justjacky

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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Slice of life + hot chemistry between bickering main leads

The drama tells the love story between a genius computer programmer male lead and a hard-working programmer female lead who face many challenges together throughout their university and adult lives. Last year, I dropped this at episode 6 but now decided to give this drama a second chance.

The drama is split into two parts. Part one is their university life and how they fell in love. Part two is their adult lives and how they deal with the aftermath of what had happened during their university years. Many people in the comments say that their adult life story is better and I agree. The second part of the drama was more exciting to watch but at the same time I might have not appreciated it enough if I hadn’t seen their university life first.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the fire chemistry between the leads. They are the reason that I decided to give the drama a second chance and also what kept me going. I loved that the main leads were often rivals/bickering with each other but at the same time always supported each other even for the little things. One of the highlights for me was the villains. They made my blood boil but in a good way. They were exciting characters to watch and so horrible that I was constantly rooting for the main leads to destroy them.

The worst thing about this drama is the extremely lengthy computer dialogue at university and later at the job. I actually know many of the things they were saying but that doesn’t mean they were interesting. I found myself ff/skipping tons of things. Also some of the side characters had too much screen time and were boring to watch. In general, I would have enjoyed the drama more if it was shorter.

CHARACTERS:
I had issues with the male lead at the beginning. He appeared to be an arrogant jerk but with each episode you realise that he is quite misunderstood. He always has a different perspective from the mindset of everyone else. He is a genius and I felt his personality was realistically flawed. Genius people in real life can be insensitive and not able to fully sympathise with people because their brains are more focused on the logical than the emotional. Even though at times I definitely didn’t like his behaviour towards the female lead and he showed quite a few red flags, he was an interesting character to watch. He is cold towards people and pushes them away but later you realise that he has gone through a lot of emotional trauma that has made him closed off to others.

The female lead is a friendly, outspoken, hard-working and brave girl. As the title suggests, she is a princess in a sense that she has had good upbringing and never felt any lack of her life in a material sense. She goes through a lot of emotional turmoil because of the male lead that makes her stronger. She is one of the most devoted female leads I’ve seen in a drama.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the leads. The tension between them was always on point. They didn’t even need to speak, their eye contact was enough to light the room on fire.
- Hot kiss scenes between the leads.
- Villains made my blood boil but in a good way. They were interesting to watch and elevated the story.
- No stupid love triangles.
- Opposite attracts. I love that even though the main leads often had the opposite perspective of life, they were learning from each other and their personalities seemed to click as the story progressed.
- When characters had arguments, the drama did well in helping you understand both perspectives.
- Meaningful storyline. The plot and dialogue always had a deeper purpose and didn’t feel cliche.
- Campus setting vibe was done right as I started to reminisce about my own university years.
- Second part of the drama (adult life) was done very well with many parallels with the first, and in general it helped me to appreciate the university part more.

NEGATIVE:
- All the computer/programmer dialogue was extremely lengthy (during university and later at the job) which made the drama very boring to watch at times.
- Some side characters were boring in the first half of the drama (university life).
- University life (first half) felt quite lacklustre compared to their adult life (second half).
- Lots of ff/skipping. In general I feel the drama was too long. The core of the story is the relationship between the leads which I loved, however the rest was easy to skip.
- Not enough cute romance. The main leads were always together but not together as a couple. Sometimes I wish we would have seen more cute scenes between them but at the same time I can see that the way the plot was set up didn't allow that.

OVERALL:
This drama is perfect for people who want to watch a slice of life drama with bickering main leads and many emotional/meaningful life moments.

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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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Chaotic, hilarious and heart-warmingly sweet

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the plot is the original and very fitting title. I went completely blind into this and it was great. It's truly best if you don’t know anything, don’t read the synopsis, don’t watch the trailer, just start the drama!

Having said that, here are some hints what to expect:

POSITIVE:
- Very chaotic and absolutely hilarious.
- Tons of twins and turns.
- Wtf moments in every episode.
- Sweet romance.
- Healthy relationship.
- Beautiful cinematography and OST.
- Nice blend between modern and historical.
- No love triangles.
- Confusing plot at first but it's actually very clever. Later everything is explained and makes sense which bumps up the rewatch value.

NEGATIVE:
- Even though I loved the drama, when I finished it I felt like something was missing to be a full 10 stars. I can't quite put my finger on what though.

OVERALL:
If you want a heart-warningly sweet and hilariously chaotic mini drama, watch this one.

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Morally grey male lead in a palace setting

This mini drama is about a morally grey male lead who pretends to be Eunuch in order to take revenge, and in the process falls in love with his enemy's daughter (a high spirited female lead).

The drama packaged everything that I loved and delivered it to me perfectly.
- Morally grey male lead
- Sweet romance
- Engaging palace plot
- Great cinematography
- Beautiful OST

There are some silly scenes as per usual in a short cdrama but I found them very entertaining and fun to watch. Second female lead is a bit annoying at first but her unhinged behaviour gets funny and her ending is wrapped up well.

OVERALL:
If you love a historical romance with a morally grey male lead in a palace setting, watch this drama.

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Six youths on a self-discovery journey with romance, friendship & adventure

This drama is about two non-biological orphans who have lost their memories and together investigate their origin. Alongside their journey, join them four newfound friends who’s backstories are also explored. The drama is a mix of mystery and adventure with romance as the main focus.

All Sword and Fairy dramas are stand alone, they take place in the same world but have different stories. This drama is based on a video game of the same name thus the atmosphere feels quite different from the usual wuxia cdramas (in fact I believe it’s xuanhuan genre). The costumes and set designs do reminisce a video game vibe but in a pleasantly good way.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the main six characters. All of them have distinct personalities that make them stand out but at the same time they all work well together as a team. This is one of those rare dramas where I absolutely loved all six main characters, all six backstories, all of their romantic stories and how their friendship as a group was portrayed. All of them brought a great depth to the story and their character development was fantastic to watch.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch romance. The love stories are the main focus so expect lots of cute romantic scenes. If you are a hopeless romantic you will love this for sure.
- All six main characters are well written with an intriguing past, romance and great character arcs.
- All couples have fire chemistry. They are different and yet exciting to watch (if you are a romance lover).
- Friendship group that you fall in love with. They fight together and sacrifice for each other. You can’t help but love them.
- Love triangle (hear me out), that’s done well. We all hate love triangles but this is probably the only one where you root for both equally. And it’s because the male lead and second male lead are both played by the same actor.
- Xu Kai (male lead) did not disappoint. Yet again I loved his acting performance. He played two different characters so well.
- Besides the two main leads, the four other cast members blew me away with their performance too and their presence elevated the plot.
- Mystery plot line was done well + the suspense vibes were on point.
- Biggest plot reveal is complex and yet explained very well and shown in the drama in great detail (which I really appreciated).
- Many twists and turns that kept the story engaging.
- Second couple stole my heart. They had lots of screen time and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama lost my interest and the emotional impact was reduced. I easily cry and yet I didn’t shed a single tear during any of the emotional scenes towards the end.
- Final villain was very boring to watch. I always believe that good stories require intriguing villains and this one was NOT it. The final fight scenes were also quite lacklustre to watch.
- Cliche ending that I’ve seen in way too many cdramas at this point + I didn’t fully like how it was executed.
- Plot felt a bit all over the place at times.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a drama with tons of romance, lovely friendship and well written main character arcs + adventure and mystery vibes, watch this drama now.

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It's about the journey, not the destination

This is a great drama but definitely not without its flaws. The drama revolves around two competing assassins and their teams of members, each with diverse backgrounds and skills, embarking on a life threatening journey. Several themes of love are shown in the drama: romantic love, obsessive love, bromance/comrade’s love, self-love and friendship love. Note, pretty much the whole drama is about the journey to save the Emperor.

The male lead is a notorious assassin and is tasked with saving the Emperor who is held hostage at the enemy’s state. His four close comrades tag along for the journey. The female lead is one of the best assassins from the enemy’s state and on her personal path of revenge that collides with the male lead’s mission. We also have a Princess who disguises as a Prince and a disciple who is obsessively in love with his master (the female lead).

The drama has an engaging start, very boring and draggy middle (ep 18-28 virtually nothing exciting happens) and a spectacular ending that was brilliantly executed. The last 10 episodes absolutely kept me at the edge of my seat.

Objectivately, the drama ticks all the boxes. It has the right balance of action, politics, comedy and romance, with strong-willed main leads. The characters are intelligent and the plot makes sense. However I always felt something was missing but I can’t quite put my finger on what.

POSITIVE:
- Female lead is the best female assassin and seductress that I’ve ever watched. Smart, cunning and beautiful.
- A true assassin’s drama. People die. I mean, lots of people die. Like lots…. trust me on that one.
- Strong male and female lead. They are both intelligent and badass.
- Healthy relationships and healthy romance between the leads portrayed.
- Many awesome bromance scenes.
- Fantastic fight scenes (some are even 10 minutes long and are visually stunning).
- Acting and visuals are top-notch.
- High budget drama (and it shows).
- Last 10 episodes kept me at the edge of my seat.
- Spectacular ending - one of the best executed endings I’ve ever seen.
- Alen Fang is brilliant. I started watching the drama for him and his performance delivered. He brought the best comedy vibes.
- Many umbrella walks that are visually feast for the eyes.

NEGATIVE:
- I absolutely hated the LTG character that had an obsessive, unrequited love plotline. His plotline was so unnecessary and embarrassing to watch. It took way, way, way too much screen time (literally around 10 episodes, repeating the same thing. Him crying like a little boy and obsessively trying to get with the female lead who repeatedly rejects him). The only way I managed to watch his scenes is because the actor is a total eye candy and his acting is top-notch. But I’m seriously so done with these plot lines and wish the government bans them forever.
- Extremely boring and draggy middle. Ep 18-28 (basically 10 episodes) nothing much happens.
- Female lead’s revenge story felt lacklustre.
- The love story didn’t grab me. I don’t know what it is but I just couldn’t connect with it (which is rare for me).

OVERALL:
You will like this drama if you want to see:
1. a badass, assassin female lead
2. a group of comrades on a journey together
3. a balanced mix of romance, politics and comedy
4. many brilliantly shot historical/war fight scenes

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Travelling, culture, food + hot geges

I started this for Chen Zhe Yuan & Ryan Cheng but the travelling, culture and food exploration was such an extra treat that I truly loved. The variety show is about six celebrities/actors who are divided into two teams and travel to different places in China in order to explore the culture, heritage and sightseeings. Every two episodes are dedicated to a city, and in the second episode of each one, the two groups do presentations about their experience. There are also extra episodes in between, with fun activities/talks as additional footage.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
- Travelling to different parts of China (see the locations below), culture, heritage, food, sightseeings exploration, you really get everything. I feel like this variety show is great in promoting China’s tourism to less known places for young chinese people as much as foreigners like me who love chinese cdramas.

- Hot Geges and learning more about them. I loved that I got to see the actors as normal and awkward human beings. I learned more about the personality, emotional struggles and past experiences of everyone, especially Chen Zhe Yuan, Ryan Cheng and Xu Kai. Che Zhe Yuan being a goofball was hilarious while Ryan Cheng was unexpectedly being shy and less talkative at first.

- Great development. Each episode got better and better. The group starts kind of timid and you see as they spend more time together, how everyone opens up more and becomes comfortable with each other. In the end, I felt like they had created a great bond between each other through this travelling experience.

- Guest appearances, which was a great addition to the show, especially Xu Kai.

- Interesting presentations that got more creative with each travel city, although sometimes it felt like a repetition of what we’ve already seen.

- Funny on-screen animations that enhanced the watch experience.

- Princess/diva vibes. Ok that’s a very personal opinion but at the beginning I didn’t like at all the attitude of the female actress. I didn’t really know her before this but she left a bad impression on me as during a challenge, she criticised some of the guys in the group saying none of them had famous scenes for her to impersonate. It was very awkward and one of the guys even called her out on it. She was also very obsessed about looking good in front of the camera to the point of refusing to do some of the travel experiences (as it would ruin her makeup) and she insisted on sitting on the left side of the car because it's her good profile. However, her attitude towards the later episodes did get better.


TRAVEL LOCATIONS PER EPISODE:

Ep 0
Pilot episode. The group assembles and gets ready to travel.

Ep 1-2 Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
A good start. Tame vibes. The group is getting to know each other and not as close yet. The presentations are just ok. Lots of fun activities and relaxations are shown.

Ep 3-4 Zhangzhou, Fujian
Favourite episodes so far, and the presentations were super entertaining to watch. Lots about seafood, fishing etc

Ep 5-6 Changsha, Hunan
Loved these episodes, filled with music and singing. The concert was a fantastic addition to the travel guide.

Ep 7-8 Zhongwei, Ningxia (Xu Kai as special guest)
This trip starts at the end of ep 6. Desert vibes. The most human and deep episode. We truly see who the actors are as people, their fears and hidden pains. Adventure and self-reflection. The final part of ep 7 brought me to tears.

Ep 9-10 Chengdu, Western Sichuan
Cute episode with Pandas but too much talking and not enough sightseeings.

Ep 11 Kangba Altay
Grassland games, super fun to watch with beautiful scenery. I’m not familiar with Tibetan culture but it reminded me of The Long Ballad drama. Really cool photography and challenge. This episode felt the most heartwarming as the whole group was together the whole time rather than separated.

Ep 12 Kangba Altay
Mountain walks in the same grassland and graduation ceremony (reminiscing of all travel places). Ryan Cheng was not present as he had to leave early.

Ep 13 Kangba Altay
Final goodbye from everyone. The end of the trip.

OVERALL:
I recommend this variety show if you love to travel and like at least some of the actors (as you get to learn more about them here) + want to learn more about China's culture, heritage, food and sightseeings.

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Sensual and mysterious story with sexy and mature leads

This drama is about the female lead who’s husband mysteriously disappears/dies in an accident. After four years, the female lead is about to pronounce him dead and take full control of his company when his twin brother returns. Is he her husband or his twin?

POSITIVE:
- Main lead’s chemistry is HOT. Sexual tension in the current timeline and soft & sweet romance in the flashbacks.
- Sensual and mysterious vibes.
- Cinematography is on point.
- Story is engaging from start till end.
- Betrayal/Mystery plot.

NEGATIVE:
- An annoying childish sister who took a little too much precious screen time.
- Hot kisses at episode 1 but no more afterwards. And yet the sexual tension between the leads made up for this lack.

ENDING (MINOR SPOILER):
The drama is open ended but it can be interpreted as happy. I personally loved how it was done and it made sense to me.

OVERALL:
If you want sexy and mature leads with betrayal/mystery plot, I highly recommend you watch this.

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Hot chemistry between the leads, passionate kisses, engaging plot with suspense

This short length drama tells the story of a rich heirless (female lead) who's life turns upside down after her father's death. Her bodyguard (male lead) is there to protect her and yet he also hides many secrets of the past. Was her father's death an accident or a murder?

POSITIVE:
- real and hot kiss scenes (and more)
- suspense vibes
- engaging plot
- 100% binge-worthy
- well developed characters (for such a short drama)
- great villain that plays the bad guy really well
- hot chemistry between the leads
- no fillers, no boring parts
- happy ending

NEGATIVE:
None!!!

I highly recommend it for everyone that wants to watch sexy romance with mafia vibes.

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Dark Wuxia with crazy plot twists, romance, suspense, assassins and scheming

The drama tells the story of two female assassins who disguise themselves as brides to infiltrate the enemy's residence and complete their missions in order to receive their freedom. The main leads are a smart, quiet and very determined female assassin and a kind-hearted, compassionate, gentle and green flag male lead. The second leads are a cunning, wicked, charming female assassin and a cold, authoritative, bad boy with a hidden gentle heart male lead.

POSITIVE:
- Smart, cunning and totally badass female leads.
- Lots of interesting morally grey characters.
- Cinematography that can rival Hollywood's high budget movies.
- Beautiful costumes and settings.
- Unique dark visuals of storytelling that I've never seen before.
- Gorgeous cast, and I mean ALL the cast is absolutely stunning (especially lots of male eye candies to see).
- Assassin's Creed meets Dark Wuxia meets GOT vibes.
- Amazing fight scenes (especially towards the end of the drama).
- Crazy good plot twists with many OMG moments.
- Tons of suspense. Everything is a guessing game. You never know the true intention of anyone.You never know when someone is telling the truth or is lying.
- Phenomenal acting performance from all the cast.
- Sweet romance moments of the main leads.
- Intense chemistry between the second leads.
- Captivating plot.
- Mystery killer vibes.

NEGATIVE:
- Character development of the male lead felt somewhat abrupt. The drama heavily highlighted that he is a fool in love which took away from truly seeing his potential in the majority of the drama. In the end he became a strong character but unfortunately it felt a bit out of the blue of how it happened. So as much as I love the actor (he was the reason I even started this drama) I was not 100% happy with how his character was written.

OVERALL:
I think you can guess from the positive points above that I highly, highly, highly recommend this drama!!! Don't be fooled by the sweet sounding title. This is still a story about assassins and is dark themed. So don't expect many lovey-dovey moments. The romance is more of a subplot but still very much the driving force in the story. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart but I truly loved this drama because of the captivating plot, intense suspense, great characters and stunning cinematography!

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Royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance

I don't pay attention to titles but I probably should because this drama is really about walking us through the journey of 'Who Rules The World' - meaning, it tells the story of Six States and who ultimately becomes the ruler of them all. The drama starts a bit slow and it takes at least 5-6 episodes to set up the setting, characters and story. After that is established, it's really fun and intriguing. If you love royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance - this drama is for you.

I'm quite a newbie of cdramas but I've never watched such an interesting political drama - there were tons of scheming and betrayal involved which I liked although at times the talking was quite a lot and it got heavy. This is not a light drama for the mind - to keep up with the storyline you really have to pay attention to what people are saying and doing. Having said that, I found the plot and characters very real and could imagine this being a real life story rather than just fiction.

What I'm most pleasantly surprised by is the healthy relationship portrayed. There were no childish and immature behaviours from the main leads - in fact it was romantic and cute. The male lead is definitely a green flag and the female lead is so badass - she is seriously an amazing character that I won't easily forget. Oh and the martial arts are super fun to watch. It’s definitely binge-worthy so overall I highly recommend the drama.

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Let me be the light in your dark world. Best 2025 modern cdrama.

Unexpectedly, this became one of the best modern cdramas I’ve ever seen, considering I was on the fence of watching it. If I could give it 100/10 rating, I would. The drama is about the female lead, who goes back to her hometown to work as a journalist. She meets the male lead, who she’s had an emotional connection with back in high school. Due to their complicated past, they pretend to not know each other at first, but end up being roommates. Their love story is emotional, healing and focuses on the female lead’s traumatic past.

POSITIVE:

- Slow burn romance + second chance trope.
- Beautiful kiss scenes.
- Strong female lead. I found her super relatable and loved her mental and emotional strength. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the actress but this drama made me change my mind about her.
- Green flag male lead. The most devoted, protective and caring towards the female lead.
- Natural and beautiful chemistry between the leads. I love them to pieces.
- No fillers or draggy parts.
- Shirtless male lead scenes. Plus he looked so hot in black.
- Emotional, romantic and very healing. 
Plus, the subtle comedy actually cracked me up.
- No dreaded break up or stupid misunderstandings. Although there is a short separation, I felt it was fantastic as we learned valuable information about the female lead’s past. Plus, the drama did a great job of making me feel like the leads were together even when separated.
- Sexual assault theme. I felt like the drama did a great job in portraying that in a realistic and healing way without making the audience emotionally drained.
- Adorable high school flashbacks.
- Heartwarming and endearing final episode.
- Vibey OST.
- Cinematography - beautiful colouring, lighting + outfits.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead is the biggest green flag which I LOVE, BUT he does come across a bit stalkerish at times. Especially when they are separated from high school to adult years. I feel like it was a bit too much how he always checked in on her, it looked like his world revolved around her. Still though, I love him haha some of the stalker parts were actually funny.
- Weird cinematography effect of double mirror/vision thing. I don’t even know the proper name but it made me so dizzy. Idk if the director was trying to be creative but uhh I could do without it.
- Second couple. They were super funny, great chemistry and I loved them but I feel they didn’t get enough screen time to really develop. Unpopular opinion but I did enjoy how the grandparents were the reason the leads got together. It felt very wholesome and different. But in the later stages of the drama, I wish the focus was on them as a couple, not the whole family.

OVERALL:
This drama made me smile and cry like crazy, all in the best way possible. I deeply connected to the characters and plot, and loved every minute of it. This is THE healing drama for me, where bad things happen but at the end of the day, justice is served. There are so many wonderful messages in this drama, that vulnerability is strength, that running away is not a solution, that it’s always important to speak up and believe in yourself, that it’s ok to not forgive and most importantly, that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Having said all that, it’s pretty clear that to me this is truly one of the best modern cdramas I’ve ever seen and will always remember. And that’s coming from someone who was on the fence of even starting this. With the biggest smile on my face and love in my heart, I highly recommend this.

TRIGGER WARNING:

Themes of attempted sexual assault.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“What I mean is… no matter what, you’ll always catch me.” (ep 20 / female lead )
“I’ve finally caught the shadows that haunted you. From now on, your world will only have light.” (ep 28 / male lead)
“Love means being each other’s light” (ep 29 / drama)

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Fluffy, healthy main’s relationship, wholesome vibes

The drama is about the main leads who enter a committed relationship, with the desire for marriage, while being strangers to each other. Things get a bit complicated when they start working at the same department as boss (male lead) and employee (female lead).

Ngl, the start of the drama felt very odd and didn’t grab my attention at all but somehow by the end of the episode I was invested.

Ep 1-10
The beginning of the main lead’s relationship. I loved seeing the leads respecting each other due to their commitment and at the same time open up and get more comfortable with each episode. The intimacy was slow and built up well. The slightly annoying part here was that the female lead’s ex was chasing her and trying to get back with her.

Ep 11-20
The progression of the main lead’s relationship was steady. It felt like the writers did a nice job showing us how the main leads work through their misunderstandings. Nothing was dragged out. It felt realistic albeit a bit frustrating. It was nice that the female lead’s ex was out of the picture, however the new nuisance now was the male lead’s ex-school mate, who of course likes him.

Ep 21-27
The second couple totally stole the spotlight for me, especially here. Their love story arc was chef’s kiss. The main couple had many sweet moments. The conflicts were pretty much resolved so it felt like the drama could have nicely wrapped up here without the additional episodes.

Ep 28-32
I started ff/skipping stuff especially the business side and third couple. Ep 31-32 were sweet but too many flashbacks. In general, these episodes were not needed as it felt like they added nothing to the story.

Special Episode
I absolutely loved it as it showed the married life of both couples.

POSITIVE:
- 99% fluff. There were only about 2 episodes where sad things happened but otherwise it was always wholesome, happy vibes.
- Arrange marriage (kind of) + secret office romance.
- Secret crush trope.
- Healthy main lead’s relationship.
- Green flag male lead.
- Green flag parents. Truly one of the best I’ve seen in a cdrama.
- Cute school flashbacks. These are shown after the credits of each episode and are totally adorable.
- Romantic kisses and some skinship.
- Second couple that steals the spotlight as rivals to lovers.

NEGATIVE:
- Odd third couple. They meet as ex-lovers. The girl doesn’t want him but suddenly gets back together with him. The relationship had zero foundation, no flashbacks to tell us exactly how they fell in love, why they broke up etc. It seriously felt like their scenes at the start were cut. 99% of their scenes were as a couple, no individual scenes which made them one dimensional characters. They weren’t annoying per say but totally skippable. Especially their odd ending. Nah.
- Female lead’s behaviour. She can be slightly frustrating at times but that’s because the male lead is the perfect guy so the writers used her as a scapegoat to create conflict between them.

OVERALL:
This is the perfect fluffy cdrama to watch after a tiring day or before going to bed. You get lots of cuteness, romantic kisses and healthy relationships where the male lead is a total green flag. What makes this drama stand out from the other fluffs is its maturity and wholesomeness. Although the drama could have ended 5 episodes earlier, it was still a very enjoyable watch. If you love mature fluff, I recommend this one.

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Slice of life, cooking & some romance

This drama is about the female lead, who pines over the male lead, who is hung up on his ex and needs therapy. The support cast tries to get with the leads even though they have zero chance. The side couple marries after one night stand. Oh and there is lots of cool cooking. Okay, okay I’m just trying to be funny here (but it’s lowkey true). Let me tell you the actual plot. The male lead owns a food platform but refuses to learn how to cook so he hires a double for his cooking shots. After being caught lying, he hires the female lead (who also works at his company) to teach him how to cook.

The main lead is a hot, red flag. Workaholic, toxic boss that appears to be arrogant and prideful but secretly is kind and lonely. He carries a lot of past trauma and emotional baggage. The female lead is down to earth and a total cinnamon roll. Mature yet gentle. Kind but not a pushover. Hard-working but not materialistic.

POSITIVE:
- Viki live chat. Yep, the drama was 100x more enjoyable because I watched it while reading the hilarious live chat. Users on Viki not only roasted the drama but each other too. If you decide to watch this drama, definitely do it on Viki, the subs there are great too compared to Youtube.
- Awesome cooking shots.
- Cute romance (for the most part).
- Great mother-daughter relationship.
- Mature dialogue.
- Nice OST.
- Nice chemistry between the leads.
- First half of the drama has wholesome vibes.
- Relatable female lead.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead is heavily hung up on his ex for the first half of the drama.
- Unnecessary and illogical situation at episode 13 that might ruin the drama for some people. The remaining 3 episodes were too melodramatic and draggy so I skipped a lot.
- Kind of slow paced especially as each episode was more than 1h 15 min compared to the typical 40 min.
- Second male lead had me conflicted. Sometimes he was such a sweet green flag, other times he was the most obsessive and annoying towards the female lead. I feel the way his character was written could have been better especially as he got tons of screen time. In the first episodes he kept putting a toothpick in his mouth which I didn’t like. Then the director gave him a glow up that was actually a glow down.
- Annoying side character (girl) who acted like a 3 year old and her voice was non-stop quacking like a rubber duck (and mind you I rarely find characters annoying).

OVERALL:
This drama starts off great but loses its charm half-way through. I have mixed feelings, some parts are great, other parts not so much. The drama sometimes felt very wholesome and sweet but other times too melodramatic, sometimes mature but other times too silly. In the end, I felt that it wasn’t what I expected (the poster misled me to believe it was a fluffy rom-com). But I suppose if you want a slice of life with lots of cooking and some romance on the side, check this out.

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