Firefly88

Yeah, it's more of a spiritual romance, which is special in itself. That being said, I think they could have added some sexual tension for extra sparks. I accept it for what it is though because it's unusual and deep.

Very true! Definitely the case with this drama.

I actually far prefer this story to MM. I found MM very repetitive and underwhelming. Big let down because I had high hopes for it. Meanwhile I had low expectations of this drama and I was pleasantly surprised lol.

The rating on Viki is super low as well. It has the kind of rating that only completely unwatchable dramas have. I'm wondering whether there is an antifan campaign going on because this drama does not deserve such a low rating. There are way too many 1 star reviews, it's crazy for such a beautiful, high budget drama with a star cast.

This story needs 60 episodes. They could have done so much more with this story...

I was discouraged by the rating, but this drama is great! A lot of very fresh themes and approaches for those who have watched a lot of xianxias. The plot gets deeper and more meaningful with every episode.

Rise of the Phoenixes was actually my first ever C drama. If the average C drama is a trashy romance novel that you read while on the beach lol, ROTP is a Tolstoy... It's this insanely intricate web of political plays, each character trying to outmanoevre the other... Pay attention while you're watching! It's all in the context of this new dynasty. The main characters are Ning Yi, who is this machiavellian genius who was falsely imprisoned as a child, he returns to the court as an adult determined to uproot all the evil and corruption in its midst. He becomes tangled in a web with the the niece of Colonel Qiu (Feng Zhiwei) after her uncle tries to force her to take the place of his daughter because they don't want to be tied together with Ning Yi. Tension rises when a rumour that a prince (remmant) of the former dynasty's emperor is still alive, and this sets in motion a series of unfortunate events for FZW that leaves her indebted to Ning Yi.

Apart from the plot, the visuals are just extraordinary. Every detail is exquisite, even the fabric of the costumes. The interiors and cinematography are out of this world.

Don't expect a typical C drama, it's not. Just sort of submerge yourself in that world.

As for xianxias, it's one of my favourite genres. Ancient Love Poetry is wonderful because it has this wodnerful balance of light and dark. It has these very sweet, light, humorous scenes and some of the most intense, tragic love scenes I've ever seen. I'm a sucker for the angst. It's also a very well told story. I think it's Xu Kai's best performance as Bai Jue. Very soulful and deep.

Ashes of Love is great too, it's an epic story with a lot of twists and turns. What is putting you off?

Me too. I saw a clip on FB and thought that meant it would be coming soon, but it must have just been promotional. Anyway, I always prefer they do a really good job post-production because too many dramas have been ruined by sloppy editing, so if that takes some time, so be it...!

Yeah. This spring.

Ren Jialun just lacks range for me. He just always seems to have the same scowl and expressions. Not a fan. I've watched a few of his dramas, but never One and Only.

Which xianxias have you watched? Love and Destiny is great. It's a really well told story with a lot of character growth. The editing and flow is very polished. It starts light and comedic, but wow it goes deep... The FL, Ni Ni is one of my favourite actresses. She has a lot of range and depth, but unfortunate she mostly does movies. Another spectacular drama with her is Rise of the Phoenixes, which is a palace-politics-revenge drama... extremely high budget and mature.

I'm waiting for Feud to finish airing before I start! Hope it's good. I don't like Joseph Zeng, his voice tends to be a bit whiny, but I'll give it a chance.

As for Our Unwritten Seoul. I'm not a fan of Park Bo Young. She just gives me airhead vibes. I've watched two or three of her dramas, but I'm always underwhelmed. I'm always willing to give it a shot though because you never know when an actor is going to change your mind with their performance. Yu Shuxin for example. Couldn't stand her cutesy baby act that she usually does, but wow, she was spectacular in My Journey to You.

Feng Shaofeng in Minglan is great. His character was just wonderful and so layered. The scene where he finds his baby boy buried was just devastating. This really was the performance of his career.

Another one who gets overcriticised for not being a pretty boy is Chang Chen in Love and Destiny. I adore him. He was actually my first Chinese actor crush when I first saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon years ago.

I'm afraid we have to wait another year at least... But I'm looking forward to it!

In that case, I have a longer list of recommendations here, you may find some other ones you haven't watched:

The Rebel Princess
The Story of Minglan
Love like the Galaxy
Flourished Peony
Marvelous Women
Princess Silver
Story of Kunning Palace
Goodbye My Princess
Gone with the Rain
The Sword and Brocade
The Long Ballad
Story of Yanxi Palace
The King's Woman
The Song of Glory (skip the last episode)
The Princess Weiyoung
Blossom
Rise of the Phoenixes
Nirvana in Fire 1 & 2
The Longest Day in Chang'an
Battle of Changsha
Royal Nirvana
A Dream of Splendour
Royal Feast
The Legend of Xiao Chuo
The Rise of Ning
The Wolf
Are you the one?
Si Jin
The Glory

I also have lists for fantasy and modern C dramas.

I also watch K dramas. Just finished Haunted Palace. I'm going to watch First Night with the Duke once it has finished airing. I don't like watching airing shows, I lose interest while waiting. I'm also going to watch Our Unwritten Soul even though I'm not a fan of the leads. There are also a few other K dramas I have been meaning to watch like Tale of Lady Ok.

Yeah, I know, disappointing! But something to look forward to!

Nirvana in Fire is good! I've rewatched it twice. Every time I forget and wonder, is it really that good? And then I rewatch it and confirm that it is in fact good lol. Especially if you like revenge-politics dramas.

Nirvana in Fire 2 is also worth a watch!

But for all dramas, you have to be in the right headspace... If you're not feeling it, even the best drama won't deliver.

Totally agree. These masterpieces they were producing for a few years have just disappeared, and it absolutely has to do with the episode cap. Chinese drama makers do not thrive under constraint, and their editors are often an embarrassment to the industry. There have been a fair few that would have been good had they not been massacred by terrible editing and excessive cuts.

I also think the last few years talent has gone out of the window in favour of looks. The idol culture is out of control and the cinematic art is being sacrificed for it.

So it doesn't pick up? I was hoping I was wrong and that it's just a slow start, but I'm not feeling the actors or the chemistry or anything. Just feels very predictable.

I genuinely don't think Chinese drama makers thrive when they have too much restraint on them. If they need unlimited episodes to tell the story well, I'd rather that that a drama that is shallow or massacred from bad editing and excessive scene cuts.

I prefer the longer dramas because the story flow is better. Most of the ones that have aired since they introduced the 40 episode cap have been massacred by poor editing, especially in the final episodes.

For me personally, the political nuances in LLTG are actually less complex than other dramas like Rise of the Phoenixes for example (another masterpiece). But I am a history buff and I can understand Chinese, which definitely helps. Subtitles miss a lot of subtlety.

I could see they had used LLTG as inspiration for POB, but the quality was sorely lacking in the writing. But POB definitely had a strong start, but missed out on a lot of potential for deepening the characters and instead did everything in a very superficial way later on. I think LLTG characters were so deep and meaningful.