Reviews

For the hype that this had, the reviews and the amount of times this was featured in this year's poll, I had some expectations with this one but they were not met. This is the 4th drama of 2016 I watch with the same "jerk male lead + sweet female lead + 'nice guy' = triangle" trope and, from best to worst, I rank this one 3rd out of 4.

My biggest issue with this drama (apart from the fact that I’m not a fan of leads who act like jerks and who we’re supposed to find romantic rather than toxic) is that the story is all over the place. There’s a story-line involving the three brothers, with a mystery in the middle, which gets resolved halfway through and ends up going nowhere. There’s a story-line about the restaurant they have and trying to make it succeed while not selling out, and it also ends up going nowhere. There’s a story-line about the female lead’s quest for professional growth which ends up only serving the “romantic” story-line. There’s a backstory of a character to make them less two dimensional which also ends up going nowhere. All in all, it’s like every ingredient which could have turned this into less of a cliche and more innovative was pushed aside in the benefit of the overused story-line of the love triangle.

Out of all the characters, the only one I found memorable and whose performance I enjoyed enough was Nomura Shuhei’s Touma (the youngest sibling). He’s the only one I feel has a story arc which involves making personal changes, realizing mistakes and repairing damages he has caused. The rest, I can’t say much. It seemed Miura Shohei’s character was going towards a reasonable development and in the last few episodes his entire character turned 180° for the sake of the cliche romance. It seemed that Kiritani Mirei’s character had more substance to her than being the sweet main lead who tends to be too kind for her own good, but all about her drive and career seemed to just serve the cliche romance.

And Yamazaki Kento’s character deserves a paragraph on his own. He is the jerk male lead, the one we’ve seen at least 4 times this year: we saw him in Dean Fujioka’s Mamiya Hokuto in Happy Marriage, in his Kurosawa Ayumu in Please Love the Useless Me and in Shiraishi Shunya’s Uehara Hisashi in Good Morning Call. I really dislike this trope, I think it’s toxic as heck, but the rest of the dramas at least tried for me to feel for the guy. They intended to introduce a backstory (mostly tied in with family grief) in which I could say “oh, so this is why he’s a jerk”. It never worked, but they tried. Here, everything that happens to this character, all the troubles and external arcs to change him, happen in the timeline of the drama. There is no reason why he acts this way and he doesn’t change his attitude with anything that happens to him. He has that kind of extremely subtle character change which stans of him will call development but I call bad writing.

The reason why this drama isn’t my complete least favorite of the bunch is because it’s very nicely filmed and, mostly, decently performed. The shots were brilliant and they paid attention to detail, the cinematography was very enjoyable. There are some things in the story I found interesting, like the family mystery I mentioned, the somewhat complex way in which they tried to introduce the “ex girlfriend” cliche and the youngest brother’s character growth. But it doesn’t have enough to be different from the rest of the dramas with the same trope.

All in all, if this is a trope you enjoy and male leads being jerks is your thing, for some reason, this is a very well done one of those. If you’re looking for something innovative, different and devoid of love triangles, dates in aquariums, firework festivals being a “big romantic deal” and lots and lots of misunderstandings and “I hurt you because I want to protect you” scenes, there’s not much here for you. Except for an omelette with a burger inside, which is pretty good.

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Brewing Love? More like Snoozing Lager—romance so flat it needs CPR and a shot of espresso.

6.5/10: A Frothy Mess That Goes Flat Fast

🍺 THE GOOD:

- **Kim Se-jeong as Chae Yong-ju** – Former special forces turned beer sales queen. Yes, she can kill a man and pitch a lager in one scene. Iconic, but wasted here.

- **Lee Jong-won as the sensitive brewmaster** – Looks like he cries to jazz and brews IPA with feelings. Sweet, but this ain’t *La La Land*.

- **Pretty scenery** – Countryside shots so nice, you’ll forget you’re watching a drama about *beer marketing*.

⚠️ THE "ALMOST, BUT..." MOMENTS:

- **Slower than foam settling on a flat beer** – The “slow burn” romance is more “no spark, just yeast.”

- **Subplots go missing like drunk texts** – Characters vanish, conflicts die, nothing really sticks.

- **Too much biz, not enough buzz** – It's more corporate training video than rom-com. I didn’t sign up for a business degree in Beer-onomics.

💔 STANDOUT SCENES:

- When Se-jeong’s character tries to emote and you’re like “girl, save yourself from this script.”

- Every time Min-ju stares into the distance like he knows he should’ve taken another role.

🎯 VERDICT:

Feels like they brewed this romance with expired hops—bland, confusing, and mildly depressing.
Watch if you're folding laundry. Skip if you value your sanity.

Best paired with:A real drink, a low attention span, and something else to do while it plays. 🫠🍺

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the name of the drama should be “beating around the bush”

Its just about two people beating around the bush and never confessing , for 15 episodes its just goes round and round . Both fl and ml just would not stop assuming
If u are just bored as hell and life is just not entertaining for ya anymore i do suggest u to watch this, it kinda makes I realise maybe ur not the most stupid person u know. Its very short so its rlly not a waste of time I finished it in less than an hour, not gonna lie the lead’s visuals are actually pretty decent but non f them would ever confess to each others like for god sake even an ant would he able to tell they like each others but they still wouldnt get to the point and just keeps beating around the bush . Like seriously and one word to describe the guy “COWARD “ and one word for the girl is “ DESPERATE “ but both have one similarity aka one thing in common which is they will not tell each others they like them like i only watched it as i look forward to nothing in my shitty life and its just so entertaining to watch two stupid people figure their way out of a tunnel that has doors and windows that are wide open but for some reasons their so dumb they just cant figure a way out . basically quite pathetic but entertaining

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A great romance drama

When they just met, he respected her and even respected how she wanted things to go when it came to money.
While in college and when she just started working, I think she is just over doing it and can’t accept his kindness. I think it’s very selfish because he really loves and cares for her.

This secret she is keeping about paying back her relatives, I could see it messing up their relationship.
Finally she told him and now his family went through a hard time and I blamed him for not being honest.

Why I cant stand her? Her actions towards him after they met again. She behaved so heartless and just ugh!!!
I was really sad to see the guy keep chasing her. Her reasons for not wanting to be together was just foolish in my opinion.

Anyways, for me, I don’t think she deserves him and that’s just me. She needed to stay by herself. 
For the ending, if they didn’t get back together, I would have been happy either way. But we got to see their wedding and it was a beautiful setting.

Overall, it is a great romance drama.

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I only watched this movie because of Kang Dong Won, and boy was I NOT disappointed. Although this is a 'spy thriller' type movie, it also has some laugh-out-loud comedic moments for Song Kang Ho's character, and for the pair together.

This movie really is about both friendship and brotherhood. I am no expert on North-South relations, so I don't know how realistic it has been portrayed through the events in this movie, but I think it has been set up very well to show how both characters dealt with the conflicting loyalties they felt to friend and country.

The pacing of the movie is done very, very well. We are thrown right smack in the early stages of an operation, which escalates quickly. This quickly drew me into the movie and left me hungry to know what would happen next. The next part of the movie afterwards was slower in pace but was full of both funny and exciting moments, and left me emotionally invested in the friendship between the two main characters, followed by the last third of the movie where the pace picked up and left me on the edge of the seat. The ending was well-written.

I am surprised that I have not heard more buzz about this movie. This is a must-watch!

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The PG-13 Chinese Version of Death Games and Why Number 19

Fans of death games are familiar with dramas like the Korean Squid Games and the Japanese Alice in Borderland, and this one is a Chinese version of the death games and a drama adaptation of an award-winning Chinese psychology suspense novel. I wrote the "Chinese version" because every Chinese drama watcher knows how strict Chinese censorship is. Therefore, in contrast to other countries' death games that are R-rated, this one is PG-13: minus profanity, nudity, and violence. I will also explain why the drama title has the number 19 in it.

STORY/PLOT:

The MDL synopsis is accurate so I won't add anything to it. "19th Floor" (actually, there are no physical floors, more likely levels) is a drama adaptation of the novel "The Nineteenth Floor of Hell" ((地狱的第十九层), a winner of the 2005 Sina Book of the Year Award, written by Chinese best-selling psychological suspense novelist Cai Jun (蔡骏). In the novel, according to Baidu, "the story aims to express a profound proposition beyond fear. Everyone has the original sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts. Once tempted and the truth is revealed in broad daylight, there will be uncontrollable and unreasonable consequences. One's bizarre behavior, falling into layers of hell is a cruel punishment for the inner demons".

To pass the NRTA review, there are big changes made. Firstly, the word 'hell' is omitted, because CCP is atheist, and hell is a religious word, thus should not be in modern titles (can be added in xianxia's titles that are merely mythical stories). There is a Hong Kong movie adaptation "Naraka 19" with a plot that is true to the novel. Secondly. because the drama's mission is to educate young viewers, since the main characters mainly are university students, the drama focuses on the character growths of the main and important supporting characters who are the game players. Thirdly, there are no real deaths, as stated in the synopsis, the losers fell into a coma in the real world. Fourthly, there is profanity, nudity, and violence, thus making this drama a PG-13 version. Although I don't read the novel, I assume the novel is scarier than the drama. Fifthly, because it's a university setting, a slight romance is added to this drama, and the romance subplot does not take over the mystery plot.

Why Number 19:

It was in the Tang dynasty when the more popular concept of the “18 levels of hell” came to be, circulated by the Buddhist text "Sutra on Questions about Hell", which mentioned 134 worlds of hell that were then simplified to a total of 18 for convenience. Each of the 18 levels contains a specific method of torture for a specific sin. At the end of my review, before the spoiler of the ending, I will list the 18 levels of hell for your convenience.

The novel adds the 19th level of hell on purpose which I won't spoil you what it is, especially since the drama doesn't describe any hell nor do the games symbolize the 18 levels of hell. The number 19 in the drama simply is the number of the abandoned school building where some of the games are played.

Plot-wise I gave this drama a 9.0 because in their real lives, the story is a bit draggy with the character growth process some young characters have to develop. The games themselves are fast-paced, some I even think are too fast since the games end in only one episode. Definitely, they are thriller games, not suspense games (unlike, for example, Spirealm which I'm watching currently in which one game takes several episodes to finish).

Because of the character growth process, some conversations are deep and heart-to-heart. Therefore, is better if viewers understand Chinese either written or spoken. Unfortunately, some of us watched it through the bad translation of MangoTV, so we lost the depth. Fortunately, Viki will pick the subbing up. Hopefully, the late viewers would appreciate this drama more and thus will rate it higher.

CHARACTER/ACTING:

Chun Yu, the Female Lead, is the focus of this drama (also in the novel). She is intelligent, brave, and cute, but she holds a hatred towards someone that later is addressed in this drama.

Gao Xuan, the Male Lead, becomes Chun Yu's companion in solving the mystery and overcoming the game's challenges. This character is somewhat mysterious, because of the nature of Gao Xuan in the original source (I will spoil you about him at the end of the review). Casting Wei Zhe Ming as Gao Xuan is perfect, as I have seen him playing antagonists (or semi-antagonists) in the past.

I won't spoil you with the supporting characters, but the many characters are flawed/three-dimensional. As its original source explores characters with the sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts, so does this drama but with positive outcomes.

Besides acting out greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger, most actors and actresses did a good job of portraying fear, considering they don't face real monsters but greenscreens. The actors' or actresses' facial expressions befit the characters' confusion or stress when facing horrendous situations or trying to solve (time-ticking) puzzles or mysteries.

VISUALS:

This is a death game theme with monsters, puzzles, and mind games, therefore, props, sets, and CGI depicting the darkness and the intensity of each game are a must. They are pretty much well done and some give you jump scare or suspense without gore or horror. I specifically love the jump scare of the first game with the shadow puppets. I have watched many mystery-genre Chinese dramas in which shadow puppets become mysterious aspects, and in this drama shadow puppets are monstrous aspects.

OST:
The ending OST is "The Last Light" by Wang Mi Ran, a Mongolian-descent singer, with the stage name Miya. Actor Xiao Kai Zhong who played the character Zhang Tian Qiang, sang the male version of this OST as an insert song during the scenes with him in it.

SPOILERS (Scroll down if you want to know about 18 levels of hell according to Buddhism, the character of the Male Lead, and the ending)






















18 Levels of Hell (Not mentioned in the drama, because it's considered religious - Buddhism belief or mythical/superstition per NRTA censorship)

1. Hell of Tongue-ripping, where those who gossip and spread trouble with their words will repeatedly have their tongues ripped out.
2. Hell of Scissors, where those who destroy someone else’s marriage will have their fingers repeatedly cut off.
3. Hell of Trees of Knives, where those who sow discord amongst family members will be repeatedly hung from trees made of sharp knives.
4. Hell of Mirrors of Retribution, where those who have managed to escape punishment for their crimes while alive will be repeatedly shown their true horrific selves.
5. Hell of Steamers, where hypocrites and troublemakers will repeatedly be steamed “alive.”
6. Hell of Copper Pillars, where arsonists will be repeatedly chained to red-hot pillars of copper.
7. Hell of the Mountain of Knives, where those who have killed for pleasure or without good reason will repeatedly be made to climb a mountain made of sharp blades sticking out of it.
8. Hell of the Mountain of Ice, where adulterers, deceivers of elders, and schemers will be repeatedly left out on a barren mountain of ice to freeze.
9. Hell of the Cauldrons of Oil, where rapists, thieves, abusers, and false accusers will be repeatedly fried in vats of boiling oil.
10. Hell of the Cattle Pit, where those who have abused animals will repeatedly be hurt by animals in turn.
11. Hell of the Crushing Boulder, where those who have abandoned or killed children will repeatedly be made to hold up heavy boulders, eventually being crushed by their weight.
12. Hell of Mortars and Pestles, where those who voluntarily waste food will repeatedly be force-fed hell fire by demons.
13. Hell of the Blood Pool, where those who disrespect others will be thrown in and submerged into a pool of blood.
14. Hell of the Wrongful Dead, where those who have committed suicide—considered deliberately going against the karmic course of the universe—will be forced to repeatedly wander the realm without a way out, while being pelted constantly by the Winds of Sorrow and the Rains of Pain.
15. Hell of Dismemberment, where tomb raiders will have their bodies repeatedly torn into pieces.
16. Hell of the Mountain of Fire, where thieves, robbers, and the corrupt will be repeatedly thrown into the fiery pits of an active volcano.
17. Hell of Mills, where those who have misused their power to oppress the weak will repeatedly be crushed in a stone mill.
18. Hell of Saws, where those who have engaged in unethical or unfair business practices, or exploited loopholes in the legal system, will be repeatedly sawn in half by demons with saws.

Regarding the Male Lead Gao Xuan:
In the novel, Gao Xuan is an antagonist. In the drama, Gao Xuan is a protagonist

Ending:
Overall a happy ending, EVERYONE is alive and played the final game to fight the villain. Broken relationships are mended. There are two romantic couples formed, Chun Yu and Gao Xun are one of the couples.

The last scene depicting a new death game starting is probably just a tease for the possibility of Season 2. So, the drama doesn't end with a cliffhanger or open ending.

Because of this type of a wholesome happy ending, my final rating is 9.5.

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Dont know why some people hate on this drama

Personally, I started watching, since I had watched shows with both leads in before. Right off the foot I really liked this drama. It had this sense of realism that it dealt with well. All the serious issues through real-life were portrayed fantastically

I've heard some people say they like the second lead couple more than the main lead couple. In my opinion, both are amazing, but the lead couple is the lead couple for a reason.

It had a very satisfying ending that left me wanting more, but not needing more, as the satisfaction was enough

Would totally recommend it.

Shows like this:

The main male lead character is very similar to his character in Reply 1988. So if you like that, watch Reply

Another show that is very good, and portrays life issues, is Sassy Go Go, or rather, Cheer up. The main female lead from this show is also the second female lead in Cheer up.

Lastly, a very new drama would be Private lives, with the main male lead being the same as this show.

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a quirky comedy that will make you smile

Overall: this should put a smile on your face, make sure to watch the entire final episode and watch the ending credits as they change. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3064/i-will-knock-you-2022-e01 and AIS Play's YouTube Channel (for members) Re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/39897c-i-will-knock-you

Content Warnings: fights/violence, manipulation, stalking, non con touching, highschooler starts as a sophomore 15/16 and university student who starts as a junior 20/21 (didn't bother me*)

What I Liked
- Noey's aesthetic, it's unique
- Noey's vain/forthright/quirky character
- several funny moments, especially subverted tropes that made me laugh
- sweet moments
- Thiw was such a supportive friend
- Noey's family dynamics were very realistic, they bicker, they laugh, they cry
- hints of GL
- that they changed the ending credits to match what was happening
- good production value
- the music

Room For Improvement
- it dragged a bit in the first half but then sped up at the end and they didn't fully explain or resolve plot points (Noey's dad???)
- the drama at the end of ep 11 and beginning of 12 was cliche (but I was really happy with Thi being honest in episode 11)
- very unrealistic that that was the first time they did that at the end of ep 12
- Thi's laugh/tense shoulders/scaredy cat vibe was a little too much for me and I wanted him to have more character growth sooner
- I think some of the jokes didn't quite translate well like the thing with the charm towards the end, also Thi's dream in episode 5 was a bit too grim
- not a fan of an aggressive pursuit after that woman, also not a fan of bullying
- *this was a very PG rated series so the age gap/under 18 aspect didn't bother me

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Dont let the title fool you

This drama advertises itself as a primarily romance orientated drama, but i would beg to differ. If you're looking to watch this drama, it is NOT a romance, it is just sixteen episodes of 'hagwon' (academy/tuition centre) politics, and how the hagwon is affected by said 'romance'.
So, that explains why i feel like i wasted my time with this drama.
What did i get out of it? Basically nothing.
See, i wouldnt have minded if it was vice versa and the romance took the main role with a side of hagwon politics, but that wasnt the case.
I would have still watched this anyways since i am a fan of wi ha jun, he's my type in men and an amazing actor to boot, so any drama that he works on that i like the premise of is a must watch for me, but no amount of ogling at his beautful face could save this drama from the trenches of a severe lack of romantic plotline, chemistry or development.
I wouldnt recommend this if you are looking for romance.
Theres no midnight romance, its just hagwon.
If you like hagwon politics however, you should watch it.
It's a well made drama, however it's romance plotline is very weak and this drags the drama down - nothing much really happens between them and they have barely any romantic tension after episode 8.
Basically, after episode 8 the drama is entirely focused on hagwon politics.
Quite disappointed. I like the ost a lot tho, an the acting is very good, if it didnt have these qualities it would have been a 6.
Love the actor playing si woo, i will be waiting for his future roles, and the actress playing hye jin is amazing and encompasses her role very well.

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Toxic, Not Naughty

I am still wondering why I bothered to watch this drama. I wasn't a fan of Cutie Pie, toxic relationships made to look cute are not my thing, but the trailer made me wonder if this drama would put some of that in the past. I should have known better. Naughty Babe, quite simply, is a disaster. I'm not sure what was worse: changing the original story, the lack of plot, the complete lack of character development despite years having gone by, or the acting. Honestly take your pick.

So let's start with the story. There really wasn't one. Honestly it felt like a toddler throwing anything and everything at a piece of paper and calling it a masterpiece. With only 8 episodes, they needed to stick to a central story line and they just didn't. The mystery of who messed with Diao's car and caused Yi to crash is probably the most consistent story line, but even it falls flat. The choice to change the childhood attack Diao suffered from a dog to a tiger was absurd. The CGI tiger was awful and the change didn't serve any purpose other than creating inconsistencies and erasing some of the development in their relationship from Cutie Pie. Because it was so disjointed, the pacing felt off. It never got a good rhythm going and I struggled to stay invested. Things like their plan for the wedding was just so nonsensical and out of the box, and not in a good way. They were in on the plan together, so why Diao kept going on about being afraid he was going to hurt Yi and break his heart and blah blah blah just didn't make sense. And the ending, maybe it was just me, but it felt like there was a level of favoritism for their son over their daughter. They interacted far more with him than they did with her, especially considering it was her birthday. Again, could just be me reading into it too much.

One of the biggest issues though truly was the complete lack of character development. It's supposed to have been what, 6 years or something since Cutie Pie and three since Cutie Pie 2 You and literally nothing has changed in their relationship. In fact, they've taken steps backward. I didn't watch it, but my understanding is that a lack of development was present in Cutie Pie 2 You as well. Relationships change over time, that's just a fact. That Diao and Yi's relationship remained so stagnant shows that the writers and production had no clue what they were doing. Because of the foolish decision to change the attack to a tiger, some of the issues between them that had been dealt with or at least acknowledged were rendered pointless and they were right back where they started. And you would think, after all the time they'd been together, that they would have figured some things out. But no, they are still unable to communicate effectively, they make assumptions, there's a clear lack of trust and understanding between them, oh, but they're madly in love. Cue eye roll. The imbalance in their relationship is still very present. There are times that Yi comes across almost as more of a father with his controlling ways than as a fiancé. And Diao, for all that he does stand up for himself on occasion, it never seems to be when it matters or when it would do the most good. Frankly, they're just frustrating to watch. And a bit disturbing, because, all joking aside, at the heart, their relationship is not one built on love, but rather years of manipulation and Diao being conditioned to rely on Yi. And that is simply not addressed. It just points back to the fact that nothing has changed since Cutie Pie and their relationship is just as toxic and discordant as it was then.

Lian and Kuea reappear and while Lian does have his useful moments serving as a sounding board for Yi and actually giving solid advice at times, Kuea causes some issues by sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and making incorrect assumptions that he then feeds back to Diao. Together they're alternately vaguely amusing and mildly cute. While their relationship in Cutie Pie displayed the same imbalance as seen with Diao and Yi, they seem to be on more equal footing here. Nuea and Syn also pop up briefly and bring a few moments of levity. The only other character that I actually liked was Yi's father. He had a decent balance of comedy and seriousness that worked fairly well.

Nat and Max are not the strongest of actors and expecting them to carry their own show was asking a lot. Of the two, Nat was the more compelling to watch. His expressions are limited and there's really no nuance to his acting, but it feels more authentic. Max is just wooden and his emotions always felt very surface level. It looked like he was acting.

The production value was meh. There was nothing special about it. The product placement was incredibly annoying and distracting. It's been a minute since I saw a drama that was so in your face with it. And the music felt pretty generic. Nothing like Cutie Pie which had some decent and catchy songs.

Naughty Babe is simply a continuation of the toxic relationship first shown in Cutie Pie and a further romanticization of it. I don't generally totally regret watching a drama, but I fully regret taking the time to watch this one. There is frankly nothing positive about it and unless you are a die hard Cutie Pie or Diao/Yi fan, I would avoid it like the plague. You'll never get those hours back.

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It's good, but if it was more faithful to Romance, it would have been much better

The second season was a bit painful to watch. For those who have not read the novel, it must be very confusing the line of reasoning of the events, in relation to the end of the relationship with AePete and the departure of Pete to Germany, but as I already know the story for having read the novel before, I liked it.
I really like Plan and Mean's acting, they are good, especially Mean, but in the moments of interaction as a couple in the kissing scenes and intimate scenes, they seemed very awkward. The main couple TinCan have a very good interaction, but lacked chemistry in those moments.
Seeing AE's suffering in the series was heartbreaking. Perth's acting is so good that it made me agonize, I needed a lot of time to watch his scenes. I really love how he gets into character, so natural. I literally felt AE's suffering. According to the original Novel, AE really goes through this period of depression when Pete breaks up with him. This period of 3 years that Pete is out of the country and all the suffering of when they are separated, will contribute a lot to their maturing. Pete will be more confident, and AE will no longer be so jealous and possessive. Their relationship will be more mature.
The downside is that Pete's character has practically disappeared, with him being one of the main characters in the plot. In the novel AePete broke up, but he told both sides of the story during this period when they were away from each other. This fact, caused a negative impact on the plot, for not being faithful to the Romance. Anyway... what really hooked me into watching the second season was Perth's performance, even though it was painful, a good performance is worth seeing.
And regarding the couples KenglaTechno and TumTar, I found the story dragged. Considering, that they do not belong to the original story of LBC, they are just adapted characters.
Overall, the second season could have been much better, but there were many drawbacks, such as the departure of Saint (Pete) which had a negative impact, and Perth, I didn't want them to replace him with another actor. I think it would be much better if, the same way they replaced the actor who plays Tin's brother, they also replaced the actor who plays Pete, and made a storyline more faithful to Romance, the audience feedback would be much more positive, even if some fans would be upset, not replacing the actor Saint and not bringing Pete into the story, was a big mistake, but I still liked it. In my case, I already know the story, so I evaluate the positives and negatives and compare it to the original Romance story.
I love this novel, I am always rereading the story.
For people who haven't watched it yet and haven't read Romance, I advise them to read it first, before watching Drama. Many people criticize it because they don't know the story, but if you read the Novel first, you will have a better understanding of the Drama, what is going on with each character, and about the logic of the events.
The plot of the Drama is inferior compared to the Romance, but it is worth a chance!

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I really like it!

There are quite a few negative critiques for the Dance of the Sky Empire (DoSE). Before you read my review, I have to say: I AM BIASED. People who read my reviews know that I love Xu Kai more than any actors in the C-Drama land. In this review, I am trying to be the most objective as I can: I really like this drama.

Be warned that there are some minor spoilers. So here we go.

1 "Emotional Rollercoaster": 5/5 ★★★★★
I agree with many of you that if you would look this drama from a serious perspective, it lacks in many perspectives: the naiveness and weakness of the "spy", the missing plot to develop the background story of the ML Li Xuan, the unnecessary second love couple. After a few episodes, it is clear that this is not a deep, mind-wrecking, spy-drama, in fact, it is a funny, romance, school drama, set in an ancient/fantasy world. The whole birth and spy thing are just how other school-romance shows create misunderstandings and put roadblocks for the leads but in a unique way. As long as they make the audience tear and cringe, they have achieved what a great school-romance drama supposed to do. That's why I really like this drama.
So what are the components of an excellent school-romance drama: comedy, romance, and heart-wrenching sorrow. And the mix of DoSE is perfect. I went from laughing out loud during the school scenes, to "oh my gosh, this is so sweet" during their time inside the realm, to crying from pain in the middle and around the end of the drama. The end of the realm arc has one of the most abusive scenes I have seen in drama land. Once again, I need to emphasize that Xu Kai performs the most beautiful crying scenes I have ever seen in a male actor. I actually think he has some sort of button he clicks to control the flow of his tears in terms of position and speed. This is just insane!
Wu Jia Yi did a better job in Arsenal than here, but I blame it on her character design rather than her acting skills.

2. "Sleepless Nights.": 5/5 ★★★★★
I was binge-watching the entire drama and could not wait for the new episodes.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": 5/5 ★★★★★
Despite the light-hearted school elements of the drama, it cleverly integrated a serious topic: discrimination and how useless war and revenge between races are. Netizens have pointed out that the FL Su You Lian's is too soft-hearted and her behavior is not suitable/realistic for being a spy. Don't forget that not everyone can be cold and heartless once trained. YL soon realized how kind humans are in reality and was conflicted between her obligation as the holy lady and her foundness towards her school mates.
I would find it more unrealistic if LX would fall in love with a fierce and heartless spy who was determined to deceive everyone. I could also perfectly emphasize with LX or YL why they would behave the way at each point of the story.
There are some minor plot holes and illogicality (e.g. superpowers which are there when they need to be but disappear when they are not needed), but I was able to ignore them.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": 4/5 ★★★★☆
The show employs a few very beautiful and young actors, who did a pretty good job. There is a personality for everyone.
Big applause for the performance of Zhou Jun Chao, who played Xiao Feng Ming. I saw him in "Handsome Siblings" as the villain Jiang Yu Lang and do believe he has a bright future as an actor. I also really like the best friends Chang Qing and Ling Cheng, two very different characters but with a strong bonds that warm your heart. Another honorable mention is the crown prince played by Zhang Song. Despite playing this dorky, stupid prince, who no one seems to take seriously, his acting was extremely to the point, and his talent cannot be ignored!
Last but not least, Yu Xing Tong's performance as Long Wei Er. She has a, if not the most interesting roles in this drama that provides more depth than other dramas; her character development is convincing and heart-wrenching towards the end. I can understand why some netizen end up rooting for her rather than for the FL.
The one minus point is deducted for the siblings from the country of Sha Guo. There are both very pretty people, but their performance of playing the important ML2 Yu Feng Mu and FL3 Yun Shan is disappointing. I also saw myself fast-forwarding some of the scenes between Yun Shan and Xiao Feng Ming as I found the romance scenes forced and the chemistry missing.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
With only 28 episodes, I saw myself wanting for more. The last 1-2 episodes feel slightly rushed and though I was hoping some of the emotional climaxes could have been depicted better, I find the episode number to be suitable for such a light-hearted school-romance drama. There is a nice climax in the middle following by a second arc. There are no unnecessary watering down, though sometimes there could have been fewer flashbacks.

6. "Technicalities": 4/5 ★★★★☆
Despite being a low-budget drama, the technicalities are nicely done. Especially, I was impressed with the CGI-enriched fighting scenes. This goes really badly with a lot of Chinese drama but DoSE did a decent job there. I also really like the rooms' internal designs - make me want to stay in one of those student dorms. And finally the songs are just beautiful - they are part of my frequent play list now.

7. "Solid Final": 4/5: ★★★★☆
For me, the final is not only the last episode but also how it is building towards the climax. In that sense, I like the ending. I am not going to spoil it for everyone but I understand why the writers have chosen such an ending. It would have been less convincing otherwise.
I love the fact that there was so much heart-warming act of forgiveness and letting go of hate. Many historical Wu Xia is so much about revenge from head to toe and it is great to see that the pointlessness of that (e.g. the last scene Long Wei Er was so beautifully taken).

Overall, I would give this drama a 9.0 out of 10. I would recommend it anyone who likes romance, friendship, school but with slightly more depth and twists. And of course to anyone who loves Xu Kai as much as I do!

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
2. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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A Riveting Drama with Stellar Performances

Story: This drama is a well-crafted narrative filled with intricate mind games between the female lead and the two male leaders, each manipulating and using one another from the very first episode. As the story unfolds, the plot thickens, and the characters' schemes - or at times, their support for one another becomes even more intriguing. The romantic dynamics are also interesting, with a clear contrast in how the two male leads interact with the female lead, adding depth to the story.

The supporting characters also added colors to the drama. This is one of the dramas where I don't really think some of the characters were redundant, as they all put in their own weight for this drama.

Acting: I was drawn to this drama because of Ren Jia Lun, who plays Wei Zhao. Having seen his previous works, including the Blue Whisper (Parts 1 and 2) and the Burning Flames, I knew he was an exceptional actor. This was my first time watching Landy Li (Jiang Ci) and Jeremy Tsui, and I found their performance impressive as well. Special recognition goes to Jeremy Tsui for his portrayal of Pei Yan.

OST: The soundtracks were fantastic. Part of the lineup include my favorite OST singer Liu Yuning. Additionally, Curly Gao were also part of the line up.

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Storyline - If anyone is interested in the history of the three kingdoms, then this drama will improve your understanding of the intriguing heroes and characters. The story is excellent and adapts well to the history and novel.
Actors - Excellent acting from all including the main characters.
Production - for such an epic story the production, direction of story and actors were first class.
Skipping scenes - nearly 100 episodes of history and I didn’t skip any scenes.
Overall - if anyone has an interest in Chinese history, then this is a must watch. You will start googling about the major characters to understand what they did in real life.

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WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE?

This drama prompted me to do something I never do: write a review, cause it had such a profound impact that it raised a debate in me in view of my profession.

Samayou Yaiba also called The Hovering Blade is The Japanese drama I was looking for for so long. A captivating series of six episodes that prompts us to think about the impact of social justice or revenge around us, how the police deal with their own procedures, the juvenile delinquency and its consequences, the impact of the press and its management of information, but above all, how far should we allow our pain and compassion to dictate our thinking?

This drama definitely deserves to be known, I really like the way it was filmed with the absence of BGM in almost every scene. It reveals a silence full of doubts and questioning of each protagonist. With that ultimate question, what if it were you in my place, what would you have done?

I admit it’s not always easy to watch because of the violence of some scenes but it’s so well written and it reconciled me with the Japanese drama, they always knew how to treat difficult subjects in a clinical way without real criticism, just by exposing facts.

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