I know many people may attack me for commenting this way, but I just want to give my honest review of this drama.
Firstly, I do not support plagiarism. I have seen many reports about plagiarism involving GJM. Even the scriptwriter of Fangs of Fortune spoke up about this. https://weibo.com/1676688960/5282304336596088
I watched Fangs of Fortune and My Journey to You, and they are indeed great dramas. However, when I heard there were plagiarism accusations surrounding Veil of Shadows, I became curious and searched for more information before judging. In the end, I found several posts about this issue on Weibo and Xiaohongshu. I also came across information about the inhumanity and unprofessionalism of GJM as a producer.
Putting aside his unprofessionalism in showing bias toward his favourite actors and trying to raise their popularity, the way he treated Cheng Xiao during the filming of Fangs of Fortune was also very bad. Even Yu Shuxin lost a lot of weight after filming My Journey to You. He seems inhumane. He does not appear to care about the artists’ health, and this has made me very disappointed in him, especially now with the plagiarism issue. I definitely will not support this drama.
I also found information on Xiaohongshu saying that the one-word spell used in Fangs of Fortune was designed by Hou Minghao, the male lead of the drama. There were also many complaints about GJM’s plagiarism on Xiaohongshu.
The makeup artists for this drama were not very good either. I was 2 scenes where the actors and actresses looked extremely pale, almost like ghosts. I wonder how many bottles of foundation were used on their faces.
Moreover, this drama has a very complicated plot. I also feel that GJM deliberately used one actor to play two characters in order to increase that actor’s popularity, because indirectly his favourite actors could receive more screen time than the first-billed lead.
As for the acting: Zeng Shunxi Zeng Shunxi’s performance in Veil of Shadows feels very controlled and restrained. He portrays the character’s calm and serious nature quite well, especially in action scenes where his presence is strong and convincing. However, in more emotional moments, his acting can come across as slightly flat, as his expressions remain subtle. While this suits the character’s personality, it sometimes limits the emotional impact of certain scenes. Overall, it is a solid performance that fits the role, but it does not fully stand out compared to more expressive actors.
Tian Jia Rui I think fans may have overpraised him simply because they find him photogenic and handsome. Since he had a lot of screen time, he was able to leave some memorable moments for fans. However, if we talk about acting skill, he is still just a newbie who lacks experience. He only showed some natural chemistry in certain scenes, while other scenes relied more on styling than real technique. His emotional range can feel narrow at times, and his voice delivery may lack variation or weight in intense scenes. I also noticed that in some scenes he had no eye contact with the female lead.
There was one scene where he was crying and screaming, and I was supposed to feel the pain and sadness of the character, but he failed to deliver that emotion. I can only say that inexperienced actors can seem better when the role fits them perfectly. No matter how much you copy others, if the role does not suit you, it will only look awkward. I watched a few episodes of this drama, but I decided not to continue and dropped it because I can confirm that there is plagiarism in this drama. Not only one word spell but also the costume similar to Fangs of Fortune.
Firstly, I do not support plagiarism. I have seen many reports about plagiarism involving GJM. Even the scriptwriter of Fangs of Fortune spoke up about this.
https://weibo.com/1676688960/5282304336596088
I watched Fangs of Fortune and My Journey to You, and they are indeed great dramas. However, when I heard there were plagiarism accusations surrounding Veil of Shadows, I became curious and searched for more information before judging. In the end, I found several posts about this issue on Weibo and Xiaohongshu. I also came across information about the inhumanity and unprofessionalism of GJM as a producer.
Putting aside his unprofessionalism in showing bias toward his favourite actors and trying to raise their popularity, the way he treated Cheng Xiao during the filming of Fangs of Fortune was also very bad. Even Yu Shuxin lost a lot of weight after filming My Journey to You. He seems inhumane. He does not appear to care about the artists’ health, and this has made me very disappointed in him, especially now with the plagiarism issue. I definitely will not support this drama.
https://x.com/i/status/2040624075182117045
This link show you how GJM scolded CX infront of everyone else..
I also found information on Xiaohongshu saying that the one-word spell used in Fangs of Fortune was designed by Hou Minghao, the male lead of the drama. There were also many complaints about GJM’s plagiarism on Xiaohongshu.
The makeup artists for this drama were not very good either. I was 2 scenes where the actors and actresses looked extremely pale, almost like ghosts. I wonder how many bottles of foundation were used on their faces.
Moreover, this drama has a very complicated plot. I also feel that GJM deliberately used one actor to play two characters in order to increase that actor’s popularity, because indirectly his favourite actors could receive more screen time than the first-billed lead.
As for the acting:
Zeng Shunxi
Zeng Shunxi’s performance in Veil of Shadows feels very controlled and restrained. He portrays the character’s calm and serious nature quite well, especially in action scenes where his presence is strong and convincing. However, in more emotional moments, his acting can come across as slightly flat, as his expressions remain subtle. While this suits the character’s personality, it sometimes limits the emotional impact of certain scenes. Overall, it is a solid performance that fits the role, but it does not fully stand out compared to more expressive actors.
Tian Jia Rui
I think fans may have overpraised him simply because they find him photogenic and handsome. Since he had a lot of screen time, he was able to leave some memorable moments for fans. However, if we talk about acting skill, he is still just a newbie who lacks experience. He only showed some natural chemistry in certain scenes, while other scenes relied more on styling than real technique. His emotional range can feel narrow at times, and his voice delivery may lack variation or weight in intense scenes. I also noticed that in some scenes he had no eye contact with the female lead.
There was one scene where he was crying and screaming, and I was supposed to feel the pain and sadness of the character, but he failed to deliver that emotion. I can only say that inexperienced actors can seem better when the role fits them perfectly. No matter how much you copy others, if the role does not suit you, it will only look awkward.
I watched a few episodes of this drama, but I decided not to continue and dropped it because I can confirm that there is plagiarism in this drama. Not only one word spell but also the costume similar to Fangs of Fortune.