cryswash

Lost me

This story lost me. Started out pretty decent with the translation vs translation app battle but it went down hill fairly quickly.

First off, this show being about top notch translations was odd. The quotes that were read at the beginning of each episode was very laughable. There were lots of grammar errors and it was poorly spoken English. I study Mandarin Chinese so I can understand that learning a language completely opposite your own is a challenge. I know my pronunciation isn’t perfect but I also don’t market myself to be the best either. Wish they could have found stronger speakers to make it more believable.

I left this show for a couple of weeks thinking I would eventually come back to it but that definitely did not happen.

Honestly, the characters in this show were forgettable and rather dull. The main conflict between the couples seemed like child’s play. It was also unnecessarily drawn out and came off very shallow. I’d like to think that most adult relationships have deeper rooted problems that keep them apart and don’t drag out over so many years but maybe that’s in my bubble. Their issue didn’t seem like it was enough for a 36 episode show. This show could’ve been wrapped up in 20 or less episodes.

Basic production value, forgettable OST, and mediocre acting. Make your own judgement and watch for yourself.

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Strong story…

I really enjoyed this one. Wasn’t riddled with plot holes and was a well written story. The ending didn’t bother me. I’ve come to expect these sort of endings in Cdramas. As long as they make sense and in this case, it did. Jiu Xuanye had a duty to uphold as Man Ying and that wasn’t Duan Banxia’s world to live in. Probably not safe for a human. That was my take from it.

The Good

Strong plot with some mystery. This had decent world building and character building. Gave us good back stories for our two leads so you understand their character setting and personalities. Also had strong acting and I was able to connect with the characters due to this. The supporting cast was also interesting and had strong acting as well. Next, I did like the mysterious cases they came across. I appreciated that there weren’t too many cases and they focused on a set few that were able to build up a good story behind it. I really enjoyed Chilian and Xingxian’s story the most. Also, the romance between the leads was good enough. You could see their connection. Lastly, production value was decent as well. Had good costumes, sets, visuals and sound. Great OST as well.

The Bad

Not too much that I didn’t like about this drama. Kisses were terrible but to be expected from Ren Jialun. So didn’t have a huge expectation there. Would have liked to see our second leads advance a little more in their relationship. It was more implied they were going down the path of a relationship at the end but never really got over that hump.

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Decent mini series

This was a decent watch. There were bits that I enjoyed and bits that I wish could have been better.

The best part was the production value. For a mini series, they spent a decent amount on costumes and sets. I loved that it was filmed on location because the settings were beautiful. Looked better than so many full length series that use bad visual fx and green screens to create their locations. The costumes, makeup and hair were nice too. No over filtering and extra bright pale makeup. Styling was pretty good for the ethnic groups. The acting was also decent with our two main leads and they didn’t add any random love triangles in the mix. Pretty decent romance between the two.

Now on the opposite end. What I didn’t like was the overall story, it was just okay. The story was a little on the weaker side and could have been better. The idea of the story was great as both of the leads had their lies and flaws which sets this story apart from other series. No one character was perfect. Where it fell short was in the execution. It was a lot of talking, telling us what happened or what they did instead of showing us. Also, some editing was off at times, with odd scene jumps that made me confused as to whether it was showing a past or current event. Also, wished they changed up the language. The ethnic names and styling didn’t go with the standard mandarin being spoken. Would have elevated it more but I know that is a hard ask.

I still overall recommend this as a watch because it’s one of the better mini series.

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As intriguing as season 1

This season will not be for everyone. Some may think that it is a filler season but that definitely wasn’t the case. It’s very much connected to the major story of the first season.

The Good

Strong plot that’s executed very well. This season still kept much of the appeal of season 1 with the introduction of new powers, high action and comedy. There was definitely more of a serious tone which I felt was a great build up to understanding the ugly bits of the outsider world. The introduction of the new characters was refreshing with their unique personalities and powers. I appreciate the writers and directors showcasing more and more interesting abilities each season. Everyone nailed their characters. I was vested in each one as they all brought something different to the overall story. Ma Xianhong was very interesting, even more interesting than the sinister pleasure with his cult leader qualities and preachy ways. He delivered great monologues and I’m interested to see more from the actor. Lastly, the soundtrack was fun!

The Bad

The obvious being the change in Zhuge Qing’s character but I will say that I was still very invested in his story and Luo Zheng pulled it off nicely. I also wish there were just as many episodes as season 1 so they could have given more depth and backstory into the new characters. We only saw a glimpse of their past.

I’d recommend this watch if you’re a fan of the overall story otherwise you may be disappointed if you’re just watching for your favorite traffic actors like Hou Minghao. I’ve seen some upset fans since he has little screen time. Although important to the story, he isn’t the main attraction.

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Decent Story

I’m not sure why this one is tagged as Romance because it’s more melodrama and about family relationships. I enjoyed some aspects of the story, though it’s not an original idea.

The Good

The acting was done well for the characters they were given. Wouldn’t say the acting was profound but came off believable enough, though some acting was done better than others. I would say using seasoned actors helped the overall story. I appreciated the writers for allowing the Shanghainese to come through in the story to show more authenticity for the family. I also appreciated that our FL had a very strong personality because too many times in CDramas, the FL is usually nonsensical and strays too far from reality. The story with the FL and her mother was done well, though a lot of people probably dislike this since the mother came off terrible. Her character arch is believable in many families as I also have female relatives similar to her. The father was also believable as a passive individual who doesn’t like confrontation. I appreciated the presentation of the family, this part of the story sits close with reality and was the highlight of the show.

The Bad

Predictable story with some parts reaching. There were some unbelievable elements within the story such as our FL not knowing she was constantly surrounded by rich people that were close to her (ex boyfriend/grandma) and that no matter what, her life would be okay financially because she had 3 individuals in her life that could “save” her. Hey it’s drama land so it’s somewhat expected. The plot and characters are not an original idea and have been showcased on numerous other CDramas. I find most CDrama careers within stories focus on the same type of career arch’s as their setup: law enforcement, hotel management, financial sector, doctors, lawyers, esports gamer and always a CEO, director or some sort of leader as a main character. Because displaying the “it” person as a teacher, caregiver, restaurant worker, personal trainer, news anchor, labor worker, regular corporate worker, etc seems to be forbidden or not appealing enough in CDramaland. Sometimes these stories have too much emphasis on the career setup and not enough on the rest of their life setup and doesn’t allow for the story to stand out. You have the same character arch’s in the workplace setup: domineering leader, jealous coworker, and non serious assistant. Chemistry between ML and FL was a little lacking (though I blame the writing for not focusing enough on it) but points for allowing their relationship to build over time.

Overall it’s a decent enough one time watch.

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As good as expected

This was one of my highly anticipated watches of the year and it lived up to my expectations.

The bad

The only things I didn’t like was the random forced love connections they were trying to make with our leading men. They were clearly not interested but glad it didn’t take the same approach like Blood of the Youth and force it in the end. Also, the acting of Chen Du Ling left a lot to be desired. During her crying scenes, I couldn’t tell if she was crying or smiling. Definitely didn’t move me. The third thing was the constant vicious cycle that Di Feichang had with Jiao Li Qiao.. That story arc could have ended earlier on but they sort of dragged that out for the sake of having a story. Lastly, the OST wasn’t anything special.

The good

So many good things about this show. I still give an overall 10 rating even with some flaws because it was a uniquely written story that kept me engaged all the way through. There wasn’t a single throwaway episode. I appreciated how they kept the story progressing even when completing side cases. Many of those still connected to the larger story. I also loved how our 3 men used their real voices. It made things so much more authentic and the conversations and interactions between them seemed so natural. Definitely one of the more interesting and most fun leads in a show. Each had a different personality and brought something unique to their trio. Of course the acting was top notch in here. Besides Chen Du Ling, everyone else did such an amazing job, especially our 3 male leads. Hands down, this is the best show I’ve seen for them 3 to date. Next the fighting scenes were amazing. I wish we had more. It’s refreshing to see leads with good coordination and real martial arts pull off the scenes. It elevated the show for sure. Lastly, the visuals were beautiful. Pretty good CGI, costumes were good, high quality wigs with no visible lace fronts that I see quite a bit in CDramas. Also no CDrama tropes that most of us come to dread.

Watch for yourself but this one goes down as one my favorites. Make your own judgement.

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Had some highs and lows

This was a better than average show. Had some good and bad points that made me settle on a 7.5 score. This was one of my more anticipated dramas. I’ve seen a lot of people say that it isn’t a typical Xianxia but I found it to be pretty typical as it hits all the same major plot points of any other Xianxia. I was a little disappointed as this had potential to be better but fell short in the storytelling.

The Good

Liu Xueyi carried this drama with his multifaceted character arcs. His acting was top notch, some of his best work. He was able to pull off so many different range of emotions, especially for the different stages of his journey and the different roles he played. His long monologues were pretty impressive as well. I definitely liked the focus of the story being about sins and how it can affect humans and gods. It was pretty creative to see the evolution of Yuanzhong as it related to the five sins. There were also some interesting characters such as the weapon spirits. Very interesting set of individuals that I would have loved to see more of when they were all together. One last thing I really enjoyed was the background music with the clock ticking, it really gave the scenes a sense of urgency and mystery. Those moments actually made me pay attention more.

The Bad

There were lots of plot holes. The biggest one being Ji Tanyin’s soul oath. She made 3 oaths but it seemed to only trigger when it came to her identity. Also, the fact that the gods in discipline hall knew about what was happening in the mortal realm and who were good and bad but didn’t know what was going on in the heavens. Seemed like there were only 8 or 9 gods and one attendant, no other people there!? This made the divine realm seem very empty. Last major plot hole was during the activation of the five sins world ender, seems the destruction caused by Yuanzhong just got swept under the rug and he was still deemed a good person. It’s not like he didn’t have comets falling and destroying a city with people in it. Doesn’t matter that he didn’t complete it. Her soul oath should have activated and it should have activated when she fell in love with him but didn’t. The other downsides to this show were the story pacing. There were too many episodes and a ton of filler scenes. There were lots of times where the story was progressing and then it would just slow all the way down. Ji Tanyin’s character could have been elevated for me. Would have liked to see more conflict with her choice to save him or kill him to take the hand or to even struggle with understanding more of his nature. It was surface level, typically she just believed and followed his every word and shutdown anyone who had differing opinions about him. That leads into another major problem I had which was Ji Tanyin’s character consistency. Sometimes it seemed a little off. She was immediately cruel and harsh to Fu Yiu Jun’s character for no reason but nice to Qian Lin’s character even after knowing his initial intent. Made no sense to her character since she was supposedly kind to all. They made a point to mention that several times throughout the show so I thought that was written a little odd. Also some inconsistencies in Tang Yan’s acting. Sometimes I couldn’t tell what emotions she was feeling because she had no distinguishable affect. A good portion of the show, she didn’t emote well. Next, the second couple could have been cut out completely. Their love story added no real value to the overall story and they were very uninteresting. The love story with our main couple was a little bland for me as well so some of their scenes dragged when nothing much was happening. The final thing I will point out was the costumes, makeup, and sets weren’t great.

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A really nice watch.

I wasn’t anticipating this drama but definitely glad I came across it. It was very touching and sweet and one I’d recommend.

The Good

I loved how age appropriate everyone behaved and dressed. Many college age CDramas usually display young adults who seem more like 14 year olds for laughs and giggles. Sometimes it comes off really immature and out of place for college aged adults. The love triangle was done very tasteful and mature. No evil people. Misunderstandings weren’t dragged out too long and no unnecessary break ups. Next, I loved the overall plot being about compulsive lying. It was definitely a fresh idea and I appreciated the consistency of the lies and how it tied to mental health throughout the drama and visible growth as the FL began to heal from her past. I also really liked the imagery used for the ML with his constant need to wear all black as a representation of his morose feelings. As the story progressed, he began to eventually wear brighter colors like grays, blues and white to represent his uplifted mood. The friendships were definitely a highlight for me. The friends were extremely mature, talked through their disagreements and didn’t ruin friendships over crushes. The chemistry between all the couples were just right. Great job with the pairings and the romance was tasteful, sweet, and passionate. Great OST as well.

The Bad

I would say there was still some cliche moments and non unique ideas. The fake identity/secret comic writer isn’t a new CDrama concept and childhood trauma tropes are definitely nothing new with our main couple in CDramas. One thing that bothered me was they dragged the compulsive lying too far to the end of the story, even down to the final episodes. Even though the story wrapped up nicely, I wish that plot would have been solved sooner so we could have gotten more extended happy romance. People in these dramas need to learn the number to the police. With all the harmful crimes committed in a lot of these dramas, they let too many of the bad people get away with things. It’s very odd.

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Somehow this was still fun?

This show made no sense and wasn’t very logical but somehow this was still fun? I’m not all the way sure why this show kept up the excitement level for me, may be due to the acting or all the hot scenes this was littered with. It was very fast pace and kept me watching episode after episode. Must be a guilty pleasure sort of show.

I wouldn’t even say this was a very well written story because it definitely wasn’t and boy did some of the situations get annoying. They even dragged a misunderstanding until the very last episode. Everything was very cliche and nothing we haven’t seen. The villains were predictable; even who became the villains was even cliche, but despite all of that, I still enjoyed this show very much.

If you would ask me if I recommend this show, I would say yes. It’s for the people who like lots of romance, passion, fast pace mini dramas, with over top quirkiness. Those in-between pick me up shows after you just finished watching a sad drama.

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Interesting Twist

This wasn’t half bad for a quick 50 min watch. Episodes are only around 2 min long and easy to get through. This was a decent watch with decent acting. The plot was intriguing. I could definitely see myself reading a book version if it exists. The twist was unexpected and with a higher budget and longer runtime, this show could be really good. I would love to see this story more detailed and fleshed out.

As it stands now, there were some annoying bits with the cheap production like some odd sound effects and bad filters. Unfortunately, I have to rate it down for those things as I’ve seen mini series with amazing production values.

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Important Issue

I love the focus being on bullying since this is a global wide issue for school age children and an issue that can persist into adulthood especially in the workplace.

Great movie! Strongly written and executed story. The bond between the pair was beautiful, very unconventional, but deep and long lasting. I was glad to see the outcome was still desirable for the two. Also, the acting was great here. I was easily able to connect with their stories as they poured their hearts and souls out to each other. My only complaints were one major plot hole that made me wonder how was the girl able to get close enough to be murdered and I wish they showed more of their later years as we only got a glimpse.

Otherwise, this is a highly recommended watch.

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Very cute story

I almost overlooked this story because the trailer didn’t catch my attention much but this turned out to be a really cute love story.

The Good

I really appreciated the mature and calm nature of the main leads throughout their story since contract relationships are a common trope in CDramas. What made this one stand out was the fact that all the couples just rolled with the relationships and didn’t make things awkward. They each accepted their feelings. The relationships built up naturally and more realistic and did not contain too many of the tropes. I absolutely adored the ending and loved that they gave us closure to their love story. Fairly decent acting, nice OST and decent production for a modern drama.

The Bad

Still constrained the usual misunderstandings and unnecessary love triangles. With the limited amount of episodes, I’m glad they didn’t drag them out longer than necessary. I also wished there was just a little more romance but for what we got it was fairly good.

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Great Horror Series

This was a great horror series and also one of the best series of 2024 for cdramas. Even though this show was only allowed to be aired on international platforms due to source material being a BL, I hope that cdramas are able to make more horror style shows such as this in this future. This is a highly recommended.

The Good

Strong plot! The show executed the horror theme very well and kept things engaging throughout. It didn't have any boring plots or stories in the doors throughout for me. Production was decent for a modern drama and the OST was nice. The highlight of the show were definitely the relationships between each character and the connections they formed with each other. The acting was also decent and everybody played their character well. Each of the characters were also interesting throughout the series. I appreciated that romance wasn't the main focus of this story as it is with most cdramas. It's nice to watch something different sometimes. I loved that focus of the story was on the doors. They rarely deviated from the main plot of the story with subplots which kept our attention on what mattered most in this show.

The Bad

A couple of loose ends that never was handled such as Ling Jiushi's friend still being shrouded in mystery. The last 20 minutes of the last episode fell a little flat for me but I assume it was to pass censorship. Wish ed it could have wrapped it up stronger. Would have liked to see a little more world building and character backstory for some of the other characters but was satisfied with the overall focus being on what was happening in the doors.

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Need more CDramas of this genre

Enjoyed I Am Nobody and excited to see part 2 to complete the rest of the story. One of the top series of 2023!

The Good

This was a very fun and exciting watch! The plot was very strong and had a great setup with world building and character setups. The comedy was well placed in this fantasy drama and balanced well with the seriousness of some of the situations. The CGI and VFX was done very well and showcased each person’s power really good. I especially enjoyed all the fight scenes because they didn’t only just rely on people standing there with CGI but had actual choreographed fighting as well. The acting was done so well with all the unique characters and each left me engaged and interested in their stories. I also appreciated the OST. Well placed songs throughout.


The Bad

Not too much negative but sometimes there were moments that were too silly and the scenes became a little sidetracked from the story and I wondered about the relevance and where it was going.

This is a high must watch! Would love to see more CDramas created in this genre.

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