Girl with nerdy appearance falls into water and goes to another universe (in ancient fantasy China) where she is the beautiful queen of 30 husbands. She tries to fulfill her role but can't really get into the reverse harem-life and starts to persue one of the guys. Her main friends at first are a doctor and her personal assistant. She slowely gets to know 4 of her husbands, mostly through getting drunk. Her job is to basically sleep with all of them in order to get them pregnant and they are very persistent about that sometimes. However, there is an evil plot waged against her to steal her husband(s) and drama occurs.
I don't know more than this since the subs cut off fairly early. The ending is not really an ending since there were supposed to be more episodes but it's still 20 episodes of content.
Acting
All the husbands are handsome and the acting is fairly ok for a drama like this. You'll find yourself mostly liking the male actors. The guy crying while eating a hamburger with musicians in the background is 10/10, that was some deep relatable stuff. Some of the temporary hairstyles in this drama are pretty wacky though.
Music
Chinese music, not much to say about it, its ok.
Rewatch
Episodes are short and it's easy to rewatch for certain fun scenes. For the BL/BR crowd, there are 2 scenes between husbands which are played for jokes but still pretty brave for China. They definitely still need to fix the subs though.
Overall
Liked the show, would recommend it if you want to see a different scenario for a period drama. I think most people will just watch it because they read ''she has to impregnate the husbands'' in the synopsis and get curious.
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This review may contain spoilers
Old Boy is the first slice-of-life drama that I've seen come from China. This genre is done well in Japan and Korea, but for it to really work for Chinese dramas, they are going to have to cut the episode count. There is a lot to enjoy about Old Boy but the episode #, as well as a late (last 10 or so episodes) move toward the normal cliches/tropes seen in Asian dramas soured my enjoyment of this series. Honestly, before the last episodes this would have been an 8 but that is what happens when filler and cliches take over a script.What I liked:
Actors: All solid and really written well though I think the female lead was a bit of a princess but I love the actress so much, it was easy to overlook.
Story: You get it all: romance, bromance, father/son, girl friendship, student/teacher etc. With 45 episodes (not 47 listed on MDL), there is bound to be a storyline here and there that doesn't totally work or one finds boring and this did happen but the main friendships and such worked for me enough to overlook or judiciously fast forward.
Music: Love it.
Production Value: The best I've seen in a contemporary Chinese drama. Money was spent on this and I wanted to get on a plane and go to Shanghai.
What I liked the best: The relateability. For slice-of-life to work for an international viewer like myself, I have to be able to relate to it on some level and the drama does this well with relationship and job woes. Did they all work that way, no, but enough did and generally didn't go so over-the-top as to be silly. Also, none of the characters are perfect, they all have their flaws and we get frustrated with them but that's reality so it works here.
Special Shoutout: The father/son relationship was handled in a non-makjang (to borrow the Korean word) way. The young man who played the son was great, and I think it is my favorite relationship story out of all of them.
What didn't work:
As mentioned before, with so many stories going on, there were a few that didn't do much for me.
Job Scenarios: We see career woes that the main characters have happen, which is fair as they tend to happen to us all. I thought some of them, especially regarding the pilot were on the contrived side. Also the job situations that popped up with the lead female character could have been handled better as well as she sometimes seemed to not know her own mind on what she wanted to do which wasn't believable to how her character had been written in the beginning.
Last 10 episodes: So while the writer did a nice job on many relationshps like the bromance etc, after the romance gets going it goes into the normal cliches that one sees in so many Asian dramas. I was so disappointed. The writer also throws in a bunch of drama where there needn't have been any in this genre especially when there are real issues that any modern couple would face. I don't want to do spoilers but it shows how in a rut the writers are when it comes to romance storylines. I freely admit, I had to fast forward through a lot of the last 10 episodes because of my frustration.
What else you need to know:
Romance: it doesn't get started until halfway through so if you have to have that genre right away, this isn't for you.
Full Disclosure: Pacing: It is not a fast paced drama. I'm moody about this and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. At around episode 15, I turned this into a background drama and watched while doing other things and actually saved this drama for an evening of laundry or some organizational chore and still found it easy to keep up on the events of the drama. This works for me but might not be how others want to view dramas.
So overall this was a solid, but overlong, drama. It's relateable and I enjoyed getting to know all the characters. The modern vibe and flawed but likeable characters made it easy to get into but it easily could have dumped a few storylines, done a better job when the romance actually got going instead of relying on tired tropes and cut the episode count. Nonetheless, it's beautifully filmed, no dubbing, solid acting and if anyone ever told me I'd see Irish clogging in a Chinese drama, I would never have believed them but here we are. Hope this gives the reader some insight as to whether this is their cup of tea. I don't regret watching it but wish they could have stuck with the same tone of the first 35 episodes in the last 10 episodes.
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The acting is amazing. Lee Byeong Hun is a spectacular actor and I love him in pretty much every project he does. If you only watch for one reason, watch it because of him. Song Hye Kyo is beautiful. Ji Sung was kind of in the background a lot of the time, but he is very solid, as usual. Park Sol Mi was the second female lead, but pretty forgettable when the main couple were so powerful already. I'm glad to see the younger actors, Jin Goo and Han Ji Min in dramas as adults.
I love the music, along with everything else about this drama.
I've watched it maybe 3 or 4 times and I'd watch it again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Rewriting fate with whips and chains
When I saw the chains and whip, I knew I had to watch it.But seriously, the tension between the leads is *chef's kiss*. The lines were so hot for my liking, and it got my toes curling most of the time like HMMM too spicy~ While the whole reason why they had a BDSM relationship is kinda... questionable... the storyline is actually nice! The whole 'FML is reborn and changes her fate' is already predictable, but it was the complexities of her relationship with the MML that made it exciting to watch. Both of them had their vulnerable moments, but I love how they are each other's damsel in distress. FML is brave and wise just to protect her loved ones, and I love her for that. I also found it interesting that even the MML had to 'rewrite' their fate despite not being reborn. And of course, the real villain and their motivations were a surprise; however, I found their quest to defeat the villain lacking. I just hoped their supposed fate of not being together was highlighted more, so the fruits of their labor would be sweeter hehe.
It's also a jiejie romance—which I super, duper enjoy—but it is not highlighted as much. Still, the dynamics of the leads were really good. I just love to see a submissive, coquettish MML who has his own dark tendencies as well, and a dominant, strong FML ready to risk it all just so her unfortunate fate won't happen again.
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Being loved by a prince has never been so bittersweet
Goodbye, my princess is a gorgeous deconstruction of the “three lives, one love” trope that we see in a lot of Chinese dramas (but specifically xianxia). But unlike those epic magical romances that end with eternal bliss, this show brings that fantastical set up to a historical, realist setting and studies the dark side of it by exploring the sentiment in a very cutthroat world with irreversible consequences. This sad story unfolds through three romances: first, the young love of two innocent teenagers, then a prince and a princess united through a political arrangement to bring their countries closer, and lastly, the horrifying entanglements of a ruthless and power-hungry crown prince and his unwilling crown princess who is more of a political prisoner than a bride.I really loved this show! In fact, it’s my new favorite Chinese drama. The worst part of watching this show was seeing stupid comments under the videos. Otherwise, the show itself was nearly perfect. Not perfect maybe, there were things in it that I didn’t love but they were no glaring issues.
Also fair warning: I also read the book while watching this show so 1)I will not shut up about the book and 2) I will compare the show to the book. So minor spoilers in the “negative” section. Really minor. Tiny.
You should watch this if you like:
1. Tragedies
2. But also, sad middles and semi-sad beginnings. It’s not all sunshine then tragedy. It’s just: sad-oh cute!-oh sad again-haha funny-oh that’s too sad-OH NO-NOOOO!
3. Extremely well-done morally ambiguous characters (everyone is good and bad. Except for Xiao Feng. She's a sweetie)
4. Innocent female leads (but not dumb. She's just 15yo, ok? Cut her some slack!)
5. Historical fiction focusing on political schemes
6. Wedding night like: me, my new spouse, and our murder weapons of choice
7. Magical realism genre
8. Romeo and Juliet-esque dynamics
9. Mature stories about life and love. It’s not idealistic at all.
10. The threat of maybe…being attracted...to the villain…I don’t know…it’s more likely than you’d think!
11. Did I mention it’s sad?
It starts so cute and sweet, like children just playing at romance but the stakes get so high so fast and it’s so overwhelming. It is a tragedy in slow motion. From the first moment the story starts, all these small machinations come together to set up a situation that could only end in blood and tears.
The main plot is not really the romance. The main plot is “How to survive as an eastern palace resident in the grander palace environment, as depicted through Xiao Feng and Li Chengyin’s dysfunctional survival tactics.” So, the romance is a part of that, but so is the political intrigue and the revenge plots and the haram catfights, etc. And that’s why I like the plot because there’s a bigger picture and a lot of the smaller details are all connected to each other but they also branch out into B plots that do not take over the main plot’s time but develop slowly and surely in the outskirts of the main plot. I just think it’s important to have fair warning. This is a tragedy and it’s set up that way from the start. If you are looking for a cute romance between two people trying to work out their arranged marriage and find happiness, this show is not it. It’s simply not one of those soft historical fiction dramas. This is more like those hardcore political intrigue shows with big productions and seasoned actors, except it just happens to view that kind of story from the perspective of a young princess so the cast are young and new!
I would say this show will probably operate well as a gateway show to watch more critically acclaimed Chinese dramas with heavier plots and higher quality, if you are used to watching more lighthearted shows. It’s very in-between.
Plot: It’s important that you know, this show is a very good adaptation. I think this is important because knowing the book helps understand why the show is the way that it is. You see, the book is very short and very concise and it’s only from Xiao Feng’s perspective who is a foreign princess with limited knowledge of language and culture in her new country and very few people she interacts with. So for most of the story, she just has no idea what is going on around her. Then by the end, it turns out Li Chengyin was doing all this political cold war stuff behind the scenes. The show had to bring all the “implied” events of the book into life and that’s why the book is romance but the show isn’t. Because it just wouldn’t be possible to make a show that only adapts the novel's content. It’d be 4 episodes long and nothing would make sense! That’s why there are so many political subplots in the story and that meant Xiao Feng wasn’t really a big part of a lot of the stories going on.
I personally enjoyed all that they did with the plot. Overall. There were details I wasn’t crazy about. I’ll get to that later. I liked most of the story. Some things get lost in the transition from text to screen, like just how much Xiao Feng is out of her depth in Central Plains and how most of the things she does and how she does them are due to cultural difference but I still think the show managed to present her as a well-meaning if a bit confused girl.
Acting: The acting in this show is on another level for me. It’s so good. There’s a huge cast. A lot of them are older actors playing complicated people and they were all a joy to watch. For example, Zheng Xiao Ning plays Xiao Feng’s grandfather and his role is there for a short time but he’s just amazing. The way he carries himself, his voice, his gaze, all of it was just chilling and amazing. Or Nagima who plays the mute A’Du. Oh, she was unreal! She doesn’t talk for most of the show but her expressions are enough to cut into your heart like a knife. The things this woman communicated through her eyes. I cried, every time she cried. These are just two out of many actors who blew me away. Most of all though, Peng Xiao Ran and Chen Xing Xu just redefined my expectations of young actors.
A moment of silence to appreciate the fact that Chen Xing Xu was only 22yo when he brought the complicated and extremely enigmatic Li Chengyin to life. How?! What was I doing when I was 22?! I was mostly just crying (tbh he did a lot of crying in bts videos too, lol. Same dude, same!) I can’t compliment these young actors enough. They did such a wonderful job. Their performance was just outstanding. Peng Xiao Ran was also wonderful. She plays what would have been a typical playful cute girl in the hands of another actress but she brings such weight and groundedness to the character, without overacting or looking stupidly childish. She's so in control and I just love that in her performance.
And their chemistry! The chemistry between these two was so good that you can tell the censorship had them cut out kisses because it was just too much, apparently! They were that good.
Also as an ensemble, everyone did such an amazing job. There wasn’t really a performance among them that I can point out and say it was so bad it ruined the scene. Everyone hit their marks perfectly.
Music: The music in this show was great too?! And I don’t mean I got used to it so it was fine. No. It was actually good. It’s gorgeous. They use this heartbreaking leitmotif over and over again that must be some famous chord progression because it steadily made me sad from episode one even though nothing sad had even happened yet. Also fun fact: the most playful track in the music is called “Fear” and I think that’s all you need to know about the mood in this show!
Production: The production gets a special mention because it was that good. The aesthetics of this show are gorgeous. The color grading, the sets, and costumes, the number of sets, and the attention to details in each of them, was just so satisfying. Everything looked pretty expensive too. I don’t know if there really were expensive or not but the clothes looked really regal and the sets were so grand with colors that were so beautifully matched in thematically different settings. No conversation about this show is complete without mentioning the beautiful cinematography. A lot of the natural settings were filmed on location and that has meant the existence of golden dunes and majestic mountains that look breathtaking on screen. It’s a true feast for the eyes. The CGI was very good too. There wasn’t too much of it but you can really tell the director made sure that everything looked as good as it could. It was in little acts of continuity that you can see the dedication of the director to the project.
Rewatch value: Oh sure!
Negatives: As I said, there were some changes made due to the complication of perspectives in the novel. One of these changes was that they kind of do a character cleanse of Gu Jian and also add to his plotline. In the book, Gu Jian visits Xiao Feng three years after her arrival in central plains but in the show, he shows up three months later. That’s at least 21 months’ worth of nothing for him to do! So he just has all these scenes where is sitting around, getting drunk, and…it’s kind of pointless?! I think someone on the production team was probably a Gu Jian fan and they decided they wanted to give him a romantic redemption arc, or they figured since the male lead will become so cruel later, it’ll probably be in their best interest to have a blandly romantic second male lead to soften the blow. I guess?
For the most part, I like what they did with humanizing both men. Li Chengyin and Gu Jian are so much worse in the novel and a whole lot less likable generally but the show does a lot to empathize with both and I love that. I just feel like they sacrificed a bit of Gu Jian’s nuance towards the end of his journey. He managed to redeem himself in pretty much the same way in the novel as the show but for me, the book’s version was more powerful because you knew he was doing bad things before but the one time it mattered, he made the right choice and it was so powerful and I freaking sobbed reading that part. Unfortunately, the show’s version didn’t touch me as much. I was still emotional and very touched by everyone’s great acting but then…two sad-music montages? Come on! That was the only thing I fast-forwarded in the show!
This was a part of a bigger issue with the plot. There are three arcs in this story and the show did a great job with the first two but they kind of lowered their quality in the third and last one which happened to be my favorite part of the novel and the most emotionally touching part. So maybe part of my disappointment is that they derived so far from the novel in the only part that the book actually starts to give details and plots move forward really fast. I still understand why the show ended the way it did and they still kept a lot of my favorite and iconic scenes from the novel but towards the end, there were some choices that I squinted at a bit. It wasn't so bad though that I would redact points for it.
Overall: Best Chinese show I have watched so far. I loved it. I didn’t even expect to like it and I had heard it was so painful but I loved it anyway. I hadn’t cried this much over a show since The Untamed (and Yanxi Palace…it got me with their friendships, okay?!) so it’s somehow very precious that I watched this show a whole year since I discovered The Untamed. Very fitting.
Pro-tip: If you want to cry less while watching, read the book first. You’ll cry while reading the book and the show hurts less!
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A total mess but I kind of liked it
I know i am one of the few people that actually enjoyed watching this drama.It frustrated me a lot but i couldn't drop it because I like the leads, especially the female lead.
The story had a nice message but the execution was so wrong and so boring. It should have been 12 episodes, that way, a lot of things wouldn't have been dragged out but it had some nice moments.
The FL's parents were the main attraction of the show, they were very funny and they made the show a little bit bearable.
The friend that was dating two guys also made for some special moments but they didn't really give them much screen time.
All in all, i think the show was just trying to pass a message of live and let live. They just want people to know that marriage isn't always the ultimate and to let people live their lives however they see fit.
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On the stage, our souls face each other, and I'm a little bit ashamed.
Because even if I don't say anything, you always understand everything."
(–My translation of some lyrics from the ending theme)
TL;DR: if you're put off by the "Beijing Opera" theme of this drama, that may look old-fashioned and boring at first (it was for me), don't be. Watch it. You'll end up wanting to learn more about Beijing Opera and falling in love with the characters and their relationships. And crying too.
Winter Begonia is, in my opinion, the best long-format Chinese drama of 2020. This series does something that was never attempted before in any drama, and it does it beautifully: it takes us behind the scenes of the Opera world of Republican-era Beijing and lets us look closely at every exquisite detail that made up that world, from the precious costumes, to the colorful makeup powders, down to the clinking of the porcelains and the fuming cups of tea. And it takes us into the lives of people who lived in that world letting us taste their joys and their sorrows, always in such a vivid and evocative way that I've rarely seen in other dramas.
This drama has no filler scenes, no overused tropes; every character and every detail has a purpose and is treated with love and care. This level of care also applies to the technical aspects such as photography, editing, color grading and music. The music is especially beautiful, and the opera melodies are perfectly blended into the score. The costumes and makeup are gorgeous, and the Dan (female role) costumes and makeup look sooooo good on Yin Zheng. He's like a doll. And watching this drama is like looking at a series of paintings.
Shang Xi Rui, played by Yin Zheng, is undoubtedly the star of this drama. A genius performer who's only known a life on the stage, he's stubborn, hot-headed and has got the heart of a child– qualities that cause him to be unfit for a society made of rules and courtesies. When we meet him and for most of the story, he's like a cute puppy that turns feral when he's angry. But he also grows a lot and has great character progression, which is beautiful to watch.
At one point, Cheng Feng Tai says of him, "The other performers look like the characters they play. Mr. Shang IS the characters themselves." I think this quote also applies to Yin Zheng in his phenomenal portrayal of Shang Xi Rui. After watching him you won't easily forget the way Rui-ge runs, eats, laughs, cries, pouts or smiles. Or the way he speaks, with that unique, cute way of speaking and soft Beijing accent. It's a fantastic performance that will live on for the ages. A comparison with Leslie Cheung's Die Yi from "Farewell My Concubine" can't be avoided because of the similar roles, and Yin Zheng passes with full marks in my opinion. He's honestly just as good.
Dashing businessman Cheng Feng Tai (Huang Xiao Ming) is Shang Xi Rui's "god of wealth", patron, pillar of strength and his perfect counterpart. Where Xi Rui has his head in the clouds, Feng Tai has his feet on the ground; where XR is the reckless and pure-hearted child who always wears his heart on his sleeve, FT is the one who knows better how to navigate the nastiness of the world and keeps all the pain inside him. They also come from opposite social backgrounds as XR is basically illiterate and belongs to a profession that is treated as pariah, while FT is the richest guy in town who's studied abroad.
Cheng Feng Tai is not a really complicated role to play, but it would have been easy to slip and make this character too dull or too cheesy, or without chemistry with SXR. Huang Xiao Ming instead plays him as a well rounded character that balances the worldly, dashing hero part of FT with the conflicted, often flawed one. And the chemistry is there. He IS Shang Xi Rui's own beloved Er Ye.
The ensemble cast is excellent, and all the subplots and the background elements stand on their own and are never just filler in between the main leads' story, or wallpaper. But the dynamic between the two leads is of course the highlight of Winter Begonia.
知音 zhiyin is the word used to describe what they are to each other: closest friend, confidant, soulmate. Someone who can understand the other with no need for words. When others doubt Feng Tai's alliances, including FT's own wife, Xi Rui trusts him completely; when XR is hungry or hurt, FT is there to feed him or take care of him; when XR is lonely, the only thing he wants is having FT next to him. They're fully devoted to each other and would die for each other (this is not an exaggeration, it's what they really try to do). One of my favorite lines by Feng Tai to Xi Rui is "You think I won't be there to care about you [when everyone else abandons you]? Only when I'm dead!"
For them, the unspoken is heavier than the spoken. They never outright say what they feel about each other (of course, due to drama censorship too) but they still say it with their actions and expressions. XR says it singing on the stage, FT says it with THOSE LOOKS when he's looking at XR sing.
Finally, I won't say this drama has no flaws (that's why I couldn't give the story a 10/10). I think it has flaws in the stereotypical portrayal of most of the Japanese characters, in how some secondary characters could have been written better, in the not-very-clear passing of the time (it's always winter, the babies are always infants, the women are always pregnant). The execution of the story is also not flawless in terms of how the story beats connect to each other. But honestly, these things don't really matter when you look at the bigger picture. Which is an incredibly beautiful one.
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This is a rather serious drama, with animal surgery and a lot of animal topics that I didnt even know exsisted. Not much comedy, and a slight ( and I mean slight) bit of unrequited romance/ longing. Some of the major themes were: the little man fighting the big company, taking responsibility for your own life, compassion, and fighting your fears. I didnt like the ending because I wanted some people to get together (but oh well).
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This drama has a series of action, thriller, mystery, suspense, crime and even a hint of romance. God’s Quiz is a type of dramas that you need to watch all the episodes and part in order to understand the scenario. For every investigation they have, you need to be able to understand what they are referring and what they are talking about. After for each episode, they will come up with a solid conclusion in which you will find understand once the case is case. In regards with the plot and storyline, it is quite clever, yet complicated. This is because for every crime they investigate, the solutions are very clever while the procedures they have to undergo are very complicated. Also, the story shows the difficulty of criminology and how they tackle difficult situation, especially while working and risking their life.
In addition, the story is a complete package of suspense, drama and crime which is often a bad combination. However, these genre fits to the storyline of the drama and it was well executed. This suggests that with this combination, you are assuring that you want to continue watching it. Their curiosity for each case is astonishing. There is always a malevolent antagonist who is conducting series of crime which they need to identify who. Therefore, this is a drama that has a very good and solid plot and story. I can assure you that for each case they do, you would ask yourself “who did it?” “Why they did it?” and “what is the cause of it?”
Casting/Acting:
I am not very familiar with the cast for this drama; however, their acting skills are very good. In my point of view, they often improvised during some of the scene which makes them very professional with their field. I am very pleased on how they act on drama. I am looking forward on how they act for the next seasons. I hope they will not disappoint me like some drama that have next season that does not have a very good cast. Even though they are a lot of rookies in acting, they need to be confident on whatever their character is. For example, the main actor is effectively acting a childish, genius, comedic and mysterious doctor. What I see is that he carefully evaluated on how he is going to portray his character. Therefore, I would complement the director for choosing a very good casting list.
Music:
There is no much to say in the music. The reason behind this is because they mostly use suspense and thrilling sound effect to make the scene more dramatic and exciting. The viewers can actually feel the suspense and thrilling effect due to the effective use of the sound effect. Furthermore, the sound effects and music used in this drama fits to the genre itself. The music changes the mood of the scene from melodrama, to comedic, to suspense and to even romantic.
Conclusion:
For me, there is a high possibility to re-watch this drama. The reason for this is because of the suspense, action thrilling and hint of romance for each. With that malevolent, psychotic and cunning antagonist, you could miss a lot. I am looking forward on seeing him in the next season which I think he is. Either way, I conclude that this drama is a very astonishing due to its features. This involves plot twisting theories, unpredictable outcome, mind twisting problems and even fighting a vindictive phantom. Therefore, the chance to re-watch this drama is very high due to that fact that you will get curious as they go deep down with their investigations. Also, I am looking forward on watching the next season.
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This review may contain spoilers
a cliche story but alright until the finale
I started monthly magazine home on a whim and i'll tell you i had no big regrets at first but didn't enjoy how the story progressed and definitely hated the last two episodesAs a big fan of Jung so min she was my reason for clicking on that first episode, MMH focuses on
the lives of people who work in a real estate magazine and it shows how they go about in a workplace,
I learned a bit about real-state and some life tips for saving money xd The side characters did come off annoying at first but i still managed to like all of them, ok now the bad part...
I was enjoying this drama somewhat id say even though there were some obvious clichés I could get past that but the final two episodes ruined the whole flow of things, from unnecessary breakup to the very unwanted separation plot in the final episode i literally skipped through the last episode, I was going to give the rest of the drama an 8 but then I barely watched the last episode and hated the ending so I don't think that's fair so 7.5 it is.
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Perfect for the Optimists
I now consider this the best drama I've seen ever! No matter how many times I see it, I always get teary-eyed and touched by the good-naturedness of the characters. Call me old-fashioned but I find nothing wrong with this kind of worldview. Though, I doubt if anyone's as noble as Dr. Koto (he's just too kind and pure!)As for the actors, I just love Yoshioka Hidetaka! He's amazing! I discovered this drama while looking for Sakai Masato dramas (only to find out later that he only showed up in the 2nd season). But with just the first ep. of Dr. Koto, i fell in love with him (Dr. Koto) in an instant! Some actors were just as convincing like Izumiya Shigeru (Shige), Sengoku Noriko (Uchi), and of course, Kakei Toshio (Wada). Even Tomioka Ryo (Takehiro) did amazingly well!
And who can forget about the OST! It's just perfect. I love the instrumental versions of Gin no Ryuu no Sei ni Notte and Omoide Dake dewa Tsura Sugiru. One of the best drama OSTs I've heard.
This drama isn't getting that much attention b/c the actors here are not the usual "idols", except maybe for Shibasaki Kou. And the story isn't the usual "love story" either. But I'm glad it was well received in Japan.
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Created an account just to review this gem
It's short and to the point -- felt like watching a no filler, speedrun of your average historical C-drama. The dynamic and the chemistry between the leads were absolutely amazing. Had me pausing and giggling!It's a solid plot too, and doesn't hold back on any of the emotional punches despite being so short. Perhaps because it's so short and to the point, those emotional punches were even more effective. The cuts are efficient. Every scene between the two, my god they are down horrendous for each other. The ulterior, overarching political plot was not too complex nor too simple considering every episode was 11 minutes long. It was just right.
A fun little part I didn't expect was the relationship with the second prince. That was fun. He's absolutely hilarious, I laughed so much at his antics.
I'd dock points for the ending and one little bit I would consider a bit of a plothole. I understand that they wanted to leave the ending open for interpretation hence why they did what they did but it was a bit confusing as it can be with reincarnation/regression storylines. But catharsis was reached and it was a great watch. If you're looking for something to just pass time with, no major commitment, doesn't require a lot of thinking and delivers emotionally, this is the one!
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The pacing is fast and gives off that thrilling and suspense feeling no break. I love the music used especially the ending part, very soothing and classic.
Fan Bingbing, with her almond eyes and soft feature, as a ghost, all the more that you will feel her loneliness and longing to her boyfriend. Rene Liu is good in her acting and her facial expressions always makes me nervous and jumpy. Somewhat she is a doppelganger of Korean actress Hyun Young (The Perfect Couple). Leon Lai, didn't give much of being a wall flower, and what made me have the attention is for the two ladies eager aiming for his love.
After watching it, instead of being flustered with horror, the twist gives the climax color and something to ponder on while on my bed, not feeling scared.
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Side Couple dominating the whole series.
To be honest, this show lacks in everything. The only thing that keep this on trend is because of the side couple, Zeke and Fifth.There were times that i almost skip the whole scenes for the main lead due to the slow progress of their story and it took so much time to see the chemistry of their connection and acting (or maybe there is nothing at all).
The story is somehow good but the acting is not really smooth. We cannot deny that the side couple really dominate the whole series than the main lead. Also the adventure of the lost dog, Chuk-chuk, literaly more interesting than the main lead. 😂
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