vylmen

I understand the comparison with Wuxia, but a comparison with Shenmo would also be very helpful, especially since for the outsider Shenmo is also "deities, monsters, immortals and humans".

The Legend of White Snake (https://kisskh.at/28057-legend-of-white-snake) is a good example of that, as there is cultivation (xianxia), but no sects, no focus on human cultivation, but demon cultivation and more Buddhism than Taoism (more Shenmo). But it's not as over the top, like Journey to the West.

The way I interpreted it, was that bodies floating in outer space can have their final thoughts retrieved by nanobots. She was after all doing her writing and showing it to him, which he never looked at, because he was too busy gambling.

> I still cannot get over how insensitive the male lead was to kiss her in front of someone who had just confessed his love to her.

For one, I don't think he could hear the conversation. Second, it is much better to be clear and harsh about these things then to leave uncertainty. Thirdly, it could've backfired if she rejected him or took pity on her friend. But she also understood that this would allow her friend to move on.

I actually thought that was one of the better parts of the romance. The first meeting was awfully cliché, ending with a wedding, yuck, but this was nice.

And they're pushing Yi Da Qian too fast into lead roles. He doesn't understand half the emotions he has to project, so support roles are better for him.

If you liked her for her cuteness in the historical drama's, then you'll see a more mature side of her. Even though Johnny Huang is bland and has no depth in his story the chemistry between them is one reason to watch.
Also watch Christina Zheng's acting. - even though it's not a big part, she did a stellar job. Personally, the 2nd couple was aggravating, your mileage may vary. The life experience shared between Dilraba's in-drama parents was also very nice to see, but not her mother's attitude.
Reasons not to watch:

* You can't stand overbearing parents
* You can't stand product placements (there's a lot and they're in your face)
* Side plots that haven't been worked out properly and at the same time repeating the same mechanics.

The best thing about this movie is the lack of idiot side kicks. Lately seen too many Wuxia movies that have some idiot or self-overestimating character for comedic effect. None of that here and in general, the males really take a back seat in this movie.
Another good thing is that the evil characters that pretend to be good, do not give evil glances that make it obvious they're really evil. It's not a master piece, but there's a lot worse out there.

Apologies, I wasn't trying to attack again, though I see I could've phrased it better. Part of the fun for me is to figure out the ending and who gets killed and so on. So the tiny bit that entered my mind before I realized it, I already could discard a number of possibilities I was playing with.
Again, this isn't to make you feel worse, but instead explain my motivations.

I do like the series and I would recommend it to people who are open to multiple closed stories being woven together at different pace using a few central characters. My negative would be the entire plot line of the lost opera singing brother. Maybe in retrospect it seems necessary, but it is a source of pure aggravation for me.

Anyhow, I do appreciate your positive notes.

I'm already at episode 34, though it's slow paced now. We had an exciting tournament to a high energy prison and now it feels like 10 episodes of planning a bank heist in comparison. That change of pace is much harder to deal with than any negative comment on here - when there's idols with less than average acting skills there will always be haters and fan boys, so I know how to read between the lines.

There are ways to warn people about a surprising ending, without detailing the final scene. I for one, wish I hadn't read it.

Please mark your comment as spoiler.

Says "Coming soon" for me. Is that a region issue that they're not displaying any more with the new layout?

Yes, it is refreshing to see actual martial artists again, instead of hyped up idols in continuous stop-motion fighting cause they can only pose not actually have skill.

Five episodes in and what's frustrating me most is the music, both the soundmix and the style. It is in your face too loud. There's singing in the background when the leads are talking softly. It's also over the top trying to convey the emotions of scene in music. It's like having a person shout what it's about while another is using sign language and a third morse code, so we are sure that this scene "tense", "awkward" etc. It's making me loose interest..

I'll keep it short ;)

"However, if one has to compare who has more power between a Rich vs a Poor Lead, the former would be the one with the advantage."

That's not a given. What's wrong with Secretary Kim, is a great example. Also, I don't view it as a power competition, but is the role interesting or not, because in the end tags should help me decide if I'm going to watch it.

It's probably why I couldn't warm up to Hyena, cause no character interests me: they are both morally corrupt, despicable and out for blood no matter who gets hurt in the process. And the Rich and Poor didn't make a difference in that.

Naive versus Innocent: the difference may be subtle, but naive is a condition that can exist at any age, analogue to stupid, whereas innocent infers lack of exposure, analogue to ignorant. I find the difference rather important and would avoid naive, where innocent can be interesting, provided the story develops innocence into experience.

Intelligent versus smart - it's confused too much to make a point out of it, but personally I associate intelligence with brain power and smart with wisdom.

I would put both Poor and Rich in neutral, rather than positive/negative. Says nothing about the character, only what they're given to work with. Rich can be a huge negative, if coupled with entitlement or spoiled and so can Poor coupled with ambition and cut-throat. Conversely, Rich coupled with empathic, benevolent are positive and so is poor coupled with thrifty or hard-working.

I would be interested in Cold coupled with Strong, especially for females. You often see strength portrayed as lack of emotions, rather than ability to overcome.

Finally - I think you made a typo when comparing strong and poor. As you say 31% and then 1 in 5. It's either 21% or 1 in 3.

All in all - good read - thanks for the hard work!

Basically all communications about this movie from official channels stopped Sept 2018 (this post by director Eva Jin: https://weibo.com/1645180423/GAOWk1kM6?from=page_1003061645180423_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment ). It may have been stopped?

I'm wrong on both accounts as both of the actresses are in episode 29 as different people. Darn.

Two roles I cannot seem to find the actress for, with good confidence:

1. The perfusion nurse (nurse that helps Jung Hyun Seok and is mostly in ER), I'm guessing https://kisskh.at/people/6291-park-yoo-mil but could be way off
2. The producer of the TV show that interviews everyone, I think it's https://kisskh.at/people/38555-lee-shi-young but not entirely sure

Does anyone know for sure?