Don't bother with RMP unless you have nothing left to watch.
Love In Pavilion is worth a try.
SaB - After episodes 1 to 7, you'll have to make up your own mind whether at some point, you're content with 3rd FSM installment: Wang Quan arc (renamed as "Sword and Beloved" which doesn't even match the mandarin being "Heart of Sword: Heaven and Earth") as the story of Wang Quan Fugui being underhandedly written out of his own story to be replaced by three other actors for at least eleven episodes, before being brought back in to finish the drama and leave viewers like me feeling cheated with such blatant bait-and-switch by the producer and production house.
There's a mini-drama titled "The Tower of Whispers". It's the equivalent of an S+ longform drama which broke 4000 on the iQiyi heat index on the first day of airing, and the production quality is good despite minor flaws. Director and stunt director know their stuff. 24 episodes, with slightly less than 8 minutes of actual content per episode.
Try "Egg and Stone". It's a parody of wuxia (and some xianxia tropes) which also weaves in a sweet love story.
All my suggestions have romance that will result in happy endings :)
I feel like... my mana depletes after watching the ending 😅 I feel robbed of my positive energy 😅 which…
The producer of this drama is the CEO of the production house, and he has a not-yet-aired drama coming out in 2026 on a different platform whereby two of the supporting actors from this drama are in that drama: https://kisskh.at/60463-fox-spirit-matchmaker#comment-24122694
It’s pretty amazing that you have last till the end. Great patience and faith for this franchise. Reading your…
I'm always fair. If you look at the names of those listed as "Crew" for this drama? The producer of this drama Wang Yi Xu is the CEO of Stellar Gravity Media.
The support actors playing Quan Rumu and Fang Yunfei in this drama are also appearing in the not-yet-aired-until-2026 drama with Li Yitong by the same producer and production house, and the airing platform will be Tencent not IQiyi: https://kisskh.at/742861-gu-yue-feng-hua-lu
It might be entirely coincidental to see a spate of promotional activity on that not-yet-aired drama's weibo account around end-October and early-November for the not-yet-aired drama, while SaB had aired at least seven episodes (the first seven episodes are the strongest episodes of SaB).
The actors playing Quan Rumu and Fang Yunfei are appearing in this not-yet-aired-until-2026 drama with Li Yitong, by the same production house that produced SaB, and the airing platform will be Tencent not IQiyi: https://kisskh.at/742861-gu-yue-feng-hua-lu
Qingtong died in episode 35, after Wang Quan Fugui removes the completely purified Black Grief Tree seed from her. Wang Quan Fugui dies in episode 36 to kill the Black Fox, Fang Yunfei gets a happy ending with his wife, and it ends with animated spider Qingtong turning when she hears what appears to be Wang Quan Fugui's voice calling her name.
It seems the producer screwed over Cheng Yi. From the looks of it, he was used to get investments for the drama and then without knowing the script was altered, his presence for this drama was used to promote certain side actors.
If you want a very good underrated drama, try "The Guardians". It's a Republican-era espionage thriller, and the acting is award-worthy while anchored by a strong narrative and good pacing.
'Love in Pavilion ' is highly underrated though and the best out of the 3. It did give me hope (albeit false hopes)…
I enjoyed much of "Love In Pavilion". It has a decent script, a very enjoyable ensemble cast, and well-fleshed relationships plus individuals, but I wouldn't label it a masterpiece. I enjoy the LIP OST which clocks in at almost 2 hours with instrumentals and BGM, which I shared more than a month ago at the MDL drama page: https://kisskh.at/717387-fox-spirit-matchmaker-zhu-ye-pian#comment-23775936
Once I heard certain songs, I already figured out what the ending would be, especially since it will adhere to the donghua. Even the villains had me touched (also, Charles Lin! Peng Xiaoran! what a couple!). Zhang Yunlong took out my heart. The rest of the cast nearly gave me PTSD within the final six episodes.
Awww…I put this show on hold as I wanted to know the ending and it’s good review, I ll binge watch it later……
Fast-forward button is necessary unless you have the patience of a sage. And I usually don't use FFWD button. If you watch, watch until episode 7 for the best of the FSMM: Wang Quan arc, or until episode 13. Beyond that, you're on your own :p
The screenwriting for this drama makes "Love In Pavilion" look almost like a masterpiece in comparison. Yikes.
Congratulations to everyone who watched all 36 episodes (inclusive of FFWD button) because BP issues definitely happened. Qingcheng is the first C-drama character who actually managed to make me want to hurl something hard at the screen upon seeing his face after episode 22, and hence FFWD button.
And may the producers, directors and screenwriters be ignored within the industry for at least 10 years, so no other actors and actresses will suffer the underhanded hatchet jobs that Cheng Yi was subjected to for this drama. Blurring his image multiple times (regardless of whether he stood in the foreground or the background, when two individuals were in the scene facing the audience and he is one of the two individuals) was really petty of the post-production team.
Now that I look at all of it, what happened with SaB boils down ultimately to the producer and production house.
Cheng Yi was the emotional core of this drama, and he executed his scenes well (except for episode 35 with Li Yitong at a certain place, because that's some very weird directing going on there).
May Vendetta of An give him what he truly deserves: A great role in a memorable praiseworthy drama!
Episode 1 isn't catching me at this moment, but I believe it's the mood I'm in and nothing to do with the drama.…
SaB- I don't know what to think about the ending. Since I watched LIP first when it came out, the scenes involving any flashbacks always make me emotional.
But the separation arc was nuts. Since it was supposedly essential to the story for the different components such as a certain water orb and purification of the Grief Tree seed, writers should have done a better job justifying it before it happened. That said, I felt so sour about how Cheng Yi was treated that I paused the whole drama and waited for Express to drop since I don't pay extra as VIP membership. The writing for Li Yitong's character also went somewhat awry during the arc.
And Qingcheng- I have never had any C-Ent character make my blood pressure rise, until that character which wasn't even in the original donghua.
"Egg and Stone" is definitely needed. Caesar Wu and Xu Lu and Riley make me laugh too much XD
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Love In Pavilion is worth a try.
SaB - After episodes 1 to 7, you'll have to make up your own mind whether at some point, you're content with 3rd FSM installment: Wang Quan arc (renamed as "Sword and Beloved" which doesn't even match the mandarin being "Heart of Sword: Heaven and Earth") as the story of Wang Quan Fugui being underhandedly written out of his own story to be replaced by three other actors for at least eleven episodes, before being brought back in to finish the drama and leave viewers like me feeling cheated with such blatant bait-and-switch by the producer and production house.
₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾ ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧ (๑>◡<๑)
Chi lam + Cheng Yi = SOawesome
If you find anymore DM me
(or send funny/BTS wuxia clips of Chi Lam, works too XD)
There's a mini-drama titled "The Tower of Whispers". It's the equivalent of an S+ longform drama which broke 4000 on the iQiyi heat index on the first day of airing, and the production quality is good despite minor flaws. Director and stunt director know their stuff. 24 episodes, with slightly less than 8 minutes of actual content per episode.
Try "Egg and Stone". It's a parody of wuxia (and some xianxia tropes) which also weaves in a sweet love story.
All my suggestions have romance that will result in happy endings :)
https://kisskh.at/60463-fox-spirit-matchmaker#comment-24122694
The support actors playing Quan Rumu and Fang Yunfei in this drama are also appearing in the not-yet-aired-until-2026 drama with Li Yitong by the same producer and production house, and the airing platform will be Tencent not IQiyi: https://kisskh.at/742861-gu-yue-feng-hua-lu
It might be entirely coincidental to see a spate of promotional activity on that not-yet-aired drama's weibo account around end-October and early-November for the not-yet-aired drama, while SaB had aired at least seven episodes (the first seven episodes are the strongest episodes of SaB).
Here's the Tencent promotion: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5226274492518119
It seems the producer screwed over Cheng Yi. From the looks of it, he was used to get investments for the drama and then without knowing the script was altered, his presence for this drama was used to promote certain side actors.
This will soothe any day (of course, it's part of a guzheng piece XD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_RqfNEgfs
https://kisskh.at/60463-fox-spirit-matchmaker#comment-24119038
You're not ranting yet. I'm ranting there XD
If you want a very good underrated drama, try "The Guardians". It's a Republican-era espionage thriller, and the acting is award-worthy while anchored by a strong narrative and good pacing.
Once I heard certain songs, I already figured out what the ending would be, especially since it will adhere to the donghua. Even the villains had me touched (also, Charles Lin! Peng Xiaoran! what a couple!). Zhang Yunlong took out my heart. The rest of the cast nearly gave me PTSD within the final six episodes.
Congratulations to everyone who watched all 36 episodes (inclusive of FFWD button) because BP issues definitely happened. Qingcheng is the first C-drama character who actually managed to make me want to hurl something hard at the screen upon seeing his face after episode 22, and hence FFWD button.
And may the producers, directors and screenwriters be ignored within the industry for at least 10 years, so no other actors and actresses will suffer the underhanded hatchet jobs that Cheng Yi was subjected to for this drama. Blurring his image multiple times (regardless of whether he stood in the foreground or the background, when two individuals were in the scene facing the audience and he is one of the two individuals) was really petty of the post-production team.
Now that I look at all of it, what happened with SaB boils down ultimately to the producer and production house.
Cheng Yi was the emotional core of this drama, and he executed his scenes well (except for episode 35 with Li Yitong at a certain place, because that's some very weird directing going on there).
May Vendetta of An give him what he truly deserves: A great role in a memorable praiseworthy drama!
But the separation arc was nuts. Since it was supposedly essential to the story for the different components such as a certain water orb and purification of the Grief Tree seed, writers should have done a better job justifying it before it happened. That said, I felt so sour about how Cheng Yi was treated that I paused the whole drama and waited for Express to drop since I don't pay extra as VIP membership. The writing for Li Yitong's character also went somewhat awry during the arc.
And Qingcheng- I have never had any C-Ent character make my blood pressure rise, until that character which wasn't even in the original donghua.
"Egg and Stone" is definitely needed. Caesar Wu and Xu Lu and Riley make me laugh too much XD