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  • Location: 독일 ~ Where the waves gush against your windows
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xXabsintheXx

독일 ~ Where the waves gush against your windows
Completed
A Beautiful Mind
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 30, 2018
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 6.5
The drama was very entertaining and addicting. I was always connected to Lee Young Ho's struggle and Jang Hyuk was magnificent in displaying this complicated character. During the drama I sometimes wondered if the performance really had to be that way because it didn't always made sense at first sight. But now that the drama is over and everything about his character and his "being different" is in the open, everything is quite clear for me.

I was very fascinated about that special father/son relationship. It was complicated, and subtle gestures, words and looks created a really good feel for those both as well as for me.

I also liked that there were so many grey-ish characters, some of them explained more detailed, others less. Being in the medical field myself I can relate to the daily struggles and difficult decisions the doctors have to make - and it's stressing you out a lot. Of course, for us it looks like "Omg, he's such a bad person." but well... it's never easy to make life changing decisions, right?

I also mentioned before that I'm in love with the constellation of the cast, right? This drama has so many of my favorites actors and actresses in it, that it was pure pleasure to watch them - even if the script was trash. Though that is definitely not the case here. The plot, the writing, the dialogues and the execution were great. Except for the last episodes. I wouldn't have minded two more. I think that it would have been better for the story flow because the finale feels a bit flat and rushed now. Also, for the development of the relationship between Lee Young Oh and Gye Jin Sung, especially how she is slowly changing him. Both of them together got less screentime because of the cut since the drama also had to solve the criminal part.

But nevertheless, Park So Dam and Jang Hyuk were... well, they completed each other? I mean, they were able to pull off the differences in character and how they completed each other (even though I feel that Park So Dam's character fell a bit short on that part). They had really good chemistry, even though I also enjoyed Jang Hyuk's and Park Se Young interactions in the beginning (yeah, part of it was Money Flower-induced... :p).

Those Power Rangers below (excluding Jang Hyuk, ofc)... and the rest of the medical stuff were a nice addition, and even though they were either not the nicest people or just too undefined in the beginning, they grew on me. Though Dong Ha was my favorite from the first minute :p~ And he and Jang Hyuk... I need another drama with them together!

The medical part is very... tumor-heavy, one could say. It makes it look like there are just no other diseases out there. I always told myself that there are a lot more patients with minor illnesses, but just not shown for the viewer. And for the sake of the viewer they picked the more dangerous and rarer ones. I can't blame them. First of all, it was very interesting to get to know about some of them. And secondly, not every "tumor" means "cancer". "Tumor" just means "lumb/swelling" where the structure of the cells is either slightly or gravely different from the usual ones. I learned that in school recently, but I'm sure that the majority of people who don't work in the medical field and don't research those things on their own, don't know about it. There's a difference in cells and benign tumors (the good ones) can be removed if the location is not too dangerous and it won't re-appear. Benign tumors also won't "spread" because their cell walls are definite. There's a lot more to the subject, so I will stop here since it's quite the dry material. I just wanted to point that out because I know a lot of people freak out when they hear "tumor".

If you listen to "Dirt" by Park Bernard, the songs makes you all warm and melancholic and sad with a spark of hope. Not every OST of a drama is worth mentioning, but this one needs to be. It's captivating and so different from your usual songs, and stays with you even after the song has already finished for some time.

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Completed
Love in Pavilion
0 people found this review helpful
24 days ago
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0
My initial reason for starting it in the first place: The guest and support appearances of other actors (Hou MingHao, Ding YuXi, Charles Lin). Otherwise I probably didn't think of starting it at all. Despite that I was still invested in the story. The actual main cast was as convincing and made me care for them and their goals as well.

The drama has its own beauty and grace. A different kind of grace, especially the main romance in the beginning. As the main plot continues with the villain, the romance lost some of its artful beauty - you could say it was replaced by the game-like storytelling. Those of you who are also gamers maybe know what I'm talking about. Your typical RPG-storyline: a group of heroes is built - growing as the story continues - to fight the big evil, that is terrorizing humanity. You have your different places where the main group travels to, to solve smaller side-stories, that are still important for the main plot. And everything results in the big fight at the end. Thankfully in the last episodes, the story rediscovers the beauty and gracefullness of its initial love story as well.

And at this point I can't quite differentiate between my subjective and objective opinion about the last events. Because they added another - imo - unnecessary side villain to the story. I also think many characters had a questionable fate at the end. At some point I can understand the storyteller's intentions for the later purpose - at the same time I don't like it at all, because the way it happened felt unreasonable.

What I really love about this drama were its many different couples. You get so many awesome and unique characters and so many great couples you can root on. This feels somewhat refreshing, since you don't have to concentrate on only one but a whole bunch. It definitely never gets dull.

The music played a big, big deal in this one. It was powerful and strong, connected you to the current scenes while you got swept away by its emotions.

Visual effects supported the fighting skills greatly and made them look stunning without going overboard.

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Completed
Hidden Strike
0 people found this review helpful
Feb 17, 2026
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.5

No brain needed, watch for the cast and you'll enjoy!

Yeah, I admit my shallow, reason. Only watched this because I went through Hou MingHao's movie list.

And yes, the only reason for many others as well is probably purely the cast and maybe getting some action. Jackie Chan, John Cena, GoT's 2nd Greyjoy bad boy. And Hou MingHao. Even though he's got a really small supporting role with only 2 sentences and a nice close-up.

The film is a pretty simple mainstream action movie, no brain needed, fighting scenes ala Jackie Chan and some comediac inserts that are usually part of your action movies these days. The story is so simple, that I actually forgot to listen to the dialogues some times.
What I have to compliment though is the cinematography. Really beautiful desert and explosion shots.

The end was quite sudden and I didn't get how they actually stopped the evil master plan...

Conclusion: If you know what you signed up for, you can't get disappointed and might actually enjoy the movie. I somewhat did, lol.

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Completed
Love You Seven Times
0 people found this review helpful
Feb 14, 2026
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This drama has a lot of good traits, yet there are also some things where it failed to fullfill my expectations.

While the beginning successfully built up atmosphere and suspense, the later tribulations felt a bit rushed and therefore took out some spice. I couldn't fully enjoy the romance the way I wanted to. I'm not a fan of cushy pink clouds or those childish romance gestures/attitudes between the main couple. Playful yes, but not childish. The overall romance wasn't as intense as I had hoped for, at least for me. A huge part caused the FLs acting, that felt quite limited many times. Facial expressions failed to deliver enough emotions.

My favored atmosphere as well as suspense became better again during the end of the last tribulation and when the arc in the demon realm started. And wow, the demon arc was great, but a bit too short. I would have liked to watch that part a bit longer - and with more amnesia.

I found the whole cast very pleasant and the hidden villain was well played. Special applause to the cast who always played the parents. They were great and their appearances were always a delight.
I still don't get why they changed the actress of the SFL though. Whether it was planned from the beginning or had to be done later on for whatever reason, they wrote the change into the script, so it would make sense, but it was not necessary at all, imo. I liked the first version better.

Visuals were great, makeup and costumes beautiful, as well as colorful cinematography/CGI. Yet they actually put some mannequins in armor in the background during one of the last episodes, as well as a few not so well made CGI "power moves". That was a small letdown.

I overall still enjoyed this drama and the cast alot. It was fun, seeing the actors and actresses in different roles over and over again. The few complaints I have about this drama are mostly completely subjective and don't mean others would feel the same. Those were just not my thing.

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Completed
Badland Hunters
0 people found this review helpful
Aug 23, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 3.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
I'm sorry if someone feels offended because they actually liked this one. The basic idea was indeed a good one, but the whole execution/writing/concept was nonsensical.

The sceneries looked quite fake here and there and the lighting felt wrong. CGI was well done sometimes, and bad other times.

For a postapocalyptic environment they displayed not enough desperation of the people.

Without getting into too much detail, the backstory was too short (there was just too less explanation of everything), the introduction of the characters was almost nonexistent, which made it quite hard to get their motivations - just a bunch of stereotypes colliding - and the action scenes were all over the place. There were too many action scenes and even though the fighting itself looked good, the shaky cameras and blood/body parts flying everywhere turned it into a bad rollercoaster. A lot of "deaths" were totally exaggerated.

If they made the movie a bit longer, put more effort into the backstory and its characters and created a more logical rescue mission, this could have been an enjoyable movie.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't waste your time on this, guys.

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Completed
The King's Affection
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 18, 2022
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
The story telling was always steady, the tension always only rose tiny bits without any big showdowns. The finale itself was calmer than I expected but still worthy and in the end fitting the overall vibe of the drama.

It's one of those dramas that lives from its characters as there were many multi-layered ones who drove the story forward and whose cast did really good in portraying them. It's rare that I don't look for flaws in at least one or two actors/actresses. I just enjoyed all of them, the leads, the second leads, the side characters, the villains.

I often have concerns when it comes to characters pretending to be the other gender. And even though I started doubtfully, Park Eun Bin convinced me otherwise. She did really well in portraying someone that had to hide her gender for years, starting to feel more comfortable in men's clothes and acting way tougher than one would expect, so that it would lead to a natural rough behavior. In the end I found it somewhat funny but totally fitting that in her developing relationship with the ML, she was the strong one while Jung Ji Woon was the softer counterpart. She took the initiatives while he followed. And he definitely cried more than her, lol. BUT he never felt unmanly or something. Rowon achieved a good balance between his character's soft side and his strong/brave moments. And he was a good equivalent to Park Eun Bin.

At some point in earlier episodes I started to wonder why she continued to pretend to be someone else, since it was such a toll on her. But later on I realized that everyone just wants to live. And don't always need an answer to everything. Sometimes things are just like that without any deep reason.

One thing I'd complain about would be the part where people from Ming were visiting. They hinted so much to another back story that I actually expected them to make use of that in later episodes but they never did, which is quite sad. I would have loved to see as to what that part might have led.

And the music... In my humble opinion, I thought it was too weak and didn't support important scenes well enough. But that's just me.

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Completed
Run On
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 11, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 4.0

A Pool of Delicacies

I think this was one of the most comfortable watches I've ever had.

It was a pleasure watching all the characters interact with each other. Everyone was unique. They differ so much from your usual drama stereotypes, that I was always excited to see what they were doing next. I never got frustrated about things and there was not one boring moment. Why? Because every character had an interesting approach towards their acting partners, whether it was the ML with the FL, or the ML with the SML, or the FL with the SFL or the SML with the SFL. Or with everyone else who showed up, for example, the FL's best friend/colleague or the secretary of the SFL. I was able to sit back and relax and wait for new fun moments.

Especially Ki Seon Gyeom. Im Shi Wan gave him such a special touch, that it feels difficult to see anyone else doing it. He's always so pure and looks innocent, but when it comes to face serious situations, he shows an unknown backbone and strength.

Shin Se Kyung. I know she's an either hate or love actress for many people. Well, let me tell you that she was lovely in this. Her acting was harmonious and well balanced with Im Shi Wan.

My secret favorite though was Kang Tae Oh (SML). Damn, that man. I'm in love. I've never seen someone as charming as him. I can't even describe how much I looked forward to his scenes. Whether it was with his love interest or Im Shi Wan or... well, anyone else. He was the light in every scene.

The sole a*** in this, the only one, you could possibly get angry with was the ML's father. Well, someone had to play the devil, right?

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Completed
Where Stars Land
0 people found this review helpful
Aug 5, 2019
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 4.0
8 is "good" and good means I liked it. 8.5 is "good +" or B+ which means I enjoyed it a bit more than "just" good. So yeah, this is definitely not a bad drama.

Having an airport as the main stage is a nice change of scenery. It felt refreshing to see how life of those workers looks like. Though the focus changed in the second half of the drama.

They tried to cover a lot of backstories with only small dialogues here and there which I liked that way. You don't always need a multi-paged essay about everyone and every connection/relationship people have. Sometimes dropping some words on the sidetrack will also inform you about the whole thing, so you don't have to complain about distractions.

I also appreciated that they displayed 3-dimensional side characters with the help of small side-stories which again were kept short. It made those characters more likable and got those actors some small time to shine as well.

The love story was really sweet and got even quite heartbreaking towards the end. The development was well done, it felt real and pure. And Chae Soo Bin and Lee Je Hoon... oh well, they nailed it. There was chemistry, there was magic between those two. Their intimate moments felt natural. That special charm between them made me so damn emotional at the end.

It was also nice to see familiar faces in smaller roles, for example Choi Won Young (I Remember You), Nam Da Reum (SFD and many more, this boy has just too many "younger version" roles, lol) and Park Hyuk Kwon (the make up and swords master of SFD :p).

Lee Dong Gun's role was the one I despised the most. I wanted to punch him so many times, my knuckles were itching all the time. Of course, k-dramaland had to give him some excuses for his behavior. But it didn't change the fact that Seo In Woo was one detestable fellow for me. But I guess he doesn't care much about my opinion.

As for the secret of the male lead... During earlier episodes I thought that it wasn't necessary to make it extra special for the drama because the normal version would have served enough story already and I didn't see the purpose behind the way they put it. But right after finishing I had to look that part up and get a bit smarter about it (I also misunderstood parts of that secret in the beginning). I came to the conclusion that it's alright. How they told that part of the story, why they chose to do it that way and that there is indeed not exactly a "normal" version of it in real life either. There are similar things but nothing would have worked for the path the writers had in their minds. Although I have to say that they shouldn't have bothered with that action finale. It was too much and the story would still have worked out fine. They did follow that certain thread right from the beginning, so it wouldn't alienate in the end. It was still unnecessary.

So, yeah, quite an enjoyable drama that tells its story slowly but without getting boring.

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Completed
Rain or Shine
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 7, 2018
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
Man, how I had wished to give this a 10...
I mean this was such a great story, almost perfect. There actually didn't "happen" that much, if you look closely at it, but the interactions between each person were enough to keep you glued to the screen. I mean, every single character had a grounding of their own which let you connect with and like them to bits. I loved every single story. Gang Doo's sister and Moon Soo's boss kinda annoyed me though.

Of course, the most endearing and compelling part was Moon Soo's and Gang Doo's growth and their struggles to overcome their past. And how they completed each other, eventually. The actors were just... magnificent, especially Jun Ho (and I'm glad they never changed his hair style in this drama like they do in other ones, because.... damn his messy curls~).

I preferred the first part over the second one. The characters were steadier in their decisions and actions, and never budged. In the later episodes there were some things that looked like the writers didn't know how to push the story forward, so that they started to use old standard methods.

And this is also why I only gave a 9. Because the final plot twist rubbed me up the wrong way. It was totally unnecessary and felt like an emergency solution because (again) the writers had no idea how to wrap up the drama with a smooth and deserving ending. I mean I didn't even ask for an explosive finale at all. I would have been completely satisfied with a calm one, too, instead of this... dispensable add-on. Or they could have at least changed the reason for the last event.

The drama still deserves the 9 because of its many strengths, a well put together atmosphere, strong characters with noticeable development, and a significant background music, which all put together create a heart wrenching but also warm story. It's one of those dramas that will touch your heart in a special way and stay with you for a long time.

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Completed
Mask
0 people found this review helpful
Dec 30, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
Because this drama got me quite addicted, I completed this within two days.

The rating was pretty easy on this one even though I  thought about giving this a 9 even. But there were still some things  that bothered me, so 8.5 is pretty alright for this drama. Also, my  rating is partially biased by enjoyment. It would be way lower if I were  only judging in regards to writing, cleverness etc...

I think the best way to describe this drama would be "average makjang"...
Imagine  reading your favorite fanfiction packed with your favorite clichés. All  the things that are happening in the story have the only purpose of entertaining you and keep your excitement up. You don't even care whether all those incidents make sense or are possible in reality. One convenience/coincidence is hunting the other and timing of certain twists doesn't add up either.

But because you like it anyway,  you won't nitpick. That's how I felt about the story. The whole story was all over the place, started many twists in the beginning and worked through them one by one. Because it didn't really follow realism, everything was possible and every character seemed to be  capable of whatever was needed - because neither of them had a  conscience (and because the story needed them to act that way).

Even though I had temporary hair loss in the first half because the female lead kept making me angry with her trance-like attitude and visible discomfort regarding the situation she was in (if you agree to play a  role, you should play a role and don't make it obvious/show your real emotions on your face), she got alot better during the second half (even though her change was a one-eighty,  as if she had switched personalities). It still made me happy because  her scenes got more enjoyable and I loved listening to her conversations  with the male lead throughout the drama.

Therefore half of my whole enjoyment were indeed the leads. I've never seen either of them before  but they grew on me. Their acting had a warm aura and made me feel comfortable. They also had really good chemistry between each other. I  loved their skinship. It was not exposing but it was nice to watch, it delivered the right feelings and was very sensitive <3 (But dramas  already get me with a caressing gesture or a tight hug anyway :P)

Especially Jo Ji Hoon (the male lead) got me quite good during this show (probably his deep, relaxing voice played a part as well... seriously,  it was such a pleasant sound~). I don't think he's one of the prettiest guys out there but I liked his acting very much, it was warm and made me feel at home in the drama. He also had some really interesting, subtle nuances in his facial expressions that made his scenes very touching and unique. And his role was the most intriguing one. From all flawed characters, he was probably the most authentic one.

The  second leads had a quite dysfunctional relationship that was bad from the beginning and just got worse (I mean that in a positive and enjoyable way). I didn't really get their change of hearts in the last episodes, but well... The drama didn't care much for explainable developments from the start. I was also a bit disappointed that everything constantly resolved to whoever had the better evidence to blackmail and constant threatening (or the evil ones had a sudden enlightenment). I was also a little sad that they didn't clear another lose end that was mentioned in the early episodes...

But overall:
Pure satisfactory, superficial entertainment that I enjoyed a lot nonetheless~
The  charm of the older dramas, the simpler cinematographic touch, the  development of the romance, and even those ridiculous twists and turns.

And  did I say that there were also many scenes that surprised me because I  didn't think they would get me in a certain way? Throughout the drama,  there were always some pretty... striking moments regarding mood and other things.

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Completed
Pursuit of Jade
1 people found this review helpful
7 days ago
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Sleepless nights

Oh well. I silently watched this after it finished airing. And I restarted it right after.
I also successfully avoided any spoilers as well, so I was able to enjoy this full heartedly.

I don't want to write another ass long essay about this one, since there are already plenty other well written ones. Let's just say, that all the hype is deserved. I haven't been that addicted to a drama in a long time. I don't know why. I guess it's doing a great job at keeping you at bait with some damn long separation period between the leads, mixed with all that danger they are facing during that time and right after the drama just built up enough emotional ground for its viewers to be caught. There was even some kind of overwhelming numbness at some point after some drastic events, that left you speechless. My sleeping time suffered alot.

Short key points that made the drama work:
- of course the plot / story telling
- great acting and chemistry between the whole cast - and the way the leads interacted with each other made your heart beat faster every time
- strong FL - physically and verbally
- ML - I don't know what to say except that I was utterly satisfied with him, lol. Esp. the way they introduced his actual authority and identity only later on and with such an awesome entrance music. You have this strong, leading military general who's upright, clever and strategic, has backbone and fairness, and who doesn't submit to anyone not even the emperor. On the other side he's totally devoted to his wife in such a caring and warm way and even though you might think he's totally submissive towards her (and yes, maybe he is), he radiates a strong and protective aura while they are still on equal grounds. You just feel comfortable with him the whole time (well, except for one misstep)
- different multifaceted interesting characters and backgrounds
- Chang Ning !!!! (the FL's little sister)
- cleverly placed strong and captivating music - every single song fits a certain mood/situation (love, longing, despair, loss, leadership, danger, and so on)
- impressive fighting scenes
- karma always find's its prey - you won't be disappointed

Man, during the last days after finishing and now rewatching it, I had so many ideas in my head how to put my enjoyment into some short words, yet I feel like lacking the vocabulary / fun remarks to fully transport my feelings. At the same point I feel like just repeating what everyone else had already said before. Well, I can't deny how much I love this drama.

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Completed
The Unclouded Soul
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 19, 2026
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Second half explains it all

Well, I took notice that this drama had quite some divided opinions when it aired. I can't remember the content of those opinions, but I do have my own issues with it. Fact is, I was definitely swept away by the second half of the show.

Things, the first half lacked were that there was just not enough information about the characters which made me question their behaviour all the time. Esp. Hong Ye (ML) was a mystery to me. His actions, the fast change in his attitude towards Xiao Yao (FL) didn't have any explainable footing for a long time. Only way later it got explained (which was, after getting to know it, actually satisfying). Regarding him being the demon king, I believe some people found him a bit too "nice". I was never bothered by that, I must say. I liked the different approach and never expected some prejudiced stereotype.

I also kind of had a problem with the FL having a somewhat too childish behaviour at first. I did like her character and all, but it was difficult to feel that "fast blooming romance" between her an Hong Ye. Even more so because he was some thousand years old. The side stories conveyed more emotion and even the brother/sister relationship of Bing Zhu (SML) and Tan were more relatable. I was also very intrigued by his character development. He took quite a rough path which caused his soul to be quite torn. I enjoyed his encounter and relationship with Pian Pian (SFL).

Third thing that bothered me in the first half, was the somewhat chaotic and non organized storytelling. Then, the story of the Realm of Mist and Void began and they invested way too much time with that, almost bringing the story to a halt.

What kept me going? The two soul demon cat Xiao Ming/Xiao Mu! ...Just kidding. Though he was great, he wasn't the only reason. I don't really know actually. There were glimpses of it getting better in the early side stories. And maybe I just hoped that it would get better since Hou MingHao wouldn't chose total trash, right?

And suddenly the second half of the story started and it got so much better. Finally things were explained, the relationship of the main couple got a deeper bond and an understandable explanation for its weird speedy development in the beginning. Xiao Yao also seemed more grown up which made it easier to feel for her and Hong Ye. The more they showed the past of the characters, the more I got invested in the romance. So much, that it did made me shed a lot of tears in the end (which I didn't expect until a certain point in the story).

They also introduced more important side characters (the dragons) and made the story more interesting, since those new people were way too charming - each of them in their own way.

I might not agree with the outcome of some characters, and the closer I got to the finale, the more it felt like the writers were at a loss to find a suitable closure for everyone at some point. Somehow it still worked, but that didn't make me less angry about it (and I'm not talking about the ending). Though that might just be my very personal impression.

Visual contradictions:
CGI and make-up were quite well done sometimes, also the costumes of the leads and some side cast were stunning, yet other demon costumes and facial masks/add-ons were just junk. And don't get me started with those obvious fake flowers, leafs, branches. On the other hand, the fake snow was well made again.

Music was great. I love those pieces where you hear bells? Though I'm not even sure if it were those or some other instrument (a flute?). Wonder if you get what I'm talking about. Those sometimes eerie sounds that make you feel like you're in the middle of some ritual.

And I just loooooove Hou MingHao's voice in songs.

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Completed
Love of the Divine Tree
0 people found this review helpful
Dec 24, 2025
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

From bad boy to predestined evil child to remorseful yet selfish good guy

Do you guys also feel like you've lived half of a lifetime after finishing a Xianxia? There's always so much happening over such a long time that I hardly remember certain details from the beginning when I reach the last quarter. I definitely felt that way with this one.

So, here are my thoughts about this gem~

The synopsis sounded quite good and when I started this one I just hoped that it wouldn't disappoint me. I was worried, because the introduction of the FL felt weird. Weird as in "not likeable". But thank god, it didn't turn out like that at all. She was actually likeable, even more so her reincarnation, while I liked the ML right from the beginning. Esp. his hair, lol. Man, I was overwhelmed when it turned white the first time (I'm getting weak over white hair these days... they manage to make it look amazing in these newer Xianxias).

But for real, I enjoyed the character's development alot. Starting from bad boy to predestined evil child to remorseful yet selfish good guy. The actor performed that transition quite impressively, and every time a turning point occured, I got goosebumps because he delivered so well.

As for the main actress, it's funny... or let's say astonishing how well she managed to display two somewhat different characters despite having the same facial expressions. As I already said I liked the reincarnated disciple version even more than the master's one. And I totally enjoyed the reversed roles between ML and FL.

Though this one got 40 episodes, I got fully rewarded with lots of sweet and fun and exciting interactions between the main couple, lots of adventures they experience, lots of lovely sceneries, impressive fighting scenes, stunning CGI, beautiful costumes and interesting (though quite long) side stories of the supporting cast. I was especially impressed with the Crown Prince's story and development. Having just watched the actor in "Feud", he now demonstrated such a complex character and showed even more what he's capable of than in "Feud". I wouldn't mind seeing him as a ML in another Xianxia.

I'm also glad that they didn't make the sects' elders as annoying as I've seen it in other shows.

The music seems to be the only "complaint" if I would even call it that. It was so so, nothing you would call long lasting.

Nevertheless I can highly recommend this Xianxia to anyone who looks for something with many episodes, a bunch of likeable characters, long-lasting character development, a fun couple, really good acting and well made cinematography.

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Completed
Feud
0 people found this review helpful
Dec 11, 2025
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Finally finished this gem, with one or two breaks within which actually made me forget small things about side stories, lol.

First of all: The acting performance was a feast.

Second: I never thought I would actually say this but: I so much prefer the white hair over the black version of the ML in this!! Probably one of the reasons why I didn't like the mortal trial.

As I said before, this one had beautiful settings, CGI was well used here. They were even able to keep the obvious fake plants somewhat in the background, so it wouldn't diminish the optical look/value.

I really liked the beginning, a not so good cultivatress happens to marry a deity. The whole concept, including the deity's suspicion and his obvious discontent while she is trying to convince him of her sincerity. I really hoped that it would work out somehow for both of them and that the deity was wrong about his suspicion. I was actually a bit disappointed, when it turned out otherwise.

The next part, the mortal trial felt a bit long-winded and I liked it the least. But once this part was over the story became more interesting again, even though I kinda hated the FL for a long time after the outcome of the story's beginning, since there was a never a real explanation for her actions, and the ML seemed way more sincere, yet somewhat aloof. This is actually funny having those not so good feelings about both leads at the same time. But I still loved watching their interactions, always hoping both of them would give in and reconsile.

Overall it was a pleasure to watch this. Especially after getting to know all the background stories. I also liked some of the side characters' stories, while a disliked other side characters equally.

And here's the thing about the music. There were really good songs and there were some mediocre ones, esp. in the beginning. I usually love most of the music of a xianxia, but here it was actually 50/50. But that's probably a personal thing.

Overall a great xianxia and definitely recommended to watch.

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Completed
The Glory Part 2
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Man, now I really want to put on some red lipstick, too.

As expected I didn't quite get all the details after having that forced break from part I. But I remembered enough to get into the story again. Thank god.

And I still love the whole story. The concept, the storytelling, everything was well planned, well written and played out almost perfectly. I loved the methods the FL used to get her revenge, the people she approached, the way she made them dance at her tune and how everything was slowly unraveled. The characters were well crafted and every actor/actress did a great job with their performing, because it made the story so much more enjoyable.

I don't know why but the husband got some special attention from me. I just wanted to hug him all the time. At the same time he had a strong demeanour which attracted me quite alot, and it only slowly crumbled piece by piece. I really liked his encounters with the FL and it's a pity, that he didn't get more screentime. The only thing I couldn't agree with was his last act. That just didn't fit his character and would have been better to be left out.

The ML was also some interesting character. Being the headsman of the FL worked well despite his bright personality most of the time. Though I do think that the actor could have put some more darkness into his ego, make him more branded. The one thing I couldn't comprehend at all was the love story. It felt forced, I didn't feel the passion. Every bit of intimacy felt out of place, even though I liked the concept of them supporting and using each other.

Definitely something worth re-watching.

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