John Hart

More like SUPERTRASH. Abandoned at Ep. 10 where every single element of the story made no sense.

I will. I should point out they won't be the least bit accurate and as hilarious as I can manage.

Seems to have no sound?

My wife and I have become C-Drama addicts, but I must confess that weaker entries use a trick to reach the over 40 episode threshold: they double the needed cast and create voluminous subplots. Why? So that people explaining what has gone on, what is going on, and what might happen next are everywhere... adding to the Episode count. There were at least 6 episodes of this series where all they're doing is, again. explaining what has gone on, what is going on, and what might happen.

I must tell you that around Ep 40ish there's a GINORMOUS reveal that sets up the next installment of the series. And it is TERRIBLY exciting. But the 39 episodes it took to get there just isn't worth me recommending to anyone.

It turns out this series FINALLY gets its act together by Ep 35ish. That's WAY TOO LONG to start to like a series. The series shortcoming is the early obsession with comic scenes. It turns what would be a compelling drama into a sitcom. I must confess the set up for the next season is tempting to me.

I just found this --

https://youtu.be/VxwPp-Wl_6Q?t=1399

I wish I could remove the Chinese 'cartoon' sounds because it otherwise looks fun. You'd have to go back to the beginning to have this make sense --

https://youtu.be/VxwPp-Wl_6Q?t=1399

Hi. I discovered RUYI and Chinese Dramas during Covid. It has taken over my life as a great new hobby. I have to tell readers something very important: if you dislike sad stories (THE LAST EMPEROR) you're not going to love this.

That said, RUYI is better than anything I've since watched. REBEL PRINCESS and THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN are damn good, so is DISAPPEARING CHILD and the light hearted MAKE A WISH is wonderful, but no matter what we watch nothing holds a candle. Including --

-- JOY OF LIFE, an insanely over-rated series that isn't even as good as what I've just mentioned. To rate it a 9 and RUYI an 8 is appalling.

Now if you enjoyed JOY I'm not saying you didn't have a good time. It's okay and I haven't gotten to my favorite actress yet. In fact if you like JOY you'll see all sorts of familiar faces here in RUYI. What I'm saying is that show is fluff compared to this.

For me I'm on a personal journey to find something better than RUYI. I loved REBEL PRINCESS in different ways, but I believe I'm on a goose chase.

I'm in awe of almost all these actresses. And Jia is a stand out. She is the only reason my wife and I are watching JOY OF LIFE past episode 20.

Dreams can come true, it can happen to you...

As a screenwriter type I can share that the structure of this story is a mess. It makes it seem boring. It takes half of this series to get the story moving. I nearly dropped it myself but when I get halfway thru one of these things I try to finish it, and in this case there's an actress I really want to see in the 2nd half.

The single worst aspect of this tale is its hero, Fan Xian, who is so damn smug yet worry free it destroys badly needed tension. He's like, "This doesn't bother me!" and so why should we be bothered by all the nastiness surrounding him? A hero like this should never be 'safe' from the story. It's the stuff of Disney.

In the 2nd half Fan Xian begins to be in actual peril, and it's at that point I began to give a damn about him and enjoy many of the interesting characters around him, including that Uncle with no eyes.

If this half of the story is fantastic, I'll consider the 2nd Season when completed. But if it simply stays improved instead of reaching a WOW status I'll ditch like you. RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE and REBEL PRINCESS and MAKE A WISH and THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN are WAY better than this series (so far).

I was wondering why too. She was INCREDIBLE. (I wonder if she's like a model type and they dubbed her acting voice? If that true that might explain it.)

I must share I watching THE SANDMAN on Netflix. The show took liberties when casting some of the characters. When they recast 'Death' as a young African American woman -- I felt -- they could have chosen someone better.

Gia Ge. The show was so busy putting black actors in roles it kinda forget about Asian. I would even have 'Death' speak in Chinese with English subtitles. Would have been super cool.

Good luck! On YouTube there are two versions posted and the subtitles die for a number of episodes.

I must say that this series is insanely good, if you can manage to find a version complete with all the music and proper subtitles. At the time I watched this that wasn't a reality, but if and when it does, this blows JOY OF LIFE out of the water. (I'm watching that now and finding it more average than amazing.)

I'm now at the halfway point. There's an actress I adore coming in the 2nd half,
Xin Zhi Lei. If this series weren't a 'family reunions' of many actors I've already seen in other dramas, I'd have dumped it already. Wildly over-rated in these parts.

I haven't seen it through yet but I know of 3 dramas I can simply recommend.

1. If you're okay with tragedy and concubines abusing each other, RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE is amazing balls. And it features a handful of this cast in stellar roles. Not to mention the additional actors within.

2. If you hate that kinda thing, lol, try MAKE A WISH. The story is great until it trips over itself towards the end, but you're watching for the amazing leads. It's bubblegum but sweet as hell.

3. REBEL PRINCESS is convoluted and takes a while to get rolling, but the cast is great. The production values makes JOY look like a home movie.

So I've been saving this well-rated drama because once you've watched 'the best' the rest might suck in comparison. I've seen RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE which shares three supporting actresses (great choices too). I just completed LUOYANG which shares a lead actress. And a male supporting actor from REBEL PRINCESS is here too.

So for me, this is like a family reunion.

I'm 14 Episodes in and feel, well, this series is over-rated. It's better than LUOYANG, yes, but RUYI and REBEL (so far) eat this for breakfast. I'm not saying it's junk but a firm 8.2 at the moment. Absolutely worth trying (and likely finishing) but nowhere near a 9.

I find many of the C-Drama fans are young and they adore lighthearted. JOY OF LIFE, to me, is like a normal Imperial C-Drama with a tiny touch of Disney spice.

Consider the distracting incidental music in so many scenes. Sometimes it's Spanish guitar. Sometimes it is salsa. Sometimes it's modern rock-ish. The main character is a little too smug and so confident he can't fail, which decreases tension and increases... well... 'Disney'.

My opinion may improve as I proceed but I'm just leaving this note here to anyone over 35 years who is wondering what all the fuss is here. I can promise you it has a FUN cast and is so far telling a decent story well, although it took about 4 extra episodes to get to Ep 13, which is to say it's a little slow at first. So it's definitely worth a look but I'm not gushing yet.

I agree. If you can find my review here I hope I offered a better idea for the ending.

Must confess I was here to see Li Qin as well. (I'm a RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE fan.)

This is a challenging film because I suspect there's a few missing scenes that would make things clearer. Does anyone know who the boy on the ice was at the end?

I know people think I'm crazy when I say this, but honestly, she is the Bette Davis of China. This means no matter what she touches it becomes more interesting. And it applies to all stages of her career. Strong, smart, beauty -- only one actress in America had it all like Zhou Xun.