i have to agree with this "In some dramas, issues have arisen such as excessive makeup on actors, and certain…
There has not been a genuinely (ancient) historical C-drama for quite a while, since any attempt to depict real events or historical figures tends to run into censorship. What we now call a historical C-drama is essentially a modern fairy tale, with no real claim to realism. To single out one supposedly unrealistic element among the many is simply ridiculous.
As far as most people familiar with both Kdramas and Cdramas are concerned Pursuit of Jade, just like pretty much…
How does "the full beat makeup used on a poor orphan girl" compare "to people regularly surviving falling of cliffs". Isn't the latter a lot more ridiculous than the former? Also, they actually did include a justification for the former (sort of) in that the mother was super sorted out and classy.
I've watched the final scene of this episode at least 20 times (the fight and her finding out about her husband). Some people complain that her fight with the general is not realistic. At least as far as Cdrama world rules are concerned this is not the case. By this time in the drama it is well-established that physically she is incredibly strong. It's also clear that she's practised martial arts forever and that she is a prodigy in this respect. For me this fight scene is simply great in showing how she is adapting her fighting style on the fly. In the novel her growth as a fighter is developed over many, many chapters. To pack the novel into 40 episodes they had to carefully pick and choose where and how to fast forward certain developments. And personally this particular fight demonstrates just how brilliantly they often succeeded in this respect.
You are comparing apples with oranges. Both have high ratings for very different reasons. Also NIF is a couple of years old and usually the ratings drop over time. I doubt that Pursuit of Jade will remain at 9.1 forever.
It was very unrealistic how the main female lead had obvious full makeup on which did not make her status of being…
As far as most people familiar with both Kdramas and Cdramas are concerned Pursuit of Jade, just like pretty much any recent major Chinese historical drama production, beats any recent historical Kdrama by miles. Really no comparison. If this one is your first historical Cdrama you are forgiven for your comments. Otherwise, you should be familiar with what makes sense and what does not make sense in the world of historical Cdramas. E.g. every historical Cdrama has someone falling off a cliff and the chances of survival are always 100%, the moon in historical Cdramas is always a full moon, the makeup is always immaculate, etc.
You can download a pretty good English translation of the novel in the discussion part of this page.
This is the first time I've ever considered reading one of these novels. I just saw the link pop up in the discussion section and trialled reading the first 40 or so chapters. At least that one reads smoothly but is clearly not something that would give the original author any revenue. I also don't know how the original is distributed (hardcopies or purely online) and whether there are any officially sanctioned English translations.
I'm on episode 27, and I just can’t believe the FL took out that powerful general with only a butcher's knife.…
What rock have you been living under? Since when do Cdramas have anything to do with "realistic". This is the world in which jumping off a cliff gives you a 100% chance of survival!
After the village arc the MAIN male character became a side character, main female character initially had a story…
We must have watched different dramas, or perhaps this is your first c-drama? Characters flee pursuers in the middle of a city and moments later turn up on a mountain cliff, fall off and somehow survive. This sort of heightened, improbable storytelling is standard fare and nobody blinks an eye. The same applies to the points you raise. We see the female lead go from an inexperienced fighter to a capable one within a single fight scene, and later she is a general after many implied battles. That progression is typical in this genre. Like many other c-dramas, this one adapts a very long novel. Anyone who has read the book will tell you that condensing it into about forty episodes inevitably requires lots of compression and fast forwarding. And, as you can see from the high rating and raving reviews the way all this was handled in Pursuit of Jade worked extremely well for most of the audience.
I am currently at episode 10 and I will be honest: I find it kinda boring. Like I am not invested in the characters…
Interesting. Story of YangXi palace is my all-time favourite Chinese historical drama. I loved the Double, Fated Hearts and Prisoner of Beauty... and I absolutely love this one. I don't think that apart from YangXi any of the other dramas I've watched (about 200) has as many scenes that I'll be watching over and over as Pursuit of Beauty.
Why do people join the bandwagon of haters (a summary by one of my AI friends).
1. Identity and taste signalling People use ratings to signal identity (“I have higher standards”, “I’m not mainstream”). Dismissing popular shows can feel like asserting expertise or individuality.
2. Backlash against success The more successful a show, the stronger the backlash. Overexposure and high expectations turn disappointment into harsh reactions.
3. Bandwagon effects Once negativity starts, others copy it. Extreme opinions get attention, so piling on becomes rewarding.
4. Enjoyment of provocation Some people like stirring reactions, arguing, or being contrarian. Low ratings are an easy way to do that.
5. Mismatch of expectations People expect one type of show and get another. Instead of “not for me”, they rate it very low.
6. Rating as a weapon Some use ratings to influence averages or rankings rather than reflect their actual opinion.
7. Genuine strong dislike Sometimes people truly think a show is terrible. These cases exist, but are usually fewer than it seems.
Really good to see that, so far, the professional haters don’t seem to have much impact on the ratings of Pursuit of Jade, no matter where you look. By now, the usual bandwagon of people condemning a hugely successful show as the worst they’ve ever seen is definitely becoming visible in the comments and the reviews (as usual), but clearly their attempt to drag the show down isn’t working (yet).
Thats how rating should be 1 to 10 not 7 to 10, its either every damn drama you watch are good or your way of…
As I said, I don’t watch dramas with an overall MDL rating below 7. Personally, I find it hard to understand how anyone could give a rating of 1 to any of the dramas I’ve watched over the years. I suspect I’m not alone in this. As far as I can tell, the general consensus on MDL is that handing out 1s is often associated with trolling, hating, or something along those lines.
I think you are rating dramas very generously if 7 is your lowest ever rating. Perhaps you've been lucky and have…
Hmm, have you ever watched a drama with an overall MDL rating of less than 7? I have not and so not ending up with personal ratings lower than that does not seem that surprising to me. What gets me is that there are always a few people who feel compelled to go for ridiculous low ratings. What is the point of giving a drama like Pursuit of Jade a rating of 1 or even 5?
Somebody explain to me how anybody can possibly rate ANY drama a 1? I've watched more than 200 dramas and I've only ever rated one drama less than a 7.
I trashed The Legend of Female General because it focused too much on draggy romance(90%) instead of focus on…
I ended up dropping Legend of the Female General at some point. Love the actors, just couldn’t stay engaged. Lately I’ve really gone off historical dramas where everyone is dressed like they’re attending a royal banquet 24/7. The more practical, everyday costumes in this one are actually a breath of fresh air.
1. Identity and taste signalling
People use ratings to signal identity (“I have higher standards”, “I’m not mainstream”). Dismissing popular shows can feel like asserting expertise or individuality.
2. Backlash against success
The more successful a show, the stronger the backlash. Overexposure and high expectations turn disappointment into harsh reactions.
3. Bandwagon effects
Once negativity starts, others copy it. Extreme opinions get attention, so piling on becomes rewarding.
4. Enjoyment of provocation
Some people like stirring reactions, arguing, or being contrarian. Low ratings are an easy way to do that.
5. Mismatch of expectations
People expect one type of show and get another. Instead of “not for me”, they rate it very low.
6. Rating as a weapon
Some use ratings to influence averages or rankings rather than reflect their actual opinion.
7. Genuine strong dislike
Sometimes people truly think a show is terrible. These cases exist, but are usually fewer than it seems.