2
9
1
This review may contain spoilers
simple and straightforward but interesting
The story is pretty straightforward and so are the cases. I didn't really care about the cases too much, but I did like the overall story. It actually does a quite a few things that subverted my expectations. The characters are also pretty interesting with intriguing backgrounds. For me, this was refreshing break from the more emotional and angsty series. I don't know if this is a series that I will remember long after watching it, but in the moment, it was engaging enough for me to keep binge-watching.
-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
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[ --LIKES-- ]
✔ The female lead is smart and mature and likable.
✔ We have three male leads but each have a different relationship dynamic with our female lead. All three are interesting in their own ways. Despite this, only one truly becomes the romantic interest of the female lead. There's not a love triangle or square or anything, so I liked that.
✔ Once the romance starts, there isn't really any heavy angst or breakups. No miscommunication, trust issues, or any of the dramatics. The most dramatic part is probably towards the end, but even then, the couple has each other's back.
✔ Speaking of the end, I loved the conversation and passionate exchange between Tumi, Wuwei, and Yaksha. We see where each of their priorities and convictions lie. It was a great showing of each of their characters.
✔ Wuwei and Zhengyuan had a nice bromance that I liked.
✔ I enjoyed the serie's pacing. The cases, especially, moved along fast and didn't feel draggy.
✔ This is a really shallow point, but I liked the color and aesthetic of the intro/opening theme.
[ --DISLIKES-- ]
✖ Many cases were pretty simple and a lot was due to the officials not doing their due diligence. While they weren't boring, they also just wasn't memorable cases for me. I was more interested in the Mowu Pavilion storyline and the backgrounds of each of our characters.
✖ The most interesting part in the series for me happened right at the very end. The conversation at the end got me excited to see how Tumi would fair going up against the royal court and king himself. Sadly, the series ends on a cliffhanger and viewers are left wondering about the fate of Yaksha. The rest will have to be filled in with our imagination.
-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------
[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]
The question presented in the MDL synopsis about which of the male lead our female lead Chun Tumi will choose in the end is a bit misleading. In fact, I think the initial focus of the series is also misleading. Why? Because the focus of the series isn't romance. The male lead that they focus on since the beginning also isn't the main love interest. It wasn't even a situation where there were options and a choice had to be made in terms of romance.
The first half of the series focuses mostly on Tumi's beginning her journey as litigator. She is mature, she is smart, and she holds the law in high regards. While she's not the strong, independent heroine type, she's also not the ditzy, damsel in distress with an overly childish or extroverted personality that can sometimes be annoying. She does have some clumsy moments where a male lead comes to catch her or sweep her off her feet, but nothing that made feel like she's a weak character. I actually quite like Tumi. She has strong core values. Although a little naive sometimes when it comes to her trust in the people or the law, she is smart and passionate.
In the beginning, she is supported by Han Wuwei, who admires her willfulness and strong regard for the rules. Of the male leads, Wuwei has the most focus and screen time. In the beginning, he is also the one who is seen the most with our female litigator. As the story progresses, we also see the Tumi has a positive effect on his actions and character. They have two very conflicting personalities and it makes their dynamic interesting. Given all that, it's not hard to believe that he would be the main love interest for Tumi. However, that's not the case and I love that.
It is almost expected in most series that the lead pairing are characters with the most screen time. Personally, I like it better when they do something more like this where an important character is teased but don't become more important until later. This was the case with Yaksha. His character had very little focus and attention during the first half of the series. His storyline was just teased with a slight romance with Tumi building up. There's definitely some cuteness to their romance and while I feel like it could have been developed more, it was ok. However, as mentioned, the romance isn't the main focus of the series anyway. When it comes to Yaksha, his backstory and relationship with Mowu Pavilion is the more important and interesting storyline.
Then we have Lord Kang Zhengyuan. I think of the three male leads, his personality is the closest to and most compatitible with Tumi. Both are strict when it comes to the law. Like Wuwei, he seems to admire her personality and helps support her in the cases. He has a more upright personality. He showed hesitation when Wuwei wanted to arrest Yaksha due to the king's edict. Zhengyuan is just generally very likable. He is rational and fair. He is a voice of reason for his friend Wuwei and a mentor for Tumi. I think of the three male leads, I would want to see more of his character developed if there was ever to be another season.
[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]
Of the five main roles, I know three of them from other series. Sabrina, Junjie, and Zhixin. The two faces I didn't know were Zhu Linyu and Qin Tian. I think out of all of them Zhixin's character had the most personality to him and so his acting stood out the most, followed by Linyu's characters A Yili. The other three character were more mature and serious usually so it's harder to see the range of the acting. There wasn't really anything much that stood out to me in a memorable way. When they were cute, they were cute. When they were playful, they were playful. When they needed to be serious, they were. Nothing really struck me as bad or impressive. Junjie does this expression where he squints a lot, but I don't know if it's good or bad. It's just something I noticed. For some reason, it makes me thing of Flynn Ryder from "Tangled" with the smolder or like Batman narrowing his eyes in suspicion of something.
[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]
I liked the opening theme song. I liked the ending theme song. Both have a sweet sound to them and I'm always a fan of the sounds of traditional instruments. If there were any other songs during the series, I don't remember them.
[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]
While I liked it, it is unlikely I'll re-watch it since this series ends on a cliffhanger. I don't mind open endings, but only if done right and the open ending gives us enough info to make insinuations, read between the line, or make an educated interpretation. This one left the future too open. This feels more like that there is suppose to be a second season, but that season never happened, which makes me sad.
[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]
This series built up to something great in the end, but sadly, it never came to completion. All my intrigue and curiosity was left blue-balled. To satisfy the itch of knowing what happens next in the story, I will have to go find and read the novel, if an English translation exists somewhere. With that said, this was still a very good series. I enjoyed the characters, the development of the overall story, and the relationships between the characters. Not very memorable or romantic, but also not very angsty or dramatic. It felt very light and maybe that's why I enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the series I've been watching that deals with more heavy themes and emotional cases. It also had some cute and fun moments and interactions. It had a nice pacing. It was just a nice watch.
-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------
I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------
[ --LIKES-- ]
✔ The female lead is smart and mature and likable.
✔ We have three male leads but each have a different relationship dynamic with our female lead. All three are interesting in their own ways. Despite this, only one truly becomes the romantic interest of the female lead. There's not a love triangle or square or anything, so I liked that.
✔ Once the romance starts, there isn't really any heavy angst or breakups. No miscommunication, trust issues, or any of the dramatics. The most dramatic part is probably towards the end, but even then, the couple has each other's back.
✔ Speaking of the end, I loved the conversation and passionate exchange between Tumi, Wuwei, and Yaksha. We see where each of their priorities and convictions lie. It was a great showing of each of their characters.
✔ Wuwei and Zhengyuan had a nice bromance that I liked.
✔ I enjoyed the serie's pacing. The cases, especially, moved along fast and didn't feel draggy.
✔ This is a really shallow point, but I liked the color and aesthetic of the intro/opening theme.
[ --DISLIKES-- ]
✖ Many cases were pretty simple and a lot was due to the officials not doing their due diligence. While they weren't boring, they also just wasn't memorable cases for me. I was more interested in the Mowu Pavilion storyline and the backgrounds of each of our characters.
✖ The most interesting part in the series for me happened right at the very end. The conversation at the end got me excited to see how Tumi would fair going up against the royal court and king himself. Sadly, the series ends on a cliffhanger and viewers are left wondering about the fate of Yaksha. The rest will have to be filled in with our imagination.
-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------
[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]
The question presented in the MDL synopsis about which of the male lead our female lead Chun Tumi will choose in the end is a bit misleading. In fact, I think the initial focus of the series is also misleading. Why? Because the focus of the series isn't romance. The male lead that they focus on since the beginning also isn't the main love interest. It wasn't even a situation where there were options and a choice had to be made in terms of romance.
The first half of the series focuses mostly on Tumi's beginning her journey as litigator. She is mature, she is smart, and she holds the law in high regards. While she's not the strong, independent heroine type, she's also not the ditzy, damsel in distress with an overly childish or extroverted personality that can sometimes be annoying. She does have some clumsy moments where a male lead comes to catch her or sweep her off her feet, but nothing that made feel like she's a weak character. I actually quite like Tumi. She has strong core values. Although a little naive sometimes when it comes to her trust in the people or the law, she is smart and passionate.
In the beginning, she is supported by Han Wuwei, who admires her willfulness and strong regard for the rules. Of the male leads, Wuwei has the most focus and screen time. In the beginning, he is also the one who is seen the most with our female litigator. As the story progresses, we also see the Tumi has a positive effect on his actions and character. They have two very conflicting personalities and it makes their dynamic interesting. Given all that, it's not hard to believe that he would be the main love interest for Tumi. However, that's not the case and I love that.
It is almost expected in most series that the lead pairing are characters with the most screen time. Personally, I like it better when they do something more like this where an important character is teased but don't become more important until later. This was the case with Yaksha. His character had very little focus and attention during the first half of the series. His storyline was just teased with a slight romance with Tumi building up. There's definitely some cuteness to their romance and while I feel like it could have been developed more, it was ok. However, as mentioned, the romance isn't the main focus of the series anyway. When it comes to Yaksha, his backstory and relationship with Mowu Pavilion is the more important and interesting storyline.
Then we have Lord Kang Zhengyuan. I think of the three male leads, his personality is the closest to and most compatitible with Tumi. Both are strict when it comes to the law. Like Wuwei, he seems to admire her personality and helps support her in the cases. He has a more upright personality. He showed hesitation when Wuwei wanted to arrest Yaksha due to the king's edict. Zhengyuan is just generally very likable. He is rational and fair. He is a voice of reason for his friend Wuwei and a mentor for Tumi. I think of the three male leads, I would want to see more of his character developed if there was ever to be another season.
[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]
Of the five main roles, I know three of them from other series. Sabrina, Junjie, and Zhixin. The two faces I didn't know were Zhu Linyu and Qin Tian. I think out of all of them Zhixin's character had the most personality to him and so his acting stood out the most, followed by Linyu's characters A Yili. The other three character were more mature and serious usually so it's harder to see the range of the acting. There wasn't really anything much that stood out to me in a memorable way. When they were cute, they were cute. When they were playful, they were playful. When they needed to be serious, they were. Nothing really struck me as bad or impressive. Junjie does this expression where he squints a lot, but I don't know if it's good or bad. It's just something I noticed. For some reason, it makes me thing of Flynn Ryder from "Tangled" with the smolder or like Batman narrowing his eyes in suspicion of something.
[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]
I liked the opening theme song. I liked the ending theme song. Both have a sweet sound to them and I'm always a fan of the sounds of traditional instruments. If there were any other songs during the series, I don't remember them.
[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]
While I liked it, it is unlikely I'll re-watch it since this series ends on a cliffhanger. I don't mind open endings, but only if done right and the open ending gives us enough info to make insinuations, read between the line, or make an educated interpretation. This one left the future too open. This feels more like that there is suppose to be a second season, but that season never happened, which makes me sad.
[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]
This series built up to something great in the end, but sadly, it never came to completion. All my intrigue and curiosity was left blue-balled. To satisfy the itch of knowing what happens next in the story, I will have to go find and read the novel, if an English translation exists somewhere. With that said, this was still a very good series. I enjoyed the characters, the development of the overall story, and the relationships between the characters. Not very memorable or romantic, but also not very angsty or dramatic. It felt very light and maybe that's why I enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the series I've been watching that deals with more heavy themes and emotional cases. It also had some cute and fun moments and interactions. It had a nice pacing. It was just a nice watch.
-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------
I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
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