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  • Location: Drama Land
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  • Join Date: March 13, 2023
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Completed
Wrong Carriage, Right Groom
4 people found this review helpful
Sep 15, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 1.0

Expected a cute historical rom-com but received a mediocre plot

This drama supposedly tells the story of two brides who accidentally swap their carriages but the wrong husband at first turns out to be their Mr. Right in the end. At first glance Wrong Carriage, Right Groom has a very interesting concept however the execution of it is bad. I thought this drama was going to be a cute historical rom-com about how the brides fall in love with the grooms and go through ups and downs together but unfortunately that part was wrapped up within the first few episodes and the majority of the rest of the drama was filled with the villain and side characters.
The screen time is mostly about one main couple who has some cute moments together and the evil guy who constantly tries to ruin their fun for no reason. The second couple is cute but unfortunately doesn't get that much screen time in comparison to the first. And there are too many side couples thrown into the mix for such a short drama (read below the short info about the all couples).

POSITIVE:
- Likeable and well developed characters.
- Great chemistry of the three couples with the most screen time.
- Cute romance.
- Great acting.
- Set designs and costumes are beautiful.

NEGATIVE:
- Couples fall in love with each other within the first few episodes (too instant love for me without any proper built up).
- Nothing unexpected ever happens. The way the drama is edited shows all characters discussing what they will do before they do it. This ruins it for me as it takes out any sort of suspense. If I already know the bad guy will try to poison them and that the good guy already knows and will do such and such, what's the point of even watching how it unfolds when I'm already being told that.
- Plot is underdeveloped. I felt like boring conflicts were created and things were thrown in so that there was something for the characters to do. But it had no real purpose.
- Too much screen time on the evil guy and his boring schemes.
- Too much screen time on two of the side couples (an older guy with an immature girl and an evil guy with an evil maid).
- Not really the rom-com feel I expected as most of the screen time is about the boring plot.

COUPLES:
1st couple - rich, scholar-type male who pretends to be sick and a bubbly martial artist girl (the main focus of the story),
2nd couple - military general and a quiet, intelligent girl (not enough episodes for them, in some episodes the characters are totally missing and their story gets forgotten.)
3rd couple - soldier and a princess (prominent later in the drama for a few episodes).
4th couple - evil guy and evil maid (too much screen time and super weird relationship, totally unnecessary).
5th couple - married older guy and his immature wife (prominent for a few episodes, I couldn't stand the wife, totally unnecessary story).
+ two very short side couples that are just there for a short bit.

OVERALL:
It's an ok story to watch to pass the time or if you've had a long day and want to unwind. The drama could have been great.. but it's not. Wasted potential. Some episodes are funny and engaging, others super slow and boring. Plot is very weak and the only reason I finished the drama was for the actors (and for the sake of seeing the end really).

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Completed
Random Tour
5 people found this review helpful
Sep 22, 2024
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 7
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

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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Completed
A Lucid Dream
5 people found this review helpful
Apr 16, 2024
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

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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Completed
Sword and Fairy
5 people found this review helpful
Feb 7, 2024
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

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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Completed
A Journey to Love
4 people found this review helpful
by justjacky Flower Award1
Dec 19, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

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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Completed
The First Frost
26 people found this review helpful
Mar 10, 2025
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

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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Mar 13, 2024
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5

Top-notch comedy, cute romance & mystery sub-plot

One of the funniest historical dramas I’ve ever watched with Zhao Lusi as the star and her three awesome male leads. The comedy was top-notch, the romance was cute and the actors had great on-screen presence. This drama is about the female lead who is the first woman to study at the Imperial College. While at the college, she falls in love, goes through academic challenges and reveals the mystery of her brother’s death. The plot is very straight-forward and the comedy and brilliant acting are the highlights of this drama.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
- Female lead (Zhao Lusi) - the smart, beautiful, brave, cute, outspoken and silly girl that you can't help but love.
- Male lead (Xu Kai Cheng) - the Deputy of Chief at the College. He was strict but also fair, a green flag love interest with unexpected small quirky traits.
- Second male lead (Ren Hao) - the childhood best friend. (His character really stood out to me because I had such conflicted feelings. I hated him and would never want to be near him but his aura was so hot and my eyes were always glued to the screen when he would show up).
- Third male lead (Ao Rui Peng) - the true comedy relief in this drama. His scenes were 100% gold.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch comedy. For real, one of the most hilariously clever scripts I’ve seen.
- Fantastic acting. I truly feel the cast had great charisma and was the reason I continued to watch.
- Zhao Lusi as the star. If you like her, you need to watch this drama.
- Ao Rui Peng’s character was one of the best and his story was done well for a supporting role.
- Cute romance. For real, it was super sweet.
- No teacher-student drama. Even though in the drama the male lead is technically her teacher, we don’t really see him teach and there is no annoying drama about that.
- No love triangles for me. I see a lot of people saying there is a love triangle but I don’t see it that way. A love triangle for me is when one person loves two people or is involved romantically in some way with two people. In this drama, the female lead only has eyes and only loves the male lead. However, the second male lead does try to actively break the main leads apart. I usually find it annoying but in this case I didn’t mind it maybe because the actor was very charming.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead didn’t stand out to me. He was good, I did like him but not impressive, especially when you put him next to Zhao Lusi.
- Last 5 episodes felt very draggy and I had to skip parts. The drama became more serious and focused on the mystery rather than the comedy.
- Too many episodes. There were certain small moments where the drama would start to feel draggy but then something interesting would happen. In general I feel like these small boring parts could have been avoided if the drama was shorter.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a hilarious and cute historical rom-com with an uncomplicated plot, watch this drama.

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Completed
All of Her
4 people found this review helpful
Jan 21, 2024
26 of 26 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

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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Completed
Forever Love
4 people found this review helpful
Sep 21, 2023
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

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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Completed
My Journey to You
4 people found this review helpful
Sep 16, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

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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Completed
Love and Redemption
4 people found this review helpful
May 5, 2023
59 of 59 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Xianxia masterpiece about true love, friendship, sisterhood and good vs evil

At first I was hesitant to start this drama as it's freaking 59 episodes long and I was afraid there would be dull moments and filler episodes. The first two episodes didn't immediately wow me but were interesting enough for me to continue the show. I'm glad I did continue because the rest of the episodes instantly hooked me up. There was never a boring moment so this drama is truly binge-worthy. The plot is done so well, with lots of twists and turns + tons of romance, angst, mystery and heartbreaking scenes.

The male lead stuttering is a bit weird at first but it only lasts 2-3 episodes. The female leads at first, looks like your typical naive, girly girl. However I promise you both are much more than that and have wonderful character development. In fact the male lead is now one of my top favourite c-drama characters. The chemistry between the main couple is off the charts and I truly felt so invested in their relationship till the end. It's one of the most loving and beautiful relationships I've ever watched. The side couples are also very cute. All the characters and I mean all, are great, including the villains.

The acting is top-notch, especially the male lead performance captivated me. Music ties in everything really well and especially during the cool fight scenes is very different and memorable. Special effects are great. Truly I cannot find even one thing I dislike about this drama which is so rare. I don't typically rewatch dramas but I can definitely see myself doing that in the future. In short, this xianxia drama is a masterpiece and I 100% recommend it.

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Completed
Who Rules the World
4 people found this review helpful
Mar 27, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

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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Completed
Love at Night
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 25, 2024
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

Sweet and mature love story of the main leads. The rest is skippable.

This drama focuses on two love stories. The first one is about a responsible girl boss with a soft side (the female lead) who finds out her fiancé has cheated. She spends a drunken night with a seemingly unbothered musician with a flirty side (the male lead), who turns out to be her new co-worker. The second one is about a soft and sweet artist (the female lead’s younger brother) who falls in love with his sister’s older best friend.

The best (and only) thing about this drama is the main lead’s love story. It’s mature, somewhat realistic, a mix of romance, emotional with funny moments. Most of their romantic moments happen at night (hence the title) and the night cinematography truly enhances their scenes. I truly loved their story, both go through challenges and especially the female lead has a great self-love arc.

The rest of the drama however is a total let down. After episode 10 I pretty much ff/skipped everything except the main lead’s scenes. The second couple is plain and boring, in fact their story feels very separated from the main leads and not connected to the night theme of the drama. There is also a third couple that is annoying and a total filler. We also have typical workplace conflicts that are boring and seriously feel like fillers too.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and responsible main leads.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Beautiful cinematography (especially all the romantic moments between the leads that are shot at night). It truly lives up to the title “Love at Night”.
- Many beautiful rain/umbrella scenes.
- Shirtless scenes with the male lead.
- Male chases female trope.
- Rom-com feel but with a more mature and serious tone.
- Female lead has the most stunning outfits.
- Not a typical love triangle. There is a cheating ex fiancee that tries to get back with the female lead. He didn’t bother me at all as he served as a great plot device and character development for the female lead. In fact their story felt very realistic and great lessons for many women around the world. He was cunning, manipulative and truly despicable which made the plot interesting for me.

NEGATIVE:
- Boring workplace setting. We have the typical work conflicts that are only there so the characters do something.
- Equal (if not more) screen time given to the second couple. Their love story is odd and boring.
- Annoying and filler scenes of the third couple that didn’t need to exist.
- The only likeable/interesting characters are the two main leads.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been 10 stars if it was shorter and only focused on the love story between the main leads. I’d only recommend it if you love the main leads and want a sweet and mature love story with them (and are willing to ff/skip the rest).

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Completed
The Blood of Youth
3 people found this review helpful
Oct 29, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

Initially dropping this at episode 5 was a mistake

The simplest way that I can describe this drama is that it tells the story of a bunch of young martial artists and their adventures together. There are two main characters that the story revolves around. A Prince who has been reduced to a commoner with crippled martial arts and a brave and youthful martial artist that seeks to improve his skills.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Absolutely amazing and well-developed characters. All and I mean all characters are freaking awesome.
- Aesthetically pleasing and well done fight scenes.
- Engaging plot and the way it's edited makes it exciting to follow the story.
- Beautiful scenery, costumes, wigs. Aesthetics are on point.
- A great ending scene.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I initially dropped this drama at episode 5 because I couldn't understand 90% of what was happening.I didn’t like that there was way too much information being thrown at you. The first 10 episodes are non-stop info dumping with many, many characters to remember, many sect names and backstories. It's very overwhelming and you definitely need a lot of bran power to watch this. It's not a suitable watch if you are tired and want to relax by watching a drama. It's definitely difficult to binge-watch BUT very rewarding to rewatch. Having said all that, once you get used to all the characters and plot, it’s super rewarding to watch this.
- The last 7-8 episodes were somewhat draggy as it became quite politically focused.

OVERALL:
If you want to watch a drama with great fight scenes, well-developed characters, adventure and friendships vibes + you are ok with following a drama with lots of characters, names and backstories to remember, definitely give this a watch.

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Completed
Lost You Forever
2 people found this review helpful
Aug 16, 2023
39 of 39 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.5

Unique story. Mature themed. Slow paced. Stunning performances.

Lost You Forever season 1 tells the story of the FL who believes she has been abandoned by her family. She lives in a small town as a man and heals people with her medicine while hiding her real identity. Her peaceful life is turned upside down as she meets three men. The first man, she rescues and helps him heal his injuries that have been inflicted after years of torture. The second man she accidentally meets, he blackmails her into giving him medicine otherwise he threatens to kill her. The third one, is her long lost cousin that's been searching for her for a very long time. The first 16 episodes introduce all the characters, the world and the backstories. Afterwards the FL decides to reveal her identity and join her cousin in claiming the King's throne.

POSITIVE:
- The cinematography is top-notch.
- All the fantasy places are stunning, the costumes are beautiful, the CGI animals look very real.
- Magical fight scenes look impressive.
- Acting is fantastic from all the actors.
- All characters felt real and three dimensional.
- Realistic make-up and bruises. We have characters that are shown to be tortured and their look is very, very realistic.
- Unique story with a realistic and mature feel to it.

NEGATIVE:
- Only one negative but it's quite a big one for me. The pacing is very, very slow for my taste. The drama likes to show a lot of details in each scene, characters talking slowly so something simple like a dinner can be a very, very long scene, a lot of slow motion scenes etc which makes the drama feel draggy and boring at times.

CHARACTERS (MINOR SPOILERS):
The story has a reverse-harem trope so you have one FL and four male love interests. Her relationship with each of the four males is very different. Having said that, the drama clearly shows that FL only likes romantically two guys and early on decides to choose only one of them.
- FL is Xiao Yao, without revealing her identity, I'll only say that abandonment and loneliness are the main themes that the FL is struggling with from the start till the end of season 1.
- ML 1 is Cang Xuan, FL's cousin (not blood related). He is a prince and his story is the centrepiece of the dramas as he fights his way to become a King. He is ruthless, calculating and secretly in love with the FL.
- ML 2 is Tushan Jing, FL's chosen lover. He comes from one of the richest clans and has big obligations to his father. He is soft-hearted, kind, artistic and devotedly in love with the FL.
- ML 3 is Xiang Liu, FL's enemy. He is a general and loyal to the man who's saved his life... who also happens to be FL's enemy. At first he is very cruel and abusive to FL but later becomes her silent protector, secretly loving her.
- ML4 is Chishui Feng Long, He is Cang Xuan's closest friend and helper. He comes in later in the story. He likes the FL (mostly because of her status but doesn't love her).

OVERALL:
The first 16 episodes were very slow for me as they introduced all the characters and world. Afterwards I definitely became more invested in the story and some episodes were good others just ok. Last 10 episodes were definitely the best and the season wrapped up very well with no annoying cliffhangers. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 and seeing how the story will unfold.

If you want a unique, mature, slow paced story with multiple love interests, great acting and beautiful visuals - this drama is for you.

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