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The Acting Was Incredible, The Story Not So Much
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this movie. Thank you.**Honestly, I nearly stopped watching a few minutes in because I thought it was going to be really bad due to how dated and strange the hair and costumes looked compared to what I'm used to seeing in historical dramas. They weren't horrible. They were just very, very different. I'm glad that I kept watching though, because the acting was superb. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable.
I didn't like the story because it was about a powerful older man---the King---who "groomed" (****** grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a vulnerable person with the goal of ****** abuse ) Hong Rim from the time he was just a child to be his "partner". Hong Rim never really had a choice in the matter or the ability to say no. His relationship with the King started when he was so young that he just thought he was gay as well. Later, the King, unable to consummate his marriage with his Queen and produce an heir, forced Hong Rim to that for him as well. Both Hong Rim and the Queen are being violated in this scenario. Fortunately Hong Rim is kind and gentle and what could have been another horrible experience turned into a pleasurable one for them both. Unfortunately, when they developed feelings for each other, the King immediately tried to put an end to it. I won't go into more detail than that.
In summary, this movie is well worth the watch if you are over 18 and aren't squeamish. There are a lot of violent scenes and the adult scenes are very, very graphic. You can see everything but the front lower bikini area. I was shocked by how much it showed. I can't say how shocked, lol. They are done very tastefully and extremely well though.
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Very Convoluted Story and Some of the Worst Fight Scenes I've Ever Seen
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I really liked the first part of this drama, when we are first introduced to our male lead. Tong Meng Shi, as Bai Yan and our female lead, Zhang Yu Xi, as Ni Huang. I liked the chemistry between them and their story. In addition, Liu Ruo Gu as the young Mo Xiao and Liu Qi Qi as the young Feng Li Xue made a lasting impression even with a limited number of scenes.
I wish that the story had stayed with either of those first two couples or at least circled back around to them, much, much sooner. That's what I stuck around for. Instead there were seemingly endless scenes of people of this or that sect squabbling, backstabbing or scheming. If it wasn't that, we were treated to some really, really poorly done fight scenes or cgi. It's hard to believe it was released this year. I know that I had to stop and check several times because I couldn't believe it, it was so bad.
There are some really good actors in this drama and some not so great ones, but over all it's still worth the watch.
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The Male Leading Character Makes It Worth Watching
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I watched this drama because I loved Zhao Yi Qin's performance in Hard to Find. I'm so glad that I did. He did a wonderful job playing a socially awkward genius with obsessive compulsive disorder and speech aphasia. As his character develops and opens up we get to see how thoughtful, caring, generous, funny, sweet and romantic he is. Zhao Yi Qin is positively adorable as Su Mu and the main reason why I stuck it out to complete the series.
The story itself wasn't well written. If the reason behind Su Mu's speech aphasia is ever revealed I missed it somehow. I kept waiting to find out what his trauma was or why he needed to consume very cold things---previously ice water but switching to ice cream when he met the female lead---but never got the answer. We don't ever learn why Tian Tian De and her ice cream are able to help Su Mu overcome his speech difficulties either. We just have to watch scene after scene about the making of, obtaining or consuming it. There are some very sweet and funny moments but they are overshadowed by the rest of the poor writing and the awful ending.
The female lead character, Tian Tian De, played by Ding Yi Yi was absolutely obnoxious. I hate to hate on characters but they gave her very few redeeming qualities. She's incredibly childish, entitled, lazy, arrogant, loud mouthed, has terrible table manners and what's worse, has the personal hygiene habits of a teenage boy, lol. I was appalled. She is a talented artist, is a good baseball player and is clever with good people skills when she wants to. She shows a bit of growth over time but not a lot.
He Yu was incredibly funny as Wang Yan Yi. The poor guy got took so many glasses of water to the face that I felt sorry for him. Liu Yan Cheng, who played Li Di, did a wonderful job too.
The production budget for this show must have been very low. The characters wore the same outfits for several days in a row for no apparent reason and had wore the same thing so many times that everyone was commenting on it in the chats. It sounds like a petty thing to mention but the characters were supposed to be wealthy. The young women were wearing plain overalls all the time. It was inconsistent.
Even though I said those negative things I would still recommend this show. Why? Because it was really nice to see a very kind, sweet man who stayed that way throughout. Sometimes we all need to believe that they exist.
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Silly but Funny
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**Honestly, I only watched this series because I thought Ye Xiao Wei was exceptional in Smile Code and wanted to see him play a leading role. I think that the cast was great and did the best that they could with what they had to work with. The writing was silly and juvenile but was funny so it was still enjoyable to watch for the most part. The characters were what you'd expect from this type of drama. The two male leads are cute, sweet and protective while the female lead is kind hearted and childish. Unfortunately, she's also very vain and her behavior grated on my nerves. There is chemistry between the main couple though, so there's that.
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I Wish I Had Read the Reviews
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that goes into the making of this and other dramas. Thank you.**Warning---Spoilers Ahead
All I knew about this drama going in was the one sentence description given on this site and the fact that Wang Rui Chang was starring in it. I have really enjoyed his work in the other dramas that I've seen him in and wanted to see his character actually get the girl. I wish that I had read the reviews so that I would have been mentally prepared for the ridiculous plot. As more and more of the "mystery" was revealed I was having to force myself to keep watching. It was just so idiotic. The female lead character isn't a supernatural being. She hasn't been in an accident or experiment that resulted in her "gift". No, forget all of those. She's just born with the ability to shatter glass, ignite fires, cause electrical malfunctions and then somehow, turn that ability into healing the human body. What I find possibly even more strange is her referring to her ability as her "super power" without any embarrassment or awkwardness and others doing the same thing. I was cringing every time they did it. If there was some explanation for her having her ability and I missed it, that's my mistake.
Overall I think I just found it frustrating. This drama has a very talented cast but the script let them down. Of all the characters, my favorites were A Jiu, played by Jeremy Wang, Fang Jun Hao played by Luo Zheng, Yi Er Yang played by Chen Peng Wan Li and Tang Jia Nan played by Wang Rui Chang (despite how childish his character is). I think that the couples were mismatched. If they had been paired differently the drama could have been so much better. If you like women who talk like toddlers, behave like primary school kids and are indulged in every way then you'll probably enjoy this drama. I can't stand women like that or that kind of behavior so drove me crazy. Both the behavior and the indulging.
The bottom line is that this drama has a lovely, talented cast, a terrible plot and awful writing. The English subtitles are some of the worst I've seen. The sound cuts out completely during some episodes only to have very loud background music (that I didn't care for) during others. The soundtrack is alright from what I could hear though.
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This is really more of a family drama with a side of romance
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I think that I read the summary for this drama wrong. I thought it was just telling me a bit about who the main characters were and what they were going to be dealing with. I assumed, wrongly, that the romantic relationships would be the primary focus. What it ended up being was a family drama with a side of romance and a heaping helping of hotel/work drama.
I have nothing against either work or family dramas. This drama though, put too much focus on Liu Wan Yu, Mai Cheng Huan's mother, her machinations, interference, greediness, emotional blackmail, etc. and their impact on her family. It just felt endless. I continued to watch it, hoping that eventually it would pay off but, spoiler... no such luck. It continues all the way through until the last 30 minutes or so. I have never wished for them to kill off a character so much. She drove me crazy. The work/hotel/life portion was just boring. Other than when they were setting something up for a future scene, it was tedious.
There was a bit of romance. I know that they wrote it in there because there ended up being two couples. Unfortunately, I didn't find it romantic at all. There were multiple confessions by more than one person and the only times there was any attempt to do something romantic was when she didn't want it. I still think that's very odd. I fast forwarded through some of the scenes towards the end so I might have missed something but it's doubtful. How can they not have gone on any romantic dates?
The actors were very good. My favorite part of the whole thing was Wu Yan Shu's performance as Yao Zhiming and Mai Cheng Huan's grandmother. She was an absolute delight! She brought out the best in her costars.
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Not My Kind of Comedy
**This is just my opinion. I truly respect and appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**You Are My Destiny was one of the first Chinese dramas that I ever watched. When I saw that there was a Korean version, I was eager to watch it. Fated to Love You was aired 6 years earlier but was still remarkably good for the time. The actors were very good and the characters were well developed. I was especially impressed with Jang Na Ra as Kim Mi Young and Jang Hyuk as Lee Gun for their emotional scenes.
I was prepared for some goofy scenes at the beginning and regular comedy after that. I wasn't prepared for an extremely eccentric male leading character with a bizarre laugh that I don't even know how to describe. It was jarring and unpleasant and not at all funny. He kept it up through all 15 episodes that I watched. I think I only heard his nice, normal laugh once. He would do this offensive clap whenever and wherever. He behaved so outrageously and obnoxiously that it got to the point that I didn't care that he was actually nice and sensitive underneath it all. I just couldn't stand to watch him anymore. It was a shame that they wrote his character that way. Jang Hyuk is clearly a very talented actor. Both he and Jang Na Ra made me tear up with them when they cried.
The story itself was nowhere near as good as in You Are My Destiny. It didn't have the same kind of heart and seemed to be more focused on comedy. That's just my take though.
The soundtrack is very good. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the stylist/wardrobe department. There is an appalling amount of gaudy outfits (they apparently had a fondness for orange/salmon).
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Some Character Flaws Are Too Great to Ignore
**This is just my opinion. Everyone has a right to their own, I'm always grateful for all the hard work that is put into every aspect of creating a drama.**I have watched so many dramas that I thought I couldn't be shocked anymore. I was wrong. There are a lot of dramas that depict a female lead character as physically assaulting a man because he's pushed her too far. I don't agree with them either. This drama takes it to the extreme though and I felt that I had to say something. The female lead character assaults the second male lead repeatedly. Literally beating him up. That is awful enough. What makes it even worse is that he's fine with it. Then, while discussing the assault with the first male lead states that if hitting him "makes her happy" then a man should take it.
I'm a woman and my complaint is not based on my gender. I object to anyone being abused. What kind of message are the writers sending to the viewers? When people watch enough of these kinds of shows they can't help but be influenced by them. I had hoped that there would have been some realization on the part of the female lead character that she needed to change and she would seek help for her anger management issues. I've made it to episode 24 and that still hasn't happened.
If you can ignore that aspect, this series does have some really sweet, touching scenes. The acting is good and although I've got no clue what the lyrics are some of the songs are very pretty.
The clothing and decor though were bad enough to be a distraction even for an older show.
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Physical Abuse is Wrong Regardless of Gender or Excuse
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the production of this drama. Thank you.**This is less a review than me stating my objection to yet another female lead character abusing her love interest and it somehow being okay. I refuse to watch any more episodes.
First though, I have to say that the cast is very talented. I especially enjoyed Kim Seon-ho as Hong Du sik and Lee Sang-yi and Ji Seong-hyeon. It was produced well and has a pretty soundtrack.
The problems for me lie in the characters and story. It took me many tries to get through the first episode and until the fourth before I held out any hope for it to improve. The female lead character, Hye-jin, does always have a sense of integrity, even though I find it lacking. She is vain, shallow, pretentious, unfriendly and rude while also managing to occasionally be generous and kind. The male lead, Hong Du-sik, is a jack of all trades who bends over backwards to help everyone, is incredibly friendly and kind. I hated that she behaved so ungratefully towards Du-sik when he put so much effort into helping her. She improved some only to ruin it when they finally became a couple in episode 11. She didn't want the other villagers to gossip if they found out that she and Du-sik were dating so she physically assaulted him to "disguise" their physical closeness. It was ridiculous and so incredibly wrong. The writers didn't have her just hide or even shove him, though that would be wrong too. No, first she slapped him hard across the face to disguise wiping something off of his face. Then she kicked him so hard in the shins that she knocked him down and he was still hurting later. Later the same day she followed that up with head butting him and giving him a bloody nose. Seriously, what is wrong with them? How could any of that be okay or funny?
I almost wrote that I had an issue with him for taking it and stopped myself. It is never the victim's fault, even in a drama. His character is kind and a pleaser. It makes it that much more wrong for them to write it that way. What kind of message are you sending? People watch these shows and it affects how the behave or believe about themselves. There is already far too much physical violence towards loved ones in dramas. Some might argue that the things she did weren't that big of a deal. I couldn't disagree more. He was completely blameless. The things she did hurt him physically and emotionally. There's no excuse that can justify it. I don't understand the need to put that kind of thing into this drama. What purpose was it suppose to serve? She could have said he had something smeared on his face, etc.
After watching those scenes I didn't want to watch any more. That's just me.
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Terrible Writing and the Worst Subtitles I Think I've Ever Seen
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I feel bad writing this. I really do. I know that a lot of people worked very hard on this drama. For that and to them, I sincerely apologize. Having said that, the writing is really bad and the subtitles are the worst I've seen out of the 160 plus dramas that I've watched. I made it through episode 13 and stopped. I didn't want to waste any more of my time on it.
Despite that, I did like both of the lead actors and the characters they were playing. They did the best that they could with what they had to work with. I'm not saying that the characters were good. I just liked certain qualities about them. The fight scenes looked silly, with characters flying like spinning tops. The romantic scenes were just as bad. Oh and the biting. What on Earth was that? Not the sexy kind. It was just so weird. I was watching just to find out what the deal was but decided I just didn't care enough. I'm sure it has something to do with the initial scene and contaminated blood but still.
I only noticed one song but it sounded pretty. I couldn't say about the rest of the ost.
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More of Mystery Than a Romance
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the production of this drama. Thank you.**In an effort to keep this short and spoiler free, I'm going to skip the plot summary and just cut to the chase. This is a good drama with talented actors who did a great job. It felt more like a mystery/life/family historical drama for most of the episodes rather than a romance. Yes, there was romance and multiple couples but they were overshadowed by a ridiculous amount of actual murder and mayhem. You would expect that inside a palace or something like that but this was just a mid level official's family.
Ultimately, the only character that I was really rooting for was Lu Jia Xue, played by Ci Sha. I wanted him to get his redemption arc and happy ending. I wish that his and Luo Yi Ning's relationship was explored more in depth. It was interesting and the emotion felt real. I didn't get that from the relationship between Luo Shen Yuan, played by Zhang Wan Yi and Luo Yi Ning, played by Ren Min. Not that it wasn't there. I was just more drawn to the story between Lu Jia Xue and Luo Yi Ning, the desperate longing his character felt for her, the tear filled look in her eyes when she spoke to him---all of that was moving. The relationship between Luo Shen Yuan and Luo Yi Ning is more like a warm friendship in comparison.
If you like your dramas filled with a lot of revenge, scheming, attempted murder, etc. then you'll probably love this drama. If, however, that's not your thing, you might want to skip this one.
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It was cute until it wasn't and I'm very disappointed
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I knew that The Heavenly Idol was a fantasy and the plot looked questionable but I wanted to watch it anyway because I enjoyed Kim Min-kyu's other dramas so much and wanted to see more. He did a great job with what he had to work with, as did most of the rest of the cast. The writing though, was atrocious. I was going to watch more because I wanted to hear the singing but I just got so annoyed with the demonic transformations and need for divine "power ups". I feel bad for the cast being stuck with this piece of trash script.
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It Couldn't Hold My Interest
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I was really looking forward to binge watching this drama. Unfortunately, despite having a really great cast, it still couldn't catch or hold my interest by the end of episode 6. I'm sure that I'm not going to explain this right but the story felt hollow. Yes, we were told about missing pieces and sad things about the characters' lives but it wasn't done through the eyes or point of view of just a few. It's scattered with multiple vendettas, past trauma a criminal case, etc. all happening when we've just been introduced to the characters. The pacing feels off. If they had just given us a chance to get to know the characters better before rushing to add all the rest it would have made a huge difference.
The actors themselves did a very good job. The costumes were beautiful and the soundtrack was outstanding.
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It Felt Like I Was Watching A Teenage Fantasy.
**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**I only wanted to watch this drama because I've been a fan of Tan Jian Ci's work. He and the rest of the cast in this drama did a very good job. I have no problem at all with the acting. I don't like the characters or the story to the point that I can't force myself to watch it anymore. The description said that the female lead had low self esteem. It didn't say that she failed to make any attempt at all to do what is considered normal for job interviews or to fit in. She just went out the same way she might look if she were to go for a walk in the park or run errands. You can't show up in jeans and sneakers for a marketing interview at a cosmetic or fashion company, bare faced, with your hair in a pony tail and expect them to choose you over candidates who dressed properly. It was infuriating to watch. Su Cheng Cheng not only did these things but refused the advise and help that was offered to her by her sister and her best friend when they tried to get her to wear make up or dress better. She stubbornly refused, then blamed getting rejected on her not being pretty. She is pretty. She just projects this air of not caring about her appearance. Our male lead, Tang Qi, played by Tan Jian Ci, went to school with Su Cheng Cheng, and her best friend when they were younger and has bad memories of her. When he sees her again at their school reunion, he is unkind to her and hurts her feelings. He wasn't just unkind. He was a massive jerk. I don't want to give too much away so I'll leave it at that.
I knew that there was a magic bracelet but I didn't know how far fetched it was going to get. It is like some kind of little girl's Barbie dream fantasy. She was choosing outfits and voices and all I could think was "what am I doing watching this?" . So, there you go. If you want to watch someone live out there fantasies playing with a magic bracelet that lets them change everything about their appearance, voice, etc. including dressing up at the touch of a button, this is for you. If, on the other hand, it's not, you've saved yourself some time.
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