jaeshin

A story where the leads give each other the home they didn't have :")

OMG I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. Deng Wei as Su Yi Shui 苏易水 definitely stole my heart, ugh that face with a cold but loving demeanour? I want to put my face in a pillow and just-

AHHHHHHHHHH!! (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ
-cue muffled screams

“一个屋子前有了树，便不再只是屋子，而是家。”
The line that warmed my cold heart tired from work and life. The line that ties them together. The line that made the drama. Iconic. Love it.

I started off not expecting much because idk the cast except for Deng Wei from Till the End of the Moon, but grew to enjoy the drama. But as usual, I'll be as objective as I can in my review-

✨ What I enjoyed:
• MLFL's chemistry together: They are hella! cute!! Cute across 2 different lifetimes (though according to others, there's a 3rd one in the novel)-

Where the first one we saw the FL as Mu Qing Ge 沐清歌 who is all 潇洒 (dictionary: natural and unrestrained, elegant and unconventional) in her big sister vibes together with ML as her disciple. She really 把徒弟撩得不要不要的 hehe (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝) (teased her disciple a lot? Lost in translation but it's super cute) - I usually feel a little iffy about (slightly) older FL with younger ML in this kind of genre specifically but it's surprisingly adorable and how he slowly opened his heart to her + how she gave him a home it's all fluffy and warm hehe :"))

And the second lifetime now we have the FL as the reborn Xue Ran Ran 薛冉冉 who is kinda a 傻白甜 (sweet, naive young woman) with the ML being the same person but 18 years older now (though uh I guess that is ok in the world of immortality?? she's 18 now also sooo), much colder as well as wiser, and with lots of regret in his bucket. This pair is super cute as well! I saw netizens on XHS talking about how it's like ML gets to witness Mu Qing Ge in her youth that he has previously missed out on, so she's not necessary a different person and like aww. FL's cuteness here really charmed the ML in a different way, it's cute that he gave the teachings and emotions he learned from his shifu from her previous life back to her in her new life. Everything is a full circle. It's his turn to give her a home!

Is there one relationship I prefer? Yes, and that is the happy ending!!! Where they now take turns to be the shifu. THAT IS SO CUTE HELP. Though if you were to point a gun to my head, I would say I prefer the first lifetime heh, because of how good the FL acted as Mu Qing Ge - super charming.

• Acting: Deng Wei delivers his role really well of course, but the Xiang Han Zhi surprises me - in a good way. I didn't know her before this so at first I was like hmm her acting's kinda awkward but I gradually warmed up to her and she is super charming as Mu Qing Ge like damn I love the character so much. Side characters wise... most are ok except for a few that feels off but what's new haha
• Story: Shifu and disciple swap-around story across 2 lifetimes is cute and kinda refreshing from the usual demon lord ML troupe (though we still got a little bit of that...), with steady story progression
• Little to no loop holes: I enjoyed how the drama EXPLAINS. Like sometimes the characters do things you may not understand at first but don't worry, they will eventually explain. I want to thank them for using their mouths to actually talk, unlike some other dramas where I have to make lots of assumptions.
• Iconic scene: THAT ONE SCENE. Where ML came back to 西山 late on his birthday feeling all alone and the FL came out to fetch him with an umbrella, while lighting up all the lanterns to welcome him back *home* imma cry :")
• DENG WEI 邓为!!!!!!!!!!!!!: Tbh, he's not even my type. But how he played the role? 10/10 charming. The way he raises his eyebrow, the way he smirks, the way he looks pained and conflicted, the way he looks at the FL with so much love, the way he looks like a little puppy beside the FL, the way he scowls when he's jealous... hahaha
• Xiang Han Zhi 向涵之: Like I said, she nailed it as Mu Qing Ge! When she gets good, she shows it and looks super badass I love my strong FLs <3 Xue Ran Ran is cute... but Mu Qing Ge is just. Damn.
• Progression for the FL: I love that it's quite obvious when Xue Ran Ran progresses, her voice and standing pose changes gradually to show it. You can tell her voice gets slightly deeper (but not as matured sounding as Mu Qing Ge) and she stands more like a proper 修道之人 (trained martial arts person??)
• OST: 《缘圈》by 刘宇宁 is one of the reasons I decided to watch the drama because it is so good.
• Good CGI: From first to last episode, the CGI is nothing short of impressive - dragon looks good, the whole falling world and buildings, monsters etc.
• Outfits: I love the airy fairy outfits where they have a fabric tail dragging at the bottom end on the floor, it looks so graceful and pretty when the characters move! More so to highlight the elegance of high-level characters.
• Drama title: "有树" highlights the home that FL and ML built for one another

💥 Things I didn't enjoy:
• Too much blood vomiting: As usual haha. Well, but what's a period fantasy cdrama without lots of blood vomiting? That's the easiest to strike off on my bingo card man. Just gets a little tiring sometimes, like ok here we go again.
• Dragginess: I really enjoyed the story, but at some point it got draggy. Like huh, she/he's gonna die again, or she/he's gonna sacrifice again, OR oh no memory loss troupe attacked! It was going round and round and they kept having to save one another. I'm not gonna elaborate but let's just say, I got really tired at 20+ episodes in, think we could have done better with a 32~36 episodes cut instead with one lesser obstacle.
• Too much CGI: Very good visual effects but idk, it felt a little overwhelming towards the end but perhaps I was just getting CGI-fatigue together with the dragginess of the story then.
• So many bad guys lol... give the leads a break pls :(
• Some parts don't make sense / too convenient: It felt like for some of the bad guys they built up quite a lot but couldn't find a strong, valid way for the good guys to win so they have to force it a little
• Chemistry a little off sometimes: Like I mentioned above, I really love the chemistry! But maybe it's just me, there were some scenes with really strong emotions where I was expecting them to hug tight. Ya know, the kind with lots of emotions where the MLFL cling on to one another as though if they let go, the other person will vanish. But instead, many of the touching scenes just ended in them holding hands and staring into each others' eyes or a gentle hug. GIVE ME MY SOUL CRUSHING HUG WHERE THEY WILL RUN INTO ONE ANOTHER AND HUG SO TIGHT WITH BRIMMING TEARS IN THEIR EYES THEY HAVE TO GASP FOR AIR. Not enough cute scenes.

Ok if someone is reading this, thank you for finishing this long review - I didn't intend for this to be so long but somehow it just ended up like this oh god...

Overall, this is a really good watch that will warm your heart with the love the leads have between them. Just a little draggy. They deserve their happily ever after!

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Well-developed story but can feel kinda draggy

First of all, I love Zhang Ling He!! That said, I'll be as objective as I can here. No biases. But you gotta know I love Zhang Ling He.

Overall the drama is worth watching. Not just because of Zhang Ling He okay...

What I enjoyed:
• Story progression: How the FL went back in time and change her wrongs, the development of each character
• Political story: I usually dislike politics in dramas, they give me a headache... but in this case it's done quite well and interesting to keep me engaged
• Acting: Started off a little rocky but as the story progress I was able to feel the characters more. While I enjoyed Zhang Ling He's character in My Journey to You more, his acting feels better here with his micro expressions and reactions to things - a little missing in My Journey to You for those. Bai Lu's acting here is good, but falls a little flat at times as I don't feel the selfishness her character is trying to portray well. On the side, the supporting cast did a good job - especially Wang Xing Yue.
• Interesting characters: Not your typical goody two shoes main cast, they're problematic, complex, good, bad - lots of depth with a variety of characters with different personalities and motives that makes things interesting. They are unapologetically themselves and will fight for what they love and treasure. 敢爱敢恨。
• Zhang Ling He being very good-looking: Undeniable, he really suits the historical drama look, very eye candy hehe. Though I would say he's styled even better in My Journey to You...
• Romance between the leads: I hate slow burn!!! But the main couple is really cute and have good chemistry together so I would forgive that. That said, it's not complete slow burn, there's development on and off with random spikes in between with really cute scenes :)) Lines like “可谢某无拘” “苦果亦是果” are also chefs kiss
• Romance between FL with 2nd and 3rd MLs: Ample time given for them to shine and develop their characters, for you to fall in love with them as well
• I love a ML who only has eyes for the FL and is willing to destroy the world for her :))))))) - personal preference, I know
• Passionate kiss scenes. But NOT ENOUGH. >:(

The not-so-good parts, imo:
• Music: Not very memorable... I love good OSTs that can convey the feelings of scenes better to bring across the vibe more ya know? But it just felt missing. Maybe because the recent dramas I've finished all have really good OSTs :(
• Draggy: A little draggy where one of the "arcs" felt unnecessary (the one where they have to go rescue someone... it felt like another plot devise that the story could have progressed well without)
• Too many guys: Okok, I know it was adapted from a female harem web novel, but still - this is a personal preference. Even though the stories are well-developed for each of the guy, I would prefer to focus on just one guy haha
• Some characters felt a little forgotten or random: You Fang Yin for example, it feels like she only appears when the FL need money LOL. Even though they highlighted the relationship between her and the FL well, but still.
• Toxic relationship: I wish the relationship between the FL and ML could have been healthier with lesser stranglings and gaslighting :) I know he's in pain, but some parts there's literally no need to strangle her...
• I hate the random rubbery stripey flower decor thing on FL's older sister's hair........... she's so pretty WHO GAVE HER THAT it felt like some character from Sesame Street fell on her hair it was super distracting for me.
• Nothing moved me enough to cry, unfortunately

Overall rating is personal preference aside. I still really enjoyed the drama, just wish things could have had a stronger focus to let me have a good cry

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Idk why it has to be so painful

It's a love story about sacrifices, learning, sharing and most annoyingly, MISUNDERSTANDINGS.

Personal favourite lines:
“如今我拿走你的邪骨，还你一条仙髓，你不会再成为魔神了。”
“我是第一次做人丈夫，不懂得如何去爱一个人，这么久以来，也没为你做过什么，等我开始懂了，你却什么都不想要了。”
“如果有的选，我真的好希望可以和你永远待在那片竹林茅舍里，就这样平淡地度过一生。”
“是你彻底改变了我，我学会了喜欢、期盼、酸楚还有许许多多的美好。”
“我曾经想保护你，却把你骗得团团转。我曾经想拯救你， 却把六枚灭魂钉打进你的心口。我曾经想跟你相守一生， 白头到老， 如今也无法老去了。我没想到，我的存在 生来便是为了你的死去。” “没关系。苏苏，我这一辈子好辛苦 就由你来帮我结束。”

What I enjoyed:
• Acting: Luo Yun Xi's acting is solid here, with sufficient microexpressions but not overboard to communicate his character. This is not easy as the character is a... very complicated one with multiple facets to him. I also enjoyed Chen Du Ling's acting here... as much as I would like to not admit that LOL because of how annoying her character is but I guess she really brought her character to life?! Just, UGH though.
• Story progression: Kinda, as they do round up the story to avoid any big loopholes.
• Casting: I guess Luo Yun Xi really fit his role as a 病怏怏 sickly ML cuz of how he was being treated so he's like supposed to be really malnourished??? Bai Lu is also really cute in her role as someone innocent who taught the ML emotions, in contrast to the cold and emotionless ML.
• Love story between the ML and FL: When things are cute, it is very cute and I would very much want things to stay that way infinitely :) Luo Yun Xi and Bai Lu's chemistry with one another is cutee.
• Really pretty names: I really like how they're written in Chinese, feels very poetic. My favourites are 冥夜 (Ming Ye), 澹台烬 (Tan Tai Jin), 叶夕雾 (Ye Xi Wu), 桑酒 (Sang Jiu), 翩然 (Pian Ran).
• Characters: I love 冥夜 and 澹台烬 - while I can't understand 100% of the time, I feel so pained for Tan Tai Jin :( (Just not super into him killing whenever he's triggered but I guess that's the character ahh) Also I love 护妻狂魔 MLs hahahaha (literal translation is "Wife Protector" I guess? Someone who really dotes on their wife and prioritises them on top of everything else ya know)
• Good OSTs: Not the best but enjoyable, I am biased towards OSTs by 刘宇宁 - all the songs he's been doing for all these period dramas they're all so good AHHHHH.

Parts I am (kinda/very) annoyed about:
• Acting: Not hating but I wish Bai Lu had differentiated more between the different characters she portray? They felt like the same person to me, from Sang Jiu to Li Su Su to Ye Xi Wu (except for the bad Ye Xi Wu before Su Su travelled back in time)
• MISUNDERSTANDINGS: EXPECT LIKE 10,000 MISUNDERSTANDINGS BETWEEN THE ML AND FL. Like omg. I can't. I was on the verge of dropping the drama around 26 episodes in I was SO ANNOYED OMG. If it's just misunderstandings it's ok, but it's the number of zero development between the ML and FL. I don't get it, they were doing ok with sweet scenes then bam 1 misunderstanding then it's all about killing each other > that and repeat another 10 times and that's the entire drama. I felt SO DRAINED IT'S SUPER TOXIC. Ok I really tried to put myself in the FL's shoes and I understand why she reacted certain way it's perfectly understandable from all the traumas she went through but it's just really annoying to the viewers it felt like zero progression between the leads, the trust between them crumbles so easily it's weaker than my CNY love letter cookies man. Around episode 20-30 I really wanted to slap the drama upside down and I would, if I could physically do it. That said, the portrayal of the ML character by Luo Yun Xi is so good that he basically hard carry the emotions for me not to drop.
• Story: Idk, I've watched many dramas with similar stories - demon lord ML with saviour FL, 剧本杀 (uh like roleplaying in another story?), multiple timelines - so it's not something new to me (BUT NOT A MINUS POINT- cuz it could be just me who doesn't find these new or interesting)
• Progression: Could have made it a 30~35 episodes thing, it felt like they tried to squeeze too many things in and it muddled the waters. Could have a shorter episode allocation to Ming Ye and Sang Jiu's story and focus on the impact more. And save at least 1 misunderstanding between ML and FL in their Tan Tai Jin and Ye Xi Wu's lifetime.
• Makeup: Okay I guess they want to make the demon lord look more ~glam~ but it's kinda awkward when ML is like 10 times more glammed up than the FL hahaha
• Production: Idk what happened, just annoyed at how the words on the voiceover don't match what the actors are mouthing. It seems like the production changed the script during the voiceover?? It took me out of the story - it's like when you're into a scene then suddenly bam! The mouth shapes and the voice doesn't match at all.
• Attention to details??? Like 盛国's king's crown - it has two swishy beads hanging off the left and right tip of the crown's top and then in some scenes it was only left 1 I just found it funny.
• Too many blood vomiting scenes haha - I do enjoy some good blood vomiting but too much just makes me numb like uh ok they're vomiting blood again sure.
• There's more 虐 (torture?) than 甜 (sweet) scenes... _:(´ཀ`」∠):_
• Ending is??????????? I don't usually fault HE/BE/OE but this ending is...? Like whatever happened to some other characters can you at least show me a bit more they felt kinda forgotten and collateral damage at some point. Very wasted after all the development :\

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate this drama or anything - I did enjoy it! But it just really tire me out a lot.

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A lot of potential but dulled by (probably?) subpar development, bad directing and awkward editing

The good:
• Male lead is so good with his acting, styling and looks, 9.5/10 on that for me. I'm not familiar with 侯明昊 but after looking him up in interviews, realise his personality IRL differs from that of ML's character - I'm quite amazed with that on how he portray 赵远舟.
• A couple of other characters I really love are 白玖 (林子烨's acting is so good especially the last part I really felt the struggle unlike for some other actors in the drama...), 英磊, 离仑 and 裴思恒 - they made my heart ache for them.
• My favourite parts are 青耕 and 蜚's arc (they are just so good together post-My Journey to You), 英磊's death, 白玖's sacrifice and 离仑 version of 白玖.
• Story wise is interesting, visual effect is super cool.
• I do really enjoy many of the OSTs and will be adding them to my playlist.
• The funny dancing at the end of every episode gave me good laughs at some of the bad dancing like from 田嘉瑞 and 丞磊 they're so cute.

The bad:
• Realistically speaking, it's kinda a mess. The editing(?), the story and their treatment of the female characters in general.
• The first 10-ish episodes felt like a joke, with random OSTs playing out of nowhere and sad ones transitioning into the funny, funky ones awkwardly.
• Could have a bit more depth to some of the characters - ok you may think wow everyone has back stories already, what more do I want? NO. I don't need back stories for everyone, I just need solid character building. For example, the ML and FL are too... nice. World saving is their priority, they love their friends (except for 英磊 I feel, rip), which makes it feel like typical 2000s character where the main characters got to be nice and proper. Ok I know this is a personal preference, but yea I would prefer something a bit more realistic to work with here.
• They literally ignored 英磊 sometimes??? Like there's this scene where the main characters were saying they're a group of 5 good friends - and this includes 赵远舟, 文潇, 裴思婧, 卓翼宸 and 白玖. BUT WHAT ABOUT 英磊?????? Idk how the story is being written but the way things were shot, it feels like he's part of the gang but they're literally not acknowledging him most of the times and just see him as comic relief? Even though he's always helping them? His death is so not worth it man.
• Females characters feel a bit shallow to me, both in terms of story and acting. Either bad directing or bad acting idk, but FL 文潇 literally feels like background to me as most of the times she's just your typical damsel in distress, I believe they could have given her a lot more personality and character development but no she literally just feels like a nice neighbourhood sister. She's just nice. I even forgot she exists for some of the episodes at the back. 裴思婧 is cool and all, they made her sound super powerful and all but every times she fights, it just feels like she has some debuff on her, I have never see her being actually really powerful or anything lmao. And I wish she has shown stronger emotion for her brother's death, didn't feel anything from her of that sort. Same thing goes for 文潇, both their reactions are just not giving.
• Awkward editing, where there are some scenes that cut between 2 camera angles and the actors are in different poses don't even get me started.
• Some bad directing/editing especially when it comes to some death scenes that feels kinda awkward. For the parts where the demons are fading away like for 裴思恒 and 英磊, the other characters around started looking at the fading parts above them even though the dying person is still lying in their arm??? Like, if your loved ones are dying wouldn't you want to continue looking at their face as much as possible instead of just looking away? Feels like a case of miscommunication between director and producer idk. It took me out of the scene.
• The characters cry TOO MUCH OMG. Every episode. They have to find something to tear up about and it's always the standard single drip of tear down their face. It just feels like the director is too focused on bringing across the beauty of crying rather than building things up more for stronger emotional cries. There's only like 2-3 crying scenes that I felt a bit more on and it's from the ML, the rest idek.
• I literally can't feel the love between the ML and FL, it feels kinda out of nowhere and forced.

Ok peace and bye, have a good life ♥

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A cute love story with sprinkles of learnings on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Okay I admit. I watched this for Zhang Ling He. Well, I'm sure most of everyone who watched this did.

So it's not just me yea ( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )

I did enjoy the drama overall! The leads are super super cute. It has this soft, sweeting and calming vibe that makes me wish I was the FL here with the ML heh- “爱你，是我做过最好的事。” aww.

💖 What I enjoyed
• Story: Overall it's a healing, spring-themed drama where our FL grew from her heartbreak and learn to prioritise herself better. A modern drama that is relatable to those of us who are often so busy we lost sight of ourselves. Watch this if you need a break from life and want some sweetness and hope that things will be better... well they will definitely be!!

• ML & FL pairing: Super good-looking pair! The site I watched the drama on has a this live comment section so I was constantly seeing people questioning the pairing of Xu Ruo Han with Zhang Ling He- I was so annoyed omg. Girlie is confident and so pretty, idk what's wrong with people's eyes. Sure, Zhang Ling He is like the epitome of ~good looks~ but come on. I really like the vibe they bring together and this brings me to my next point-

• Chemistry: The pairing has a healthy relationship together, which some people may find boring/not exciting/not loving enough, but I really enjoy the lovey dovey calming vibe around them without crazy dramas. Just a regular couple finding their way in life :) Kissing scenes are not bad hehe

• ML, specifically: Come on, he's just perfect. Good-looking, good personality (with a healthy dose of green tea 小心机 that makes him even cuter haha), reputable job, clever, practically the home doctor now for FL, tall, rich, loving, considerate, CAN COOK?! Omg they need to stop making perfect ML it's not healthy cough...

• Acting: Cast is good, feels very natural in showing various emotions from happiness to tension to sadness etc. Especially, FL's parents?! At the back episodes when they went through an... ordeal, the emotions they showed with their eyes red and brimming with tears I was impressed and really cried along.

• Story around TCM: Refreshing. There has been other dramas surrounding to the topic of TCM, but I haven't seen a lot of those, especially where they dive more into tips and specific ingredients. I did come out of this with new knowledge so who says drama is a waste of time huh? hahaha

• Music: 你在我喜欢的世界里 by Silence Wang is sweet and pretty representative of the entire drama for me

💥 What I didn't quite like-
• Also... story: While I enjoyed the healing story it does feel a little boring sometimes. Having come from a serious period cdrama marathon where we have families and clans dying, the stakes are definitely higher lol. For modern dramas it does lack a bit of zest? Maybe they can have more meaningful things happen I guess, not necessarily people dying left and right, it just felt a bit bland. And by that I don't mean misunderstandings and problematic things I just want something more exciting to happen...

• FL's personality, sometimes: She's super brave for walking out from her heartbreak with her ex-boyfriend of 7 years, but it's just a bit annoying at times especially when she handled things too slowly when her ex came back again. I know I don't understand how she feels as a victim of getting gaslight on all the time, I tried my best to empathise anyway. Not a big problem on this for me, I just wish she was stronger (just a personal preference!)

• Ethicality: Hmmm. The fact that the ML as a doctor got together with his patient FL was a little iffy for me. Not very ethical in my books... everything is cute and fluffy, but I wish there could have been more that connects them (like they joined some flower arrangement workshops and met each other there, rather than just the oh-so-convenient we live in the same estate!) This did put me off in around the first 5-8 episodes and took me more time to get into the healing ~vibes~

• Depth of the TCM topic: I loved how they dive into the topic of TCM, but I want something more? It felt like they went in with a bit of depth but it also feels like they barely scratched the surface ya know what I mean? Maybe a future drama with a bit more technicality weaved in together with the storytelling could be interesting.

• Voiceover: Very weird, some characters are very obviously recorded naturally, while the 2 leads are voiced over by their recording. It is super obvious and you can 101% tell. I understand the production wanted a better for quality for the leads but this is my main qualm about cdramas - the juxtaposition between the voiceover for the leads and the natural recording for the supporting characters really threw me off sometimes and make them feel robotic and fake :( One moment you're like aww this scene is so cute and the next you're like wait what who's that robot-

Had a good time with this regardless, very cute (I have repeated this for so many times)- just lacking the excitement which makes it feel almost like another typical modern romance drama. The TCM part saves it quite a bit in differentiating.

Can't wait to see Zhang Ling He in his other upcoming dramas!

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Good follow up from the first season, but feels more like a prequel to something bigger coming next

What I love:
- The acting!!! Very solid cast who really bring the characters alive
- Chen Duo being the key character here with her whole story made me cry till my eyes hurt
- The introduction of all the 临时工 (Not sure what the translation calls them since I watched this in Chinese, but I supposed the 'part-timers'?) from the different regions of 哪都通 is super cool, I love the team
- Same as season 1, impressive fight scenes and CGI effects
- Eclectic opening song brings across the whole vibe well, I almost never skip
- Other OSTs are enjoyable and fit the scenes well too

The not-so-good:
- Progression of the story feels a bit slow and even boring at times, but they made it up with the better parts
- We got a little bit closer to the "truth" but it feels a little bit like a filler arc to introduce some characters than proper progression (hence my headline on how this season feels more like a prequel to something bigger coming next)
- Idk, it just feels like Wang Ye is loitering and going wherever now, his appearances are kinda random here haha (but I still love him!!!)

Conclusion: I need a season 3 now!!

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Not the most unique setting, but really worth watching for the development and acting

The good:
- Really enjoy the opening of the drama with the animated scene
- Acting of the cast is really good, 敖瑞鹏 and 白鹿's chemistry here is off the roof and I hope they get to be the leads together for a future drama again! Even the second couple 代露娃 and 常华森 are super cute together. Everyone works well with their pairing it's definitely a good drama for the fangirls/shippers hehe
- Very solid crying scenes that made me cry along with them, like I could actually feel their pain and emotions. It's not those pretty crying, it's the type of cry where it's slightly ugly (granted they still look good because they... look good haha), where their eyes are all red and they're bawling their heart out. It made me want to give them hugs :( My eyes are swollen right now as I typed this haha.
- Despite the sad scenes, there were really funny ones that I laughed out loud to as well and I enjoyed it :)
- Development of the story is very good as well, as the main cast visit different towns in each arc to gather the 念s (not sure what it's called in English. Emotion? Feeling? or literally "ties" to the world) for the 无念石. My favourite arcs are 宁安城, 狐族, and 月隐海 arc, cried especially hard for these with lots of ~feels~
- I love dramas with a strong FL and 白月梵星 DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I don't want to waste my time on another another drama where the FL always need the ML to save her (the FL here still does but in this case they're always saving each other). It's literally funny at one point the 2 MLs fainted and the 2 FLs are the ones holding them lmao.
- Characters in general are pretty clever and get the obvious e.g., another character is hiding something and they could literally tell unlike other dramas that took another 2-3 episodes or even an entire arc or a few arcs to resolve the misunderstanding. Here they resolve misunderstandings almost immediately so there's (almost) no unnecessary drama.
- Character outfits are super pretty and all the characters look really good! Really love the wardrobe and how they evolved from arc to arc according to the setting.
- I've watched dramas where many characters somehow look alike but that's not the case here - I can always recognise even the side characters who they are and what they do, so good job to the casting director and stylists. Sounds like a random thing but I really appreciate when they took the effort to have unique styling for various characters so it's easy to recognise them, so I wouldn't feel confused like 60% of the time when I'm watching the drama like who's that again?
- The kissing scenes... are good heh

The not-so-good:
- People keep dying and I cried too hard I'm very tired
- No but why does so many characters need to die?! Like they be pulling some game of thrones sh*t idk they trying hard to make me cry and it worked but still, I think we could all make do with lesser deaths
- And if they don't die, they be fainting and almost dying many times maybe that could be toned down on a little
- Not the most unique setting, I'm tired that it's always some demon lord and human/weaker fairy girl setting like... ok. But they did make this up with solid development etc.

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Pretty solid - amazing fight scenes and CGI that feels natural

Overall I really enjoyed the drama! I usually don't like how live adaptation of manga/manhwa/manhua turns out, they tend to be either overboard, underwhelming or too fake - but the drama adaptation of 一人之下 is solid.

I'm impressed with a lot of things-
- Fight scenes (choreographed very well with 10/10 CGI effects that fits very well)
- Natural comical scenes (sometimes when funny scenes from manga/manhwa/manhua gets animated it can feel fake like they're forcing it to take a live action form and it just doesn't work - but in this case for 异人之下 it doesn't feel too forced, idk how to describe this, it's just done well)
- Well-styled characters (not too many fake-looking wigs, either they styled it to look natural, or they adapt to have more natural real life style than forcing the styles to look 100% like how they appear in the manhua)
- Acting (not 110% impressive but overall feels pretty solid and not awkward, Neo Hou did an especially good job in portraying Wang Ye and so did Wang Ying Lu in her role as Feng Bao Bao)
- Drama theme song (I love it! Super hyped!!)

Not so good parts, imo-
- Story flow (ending felt kinda rushed, some progressions felt a bit random and too convenient, that would make you go huh?)
- Kinda typical storyline (maybe cuz I used to watch A LOT of shounen anime so that whole progression is quite the norm for me, but still refreshing to see a live adaptation done so well!)

Understand it's not a full adaptation of the series so it's gonna be hard trying to tie up loose ends as there are many parts of the original story not included. But overall would have appreciate if it feels more... whole, idk? Gonna watch season 2 and see how it goes though, I'm hopeful and excited!

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