Architectofnonsence

Great cast and production with poorly written story

I've watched this drama after many recommendations from my friend ,, she knows I like good friendship and Angsty drama so i had high hopes for it and it did start really well for few episodes ,, it was enjoyable for about ten to fifteen episodes then it became really draggy ,, the pacing was too slow
then the characters were all over the places ,, I couldn't follow the romantic story line and the main lead was so passive ,, so naive for more than half of the drama ,, it was getting annoying ,, which power he has he couldn't use and he couldn't control it till near the finale episodes
so what is the purpose of unused superpower LOL
also the friendship was great I loved it but the writer couldn't leave it alone he had to separate them in very odd way
out of no where he destroyed the romance he was building from the beginning , the two couples in this drama lost their loved ones for no reason just that their own families and sects are more important than love so why build a romance story in the first place and made us hyped about their happy ending
The plot was shattered in to so many pieces that you can't love it,, you can't like broken story
the ending was open ending so you could imagine the frustration after all that struggle to go through this drama
Over all this drama was good but not very good and not recommended for a re watch
It was a let down for me

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Smartest Historical friendship drama I've ever watched

I just finished this master piece and I'm so sad that it ended ,, I will watch season two just because it has the same name
I will watch also the disguiser just because it has the same main leads
that's How I love this drama so much ,,, I chose to watch it in spiritual time for me and it didn't disappoint on the contrary
I enjoyed it so much
The story is perfect ,, had every thing I like ,, it didn't lack anything
it had the brotherhood/ friendship , the main lead's struggles , the light romance , the faithful relationships , the strong antagonist ,, a lot of Whump too for the male lead
The friendship between the two male lead was amazing with no exaggeration or forced physical attractions between the male leads , they loved each others as brothers to death and beyond ,, it was mature relationship with it strong story behind it
The acting was amazing from every actor even the young Wu lei was amazing in his young age made me laugh ,, broke a lot of tension in difficult episodes ,, it was the right add on to the mix
The intelligence of the writers plot made my head spins in a good way not confusing way ,, it's really smart
I can't say enough about this drama
only that I put it as the best Historical drama I've every watched ,, it dethroned Untamed in my best watched
I highly recommend this drama to anyone ,, it's really the best
you can't hate it even if you want to

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Impressive emotional Humanitarian drama

Not too soon for a raving review for this master piece
It's such an amazing story with a really good heart warming scenes
It has everything that any human being needs
The family bonds , the unifamilial relations yet as strong as family
everybody's dream of achieving something in their lives even with old age you can't stop dreaming and trying to achieve that dream
Love in it's purest meaning ,,, the love that we all long for
also the director's respect for the grandfather ,, letting him dance in proper clothing not tight cloths as any ballerina wear
the lighting ,, the far angles in each dance not to show dancers body to respect every taste who watch the drama
turning the bully into a decent human in such little actions
this drama has such great subtle messages that give you warmth and feeling of decency
I love it so much
I recommend it to anyone who want to watch something not romantic yet full of lovely feelings

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Underrated War drama ,, Amazing brotherhood fast paced story with little romance

This drama is so underrated ,, not a lot of people watching it may be because the leads aren't that famous or it's a war drama heavy topic or because of the lack of romance but still there are plenty of romance in it ,,may be all I've mentioned above are the reasons not many watching it here on MDL

I decided to watch it because I liked how it started also I learned that it's about the journey of the male lead not the military or the war itself ,, the drama is about fighting Japanese occupation and revenge also it shifts from place to place ,, it doesn't stick for long in one story ,, it's a journey of fighting in many ways and on many fronts against the Japanese
also there is a traitor who took what the male lead cherished most
the male lead suffers from a lot of loss in the first half of the drama ,, he lost a lot of people that became close to him but in the second part the drama shifts to kind of happier place and not many people dying as before so it's not all war and gore
Also
it has Bromance ,, not BL but Actual Brotherhood between the male lead and later on secondary male lead ,,, they became brothers in arms ,, they love each other and said it out loud ,, they have their own female love interests so no gay love but actual pure brotherly love
their relationship is amazing and it shows on screen ,, yet the other male lead isn't as handsome and as charismatic as the male lead but his character is amazing and his love story also is good
this drama doesn't care about handsome people ,, it shows men as brothers and as warriors
The second half of the drama has so many happy scenes that will make you breath easily and get more scared about what's coming at the end ,, it's a war story after all
I'm sorry I forgot the female lead ,, she didn't show up until the twentieth episode or so ,, she's so cute and really adorable not annoying but very naive ,,, the male lead treats her as his younger sister at first as he had another love but I think he will love her at the end ,, it's story of growth
really worth watching
I really recommend it to any one

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Heart Wrenching and beautiful raw emotional Melodrama

This drama is adapted from the Japanese drama Boku no Ita Jikan orTime I Was In, The Hours of My Life
But it's better than the Japanese dramas in portraying the characters
I've been waiting for this drama since they announced it two years ago, I don't know why China delayed its release until now
but I'm glad they released it ... at the same time as the male lead's new drama airing (everybody loves me)

prepare yourself for depression, anxiety, and crying rivers of tears all that not just because of the male lead's fatal disease only , but for the people around him and how they react to the news of him dying from an incurable disease
this drama focuses on the relationships and the love between the characters not just familial love but also romantic love and best friendships

I didn't imagine this drama would have one of the best brotherhoods and Bromances ,,, it showed how deep his friendship is with his best friend to the point of breaking down on the street crying like a baby for his best friend three times not just one time and helping his best friend with everything he needs even asking his parents to build a hospital for his friend or getting him the best doctor, all that from the superficial free boy who stays by his side as a side character, he became a responsible man after his friend's ordeal and took care of him in his struggle

The romance here is the best also and they didn't break up for long or go into a toxic relationship because of a misunderstanding created by the male lead, the female lead is a gift from heaven for the male lead, and she stays by his side doing everything humanly possible to help him with such love and care
in the Japanese drama, they made the female lead target for the male lead's co-worker and alleged friend but here the co-worker knew about his disease and never approached the female lead again, he stayed by his side to help him too

The parents were as real as any other parents can be strangers at times but when he got sick and reached for them, they surrounded him with love and compassion and also tried to make up for their negligence in the past
his relationship with his dad wasn't good but after what happened to him everything changed for the better, of course, his dad regretted what he did to him and his family

His work was the strongest point in his life outside of his family and friends and to an idealistic world they made his company understand his needs and accommodate for his condition trying to get him the best care and that's kind of fantasy in the real world
because any company wouldn't appreciate one of its employees who was just a junior designer and help him that much
the world of business is cruel, but they made it perfect

Overall this drama is very good drama to watch when you want to cry a lot and release negative energy , you will love every character , there are no evil people here or bad actions
only people love one person who is dying and struggling with his illness
I love this drama so much and despite being it too sad , I can't stop watching it

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The most boring romantic historical drama ever

I was so bored most of the time ,, I struggled to finish it for Yang Yang's acting but the plot was so slow and so boring most of the time,, the ending was ridiculous in every way it defeated the purpose of the whole drama
apparently who rules the world is none of the leads so what was the point exactly ?
Other than good visuals of the actors ,,, there were nothing interesting at all
the wuxia fights were more like Xienxia's fantasy fights ,,,, over the top and laughable compared to actual wuxia dramas
the court politics were predictable and boring
the romance wasn't good , the chemistry between the leads was off and their characters was more like partners at work not love
overall it wasn't good for me and i didn't like it at all

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Strong Bromance/Friendship hidden in troubled and complicated times

I decided to watch this drama when I knew Bai Yu is one of the male leads ,, because I love his acting ,, he's one of the best chinese melodramatic actors ever ,, watched most of his dramas and was blown a way by his performance in them
But
After first few episodes I felt lost and a bit bored ,, thank god for that cheerful person who comes at the end of every episode explaining what has happened in each episode using simple talk to simple minded people like me LOL
I was thinking of dropping it .. didn't feel there is an actual interesting connection I connect with but I kept skimming through the episodes as they came out and realized that this drama is hidden gem but not for every one ,, it's heavy and complicated sometimes ,, confusing a lot with all similar styling of a lot of characters but the two leads were obvious and distinctive at least to me ,, there were Bromance blooming between them and felt strong brotherly connection despite the troubles they were both facing
the plotting and was interwind and very complicated to follow but I was focused on the two leads that made it easier to understand
It started to get interesting after episode seven ,, things started happening quickly and there were challenges facing the two leads separately ,, the romance was very little but it was there and even that wasn't light ,,it was romance mixed with spy fare , secrecy and sadness
the two leads came together again as best friends and as brothers but in somewhat at odds ,, their friendship was tested in a huge way at the last ten episodes and it was amazing ride to be honest ,, watching how their bond couldn't be broken
if it weren't for their Bromance and the twists here and there this drama would have been a boring historical drama
I loved it and I loved how they were challenged and how the plot is so intriguing especially from the middle to the end
I emphasize on Bromance because it touched my heart ,, their bond and their brotherly love for each other was the best thing that kept me on the edge of my seat to the end
it's definitely a Bromance drama as it's true history tale
I recommend this drama to people who likes heavy political plots with no fighting or wuxia magic ,, just heavy historical plot mixed with good strong Brotherhood

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Interesting twist of actual history and good bromance but dragged should have been shorter

Started watching it three months ago and I was really interested and enjoyed it a lot at the beginning ,, it has very strong interesting start and a wonderful brotherhood or Bromance then it started to drag on for a long time so i stopped and watched other dramas then return to it dragged again stopped it then again ,, what kept me going back to it not dropping it is the plot and the actors ,, I was so invested to know what will happen or how it will happen and the characters were in depth all of them
were evolving and deceiving... Sima Yi is the most important brilliant character of them all
loved his complicated character and his love for his younger adopted brother the king
he literally put himself a lot in danger for his brother till the end
I knew that he was in real life the enemy of the real king and wasn't his brother at all but that what the writer imagined him to be ,, their communication with each other similar to actual brothers
The romantic stories were good and not forced also the female leads were amazing ,, every one of the cast did his job brilliantly
>>>>>>
what I didn't like about this drama is how long , slow and draggy it got and I kept skipping for the story to move a long
they dragged it to death LOL from episode 25 to 45 ,, about twenty episodes of slow and filler episodes
but I stick with it for three months and just finished it now
this is a good drama but needs patience and love for the actors

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Mockery of priests and detectives plus corrupt officials .. All farce nothing serious

I watched this drama in 2022 because of all the hype and the raving reviews about it ,, also many dramas quoted from this drama some scenes as if it was Iconic ,, I had to watch it
at first I found it ridiculous and irritating at times ... they introduced a heavy criminal case but they handled it horribly with all the mockery and the comedic parts as if it's not a real case to solve
they showed the corruption in the most irritating way ,, those people are evil and they act funny not joker funny but stupidly funny
I didn't like the first part of the drama and hated the female lead to be honest ,, she got on my nerves but then after episode eight something changed and it became more serious and less irritating ,,, people tried to make amends and to act right
I began to love the drama and endured all the stupid fun also the tenth scenes of people eating thorough out every episode
Every single episode you will find that there is people eating scene every three to five minutes ,, it was un bearable especially while I'm fasting ,, I noticed how much food and eating scenes are there
My review seemed more like complaining about the drama but honestly I did like it the second half of it especially towards the ending ,, I cried towards the ending and fell in love with all of them even the female lead ,, she grew on me
didn't like the poop scene though it was disgusting ,, the character that was wearing bob marley's hair was annoying and not funny at all
I recommend it for comical relieve not as a serious drama
the male lead is amazing ,, I love his acting and you will love the rest of the cast towards the ending

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Revenge ruins lives , some what realistic drama similar to real life mess

I will be absolutely honest ,, I watched this drama for Lay Zhang (Yixing) only ,, don't judge quickly ,, I'm a fan of his songs and dances but not acting to be honest but I was surprised here by his performance as an actor ,, he never showed that much emotions in his acting in his previous dramas but this one he certainly improved a lot acting wise and I was hooked by his acting from the start to finish

NOW ,,, lets talk about the drama itself

The drama as most modern social dramas in china is close to home and close to reality ,, it doesn't have romance not good romance at least and it doesn't have fluff or funny scenes ,, it talks about a feud and misunderstanding between two families that result into a traumatized kid who grew up hating the other family plotting to take revenge on them and his sister who fell in love with that other's family son ,, they got separated and the two siblings grew up ,, the traumatized kid grew up to became a manipulator at a company uses people to execute his revenge plan ,, nothing psychotic nor too extreme ,,just legal and financial schemes to get them in dept. and trouble and his sister reunited with her lover and they became close again rekindling their romance but of course failing miserably
for the first half of the drama it was boring a lot and draggy but it was easy to follow what's going on .... then at the second half of the drama things started to get messy and chaotic ... the revenge plot started falling apart and the reconciling was getting harder to and harder ,,, you can't decide who was at fault the most in those two families ,, they were both messed up
some what you root for the relationship and the good romance that was starting the bloom but then both sides had toxic people ruining every thing all the time
I got sympathy for lay zhang's character ,, he lost everything and was bullied ,,, his trauma is real and somewhat relatable and he couldn't get justice for himself and his family but also he screwed up his sister's relationship and became pratty kid sometimes

Spoiler a head

until the horrible ending that I'm not ok with at all
The evil lady sister who wronged the other family big time didn't get punished for anything and all her family suffered ,, also Ning shu paid for what he did in the most horrible way but what he did wasn't that horrible to get that punishment
over all the second half of the drama was enjoyable to watch

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Alcohol prohibiting in Joseon era that's it ,, poor Romance ,, Draggy drama and messy plot

This drama came out with very exciting other korean dramas on air such as Bulgasal , Bad and crazy and Red sleeve
Between the four dramas of course the other three win over this one ,, I'm not comparing but it started at bad timing
I've tried to like it and convince my self it's as good as them or even close but it didn't help me much
started light and funny so it was okey at first ,, light drama doesn't have melodrama or much violence talking about prohibiting alcohol and may be aspiring bromance between the male lead that what I wished for
but it disappointed me big time when it became all about Alcohol and Alcohol only
I loved the second male lead and some funny scenes but I got lost in the middle and became so confused of How many characters appearing on the evil side ,, I didn't even know where is the evil side because the female lead was working with them so I've became a passive viewer ,, go with the flow don't try to understand who is with whom ,, your head will hurt for no reason
they attempt to make love triangle and it was annoying ,, the romance seemed forced not as smooth as I hoped ,, so many accidents and running around in repetitive circles ,, people getting pushed over a mountain while being stabbed or with arrow in their chest and they still lived ,, actually no one dies in this drama till the final episode they some how come back from worst injury always and that was the most irritating because it was illogical at all even for a fictional character ,, if it's not wuxia chinese drama these injuries kill people
Over all the story dragged for a long time following the rebellious female lead who became a hero because she freed the Alcohol from prohibition
All the political nonsense were too much for such drama and felt out of place
the male lead was useless most of time ,,, a lot of characters were useless also such as the female lead's brother
I really really didn't like this drama at all and I've became to dislike the female lead at the end of it ,, she got on my nerves
They made me feel sorry for the two lovers villains at the last episode ,, How ridiculous is that
very disappointed and annoyed by this drama so much ,, I can't even describe how much

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Family drama mixed with supernatural and reincarnations really good but needs patience

Where do I start ?? At the beginning I was going to drop it first two or three episodes ,, it wasn't my type of drama with all the blood and monsters but then they went to modern era and it began to interest me more and more
it dragged a bit in few episodes trying to build the connections between the characters ,, to be honest the casting of the female lead wasn't the best choice ,, I love her in other dramas but in this one she made me feel detached and not rooting for her at all
with her messy style and weird colored cloths ,, her clinging to the male lead ,,it was really odd and annoying to be honest
the writers filled the drama with family moments really good connections that I loved very much
I fell in love with Do Yoon the kid he gave so much feelings for his character and made me cry every time he got hurt like he was a lost puppy ,, he looked like a lost puppy most of the time to be honest LOL
the other characters were okey
the most interesting character of them all was the evil Eul Tae WOW !!!!! he got the best style ,, the best script ,,, the best acting skills and the best evil vibe ,, he did an amazing job the whole drama may be more than the male lead
The drama didn't disappoint in matter of keeping me intrigued to watch more ,, I was waiting every week for it's episodes but it underwhelmed me at the ending a little ,, I expected that ending half way through the drama and they copied a scene from Goblin drama at the ending ,, the ending it self ,, I hoped they would give them a chance in this life time but no
The ending was a forced happy ending ,, it was rushed and so many un answered questions were there
Over all I recommend the drama because it was really good and enjoyable watch ,, I may binge watch it again in the summer to see how I feel about it as a whole not waiting every week with anticipation

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Chinese Classical opera life with powerful Bromance story

I was really hesitant to watch this drama but I watched every bromance drama that came out so I must watch this one
I'm not into classic chinese opera to be honest and I thought it would bore me out and it did unfortunately at first they made a twenty episodes or so of how cruel and hard the opera singer's life can be and you can measure it to any Idol's now in some ways ,,, I didn't care much about the opera life to be honest but I cared about How much the first male lead the chinese business man took interest in the opera singer from first sight just because he reminded him of his mother who left him when he was a child ,, he has a trauma about his mother's leaving and when he saw the opera singer dressed as female characters his mother used to play for him he just fell in love and became kind of obsessed but he also liked the man behind the disguise not just the character
It was love definitely love for the opera singer especially when he was wearing the female characters but it was deep friendship when he was himself crazy innocent naive opera singer
I can describe their relationship as soulmates nothing less than that
I find the last ten episodes of the drama are the best Bromance manifestation or the best declaration of love by actions not actual physical or sexual actions ,, no way ,, I find their love pure of any sexuality or lust especially for the opera singer he wasn't interested in sex as It was portrayed ,, and for the Businessman it was complicated but really really deep
he just lived for his best friend then family
I can't say enough about how I feel for this story and it's character
I loved the actors so much especially the first male lead he was so kind , gentle and loving with amazing personality
The opera singer's actor (didn't memorize their names ) was amazing and worked really hard to play such difficult layered insane talented character
Overall I recommend this drama to any one who loves Bromance dramas and can stand watching Classic chinese opera life because it was draggy and boring at first twenty episodes but bearable because of the male leads
Don't worry about the open ending it's satisfying not disappointing ,, it leaves you with hope

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Underwhelming romantic drama ,, good watch overall

Started somewhat interesting at first ,, had some potential ,, but it got draggy in the middle of the first part
boring and draggy ,, I barely watched the first part awake ,, there were not so much happening
the other couples were more interesting than the leads ,,, their love stories were enjoyable to watch even their kisses
the main lead's naïve persona was annoying sometimes ,,, the second male lead who loved the female lead was so much more than the male lead's character ,, he was the one who truly loved her from his heart ,,he kept her protected from his own father and evil followers ,, he helped her achieve what she hoped for ,, he was the one who had every thing wrong for him yet tried to save the female lead on every turn also he let her be free never controlled her or imprisoned her in anyway ,, he was truly the perfect lover not like the male lead who was self absorbed in his hatred towards the female lead and tortured her physically and emotionally while she was dying ,, their relationship wasn't healthy not that I consider love at all but may be it turned love at the second half of the second part
to be honest this drama had some good episodes and some really bad ones ,, it was over all enjoyable watch but I won't be watching it again ,, it's one and done
Jia Lun Ren the male lead is a very good actor but I don't know why here he wasn't that good ,, sometimes felt his acting was really off and weak
the kisses were as his usual fake ,, didn't feel real at all ,, his acting away from the female lead was good but with her was underwhelming
the female lead's acting was good not the best but I can't complain about her ,, she did her best with what she had
Actually the secondary characters were the most interesting in everything plot or acting

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Emotional , dysfunctional and overly dramatic family issues but watchable

I don't know where to start describing this drama
I've only watched it for Bai Yu,, I love his acting and his characters,, he's the best actor of his generation without a doubt
this time his role is more on the emotional, sensitive side
you can't do anything but love his character so much but it was annoying sometimes,, how he was overly entangled with his cousins,, he practically stopped his own life for them also his cousins were trouble makers ,,, especially the older one
she was older than him and she acted out million times and it was his job to support her and clean her mess with every support she needs even when she was totally crazy
he was wronged so many times,, he couldn't have a proper love life
he kept on taking care of his family and denying himself any happiness,, selflessly he didn't even want to leave them for his girlfriend
as the drama went on, it kept on thousands of problems created every episode for the family members and it kept on discussing every family problem you think of
it dragged out a lot and kept pilling on complicated relationships with the female lead especially
then some twist here and there about blood relatives or adoptive also the past relationships kept popping up
it was a journey of very painful complicated family issues
I was hooked to watch it because of Bai Yu's sensible character, he was out of this world character
very kind and courageous, very supportive and responsible
I wished I had a brother like him badly
but sometimes he was eccentric in his closeness to his cousin, I can understand how his girlfriend felt most of the time
I wouldn't like a husband like him ever
but the last two episodes were irritating what they did to his character
why? why such bad luck? after all, he did
If you like family dramas and all of their somewhat realistic issues this drama is for you

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