XiaoBaiMinglan

Only if you're a Liu Yu Ning fan

After watching The Prisoner of Beauty I really wanted to love this but it wasn't meant to be. Don't get me wrong Liu Yu Ning was terrific as the male lead Nan Heng / Li Shi Liu unfortunately he couldn't save this drama.

I have never been so angry watching a drama before. But this one managed to piss me off to no end. How could one character (the male lead at that) be so hated. Everyone (aside from his people) were mean, downright cruel to him. And then along comes the female lead and dang if she isn't the worse of the lot (and that includes the emperor and that's saying something)

His own father hated him for something he didn't do. Honestly how could a child be responsible for a grown up's death? And it just went downhill from there.

Every episode seemed to get worse starting from the very first episode. In just a couple of episodes I was actually rooting for Nan Heng to ride off into the sunset and leave the rest to their own fate.

Then around episode 30 the writer decides to change it up and have the emperor realize he'd wronged Nan Heng. And of course the female lead finally comes in with the "White head, same heart" but personally, I felt it was too little too late.

Great happy ending.

Would I recommend it? No. But if you are a Liu Yu Ning fan and you've seen everything else of his then give it a shot, he's the only reason to watch it. However, I'd recommend a rewatch of The Prisoner of Beauty instead.

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Opinions do vary

This mini drama was absolutely fantastic! I enjoyed every second of it.

The ML did some questionable things but never out of hate everything was out of love and his need to keep her safe and after finding out her real identity I can understand why he did the things he did to keep her by his side.

Did he go about it the right way? Absolutely not. Could everything they went through have been avoided? Yes, like most misunderstandings in most dramas a simple conversation would've worked wonders. But then where would the drama be?

It was one giant misunderstanding after another. One of the first things she thinks she sees is him doing something bad, instead of asking she immediately assumes he did it and never once questions that belief. And that sets the story for why she's scared of him. If for one second she'd stopped and asked instead of assuming everything would've been different.

In the beginning he lies and admits to doing something he didn't do, So why did he lie? To convince her she was unfit to marry someone else so she would stay by his side.

Is the ML toxic? Opinions do vary. I thought he came off as a controlling a** because he was obsessed with loving her, and keeping her by his side to keep her safe. We find out over the course of the drama that he was never taught what love was and that there was a right and a wrong way. And unlike the ML in Circle of Love (who most everyone would agree was 9th level circle of hell toxic) everything this ML did was because he loved her (not saying it was right just saying it was never done from a position of hate),

So should you watch it? Well that depends on your tastes. If you like your ML so in love with the FL that it borders on obsessive love, if you like a ML who's passionate, aggressive and willing to do anything, whatever he has to in order to keep her safe and by his side, if you like a FL who reacts first instead of asking why, a FL who has to be rescued almost every single time she tries to run away, with a great HE then boy oh boy is this the drama for you!

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What should've been

This had the potential to really be a great rom com. It could've, should've, would've been so much better but unfortunately it wasn't. The parts that were supposed to be funny weren't. I kept waiting for the romance to show up but it never did. There was no chemistry between the leads at all.

Now let's talk about the leads:

Kang Ha Neul (he played the 8th Prince in Moon Lovers) and I was really looking forward to seeing him as the male lead... the one who gets the girl. Although he was still just as gorgeous and adorable as the male lead Han Beom U, the character was too much of a doofus and a coward to be all that likable.

Go Min Si as Mo Yeon Ju wasn't a very likable character at all. I get that she took the blame for someone she loved and then had him ghost her but that's no excuse for her attitude toward anyone else. She needed anger management classes not a love interest.

Yoo Yeon Seok (the lead in When the Phone Rings) was a delicious surprise cameo, even though his character in this drama wasn't a very good one.

Is it worth watching? Well, maybe. If it's on your watchlist and your curious (even after all the reviews) by all means give it shot. It's not gonna to hurt.

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If you're bored

The story itself was an entertaining one. Time travel, Joseon man is summoned from the past into the present. I have to admit I was a little more interested in the past instead of the modern day one.

The romance didn't start romancing until episode six in modern times. With only two episodes left it felt a little late for me to get invested in their modern day love story.

Most of the actors are great in their roles. (the FL can be a little irritating as is the SFL.) The stand out is Chani. He's fantastic as the male lead Park Yeon (in both Joseon and modern times)

The OST was wonderful, the songs chosen really fit the scenes.

If y'all are like me you want to know if it's a happy ending or not. We all know it's a time travel drama so eventually he has to go back, right? It's sad and pitiful not unlike My Demon or Goblin. I know, I know, you want to know if he comes back right? That is left to the viewer. It's very rushed and depends on how you interpret it. We can assume. So for me it's a little more open ended then I like.

Should you watch it?
If you're bored and are waiting for the next big drama to release then this one is okay and worth a one time watch if you don't mind open endings however, if you like your time travel endings with a definite happy ending then may I suggest you look elsewhere this one isn't it.

It's still a solid 9 just for Chani, the OST and the Joseon story.

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Cute and Romantic

This was such a cute, funny, romantic and very entertaining drama! It has no angst, great romance, lots of kisses, they are not fish kisses or pecks on the lips these are full blown steamy kisses!

The only bad here is the subtitles (I watched it on K/Cdrama on Facebook) and they were horrible but they didn't take away from the enjoyment of watching. Qiao Su (Yu Long) and Li Mo (Yang Mie Mie) are great together, you can't help rooting for them from the start.


If you like vertical dramas and you have a little over 2 and half hours to kill, give this one a try. But if you want your drama to have well, drama then look else this one is all about the romance.

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For Zhang Jing Yun

For a mini drama this was surprisingly good... in the beginning. I was kept entertained and rooting for the main couple despite the back and forth with the past lives.

It all started to fall apart around episodes 17-18. The FL can be a bit much. I understand being defiant but she crossed the line from defiant to reckless into downright stupidity.

The rinse and repeat story lines quickly gets old. However if you can get passed that it's not a bad watch.

It's a happy ending, albeit a very rushed one.

It's definitely worth watching for Zhang Jing Yun as the male lead Ye Sha / Ling Cang, he is serious eye candy (and his acting is good too) and wait until you see him with the white hair!

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Since this was based on the character Sang Yan from Hidden Love, I couldn't wait to watch it. And I really wanted to like this more than I did. But, unfortunately, I felt something was missing.

Granted it started with a disadvantage because I was a fan of Victor Ma (the original Sang Yan in HL) but I came to like the actor Bai Jing Ting in the role, even though he still didn't quite ring true as Sang Yan.

What I had a hard time with was the character Wen Yi Fan's treatment of Sang Yan. Leaving him when she was in high school and breaking his heart might have been understandable but doing it again once they were adults and in a relationship. I had a hard time with it.

One can forgive someone once especially a teenager they do dumb stuff without warning all the time. But as an adult? She could have talked it over with him. At the very least she could have left a proper goodbye.

It did have a happy ending.

All in all not a bad watch but it definitely didn't live up to all the expectations.

Should you watch it? That depends. Are you a fan of Victor Ma? Did you love him as Sang Yan? If you did this one might just grate a bit, because no one can replace an original actor in a role. However if you can set aside that and watch this drama as a standalone unrelated to HL then by all means give it a shot, you just may enjoy it.

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Cute and funny

Cute, funny, entertaining rom com. I was all set to give it a 9 because I did enjoy watching, the ending was a happy one but there wasn't any kiss scene between them but I felt that I would watch it again.

But then came the real ending and OMG was it good! They did the scene in Ghost... yeah that one, complete with him being shirtless! Very hot kisses! Popped it right up to a 9.5 (yeah, I'm shallow like that, don't judge) 😊

It didn't hurt that Huang Xiao Ming as Xiao Gong (the ML) was adorably hot!

Definitely one to watch, especially if you need a palate cleanser from all the more heavier dramas.

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With a grain of salt

This was a great movie! It was very entertaining.

ML and 2 ML both liked her but neither were brave enough to admit it. They all had secrets. (FL was unaware of her secret)

It did feel rushed, they crammed a lot of information in an hour and 16 min. Had it been more fleshed out this movie would've been fantastic.

If you like fantasy, demons (that look like monsters), with a tinge of romance (a tiny portion), a very sad ending and you have a little over an hour of time to kill give this movie shot. You may enjoy it.

But take my review with a grain of salt, I also loved Hellboy, Warm Bodies and I, Frankenstein.

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Only for Li Jiu Lin

This mini drama was a mind f and a half. Did he or didn't he? Is she or isn't she?

There was a lot of bouncing around between what was a dream and what was supposed to be reality.

The ending was a HE (or was it? The bracelet that she gave him that's supposed to tell him if he's in a dream or reality was blinking)

If you want something that doesn't make you scratch your head and go huh almost every episode then skip it there are better dramas out there.
However, Li Jiu Lin looked gorgeous in this (but doesn't he always?) so if you're a fan of his and just want a little eye candy give it a watch.

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Not as bad as it seems

This was such a cute, funny movie. I laughed out loud and 'awwwed' in equal measure. The bath scene was hilarious.

It was highly entertaining and has a lovely happy ending.

I didn't really understand why Kurosaki Haruto (played by Nakajima Kento) was such an enormous a** to her unless it was because of the old "You only hurt the ones you love." Not that it was an excuse but anyone watching this movie knew he liked her from the beginning. I was still thrilled when she chose him at the end.

I also don't understand why she accepted his behavior unless it was because he was a hottie and she still saw herself as an 'ugly' duckling. Which I don't think is an excuse either.

If you like cute, fluffy, romantic movies with a highly aggressive, possessive male lead give this one a try. Just remember it's all fiction and not real life.

However if you prefer your male leads to be sweet, gentle puppies this is definitely not the movie for you.

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If you're looking for a male mermaid story...

This is one to watch if you're looking for a male mermaid story. It's a cute, funny, silly mini drama. It kind of reminded me of The Starry Night, the Starry Sea (with Feng Shao Feng but not as good nor as sad).

At first the male and female leads grated on my nerves a bit but by the second episode it was better.

It tries to get a little angsty with the second pairing but honestly she irritated me so much I wouldn't have cared if she had ended that way. But of course true love works miracles (ain't that always the case).

The last episode (all 6:10 mins of it) is the happy ending for both couples.

Overall I'd say this one is worth at least a one time watch if you like adorably cute (but sometimes not that bright) guys who happened to be mermaids.

On the other hand if you like your dramas with a little more 'teeth' to them this isn't the one for you.

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