Enigma05

My Most Anticipated Drama of the Year & It Landed!

What a journey! My goodness! In the 5 years since I fell into the cdrama rabbit hole, this is the first and only drama that I followed since the very first day of filming (primarily for TJR but was glad that 60% of the MJTY cast was in here too), through the grueling 5 month shoot, every day watching many of the scenes we saw being shot because unlike every other drama, it was like fans were welcome to film whatever they wanted as it was free advertising and no one cared about leaks. The multitude of costumes and that the wrap on set at the end of February to see it come to our screens in late October. It nearly got a perfect score if it wasn't for some writing and editing issues I had. This was my most anticipated drama of the year and boy did it land!

Pros: Lord, I don't even know where to begin. The CGI was phenomenal and it never felt like a computer was doing the work instead of the actors. The gorgeous costumes and sets. I wonder if this was an S++ drama because of how expensive it looked and was. Favorite character was ZYC with ZYZ coming in close second. Both of them, be it their bickering or stronger than platinum bond were such dynamic characters. Both actors are still young and for one this is only his second series to air while the other has had several but both showed tremendous growth from what I had seen from them previously; the versatility was insane. The demon hunting bureau became a family stronger together than many you'd see in real life that had to go from case to case and from tragedy to tragedy as they were being set up by asswipe camp and ZYZ's former best friend who was ridiculously misguided but gained his redemption at the end. BJ was a riot though all the shrieking did kind of get annoying after a while; that said when he was possessed by LL until nearly the end, you missed the kid. PSJ and her puppet brother were also indispensable to the team as was cheesy mountain God YL; he and BJ made a great pair. I have never seen CX act before and felt she gave a strong performance here. WX had her strong moments, being the common sense voice in the group/family and scenes of sisterhood and encouragement with PSJ.

When this thing was filmed, none of us who followed the actors—day in and day out—knew that it would have any comedy in it (it was an original IP after all) so were totally caught off guard with the first episode and onwards. It wasn't a lot but it certainly made for some interesting situations especially when BJ yanked ZYC's hair repeatedly and the sound effects, that part we actually saw filmed as in real life TJR and Lester are really close since their MJTY days and Lester turning 13 on set plus going through puberty, it made for some really funny scenes both BTS and on screen because whether in real life or not Lester/BJ clung to TJR/ZYC like crazy gorilla glue lol! One of those yanks off screen nearly pulled TJR's wig off; it became a DY masterpiece. I'm personally extremely proud of TJR as new and green as he is to show business; with now only 2 series out, 3 filmed and currently working on a 4th. He couldn't play that character any different or better; it’s mind-boggling that he only debuted last year.

While filming, the entire cast including the guests had to perform a certain dance in various locations and we were puzzled about how it would be used; we counted over 30 by the time filming ended. They even filmed one in the snow which was followed by an epic snowball fight that had crew joining in and GJM being lambasted by everyone as he tried rather unsuccessfully to get away. It seemed the cast was giving him payback for the extreme dieting and hours of work. That was made into an MV but when this thing premiered we realized that the dances were edited in a way to become our ending credits that would change every few episodes. It was quite smart and resourceful; because the show was emotionally heavy and the credits added that light and warm touch. So it became a wonderful combination.

All of the supporting cast were great as were the guests. So many wonderful characters to show that not all demons were inherently evil; some were born with fates they didn't want like ZYZ and Fei. And that humans could be far worse like leader of asswipe camp. He became immortal and so many had to sacrifice so much to take him down especially BJ. Losing YL and BJ were the hardest for me; I legit cried. ZYZ, you were prepared, still hard though there's hope for him returning someday. Maybe one of the characters could go into the sundial and wait until he cultivates into human form again, like WX did with the tree.

All of the OSTs and BGMs were amazing but my number one liquid fire favorite was by LYN. It was his first time doing this genre of hip hop/rock and it absolutely blew my mind. I have it and a few others now in my Spotify OST list. Maybe it's because I followed this show from the beginning but I feel like when it ended (after the special episode), it took a part of me with it. Like I'm extremely satisfied but wish we were with our characters longer.

Cons: Though this section is small, unfortunately it still was there. I absolutely did not like how the majority of the character of WX was written; (this is no reflection on the actress at all; only about the writing of the character) I don't know why GJM decided to make her so one dimensional. She spent many of her scenes for 34 episodes crying and yelling either for ZYZ or ZYC. The writing of this character reminded me of her character in MLC due to the weepiness of it, though there she at least talked and acted tougher and carried a sword. Everyone else who cried which they did often given the amount of tragedy in this had a lot of depth and you felt the weight of their tears but with her it became almost a waiting game of when will she start per episode or numerous times per episode. Even in the end, it threw a heavily emotional scene off; like stop already, do and say something else, please! So the writing threw a monkey wrench into this whole character for an actress who could handle being complex and should have been allowed to showcase that. Also could have had the good guys not lose so much when it came to asswipe camp's strategies. Felt like they were given the upper hand way too much as opposed to the push and pull that would have felt more appropriate.

Editing was off as some scenes came together very suddenly and you didn't understand how this person was there or why. Or wait did she cough up blood? When did that happen? I felt like many scenes were cut altogether which was kind of weird since the episode count actually went up and there was an extra episode to boot. It being a fantasy drama, suspension of disbelief had to be deployed a bit especially when our group was so obviously spied on and they didn't realize it at all or some characters disappeared without a trace and we didn't know what happened to them. But that's it.

Would I recommend it? 100% would! This show delivered in so many ways. The cons were nothing in comparison to the pros; writing and editing but the richness of the story, music, locations, costumes, and the absolutely phenomenal performances by the actors should give you a very satisfactory experience.

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Never Lose Hope in Seeking Justice & Love is the Destiny to Embrace.

(First review of a show in 2026) After seeing Wow the World, I had really wanted to check out CXX's work even more and the first one was LOTTL w/Reba which was decent and I liked his character though this one I already had on my watchlist. I knew LYX from previous other works so I knew she would handle herself as well as some of the supporting cast.

Pros: Though the leads originally met in a VR game designed by the ML or XZY and the VR game was important, it wasn't centered to the plot. XZY was a lonely young man with one friend, one ally, and a small architect firm though growing in fame because of his natural talent. Behind all of that though, was for 20 years harboring a secret for justice and to vindicate his father who he and his uncle Xu knew was framed and killed after a stadium he and his business partner (ultimately the killer and the one behind the tragedy) were building, collapsed, killing 3 people and injuring 6 others. His name and identity was changed by his stepfather (the same psychopath responsible for everything else) and mother (who very conveniently and without waiting too long jumped into the arms of the business partner; I'll talk about her in the cons), XZY whose real name was QXY and he only used it in the VR game; which was his refuge. He studied in the states after becoming independent at a young age, not wanting to use his stepfather's or mother's money; he concentrated hard on earning his own money while also researching and slowly gathering evidence with the help behind the scenes of uncle Xu. By the time our story takes place he had gathered the majority of the evidence except some very key pieces.

FL or HX was a young woman working a job she hated because she studied architecture and that's what she wanted to do. She lived in her childhood home and after being dumped by her crappy fiancé on the eve of their engagement party, quit her job and decided to apply at different firms; the first one she was offered the same position as before so she declined and left. This was a big firm owned by XZY's stepfather that was originally started by him and XZY's father as well as named by him. The firm that she ended up working in was the one owned by XZY as that was her dream place anyways and the two of them met in real life after he rented her place and they had a series of funny encounters. He was aloof for obvious reasons so didn't warm to her quickly though she was bubbly and hardworking. But he did protect her and helped her get back at her ex fiancé among other things. She fell first and he fell later.

As cliche as things have to be, her father was one of those that were injured in the stadium collapse and his best friend was killed as both were engineers building it. This is where a rather unpleasant person comes in aka PZ; he was the GM of the big firm HX interviewed at as well as XZY's stepbrother, one who cheated, plagiarized, and tried to do anything to one up XZY. He hated him because XZY was always better and more natural. Furthermore, he was physically abused by his psychopath father which didn't help matters. First, he tried using HX to get back at XZY but she saw right through him and called him out on it. Than, after she gave him a band aid, he developed some convoluted feelings for her (Buffalo Bill style); but upon learning she was XZY's girlfriend, he exposed XZY's identity and name and the showdown 20 years in the making was about to hit a climax. I do have to say though the actor that played PZ or DX did a phenomenal job at playing him! This actor has done many characters, both protagonists and antagonists in different genres and I have to say he's very versatile.

The rest you'll have to watch yourselves; it does have an HE for all important people so don't worry. Both best friends of both leads were great, the rest of NPC's from the VR game, and FL's mom was alright. Loved uncle Xu, Xie Lyman guy, co-owner and the other employees of D Studio, were all good. The two antagonists were psychopath stepfather (justice was served after 20 years with all evidence found on him and he was most likely going to get the death penalty); ironically I had just watched him play a drug mastermind in a crime thriller before I started this show so he plays these types of characters very well and PZ who though thankfully didn't get a redemption arc because he did too much wrong, he did ultimately apologize properly to XZY for absolutely everything and left the industry (after turning himself into the police) though as creepy as he was, he took the used band aid HX gave him that he kept like a trophy with him. The thing probably already had fungus on it, 🤮.

Cinematography with the VR game was absolutely stunning for Republican era and all of the costumes for that period was beautiful as well as other scenes where you had outdoor shots were great. Oh and the kiss calendar was awesome (all dramas with romance should have them lol!); CXX is a very good kisser, just need LXY to be more natural and actually open her mouth so he’s not kissing her teeth as she pierces her lips together. P.S. There's an extra scene after the credits returning back to the VR game only with a role reversal, so came full circle.

Cons: There were issues with fluidity with the story. Firstly, the synopsis on the site only covered the first few episodes and not what the story was really about, which sucked because it was this huge story intertwined within and we had no clue it had such serious undertones. Next, they should never have had her best friend married because they started by randomly chucking this couple into the show and their scenes felt like very much an afterthought. It was all geared up to eventually show him "cheating". But they both were at fault because he had mentally checked out a long time ago and was solely married to his work while she had just grown complacent and also never really put much work into their marriage. I've got friends that work as much as these characters do plus have kids and still find time for an occasional date night in or not or something to keep things spicy. If there's love there and you want to make it work, you do. If you don't, like he was hospitalized from all that work and the breakup and instead of "let's try marriage counseling," she just said "I choose not to love you anymore," gave her ring to him and walked away. The entire thing was just weird to me; because feelings like that you can't turn them on and off like what we saw with the leads, even when FL broke up with ML more from being pressured by her parents and guilt then because she wanted to after his real identity was revealed, couldn't even function and they weren't married but just in a relationship. He cared about his clients from his new business more than his wife and she didn't see anything nor put in the effort. Both were at fault.

I have 2 small issues someone else mentioned in the comments with the FL; that CNY ML spent with her and her parents and than later was invited by her to sit on the roof when she tried to kiss him. It was most noticeable here because he was completely shut off and hurting and she didn't see it at all. On the roof she just babbled about her dreams and whatnot while the man she cared so much about was going through something and not mentally there and not once did she ask him if he was ok. It's like men are supposed to be able to take pain and loneliness and just swallow it while women can just not see it right in front of their eyes and people blamed him for not seeing her and her feelings. He's dealing with so much and always apologizes for everything even if none of it was his fault. Also, when she did her speechifying without letting him talk which was highly annoying; with the breakup and then after the factory thing. This man has been hunting for the truth for 20 years with only uncle Xu helping here and there and now he's just supposed to open up to you after you've said a bunch of hurtful, untruthful shit to him (after the factory especially) when he's not done a single bad thing to you nor was he responsible for what happened 20 years ago. I understand people say mean things when they're angry but some of what she said she should have apologized for and I don't think she said I'm sorry to him once the entire show. He was the one always apologizing; it was ridiculously unfair. It's one thing when he was in the wrong, ok good, but when he didn't do anything wrong even put her dad up in a private hospital room and gave him all of that equipment. He didn't have to do any of that.

FL's father was fine up until he started blaming XZY for what his father was framed for. When towards the end and they met instead of XZY apologizing again even though his father's name was cleared by then and HX's father knew that, instead of saying "let bygones be bygones" he should have been the bigger man and said "I'm sorry for blaming you for something you never did, were a child when it happened, and that I couldn't see that, letting the injustice continue." That would have been what a real man would say.

XZY's mother on the other hand was a lost cause; she never cared about his father or really him, just herself. She was insufferable, playing the victim while XZY had to essentially grow up on his own and look for evidence more or less alone. What mother wouldn't know that a father would only call their son by a pet name or what that pet name was? If she was dialed in, when that text message supposedly from him came through to her with the wrong name for their son claiming he was at fault for the collapse, she would have known instantly, he wasn't the one who sent it. But she took every opportunity to berate XZY about losing "another family" when he and PZ got into a fist fight without even knowing what it was about, as well as speak up for her new husband and stepson every chance she got. She resented her dead husband without knowing the truth but hopped into his killer's and the one responsible for the collapse's arms and bed before the ink dried on his tombstone. Only went to see his grave when his name was cleared after the psychopath confessed and was arrested. She actually asked XZY why he never told her about his findings after which she apologized to him for being weak, unhealthy, and incompetent which just seemed like weak, BS excuses for not being a proper mother to him basically most of his life. She briefly acknowledged that he essentially did this for 20 years alone without a mother. He thanked her for being with him in the end and she hugged him but by his awkward reaction, it was obvious she hadn't hugged him in a long time. She didn't deserve a son like him, so I was happy she was returning to the US after the divorce was finalized. I didn't want to see her anymore. Just made me want to throw something at the screen; glad they didn't give her a lot of screen time.

Would I recommend it? I would, absolutely. Despite the cons, the pros were more favorable. The story was rich and deep and though it wasn't lighthearted and had a lot to chew through, it was worth it, so give it a go!

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The Long Journey to A More Cohesive Plot

Pros: I'm just going to delve right into this. It was slightly better then part 1, emphases on the slightly. The script was more cohesive and there were less unneeded characters. The plot was actually finally going somewhere. My favorite portion by far was when Yunhe regains her memories in the volcano in episode 15. It was the only part of the entire thing, I kept rewatching many times.

Definitely favorite character out of the entire thing was LHQ or Lin junior as I called him; complicated and tragic man. No matter what, he could never get who he really wanted no matter how much effort he put into it and how much it cost him. But he never gave up trying for what he truly believed in and though not with whom he wanted to be, he was able to live freely in the end. Even though I didn't really like Yunhe (I still liked Yunhe's character in general and evolution in this part) as Ah-Ji because her constant talking to herself and inner monologues gave me a headache, she still had way more chemistry with Lin Junior than with Chang Yi.

Li Shu, San Yue, and the emperor kid evolved nicely and were given their own paths in this story and though Li Shu sacrificed himself for the umpteenth time, he was also able to return to his lady love. Emperor kid really grew both as an emperor and someone decisive and forthright. For those who watched TLB, he was the same actor who played Reba's character's annoying nephew. It was great seeing him in this way better capacity that could showcase his acting skills.

I don't remember all of their names but the ruler chick of North Abyss who had a yen for CY also did way better here then in Part 1. Kong Ming, Bird Deity, Yunhe's guard friend skinny dude as well as Lin junior's aid all were good and/or passable. As mentioned in part 1, immortal master was the best antagonist and I actually liked the actress who played Shunde's other identity as it was more natural then Shunde and felt right for the actress.

The plot though not entirely on the straight and narrow, was a more functional and understandable one as there was finally one set goal with many parts and places to go step by step before accomplishing it. As in Part 1, costumes, CGI, scenery, etc were breathtakingly beautiful. That was the one thing that remained consistent.

Cons: Even with a more cohesive plot, there were many plot holes that just didn't add up. Like how could an already dead Chen Yu resurrect and become part of Shunde's zombie army? The poor man essentially died twice; he was really pitiful but his tunnel vision loyalty to immortal master was his undoing, so though I did like the character, he really didn't change much. How in the world did most of the supposed dead come back to life at the very end? Very weak explanations if any to all of this. Or how were Li Shu and San Yue able to leave the mountain they were trapped in with the Emperor and his masters but the latter three couldn't?

Shunde, Shunde, Shunde....lord almighty what an atrocious villain. Even after she sucked all of that voodoo mask turned terminator with Freddy Krueger's claws' energy, she didn't become a believable villain. She was still a vicious, self-righteous, drama queen, with a massive superiority complex and the "evil" crazy laugh she had didn't help matters. After the loss of the Immortal Master to repentance, there was no way she could replace him. And they did zilch to evolve her.

Chang Yi didn't change in the slightest save for a few moments he smiled in later episodes. The conflicted block of ice who imprisons Yunhe to "torture" her in the beginning, had only two facial features during the entire series; constipated or stoned. I really thought it would be better but not until episode 15 or beginning of 16 did he slightly defrost and not for long periods of time either.

The continuation of the lies, cover ups, deception to protect kept up with just about everyone until literally the last episode of the show and it really messed up the equilibrium of the show. Why couldn't people just be straight forward as that in the end was what ended up being needed? The leads and other solid couples had about 5 to 10 minutes of happiness before something would go wrong. But though the show was supposed to be angsty, you very rarely felt any of that. Yes, when Yunhe sacrificed herself for North Abyss and then later died in CY's arms; but I felt sadder when Lin junior brought her back and she started to drift from him. Such a huge contrast between robot CY and raw Lin junior.

The largest mess up was the ending. As I waited for part 2 to come out, I read the translated chapters/episodes from a site and the ending could have been way better for Yunhe and CY if the directors hadn't cut a very important scene. Though while I feel if just about everyone else came back, Yunhe did too, a lot more could have been relayed had that ending been properly in place. Everyone else got their version of a proper happy ending but the ones who were toughing out this journey from day one were just brushed aside and it was a great injustice to them. Would have been way better had they just killed Shunde (make a big blast of it for emphasis), left North Abyss together and lived in the world with the freedom they both craved since episode 1 and that piece would have come full circle. Scrap the volcano sacrifice and all the other stuff. It would have been much more fulfilling and proper for them both to end like that.

Would I recommend it? If you watched Part 1, then you need to watch this in order to get an understanding of what was going on there, where it went and how it ended. Also better plot and if you're an actor fan of anyone. For me personally, the entire series was disappointing; could have been done way better. The actors deserved that much and so did the audience.

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Detailed Decade Long Planned Revenge with Many Moving Parts.

Chose this because it was a different type of story for CY. He wasn't playing someone with superb martial arts but a strategist instead. Many veteran actors also made it a good story. This will be shorter than usual.

Pros: Basically a story of a decade's long very detailed revenge plan by the ML or XHA with many moving parts. It was a very heavily dense storyline. The premise was simple, XHA was getting revenge on people involved in the brutal murder of his father and clansmen by people who defected from his father's own created army. He had a list of people and underlings he wanted to kill and he managed to do just that save a few. There were many betrayals but also people who he could trust as well as use. Motive was power and the throne of Chang'An. I like how there thankfully no romance in this one. Sometimes it was very much like GoT's Game of Faces as human masks were used. The strategies and contingencies deployed were very complex and difficult to explain. You have to watch this one carefully. For someone so young, XHA chilled even his most fearsome enemies to the bone with one glance as they themselves often pointed out. CY was very good at showing emotions especially when XHA's sister previously in hiding was killed after returning to the city under false pretenses. His grief over her body and earlier over finding his father's headstone was very well done.

Fight scenes, sets, costumes, and OSTs were very much on point with this top tier drama. It is best to watch to the very end before making a decision on any character save the ones around XHA from the beginning and young or supremely loyal and the emperor. There were so many double agents, after a while you didn't know who to trust at all.

Cons: I would have preferred if we didn't have a special episode because the original ending was very much like MLC where it was an OE and that's ok. The only issue is that there a few characters that disappeared and we never saw them again like the chick Huben guard who delivered GY's notes to a general or GY's own aid; last seen she was riding somewhere with some of his military and a few others. Wish these people had proper endings. The first part of the story was in my opinion better than when they brought in King of Tiemo; things just seemed more convoluted in the beginning and after the fact the pace picked up and more betrayals happened and a lot didn't make sense. The last episode was over 50 minutes long. It was like because the series was only 28 episodes long they had to cram to get as much in as possible. The other thing I didn't understand was how XHA could just sit down with his biggest enemies and have tea and discuss strategies of them killing each other essentially or why. It felt contrived; even those that were supposed to be on the same evil side betrayed each other.

The special episode was super ambiguous; other than the allies of XHA doing other things or one leaving to go find someone. The point was to possibly make it seem there would be a season 2, but they left many questions unanswered. The emperor was once again in possession of the token he gave XHA in the beginning and gave it to his younger brother, but if XHA was now locked in a prison somewhere location that king and later the emperor himself was locked in, how did the emperor get the token unbroken and clean? It never showed XHA's face but it was CY's voice. So whether there will be a season 2 or not and whether CY and those that survived will reprise, we don't know.

Would I recommend it? For those of you who like good revenge stories with very smart strategists than this series is for you. Just don't binge it because your head will hurt.

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Strong Alone, Stronger Together.

This drama looked good because a YouTuber I trust recommended it and I was looking for something extra to watch. I don't follow anyone here but have wanted to see Kenny Lin since Princess Agents and this drama did speak to me. First time seeing Seven Tan in anything.

Pros: NM was by far my favorite character and the entire storyline of hers was probably the most properly evolved out of the entire cast. I'm in the business field myself though not in investments nor corporate anymore plus all of my nearly 3 degrees are in that as well so I understood what I was watching. I loved how strong, intelligent, capable, steadfast, and true she was regardless of her situation at work. She wouldn't let any naysayer keep her away from her ultimate goal. And then gave that up to start almost from scratch to help the ML. She used every opportunity wherever she was to network and find people to work with. It was a very smart way to cultivate real workplace relationships.

My second favorite character by far was her boss Ms. Shi. If I had a boss like her in my corporate days, I probably would have never chosen to switch careers. This woman was the epitome of what an actual boss of any corporation, big or small should be like in both the workplace and outside. Very fulfilling character; job well done. The ML was flawed to high hell. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, which did explain a lot and although you really wanted to deck him especially after episode 11, he did start to evolve thankfully after that and only through really realizing he was being a prick because he had feelings for our FL.

All of the side character friends and coworkers gave the series the much needed comedic relief and support it needed many a time. I liked the positive ones. This wasn't a romance drama unless you count the longing looks of the ML at FL and the last 5 minutes of the last episode, which was totally fine by me. It really didn't need the romance, it was doing just fine as a corporate drama with some comedy.

Cons: While the show had a decent pacing, the timing was quite weird. It shouldn't have taken 11 episodes to show how much of a pompous jerk the ML was; could have been just as easily done in 5. Also placing the main meat and potatoes of the story in the literal last 5 episodes was way too much. The spreading of the drama could have been done way better, but that's a fault of production.

The only problem I had with NM was that after the incident, she didn't immediately break up with SWR. She needed her boss's guidance to help with the situation. Here she was ready to fight grown men at work for her client and for her best friend, but for herself she went all deer in headlights; that was the only time I wondered if they were really going to dumb her down but thankfully she returned to her old self immediately after. Just the slightest inconsistency in her character that one time.

The antagonists were like a mean, whiny evil. What they actually did was done unseen to the viewers. Though the main big bad, SWR was a good antagonist, with DV and some form of mental issue that wasn't discussed; his entire existence seemed forced. Even his supposed redemption was a cop out. Ok so he turned himself in after a heart to heart with NM but he was so brutal to her and others before, using her every step of the way. It was a bit messy for this big bad hunter after its prey that he was. Turn the hunter into the hunted instead. But they ran out of episodes so it was what it was.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you're looking for a strong female that always goes against the grain but still does it by working very hard and learning quickly. The drama was good and funny, just keep the timing situation in mind.

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A Demon Living a Human Life as a Demon Hunter & a Human Able to see Demons

What will fate bring them? Filmed 3 years ago, as always I go into each drama without any expectations and as though I knew the ML, both second leads, and various other characters; it was my first time seeing the FL outside one variety show. I will say I was very pleasantly impressed by the storyline as a whole and the characters.

Pros: The arcs were seamlessly intertwined and went from one to another without missing a beat. Our leads met and that too had a lot to do with fate as he saved her when they were kids but because of that he fell from his demon world into her mortal one and both lost their memories. He thought he was a human and therefore adopted as one becoming the successor demon hunter (ironically) of a righteous sect. Due to the blow he took for her, some of his demonic blood got into her left eye making her see demons with one eye. So it became a demon living a human life as a demon hunter & a human able to see demons all thanks to each other. None of this was revealed until much later in the show as they continued to solve cases seemingly unrelated and yet very much so together. He taught her that like humans, there were good and bad demons and that both species could peacefully coexist, especially if demons cultivated enough to shape-shift into human form.

ML or XY grew up in a sect/demon hunter/pharmacuetical family but was dealt a heavy blow 6 years prior when his human family was possessed by a poisonous demon and he had to kill them; though after a cryptic message to XY in regards to his demonic origins that his son only understood towards the end, his father chose to end his own life. XY was living in the shadows of that awful night and even though he was exonerated of the murders by his "uncle" aka the antagonist of the piece, rumors never ceased and he was not only distrusted but also hated by ignorant people. His father upon discovering XY's truth, created a powerful mystical tattoo bracelet to keep the truth always hidden under the ruse that it would protect him in times of danger. XY inherited his adoptive father's 5 mystical hidden swords that he carried with him everywhere and were used accordingly. They however always had a backlash affect each time he would use them, first on himself and then on the FL and others in close proximity.

FL or BX was a young lady that could see demons out of her left eye only. She came from a very wealthy family and though they loved her very much, they kept her sheltered and drugged because they didn't believe in the existence of demons so they thought she was crazy. Due to that at first, she was very shy and timid but once the truth was revealed to her with the Hidden-Owl demon her cousin married and meeting XY, she started to get braver and more outspoken until both her brother realized and her father admitted that he had lied to her. He mother supposedly passed 10 years before and then suddenly her father was supposedly murdered in a fire. But BX was smarter than to believe the latter so that's how her path with XY would permanently cross, change, and evolve.

Bringing demons and people to justice, ultimately rescuing both of her parents and trying to figure out who the mastermind was while at the same time XY's origins came to light with his brother coming into the mortal realm kept them busy and us wanting more. I was very proud of BX as she reminded me a lot of MQG from "Love of the Divine Tree", no matter how dire the situation was, she remained determined to stay by XY's side and fix whatever problem together. She would cry and that steadfastly made him understand she wasn't going anywhere. She even rescued him when he changed into his demon body and was caught.

Romance and love was very subtle but it was there. It never overpowered anything else that was going and there was a lot. Their bond remained (I believe) even when she let him go and didn't follow him to his world at the end because she knew that at that time she didn't belong there and that perhaps in 12 years they would reunite and by that time she could go with him. It was a bittersweet OE but given that she was a human and he was a demon, neither could give up their responsibilities; his to his land as he was a prince plus his land was in chaos and dying out plus his brother couldn't handle it on his own anymore and her to her family as they were still young. In 12 years a lot could and would change and perhaps as his adoptive father said (who like everyone else that died, came back when XY restarted their timelines only with everyone forgetting his existence except BX who was once again deemed crazy but for different reasons as opposed to seeing demons, this time she knew there was someone she was never meant to forget, their love being that strong and of course with the help of some demon who somehow retained all his memories, she finally remembered but with only one day to spare), he hoped he and XY would reunite again. I firmly believe that day will come in 12 years for father, son, and BX and this time she would go with him.

The friends and supporting characters that were awesome adding to the already phenomenal martial arts of XY and comedy were CX our beloved bunny, YH, SLL, WJ, XY's dad, BX's family, ZK, and several other demons they met like Nine Lives and the snake serpent one; I've liked the actor ever since I've seen him in TLB though it's been a long time and though he had a small role here, it still was great. The small villains all did what they were supposed to do except for the little shit sand demon who could have just said his lines not shrieked them; would have helped a lot. The main antagonist, we knew who he was from nearly the beginning so no real surprise there but he played him well even surprising me with how strong of a martial artist he was considering he seemed in poor health when we saw him the few times before more and more of his motives were revealed. Out of all of the arcs, the creepy doll one was my favorite. The acting on her part was scary accurate to a real marionette doll.

The sets and CGI was done really well, you felt it was almost 3D, costumes were also on point. You could also tell how XY's character changed with his costumes; from who cares how I look, to lighter outer clothing if happy or darker if upset to black leather as prince black Panther at the end.

Cons: While a lot was very well done, somethings lacked like calling it "The Demon Hunter's Romance" should have been instead called "The Experience of a Demon Living & Loving as a Human in the Human World." We all know Allen Ren doesn't do romance well especially the kissing for whatever his personal reasons are; thankfully here the romance was subtle and ran more like an underlying current but it would still have been nice to at least get one proper kiss in since it was part of the genre. Furthermore, AR should try other genres other than romance because he'd do great in those where romance was unnecessary.

Felt the last few episodes were rushed especially XY making everyone forget him as he restarted the timeline and though some events still happened as that was fate, others didn't and even in this second chance BX was not timid but brave. But as he stood or followed watching her grow up, you felt incredibly sad for him that he was all alone in this world where he used to have friends. The drag out to the final episode while she just spent all her time running into him and crying while trying to remember, I felt was very cruel to her. I do think that basically the entirety of 36 once she FINALLY got her memories back for me anyways it was understandable that they were going to part. There was no way around that and they spent most of 36 basically getting ready for that. I don’t think she was going to marry anyone else and neither was he. I firmly believe they will reunite in 12 years, forever this time.

Now it's coming out from the screenwriter that they had actually written BX as a half demon which is what the majority of us thought she was and therefore could have left with him and we could have had a great happy ending. But the directors for whatever reason decided to go this "creative" route instead. While I'm fine with a well written bittersweet although hopeful OE, I would have preferred the half demon/HE instead and it would have made even more sense. Directors made a similar decision in A Moment But Forever and it could have been better with the more obviously and already written HE. More often than not these "creative" choices do a drama more harm than good.

None of the OSTs were memorable other then sometimes drowning out what the characters were saying. Proper editing could have handled that.

Would I recommend it? I totally would! This story had so many amazing plots and subplots interwoven and the characters that you grew to love and admire even if they were on screen for a short time, that you just wanted to watch more of it. It took 3 years, but it was worth the wait!

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Bit off more then he could chew...

This is my honest review.

I'm going to start by saying this series gets a 7/10 from me and it's 100% on the screenwriter. Maybe it's because I'm used to American blockbusters, maybe it's because I have friends that are screenwriters in Hollywood whose work I've read and given critique on, maybe it's because I'm a professional writer/editor myself and have written scripts and novels over the years, or maybe it's all of the above. Fact remains, this screenwriter bit off more then he could chew and it fell short and I'm just a drama/lead actor fan; never read the novel nor am I into donghua. Though it's not even close to a comparison, Lord of the Rings: first film alone had 3 screenwriters. Maybe it was the arrogance of the screenwriter but he or the director or the production company should have brought more people to help him. There was simply no way for him to be able to take this project and do it justice himself. It is impossible given its size. I know there are people scoring full 10s and more power to them but with all of my experience in this and as mentioned above, this is an honest review that will get constructive criticism.

Under no circumstances can or should DC be compared to his other works simply because it's completely different. With the amount of CGI and other visual effects, it lands in a category of its own. Let me make myself clear, DC is not a bad series, especially for those of us that don't know its history; it's just not a powerful transition from 2D to 3D live action. One thing that is a faux pas for writers and screenwriters; it should not take 13 plus episodes/chapters to introduce main or supporting characters. If there is a concrete lead, that lead should always be around enough to remind the audience of who the individual is.

We were working with 40 episodes, 35 minutes long each (not counting credits) for part 1. I get it, you want to introduce everyone and set up their backstories. Very feasible but you're neglecting the reason the story exists; lead character must grow and evolve too. Between episodes 6-13 there was almost no plot cohesion. It was a roller coaster ride of let's randomly bring more people into the mix while running around doing tasks that don't have a meaning.

Furthermore, those episodes and some additional ones should have been called "The boring nonsense of OuSiKe and Rong Rong." Out of the 7 devils the screenwriter/director/producer made him look like Betty Crocker and his constant artsy fartsy monologues of Mr. Motor Mouth were enough to give most a splitting headache. Personally if he had signed with Prince ugly Eyebrows, left ShiLanKe and opened a theatre academy, I would have been thrilled. Again, I'm not blaming the actor for this as he was acting out the script. His character was the most lackluster and worthless out of the entire bunch. When he and Rong Rong would whine, it sounded like '90s dial up internet gone haywire. I fast forwarded a lot of their scenes as they added no value to the story.

It felt sad that so much good material was wasted. The battles lasted maximum 5 minutes while the conversations and needless explanations took the rest of the time. Growth of characters requires them doing things; just like the saying goes "actions speak louder then words", just dialogue will not evolve a character. Even without the background of the novel, I could tell the evolution of some characters and total standstills of others.

So many anticlimactic scenes and music. The OST's were gorgeous but towards the end were chucked randomly into parts of the episodes that didn't require them. The entire time the 7devils were in MSH towards the end didn't even seem like part of this series. Most were out playing Sherlock Holmes on separate mysteries trying to solve puzzles and save the ultimate villain who already knew everything that was going on. It seemed that the screenwriter ran out of material (shocking) and had to stretch to make it 40 episodes with a lot of nonsense. For 5 episodes, I felt like I was in the game of "Clue". It was a shoddy patchwork job that deserved way better; the actors taking on these roles and the audience deserved better.

I've mentioned some actors above and I'll continue speaking about them in their character sense again (I'll speak about the actual actors later if necessary). Mu Bai who started out as bossy and a total turn off, evolved into a mature and well prepared captain. Same goes for Zhu Zhu Qing, though from the 7 devils other then Tang San, she was my 2nd favorite because of her fierceness and I liked her character's growth. Master and Headmaster along with Ma Hong Jun were also heavily favored because of their comedic reprieve and growth.

I must say episode 40 left me scratching my head but not at the cliffhanger which was expected and yet even that fell flat. There was no great battle for the championship nor a fight between Papa Tang and the Pope. The finale battle was really one dude spouting arrogant nonsense who still got his butt kicked, and the way too obvious revelation of XW being a soul beastie with a side order of Papa Tang smacking the Pope around with his hammer, twice. Tang San trying to protect XW per usual was obvious but his serious lack of surprise about her identity and his proclamation (if the subs were on point) that she was his love or lover were misplaced because it was never shown before. Even in the most dense of moments he never uttered anything save she was his younger sister. Another point off from the script, massive disconnect. I can point out many points of disconnect within the script and this show but then I'd be writing this for days.

There were many people who didn't like XW's character; personally I felt very neutral towards her. She had her good attributes (she always had TS' back, could kick some serious butt in a fight, never backed down, was willing to do whatever it took to get stronger) and she had her weaknesses (sometimes too clingy, didn't understand the simplest things, a bit too bouncy for my taste). Again most of her lackluster traits are attributed to the script because what she read, she did. Episode 39 where she and TS are in the soul beast dungeon and she basically all but said who she was and Tang San was still somewhat clueless babbling theories; really that's like scriptwriting 101 and our pal screenwriter failed. Why wait? Especially when you're not going to make it into like an abracadabra super reveal anyways? Defies logical writing and progression.

Lastly for characters and actors, I want to speak on Tang San and Xiao Zhan. It's because of Xiao Zhan (not a solo fan; multi here) that I watched this. Is his performance Oscar worthy? No. But it was the only thing with a few other characters that kept me coming back every evening for my VIP. I loved his character. Even when it was at a standstill due to the introduction of others. He put everything he knew into it and I give him praise for that. The stunts, both on wires and without were wonderful. For him, I will absolutely watch part 2 (though hopefully it won't take multiple years to get there).

I also hope--because they took such a long time to introduce the other characters--they won't throw them away in part 2. And that they follow the novel a lot closer into the second part. Nothing will ever be 100% adaptable anywhere but it should at least come to some version of close.

Lastly, I want to thank the visual effects department and CGI crew for their hard work because they truly did a fantastic job on all of their parts. My favorite part will forever be the dreamscape or interspace that TS' mother created for him. It was truly beautiful and magical. I know this international team worked hard on all of their scenes and they should not be forgotten as neither should the crew who worked in lord knows what kind of conditions and how many hours. So hats off to them. Thank you Douluo Continent for the teamwork because it does make the dream work and I'll see you all again hopefully in Part 2!

P.S. Please add at least 2 more experienced screenwriters. Much appreciated!

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Total Departure from S1 & A Completely Miscast Main Antagonist.

I wanted to watch this because it was S2 from S1 which had been a sleeper hit. The main actors were the same and though time passed, it would be just as good, right? Sadly not. It was a complete departure from S1 with a completely miscast main antagonist. This will be one of those reviews where pros and cons will be mixed together.

The story started strong just like normal, with a case and had the fab 4 plus big bro helping out. But then things begin to slide downwards. Though it's understandable that in 3 drama years both of the fab 4 couples would be married, they didn't have to make their husband such simps around their wives. ML was still as whip smart as ever but because the enemy was now a different country it seemed like they were constantly missing something. It didn't help that there was a spy called Peacock that came literally out of nowhere. He was the leader of the spy network deeply entrenched in their capital which they only figured out as time went on. If in season one, we had an understanding of who the main antagonist was and he fit the mold, in season two we needed Jack the Ripper by the time he revealed all of the atrocities (skinning people alive, whipping them with the same whip that was used on him when he was a child, or feeding them poisonous bugs until they incubated long enough to burst out of the stomachs and kill others; very The Mummy or Species diabolical) he was responsible for but instead we got friendly Joe from next door who mows your lawn and gets paid in chump change. This particular actor has never played a real antagonist; always as a protagonist in modern or costume dramas so to stick him in a role so complex was absolutely was unbelievable, I don't know what production and casting was thinking. He could scheme sure so could play the role of a small villain but not the ultimate villain; it was truly laughable by then. Especially the issues in continuity where in his last scene, one minute there was no blood on his dagger, the next there was, and it kept going back forth, the other actors delayed reactions or movements was lazy editing. And his ending, with the academy award speech before thrusting the knife into his own heart or stomach, was so even more anticlimactic than the rest of it. Truly eye-roll worthy.

I also don't understand how the emperor of Da Tang could constantly listen and obey orders from an envoy of different country like the guy had any real power; fatso as I called him; now he could have played the ultimate villain. But we spent the first half of the show one step forwards two back because the enemy was with them all the time. No one would believe he could be the biggest threat because he just didn't have the personality for it even when it was revealed he was Peacock. It wasn't spoken about again; all this time trying to find this spy and by the time it was realized, it was forgotten. After they finally found some upper ground with the fake syphilis and started bringing down the network, they were sent to join big bro, who still acted the same and I wish had more screen time to weed out what we learned was the poisonous bug network and he too ended up with a love interest but sadly that wasn't properly explored. It just seemed on a case by case bases if there even was such a thing, things were buried and not properly clarified or just forgotten. Or why did CC's dad suddenly appear out of nowhere, with no warning in the middle of nowhere, so he could get kidnapped and than CC was as well; it just didn't make sense. These type of instances happened a lot. Or when the big web unraveled it was one giant conspiracy with several minds behind it but again the one that mattered just didn't hit the bar. The killing of two characters especially the guard was sad.

I also wish the ending was different; exit out characters, don't leave them hanging or poof like big bro and his woman. Also wish instead of another imperial decree, they showed the leads with kids as opposed to them making plans to travel while the second couple was going to get married again. It just felt incomplete; like even production gave up on it.

We did have a higher budget, some decent comedy, decent OSTs, nice costumes, and sets.

Would I recommend it? Honestly unless you want to see the progression of the Fab 4, no. It just didn't have the same uniqueness and difference from so many other shows. It seemed lazy on production's part and it could have been a great show.

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Good but Could Have Done Without the 15 Episode Drag-Fest

The storyline was what originally got my attention and I wanted to see Zhang Xin Cheng in something other than Young Blood. It was also cool to find out the leads were childhood friends in real life. The story itself was interesting but it shouldn't have dragged out the leads getting together for 24 out of the 30 episodes.

Pros: Friendship goals for real; from high school into adult life! That was the best thing of the entire drama. How they had each other's backs no matter what. The chemistry between the leads was the best as well as the 2nd couple who deserved so much more screen time; I called them the odd duck and the actress. The comedy that he provided was so low key but awesome. They were the most interesting couple out of the three though the kisses of the leads once it actually happened were very good. Think all actors did pretty well with the script they were given.

Cons: The 3rd couple were two morons that even though great friends, they sucked at advice giving and I think kept the leads apart because they'd make them even more insecure. Their overacting and lack of normal voices unless it came to business was ffw worthy which I did. None of the parents could read the room of the obvious feelings of the leads and the repetition of the script got old quick.

Also felt that the revenge plot of Mo guy and the sexual harassment of Gan pervert were just thrown in haphazardly and didn't fully go into either nor punishment. I think had they cut back on the 3rd couple, given the negative aspect of the series a better fleshing out, given the 2nd couple their time, and brought the leads together sooner instead of just repeating the same even dialogue; this series would have been way better.

Would I recommend it? It's a nice series to watch in between anticipated ones. The actors did the best with what they had and were believable.

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Those Destined Will Go Far

This drama was on my anticipated dramas of the year list and for the most part it didn't disappoint. I wanted to see BJT in another costume drama and recognized many actors from the TBOY cast here. This must have been a great reunion for them. Those destined will indeed go far.

Pros: The first two story arcs were the most promising and held my attention as both leads and those that became their friends went through literal hell in order to survive. I really liked both leads evolution as they came together due to a misunderstanding that gradually turned into very deep love. BJT can play a lazy rich kid just as well as a military strategist. I loved the fight scenes though there were few of them. Going from one home, then to starting from scratch in a second and yet a third, it was a process we looked forward to. All characters I felt were necessary though I think for being such a ruthless antagonist, LZS didn't get that much screen time. I loved the sworn brotherhoods and sisterhoods around the leads. So it was very sad that in the final 3 episodes, QWZ was killed. Even though that was as many said, in the novel, after so much loss and destruction, this was absolutely heartbreaking and unnecessary. They could have changed that.

Sets, costumes, OSTs were perfect everywhere though I wish they didn't sub them over the lines because it made it nearly impossible to understand.

Cons: The entire palace arc being put into the last dozen episodes seemed like production was galloping to the finish line and I found much of to be too much. So much so, I skipped a few episodes. FY becoming LZS' puppet was obvious and obnoxious but him getting a semi-redemption arc when he was acting like a 12 year old with people's lives made me sick. LZS' demise also didn't seem satisfactory as this nut job killed so many people because of a total misunderstanding was pretty ridiculous. Another one with daddy issues that didn't know the truth. I just feel that these antagonists need more satisfying endings given their brutality.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. For 40 episodes, it had a little bit of everything so give it a go.

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Team Qi +Team Qian = Team Qi-Qian.

This show was something else. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to pick it up but I had seen BWJ in Silence of the Monster and wanted to see him in a different genre. Other than a few supporting characters and barely, I'm completely unfamiliar with the cast otherwise. So which is it? Team Qi, Team Qian or better yet Team Qi-Qian.

Pros: This drama had great OSTs and fighting scenes as well as a good fantasy angle. ML played by BWJ or HZ was my favorite even when he was rough around the edges and grumpy as all get out. I liked the mysteries when they had to do with the actual topic. The jealousy sequences were pretty funny too. I think more than fantasy, this had a lot of comedic elements, though HZ shape shifting that one time was pretty awesome. Reminded me a little bit of the movie "Underworld" with Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. The ambiguity of the CP and MY until the second to last episode and reveal blew my mind and probably what hitched this drama from an 8 to an 8.5. I have seen many Scooby Doo reveals before but not on this scale. Out of everything possible, I never would have predicted that one. Though I must say, after CP's dashing good looks, getting MY was a total letdown lol. It all made sense as soon as things were revealed, why CP had that reaction to Chilan when she first arrived, how with the spoon and water and hand washing, he was able to trigger her memories of MY and of course the other things we saw in flashbacks; chess playing, the dagger gift, same wine, same bday, etc. With a drama still so full of unanswered questions, all of these were put to rest. Though a good villain, MY's actual agenda harmed his race just as much if not more so then the Qian folks, so there was no greater good in his plan. It was all about power and control.

My 2nd favorite character was Chilan; the actress nailed that performance to a T. She was badass and kickass in every way possible. The perfect general, advisor, protector, and helping hand to HZ and the other two. I'm glad she became queen of the Qi tribe, she deserved that more than anyone. She had a heart of gold and could handle diplomacy well. Even though the love of her life ended up being the villain and a crazy one at that, she was still able to rise above that. I hope she finds her happiness with a wonderful person from whichever race. Same goes for WJ; I feel so bad for him. But talk about someone who started immature and grew to be a bit more forthcoming and understanding. He had an unrequited love for FL but thankfully this was a peaceful love triangle that retained its friendship of both parties regardlessly. But the fact that he decided to be a monk due an unnecessary character's issues as well as finding out his older brother was a fake for a decade, I've got no idea how his mental health was still intact.

Other favorite characters do include the FL or SJR but only when she was smart and mature, her ditzy side was less tolerable. She was a walking contradiction; one minute she would Sherlock her way out of the largest puzzle, the next she'd be walking around like a grown doll, talking to herself. Keha, Liu Fu, SJR's mom, Lao Hu, and Kaka were all great as supporting characters and their personalities meshed with whatever was going on in the moment. Though this was obviously a lower budget production, the costumes and sets actually fit their parties.

Cons: The amount of unanswered questions, cases that had very little to do with the main plot save bring the leads closer together especially why turn the Qi people into monkeys instead of wolves through that poison. Monkeys and wolves aren't from the same DNA pile and it was just completely out of the blue. Poisoned his own people just to make HZ choose between the race and SJR? MY was a total lunatic, yet developed a brotherly affection for WJ that he himself couldn't explain; probably because both were outcasts and WJ was innocent and too nice. The unnecessary cases which showed Qian people getting harmed, obviously didn't show MY's plan that all Qian's needed to die, but it actually set HZ to understand both races in a new light.

I wish they revealed answers like what did that Ember look like? Was it edible and small like the Qi stone? How did SJR ingest it in the first place and how was it removed? How did CP and his wife die? Where was the king this entire time? He wasn't seen onscreen again after the last treaty talk with fake CP in the early 20s of episodes. How did the entire city plus royal family just forget about the disappearance of CP aka MY at the end? No explanation but at the wedding WJ was now the new CP? HY was chucked into maybe 4 episodes and then disappeared just as randomly as she'd arrived; what was her actual purpose? Other then make people's skin crawl from her child-woman "gege" babble? It would have been way better if WJ was just left with his unrequited love and could fall in love again in the future instead of the vow of celibacy. So bizarre and quite unnecessary.

I also wish the ending was wrapped up better. The fight was awesome and brutal but that last episode, SJR's choice and flashbacks and HZ risking his life to save her, while great, it should have not just had a fade to black and explanation by SJR that he saved her, with a quick cut to wedding and explanation of the treaty signed though we don't know why, WJ is now the new CP without any real anything, SJR has HZ's powers, while he's basically a regular Joe. Instead, they should have shown her waking up and finding him awake by her side in this new world of them essentially switching. Then show both kings signing the treaty and having that being properly explained even the whole fake CP thing, then have a full wedding and her showing off her newfound skills after the fact not in the beginning. The way it was done was just slapped together for some unnecessary slapstick humor. Given that the leads only got together a few episodes before, the wedding should have been done right. You can save the comedy for the post credit ending. So not a fully satisfactory ending; it deserved better.

Would I recommend it? Yes. This drama had a lot of good elements if you could get past some of the confusion. Great mysteries for the most part, good acting, though a beyond slow burn romance, great characters, decent comedy. All in all, a good show.

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Love Transcends Timelines

Originally added this to my watchlist because I was interested in ZKY playing the ML only seeing him in a few support roles plus the storyline fascinated me. I have no problem with age gaps, after all we had the hit film "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and there the woman really was 20 years older; in real life as well there was a difference and they still made it work. A few similarities but overall, good. I didn't know the FL at all but some of the supporting cast I knew like the SML and a few others. But this really was the love that transcended timelines.

Pros: ZKY delivered on all counts; all emotions of both younger and older self. I really loved the difference of the two timelines because they weren't abrupt but interwoven so the transitions were smooth as we the audience had to see both characters meeting, growth, evolution. Neither LW or CJ (our ML and FL respectively) were perfect characters. Both were flawed from the get go. That was very important to highlight. As were the other two couples. In the beginning when we meet LW and CJ reconnecting in the current timeline and she learns of his experience abroad and how sick he is basically due to her and their break up, and then we see how angry he is and we see her apologize and it just kind of seems like a flimsy apology so the audience is kind of unsure and angry as we go through the rest of the drama between the two timelines but then as we get toward the end we start to realize that LW has let go of all of that and in the current timeline he's focused now on standing in front of her and getting her back regardless of her indecisiveness, which was very annoying. But we realize that the past timeline isn't about the anger that LW feels but is instead about telling the story of them; telling how they met and all of that and how they got to where they are presently so the audience isn't angry anymore or isn't feeling like she messed with him even though it in a sense was like that, and I will talk about that in the cons. But the fact that we as an audience also evolved as well with the story is pretty awesome because that's usually not something that happens. Also as the story neared the end and they get back together and they were hiding from parents and doing all that other stuff, and though it is comedic at times, we see that she understands how much she hurt him because she admits it to her father and that's a huge step for someone like her. Yes, she was hurt in the past way before because she was divorced with a cheating spouse that was a scumbag, and still is a scumbag in the current timeline, but she was also angry at him and got over him more or less in a good manner of time. She even spoke about that when she and LW first got together in the past timeline. LW meanwhile from the get--I think for him it was love at first sight--was her protector, even if she didn't realize it he always stood in front of her to shield her from anything and everything and continued to do so in the current timeline.

There were two other couples; couple number two got together more or less quickly, though they had a few misunderstandings that were ironed out relatively in a good time matter. Couple number three were a little strange; they I guess were together the entire time but we only found out about it in the current timeline. What was also cool was the fact that as we were nearing the end of the past timeline story, it held off on showing us the current timeline so only when the past timeline ended with the break up and him going abroad and her being miserable and missing him and the way she handled the breakup I suppose, is when we smoothly transition into the current timeline and her realization of her feelings and that's when they get back together.

I like how when he ran into trouble with his business in the current timeline, this is toward the end, this time she stood by his side, no matter what she even went public with their relationship. She didn't care who said what, it was only the two of them together, and she was determined to be by his side and I thought that that was a major evolution for her and great in general. Comedy was nice here both past and current timelines, especially the current one where they were running away from her mom who was a trip all in herself even the actress with the BTS was fun as well as the absolute hysterical portion was the fact that all the BTS is of them kissing in there were a lot of kisses in this one and they were good ones. Chemistry was on point and very spicy. The fact that ZKY didn’t have that much experience, but the director was guiding him and everybody was teasing him because they had to take multiple shots and even Michelle Chen who played the FL was teasing him because his ears would get red all the time and he was very shy so this was such a great environment even during the tense times they would just be joking around and ZKY was a goofball so he would let all the tension out of the room. It was just a great show to watch altogether. She still teased him during the interviews, their livestreams, and promos now lol! Yes, it had some issues but nothing to cry home about, I don't think.

I love her parents. I love how supportive they always were of her past or current timeline so that was great. Both her best friend and his friends were great no toxicity or stupid advice whatsoever. And even the creepy third wheel because he was annoying; got a clue and bowed out gracefully, finally, it took him a while to get a clue, but he finally got it. As this was a modern, drama sets and costumes and everything obviously was fine. OST matched everything perfectly.

Cons: A lot also had to do with her indecisiveness in both past and current timelines. And the way she showed it, was her eyes would just roll around in her head like she was his age or she would just run away. It just looked really strange like you're an adult woman; stop running away from shit! It was annoying as nails, especially in the current timeline because by then she was closer to 40 and she was still acting the same and I am a woman in my early 40s and I don't run away from anything. If I don't understand my feelings or know them or know how to face them I will just say "you know something, I'm going to take a little bit of time and I'm going to think about it," let the other person know so they aren't overthinking. Set an example! But I would not act like that. Grown women, especially who have careers and are successful, don't act like that; it didn't fit.

Even though the break up wasn't as bad as everyone thought, I still thought that the way she handled everything was just weird and strange and didn't fit. For starters, all the lying was so unnecessary she could've brought up the long distance thing, sat him down like an adult instead of a few nights before he was about to leave he found those documents. I thought that was just very immature of someone her age as she was always talking about their age difference in the beginning. She started with long distance and then literally not even five minutes into it, she broke up with him; like what is even happening? I hate the "doing it for your own good" crap. He was an adult. She never consulted him. It was a huge mistake which she later admitted to but at the time I just thought it was absolutely the worst thing she could've done considering his already massive abandonment issues from his entire family, and the reason she brought him from the mountains to school in the first place and gave him a safe Haven. Now she's basically ripping it away from him so the lying and the abandonment where my biggest issues in the break up; the rest of it I get. Even he got it in the current timeline hence he didn't pursue the issue and let her apologize for not handling it well as she said after he called her out on it a few times, she understood, especially after knowing how much it affected his health and that she was basically directly responsible for that.

I'm still pretty unhappy as is everyone that they cut the daughter scene and the him teaching at a university for a class scene that should've been something like six years later from the end of the show, that should've been an extra scene because when they filmed it, there was dialogue. It wasn't like a quick five minute thing, it was like half an episode if not an entire episode. That just left a lot still not brought full circle. And ironically, it's their banner on their Weibo site the very last scene or take from what was supposed to be either part of the series or something extra. Like why leave something so important out?

Also, I wish that at the end when he had the company troubles and he knew who betrayed him I wish that they had perp walked that dude for trade secret infringement instead of LW just patting him on the shoulder and saying something along the lines of "wait for the court to contact you." I think given the fact of how it affected him, the betrayal was so great, it should've been more than just that. I feel like the ending was definitely rushed especially the last episode. It could've been done better and with that extra portion or put it into the last episode; it would've taken maybe 20-25 minutes and it would've been a great way to end. I like the way it ended nonetheless but still. Also, another reason I feel the ending was rushed was because they had the second couple proposal instead of giving us what we wanted. I understand if the FL didn't want to get married right away yet but instead of giving us that whole thing they could've given us that extra portion and the 3rd couple was also very rushed like we didn't even know that they were still together until the last few episodes.

Would I recommend it? I totally would. The pros are way greater than the cons so, go enjoy a great story. Age really is just a number especially when both are of legal age. I'm glad I watched it.

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Don't You Wish Your Boyfriend Was Hot Like Him?

I saw the ML as a looney tune aka obsessed nutcase in MR but the actor was cute and played the ridiculous character well so I wanted to see more of him hence adding this into my watchlist. I liked the sexy undertones and a story of revenge never hurts. The trailer on top of it all really made the question pop into my head with a spin on the song; don't you wish your boyfriend was hot like him?

Pros: The leads chemistry was nice even for this short story and the not many scenes they had together. The kisses were well done and I do wish they had done the deed as well because these two were fated in more ways than one. And ML was hot with a nice body, no question about it! I liked the story itself because it started as one thing and turned into something much more in the revenge section. Also something rare, is that the English title actually matched the story. FL was every bit the Queen but in I'm the boss and I will take all of you mofo's down who tried to harm me and those I love or care about. She never went into a confrontation unprepared to bring her enemy forget down a notch but all the way down. She quietly with a poker face waited for them to dig their own graves, then she would reveal her ace in the hole or last nail in the coffin one by one. ML was his own man, not just window dressing for her but helped her when she asked for it and still lived his life despite it. At the end, his decision helped her and together they brought his father and cronies down. I'm glad she listened to him and got the surgery and healed properly so they could live in their happily ever after.

2nd couple (LK and YB) I felt were slower to warm up to but they did fit as odd duck as they were. Also YHM’s two bodyguards one of which could also find evidence and do finance and Lord knows what else was the jack of all trades while the other could kick 10 guys' asses at the same time. Awesome. Her squad consisting of all of these people plus extra body guards was just awesome. If I had to guess who the mole was because it was not revealed, I would have to say that he was the husband of the sister of ML or JL. It just matched and plus why would he have FL's number in his phone or threw little notes and hints to ML when he was locked up in that cage by his lunatic father? So I think he was placed there a long time ago and none of that insane family or family and a half knew about it. I also think that's the reason why he and his bat shit crazy wife got the redemption arc at the end. The real wife of the older brother and her son were necessary to get to the real truth. I would even add the oldest brother in here because though he started off as the sole villain, the twist put him on the other side.

Outfits were great and OSTs I loved!

Cons: I really couldn't stand the sister at all because half of the time she couldn't speak normally and was morally gray, but would screech like a toddler or a banshee. Would make you shudder. There were plenty of villains like the mother, the uncle, the aunt the father and his lackey. The father as the main villain. They just didn't quite encompass what you would consider an antagonist. Yes, what they did was evil death penalty or life in prison worthy; personally would go for the first, however, the way it was portrayed was very eh. Like there was nothing special about any of them. The father at the end just came across as a man that had a black soul consumed with greed. There wasn't anything scary about him that one would really latch on to as antagonist; his speech about how he viewed the world would come from someone with an antisocial personality disorder. But he was no Richard Ramirez or Charles Manson. All you had to do was slap some cuffs on him or punch him in the face and he'd be done. So that was very lacking considering this was a revenge drama.

Would I recommend it? Though nothing groundbreaking as many have said this is a good drama to watch in between other dramas or if you just want some sexy in your life.

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37 minute Film Better Written Than Some Series

Was recommended this by a friend and as I have seen MJTY recently so have become aware of GJM's writing and direction style. Only 37 minutes told the story of two lives and how they became intertwined due to fate. The leads felt their characters deeply and it showed on screen. And there was a proper ending, which was nice. You felt everything one should feel in the dark settings but also hope in the future or at the end rather. Enemies to friends, then protection, facing adversity together, making a sacrifice for the other's safety. But not all is what it seems as the at the end reunion was made even more important and special.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. As mentioned above, just 37 minutes was written and acted better then some series with double the episode count.

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It Was Nifty

Really had no idea what I was getting myself into because other than BWJ, I've never seen any of the other actors. Plus I've never seen nor heard of the comics or donghua this was based on. So was completely flying blind going into it. Another thing that was keeping me from starting it, was that zombies were mentioned and that's a genre I take a hard pass on. Thankfully the zombies--if you can call them that--were far from The Walking Dead or Resident Evil. They were there for maybe 2 to 3 episodes and looked more like something out of MJ's Thriller with too much makeup. They were comedic and not too bright.

Pros: What I really liked was the unraveling of the mysteries, the growth of friendships, having each others backs, the fight scenes, and the really awesome CGI; had to be my favorite part. It was nifty. The ending fight scene was probably the best because everyone that mattered even those that turned over a new leaf were part of it. Chief Taoist was like the granddaddy of awesomeness when he added icing on the cake. Over all, I hope season 2 explains more and has characters not just disappear and reappear randomly, but are given justifiable entrances and exits. FBB is my new favorite robot girl. From the protagonists, I think everyone was pretty great.

Cons: The ML annoyed me a lot; I won't lie. His goofiness was too much at times while other times he'd just walk around pouting like a 5 year old kid who didn't get any candy. I did ffw a lot because much of that comedy wasn't for me. I preferred when he acted and spoke intelligently. I feel the writing was stilted at times. Plus, each time character was charged with something, the mandarin writing on the screen and subbing overlapped and you couldn't understand what was written.

Would I recommend it? Sure, why not? Especially if you know the donghua it's based on and really like awesome looking CGI and unraveling fantastical mysteries plus group dynamics.

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