RouteVenus

I MANAGED IT, I REPEAT, I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE FIRST 10 EPISODES! Oh my god, that was hard, I was facepalming nonstop at the characters' stupidity and melodramatics. Now, while watching episodes 11-12, I am still facepalming, but the shit at least got cuter. :D

Thank you! Chinese Paladin actually looks really cool, I am adding it to my list! I am watching TMoPB now (I am at episode 7) and I admit I am a bit stuck (I can't even put my finger on why...it's weirdly quick paced and slow at the same time). I know I need to get at least to EP 10, so I will do my best to get there over the weekend! I know that TMoPB is a classic to many, so I would really like to finish it and form my own opinion, you know :).

Thank you! Lol, obviously I will need to watch all three now, to see which one is the best for me :). I love how enthusiastic people are about xianxia dramas and I only hope that my resolve won't leave me and that I'll manage to watch more dramas than last year. (again, choosing and starting new dramas is super hard for me, which is why my watchlist is so short on MDL...)

It's noble idiocy at its finest. I find it interesting how the heroine (who is a writer and should know all the usual plots and tropes) unwittingly and unwillingly becomes a real heroine in her own story and ends up fulfilling all the cheesy tropes. You are right that it's not taken as seriously as in some other dramas because TRoTaR is still a romantic comedy at its core.

Should she have resolved this by communication and by telling Han Shuo what she fears? As it's usually the case in dramas: of course she should have. On the other hand, I really understand her position here: she tried so had to get the story back on its tracks since the beginning but all her scheming and insider knowledge backfired, often in unexpected ways. Now she wanted to save Han Shuo's life by sending him as far from the "main plot" as possible - but this fantasy world operates by drama rules (which is pretty fascinating aspect of this series btw), so, naturally, it won't keep stop him for long....

Hopefully, you'll enjoy the rest of the show! :)

Thank you! I started with TMoPB and I'll see how it goes. I really want to finish it even if the beginning is slow cause it seems to be everyone's favorite and it's a classic in the genre already. Regarding Love and Redemption - I've read some reviews and seen some gifs and I honestly find it SO appealing?! There is a hero who wears a mask cause he's cursed or something which is cool, both leads are so pretty, they seem to have great chemistry and I've heard that there is HEA at the end - all in all, it sounds like my cup of tea, so I will definitely give it a go once I (hopefully) finish TMoPB.

Thank you very much, that's incredibly helpful for me, I like to know what to expect and when in longer shows <3.

Thank you so much for this!!! I started TMoPB yesterday - in the end I thought that I'll start with the "oldest" drama and then move to Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption if I like the format.

Me watching TMoPB:
EP01: Ok, so it starts like a crossdressing historical comedy? I didn't expect that.
EP04: Wait, so everyone is in love with her already? That was fast!
EP06: Well, that escalated quickly.

I am gonna continue my watch today. Wish me luck, I made myself stressed out about the mortal realm part cause many people say it's nothing but PAIN and MISERY. The good thing is that thanks to you and other fans here on MDL, I know vaguely what to expect (which really helps me) and that it starts turning good in EP30 (so I have a milestone to look forwad to).

Thank you! That helps a lot! <3

Hi! I am trying this out as my first xianxia drama, since it's such a popular classic and I just finished episode 3. It's a bit boring so far and no romance between the leads yet, but that's ok, I know from comments that it picks up later. I've never watched a xianxia before so I can at least familiarize myself with the different tribes and the way magic works.
(also, the time passes so quickly but you can't tell at all cause the immortals get no development? Bai Qian has been studying under the War God for 20 000 years...nevermind that I still have no idea what exactly the disciples are doing there every day, but the other students still can't tell she's a girl?! lol, it's a bit weird)

Anyway, it would help me if I knew the structure of the story in advance, so I would know when the story picks up, you know?

Does anyone please remember which episodes are which arc?
(the middle mortal part is probably gonna be the hardest one to watch - judging from the random comments - is it very long?)
(btw I tried to use google, but it's very hard to avoid major spoilers that way...)

Thank you for your reply! :) I'll definitely give this series a try in the future, it's just that the reviews can be sometimes discouraging (not that it's a bad thing! it's good to know what to expect and what the show needs to improve!). I guess I just hoped this would be a big hit, worthy of the star quality of the main actors, but so far it doesn't seem to be the case...

I love both Ji Chang Wook and Kim Ji Won and a drama where they play a couple should be a dream-come-true masterpiece. Instead I keep seeing frustrated reviews and comments even from devoted fans, so I am thinking twice before starting this. I hope this drama will get better and I'll have a reason to attempt to watch it. (kudos to everyone who's sticking with this show!)

Thank you for this. I always have the hardest time picking a drama to watch. In order to avoid disappointment, I tend to overthink choosing "the right one" and I often read A LOTS of reviews before starting a new drama...all while trying to avoid as many major spoilers as possible!

(e.g. I know that the heroine of TMoPB is gonna lose her eyes halfway through the show, which sounds really gory and now I am kind of dreading it)

Things I am afraid of but they seem to be hard to avoid in xianxia dramas: naive heroes/heroines who have a hard time "catching up" with the villains' machinations, misunderstandings that take forever to clear up, noble idiocy, insuffarable second leads/in-laws and sad/tragic endings. Hopefully, it can't be to bad since TMoPB and AoL are so popular!

Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and Ashes of Love (together with recent Love and Redemption) seem to be the most universally loved xianxia dramas, all look very good and are appealing in different ways. The idea I got from the comments is that TMoPB has slow start and difficult middle part with mortal realm, on the other hand, Ashes of Love seem to start strong but many viewers were dissatisfied with the second half.

I am just gonna read more reviews and if I'll be at complete loss, I can always pick one by tossing a coing :D.

Don't worry, it's a different episode count due to different episode length in various releases. You will not be missing any episodes or scenes, I can confirm that Viki has the full show, even if it's "only" 73 episodes there. It's my favorite drama, happy watching! :)

I second The Story of Ming Lan, it's a fantastic drama. Can be a bit slow, especially the first 10-15 episodes, because it's basically a historical slice of life and the beginning concentrates a lot on the heroine's household and everyday troubles. So you have to be patient. But I've never seen a drama with a heroine like Ming Lan, she is amazing. She is an unimportant and mostly ignored member of her family, but poor Cinderella she is not. She quietly observes machinations in her household and learns to manipulate people and circumstances to her best advantage. I never had to worry about her, cause she was always level-headed, cool and planned everything in advance. There is a satisfying romantic subplot (especially in the 2nd half of the show), it doesn't really have any "steamy" scenes but the chemistry is top notch (the main couple is played by real life husband and wife). Can't recommend this show enough.

Hi, I've never watched xianxia drama before and I wonder: should I try Ashes of Love (which has a higher rating here) or Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (which seems to be a classic, recommended by everyone)? Or something else entirely?

For the record, I don't have much experience with cdramas in general, but I enjoyed The Story of Ming Lan very much – which is historical, I know, xianxia dramas must be very different, but I want to say I enjoy solid plots, clever heroes/heroines, romances with great chemistry and happy endings.

Wonderful article and very useful, thank you very much for writing it! <3

I only slowly started with C-dramas last year (I finished Meteor Garden, The Romance of Tiger and Rose and The Story of Ming Lan); currently I am watching "Boss and Me" and "Dating in the Kitchen".
I am really enjoying C-dramas so far, I can't quite put my finger on what makes them so addictive, but maybe it has to do with a usually well-done balance of realism and fantasy. For some reason, the atmosphere in C-dramas just feels more realistic than in K-dramas, but still "fairytalish" enough to provide escapism.

My question: could anyone recommend me a good and fun reliable source for learning more about Chinese history and culture (e.g.clothing, mythology...) so my understanding of historical (and fantasy) c-dramas would be better?
Like, Wikipedia articles are nice, but I quickly get overwhelmed/lost, especially when reading about Chinese history. Maybe there is an e.g. well-researched blog or a YouTube channel you could recommend...?

Thank you so much for this, you really eased my worries. I don't mind angsty dramas from time to time, but right now I wouldn't be able to handle too much stress, so I am glad that I can start this drama and not worry. Is it weekend yet? <3

I need a cute and happy romance drama right now and I want to start this one over the weekend. <3
Any angsty episodes I should prepare myself for?
Jealous scheming second leads? Evil parents?
Most importantly: are there any long stupid misudenderstandings or noble idiocy break ups? Please please please just warn me and let me know in which episodes they are; these things make me anxious.

Since the series was shot in the Czech Republic (specifically in Liberec and Prague from what I've heard), I would really like to see it, but I don't see it on any of the main streaming sites? If anyone has a link to the subbed version, let me know.

For the record, many Czech and Slovak actors appeared in the show. Most notably, on the poster you can see young Slovak actress Natalia Germani (as Helen) and popular Czech actor Jan Révai (as Nazi officer Hans).

I don't have much experience with C-dramas, so more-experienced-viewers please tell me: what are the chances this will end happily? Has anyone read the source novel to spoil us? I can't bear sad endings and they are so common in cdramas....still will probably watch it for Zhao Liying (Minglan!!!! <3).