I'll be honest, I didn't have much motivation for seeing this C-drama, except for William Chen. I've seen him play an antagonist role in a CGI film L.O.R.D and I really wanted to see more of him.
In Novoland: Pearl Eclipse, he plays Jinaming Fang, a higher ranking member of Emperor Xu’s court and his most trusted ally and friend. He is the head of a secret task force within the empire and is tasked with protecting the emperor and eliminating all threats to the empire.
Enter Haish, a girl whose village was terrorized by corrupt officials who leveled heavy and unfair pearl taxes on the village. She is recruited by gianming as a young girl and she chooses to dress as a boy and enters Fang’s secret force.
However, as Haishi grows into a young woman, she begins to have feelings for her master/teacher, Jianming. However, Jianming, because of who he is and what he does, cannot return those feelings as readily or as openly as Haishi wants, no matter how much he cares for her.
After watching and reviewing Novoland, I couldn't decide if it was a romance or political intrigue fantasy story. So I guess it was all of them? Also, aside from Jianming and Haishi, there are two more love stories and couples, and honestly, at times, I preferred them to the Haishi and Jianming romance, because of how frustrating it was to watch the back and forth between them.
But I think one of the strongest aspects of this series is its character development. Almost all of the lead characters mature and change by the end of the story and it is one of the more satisfying aspects of the show, especially with regards to Haishi’s character arc.
I also love the set, the beautiful costumes and cinematography. Unfortunately, the CGI and most of the fight scenes were nothing to boast about. But overall, they didn't derail my enjoyment of the show.
However, if I have one major criticism of Novoland, it's the editing. Novoland has 48 episodes to tell its story. But I think it could have been edited more tightly. In this way, the pacing would have become much faster and the story dragging on in some places or some parts that felt unnecessary could have been devoted to fleshing out the important characters, world building and history of Novoland and its effects on the present.
So, that being said, I think this series is good to watch, but not great and in terms of editing and some other decisions related to the characters, it could have been better. But if you're a fan of a fantasy setting with political intrigue and very slow burn romance, Novoland: Pearl Eclipse might just be up your alley.
Rating: 7/5 out of 10
In Novoland: Pearl Eclipse, he plays Jinaming Fang, a higher ranking member of Emperor Xu’s court and his most trusted ally and friend. He is the head of a secret task force within the empire and is tasked with protecting the emperor and eliminating all threats to the empire.
Enter Haish, a girl whose village was terrorized by corrupt officials who leveled heavy and unfair pearl taxes on the village. She is recruited by gianming as a young girl and she chooses to dress as a boy and enters Fang’s secret force.
However, as Haishi grows into a young woman, she begins to have feelings for her master/teacher, Jianming. However, Jianming, because of who he is and what he does, cannot return those feelings as readily or as openly as Haishi wants, no matter how much he cares for her.
After watching and reviewing Novoland, I couldn't decide if it was a romance or political intrigue fantasy story. So I guess it was all of them? Also, aside from Jianming and Haishi, there are two more love stories and couples, and honestly, at times, I preferred them to the Haishi and Jianming romance, because of how frustrating it was to watch the back and forth between them.
But I think one of the strongest aspects of this series is its character development. Almost all of the lead characters mature and change by the end of the story and it is one of the more satisfying aspects of the show, especially with regards to Haishi’s character arc.
I also love the set, the beautiful costumes and cinematography. Unfortunately, the CGI and most of the fight scenes were nothing to boast about. But overall, they didn't derail my enjoyment of the show.
However, if I have one major criticism of Novoland, it's the editing. Novoland has 48 episodes to tell its story. But I think it could have been edited more tightly. In this way, the pacing would have become much faster and the story dragging on in some places or some parts that felt unnecessary could have been devoted to fleshing out the important characters, world building and history of Novoland and its effects on the present.
So, that being said, I think this series is good to watch, but not great and in terms of editing and some other decisions related to the characters, it could have been better. But if you're a fan of a fantasy setting with political intrigue and very slow burn romance, Novoland: Pearl Eclipse might just be up your alley.
Rating: 7/5 out of 10
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