very very VERY fluffy watch. I avoided this for the longest time because I don't think the FL is a great actress. (Didn't like her in my fave drama of all time: Marriage, Not Dating but I stayed for another actress from that one & you will not be disappointed with Kim Young Ok as the head grandma witch; love love looooove her so much & her interactions with the other witch grandma made this a super fun watch for me.) So #1 reason I watch romance is the chemistry & here, I don't think the FL & the ML have off-the-charts chemistry (so far I'm on episode 8) but he's sweeter than most arrogant chaebol ML type roles, so I'm okay with it. Main reason to stay? The support characters & the witchy elements in the urban fantasy storyline. Yay, magic!
Okay, Viki needs to sub this QUICK. Only 10 episodes subbed as of right now & I just CAN'T start another drama that's not at least close to being finished. I've learned this about myself: I get busy & then lose the thread of the story & have to rewatch it all over again. Sometimes that's okay (like "Fall in Love," which was sooooo good I didn't mind) but most of the time, I am not a masochist. :p
As an aside, ZTao looks adorable in this! I love him but in many of his roles, he has too much make-up on for me.
I preferred Jack over the ML and all the other guys. If only he was the ML, I don't get how she didn't catch any…
I had this weird thought that maybe, just maybe it would have a twist & Jack would be our real world game developer guy trying to help her out of the game, but having to watch her fall in love with someone else. Nope! Predictable plot but still cute.
Loved the opening & how the MC gets together (I do prefer these actors in other dramas, Princess Agents & Yanxi…
Finally finished this one! The FL is probably one of my favorite characters ever but the ML didn't really work for her love. Sorry not sorry. The only other "couple" I liked was the two assistants (hers & his)--super cute bromance.
I think realistically it was the last 12 & for sure the last 8 sucked some nasty rotten eggs so much that I was wrinkling my nose quite often & hitting SKIP. Lazy writing strikes again!
Main leads are the only reason to watch this show, though Guo Guo turns out to be a pretty awesome character. Yes, she started off super annoying but there is good character development for her.. The ML is not your usual character & he had to seriously grow on me but boy, did he. What a cutie pie. Loved his bird Earl, too! I wasn't the only one to think he wasn't attractive at first (love the sometimes too honest Viki commenters, hehe) and now I feel bad for judging him like that, whoops. Zhu Ya Wen is an incredible actor & knocked it out of the park here. I LOVED his facial expressions! He was sweet, funny, kind, strong, intelligent & had AMAZING chemistry with the FL. Like realistic but still adorable. Super cute! I will say that they weren't on an equal playing field in the romance department, though; he gave of himself so much more than she did. Kinda disappointing when he was such a gem, but oh well.
I recommend liberally skipping when you hit episodes #33 -36, which is when I started to get annoyed with the writing. Curse of the c-dramas, sheesh. But at least I finished this one, which I can't say for many others.
On Youtube, the time of the dubbing sucks too much for me to take this on when I have so many others in the queue. If Viki picks it up, I'll definitely watch it, though. :) Looks cute.
FINALLY finished this one after putting it on hold a couple of times. (I knew I wanted to finish it but wasn't in the mood at times, so what does that tell ya?) It's just a gorgeous production but dang, a wee bit too much war & intrigue for me. Lots of unlikable characters in this one & there wasn't enough of the main leads interaction for me, though I loved their relationship.
Wow, I am with you on every. point. here. I had high hopes for this drama & I think I may only finish it to salivate over the pretty dishes. Everything else fell so flat! Wunh wunh wuuuunnnh...
Engaging light-hearted fantasy drama. Really beautiful aesthetics that border on the young adult level of sets/cgi/costumes. Not cartoonish, exactly but more fun since there's a lack of darkness in sets & characters usually present in other fantasy/Xianxia dramas. Love that we get merpeople as characters & their leader, the dragon emperor. On Ep #20 (as of rn Viki has 24 episodes subbed, but I'm going to wait until there's at least 4 more to continue) & I'm loving all the magic & "realm" traveling. Unlike other fantasy dramas, the number of characters isn't excessive, so we get to focus on a core group. Just FYI: it's 100% more plot-driven than character driven, which is disappointing because there's an obvious lack of dimension in all the characters. As for the romance: it's not really my cup of tea only because I didn't feel they fell very hard for each other in the beginning. Maybe I could've been convinced a bit more... I will admit they are both reserved characters with heavy responsibilities on their shoulders so that may have played a part. I'm hoping it picks up a little bit more there. The ML does a much better job than the FL with communicating this emotional connection, though.
Yes, the Central Plains chick is annoying but her character is a c-drama type & she's not even as annoying as I've seen elsewhere. Plus, there's only one of her so I'm thankful for that.
I have a question about this show and true beauty. Seems you put the sML as a pro, but I hate love triangles.…
I feel you! I also don't usually like love triangles only because I don't like either my FLs or MLs being into anyone else. (I have one exception, which is Marriage, Not Dating but it's a special circumstance & she's not really into him anyway, but just thinks she is.) The only reason I think 2MLs should exist is because of cute jealous moments or motivation for the ML to get off their heinies & pursue the girl. ;p I don't think 2FLs should exist at all, lol. Too bad love triangles are standard drama-fare in most romances or romantic comedy, so I wouldn't avoid everything w/that tag.
In both dramas, the FL never likes anyone else except for the ML, so no real competition. There is no "contest" or even a twinge of indecision in either case, so the 2ML serves as a true foil to the ML. (Of course the MLs don't know that at first & we get some nice jealous moments when the 2MLs are trying to flex.)
The relationship does NOT get dragged at all by the 2ML! As for TB: I don't think Cha Run Woo is that great of an actor, so while TB was cute & the story was well-told, I felt forced to ship the MC but really liked the 2ML a LOT since he was always supporting & protecting the FL. The whole set-up was a little too high school for me, so it wasn't my favorite.
vs EY: goodness, the MC have GREAT chemistry together here & the 2ML continues to act like a stereotypical lead jerk who can't imagine he can't get anything he wants. It's beautiful irony that he's written that way because even though her character is written to like him, she makes no bones about the fact that SHE is not her character & recognizes him as toxic. (It's pretty awesome how this show satirizes ALL the drama tropes, too!) He's like the terminator, though, & just won't leave her alone, lol. AT some point, it becomes comical! Like, you're aware you're being trolled by the writers because he's such a cliche. Well, until the awareness she triggered in him gets turned back on himself & we get some character development & reflection towards the end. Different kind of love triangle here, so... good stuff!
I've been avoiding watching it since so many people disliked this but I had to see some Wookie & I LOVED the FL in Just Between Lovers. It has a very jarring start but there are some decent emotional & some very funny scenes, so I stuck with it--even though the sci-fi part is soooooo bad; like literally unbelievable, it's so bad. That's okay, cuz 2 episodes in & you're in 2019 & waiting to see what they do with this hot mess on their hands. So far, a solid 7 but I agree that the story/feel of the drama is all over the place.
Just rewatched for the feels. If you love this story w/in a story trope (one of my favorites) you will be satisfied with this drama & if something hit you right, then it could be an almost perfect drama for you, like it was for me. 1.) story w/in a story where characters become aware of themselves in parallel storylines. 2.) best dang 2nd lead bad boy next to the one from True Beauty 3.) production quality = A+ 4.) pacing w/transition scenes & fluidity of plot (well-told story) 5.) it got me to enjoy a "School drama" again; it's been a while...
it's nice to see she's super cute & adorable irl. Thank you to the commenter below who posted the link but her bulgogi & seaweed soup did NOT look appetizing in the slightest.
I am pleasantly surprised by this drama! It has all the story & character pieces in just the right amounts--which is tough to do--plus some crazy. Once you get past the (imo) odd & not-so-much romantic way the leads meet & fall in love, the story is set up & you're off & running... I like that the romance arc is differently played out & again, I am surprised because I usually focus on the MC's chemistry to decide if I continue with a drama or not. I'm on Ep #35 & I've seen mostly restrained passion, I guess is what you would call it & you know what? I'm actually okay with that here. I feel like the ML & FL are more intriguing as characters in their own rights rather than good together as a romantic couple, but then again, after the initial "romance," they've mostly been developing their characters on their own. The 2nd ML almost feels like the ML since he's gotten so much screen time with the FL. Again, not what I usually like but I'm somehow okay with it here. The ML is kinda meh (not my cup of tea, but I've seen worse.) The FL is GREAT, though, & I love her determination, kindness, & intelligence. In so many other dramas, you get frustrated at the FL trusting people that you KNOW are going to screw her over but here, you don't really mind it. Maybe because literally everyone lies to her at some point & she's like, "okay y'all mofos, I refuse to be suspicious all the dang time & ruin my life worrying about who's next in line to screw me, so I'll just do me & que sera sera! I'll let karma get you." (Or in this case, the storyline, haha.) 2nd ML (the general) was AMAZING, too. Great acting, great complex character. I would like to see the FL & 2nd ML as a real couple in something in the future.
Another plus? The fantasy element isn't overused & feels believable (except of course in the stylistic fight scenes where they're corkscrew spinning sideways with their swords singing but hey, that's Wuxia for you.)
Loved the opening & how the MC gets together (I do prefer these actors in other dramas, Princess Agents & Yanxi respectively) but their chemistry is a little off in the kissing scenes; not really passionate to me, though it's nice to see a mature relationship that's relatively healthy (apart from little sis's manipulation.) Oh god & the sister is the WORST, WORST, WORST. I skipped all of her scenes, she was so annoying & toxic. 2nd couple was boring & sorry, but Nicky can't act. 40 episodes is too long imo & am stuck @ Episode #31...I think I'll just FF to see how it ends...
I know c-dramas aren't the best at portraying pets but YIKES that poor cat was kept in a cage almost the entire time. :(
As an aside, ZTao looks adorable in this! I love him but in many of his roles, he has too much make-up on for me.
I recommend liberally skipping when you hit episodes #33 -36, which is when I started to get annoyed with the writing. Curse of the c-dramas, sheesh. But at least I finished this one, which I can't say for many others.
Yes, the Central Plains chick is annoying but her character is a c-drama type & she's not even as annoying as I've seen elsewhere. Plus, there's only one of her so I'm thankful for that.
In both dramas, the FL never likes anyone else except for the ML, so no real competition. There is no "contest" or even a twinge of indecision in either case, so the 2ML serves as a true foil to the ML. (Of course the MLs don't know that at first & we get some nice jealous moments when the 2MLs are trying to flex.)
The relationship does NOT get dragged at all by the 2ML!
As for TB: I don't think Cha Run Woo is that great of an actor, so while TB was cute & the story was well-told, I felt forced to ship the MC but really liked the 2ML a LOT since he was always supporting & protecting the FL. The whole set-up was a little too high school for me, so it wasn't my favorite.
vs EY: goodness, the MC have GREAT chemistry together here & the 2ML continues to act like a stereotypical lead jerk who can't imagine he can't get anything he wants. It's beautiful irony that he's written that way because even though her character is written to like him, she makes no bones about the fact that SHE is not her character & recognizes him as toxic. (It's pretty awesome how this show satirizes ALL the drama tropes, too!) He's like the terminator, though, & just won't leave her alone, lol. AT some point, it becomes comical! Like, you're aware you're being trolled by the writers because he's such a cliche. Well, until the awareness she triggered in him gets turned back on himself & we get some character development & reflection towards the end. Different kind of love triangle here, so... good stuff!
1.) story w/in a story where characters become aware of themselves in parallel storylines.
2.) best dang 2nd lead bad boy next to the one from True Beauty
3.) production quality = A+
4.) pacing w/transition scenes & fluidity of plot (well-told story)
5.) it got me to enjoy a "School drama" again; it's been a while...
Trailer #2: https://www.viki.com/videos/1191180v-trailer-2
Trailer #3: https://www.viki.com/videos/1191181v-trailer-3
imo Trailer #1 & #3 are decent hooks but I've seen better FMVs on Youtube for the other one.
At the end of the trailers, it says Episode 1 is coming in 2 days. Nice! I think it'll be a fun one to watch w/the Viki community.
Another plus? The fantasy element isn't overused & feels believable (except of course in the stylistic fight scenes where they're corkscrew spinning sideways with their swords singing but hey, that's Wuxia for you.)
I know c-dramas aren't the best at portraying pets but YIKES that poor cat was kept in a cage almost the entire time. :(