Finished ep 1. That is probably the darkest introduction to a show I’ve ever watched. Absolutely fantastic production quality—it reminds me a lot of The Story of Minglan. The clothing textures, cinematography, and colour grading all have such a natural, warm, earthy feeling to them. Really excited to keep watching, honestly.
I told myself I was going to wait for all eps to drop before watching another drama, or at least a lot of episodes, but I'm hearing good reviews for this one and the plot is my type!
I'm on ep 20 of LYF. HOW ON EARTH IS TUSHAN JING ABLE TO RECONCILE WITH HIS BROTHER. THIS HAS TO BE A FAKE OUT, IM SHOCKED SEEING THEM HANGING TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS, DID I MISS SOMETHING?! THIS MAN TORTURED YOU FOR YEARS WTF
I haven't seen Story of Minglan. By conviction, do you mean activity? Cause there is no one who is more passive…
I do find trailers can be misleading for a drama. In fact cdrama trailers are not that good. One of my fav dramas Blossoms in Adversity has a really boring trailer that doesn’t reveal just how incredible the drama is! However usually the trailer can give me a vibe of the production quality of a drama. I dont like watching anything that looks really cheap.
Empresses in the Palace is a drama I thought would be a challenging watch as I did find it intimidating but I really did love it so much so I do think I can try Sword into Plowshares one day when I'm ready. Joy of Life is another drama I adore. I did try to watch Nirvana in Fire but I struggled a lot with that drama and I've only made it to ep 25. I do want to finish the drama one day so I can see what all the hype is about, but so far I havent really been enjoying it, I found it quite dull and the lack of FL characters is not interesting to me.
I agree with you 100% on WOF. In the review I wrote I said it was a drama I greatly appreciated but did not enjoy. It was visually stunning. The costumes, ost and worldbuilding was amazing. The but the plot, characters and script was not compelling to watch. I believe the story should have been ordered to have a more simpler narrative as then the viewers can build an emotional attachment to the characters. For example I would have the arc start with Tang Lici living in the tower with his mentor and that rival of his (i cant remember the names its been a while) and we would have a good perhaps 8 eps of them living together and seeing the dynamic. So that once the mentor died you can fully understandwl why Tang Lici acted the way he did. I hated the ending also. Major copout.
Luo Yunxi is an awesome actor, I mainly kept watching for him.
I haven't seen Story of Minglan. By conviction, do you mean activity? Cause there is no one who is more passive…
I also watch costume dramas. In fact I think since 2025 it has been all I've watched 😂 . I started off watching western period dramas, like from bbc and pbs, netflix such as Anne with an E, The Gilded Age, Bridgerton, Belgravia, Marie Antoinette etc. I do enjoy western period dramas but I never recommend them to people because I know they can be quite dull. I've had people tell me I watch Grandma shows 😂 . I mainly watched for the aesthetic I like the dresses, the ballgowns and watching the characters navigate rigid social conventions. I then discovered kdramas but I used to mostly modern kdramas, not on purpose but modern dramas are way more popular, however it occurred to me one day that I could watch a historical kdrama, I chose Mr Queen and I fell in love with the genre. Then from historical kdramas I went kn reddit threads and a lot of people were saying to check out chinese costume dramas as they are on another scale and they were so right they blew me away. It was a massive difference from an 8 episode boring BBC period drama, to a 50+ ep grand epic. Because of that I havent been able to watch a modern drama since. I have tried but I always give up around episode 3.
It’s not romance, but he stares longingly through the window while he plays the piano. It’s not romance, but he collected all of his precious sheet music after the bullies threw it out the window. It’s not romance, but he obtained the security footage of the bullies stressing him out so he could remain at the same school as him. It’s not romance, but they even have a childhood connection, and he gave him his handkerchief. It’s not romance, but he set up dozens of candles for him to get over his stage fright. ðŸ˜
I haven't seen Story of Minglan. By conviction, do you mean activity? Cause there is no one who is more passive…
oooo, I'll write these all down. I was planning on watching Against the current but not while its airing + spring of the blade (once all eps are out, so maybe not till Oct/Nov).
I did want to watch Sword into plowshares but I do find it a bit intimidating.
Have you watched Whispers of Fate? with Luo Yun Xi. It was my first xianxia ever...I do have very mixed feelings about that drama
XY said that in the beginning, because that's what she believed. She was the lost princess, but she thought she…
Thank you so much for this. Ive read it 3 times and i'm just realising so much of this story relies on implication, the characters never say exactly what they are feeling out loud and it has to be inferred. For example the FL has never said outright (at the point im at in the story ep 18) that she loves Tushan Jing but she does care about him, seeing how she is hurt by the appearance of his fiancee.
I feel right now where im at in the story i dont 100% Xiang Liu and im hoping to understand him but your analysis has made me understand a bit more about his mindset and how he feels about certain this.
Oh yes i forgot about that he left her on the mountain for 70+ years! That makes things clearer thanks, im gonna focus on not just what the characters are saying but what they are not saying
Her transforming into a girl again inside a giant petal is so Barbie movie coded, it looks Barbie Fairytopia!!…
Hmm i do believe that his love wasnt romantic, but a deep enduring familial love. But once he saw her come out of the petal his gaze noticeably changed. Really great acting
I haven't seen Story of Minglan. By conviction, do you mean activity? Cause there is no one who is more passive…
Thinking about it, that 15 year promise was really selfish of him. I do feel bad for him but yes he is just too passive. I really recommend story of minglan actually! The ML is amazing! He is someone that had a really horrible and turbulent past but he was really determined when he met the FL that he was going to marry her no matter what. And he bulldozed through all the obstacles to make it happen. It wasnt easy but that is a testament to his love. Tushan Jing wants to remain as. Ye Shiqi, but he cant that time has passed. Im on ep 18 rn im hoping that he will stand up for himself
Empresses in the Palace is a drama I thought would be a challenging watch as I did find it intimidating but I really did love it so much so I do think I can try Sword into Plowshares one day when I'm ready. Joy of Life is another drama I adore. I did try to watch Nirvana in Fire but I struggled a lot with that drama and I've only made it to ep 25. I do want to finish the drama one day so I can see what all the hype is about, but so far I havent really been enjoying it, I found it quite dull and the lack of FL characters is not interesting to me.
I agree with you 100% on WOF. In the review I wrote I said it was a drama I greatly appreciated but did not enjoy. It was visually stunning. The costumes, ost and worldbuilding was amazing. The but the plot, characters and script was not compelling to watch. I believe the story should have been ordered to have a more simpler narrative as then the viewers can build an emotional attachment to the characters. For example I would have the arc start with Tang Lici living in the tower with his mentor and that rival of his (i cant remember the names its been a while) and we would have a good perhaps 8 eps of them living together and seeing the dynamic. So that once the mentor died you can fully understandwl why Tang Lici acted the way he did. I hated the ending also. Major copout.
Luo Yunxi is an awesome actor, I mainly kept watching for him.
been able to watch a modern drama since. I have tried but I always give up around episode 3.
I did want to watch Sword into plowshares but I do find it a bit intimidating.
Have you watched Whispers of Fate? with Luo Yun Xi. It was my first xianxia ever...I do have very mixed feelings about that drama
What drama are you watching currently?
I feel right now where im at in the story i dont 100% Xiang Liu and im hoping to understand him but your analysis has made me understand a bit more about his mindset and how he feels about certain this.
Oh yes i forgot about that he left her on the mountain for 70+ years!
That makes things clearer thanks, im gonna focus on not just what the characters are saying but what they are not saying