huanadan

One of the best C-dramas I've seen in ages. Initially drawn in because of Ding Yu Xi, fresh from Melody of Golden Age (another excellent production). It's always great when you can see someone get to demonstrate their range across several dramas and not just play the same character again and again. Once again, he does a fantastic job of portraying the complex character of Mu Sheng. I was delighted to see Zhu Xu Dan (Cute Programmer, Eternal Love) as the 2FL and I thought she was also excellent. Overall, casting was really good right down to supporting roles. I'd not seen FL or 2ML before but both did a good job with their characters and the contrast between the couples worked really well.

What made this drama really stand out was the effects. I'm used to watching Chinese historicals where you wish they had decent effects/CGI but you either give up or overlook the poor quality. This is one of the best I've seen, in most of the drama I'd say on par or not far behind Alchemy of Souls - quite spectacular. I also liked the attention to detail and how they carried through the effects associated with certain characters to their costume, hair and make-up. Fight/action sequences were also great. This drama was so good I only watched it on my laptop (decent size screen) because it would have been a waste to watch it on a smaller screen (ie my phone).

Pacing and story - at 32 episodes I thoroughly enjoyed this, we had a good amount of comedy, it didn't drag and things were nicely tied up at the end. There were some great twists which kept my attention and gave some characters the opportunity to play different characters/their characters in a different way. If you haven't watched yet, make sure you watch the last episode through to the end of the credits / if you've watched but missed the credits, go back and watch to the very end!