justjacky

An Entertaining Chaos: Skinship, Messy Plot, Illogical, Reverse Harem

A promising start but became a hot mess in the second half. This drama is about the female lead that gets involved with the three most influential men in the desert. To avenge her parent’s death, the female lead switches identities and marries the Lord of the Desert (third male lead). Upon her journey, she falls in love with the male lead who has secret identities. She also gets vigorously chased by the most notorious bandit (second male lead) who claims she is the most beautiful woman in the desert.

POSITIVE:
- Sexy aesthetics, beautiful styling, good looking cast.
- Skinship and lots of spicy scenes (pretty much the best part of the drama).
- Strong-willed female lead.
- Green flag male lead (except that he lies at the start).
- Nice desert settings (actual shots from the desert).
- Hidden identities.
- Mostly angsty.
- Reverse-harem vibes. The female lead only loves the male lead however she does have a lot of screen time with the other two men. Her se*ual tension and chemistry with the Lord (third male lead) is very noticeable, and she is always chased by the bandit who she always rejects (second male lead).
- Contrasting couples. The two couples are pretty much opposites and they share equal screen time. You would either find the main couple romantic or boring, the second couple exciting or barbaric. There won’t be a middle ground. For me, I enjoyed the main couple’s story more.
- Nice OST.
- Good acting from the main cast (considering the script they were given). The most noticeable for me was Alen Fang, every time he was heavily injured/hurt (which happened a lot), I could feel the pain because his acting was that good.

NEGATIVE:
- A hot mess plot. There was not one defined plot but a merge of sub-plots that made the drama very messy. We had switched princesses (that pretty much served only for the romance), powerful desert scrolls (that seemed like the biggest key in defeating the enemy but ended up being totally useless), male lead’s secret identities (that were not fleshed out or explored), power struggle between tribes (probably the only sane thing in this drama), harem competition (the female lead vs the other concubine), female lead’s revenge arc, the desert’s bandits (second male lead’s story arc + second couple’s story), forbidden love between the main leads. So basically, there were too many things happening, the plot was all over the place and nothing was properly fleshed out or explored.

- Illogical. I’m not someone who cares about logic but this drama has a ridiculous amount of illogical parts. The biggest thing that annoyed me is how the male lead was able to walk around freely in the palace which was supposedly the most secure place in the desert. Another thing that absolutely baffled me was the female lead saying to the second male lead "you have pure love" considering he had repeatedly tried to r*pe her.

- R*pe scenes. The second male lead tried to r*pe the female lead at least 3 times. In the end, all the bandits were glorified and almost made to seem like heroes. There are also attempts to r*pe the second female lead.

- Male lead as a side accessory. Unfortunately this drama gave me horrible flashbacks of The Princess Royal where the male lead gets sidelined and his only purpose is to be a love interest for the female lead. The fact that his character had two secret identities and none of the two were explored or fleshed out was disappointing. At the first half, the two males shared equal screen time but in the second half, all the important/key scenes were given to the second male lead (who is listed as support character, not even main). I truly feel injustice was done to Alen Fang.

- Barbaric second couple. Honestly, if you ignore the fact that the second male lead was going to r*pe her, this couple started off as the cool bickering, comedy-relief type. But after a few episodes, the second female lead kept being degraded/humiliated by him as she kept chasing him with zero self-respect. On top of that, he continuously chased the female lead and tried to r*pe her until the very end of the drama. At one point, the second couple killed people and decided to have s*x right next to their corpses. I honestly don’t know what the writers were smoking while writing that part. In the end, this couple was totally chaotic, non-romantic and didn’t really make sense to me. However I know people who totally enjoyed them compared to the leads, so it's all personal preference.

- Insta-love main couple. Although I liked the main couple, their romance felt physical first and emotional later. Within the first few episodes the couple was already infatuated and kissed. Then they separated and had a forbidden/secret relationship while she was married to the Lord. While I did enjoy their love story, I think it would have been more impactful if it was more of a slow burn.

- Dumbed down characters. The female lead started off as intelligent but in the second half became dumb for the purpose of extra angst. The second female lead started off as an independent and skilful fighter but after a few episodes became a mad woman whose sole purpose was to be with the second male lead + a damsel in distress at times. The Lord of the Desert (third male lead and villain) had a lot of potential but at the important scenes was simply dumbed down for convenience.

- Low-budget fight scenes. I think the production tried and some shots were good but most were bad and uneventful.

OVERALL:
I have mixed feelings about this drama. On one hand, it’s very entertaining with great romance, skinship and some strong characters. But on the other hand, the messy plot, many illogical parts and toxic/disturbing scenes make it frustrating to watch. I guess, if you can look past the chaos and are here for the entertainment and beautiful visuals, it’s a decent watch. For me it’s one of those “it’s so bad, it’s actually good” dramas.

TRIGGER WARNING:
Multiple attempts of r*pe (female lead and second female lead).

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The perfect winter romance with billiards as sub-plot

This is the perfect winter romance to watch on a cold night, wrapped up in a blanket and drinking hot cocoa. It’s one of those rare green flag dramas that can easily warm your heart with love while watching. The drama is about how two sports players meet on a snowstorm night in Finland and fall in love. Every episode is filled with fluffy, sugary romance and beautiful snow landscapes. The episodes are slow paced, we follow the daily lives of the main leads and how they fall in love with each other which means the audience spends extra time watching them cuddle, eat and walk around the city. The chemistry between the leads is so hot that you always feel like you are peeing into their most intimate and private moments in the best way possible.

The first half of the drama is focused on the relationship build up and mostly takes place in Finland. I preferred this half more as it had the perfect sugary romance.The second half of the drama is focused more on the plot as it revolves around the sports competitions in the field of billiards (snooker and nine-ball). This half is more serious with some sadder moments and mostly takes place in China.

POSITIVE:
- Natural and hot chemistry between the leads. Their eye contact, hair touching, hand caressing is EVERYTHING. I always feel I’m peeping into their most intimate moments as if I'm watching a real life couple.
- Hot kisses. Yes this needs a separate point because the way male lead is pulling her for a kiss is FIRE.
- Romance that makes you swoon, squeal and blush like crazy.
- No stupid love triangles.
- No annoying break-ups.
- No annoying characters.
- Beautiful snow/winter cinematography.
- Support cast shines as much as the main leads.
- Top-notch winter romance that’s perfect to watch on a cold night with hot cocoa in hand.
- One small misunderstanding that was resolved quickly.
- Heartwarming vibes all the way.
- Main leads that have small normal flaws instead of being unrealistically perfect. They still make mistakes like all humans and learn from them.

NEGATIVE: (4 small things that bugged me but they didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the drama)
- Plot in the second half of the drama (revolving around sports competitions) wasn’t the most exciting to watch.
- 2 sad/depressing episodes. I didn’t care about that particular plot line and I felt it had too much screen time. I would have preferred if the drama had only happy moments without sad parts like one of my favourites dramas (I won’t name it here).
- No second couple. Before the drama started I read that the actor WXY will have a love interest so I was excited to see that. But he didn’t have much screen time and his love story wasn’t explored. In fact it ended up being unfinished.
- I feel too single after finishing this drama (this is more of a joke but you get me right).

OVERALL:
The drama is perfect if you are a hopeless romantic who wants a slow paced romance that will feel you with heartwarming vibes, butterflies in your stomach and wants a male lead whose gaze is so hot it can literally melt Antarctica.

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Great drama but went downhill in the last 9 episodes (the final conflict)

The drama tells the love story of a General and Lady Lieutenant who, despite being part of different armies, fall in love. Both of them have hidden identities, him being the Emperor’s grandson and her being the daughter of the commander. Though walking on different paths, their goal of restoring peace in the court is the same.

The love story (which for me is the best part of the drama) is the main focus and the war is a subplot. The romance is Mr. & Mrs. Smith merged with Romeo & Juliette vibes.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR ME:
I enjoyed the drama very much until the last 9 episodes. Episode 30 is the most intense and impressive episode in the whole drama (and generally in cdramas) so I feel it should have been the final conflict in order to make the drama more impactful for me. The writers could have put 1-2 episodes afterwards to wrap up the story like they did in episode 40. However instead of that the plot was dragged with unnecessary and pointless drama that added absolutely nothing to the story. Boring villains that nobody cared about were introduced and the actual final fight scene was extremely underwhelming (like watching a child’s play in comparison to episode 30 fight scene). I never felt like the stakes were high in the final conflict thus had no emotional reaction when the bad guys were defeated.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the main leads!!! Their chemistry felt natural and organic, like the actors were indeed a couple in real life.
- Xu Kai (male lead) is brilliant. Seriously, even just for him it’s worth watching this.
- Feels like a high budget production. Cinematography is movie-like with beautiful visuals.
- Fantastic cast. I loved all the actors and their performances, especially the main leads.
- Realistic war/fight scenes that were done really well.
- Smart and cunning female lead.
- The whole final episode is seeing the main leads happy together which was super satisfying to watch especially as it’s rare in cdramas these days who love their open endings or 2 second reunions.

NEGATIVE:
- Annoying second male lead and second female lead with the cliche and extremely overused unrequited, obsessive love plotline that needs to be banned in cdramas for real. It added nothing to the story.
- A lot of back and forth and repetition in terms of plot. The female lead was always getting kidnapped, someone was always getting poisoned or there was always an ambush.
- Filler episodes. Throughout the drama, there would always be 1-2 episodes that literally felt like fillers in between great episodes.
- As mentioned above, the last 9 episodes (final conflict) were extremely pointless and underwhelming to watch.

OVERALL:
Watch this if you love a couple who tries to kill each other one moment but the next are passionately kissing.

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Soft & sweet rom-com with slice of life vibes

The drama tells the story of the female lead who moves to a new place and the male lead who is her neighbour. She hires him as a voice actor at her start-up company called "sweet games" (hence the title) for her game project. What she doesn't know is that the male lead (who is six years younger than her) has had a secret crush on her five years prior to their meeting.

The beginning of the drama didn’t grab me but after a few episodes I began to be invested in the story and really enjoy it. However around episode 18, a break-up happens and afterwards it got boring for me as there was no particular plot aside from work related issues. So the beginning and end of the drama are weak but the middle is super enjoyable to watch.

Overall, the drama is a mix of rom-com with slice of life. The male lead is adorable and for him and the cute interactions he has with the female lead, it's worth watching. The story follows a typical plot line so there is nothing extraordinary about it. Lots of parts are quite predictable but if you are looking for a soft and sweet rom-com with somewhat realistic work/life situations, you’d enjoy this drama.

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Great at comedy. Bad at emotional impact.

The drama started off really well and up until episode 17 it had this great light-hearted, adventure type feel that I hadn't seen in a xianxia before. It was super enjoyable to watch but then the script suddenly shifted and episodes 18-29 were a hit and miss (hit when it's comedy, miss when it's a sad scene), followed up with a mediocre ending.

THE PROBLEM:
What I very much liked is that the comedic scenes were very strong and I was seriously laughing out loud the whole time. However, what I strongly disliked was that the emotional scenes felt very forced. I feel like the writers wanted to create these super emotional impactful scenes but totally failed. The plot was done in such a convenient way to create more of a relationship dynamic between the main leads that it ended up looking artificial to me. One of the main issues I found is that there would be this super traumatic emotional scene and two seconds later it would be followed up with a very comedic scene which immediately lost the emotional impact and realness of the situation. The lack of emotions is what really bothered me because the characters were experiencing traumatic things but their reactions to them were not properly conveyed, hence they didn't feel real to me. Because of all this I sadly couldn't emotionally connect with the romance.

CHARACTERS:
FL really shined for me in every scene. She is perfect for the comedy scenes and if the script was better I could definitely see how her emotional scenes would have really impacted me (especially because I've seen her role in "Word of Honour" where she was a total badass). ML is very handsome and total eye-candy but too stoic. I haven't seen him in other dramas yet so I can't determine if it's the character or actor that was the issue. There are surprisingly lots of side couples and short romances in this drama. The second couple was my favourite and done really well, however the third couple (that received equal screen time with the second couple) was very boring, the characters very one dimensional and unfortunately useless screen time. The villains were non-threatening and flat looking. I believe a good story requires good heroes as much as good villains and this drama didn't deliver the villain part at all.

OVERALL:
I feel like this drama had great potential but didn't execute it well. I did enjoy the funny and silly comedy scenes so if you are looking for something with low angst and low emotional impact, I feel like you would enjoy this drama. Even though it has some small misunderstandings, the main couple mainly has a healthy relationship and communicates well with each other which is rare for a xianxia drama to see.

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Mr. Grumpy meets Miss Sunshine in a novel/game setting

This drama is about the female lead who is sucked into a demon hunting novel and assigned to play the vicious second female lead. In a game style setting, she must complete her mission of making the grumpy male lead fall in love with her, in order to go back to her reality.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the relationship dynamic between the main leads. I can’t even explain my obsession with these two. They just made me FEEL everything. It’s the humour and teasing between them, the angry looks and fights, the way the male lead gazed secretly at her, and all the times the female lead did little things to heal his inner pain. It was like watching the love story between soulmates. Their relationship felt real and progressed so naturally, so I couldn’t help but love them.

The worst thing about this drama is the fact that the romance and game style was totally sidelined in the second half. In fact, I truly felt like someone else had written ep 1-20 compared to ep 21-30 because of the stark difference. Ep 1-20 were absolutely fantastic in terms of romance, comedy and game plot. They made me obsessed like no other and these episodes deserve 100/10 points. However the second half lost its charm completely. The writers decided to turn the drama into a typical xianxia. Suddenly we were introduced to tons of side characters and side plots/backstories that nobody cared about. It didn’t help that the main leads had less screen time and their hot romance completely died down.

POSITIVE:
- Top tier romance: off the charts chemistry with natural and fiery on-screen presence. The main leads MADE the drama.
- Top notch comedy. The humour was brilliantly woven into the game plot.
- Game style: the set up was executed brilliantly. Hilarious and accurate to real life playing.
- Flawless transmigration: relatable female lead (hating her job and spending all her time reading fantasy novels) + the perfect twist in the end for the genre.
- Stunning visuals + OST: the CGI, costumes, setting, everything was dazzling and beautiful.
- Enemies to lovers + grumpy x sunshine trope.
- Male lead: the hottest tsundere character. His progress of initially being harsh and a total red flag to gradually revealing his warmer nature was chef’s kiss. A flawed character, he is a hurt young boy who’s deeply loyal to his family and friends.
- Female lead: the cutest character that might initially be mistaken for a typical brainless girl but is in fact a tough cookie, brave and empathic soul.
- Heartfelt relationships: sis-mas, brother-sister, daughter-father and a tiny bit of bromance.
- Ending episode: it touched me deeply as it had a very meaningful message.
- Ryan Ding and Esther Yu: stole the spotlight with their brilliant on-screen presence. I loved the microexpressions during Ryan Ding’s emotional and angst scenes. He embodied his character to perfection and his demon form was beyond sexy to look at. Esther Yu on the other hand had the perfect comedy timing where she shined bright. No cringe, only cuteness overload.

NEGATIVE:
- Ending: the last minute of the episode pissed me off. I blame censorship but still…
- Second half: lost its magic. As mentioned above, the romance and game plot pretty much disappeared. Instead we suddenly got a typical xianxia that nobody cared about. I couldn't emotionally invest in the plot of “the world is ending” when I knew the world was just a virtual game. I also felt overwhelmed with info dumping of like 100 new side characters, side plots and backstories.
- Wooden second couple: they were dry as the Sahara desert and I felt zero emotional connection. Which is a shame as the actors had such great chemistry in Fox Spirit Matchmaker.
- Boring second female lead: she had nothing going for her aside from her siblings' plot line with the male lead.
- NPC second male lead: he literally had zero personality. Some might argue that he was supposed to feel like an NPC but that to me is just boring. The writers in fact tried to give him some backstory towards the end but it felt pointless.
- No kiss scene. It made sense why but it’s still a crime.

OVERALL:
I have mixed feelings about this drama. The first half is a total masterpiece in terms of romance, comedy and game plot. It made me love and obsessed over the main leads like no other. However the second half deviated from that path and the delivery was a snooze fest. The ending was strong, meaningful and deeply touched me but also that last minute flaw pissed me off so much. In conclusion, I still recommend this drama if you want an adorable grumpy x sunshine trope with lots of comedy and stunning visuals (and you don’t mind skipping some boring stuff in the second half). It’s worth mentioning that during airing time, the drama debuted with a solid 7.6 with over 100k+ votes, which made it the highest rated costume fantasy on Douban this year.

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Suspenseful Romance of Time Traveler’s Wife

Amid the vast sea of mediocre cdramas, this one is a true mini gem. This drama is about the male lead who finds out his first lover committed suicide. Accidentally, he discovers he can time travel, and tries to change the past in order to save her.

Note, there is a post credits scene at the final episode that explains the time travel (I’m pretty sure it was done because of censorship).

POSITIVE:
- Mysterious and suspenseful plot.
- Lots of unexpected and cool twists and turns.
- Good balance between angsty and sweet romance.
- A true time travel story.
- Great cinematography.
- Well-written script without stupid cliches or draggy/annoying parts.

NEGATIVE:
- Some things happen a bit too conveniently but it's fantasy after all and it keeps the plot moving so it's not a big flaw.
- Ending doesn’t fully wrap up (if we don’t take into account the post credits scene). While we’re given hints about what happens, I wish it had been fully shown. I was deeply invested in the story and main leads so I would’ve liked all loose ends tied up. That’s the only reason I’m giving it a 9.5.

OVERALL:
This is one of the best mini-dramas I’ve ever seen! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The drama is reminiscent of The Time Traveler’s Wife (USA) and Yesterday Once More (Chinese), so if you love time travel and romance, don’t hesitate to watch it.

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A simple and fluffy story to de-stress

This drama is about two students that are linked together in the most unexpected way. We follow their journey through love, friendship and school/university years.

In short, the first half of the drama was enjoyable but the second half disappointed me. Second male lead was a much more interesting character to watch than the male lead. In the end, this drama felt sweet but didn't stand out to me. Their university years start from episode 17.

POSITIVE:
- Cute teasing/light bickering between the main leads.
- Fluffy/innocent romance.
- Second male lead stole the spotlight for me. I instantly liked him from the very first scene he showed up. The whole time I kept thinking why the heck the writers created such a compelling second lead, he really could have been the main guy. His chemistry with the female lead was so good. I almost wish the female lead had a twin sister so he could have a happy love story too. I loved that he had a lot of screen time in the first half.
- First half of the drama had the best fluffiness and heartwarming vibes.
- Meaningful story about love, life, dream goals and friendship.
- No outside forces (like family and other love interests) trying to actively break up the main leads.
- Very satisfying wrap up of the main lead’s story + (SPOILER cute wedding scene).

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama felt bland and I started ff/skipping lots. The plot at times felt very boring and draggy.
- Sad moments between the second couple at the final episode that had no business being there. The scene did deliver emotionally but it should have happened earlier. How they handled the second couple’ story wasn’t satisfying.
- Second male lead syndrome was TOO strong. It’s not to say that I didn’t like the male lead but the second male lead had so much more going on. Male lead’s story was too simple, he was just a reserved guy. Whereas the second male lead went through many challenges, he was the bad boy with a good heart that I love to see. In general his chemistry and personality was more compelling to watch and I feel a big part of why the second half of the drama failed for me was that he didn’t have enough screen time there.
- Not enough cute, romantic scenes between the leads as adults in the second half. I just really needed more.

OVERALL:
This is a simple and fluffy drama suitable for people who are going through a stressful period and just need something sweet and easy to watch.

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Fluffy, mindless romance between an artist and snowboarder

This drama is about the love story between the female lead, a comic artist and the male lead, a snowboarding instructor. The female lead is fired from her job and decides to enter a comic competition. Clueless about snowboarding, she hires the male lead as an instructor, unaware that he used to be a professional snowboarded.

The drama starts off quite ridiculous, with over the top comedy, immature and somewhat obnoxious female lead. However after 5-6 episodes, that’s tuned down and the story is more grounded and in fact turns heartwarming. Although the story is very much surface level, there is a pinch of depthness to the male lead’s character which I liked. The third couple steals the spotlight for sure with its uniqueness (disabled girl) and grounded romance. The last 5 or so episodes are a bit boring but still watchable.

POSITIVE:
- Fluffy, cozy romance.
- Snowy landscapes.
- Mindless watch to relax in the evenings.
- Adorable chibi animations at the end of each episode.
- Short training lessons about snowboarding.
- Cute female lead’s clothing.
- Unique third couple: disabled girl with athlete boy.

NEGATIVE:
- Second couple. I didn’t like their behaviour towards each other. The female lead was unlikable and their backstory was meh.
- SPOILER: Annoying break up because of disapproving parents (ep 17).

OVERALL:
This drama is the definition of a mindless watch. If you hate lack of logic, don’t even attempt to watch this. The plot is whatever, so you are here for the cozy vibes. I enjoyed the romance and most of the characters. Granted, it took me a month to finish it as it was my before-sleep watch. Yes, the story is ordinary but if you like the main leads and want an easy, feel good drama, I recommend it.

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Did the letters really matter?

The drama follows two timelines connected through cross-travel letter exchange. In 1991, we follow the main leads, who are teenagers suffering from daily hardships and injustice. In 2026, we follow two adults whose lives are directly connected to the leads.

POSITIVE:
- Romance. The relationship development was natural and so was the chemistry. I only wish we would have gotten a bit more fluffy scenes with them.
- Realistic story. If you remove the fantasy element with the letters, everything felt raw and real.
- Episode 8 was the best. In fact if it was the final episode, it would have impacted me greatly.
- All characters in 1991 were fleshed out well and felt like real people.

NEGATIVE:
- Side characters. The drama spent too much time on the 1991 bullies instead of the 2026 son and daughter (who for me were more important for the plot). My issue was especially with the little screen time the 2026 son received, because he played an important factor in the final episode and yet his character was so one dimension that I couldn’t really care about.
- Too much abuse. From start till the end. I get the set up and why it was important to show it, but at one point it was too much.
- The letters. My main reason for starting the drama was this fantasy aspect and yet in the end I felt like the letters didn’t really matter. It was just a “what if” scenario.
- Final episode. I expected something way, way more epic but it felt unfinished. I was quite disappointed and definitely knocked out a few points from my rating because of it.

OVERALL:
I went in completely blind, not reading the synopsis or watching the trailer. I knew this wasn’t my typical watch but still wanted to try it out. Objectively, it’s a good script and production but subjectively, I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I’d be hesitant to recommend it because of how extremely emotionally heavy it is. I watch for entertainment and most of the episodes stressed me out too much. I actually love angsty historical cdramas, but modern hits too close to home. The final episode unfortunately didn’t give me the pay off that I needed to make me feel the stress was truly worth it.

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Bizarre plot with a mix of romance, comedy and angst

The drama is about the female lead who, after catching her boyfriend cheating, gets electrocuted and starts seeing bullet comments that predict she’ll end up in a mental hospital. To change her fate, she must make the rich, cold, wheelchair CEO fall for her.

POSITIVE:
- Cold + scheming male lead.
- Soft but sassy female lead.
- Plenty of sweet kisses + one super spicy scene.
- Bizarre moments and plot twists. So many crazy things happen in the drama that it was highly entertaining and quite unpredictable.
- A great mix of romance, comedy, suspense and angst.

NEGATIVE:
- Noble idiocy. It's a small part towards the ending episodes but it had my jaw drop wide open. However, the character on the receiving end handled it like a pro and I loved seeing that.
- Final episode. It didn’t ruin the drama but it definitely made me deduct 1 point. One of the scenes was so ridiculous it had me thinking “wtf were the writers smoking while writing this”. And the very final scene was a confusing censorship insert, most likely because of the fantasy element with the bullet comments. The thing is, the bullet comments were only funny in the first few episodes but afterwards they didn’t add much to the story. The drama would’ve been just as good without the fantasy element.
- Too fast paced at times. I actually loved how fast paced the drama was except during the romantic moments that passed a bit too quickly. I needed about 5 more seconds for the camera to linger while the leads were glancing at each other or about to kiss.

OVERALL:
This mini drama would have been a perfect guilty pleasure watch, if it wasn’t for the final episode. Still, I loved how bizarre the plot was and all the romantic scenes between the leads. Despite the weird title and generic poster, I found the drama quite unpredictable, fast paced and highly entertaining. I recommend it (if you can overlook the weak final episode).

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From Zero to Hero. A love story about two immortal youths and their trials and tribulations.

I initially dropped this at episode 11 but later decided to give it another chance. Unlike most xianxia’s, this drama has a very youthful feel to it as it follows the love story between two immortal youths. This means that in the beginning, both main leads are shown as naive and relatively powerless characters, and their story revolves around growing up, facing life’s challenges and learning from their mistakes in order to become powerful rulers.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THE PREQUEL FIRST:
Before talking about this drama, I feel it’s important to mention that this is a sequel to Ancient Love Poetry (ALP). Technically you can watch this without having seen ALP however I feel like you will miss out on all of the important details. First off, this drama throws you into the world without explaining much. In ALP, the three realms are introduced, as well as the different immortal statuses that characters have. This is significant in understanding how the world works in general and most importantly, the power dynamics between characters. Most importantly, the backstories of the big villains in this drama as shown in ALP. Again, this drama just throws you the villains and I believe to truly understand their motivations you need to watch ALP. Third and also very important point is that we see the male lead as a child in ALP. I feel like his character is quite misunderstood by many people but if you watch his childhood in ALP, you will definitely understand clearly why he acts the way he does. A big part of this drama is the Da Ze Mountain which is the place where the male lead grows up. I was only able to feel why this place held such an important part of him because I had seen it in ALP. (Note, if you do decide to watch ALP first, know that the production team is different so the characters' names have been changed).

IF YOU DON’T WATCH THE PREQUEL:
I have written a short comment explaining the world’s setting and male lead’s backstory for those that don’t want to watch ALP but still want to understand what’s going on. WARNING, it contains ALP spoilers.
https://kisskh.at/698285-shen-yin#comment-15573701


THE BEST PART ABOUT THIS DRAMA:
Now, back to this drama. The best part is hands down the character dynamics and development. The main lead's growth is striking from episode 1 till episode 40, as we see them both start off as immature youths and end up becoming responsible and wise rulers. The dynamics between the main leads and the support cast is done well. We see the portrayal of many forms of relationships: friendships, romantic love, kinship, family loyalty, master-disciples.

CHARACTERS/ACTORS:
- Zhao Lusi (female lead) is the reason I watched this and she absolutely slayed in playing two distinctly different characters. She was cute and endearing as a Water Condensing Beast and badass, powerful and calm as a Phoenix. She was indeed the star of the drama and pulled me in all of her scenes, especially towards the end of the drama when she was a Phoenix.
- Wang An Yu (male lead) is an actor I haven’t seen before. I must admit that he is not written as the most likeable character at first (and for most of the drama) but he is perhaps more realistically portrayed as a flawed character who makes mistakes and learns from them. He hurts the female lead a lot (both intentionally and unintentionally) but also redeems himself big time.
- Li Yun Rui (second male lead), he is a big reason I continued to watch the drama after I had initially dropped it. I loved his character as a sly fox and the charisma of the actor definitely made his character shine bright. He had a great character arc and his love story was a lovely addition to the drama.

CGI/COSTUMES/OST:
This needs a separate section because I have mixed feelings. The CGI in some scenes (and the settings) looks vibrant and nice but most of the time (especially in the action/battle scenes) the visual effects were so horrible to the point that I could tell they were shot in a studio. I have read that the production was rushed so that could explain the reason behind it. So for this I’d say, have very low expectations and see it as a low budget drama. The costumes at the start were quite lacklustre but improved later in the drama. I especially loved Lusi’s costumes as a Phoenix. The costume that really bugged me was the horrible orange one for the SML/Fox guy that he wrote A LOT. It was one of the worst I had ever seen. I’m a big cdrama OST lover but the music was nothing special here as none of the songs stood out to me.

POSITIVE:
- Light-hearted xianxia (for the most part) without too much angst. It’s perfect to watch in the evening after a tiring day.
- Great character development for the main leads. We see them grow from immature clueless youths to responsible rulers.
- Nice character dynamics. I loved all the relationship portrayals: friendships, romantic love, kinship, family loyalty, master-disciples.
- Second couple’s love story was captivating. I actually wish they had more screen time together. Their relationship was the slowest of the slowest burns but worth the watch.
- No annoying obsessive/unrequited love. This is a HUGE positive as I absolutely hate the cliche plot line where the second male/female leads are obsessed with the mains and try everything to break them apart.
- Zhao Lusi slayed as the star of the drama. I loved her portrayal of two distinctly different characters. She especially blew me away in her mannerism and majestic aura as a Phoenix. If you love the actress, this drama is a must watch for you.
- Friendship goals. I loved the friendship between the four main characters as they always had each other’s backs.
- Main villains/antagonists were enjoyable to watch for the most part. In most xianxia they annoy me but these I enjoyed watching. They didn’t take too much precious screen time from the main leads like in other dramas.
- No three lifetimes/no human realm plot. In most xianxia we see the main leads reincarnating and forgetting who they are as they go through human tribulations but this drama was just one, straightforward story without these things.
- Cool father/daughter dynamic as antagonists. I rarely like the bad guys in xianxia but the actors really made me enjoy their characters. These two had one of the most loyal family relationships I had even seen.

NEGATIVE:
- Plot was definitely the weak point of this drama as it showed nothing new or unique. I feel like I enjoyed this drama only because the cast did a fabulous job and the characters were interesting. But if this had an infamous cast… it would have flopped for sure.
- Emotional moments didn’t hit me. I cry easily and yet the angsty scenes were just relaxing to watch. Nothing made my heart jump or gasp with shock.
- Bad CGI effects. This drama is said to be high budget and yet the quality can only be placed in the low budget pile.
- Not binge-worthy. It was easy to hit pause on this drama many times and to ff/skip some parts.
- Misleading title. It’s not an important point but I do love to connect the titles with the stories and this one feels all wrong. The title suggests that by the end there will be only one immortal left but that’s not the case.

OVERALL:
This is not the most unique or groundbreaking xianxia, it definitely has its flaws. But the story is enjoyable to watch (especially after episode 12) and the characters (+ actors) are the highlight of the drama. I had initially dropped this at episode 11 but I’m happy I gave it another chance.

I’d recommend this drama to those of you who want to watch a youthful, light-hearted (for the most part) xianxia that’s good to watch in the evening after a tiring day. It has great character dynamics and development, where the main leads start off as immature, clueless youths and end up becoming responsible rules. If you love Zhao Lusi and are not too fussed about bad CGI, you will enjoy this drama.

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Fated Revenge: Angst, Betrayal & Romance

The core of the drama is revenge. The drama is about the war between two nations, and the many characters' fate intertwined with it. The male lead, a Prince, finds the female lead, an archer from the enemy’s nation, who is suffering from amnesia. Although sword enemies, they begin to work together, each for their own personal gain. The first half of the drama follows their journey in the ruthless palace, a mix of revenge, betrayal and romance. The second half of the drama continues this story but also introduces the second nation, where the focus is a mix of survival, revenge and complex love triangle with characters we are already familiar with.

For me, the synopsis and trailer made it seem like the drama is the typical cliche story of enemies to lovers, amnesia trope and palace politics. However, the script excelled in overriding all the cliches with engaging narratives by focusing on a range of multi-dimensional characters. The fresh execution of the familiar tropes and unpredictable plot twists, made this drama hella angsty and addictive to watch.

MAIN LEADS:
- The male lead is the perfect blend of red flag savage killer with his enemies, and a softie with his lover. Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I love how he beat up the female lead in the early episodes. This is what I expect from a character named as the Killer God, no matter man or woman, an enemy is an enemy. As a huge Chen Zhe Yuan fan, I absolutely loved him, and I’m beyond happy it was him of all people that took this role. Well deserved!
- The female lead is strong, smart and capable. Even though she starts as amnestic, her personality and strong will stays the same. When she regains her strength, she is a freaking badass. Many of the so-called female generals had disappointed me in the past, but Li Qin succeeded in successfully representing a badass, powerful and yet empathic general. It’s my first time watching Li Qin, and it’s safe to say she made this role unforgettable! I’m so impressed, she did a terrific job!

POSITIVE:
- 100% angst. There is not a single episode where I wasn’t stressed, crying or at the edge of my seat watching.
- Real enemies to lovers. It’s rare to find a couple totally savage with each other and I loved every minute of it.
- Great chemistry. I admit I was hesitant at first about this pairing but their on-screen presence was fantastic. The leads fit together like a glove.
- Morally grey characters. Almost everyone in this drama was back-stabbing, betraying or in general ruthless towards their enemies and even their own family.
- Badass duo + perfectly written romance. Savage male lead + vigilant female lead. I equally loved them as enemies, as partners and as lovers. Their weirdly bdsm kinks were highly entertaining to watch. But more than that I loved how later, they always supported one another and had each other's backs. No stupid misunderstandings or break ups. The highlight of their relationship is the fact that the writers didn’t change or weaken one of them to make the other appear stronger. Both were strong willed individuals and together, the ultimate power couple.
- Ruthless palace politics. Everyone was an enemy, everyone was in danger. The enemies never backed down or were inferior to the heroes.
- Plot twist. There were so many unexpected storylines, and jaw dropping moments that I loved.
- No fillers. Every scene, plot, character and concept served its purpose, nothing was without reason and just thrown in there to fill up a writing quota.
- Amnesia trope. It’s very rare to see this trope executed so perfectly!
- Secondary characters. I loved all of them. From the Unhinged Young Emperor, the Spoiled Princess, Heartless Second Prince, Older Emperor, to the Subordinates, Villain Ministers and Empresses. Even if I hated what some characters were doing, I loved watching all of them.
- Family angst. I loved the toxic relationship between the second nation's brothers. More than that, I surprisingly enjoyed seeing the many father-son storylines, especially the angst between the male lead and his father.
- Fated Hearts - the drama truly showed me why it’s titled this way!
- Great cinematography, especially during the murder scenes.

NEGATIVE:
- Final battle. Honestly, the only thing that felt underwhelming was the final scene between the leads and the last villain. Perhaps because the characters had spent many, many episodes apart, their connection was weak and the pay off simply wasn’t there anymore. The revenge didn’t feel as satisfying compared to all the other beautifully crafted scenes. I also wanted the female lead to have the final kill, and that didn’t happen. Still, it was a satisfying conclusion to the story.
- Weak motives. Some of the characters had great motives for wanting revenge but others, not so much. In particular the masked man’s motive felt weak. But still, I don’t fault this too much because when I think about how some people in real life can get petty for the smallest thing… sometimes the smallest thing is enough.
- Storm Alliance. The weakest plot line in the drama but I still think it served a purpose and wasn’t too long.

OVERALL:
This drama is a perfect mix of mega angst, satisfying revenge, unexpected betrayals, savage murders, intricate politics and fated romance. Yes, just like any drama, there are some flaws. But for me, the emotional experience and attachment to the drama is the most important thing, and here I found myself going through non-stop emotions while watching - smiling, laughing, jaw dropping, stressing, cheering and crying. I loved all the characters, the story, the pacing, the ending. This drama has easily become one of my top 2025 favourites. I cannot recommend it enough!

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
"To me, she is not just any woman. She is the woman I'm willing to stay with for life, never leaving nor forsaking." - Feng Suige (male lead)
"As long as I'm alive, I won't let anyone hurt you. Even if I become a wreck, even if I'm down to my last breath, I'll never break that promise." - Fu Yixiao (female lead)

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Politics, Ruthlessness, Revenge, Romance

This drama is about the male lead who is a commander/court official with a secret identity, and on a mission of revenge. However, his plans get derailed when the female lead arrives at the palace, messing things up and overtly becoming the centre of it all. Amidst all that, the second male lead plays a big part in the story, using the female lead as a pawn for his own selfish reasons.

POSITIVE:
- Ruthless/Cunning male lead. One of the things that made an impression on me is that the male lead was truly ruthless, stabbing and killing everyone in his path, including the female lead and innocent people. However, his character does abruptly shift from red to kind of green flag after episode 10.
- Political/revenge focused plot.
- Romance as sub-plot.
- Morally grey characters.
- Intense emotional scenes. I definitely give this drama props for creating angsty and cry worthy scenes, thanks to the plot build up and great actor’s performance.
- Love triangle. At the start I loved the triangle here as both males felt equal in terms of being charming, smart and cunning + sharing equal screen time. But later the second male lead became a cliche which kind of ruined it for me (check negative points).
- Realistic and mature script. The struggles of ordinary people of that time period were portrayed very well as well as the court dynamics. We get to see real, greedy characters who do evil things for selfish reasons in a very broken society, as well as toxic family relationships.
- Cat and Mouse game (mostly in the first half).
- Hot male leads. I loved Ren Jia Lun’s badass demeanour with his sexy voice (although dubbed) and cool mask, as well as Jeremy Tsui (first time seeing him) charming attitude and intense stares.
- Fantastic final episode that wraps up the story well and ties up all loose ends.
- Lovely OST.

NEGATIVE:
- Romance issue. First off, the first 10 episodes show the male lead excessively harassing, abusing, stabbing, and waterboarding the female lead to the brink of death. This definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t mind it though. In fact I liked seeing true enemies into play. However my issue is the abrupt transition between the enemies to lovers part. As enemies they were brilliant. As lovers, they were cute and endearing. But the middle part was butchered. After all the horrible abuse the female lead goes through, she just tells the male lead that she understands him and puts everything behind just like that. Next episodes we see her cooking for him, tending his wounds, massaging him, admiring his handsome face etc. which was cute but totally bizarre. In fact, a viewer commented “I feel like I’m being gaslighted by the writers and the abuse never happened”, and that’s exactly how it felt like because no matter how forgiving a person is, I won’t expect them to want to take care of the man who made them suffer for so long. She tells him “you hurt me three times but also saved me three times, we are even now”. No girl, I mean no writers, it doesn’t work like that. The shift of her starting to fall for him should have been gradual. So, no matter how cute their romance was in the later episodes, in the back of my mind it always felt a bit off.

- Plot issue. I do enjoy political cdramas and this one started very strong, with realistic and dark topics portrayed. But I felt the second half was a let down as it included draggy and boring investigations and war that I didn’t care about. It would have been better if the plot only focused on the male lead’s revenge.

- Second male lead issue. He started off great, as mentioned above, he felt like a main male lead too, charming, cunning, with equal screen time. However in the second half, the writers made him the typical and boring obsessively-in-love-with-female-lead-unrequited love type. This obsession was not only the cliches of the cliches but totally butchered his alluring character and was just used as a plot device more than anything else. In the end, he does realise his obsession is wrong so I guess I’ll give the writers one point for that but still… I wish they were more creative than that.

- Female lead issues. I felt her character was quite lacking in comparison to the two males. She was sometimes smart and resourceful but other times dumb and damsel in distress. I didn’t really mind her but she never stood out to me as a powerful and charismatic female lead. Her backstory and identity was kind of boring to watch, and her relationship with her Master/shifu was extremely underwhelming.

OVERALL:
This drama started strong but lost me in the second half. The characters, the plot, the romance had a lot of potential as they felt fresh and different from other cdramas. But then the writers decided to abruptly shift things (ML from red to green flag + from toxic to cutesy romance), add cliches (SML obsessive love) and drag out unnecessary plot parts in the second half (investigations and wars instead of ML’s revenge) which lowered the value and enjoyment for me. Despite all the negative things I’ve said above, overall I still feel the production of this drama is good, the script too and the actors’ performance really brought the whole story to life. If you like politics with subtle romance + dark characters and themes, you may want to try this out.

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Slice of Life/Romance/Business. Best 2024 modern cdrama so far.

The best 2024 modern drama so far!!! To be honest, I initially felt apprehensive about starting this drama, seeing that it’s 40 episodes and usually those feel very draggy. But this one is truly an exception as almost every episode felt like 5 minutes long. The chemistry between the leads is definitely the highlight of the drama and the well written script and great cinematography make it a worthy watch.

The drama is about the female lead who quits her job to start a business and the male lead becomes her investor. We also follow the side stories of the two female lead’s friends whose main focus is on their romantic relationships. The tone is a mix of slice of life, rom-com and some business.

POSITIVE:
- Slice of life with focus on romance and a bit of business.
- Great chemistry between the leads (I was worried about this pairing but I instantly felt their chemistry from their very first meeting).
- Great kiss scenes and skinship between the leads.
- Awesome dating era (main couple).
- Eye candy (Xu Kai, the male lead, looks great in suits. His shirtless scenes broke the sexy scale).
- Great friendship portrayal (well aside from that one friend. So it is indeed realistic as not all friends are good friends).
- Platonic relationship between men and women (a rare sight in cdramas).
- Many cute rom-com moments.
- Support cast has their own stories but don’t take away from the main lead’s screen time.
- No stupid plot scenarios and cringe scenes.
- No fillers. None of the story or characters felt pointless at any point in time.
- Meaningful script.
- Great character development.
- Good pacing.
- Two side couples that enhance the plot without taking too much screen time.
- Secret crush trope (subtle).
- Cute university flashbacks (not a lot).
- Heartwarming, a tad realistic, life lessons, cuteness and hopeless romantic vibes.
- Realistic topics like sexual harassment, misogyny, corporate hell (at the start of the drama).
- Lovely OST (the english song is a nice touch and one of the songs is sung by the female lead).
- Great acting, especially from the main leads.
- Ao Rui Peng (guest role) stole my heart.
- Brilliant special episode. Truly one of the best I’ve ever seen.

NEGATIVE:
The last 8 episodes slow down the plot and there are two episodes that are a bit too melodramatic and cliche for my taste. But having said that, this did not take away from my enjoyment of this drama. During the last 8 episodes, the main leads continued to have awesome cute scenes together.

COUPLES (MINOR SPOILERS):
- Main couple: Girl boss and her CEO investor. Hot chemistry, great character and relationship development. Definitely a slow burn that I love. This romance and couple had everything you want: sexy, cute, angst, love.
(The two side couples I felt shared equal screen time between each other. But didn’t overtake the screen time of the main leads).
- Side couple: Posh girl and her love struggles. This love story felt realistic, relatable, not always happy and had a very important lesson of self-worth. One of the rare cases where a love triangle was done right.
- Side couple: Sweet livestream girl and her rich lover. The cutest couple in the drama. Bickering to friends to lovers. A sweet slow burn that will definitely make you smile.
- Bonus side couple: Female lead’s friend and ex-boyfriend. Yep, this is a pairing that not everyone would like. Girl code definitely didn’t exist for this girl who went after her friend’s ex. But still, I did find their scene wholesome and realistic. They had little screen time.

OVERALL:
There is something about this script, the romance, the story, the way the male lead is gazing at the female lead, that gave me the warmest feelings ever. Even when bad things happened, it was meaningful and well-portrayed. All the characters felt real and multi-layered. The story felt wholesome, somewhat realistic with hopeless romantic vibes which I absolutely loved. I’ve never seen a cdrama quite like this, a truly wonderful watching experience, this is hands down my best 2024 modern cdrama so far.

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