Sorry but this is a masterpiece. I don't even like this genre and it was the one of the best I've ever seen. I'll give it a 9.3 because there were some extra silly spots (too silly) and one impossibly fast recovery of a wounded person (even for something this cartoonish). Otherwise WOW.
A very well made production. Instead of one hero and one villain, all the people of the village were our heroes and the Japanese are collective villain. This made the film feel longer than it was. The acting was great. Amazes me how many wonderful Chinese actresses there are.
I wish there were more Chinese dramas this well done, with an amazing script, mature actors, beautiful costumes,…
If you can believe it I found it see Joan Chen.. only to be tricked. But then I was thrilled to see the 'secondary wife' from LAST EMPEROR playing the Dowager!
Just finished watching this, and this show is AMAZING. I wonder why its kinda underrated compared to story of…
It's my understand ing that Yanxi aired first. And I suspect people got so attached to those actors playing those roles they simply couldn't switch to a whole new set of actors.
I suspect this because Zhou Xun IS Ruyi, to me. To invest myself in this show as I have means I won't simply move to a similar show anytime soon. And I seriously doubt you can top this cast.
I know you asked a year ago but I feel that strongly about it.
I'm 57 years old. I've watched a LOT of quality television but very little Chinese dramas. In fact RUYI was my first. I was hoping it was a show starring Joan Chen, lol, who I've missed since Twin Peaks. I'm on episode 79 and here's few thoughts I'd like to share --
1. This show, not even complete, is already #9 in my Top Ten Hour Long Drams list EVER. The original Star Trek is #1. The Columbo movies, The Prisoner, Twin Peaks, Downton Abbey are near the top. Recent shows Stranger Things, Bates Motel, and Tales from The Loop are also there. Ruyi was #10 but I realized it was so damn engaging and epic it nudged The Crown down a notch. Some would say The Crown is a far better quality series, and that would be true, but Ruyi is simply more addictive and engaging. Meaning if I had to burn one series to save the other for a second watch, I'd burn The Crown.
2. This show has flipped my American household upside down. We watch is 3 times a week. Monday and Wednesday and Saturday morning are 'Ruyi' days. (We do not believe in watching faster than that or you can't spend a day or two absorbing what just happened.) Only when we rewatched Downton Abbey was it twice a week or so.
3. This series has inspired us to watch other movies with these leads. We've been devouring anything we can find with Zhou Xun. We're also Janine Chang fans. One movie turned us into an Eddie Peng fan. We even watch little scrappy movies from actors we don't know. And we've already phased in MISSING PERSONS so that when Ruyi ends we can still see two of the actresses from Ruyi. Plus we have Rebel Princess on deck and some drama Zhou Xun did as well. We LOVE it all.
4. As much as I hated Xin Zhi Lei's character -- she is an epic actress with global potential. The people that own the Bond franchise should create a China double agent character for her. I'm not kidding. And I think the movies should be in Chinese with subtitles.
5. Since YouTube knows I'm watching this stuff and that I like to cook, it nudged Chef Mandy in my face. I now no longer need to order Chinese food out. The recipes are straight-forward and the results are just WOW. Her Channel is SOUPED UP RECIPES.
6. I can't tell you how little I care if RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE is accurate. Never EVER let the truth get in the way of a good story. The writing, direction, acting, casting, staging, design, costumes, music are EXTRAORDINARY. And I get they're doing all this on a kind of soap opera budget. It's like where a cheesy soap meets the budget of THE LAST EMPEROR.
7. If you've watched a ton of Palace dramas and feel this is nothing special -- you're wrong.
1 
I suspect this because Zhou Xun IS Ruyi, to me. To invest myself in this show as I have means I won't simply move to a similar show anytime soon. And I seriously doubt you can top this cast.
I know you asked a year ago but I feel that strongly about it.
1. This show, not even complete, is already #9 in my Top Ten Hour Long Drams list EVER. The original Star Trek is #1. The Columbo movies, The Prisoner, Twin Peaks, Downton Abbey are near the top. Recent shows Stranger Things, Bates Motel, and Tales from The Loop are also there. Ruyi was #10 but I realized it was so damn engaging and epic it nudged The Crown down a notch. Some would say The Crown is a far better quality series, and that would be true, but Ruyi is simply more addictive and engaging. Meaning if I had to burn one series to save the other for a second watch, I'd burn The Crown.
2. This show has flipped my American household upside down. We watch is 3 times a week. Monday and Wednesday and Saturday morning are 'Ruyi' days. (We do not believe in watching faster than that or you can't spend a day or two absorbing what just happened.) Only when we rewatched Downton Abbey was it twice a week or so.
3. This series has inspired us to watch other movies with these leads. We've been devouring anything we can find with Zhou Xun. We're also Janine Chang fans. One movie turned us into an Eddie Peng fan. We even watch little scrappy movies from actors we don't know. And we've already phased in MISSING PERSONS so that when Ruyi ends we can still see two of the actresses from Ruyi. Plus we have Rebel Princess on deck and some drama Zhou Xun did as well. We LOVE it all.
4. As much as I hated Xin Zhi Lei's character -- she is an epic actress with global potential. The people that own the Bond franchise should create a China double agent character for her. I'm not kidding. And I think the movies should be in Chinese with subtitles.
5. Since YouTube knows I'm watching this stuff and that I like to cook, it nudged Chef Mandy in my face. I now no longer need to order Chinese food out. The recipes are straight-forward and the results are just WOW. Her Channel is SOUPED UP RECIPES.
6. I can't tell you how little I care if RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE is accurate. Never EVER let the truth get in the way of a good story. The writing, direction, acting, casting, staging, design, costumes, music are EXTRAORDINARY. And I get they're doing all this on a kind of soap opera budget. It's like where a cheesy soap meets the budget of THE LAST EMPEROR.
7. If you've watched a ton of Palace dramas and feel this is nothing special -- you're wrong.