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Green Flag Leads and Romance steer us through Coroner's cases and Palace schemes
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25
“Coroner’s Diary” was hailed to be the dark horse this summer of 2025. Without A-Listers or S-level promotion, this little drama received rave reviews from MDLers. I am a fan of Landy Li and really liked Ao Rui Peng in “Moonlight Mystique”, thus I want to check this one out. I liked it, but don’t love it like many others.
What I Like:
Green Flag leads.
It’s really lovely to see a drama when both the male and female leads are strong, smart and have a good head on their shoulders. They aren’t perfect individuals (but close enough) and will have time when they want to lash out. But throughout the drama, their personalities remain the same. They grow as a couple but individually, they didn’t change to someone I don’t recognize anymore or make decisions where I scratch my head. It seems to be harder and harder for writers to keep the characters consistent throughout the drama but they are able to do that here.
Main Romance.
Their romance is actually quite subtle though present throughout the drama. It was never the sole focus, but was there running side-by-side along the plot and complements it well. I love their romance in the first half when they were interested in each other, yet couldn’t or haven't voiced their feelings yet. I LOVE the confession scene when they’re stranded. It was without fanfare, just simple and honest feelings, which is just like their relationship - always there for each other and always honest and communicative. Nothing fancy but it was heartfelt and super romantic for me. I also like how once they are together, both parties take the initiative to show affection. We don’t have coy or shy FL/ML who acted like teenage virgins. Kisses, hugging and hand holding happen periodically and naturally. Their romance continues to blossom and mature as the drama goes, though definitely reduced in the last quarter. But how they continue to support each other with their own expertise and experience is evident.
Costumes/Sets
Though this is not a big budget production, money is well spent on the costumes and hair accessories. Landy Li looks beautiful in all of her outfits and even her makeup looks good, which is rare sometimes in period drama. And not only is she looking pretty but all the female characters have elaborate and beautiful costumes, as most of them are royals or in high society. Ao Rui Peng also looks dashing in his outfits, but I like him best in darker clothes and hair up. I LOVE the royal blue wedding costumes as well. I also noticed the sets are not always big and grand but they are well decorated with realistic props and accessories. Nothing looks cheap. I would have liked to see more natural lighting with candles, instead of fake bright light. The fight scenes are good when they happen (just a little bit of slow motion) and I want to see more action scenes.
What I have Mixed Feelings:
Cases
I was very interested in the first few cases - the bride, the well, and the sick wife. They are the most interesting ones to me and though they are not always unique or unpredictable, I was engaged and found them interesting. But as the drama goes, I seem to lose interest in the cases starting from the Chinese Opera one (which is about mid-drama). I have to give the drama props for going at it full force and not hesitating to show some ugly truths and graphic scenes. Seeing Landi Li scraping crap off of steamed bones, or holding an organ, is quite a sight. However, some of the corpses look quite fake and the graphics are not always realistic. When the cases have to then steer towards the political plot, it loses its uniqueness as a Coroner’s story, and the tone shifts. It’s hard to balance them as the political cases that require our FL’s attention will not be focused on her skillset anymore but serve as a plot device to move forward the palace schemes. A minor note, isn’t our female lead too perfect? She does not even make one simple error in anything.
Plot/Editing
The second half of the drama became very political with uninteresting cases. The story then focuses on the fight for the throne and the ugly side of the royal family. Some parts seem to be edited out to fit in 38 episodes. When did the 6th sister fall in love (after the initial encounter), get married, and now pregnant? I know she’s not important but if so, do we even need that in the first place? The last episode was jam-packed with events, though I can’t say it’s not exciting. But everything was revealed in succession rapidly and unrealistically, with one of the villains being easily captured within palace walls.
Acting
I think Landy Li and Ao Rui Peng did fine, with Landy Li being the best of the young cast. I liked Ao Rui Peng more in “Moonlight Mystique” and probably because I found him more charismatic and attractive there. Shen Yu Jie (Princess Yong Ning) did fine as well, especially when she plays a very supportive and lovely character. I remember liking her in “Hard to Find”. But I can’t shake off the young face of Yu Cheng En as the naive suitor in “Love Like the Galaxy”. His acting was OK but I can’t believe in his character, and he is probably the weakest of the 4. The rest of the young supporting and guest cast did fine. Of course, the veterans are great. I love the grandmothers and they really show the younger actors how to act and be charismatic at the same time. The Empress and Consort were both great in their fight for affection and their children. I would have loved to say the same about the Emperor, but towards the end, his acting became too cartoonish. Is it the director’s fault or the actor’s? I don’t know.
I might not have loved “Coroner’s Diary” as much as many viewers, but I will still recommend it if you like the genre and the actors. If I remember correctly, I think “The Imperial Coroner” does a better job with the cases tying it back to the big general plot, with an unique way of explaining the cases. But “Coroner’s Diary” shows a more realistic and graphic approach to these cases. Both dramas are lovely to watch, are similar yet different in a good way. “Coroner’s Diary” has a stronger and more mature romance plot that I enjoy more. Despite a slower pace in the middle of the drama, I was quite engaged and had a good time watching this drama.
Completed: 8/3/2025 Review #608
“Coroner’s Diary” was hailed to be the dark horse this summer of 2025. Without A-Listers or S-level promotion, this little drama received rave reviews from MDLers. I am a fan of Landy Li and really liked Ao Rui Peng in “Moonlight Mystique”, thus I want to check this one out. I liked it, but don’t love it like many others.
What I Like:
Green Flag leads.
It’s really lovely to see a drama when both the male and female leads are strong, smart and have a good head on their shoulders. They aren’t perfect individuals (but close enough) and will have time when they want to lash out. But throughout the drama, their personalities remain the same. They grow as a couple but individually, they didn’t change to someone I don’t recognize anymore or make decisions where I scratch my head. It seems to be harder and harder for writers to keep the characters consistent throughout the drama but they are able to do that here.
Main Romance.
Their romance is actually quite subtle though present throughout the drama. It was never the sole focus, but was there running side-by-side along the plot and complements it well. I love their romance in the first half when they were interested in each other, yet couldn’t or haven't voiced their feelings yet. I LOVE the confession scene when they’re stranded. It was without fanfare, just simple and honest feelings, which is just like their relationship - always there for each other and always honest and communicative. Nothing fancy but it was heartfelt and super romantic for me. I also like how once they are together, both parties take the initiative to show affection. We don’t have coy or shy FL/ML who acted like teenage virgins. Kisses, hugging and hand holding happen periodically and naturally. Their romance continues to blossom and mature as the drama goes, though definitely reduced in the last quarter. But how they continue to support each other with their own expertise and experience is evident.
Costumes/Sets
Though this is not a big budget production, money is well spent on the costumes and hair accessories. Landy Li looks beautiful in all of her outfits and even her makeup looks good, which is rare sometimes in period drama. And not only is she looking pretty but all the female characters have elaborate and beautiful costumes, as most of them are royals or in high society. Ao Rui Peng also looks dashing in his outfits, but I like him best in darker clothes and hair up. I LOVE the royal blue wedding costumes as well. I also noticed the sets are not always big and grand but they are well decorated with realistic props and accessories. Nothing looks cheap. I would have liked to see more natural lighting with candles, instead of fake bright light. The fight scenes are good when they happen (just a little bit of slow motion) and I want to see more action scenes.
What I have Mixed Feelings:
Cases
I was very interested in the first few cases - the bride, the well, and the sick wife. They are the most interesting ones to me and though they are not always unique or unpredictable, I was engaged and found them interesting. But as the drama goes, I seem to lose interest in the cases starting from the Chinese Opera one (which is about mid-drama). I have to give the drama props for going at it full force and not hesitating to show some ugly truths and graphic scenes. Seeing Landi Li scraping crap off of steamed bones, or holding an organ, is quite a sight. However, some of the corpses look quite fake and the graphics are not always realistic. When the cases have to then steer towards the political plot, it loses its uniqueness as a Coroner’s story, and the tone shifts. It’s hard to balance them as the political cases that require our FL’s attention will not be focused on her skillset anymore but serve as a plot device to move forward the palace schemes. A minor note, isn’t our female lead too perfect? She does not even make one simple error in anything.
Plot/Editing
The second half of the drama became very political with uninteresting cases. The story then focuses on the fight for the throne and the ugly side of the royal family. Some parts seem to be edited out to fit in 38 episodes. When did the 6th sister fall in love (after the initial encounter), get married, and now pregnant? I know she’s not important but if so, do we even need that in the first place? The last episode was jam-packed with events, though I can’t say it’s not exciting. But everything was revealed in succession rapidly and unrealistically, with one of the villains being easily captured within palace walls.
Acting
I think Landy Li and Ao Rui Peng did fine, with Landy Li being the best of the young cast. I liked Ao Rui Peng more in “Moonlight Mystique” and probably because I found him more charismatic and attractive there. Shen Yu Jie (Princess Yong Ning) did fine as well, especially when she plays a very supportive and lovely character. I remember liking her in “Hard to Find”. But I can’t shake off the young face of Yu Cheng En as the naive suitor in “Love Like the Galaxy”. His acting was OK but I can’t believe in his character, and he is probably the weakest of the 4. The rest of the young supporting and guest cast did fine. Of course, the veterans are great. I love the grandmothers and they really show the younger actors how to act and be charismatic at the same time. The Empress and Consort were both great in their fight for affection and their children. I would have loved to say the same about the Emperor, but towards the end, his acting became too cartoonish. Is it the director’s fault or the actor’s? I don’t know.
I might not have loved “Coroner’s Diary” as much as many viewers, but I will still recommend it if you like the genre and the actors. If I remember correctly, I think “The Imperial Coroner” does a better job with the cases tying it back to the big general plot, with an unique way of explaining the cases. But “Coroner’s Diary” shows a more realistic and graphic approach to these cases. Both dramas are lovely to watch, are similar yet different in a good way. “Coroner’s Diary” has a stronger and more mature romance plot that I enjoy more. Despite a slower pace in the middle of the drama, I was quite engaged and had a good time watching this drama.
Completed: 8/3/2025 Review #608
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