at least better than the main pairing ending, so can't ask for too much I guess, since it was a low budget drama (sigh).


Music: Errrr, 4.5/10 I guess, I mean, I like the bgm/midi when it’s between Xue Qing Xuan and Qing Qing, and sometimes they have that background midi for them and I like that, since it brings out the mystery of their past that connects to the present, and I also love their 2 songs which was played in the 2nd couple Xue Qing Xun and Qing Qing scene/moments, and I considered these two songs is their song: Say Goodbye (相别) By Wei Yi Ning (魏一宁) and Favor (青睐) By Ding Ding, but honestly, other than that, this drama doesn’t have any memorable soundtrack… They don’t even have a proper opening theme -_-;;

Rewatch Value: 5/10 I guess, I will watch again for my favourite scenes, that includes Xue Qing Xuan, and Xue Qing Xuan and Qing Qing, as well as other moments that I love. I am rewatching some of these scenes again, with some fast-forwarding on the boring parts of the main pairing. The FL is ‘okay’ at best for me. I do like her character in her last (final life), but I hate those Kunlun disciples that doesn’t know how to tell good youkais from bad youkais -_- They killed for the sake they are youkais is rather just annoying to see IMO.

The Antagonist.... Shocking!!!! Yet, not so shocking, but disappointed!!!!
Mingge Xingjun, I hate him… Zhu Zan Zin, you already played a scheming bastard in Chen Qing Ling, as Jin Guangyao, why do you have to play a similar role in this one???? My god, to think I actually liked you and thought you were genuine but turned out it was all a scheme and biggest lie! But I should have known, since HE was the one who told Qing Qing about the meteor mark can be rid of by detaching the Pipa string and used it to erase that mark… He would have known what that would do to Xue Qing Xuan, so I was like “????” why did he look so shocked and looked worried when Qing Qing told him that he(Xue Qing Xuan) attempted to pull a string for her? I mean, HE was the one who was pulling plotting all this, even in the past, omg…. And Lord of Fate, if you want to plot this, then DON’T involve Xue Qing Xuan in your schemes!!! -_- because thanks to you I can’t help but angst for him and worry for him, since he’s my favourite character. I’m glad he showed me he wanted to break free, and did for a short while, but then he got control of him again… URGH!!! Xue Qing Xuan wouldn’t have fallen into this trap if it weren’t for the gradual poison that you fed him with that “herbal” tea that you gave to Qing Qing that said will help him recover…. I didn’t want to see Xue Qing Xuan being controlled, and wish that didn’t happened…. And that was annoying that he didn’t regain control until almost half way through the final episode, and when that time comes, he “died” :( I was like “What?! NO!!” But at least he never hurt Qing Qing on his end, so that’s a good point there.

So, my verdict to this drama, 6.5 out of 10 for the story, but I will increase 0.5 points to make the overall up to 7 out of 10 because I do like the bromance between Xue Qing Xuan and Longyan, because I like how they started off as ‘not close’ to two friends, who happens to care for each other in that sense, and two of their scenes have this BL vibe LOLOLOLOL, which happened to be caught by Qing Qing when she enters the room. Story, IMO, could not reach 7 out of 10 in my eyes and remained as 6.5 out of 10 because I didn’t really like that ending, I wanted it to be better…. Oh well…. I watched this drama for the second leading characters, and pairing, and stick with it to the end for them, I do wish they have more screentime on their end, less the angst (lol), and it sucks that I didn't get much screentime for them due to Mingge Xingjun -_- like really, writers? Why? 36 episodes, each episode feels short and not the standard C-Drama being 40 something minutes, and you still can't even give us fans more of their screen times because of what happened to Xue Qing Xuan T___T (So that was 'minus points' there on the story for me). I know it's to build on the angst and drama, but so many things is happening for the remaining episodes, and it did feels rushed so can't give this a high rating because of all said.

Read More

This is a hidden Gem!

This is such a hidden Gem! I first encountered this drama through YouTube, as it was on one of the recommendation in my dashboard, and I was like "Word of Honour", the name sounded familiar, and then I remembered I've seen this name through an online site where I was looking at MDZS / CQL merchandize haha. So I decided to check out this drama on my end, knowing it came from a BL novel.

This, I would have to say exceeded my expectations because there are scenes indeed, I wonder "How did this drama passed censorship", considering this is the second BL drama I've seen, after Chen Qing Ling (The Untamed), I would have to say both these adaptations are loveable in it's own way, and you can feel the love between the main leads in their respective stories, that while I will say that The Untamed (CQL) touch on the subtle side of their love, although some parts aren't quite subtle about it, 'Word of Honour' actually surpasses that to another level, that you don't see them as 'brothers', but them as 'Soulmates/lovers'. Which yeah, I agree with the fans, "how did this pass censorship", but I am not complaining LOL, since I love the chemistry between the main leads Wen Ke Xing and Zhou Zi Shu.

My favourite character in this story, I got to say Wen Ke Xing, because he's so charismatic to me, I love how he's adorable/sweet/protective when it comes to Zhou Zi Shu (MC), but he is ruthless/shows no mercy to those who deserves it or hurts Zhou Zi Shu. In terms of ending, I am talking about the 'uncensored' version, I am quite amaze with that ending, especially the part when Wen Ke Xing actually said "love you" to Zhou Zi Shu, waaaah *surprise surprise!!* although he couldn't hear him, but waaaaah, that's BOLD!!! Kudos to the production Team here, and the script writer, too bad when it comes to the dubbing and the revising of the drama, they toned it down, but since I watched the final episode uncensored, I got the happy ending, and the confession that I wanted. Although I am sad that Wen Ke Xing hair is white in the end T___T but he is now an immortal like Zhou Zi Shu, and we saw how happy both of them were, so I am content. In terms of ending, in the adaptation side of things, I love what I was given in Word of Honour (where I see them side by side happily like this) better than CQL, because the moment when Lan Zhan suggested to walk separate paths, he's sadly, no longer the canon Lan Zhan to me, because Canon Lan Zhan wouldn't suggest that, ever, I still wish that scene was done differently in CQL, and it always hurts me to go back and watch that scene since it was a slap every time, when I watch it urgggghhh.

I am sad when Gu Xiang and Wei Ning died T___T and such tragic deaths too!!!! I HATE that character (not spoiling) who killed them URGH!!! But anyways, I personally really love, enjoyed this drama, I love the OST's in this drama too, and I love Wen Ke Xing and Zhou Zi Shu chemistry!! Wen Ke Xing is such a flirt hahahaha, but he's only like that when it comes to Zhou Zi Shu so he's forgiven XDD I am so tempted to read the novel now that I finished the drama, stayed up late every night just to marathon this on my end!!

So do I recommend this drama? Hell yes!!! If you are open for BL, you can watch it!! Although they are considered 'Bromance', but to me, they are a couple, with how they are portrayed that way!! And I am glad!! Kudos to the script writer and production team, and yes, the actors too!! I love this drama on my end and will definitely rewatch this again! <3

Read More

Xianxia, Fantasy or Modern China? The use of Modern terminology at times is just WOW

This drama is an okay watch if you have nothing to watch but it's not top tier in my honest opinion.

I do like the Male actor (Chen Zhe Yuan) though as I've seen him played in Hidden Love previously and I love his character in that drama too. In this drama though, he played as two identities, where the day he's under the identity as Li Xiong, and the night he is under his identity as Kui Mu Lang, which the latter is his real identity as the Lord(king) to the Beast Clan.

In terms of romance, 95% it feels unrequited from Kui Mu Lang side because 95% the FL (Qi Pa) did not know about his real identity as she puts Li Xiong and Kui Mu Lang as completely 2 different people. She's in "love" with the handsome Li Xiong at first because she didn't like Kui Mu Lang since his appearance scares her. That's a minus appeal for me because she can show me that she can open her heart to everyone else in the Beast Clan without prejudice, yet she can't do the same for Kui Mu Lang, that even when she knows how he never treated her badly and that she knows that Kui Mu Lang let's her do what she wants, she still have that prejudice against him where her heart is closed off from giving him a fair chance to win her over.

It got annoying to the point I wanted Kui Mu Lang just to let her go back to her own world (Da Xia) and maybe then we will get some sort of developments for the main pairing.

In the romance I always felt that it is Kui Mu Lang doing the pursuing on her but she doesn't appreciate it on her end(at first) where I cannot count how many times I felt sorry for Kui Mu Lang when she said hurtful words towards him like she said she won't ever fall in love with him, yet she fell in love with the handsome Li Xiong(the him in his day form). This is why I wish it was done differently in this drama where she came to love Kui Mu Lang first but oh well.

For me personally I love both his identities no matter if it's Li Xiong or Kui Mu Lang, but 95% of the times I do feel sorry for how one sided the romance is because Qi Pa cannot accept Kui Mu Lang at first.

The only time I felt she actually gave Kui Mu Lang a chance was when she was blind where she rely on Kui Mu Lang to take care of her.

Well, in the end, Qi Pa did have her own developments where she showed me that in the end she love both Kui Mu Lang and Li Xiong as one identity so that was good....

But overall I felt like everything just gets rushed in the final few episodes didn't make it to a satisfactory level for me to love this pairing on my end. So I didn't really fangirl over this pair when compared to some of the pairings in other dramas I've come to love.


I'm not going to make it a long review like I normally do with the other dramas so, to sum up my feelings to this drama is, yeah it does sorta give that beauty and the beast vibe but there are differences. The actress(Wu Xuan Yi) did play her role decently enough I'll give her that even when I'm not really a fan of her character Qi Pa. 95% of the story, Qi Pa didn't know that KML and LX is the same person not because she never thought about it but it's because(and she said it), she didn't want to think they are the same person, which I find it sad and disappointing and put further emphasis on my point why I wish she would give KML a fair chance and not have that prejudice against him at first . Well she got her developments and was able to show me she love KML in the end, so my final verdict to this drama:

** Is this drama recommendable? Well, If you have nothing to watch, you can watch this drama to pass your time. But don't expect a top tier romance and story, because it's not IMO

** Rewatch value: I don't have the urge to rewatch this drama again but I suddenly have the urge to watch Hidden Love again. Now that drama (Hidden Love) is better than this one at least.

** I was originally going to give this drama a 6(overall) but after watching the ending, I bump up the score to 7 in the overall.

** There are other pairings in this drama that gets their happy ending, so if you don't like the main pairing you can enjoy it for the side pairings.

Oh yes, what I mean by that title? Well to be honest, I thought the setting was Xianxia and set in Ancient China but there are like a few words spoken here and there that felt very modern like... And the ending scene where they are dressed in modern clothes made me go "???" So this story is pretty random with the use of modern terminology LOL

And with that said, I'll end my review here!

Read More

A story about second chances. You either like it or you dislike it

As the headline suggests, this story can be seen is about second chances, how you either give your one true love a second chance, or go with the current love. In my opinion, everyone deserves a second chance, especially when they have changed/improved from back then.

Bear in mind that there is a love triangle; where the ex-boyfriend comes back into the female lead’s life when she's already in a new relationship. It may not be for everyone; for me personally, I am definitely NOT fond of love-triangles to be honest, since they are annoying. I love/prefer faithful love that transcends life/death and time. A love that never dies.

Between the two love; Xu Zhehao (which is the male lead, acted by Qin Jun Jie) is her first, and true love. Xia Tian (female lead, acted by Janice Wu) have said (and as we can see), when she's with Xu Zhehao, she can be her true self, whereas for her relationship with Guan Xin, she is, well, I don't know, but I honestly, really don't feel the sweet chemistry between them when comparing to how Xu Zhehao and Xia Tian and how they were in their flashbacks. They (Guan Xin and Xia Tian) aren't completely honest with each other, not like how Xu Zhehao and Xia Tian relationships was depicted back then.

Honestly, I kept to this drama for Xu Zhehao and Xia Tian, because I love their chemistry over Guan Xin and Xia Tian, as a matter of fact, I don't even like Guan Xin, for several reasons actually, one being, he is quite abusive if you ask me, I mean, on both occasions, Guan Xin is always the FIRST to throw a punch first!!! So in the end, my feelings for Guan Xin was 'meh'. I didn't like him as well, because there are times where I felt like he is guilt-tripping Xia Tian.... And especially when he knew exactly how Xia Tian feels, but he ignores her feelings, so I really didn't like him for that...

Quite the contrary, I always love the scenes between Xu Zhehao and Xia Tian on my end, and for Xia Tian, there are ofcourse flaws, one being, she knew clear well how she felt but she's not staying true to her feelings, not following her heart, and she accepted Guan Xin's marriage proposal even when she knew how she felt deep down... Thus, not being honest with her feelings... That was a negative point about her character for me, I mean, she rather go with 'not disappointing her friends and Guan Xin' over following her true feelings.. If I was her, I would have refused, and break it off then, and I will tell Guan Xin, "I'm sorry. I cannot marry you, this will he unfair to you" and break it off then....And NOT drag it off like in the drama....but then reality is different.. in the drama, this needs to happen for drama sake....not that I support the dragginess though...

For me, I do like the ending, I just wish we got a little more of their post-happiness to see how happy they are back together, but I already can see they are happy now so that's sweet. I like how the 'train' signify their relationship progress, from when they first met, fell in love, break up and now back together, only this time, they will cherish their second chance,

Xia Tian is a not a bad character, although there are questionable choices she made which I don't agree with, but when she decides on something she gives it all her, and not waver, that's one of the traits I love about her. I do like that she actually went to Xu Zhehao at the end, because it shows me she's 'putting in' the effort (chasing after him) to win him back.

I love that kiss they have for each other, hey, at least it's passionate and it's from the present time, right?

Worth noting that I love the contrast/difference Xia Tian gave for Xu Zhehao and Guan Xin, for Xu Zhehao, she actually regrets breaking up with him, and wanted to be with him and ask for forgiveness that she didn't want to break up, but for Guan Xin, it honestly felt like it was a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, like a sigh of relief.

I am not saying she didn't like both, but what I am saying is, being with Guan Xin, she can never love him full-heartedly, it will always be Guan Xin loving Xia Tian more.... Because Xia Tian heart is closed off/and a portion of her heart/love is already given to Xu Zhehao, that is why it's unfair to Guan Xin for persisting in this futile relationship...

Whereas, for Xu Zhehao and Xia Tian, I can really see Xia Tian loving Xu Zhehao full-heartedly, and that feeling is mutual from Xu Zhehao's end, and she can completely open up and be herself, like she said, she can be herself the most when she's with him, that's why, I am glad/happy she went with Xu Zhehao at the end

Both Qin Jun Jie and Janice Wu played their roles well, and I do think Qin Jun Jie (as Xu Zhe Hao) is handsome; I love how they have these micro expressions (especially Qin Jun Jie) where they are about to cry... :( So do they have chemistry? Ofcourse! ANDI love all their flashbacks that was presented in the drama, I just wish we had more...

Rewatch Value: I will rewatch this, but will mostly going to fast-forward the boring scenes (i.e. Guan Xin and Xia Tian scenes, and Guan Xin scenes on it's own, they are fast-forwardable imo)

Music: I actually quite like some of the music in this show, made me teary and emotional.

P.S: That scene when Xia Tian wish Xu Zhehao a happy birthday; I was teary.... She's the only one who remembered (I do think Xu Zhehao remembered too; but ever since he broke up with Xia Tian, he decide to not celebrate his birthday anymore), but the flashback scene, made me teary... the happy moments, vs the moments of the present, where they still love each other, but she's holding back her feelings and not staying true to her heart (and how she feels for Xu Zhehao)... And it really (extremely) pisses me off when Guan Xin punched Xu Zhehao on his birthday!!! (I am like, can I punch Guan Xin on his birthday)??

Read More

A Promising Start, but Disappointing in the second half

I have been anticipating this drama, The Blossoming Love ever since the cast was revealed since I love Zhang Binbin on my end, and I also like Sun Zhen Ni (in TTEOTM) and from the footage/teasers back then it seems like an appealing story.

This Drama was airing at the same time (month) as Moonlight Mystique, and back then I was watching both drama's at the same time, and have even subscribed to Youku and joined SVIP to watch 1 episode in advance. I remember back then I used to watch The Blossoming Love first since the airing time is earlier than Moonlight Mystique (by Iqiyi), which I have also subscribed to watch through their official channel to support it's viewcounts.

In terms of the story The Blossoming Love, I did enjoyed it at the beginning and first half of the story, because I love the female lead, Mu Xuan Ling played by Sun Zhen Ni, because she was bold and unafraid to show her love/confession to win over the Male Lead Xie Xue Chen. I found that type of female lead to be refreshing for once, and I love how she was devoted to her love when it comes to Xie Xue Chen. Their love was quite interesting in that sense where I can see that Mu Xuan Ling started to warm up to her, and love her.

I even enjoyed the friendship between the Mu Xuan Ling and Nan Xu Yue, but... it is because I love their friendship, is why I didn't enjoy the later half of the story from what I found out happened, and I didn't like what Nan Xu Yue had become.

I felt like the plot started to go the direction I DON'T enjoy when Sang Qi forced Mu Xuan Ling drink the potion that forget her love/feelings for Xie Xue Chen... That was a negative point and direction for me that I didn't like... Although it did showed how hard Xie Xue Chen puts in to cure her from that "poison", but I didn't like Mu Xuan Ling during this time on my end here.... I felt like her actions, although I know she wouldn't have done it, if she were in her right mind, lead Nan Xu Yue to further walk down that path and become more selfish with his feelings to win her over...

Another plot point I didn't like is, how it shows a "Split-Soul" between Xie Xue Chen and Zhao Ming, especially when they both are complete opposites, where the Dark side (Zhao Ming) is oppressing the good side Xie Xue Chen. It kinda gives me the Luo Ge and Hei Yue(in Song of the Moon) vibes here...

You know the irony here is that, while I really dislike Zhen Yu (in Moonlight Mystique) but in The Blossoming Love, I can never bring myself to hate/dislike Sang Qi played by Han Dong, and I even did shed tears for him when Sang Qi died... In the Blossoming Love, at least he showed me qualities that I liked, whereas in Moonlight Mystique, I truly dislike his character Zhen Yu that I cannot stand him. So this goes to show that Han Dong really can play out these two characters well.

Anyways, I won't go into a very in-depth Review like I normally do, but if I am going to be honest with you, I did have plans to finish the drama when I placed it on hold after watching Episode 31, since the Past-Arc between Zhao Ming, Hun Dun Zhu & Tian Ming Su, was very boring filled with politics that I don't enjoy, so that's why I kinda left it until that arc has ended, but after the ending, and I have read reviews in here, and found out what happened in the remaining episodes, I kinda lost all that motivation to continue watching The Blossoming Love on my end here due to what I read about Mu Xuan Ling being indecisive or unclear about her feelings and she have lost that trait I liked in her in the beginning..... I don't like indecisive Female Lead, where she doesn't know who she wants or love more and leading the two male leads on, so this is definitely a negative appeal for me... So because of this, I decided to drop The Blossoming Love after watching 31 Episodes....

Well everyone is different, some people I read really love The Blossoming Love, then that is very good for you, however for me, if I can sum this up, The Blossoming Love had potential, but the 2nd half falls weak to me with all these changes and direction it was going (from the reviews and spoilers I've read). I felt like The Blossoming Love is the Drama that have me wanting to watch more episodes when it first started until a "certain point", and then into someone who just persevered for the sake of watching it, until the past was shown, where I actually felt like putting it on hold.

I can pinpoint where I lost my motivation to watch was when Mu Xuan Ling was forced to drink that potion, that was the starting point, and I didn't enjoy Nan Xu Yue going down that direction that I don't like(that is the second point). I really don't want to dislike him because I did like his character at the beginning especially his friendship with Xie Xue Chen, but when they ruined Nan Xu Yue's character and the friendship I enjoyed between him and Xie Xue Chen, this drama just keep going down the path/direction that I am not fond of, so in the end, despite I had intention to finish the drama on my side originally, but after learning what happened in the remaining episides, I don't want to put myself through that annoyance in the later half judging from what I learned in the spoilers.

While this drama (The Blossoming Love) and Moonlight Mystique was airing at the same time, but in the end, between the two drama, Moonlight Mystique had won me over if I have to choose, this is my preference because at least for Moonlight Mystique, I felt attached/hooked into the plot from beginning to end, but in The Blossoming Love, I felt like it had a promising start, but a disappointing change of plot direction and there are just too many unappealing plot-points and the direction the story was going in the second half that made me lost interest, so this is a disappointing outcome, because I did enjoyed The Blossoming Love from the beginning, just wish it didn't have too many of these unappealing tropes that made me give up.

Read More

No romance, but I still love it!

Normally, what makes me want to watch a Chinese Drama is it has to have romance, but as the title says, this is actually the first Chinese Drama, where I'm actually okay that there's no romance, maybe because I am not a fan of the FL (Chen Guo), I mean, as a character, she did annoy me a couple of times (especially towards the beginning), even when her character did developed at the end. Another thing is, I don't see the chemistry between Ye Xiu and Chen Guo, like she is a fan of him and then later becomes the boss that manages Xing Xin . To be honest, I feel more chemistry between Ye Xiu and Su Mu Cheng, because they've known each other since young, and they share a very close relationship, and I love their moments together, it is obviously they both care for each other, but too bad, because she's not the FL (actually wish she was tbh), I know they won't be together :( I am really glad that she joins Xing Xin at the end though!

In terms of characterization, my favourite is definitely Ye Xiu, the actor Yang Yang did a really great job playing out the best in Ye Xiu, I mean, I haven't watch the Donghua or read the novel on my end, but I really love his characterization on my end, he's known as the "King", and I love he keeps a low profile, and doesn't glorify/show off his status as the "King".

I will be honest that at the beginning when I first started, it did take me a while to warm up to the story, but as I watched on, I really came to enjoy it, and I love each individual members that Ye Xiu recruits into his team, and where they have bonded, and I just love their team spirit!!

I also love the other teams players, and especially the captains in those teams who are strong rivals, and also friends with Ye Xiu, who will come out and defend him and speak up for him. And can I say that Yu Wen Zhou character, really reminds me of Tezuka (Prince of Tennis) LOL. Not a bad thing, since I love Tezuka LOL

The most hardest moment for me to watch was when Ye Xiu was defeated in one of the tournament match, and his weapon broke, since I know that is a big blow for him, not that he lost(yes, that hurts too), but that weapon meant a lot to him T__T and then when the team was disbanded, it really hurts me, but then they all have to go through that process, and I am glad in the end, they came back stronger than ever.

At first, I didn't like Wu Chen, but him joining the team, really warmed up to me, and I love seeing him in action! Especially the final match, totally had me ecstactic, and the final match really had me watching their match (without knowing the result) at the end of the seat, and when Xing Xin lose by 1 point, I was sad, but then, when they won (because Ye Xiu broke the record at the end), I was like everyone there who cheered for Xing Xin, was so happy and ecstactic!!!! I love how I am also emotionally invested in these games, and it had me at the end of my seat anticipating how the result will turn out!! I love that Xing Xin won!!! Since I was cheering for them!!

If I have to say something though, I just have to say that those fans, who actually criticize the players for leaving a team, really showed me how fickle they are!! It made me question, are they fans of the player themselves, or fan of the company (JiaShi) -_- So I love those loyal fans who can understand the player feelings and supported their decision at the end!

I say, before I watched the final episode that if Xing Xin win against Jiashi, I will give it 10/10, if it lose, then I will deduct 1 point from it, so in the end.... Congratulations to Xing Xin, and Congratulations to The King's Avatar (S1), you deserve 10/10!!!! I saw that Season 2 is listed? OMG, I will be excited if it comes out with the same casts, and follows from Season 1 ending, because I just can't get enough of Season 1, I didn't want it to end there, I wanted to watch more!!! SO if there's a Season 2, with the same cast, I am definitely watching this!!!

Rewatch Value: Yeah, definitely on my rewatch list!! Hope the team for Xing Xin stays, since I've come to love each member in that team!! <3

P.S: But got to say, that.... Whenever Chen Ye Hui comes onto the screen, I really wanted to punch him, because I don't like his character, he pisses me off, and I thought him in ALP was already worst LOL

Read More

The ending.... Is bitter sweet.....

To be honest, I originally was ready to give this drama a 9/10, but after watching the last two episodes, 1 point was deducted from it...

Why? Well, spoilers.... First off, I didn't like that Pu-Er was killed off... I mean, I kind of have that feeling when Pu'Er and BFX was talking about what they will do after the war ended, and I am like... "Omg, this is hinting to something bad is going to happen... right???" And then the whole ambush, my feeling got stronger, and then I was really hoping that it is just me being over-sensitive... but then BAM! I was right!!! I really cried when Pu'Er died... We knew him since he was a boy and then 6 years past (6 years!!!) and then he's grown up but was killed off!!!! T__T , that I am telling you, I am deducting 0.5 points from the story...

Second 0.5 point deducted is... Omg, why why why!!! Can I ignore the fact that HFX only have 10 years to live at the end?!???!?! Can I?!??!?!? I mean, I DON'T like that fact, but I can't really ignore it, because it's kinda 'in your face', and I am JUST SAD! I know it shows his deep love for BFX, and which I love him for that, but at the same time, the writers is just too cruel.. This is why the ending is 'BITTERsweet' to me, It is bitter because I know (and don't like for a fact) that HFX only have 10 years to live at the end T___T but the ending is depicting them enjoying the peace they have with each other for the remaining count-down to when HFX die... I really wanted them to hint there's a way for HFX to be save and that he doesn't have to die, so he and BFX can live for a long time, for the rest of their life, but nope!!! (Another drama I know where the ML sacrifice their life-force for the person they love and where their hair goes white)....

But that all aside, I did enjoy the story on my end, although I will be honest is that I rather they focus more on the Jiang Wu (Martial Arts) side of the story, because I love seeing them as Hei Fengxi and Bai Fengxi. I love and reckon (and fangirl) when Feng Lanxi have his hair down, when he's 'Hei Fengxi', because I reckon he looks more nicer/handsome that way. I wish he's more like that 'style' throughout the drama like the poster advertised LOL. I am not that interested in the state/government/political plots as they bore me, but since I've come to like the characters, I decided to stick with this story on my end.

I love the characters, Hei Fengxi, Bai Fengxi, Pu'Er, Zhong Li, Huang Chao and Feng Chang.

I love the brotherly bond between Feng Lanxi (HFX) and his elder brother, Feng Chang, I am glad that these two brotherly bond/love for each other didn't disappoint me in the end.

HFX and BFX really have chemistry, and I love their romance together, one thing good about this drama is there's no LT, and unnecessary misunderstanding, so that's a plus, although right now (and will always be) I am disappointed and forever bitter that HFX only have 10 years to live at the end...

Rewatch Value: I guess I will rewatch some scenes I love, especially those HFX and BFX scenes, since they're my favourite, but I will skip all those political plots etc, since I am not that interested in it.'

Music: It's nice, there's 1 or 2 song I love, and will download and listen to it again.

Ending: Don't ask, I already stated my feelings... Bitter-sweet, I can't ever get over the cruel fact that HFX only have 10 years to live at the end!

Read More