Sirenas

Rewatch review...

My initial review of this series came at a time when I was just getting back into C-dramas and was highly critical of the lack of depth with the more modern evolution of them. But after a few years of watching enough of these more modern series, I've grown more accustomed and decided to re-watch this one again. My initial score was an overall 6 at the time.

I've upgraded the score this time around to be closer in line on the comparisons to other more modern series. And while this one still has its flaws, it was more enjoyable this second time around having become more forgiving with accepting the quality and having seen plenty of more horrendous ones.

Pros:
-- The friendships are very endearing in this one. Particularly between our main protagonist, his disciple, and his former "enemy". The supporting cast also do a pretty good job with building up their bond.
-- It's nice that while there is a main underlying mystery to uncover, the series follows a variety of cases that are solved by the ML which keeps the plot flow moving along.
-- Thankfully, the romance aspect in the series is kept at a minimum.
-- Multiple people undergo some level of character development which was appreciated.

Cons:
-- As with many other modern series, the dialogues sometimes feel shallow and predictable.
-- The resolution to the cases are a mixed bag. Some are intriguing as they try to consistently add a twist but others feel too convenient (easily finding the item they need or coming across a hint they just happened to overlook).
-- There are some sections where it felt like the scenario moved far too quickly and other sections that dragged on for too long.
-- Because there's so much going on with the series, it left a lot of room for plot holes.
-- (Slight spoiler) I would have preferred the ending of the original novel even if it is pretty depressing. There's a time and place to keep certain endings open-ended but it felt a bit pointless in this one.

The acting and action scenes are also pretty average but nonetheless it's still enjoyable. Of the main MLs, Li Lian Hua was the most convincing but also because he's usually cool-headed. The actor for Fang Duo Bing didn't emote very well but he manages to still be quite charming and was a much needed character to really make the series come together.

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Even though I completed the series, it would have been dropped mid-way if I didn't end up getting distracted with other tasks and ended up watching this casually instead.

The narrative starts off pretty well but the overall plot declines steadily thereafter. The crime-solving aspect of the series is subpar and there's pretty much no character development. Based off the camera work, it has a low budget feel, which wouldn't matter as much if all else was done well. But it's as if they tried to take all the ingredients that are successful in other crime series and mashed it all together hoping for a well-done dish. All the characters remained one-noted and you don't get attached to any of them. I thought the concept of helping the dead would have been one of the highlights but they also don't have much value. Unfortunately, it didn't cut it in the entertainment or emotional triggering areas.

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Slightly overhyped

The main highlight of the show is our actors and particularly our three main male leads. They did a fantastic job in their roles for such young folks and were really able to emote well. The other main draw is the bond between two of the male leads and the way their friendship develops so naturally and in raw form.

I can see why this series is so highly rated. A story of bullying in various forms and how people can snap when pushed too far. Then there's the friendship with the lonely ML who did his best to simply keep to himself and for the world to just leave him be versus the sincere ML who would be the first one to make him genuinely smile for the first time. The dialogue between them are also written really well.

But what I didn't like about the series is the plot flow and the situations they kept finding themselves in. It's not that it isn't realistic but there were certain scenes with plot holes and certain people they zoomed in on initially but then just dropped out of the plot completely.

The takeaway from the series and from personal experience - Let insecure people hang out with other insecure people where they'll eventually take themselves out amongst each other. They really aren't worth much investment and they aren't worth feeling sorry for. And if someone is willing to betray you even once for even a minor matter, no matter what the reason, they definitely need to be kept at a distance. But if you're fortunate enough to find a friend like the two MLs, just one of them is worth a lifetime.

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Brotherhoods galore

I had tired of watching overly heavy themes and wanted something for a casual watch -- so what better than a young and good-looking cast that emphasizes on brotherhood to fulfill this? Of course, because of what it is, I also highly expected to drop this relatively quickly. But the fact that while this isn't a particularly sophisticated crew of actors and the dialogue is rudimentary, it still turned out to be unexpectedly entertaining.

It truly is a series that revolves around many brotherhoods and thankfully does not include sappy romances. Although the direction of the plot and dialogue were underdeveloped and oversimplified, the plot flow was actually done quite well. Enough to keep me interested in heading toward the next episode, kept me rooting for the different bonds, and even had me shed some tears. Don't be fooled by the initial episodes of charm because it does start to twist into an unexpected and darker direction which gives it more flavor than others of a similar plot base.

While this isn't a masterpiece and there are the usual number of flaws, it still deserves kudos for being able to maintain its direction and for still being able to paint the story well enough. I would recommend for those who particularly enjoy brotherhood bonds and I'm quite surprised that at the time of my review in May 2026, there's only four other reviews. Compared to some other newer series that I've dropped, this would make this one pretty underrated.

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Good premise with a strong start

I've been really exhausted of the whole reincarnation or transmigration theme and was wary of attempting this particular series for the reason. But thankfully, the reincarnation aspect wasn't deterring particularly I think because it wasn't another one of those modern day office worker who gets sent back into history. At least this one is within the same time period.

The plot was quite intriguing in the beginning and the concept that the Fl and ML lead completely different lives previously was actually very appealing as well as the way fate linked these two strangers together. It was also nice to see a pretty competent FL who stayed steady through the series although they still placed a slightly too heavy of an emphasis on her role. And as for reviewers who criticize the ML for not being as capable, they likely haven't experienced severe trauma before. I praise the FL for her abilities but her painful experiences pale in comparison to the ML which is why they actually do make a great match. He has been betrayed in the worst of ways and has experienced heavy loss back-to-back but yet was still incredibly capable on his own even before he met her. As the FL mentioned, he's the type who directly faces on his foes instead of going the roundabout manipulative way. And she is someone who couldn't trust men anymore because of her parents astray relationship. She offered him compassion which eased his anger and he opened up her trust. Their skill-sets combined is what makes them formidable.

Although the underlying story was decent, the plot did feel draggy at times and the dialogues between the main couple started to feel repetitive. The dialogue and scenarios also started to slowly get more corny compared the strong start in the beginning. Because of this, I started to disconnect emotionally towards the latter half. I think if they had focused more on the supporting characters and their backgrounds instead of so much screen time of them just hanging out... it could have really been elevated.

Nevertheless, it's a still pretty good watch for those who enjoy a strong couple who strategize together against their foes and have run out of other series within this micro-genre to try.

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Addicting

This is one that has felt incredibly satisfying from start to end. An overpowered ML who grants punishment left and right to vicious characters around him. What I love about the ML is his nonchalant personality while maintaining absolute awareness. He isn't one who annoyingly falls in love at first site over a pretty woman nor is he overly righteous as with some other characters. So it's quite refreshing to watch how he wins those around him over and how he metes out retribution. While I'm not always a fan of overpowered characters who have little need for character development, it's not a problem here because he's the trigger for creating character development for everyone around him.

The only real drawback for me here was the action scenes and the special effects were pretty lackluster. But the lore was intriguing enough and the plot flow was great. I found myself halfway through the episodes already saddened by how few remaining episodes there were. I even attempted to check out the animation to potentially continue the story but on a side-by-side scene comparison, the live action one was definitely the better of the two for me. So it's really a shame there hasn't been another season yet after three years.

Although the story is incomplete, they ended it well without some crazy cliffhanger - with exception of the last female on scene who might be the only annoying character so far. I highly recommend for those who actually enjoy a good plot rather than just a high-budget production piece with idol actors who can't act at all.

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A lightweight drama

Of all the "female general" themes where the woman disguises herself as a man, this isn't the best but it's also far from the worst. And the female actress did a pretty fantastic job in being believable in her different personality modes. The story itself is relatively straight-forward with a decent plot pace. You have a few tropes here and there with a doppelganger and situations that just happen to be placed perfectly with everyone happening to come across someone. But it's also a series that you aren't supposed to take too seriously and one to just enjoy for the characters and their interactions.

While it's slightly a little too heavy handed on the number of couples and their romances for me personally, it was still at least done in an acceptable way. It's also one of the few series where I really think the 2ML is a much better fit for the FL. There is some chemistry with the main ML and the FL but there was just so much more with the 2ML. Especially because he's far more capable and was also the only one who immediately appreciated her for herself unlike the main ML. So the few drops of tears that fell from the series were for the 2ML.

I think this is a good series to try if you're looking for a good balance of genres between politics, romance, humor, etc. There isn't anything that is done too heavy-handed and there aren't excessive melodramatic tragedies to sit through. Most of the actors did a really good job in bringing out their characters and while the series isn't one to be the most memorable, I still appreciated its entertainment.

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A crime genre overlayed with charm and silliness

This was an entertaining and charming series that encounter multiple crime arcs with our group of feisty individuals. The main character highlight would be Dongbang Yu Bin who really showed great leadership over the team. The pacing was pretty steady with each arc taking up two or three episodes. The crimes themselves were somber but the approach to resolving them included a mixture of over-the-top humor as well as a more intricate analysis from Dongbang. I appreciated how they highlighted the clues to his method allowing the audience to actually think for themselves a little.

As for the team, my biggest gripe is how little character development there was with them. It would have been great to have seen a more toned down incompetence with the new leadership. But at the same time, their flaws also makes them quite realistic as it's hard for people to change. The leadership approach from Dongbang is also really well done. He doesn't try to change them and never even really punishes them for their mistakes. Instead, he finds ways to work with their strengths and simply accepts their weaknesses. Nevertheless, it seems the producers just wanted to really emphasize the humorous aspect to it instead of finding a better balance. With this note, they also could have toned down on the bodily function scenes because after the first or second time, it stopped being funny.

Overall, this is a good series to pick up if you want to see a feel-good team bond who tackles multiple crime scenarios and have a few laughs along the way.

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Should have been shorter

The first half of the series was pretty good. It's one of the rare ones where the female lead is actually truly able to hold her own. The beginning is action-filled with the assassination theme before it teeters heavily into war scenes and palace politics. But here's what trailed off for me:

-- The female lead was a tough character initially but she softens heavily once she acquires a family and a lover. Although you still see some of her initial traits throughout, she does change quite significantly.
-- The chemistry was there between the ML/FL initially but after they FINALLY get together, there was too many lovey scenes of them having repetitive small couple talk. I skipped through a lot of this.
-- Although there were plenty of traitors as with the typical palace politics, it was nice to see some steady loyalties between the characters and particularly with the unloved Empress. But they really just offed too many people and the antagonists got off way too easy.
-- The plot was initially also pretty intriguing but it gets more and more muddled. The insertion of the couple's happy times also weren't really placed very well especially after so many deaths. There was also some random inserts of characters that felt really off like the youngest son's love interest. It's as if she was a filler for the sake of balancing out the tragedies.
-- And man, over 50 episodes were way too long for the point the story was trying to make. After uncovering too many layers of masterminds, it started to get numbing.
-- The poisoning aspect was also really over-repetitive.
-- The last episode was completely unnecessary and should have been left out.

Overall, it's one of those series where you feel compelled to finish because there are enough interesting characters involved and you've become invested. I did choose to make the effort to speed through the latter half for completion.

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Memorable with unique setup of mysteries

The start of the series was fantastic with the depiction of an every day couple living out their lives normally to suddenly getting drawn into the unfolding of many secrets. The unexpected turn of events will have you on the edge of the seat in anticipation of what is going down. After reading the summary, I had held off on this for a while because it sounded like another merchant-political driven story line that will drag on around this "ship case". But this definitely wasn't the case. Although it does hover over a main arc, the leads encounter numerous mysteries that are individual cases on its own. And though not perfect, the mystery plots here are done much better than some series that are specifically geared for it.

It's actually quite refreshing as well to see a couple who came from different walks of life. One from the streets and one with a scholar background. It depicts how despite the one "more sheltered" would have no idea what it feels like to grow up in the ghetto, he was still quite capable of protecting his wife in his own way. As for the rest of the family, while it's quite convenient for each member to have different and high capabilities, it is refreshing to see how each member actually had value to add.

The main flaw for me was the plot flow does start to slow down quite a bit after the initial arc. But not really to the point where you will feel the need to speed up the scenes. It just takes a different shift from the initial impression. I also do wish that more time was spent on the aftermath development of the relationships between the characters. There were many established bonds that kind of fell of because they wanted to continue moving the plot forward. So while events do trigger emotions, it was more of a tear or two instead of heavy tear-jerking. The ending also didn't feel completely satisfactory but I still appreciated that it wasn't a complete tragedy of even more deaths.

The other two nice perks with the series is that 1) I expected it to be completely somber but there is more than plenty of humorous moments that will make you smile and bond with the characters and 2) the tidbits of the historical facts with the Song dynasty at the end of each episode was a nice touch.

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We need more like this...

I almost dropped this halfway through the series. Why? Because the very realistic nature of the main four leads were driving me insane. After having gone through unspeakable trauma, people need a designated someone or destination to hate and to blame. So the deaths and pain the leads caused through their obsessions to fulfill their own needs was quite torturous to watch. Their complete disregard for others and how their own pain blinded themselves to the pain of others made them into absolute hypocrites. But... this is also what made their journeys very real.

The acting was superb, the actions scenes were fantastic, and the production was done well. What makes this one really special for me was this layer of connection to the Shaolin temple. It did a fantastic job in portraying the difficulties in separating the secular way of life from the country's politics. But what continually brought about the heartaches and tears, was watching the very different paths the three male leads took and how each decision they made were layered on their individual pain. I also appreciate how much the series highlights how harmful and dangerous ignorant kindness can be. Those who are passionate in being "righteous" while causing greater harm versus those who take on the heaviest lifting while knowing they'll be enduring the heavy label of villain.

The greatest disappointment here would be the female lead. I kept waiting for when she was finally pushed off her high horse but she was fortunate enough to have so many protectors in her life. She's the only one who never owned up to any of her mistakes, the only one who never thought about anyone but herself, and the one who got away unscathed in comparison to the others. But this is also part of the real world.

This series will take you on a heavy emotional journey of healing and it's added a layer for my own healing. This is also the type of series that makes me biased with my lifelong preference towards Asian series versus American series. Despite many filters and searches, it took a while to finally across this one on MDL. There just isn't enough of them that are subtitled. My review is based on the 38-episode version on YouTube as I couldn't find the 42-episode one.

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Silly, with no other solid categorization

The series started enjoyable with lots of silliness and with an adventure RPG feel. The ML has distinctive eyebrows so I recognize him from the recently watched Moonlit Reunion. He does a much better job in this series and is also much more charming. Not sure why so many reviewers are bashing on the appearance of the FL. I actually think she was a great cast for her role and unlike some other master/disciple romances, this ML/FL pairing made this part of their relationship very believable.

Not familiar with the novel but this series is hard to define into any particular category. The clearest part of the plot is the ML growing in his cultivation with the friends he meets along the way. But otherwise, it actually felt more like a slice-of-life than an adventure or typical wuxia story. A lot of it consisted of the characters lifestyles and bantering with one another. There were a decent amount of action scenes but these were pretty poorly done. The underlying story of the sect and the unraveling of the main antagonist moved along in a zigzag manner on a path full of potholes.

Ironically, the best part of this for me was the FL and how her character is the type who hides her grief and pain behind a paradoxical real facade. The subtleties of when the relationship began to change for the FL/ML was good but it wasn't highlighted enough for it to maximize the impact. I sped through a large portion of the series only to finally get a slightly satisfying moment between the two at the end. Would recommend this only to those who are in the mood for mostly humor and the adventure RPG feel, with no expectations of a very in-depth plot. And if you're looking for real action, this one might be too slow paced.

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Charming but too long

I'm giving this a higher score than I would because compared to many other "female general" series, this one is so much more deserving than other over-hyped ones like Legend of the Female General. The concept of female general being disguised as a male makes so much more sense here and is far more believable.

If it weren't for some hiccups in the plot flow and a sloppy ending, it would have deserved an even higher rating for its uniqueness. Our female lead is the brawn and the brains while our male lead is squishy but cultured and also intellectual. The first quarter of the series is humorous, entertaining, and an added layer of cringe. Some reviews praise how they appreciate the strength of the FL but bash on the ML for weak and incapable but I would like to differ. The FL has very obvious traits to be respected but the ML was raised in a very male-dominated, wealthy, and noble background. Sure, the ML is chauvinistic, spoiled, and spends his time not doing anything really productive. But his personality is what makes him believable as a character in the series. He grew up with a weak body, a mother who imprisoned him at home to protect him, and he grew up feeling like he could never be a "man"... so why not just enjoy life the way he is privileged to? No one ever expected anything out of him and no one ever challenged him. But his core is kind and he has the capacity to be successful. So despite his cringe ways and treatment towards the FL in the beginning, he had the most character growth out of everyone and I really appreciate this. And only when you get to the end, do you understand why the FL has been so tolerant.

The plot flow is a bit choppy because it focuses heavily on the lives of the main couple and would suddenly switch over to palace drama, then suddenly switch to another character's situation, etc. But it all ties to one another so this didn't bother me too much. The humor from the first quarter of the series dissolve into a grimmer environment with lesser sprinkles of lighthearted moments. My biggest disappointment is the last quarter of the series when the palace politics and war politics starts to get really messy. They spent way too many episodes dragging the scenarios on and the final battle was pretty cheesy. The ending was also not very fulfilling for a 60-episode series because it was super abrupt and despite all the effort to build up great relationships, they show pretty much nothing about what happened to anyone after that final battle.

I wouldn't consider this a binge show and the acting was a hit or miss at times, but I still really enjoyed the couple's development because it's quite unique. You also get a bit of mystery/detective work, political drama, war scenes, harem drama, some spicy moments, etc. It's like they blended a bunch of different genres into one series and none of which are really exceptional, but it was nice to have some variation and still have a common base to the overall plot.

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One of my favorite types of shows

I have a soft spot for jianghu series where the world exists of amazing martial artists. One that isn't based off fantasy where their abilities are based off colorful magic but one with realistic skills. And this one definitely did not disappoint.

Positives:
-- The action scenes were amazing - unlike many others where you have to accept the cheesiness because the good-looking actors don't have any type of martial arts background at all.
-- The characters were great and the actors made them come to life. They didn't need to dramatize anyone in particular in order to prove a point. Even the children did an amazing job.
-- The ML doesn't have hundreds of drooling females after him. Instead, he had two very mature women who truly loved him and respected each other's love for him.
-- While the plot isn't particularly unique, everything was done well enough where it doesn't matter.

Negatives:
-- My only slight qualm is the pacing could have potentially been picked up a bit. While I completely understand why they wanted to focus on certain relationship developments and conversations, it sometimes took a bit too long.

I'm quite surprised at how little reviewers/ratings there are for this series. It's really tragic that shows with idol actors who have less than average acting skills or shows that spend a ton on production but cheapen out on actual details of the story are the ones that are more popular. Subtle details used to always be the magic of what makes Asian series surpass Western series for me - such as the gift the ML had for one of the females in which she no longer had use for in the end...

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Started strong and then it starts to melts

Justice Bao has been a childhood favorite figure for me ever since I've watched the 1993 series. So far, none of the other variations have been better but this one looked promising. Unlike the 1993 series, this one starts off with his "legendary" birth and progresses through his career and a few of his famous cases.

Not sure why they depicted him as someone who seems to be on the spectrum but fine. I still thoroughly enjoyed a large first portion of the series as the progression was on point and the politics were intricate. But when it came down to latter two arcs, I don't know what happened but the plot flow just drops off and slowly disintegrated into a melodramatic mess. All the growth of involved characters gets watered down, the events become muddled, and the relationships all become hollow. It is quite disappointing considering how strong the first half or so of the episodes were. Perhaps it's from trying to ram too much into only 54 episodes.

Overall, it's likely a decent watch for those who do not have the type of attachment I have with the Justice Bao variation I grew up with. Note that this is a somber political series with minimal romance and humor.

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