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A Fantasy Romance that romances for a little too long.....but there's Ryan Cheng x 3
Another day, another female general paired up with Ryan Cheng. At the heels of “Legend of the Female General” (LOTFG), “Shadow Love” fights for the attention of viewers, and hopes to do better than the other drama. I also finished LOTFG not too long ago, and it’s hard not to compare the two.
LOTFG is a political war drama first, and then romance takes over. “Shadow Love” is without a doubt a fantasy romance, and then politics. Aside from having Ryan as the ML and having a female general, these two dramas are quite different. If you want more romance, then “Shadow Love” should be your option.
PLOT & PACING
As a fantasy drama, the plot is interesting. Love plays a central role in this drama, whether it’s about our leads, or the villains. If you don’t treat this as a serious historical drama, some of the unrealistic aspects of the plot or actions could be forgiven (if you are the forgiving type). But it’s hard for me to look at FL shooting arrows in battles instead of using a sword. How could you carry so many arrows in a war? In that sense, LOTFG did a much better job with strong fight choreography and close combat battles with different weapons. Well, unfortunately, in both dramas, the FL seem to need saving from ML quite a bit. I may not be the biggest fan of the amnesia trope but I like this amnesia + forbidden romance + enemies-to-lovers. Having said that, and being a lover of romance, the Jin An plot and amnesia lasted way too long. The drama could have cut down 3-5 episodes in the first half, and then focus more on Prince Annan, the angst between the leads and the politics in both kingdoms. I also would have liked to see a little more of Prince Annan before the amnesia. I want to get to know him better, so that I can compare his re-emergence in the latter half. If you are not a romance lover, you would have hated this drama. I am glad the drama wraps everything nicely in the end, and does give us a proper closure for all parties.
ROMANCE
Song Yi and Ryan Cheng have great chemistry. We don’t see a lot of the ‘enemies’ part, but the blossoming love is cute to witness. It brews slowly in the first 10+ episodes. Not sizzling with passion, but slow and steady, calm and reassuring until the sweetness overloads with a very smitten Jin An. As I mentioned earlier, some of these episodes could be reduced. But who doesn’t want a handsome ML who is your loverboy, your secret weapon and protector, and then your arch enemies who can’t forget about you? If you are a Ryan fan, this is perfect for you. Lots of skin and muscles. The kisses are not bad either. The leads are communicative, trusting and supportive. They are intelligent and observant of each other’s needs. It’s lovely to see. The love triangle is there, and not super annoying compared to others I’ve seen. The secondary romance doesn’t take up too much screen time and only happens towards the second half of the drama. They are cute but I think it could have developed more. Oh, I forgot how pretty Darren Chen is. His eyes sparkle like jewels!
ACTING
Song Yi and Ryan Cheng are both excellent in this drama. Both have emotional scenes that make me teared up. Yet their playful and serious moments are just as believable. I have to say, Ryan shows his range in this drama playing 3 different roles. This is probably his best acting yet, even though I also like him in LOTFG. But I do think that Ryan’s eyes are better suited at shooting arrows than hearts. Song Yi’s acting is generally good. But one might question if she’s casted well as the female general when she’s so skinny. It also doesn’t help when she has a naturally high-pitched voice, and her shouting commands are not entirely pleasant. I haven’t seen Bi Wen Jun in a while and I was excited to see him play a different character than his previous roles. I never thought he was a bad actor before, but when acting alongside Song Yi and Ryan Cheng, he was at a disadvantage. It’s also lovely to see Darren Chen again and his beautiful eyes can convey so much. There are also many guest stars in this drama. They never show up for long and eventually they all get killed off. LOL
PRODUCTION QUALITY
The first thing I noticed is the beautiful costumes, hair design and accessories. I was not anticipating that but I really love Song Yi’s long pony tail when she’s in her armour. The look is not too girly, and she does not need to fit in the male soldier look, like in LOTFG. Her other more feminine costumes are just as beautiful. Ryan looks dashing as Prince Annan, and the cool superhero look. But his Jin An look is not the best, and he’s has that look for the longest. What a shame! The Queen and Emperor’s robes are gorgeous and elaborate. Cinematography is OK, not the best nor the worst. A few fight scenes are well done, but they are not as good as those in LOTFG. There are also fewer big war battles in “Shadow Love” than in LOTFG. The OST is not bad and I don’t feel that the songs are overplayed. As mentioned earlier, Song Yi’s voice might have put off many. I can tolerate that because I’ve heard of her real voice and I appreciate her dubbing herself. I also like listening to Song Yi’s Chinese. I feel that she enunciates her words very well. I just wish Ryan was not dubbed, and Bi Wen Jun spoke his lines as well as Song Yi.
Overall, I had a pretty good time watching this. I did not have very high expectations, especially after finishing the other female general drama 3 weeks ago. I would only recommend this if you are a Ryan fan or a romance lover who can look past some unrealistic plot holes. Remember, this is a fantasy romance first and foremost.
Completed: 9/16/2025 Review #625
My review of “Legend of the Female General” if you are interested:
https://kisskh.at/profile/virgievirgie/review/488124
LOTFG is a political war drama first, and then romance takes over. “Shadow Love” is without a doubt a fantasy romance, and then politics. Aside from having Ryan as the ML and having a female general, these two dramas are quite different. If you want more romance, then “Shadow Love” should be your option.
PLOT & PACING
As a fantasy drama, the plot is interesting. Love plays a central role in this drama, whether it’s about our leads, or the villains. If you don’t treat this as a serious historical drama, some of the unrealistic aspects of the plot or actions could be forgiven (if you are the forgiving type). But it’s hard for me to look at FL shooting arrows in battles instead of using a sword. How could you carry so many arrows in a war? In that sense, LOTFG did a much better job with strong fight choreography and close combat battles with different weapons. Well, unfortunately, in both dramas, the FL seem to need saving from ML quite a bit. I may not be the biggest fan of the amnesia trope but I like this amnesia + forbidden romance + enemies-to-lovers. Having said that, and being a lover of romance, the Jin An plot and amnesia lasted way too long. The drama could have cut down 3-5 episodes in the first half, and then focus more on Prince Annan, the angst between the leads and the politics in both kingdoms. I also would have liked to see a little more of Prince Annan before the amnesia. I want to get to know him better, so that I can compare his re-emergence in the latter half. If you are not a romance lover, you would have hated this drama. I am glad the drama wraps everything nicely in the end, and does give us a proper closure for all parties.
ROMANCE
Song Yi and Ryan Cheng have great chemistry. We don’t see a lot of the ‘enemies’ part, but the blossoming love is cute to witness. It brews slowly in the first 10+ episodes. Not sizzling with passion, but slow and steady, calm and reassuring until the sweetness overloads with a very smitten Jin An. As I mentioned earlier, some of these episodes could be reduced. But who doesn’t want a handsome ML who is your loverboy, your secret weapon and protector, and then your arch enemies who can’t forget about you? If you are a Ryan fan, this is perfect for you. Lots of skin and muscles. The kisses are not bad either. The leads are communicative, trusting and supportive. They are intelligent and observant of each other’s needs. It’s lovely to see. The love triangle is there, and not super annoying compared to others I’ve seen. The secondary romance doesn’t take up too much screen time and only happens towards the second half of the drama. They are cute but I think it could have developed more. Oh, I forgot how pretty Darren Chen is. His eyes sparkle like jewels!
ACTING
Song Yi and Ryan Cheng are both excellent in this drama. Both have emotional scenes that make me teared up. Yet their playful and serious moments are just as believable. I have to say, Ryan shows his range in this drama playing 3 different roles. This is probably his best acting yet, even though I also like him in LOTFG. But I do think that Ryan’s eyes are better suited at shooting arrows than hearts. Song Yi’s acting is generally good. But one might question if she’s casted well as the female general when she’s so skinny. It also doesn’t help when she has a naturally high-pitched voice, and her shouting commands are not entirely pleasant. I haven’t seen Bi Wen Jun in a while and I was excited to see him play a different character than his previous roles. I never thought he was a bad actor before, but when acting alongside Song Yi and Ryan Cheng, he was at a disadvantage. It’s also lovely to see Darren Chen again and his beautiful eyes can convey so much. There are also many guest stars in this drama. They never show up for long and eventually they all get killed off. LOL
PRODUCTION QUALITY
The first thing I noticed is the beautiful costumes, hair design and accessories. I was not anticipating that but I really love Song Yi’s long pony tail when she’s in her armour. The look is not too girly, and she does not need to fit in the male soldier look, like in LOTFG. Her other more feminine costumes are just as beautiful. Ryan looks dashing as Prince Annan, and the cool superhero look. But his Jin An look is not the best, and he’s has that look for the longest. What a shame! The Queen and Emperor’s robes are gorgeous and elaborate. Cinematography is OK, not the best nor the worst. A few fight scenes are well done, but they are not as good as those in LOTFG. There are also fewer big war battles in “Shadow Love” than in LOTFG. The OST is not bad and I don’t feel that the songs are overplayed. As mentioned earlier, Song Yi’s voice might have put off many. I can tolerate that because I’ve heard of her real voice and I appreciate her dubbing herself. I also like listening to Song Yi’s Chinese. I feel that she enunciates her words very well. I just wish Ryan was not dubbed, and Bi Wen Jun spoke his lines as well as Song Yi.
Overall, I had a pretty good time watching this. I did not have very high expectations, especially after finishing the other female general drama 3 weeks ago. I would only recommend this if you are a Ryan fan or a romance lover who can look past some unrealistic plot holes. Remember, this is a fantasy romance first and foremost.
Completed: 9/16/2025 Review #625
My review of “Legend of the Female General” if you are interested:
https://kisskh.at/profile/virgievirgie/review/488124
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