Hermine Voltaire

Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain is just too good. It is so good that I don’t even mind anymore the strange western facial features of the main female lead, Sandrine Pinna. She is now one of my favorite Taiwanese actresses.
His master has completely grew on me.
She is retarded, funny, manipulative, alcoholic, psychotic and at times even evil but she does it all for his own good.
I am really enjoying her characters and yes, I said her characters because I think she might suffer from multiple personalities disorder???...
It is a pure parody on everything that are over-the-top, exaggerated and ridiculous in Chinese costumed fantasy dramas, including the modern ones. There is even a hint of BL; what is not to love...
And once again, just like in Arsenal Military Academy, Kai is a pure bliss to watch.
I am so happy that he is getting better projects and his acting skills are improving by leaps and bounds.

I think we may have our next, Zhang Ruoyun - Good looking and unbelievably talented. These 2 combos do not come often together.
Honestly, I don’t give much attention to those former models turned actors with zero formal acting training. Most of their achievements and popularities are usually solely based on their fanbase.
However, Xu Kai is the one unique exception in my book. From the beginning, besides his good looks, I never expected much from him but OH MAN!!!... This young man blew me away with his talent.

Indeed, you should be blamed.
Being fed to only one specific philosophy AND voluntarily being narrow minded about a restrictive view are two different things.
I was brought up with European philosophies; however, I am more than opened to acquire further understanding of other philosophies and cultures.
The moment of eureka is:
The more knowledge we acquire; the more unknowledgeable we realize we are.

This drama felt like an homage to Princess’ s Man, Jewel in the Crown and Lee San, Wind of the Palace.
Beautiful love storyline, beautiful chemistry between the two main leads and beautiful OST.
The similarities in the vibe make sense since 2 of them were directed by the same director.

After her last 2 dramas, Grand Prince and The Item, I was very skeptical about this historical drama with Jin Se Yeon.
However, I was so wrong.

As for Kim Min Kyu, I was blown away by the intensity of his emotions. So very similar to the king’s character in Dong Yi.
A very well casted, well directed and well produced historical sageuk.

Your world’s view is extremely pitiful and limited. You should venture outside of your restricted bubble from time to time.
It is a big world out there.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
Mark Twain

I stand corrected...
You are a delusional fangirl with a perpetual deluded rhetoric.
Roy Wang must be embarrassed to have fans like you.
If he acts out exactly like you and he can not understand the audience’s assessment to work harder on his craft then there is really no hope for him.

Based on your nonsense, no one without an acting background can judge a rookie or a wannabe actor.
Absurd... Simply absurd...
Us, the audience, is too uneducated to arrive to our own judgement.

Wow... With your way of thinking; I really doubt we could have ever evolved into the modern humans whom we are today.
Contrarily to you, the rest of us... with an evolved brain..., we have developed the capability to make our own judgement rather than blindly listening to an obviously deluded interviewee.

Words of advice:
You should stop now.
I understand that you are a fervent fan of Roy and that is your prerogative; however, you are starting to sound like a delusional fangirl with your constant deluded rhetoric.

I knew it. I knew that I recognized the vibe from this song.
The artist behind the ending OST is 陳雪燃 Xueran Chen.
The same artist who did the soundtrack for Guardian.
No wonder... the OST is so enchanting and whimsical.

I agree with you.
Even my first impression after just 16 episodes is simply a surfaced review of the schematics. I need more episodes in order to have a more thorough understanding of the storyline.
This is not just a teenager fantasy idol drama with magical adventures...
I am sensing that it is much more than that.

Makes sense...

Your opinion completely make sense and I 100% agree with you. The cast is the only downfall of this drama.

I was waiting for this one with so much excitement.
Leo Wu and Karry Wang... What is not to love...

First Impression:
Color Palette:
I love the color palette. It is similar to what was used in Nirvana In Fire. The alternation between the grays and the blues are very appealing to the eyes. The lightings are beautifully executed. We can see shadows where it supposes to have shadows not that overhead lighting that looks so artificial found in most dramas.

Musical Theme and Sound:
The entering and the ending OSTs could have been better. The constant playing of the lyrical OST whenever the 2 main leads are in a scene together is rather irritating.
(We got it... He is head over heels for her; even though, we don’t have the slightest clue why?...).
Unfortunately, most of the voice dubbings are off and unsynchronized.

Acting Skill:
The improved screen presence and the grown maturity of Leo Wu are noticeable right off the bat. As usual, Leo Wu and Karry Wang’s acting performances are on point. The insidious character of the young emperor is portrayed rather well by Karry Wang.
The least favorite of them all is Song Zu Er’s acting. She is not showing any speck of improvement in her acting. And it does not help that her character in this drama is spoiled, bratty, rude, rash, overzealous, unsophisticated, uncultured and immature with a forever smug expression. It is very difficult to take her seriously in any scenes.

Imagery:
Since it is a fantasy drama with a strong magical baseline, we are hoping for more imageries and more refined CGIs. As of now, they are too few.

“An creditable actor”?
What does that even mean? Where do you get your terminologies from? And the grammar?
The word credible or creditable is defined as acceptable, reliable, dependable and so on...

The adjective that you were looking for is ACCREDITED. And about yourself, are you an accredited actor? What gives you the expertise to weigh his acting capabilities?
Hilarious...

As for Finding Soul, I can hardly include a 15 minutes projection of a 25 episodes’ idol drama as a stardom point.
I was trying to be considerate by not mentioning it...

Perfect assessment.
It was delivered with perfect fluidity.

This “Nation’s Little Brother” got smoking HOT out of the blue...
I am loving the new looks. He looks so unbelievably more mature now. Even his screen presence is no joke...
Leo Wu used to be a tad too skinny. I used to say “Please, put that shirt back whenever he was shirtless in Fights Break Sphere...”

I badly badly badly want a Fights Break Sphere season 2.
However, after the fiasco of Ever Night season 2; I am terrified of all potential seasons 2.
Even though, I would love for Leo Wu to come back in season 2; I am still satisfied with the possible replacement, Liu Hao Ran.
Nonetheless, there is still a possible scenario where the director and producer completely mess it up as was the scenario for Ever Night 2.

Well, as a fervent fan of his as you have stated; I will let you be the judge when it comes to his musical achievements and scandals. For which I have no clue since these types of music and whatever detriments that comes with it are not my forte.
On the other hand, we can surely debate the acting part.
Who am I to say that he is a C-actor? I am one of the wide-world’s audiences who has witnessed his beginning since Noble Aspirations. His portfolio consist of about 6 items; it is barely a portfolio. What makes him a C-actor because he is not yet a B-actor. He does not yet have the chops, the experience, the aptitude or the inner talent.

Nevertheless, all these early assessments do not automatically typecast him as a C-actor for all eternity. He is young; therefore, there is plenty of rooms and years for improvement.

Dude or dudette,
Don’t get your panties in a bunch... My post was purely hypothetical that is why I used words like “imagine” and “would have made.”
Therefore, slow your roll... you overzealous one...

And yes, one was produced by Tencent and the other one was produced by QIYI; is that a crime to imagine them both combining together?
What are you the anti-Chinese cinematography
union?

As for the use of the pronoun “they”
I was referring to the FILM INDUSTRY as a whole and not a specific ethnic group, culture, country, gender or whatnot...
No seriously, you really need to slow your roll.

I do understand these days; fans like yourself only value popularity with no basics over actually hard earned talent.
However, is that what his true fans really want for him? A C-averaged actor who only gets lead roles through connections?

That is an awfully sad thing to say about a favorite entertainer...
And by the way, thins’t his first acting job. Are you certain that you are one of his fans?

Roy and Karry pretty much started their stardoms together both in music and in films. And it is obvious that the difference in talent is abundantly substantial.
Roy might have “developed SOME feelings for the career” however, that does not automatically make him a perfect fit for that career...
Currently at his level, he is only suited to play supporting casts. He needs to spend a whole lot more time on working harder if he wants to really own “a leading role.”