I enjoyed this drama. I think the characters are well developed, even all the side characters. The relationship of Bai Zi Hua and Hua Gian Gu reminds me of Yang Guo & Xiao Long Nu. Everyone misunderstands them, and condemns them, and in the end they cannot admit they love each other. I was BAWLING my eyes out, crying in the last two episodes. But it was refreshing to see the ending here. The other characters in this drama are complex. A lot of them ended up in misery, due to their own doing and obsessions. I can name several characters that caused their own downfall. Another refreshing aspect is that this drama doesn’t have ONE main antagonist. I was trying to predict the ultimate bad guy in the end, but was surprised about how it went about & how in the end the “bad” sect turned good!
Overall, it's a pretty good drama. I cried, I laughed, and binged watch this. I felt Zanilia and Wallace didn't have too much chemistry/romance because their characters were probably not allowed to. Even in the end, I didn't feel "it." But still an enjoyable ending.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the end does it sound like Sha Qian Mo would come back, maybe a season 2?
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This review may contain spoilers
I read this was one of the best dramas that would come out in 2018, was it the team-up with HK's Charmaine? Maybe? I'm not familiar with many of the actors in this drama, as it's the first time I've seen most of them. But I thought it was an interesting story, and the ending was not what I expected. I liked the build-up and character development on this drama. The palace intrigue is very dramatic and will rank high up there in terms of killing each other's babies and poisoning each other.
One of the reasons I didn't think the ending would turn out the way it did, was that Ying Luo actually loved the emperor. I always felt their age difference and acting didn't really emit that there was love between them (but that's just me). Sadly, I was hoping she'd realize her love for Fu Heng, but I guess not.
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I however, was more drawn to the chemistry between the two leads. The story line seemed all over the place to me, and confusing. At times, I'm still not sure who Fuyao is, and where she comes from. After reading the reviews, I finally realized there are moments where Fuyao blacks out = breaking seals, but there were times where she blacks out and it was more than 5x. When the last seal broke, I thought it was like the 6th or 7th time.
I pretty much just enjoyed the cast.
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First off the cast here is superb. I felt all the actors did such a great job, I even loved the bad guys and supporting roles. Starting with Lan Yan Zhi, I loved how Zanilia takes on this role of super smart and bad ass chick, but also shows other range of emotions (unlike Princess Agents lol, sorry for those true fans). For example, she does get to be lovey-dovey, and shows her emotions after she accidentally causes the death of her friend's parents. I thought her acting was pretty good in here (compared to other dramas I've seen her in).
Her nemesis/bestie Feng Man Na (played by Tao Xin Ran), oh man and OMG. I felt so BAD for this character, I hated and loved her at the same time. Two thumbs up for this actress. Her character was so relateable that even when she went crazy, I didn't hate her for it. I totally related with her all the times she is betrayed by who she thought was her good friends. Poor Man-Na. The actress is also very pretty, I'm sad she onyl has 3 dramas listed under her in MDL.
All the male actors did a fantastic job as well. I really came to like Song Mian and Zhou Yu Hao, I was thrown off by the plot twist, with what I thought would he the couples in here. Someone needs to find the male actor that played the doctor. HOT STUFF. If I could change the ending I'd pair him up with Feng Man Na. Song Mian (Yuan Mickey), wow, cute! I loved his character because it was so vague. At times I was watching, I was wondering how they'll pair him up with Zanilia, and if he actually loved Tianmu. HM! Zhou Yu Hao (Lu Yi), I thought he was so ugly at first, but he emerged as a very likeable character. I love how his relationship with Lan Yan Zhi gradually built up, like they weren't too typical, of building up their relationship (i.e. constant bickering).
Storyline is impressive. I loved the plot and how it developed. I loved for the dark side of the Japanese imperialists. So enjoyable to watch it progress. Sometimes when I have a drama I'd spoil myself and read the ending. I didn't do it for this drama. Ending with the Communist spiel was cheesy.
Overall fantastic. Ending was happy and on point. I'd watch again.
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The ending was also great, it wasn't terrible as some other drama's I've seen. I also enjoyed the side arc/story of Fala Chan, who did a fantastic job. She looked great in this series.
The costumes in this drama are also very beautiful. I love all the outfits the ladies of our drama on.
LASTLY, the reason I cannot get ENOUGH of this drama is because of Eddie Peng. He is so handsome! Just having in him in the drama is enough for me.
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I'm not sure this would fall under "mystery" but there are aspects that make it mysterious and keep you guessing the outcome. Very unexpected.
I enjoyed Hu Ge in this series, as well as his "bromance" with the other characters.
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Story - too long, boring, not creative or unique.
Acting - The cast grew on me. At first I thought ZXF was ugly asfk (still do). I thought JY and CSS were more likeable and liked whenever they had screentime. The female cast is great, and they're all very pretty. But too many annoying romances that you don't get to dive into and clear up what happened i.e. Senior Brother Wan & You Ji (Bi Yao's aunty). IDK why, but the Azure Dragon (William Yang) really caught my eye.
Rewatch value: NOPE.
Note: I kept reading reviews and comments, and so many people kept labeling this as "bro-mancey" with ZXF and JY, I mean yea they were pretty bro-mancy but there is obviously love between Bi Yao and Zhang Xiao Fan!
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This review may contain spoilers
This sequel picks up where they left off, Jiang Zi Ya and his crew have a face-off with the 4 lackies (Shen Gong Bao, Su Da Ji and her two sisters), and add in the 1-eyed dude. Unfortunately, the fight ends in a draw as more characters are brought back into the fight. We lose Shao Mei, so the opening scene is Wu Ji mourning over :(Mao Zhao De is also switched out with a new actress because her face gets burned off. I guess I ended up liking the actress from part 1, so the switch was not good with me. The new MZD is more mellow (at times) but also gets into the antics. I think this actress was too pretty for the role, so seeing her get all crazy wasn't the same.
I ended up dropping this drama, as it just got too repetitive. As mentioned in my other review, the 4 lackies continuously cause the same troubles to Jiang Zi Ya and his crew, either trapping them or framing them for murder and then sending a high level martial artists after the crew.
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