Meari21

I'm probably one of the oldest users on this site but I find this drama refreshing and entertaining thus far. It's one of those light and fluffy dramas that just puts a smile on my face, no angst, no tragically miserable characters. But then again, I enjoy anime even at my age. It has nothing to do with age but more to do with personal preference. Different strokes for different folks so to speak. There's nothing wrong about disliking or liking this drama. The problem is people getting offended by other people's opinions no matter how constructive their criticisms or valid their praises are.

Luo Yunxi? Yeah, I can totally see that too.

With graphics that rival or better than Wukong. lol

The guy who plays Fang Kaiyi reminds me of Adrien Brody for some reason.

I heard that in the novel Xu Qian actually gets a harem. I wonder if Cai Wei is one of his love interests in the source material.

To be honest, I'm not surprised anymore. C-Ent fans, in general, are toxic. They either put down rival actors to elevate their favorites or they gatekeep their favorites and attack those who have the slightest criticism, no matter how constructive or harmless, about their idols. I like some actors but I don't join fandoms because I've noticed how rabid some can be to the point that they would start fan wars, believing their idols to be way above others. I unfollowed many fan accounts on social media because of that. MDL is a cesspool. I sometimes regret creating an account and should've stayed a lurker. lol

It's more of a reincarnation type of story with sci-fi elements. In that drama, the world encountered another ice age that rendered most humans extinct. The survivors built an arc where they lived in isolation for thousands of years until the earth became a more livable place again. At the start of the story, the earth had already evolved to an era of civilization akin to the Jin dynasty. Some of the survivors left this arc and integrated themselves in this current civilization. Fan Xian's mother was one of them. Fan Xian himself was one of those who lived before the second ice age occcured and he was reborn as the son of a rich merchant in this Jin dynasty-esque world, retaining memories of his previous life and knowledge of the 21st century. He uses this knowledge to his advantage.

I believe it's because both male leads have knowledge of the modern world that they use to help them advance in a more primitive world. Joy of Life may be more politically-driven than Guardians of the Dafeng but the comedic vibe is somewhat similar, only the latter dialed up the slapstick comedy several notches higher. Xu Qian and Fan Xian are pretty much cut from the same cloth. Both are heroic in nature but rebellious, resourceful, playful, and smart as a whip. Like Fan Xian, Xu Qian also uses modern-day poetry and even song lyrics to impress the scholars in Dafeng. And apparently, their novel versions have harems. But I think Xu Qian's ability to solve crimes makes more logical sense here since he was a police academy trainee aiming to become a police detective, while Fan Xian was only a writer. Those are the only similarities that really stood out to me, though. The genres are different of course, Guardians is an isekai story like Love Game in Eastern Fantasy. I don't know why fans of Joy of Life are tearing this down because of the comparisons. I honestly think both series are enjoyable in their own way.

Funny. One of the reasons why I liked this drama is because of the Joy of Life similarities. I didn't know that there are negative reactions to the comparison.

There's political intrigue and scheming characters. I just don't know yet if the machinations are as elaborate as the ones in Joy of Life. All I know is Xu Qian is one smart cookie. He does remind me of Fan Xian.

The biggest similarity I see are the MLs. Like Fan Xian, Yang Ling/Xu Qian has knowledge of the modern world that they both use to their advantage. He's well-versed in poetry, literature, chemistry, and has the street smarts of a police academy trainee. He's also a capable martial artist. Their personalities are similar too. They're both the playful and troublemaker types. Plus the comedic vibe is somewhat similar although Guardians of the Dafeng lays the slapstick comedy on thick and is much sillier in nature.

Oh somebody edited the plot summary. I was going to ask why it's tagged as a time travel story when it's basically an isekai. I thought maybe I missed something or that's how it is in the novel so I was going to ask about that.

According to many wuxia stories I've encountered over the years, practitioners of certain arts such as martial arts require complete focus and getting involved in sexual affairs would only distract them from their practice. Hence the preference for virgins. In other stories, the qi of virgins is believed to be more pure and more powerful in certain circumstances and is often associated with the yang or positive energy.

I'm not a fan of his but I might become one because of this drama. I never pegged him for someone who could be great at comedy as he seemed to have been typecast as cold, serious, and brooding. But I was surprised to see him so animated and funny in this drama.

I find it quite funny. The comedy is very Asian slapstick, which can be unamusing for those who find that style silly and childish. I grew up watching Jackie Chan wuxia movies and this is very reminiscent of that.

I like seeing this side of Wang Hedi. He actually has great comedic timing! I'm glad he was given the chance to play this role. It's such a refreshing change from his usual brooding tsundere characters.

Personally, I found this season more engaging. The first one was very reminiscent of J-dramas and manga/anime series I've seen in the past. It was a good watch, but to me, it was just another "death game" series with lots of elaborate games, scheming characters, and bloody deaths. But this season has more depth in terms of character motivations and relationships. Sure, it does end on a cliffhanger because it's basically the second act of the story, it's neither the beginning nor the end. But I think there's more to the human aspect of the story in this than in the first season. It further asks the question why it's in people's nature to risk life and limb for the .000001% chance at gaining the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when push comes to shove. Plus I love that two of Korea's finest and most famous leading men play baddies here. Not to mention, TOP who was one of the most well-known members of Big Bang back in the day.

This! Not to mention that Da Vinci's life's work is proof that artists can also dabble in science. From the first season they've already established that Shen Yi is no ordinary artist. His expertise clearly lies in forensic art but he could've studied other forensic fields such as forensic photography, psychology, and chemistry to make him a more well-rounded forensic scientist/police officer. Many people who specialize in forensics do. He did demonstrate his ability to reconstruct images from blurry photos so that can be attributed to his knowledge of forensic photography. He also showed his knowledge in psychology. It's just that they kind of downplay his expertise sometimes, especially since Shen Yi often introduces himself as a mere sketch artist.

And also because in the first season, Du Cheng didn't fully trust him yet so he played a relatively smaller role in investigations. But if you notice, as the season progressed and Du Cheng learned to rely on him more, Shen Yi became a more integral part of the team. This season, he has already proven his worth, so they're giving him more leeway. Even their chief supports him. In the first season, it was already established that Shen Yi became a cop who specializes as a sketch artist because of his remorse for getting Du Cheng's mentor killed. His art mentor even tried to persuade Du Cheng to tell Shen Yi he should give up being a cop and go back to being an artist. So he was never just a sketch artist, he has always had the authority to interrogate suspects.

He's also a cop. He's not just a sketch artist. He also studied psychology and forensics so he's a valuable part of the team.