Reviews

An enthralling performance and storyline

Firstly, the ML & FL are so attractive to watch together as the story unfolds. My curiosity about the plot staying until the very end could this be love or revenge. I think the introduction of new characters and their motivations is key to why this is so enthralling. Supporting actors and actresses are great with mains creating a quality production. There is a good amount of spiciness in the leads relationship. Soundtrack is instantly recognizable clips enhancing the scenes moods. Rewatch value super high as this is so enjoyable seeing everything come together in final moments.

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Just watch it !!! Its that good!!

What do I say, I've put this series on hold for quite sometime, guess I shouldn't have.

Well, I had my reasons to not watch it cuz I'm coming from the anime for Junta x Takato, and it felt very idk was a bit unsettling for some reason BUT BUT BUTTTT, Topform is totally not it ... the characters are potrayed so freaking well.
LOVED SmartBoom (Boom is so freking cute ... his smile oh my god T_T).

Also not forgetting the honey scene, I've been listening about it for a while, but never expected the scene to be soooooooo sooooo fking sensual, the sounds ugghhhhbdfghsv.....
Loved the black honey cut fckkkkkkkk .....

AND OOOHHH ... P' JADE ...... WOW damn that mann ... loved his character (obv him too 🫢)

Overall, I'm very satisfied after watching.
INSANE ACTING BY THE ACTORS ... byeee..... chub chub ^3^

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My first time watching a Jdrama in this setting and it didn't disappoint

Although it was a slow-burn kind of love story but i liked how the pacing was overall. I loved how the director was able to capture the emotions of the leads and despite how they misunderstood each other's feelings, their expressions really showed otherwise.

ML is so cute and is such a green flag. He's very mature for his age, so the age difference didn't feel off. I also liked the fact that it was not taboo during that time to be in that kind of relationship (or maybe they didn't just focus on that). He is seen as a selfish person her but actually he was really very supportive of FL. ML and FL's dynamics to help the business thrive is really very sweet.

Hoping to have more romance in Season 2

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A satisfying revenge plot with a happy ending

Really good revenge-plot kdrama with a happy ending that the leading couple truly deserved. The FL went through so much turmoil, this one hit home because it honestly reminded me of how I was once hurt by an ex-best friend and an ex-boyfriend. I could relate to the FL and how she felt whenever she caught them in bed together while also disrespecting her as if she never mattered to them. The FL did a great job at depicting her pain throughout the series. You never realize that the people closest to you can secretly be in competition with you, when all you’ve ever done is love them genuinely, but they’re the ones waiting to stab you in the back.
The FL believed the love between her ex-husband and best friend was mutual and sincere, but she was sadly mistaken. The level of betrayal she experienced while nearly losing her life was devastating. Getting a second chance changed everything for her, and I loved seeing her finally stand up to them as she found true happiness with her new husband who would go to the ends of the earth to protect her.
YOU GO, GIRL!

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Full house cast but predictable storyline

First of all, my review is more about how I got entertained. Given that this is four elements saga which includes a full house casting of famous GL actors. I felt that this part of the series has a good storyline and beautiful actresses. On the entertainment value side, it is eye candy, sweet, and comedic. The downside is that I got bored at some point. The reason is that it is very cliché and predictable. I even predicted that on those love scenes, it would not push and it would be pushed on the very last episode. Also, the 2 main leads do not have any chemistry. The love scenes were like, okay, let's do this! It is so obvious that they aren't comfortable. And funny, the last episode they were finally making love and they made it seem they finished orgasm, but still fully clothed. Like, okay, they really don't have to show skin, but their reaction was obviously faked. So, yes, I got entertained for the cute moments, if it were other GL actors who had the chemistry..I would have loved this series more!

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Great acting by ML but flawed characters and overall performance

The story is great with twists and turns but there were so many characters whose intentions left me in question. Biggest one would be Junichi’s nurse girlfriend. Don’t understand how she can be his side and act as a placeholder until he decided to go back to Makiko. That’s so unrealistic… Ryoma’s acting really amazed me here because his performance was kinda outshone in his other Dr series.
Don’t like Nara’s acting at all as there were so many unnecessary quirks from hers. Keisuke was really a red flag and don’t understand how he is still comparing to Junichi in the end. I do think Makiko lying is kinda understandable plus for someone who got SA, I understand why she wants to go to her rapist on her own and not get the police involved. But I feel that her liking with Junichi felt too forced. Perhaps it’s her acting maybe? Naoto’s reaction to Makiko admission of guilt is too over too.

Overall, the story is good but performance as a whole is still somewhat lacking and intentions of characters not clear.

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Unexpected Binge

I developed a bias towards Wuxia series from the last decade or so, but decided to try this one based on the rating from a reviewer with somewhat similar tastes. I've dropped countless of Wuxia series due to cheap-looking costumes (including hair and makeup), poor dialogue/plot, annoying FL/ML, overuse of romance, and corny special effects. But this one.. is one of those rare ones that I found myself unexpectedly binging on.

Although some of the corny is unavoidable due to the fantasy element, it was done quite tastefully in this series. I actually found myself enjoying the majority of the special effects from the action scenes. But what really made this one special was that the plot was thought-provoking and the character developments were interesting and complex. The chemistry with the cast were great and I really couldn't find any complaints about any particular character. As there are 40 episodes, it's quite difficult the summarize all of the emotions felt. Let's just say there plenty of unexpected moments, fun moments, and tear-jerking moments. I'm also super happy that the romance aspects of the series are done with maturity and it didn't manage to take over the theme.

Overall, if you're like me who has similar biases towards the Wuxia genre, I would recommend giving this one a try as an exception. They really did a great job in balancing everything and I only wish they maybe delved a little more into some of the characters' histories. You'll also enjoy this is you appreciate tactician-style characters. Despite being very different stories, the ML shares some similarities with the one from Nirvana in Fire.

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Win Win vs Win All.

Legend of Magnate stands out as one of the better written historical business dramas. It is set in late Qing dynasty, a time of great turmoil in modern Chinese history. The story opens to the vast and icily inhospitable landscape of an exile colony in Ningguta. The real-location filming delivers an authentic and immersive sense of the desolation and at the very ends-of-the-earth feeling of this frigid winterland. Yet somehow, convict Gu Pingyuan, a falsely excused scholar from Anhui, was almost thriving as a fixer and general dogsbody for the incompetent military command of the Ningguta garrison. He smooths the way for the business dealings of Li Qin, the young scion of the Li family as well as that of itinerant merchant Fourth Master Chang and his daughter Yu'er. Thus begins a lifelong entanglement as they face headwinds on multiple fronts of an empire on its last legs.

After he escapes from Ningguta, Gu Pingyuan reinvents himself as a pawnbroker, banker, tea merchant and even dabbles in a salt monopoly. His exploits are legendary as he navigates savagely unethical business rivalries amid civil war and foreign interference. The business plots are tightly written and explain intricate business schemes and late-Qing era commerce and finance in a logical and engaging manner. The narrative is interwoven with civil war, political intrigue, betrayal, revenge, romance, family drama, diplomatic affairs and patriotism. With canny commercial instincts, sound judgement and a strong business ethics, Pingyuan fosters important alliances with other merchants, government officials and even rebels who pop up just in time to throw him a lifeline when needed. Undeniably his meteoric rise is is partly due to heavy plot armour aka sheer luck but the fast-paced, storytelling with high dramatic tension leaves little time to dwell on the convenient coincidences.

The massive social and economic upheaval wrought by the Taiping Rebellion occupies central stage in the first major arc of the drama. The complex motivations for this civil unrest that cost 20-30mm lives is sympathetically conveyed. It is surprising to see a rebel leader such as Li Cheng stop short of being glorified - or maybe Zhu Yawen's portrayal is simply too evocative. What is not needed is the romance - both female leads fall in love way too quickly and Bai Yimei's feelings in particular are not convincingly developed. Besides an uncanny uncanny ability to GPS hone in on her man across thousands of miles of desolate frigid wasteland, Chang Yuér also adds nothing to the plot. The character is quite well written but Sun Qian's childish line delivery and unnecessarily weepy interpretation failed to resonate with me. Li Chun's radical and dangerous Su Zixuan ended up being the most interesting and best acted female role in the show.

Cheng Xiao delivers a mature, down-to-earth portrayal of this humble scholar turned business prodigy; making his stellar feats somehow seem reasonable and hard won. He is surrounded by a talented and versatile cast that vividly brings the zeitgeist of difficult period of history to life. All the subplots build anticipation towards an epic day of reckoning between Gu Pingyuan and his arch-rival Li Wantang; they are parallel characters with opposite business philosophies - win win vs win all. Unfortunately their arc ends abruptly in a completely out of character and anti-climatic plot twist that is a nothing burger of a melodramatic cop out. This is deeply disappointing as I was looking forward to what could have been a riveting denouement between Cheng Xiao and Huang Zhi Zhong, one of the most versatile and compelling character actors in the industry. Even though Luo Yizhou's Li Qin surprised and impressed me in the final arc, it was a boring arc. The finale introduces new characters too late in the game and gets mired down in minutiae of government concessions, contract terms, trade treaties and law of the sea.

Overall this was one of the better period dramas of 2025. It is worth watching just for the on-location filming if nothing else. While the final two arcs were not good enough for this to merit an 8.5, it is definitely an 8.0+/10.0.

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࿎࿎࿎࿎࿎࿎࿎

𝙈𝙮 𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚..𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙈𝙇 & 𝙁𝙇...𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙎𝙏 🎶🎶♫♫♫♫♫✬✬✲✫✫★★✪𐂂𓃱♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕♕✿♥︎♥︎♡♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♡♥︎♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛♛☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎☻︎

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CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED!!!

What the fuuuuck! This series is seriously underrated!

I understand why many people might choose sweeter, fluffier BL series over this one. It’s definitely not your typical lovey-dovey BL. And to be honest, I usually don’t enjoy political themes in BL dramas, but this? is easily one of the best series of last year.

It’s been three years since Mile and Apo starred together in a BL series. Their comeback wasn’t necessarily the pairing I was most anticipating, but this series is undeniably unforgettable.

And don’t even get me started on the side couple. This is probably the strongest side storyline I’ve ever seen in a BL series. I almost forgot about Trin and Tanwa because I was so invested in Krailert and Naran. I rewatched the entire series immediately after the finale just to relive their scenes. That’s how bad it hit me.

Another reason this series might land in my top three of 2025 is the soundtrack. It’s been a long time since I added Thai BL OSTs to my Spotify playlist, probably since the pandemic first hit the U.S. But after just two episodes, I had already saved the entire OST. I absolutely love it.

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