Reviews

No deeper meaning

The first three episodes of THE IMMORTAL ASCENSION were promising – they take place in a gorgeous setting and show a warm relationship between the two boys. Both boys are under the care of a menacing antagonist, in the guise of an old “master.” Yang Yang’s acting was superb in these episodes.

Then the series fell apart.

The rest of the drama seemed to be slapped together without much effort or forethought. This version of taoism seems too materialistic to me. Shouldn't the “masters” who represent the epitome of sagacity be looking for truth and enlightenment? Instead they seem to be bereft of any real wisdom and to have no real moral compass.

Han Li was a constant puzzle. Where was the meaning in his life? His goal seemed to be to acquire magical artifacts, to rise in status, and eventually achieve immortality. He's not interested in creating any meaningful connections with anyone--male or female, human or immortal. He did have a few tender moments with an animated mouse. Even his affection for his family seemed almost non-existent.

A number of mostly forgettable women pursue him. Does he have a capacity for intimacy? For love? If he did, I sure couldn’t detect it.

Generic demons and bad guys show up, fight Han Li, and are destroyed. We know they’re evil because, they scream at their underlings, smirk and laugh diabolically, and try to kill the good guys. Monsters include lizards with glowing eyes, a serpent, and a mantis demon or two, each, in turn, dispatched to the great beyond. Lots of spiky golden wheels turn in the sky.

I DID like the ending, and I’ll probably watch Season 2.

As for Yang Yang the actor, I understand he studied dance and plays the piano. I’m glad he’s got other interests. Hope there’s someone around him encouraging him to build a life on something other than his youthful good looks (which are mentioned by reviewers incessantly) so that he’s not totally devastated when they’re gone.

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Lots to like

Our hero, the feckless ML, feels that he can’t win in the game of life–that he’s been dealt a hand of deuces and treys. So life (well actually I should say Death) puts him in a TRULY no-win situation.

Did I say “no-win”? This is the King of no-wins. He can’t even solve this particular dilemma by dying.

DEATH’S GAME starts out as a male-oriented thriller, with non-stop action, and plenty of violence and gore. Keep watching, though, because this series isn’t easily categorized. One episode has horror film vibes; another fills in the details of the romance introduced at the beginning. Whatever. I guarantee that you won’t complain that it drags–more like a cage-full of squirrels on speed.

What really sets this series apart from others are the excellent special effects, along with some amazing camera work. One shot (pun intended) lets the viewer look at a certain character through a bullet hole that’s just penetrated another character’s head.

If you prefer a narrative with more sophisticated characters and a nuanced view of reality, you might think DEATH’S GAME isn’t your cup of tea. The minor characters are mostly sterotypes, especially the villains. But the ML grows and changes–and the focus is mostly on him.

If you look at the plot too closely, you’ll notice some inconsistencies. For example, it’s not clear what happened to the original inhabitant of each of the bodies the ML took over. Some of the rules of the game seem to change over the course of the series. And I personally didn’t appreciate the demonization of people who commit suicide. Some, no doubt, are selfish, like the ML. Others are sick. And still others have an intolerable life situation.

A crow is blown to pieces in one episode. I see anti-crow scenes like this in a lot of dramas these days. Please, guys, stop setting a bad example by encouraging people to torture and kill these amazingly intelligent birds (look up the research).

You may notice some familiar faces in the minor roles. Kim Mi-Kyung as the mother and Oh Jung-se, whose versatility always amazes me, are just two I recognized.

The pluses totally outweigh the minuses in this series. Nine stars.

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Thrilling, action-filled, romance as a subplot! Everything you could possibly want basically

When I went into Love on the Turquoise Land, I was excited, yes, but I wasn't expecting it to take me on a journey of heartbreak, happiness, worry, and anticipation. From the beginning, LOTL captivated me with it's fast-paced yet incredibly nuanced plot line, whether it was the carefully crafted backstory of each character that made them the way they are today. I initially held some degree of hesitation, as I don't typically watch stuff considered "supernatural" but LOTL was pleasantly surprising with this. In my opinion, the "supernatural" aspects are not far fetched ideas that are not fleshed out enough to have any real substance to them, but rather, these supernatural creatures involved have complex and distinct stories of how they came to be, their motives, and their history.


(SMALL) SPOILERS AHEAD
First thing I want to talk about (and praise) are all of the cast members. Each played their character extremely well and demonstrated a deep understanding for who their character is and not just their external motivations but even to some extent, the secrets their characters may hold.

Dilraba's Nie Jiuluo was beautifully crafted. Nie Jiuluo, or A Luo, started off as someone who was cold and detached from the world, which that in itself was such an interesting irony for me. A Luo, since she was young, has wanted to leave the Nanshan Hunters and live an ordinary life, as those in the Nanshan Hunters seem to almost live in their own world, yet when she was living among regular everyday civilians, she wasn't really a part of their world. In the beginning, A Luo lived in a limbo of sorts, between the world of ordinary people and the world the hunters lived in. Then, after she meets Yan Tuo and goes through several life-or-death situations, she slowly warms up to people as a whole and consequently becomes more integrated into the ordinary world but at the same time, with Yan Tuo's presence, she becomes more and more tangled up into the affairs of the Nanshan Hunters. What I especially loved to see was the subtle change in A Luo's character and I largely accredit that to Reba's acting. The micro-expressions and changes in tone of voice brought the character to life and made A Luo's character growth truly realistic and believable. As an avid fan of Reba, her acting in this (and her previous drama, Sword Rose) shows huge improvements and I can't wait to see what's next for her.

Chen Xingxu's Yan Tuo was a complex and layered character that I strongly believed not many actors can pull off. Especially in the beginning of LOTL, Yan Tuo was someone who had to adapt two different personalities to survive. One that was his true self, which he only showed to those closest to him, and one that was obedient, compliant, and essentially "perfect" for Lin Xirou and her companions. The second personality is what I find most interesting with Yan Tuo's character. He has to be smart enough to take on responsibilities in the Roushan group but not smart enough to detect anything wrong with Lin Xirou. It's a delicate balance that requires all the right expressions, interactions, and line delivery, and that balance is what I believe Chen Xingxu was able to achieve. At one moment, Yan Tuo could be cautious and wary of Lin Xirou and at the next moment, he is able to play her oblivious, young, loving, and grateful stepson. Additionally, his character contrasts Nie Jiuluo's well--- A Luo's character development was slow and no one is able to pinpoint the exact moment her character shifted while Yan Tuo's development was almost instant. Once he was fully exposed, Yan Tuo completely gave up the idea of upholding his old image in the eyes of Lin Xirou and let his hatred for her shine through. This is yet another irony I find interesting in the characters of LOTL. A Luo, compared to Yan Tuo, is more impulsive and "swift", while Yan Tuo is relatively calm and calculated, biding his time until the moment came, yet their developments mirrored each other's personalities more than their own.

Zhang Li's Lin Xirou was another character I found incredibly captivating. Even though she is the ultimate antagonist and mastermind behind almost all the problems in the show, the way the scenes and Zhang Li's understanding of her character made it impossible for me to fully hate Lin Xirou. As an actress, Zhang Li beautifully portrays the internal struggles of Lin Xirou and the necessity to still appear strong on the outside. Lin Xirou genuinely cared for Yan Tuo and truly saw him as family, and that line she said to Yan Tuo, "Your biggest helper in these lies wasn't your sculptor girlfriend or the Nanshan Hunters, it was me." was so powerful and captured so well the complexities of Lin Xirou as a person. In the eyes of everyone else, the Earth Fiends were heartless and ruthless. They existed as an entity and not a life capable of love and anguish but Lin Xirou's character proved those beliefs wrong. She knew Yan Tuo knew more than what he let on. She knew that one day, he would stand against her. Yet, she continued playing along with him, pretending she was oblivious to all Yan Tuo was doing and turning a blind eye to his repeated betrayals, and not for any ulterior motives. Yan Tuo held no importance to her mission or her survival. He wasn't her blood bag, he wasn't unconditionally loyal, and he wasn't even the same species as her. She repeatedly gave him chances to turn back because Lin Xirou came to genuinely love and care for the little boy she watched grow up. Like Yan Tuo, who wore two faces, Lin Xirou did the same and due credits should be given to Zhang Li too. On one hand, Lin Xirou was cold and calculating to ensure the assimilation and survival of her people, on the other hand, she played a loving stepmother who ignored all and any wrongdoings of Yan Tuo. To be able to capture the exact moment her character sensed something wrong, then immediately mask that concern takes hard work and dedication to the craft that is acting and I truly believe that like the rest of the cast, this drama would not be as good as it is.

All of the other supporting/side characters like Xiong Hei, Lin Ling, Feng Mi, Yu Rong, Que Cha, and even Xing Shen were all truly exceptional too. I wish I had time to go over how I found each of their characters interesting in their own right and all of the nuances written into their characters despite them being only support characters, but alas, this review would become way too long and there are still some points I would like to cover.

Second, I would like the praise the pacing and story telling of LOTL. One thing that I have found common in many cdramas are filler episodes. Whether it was small, unknown dramas or widely recognized dramas, the large majority of them shared one glaring weakness in my eyes: too many filler episodes. When I came into LOTL, I was expecting the same. This belief, of course, was pleasantly proven wrong. The pacing of LOTL was pretty much perfect. Each episode had me at the edge of my seat and wanting more. Had I started watching this when it first aired, I almost definitely would've binged this entire drama in less than 3 days.

The story telling was no different than the pacing, and when I talk about story telling, I don't just mean the plot, I'm factoring in the cinematography, the sequence of scenes (flashbacks included), and the use of camera angles. I don't even know how to describe it in a way that does it justice but the best way I can describe the cinematography in this drama is it sucks you into the story and makes it feel like you are watching it unfold with your own eyes, not just on a screen. The way this drama is shot, you would expect it to be a high-production movie. I also really enjoyed the way flashback scenes were utilized. Instead of letting the viewers see glimpses of the lead's backstory throughout the entire drama, the first few episodes lays it out pretty clearly for the audience. This decision not only allowed the audience to better understand and connect with the characters, it allowed most of the focus and curiosity to be on the antagonists--- the Earth Fiends. Instead of immediately revealing all of the information about them in the beginning, we, as the viewers, found out most of the information with the protagonists. This massively contributed to the captivating nature of LOTL and I believe this was one of its strongest advantages over the other cdramas.

Of course, I do also need to talk about the plot itself and not just the way it was presented to us. I found the plot to be incredibly nuanced and well-crafted. The world the male lead and female lead lives in is obviously fictional but the world building that was not just lost somewhere in the writing room was actually conveyed to a point that made the world feel real. Nothing happened without reason. One event led to another and all of the major plot points like Yan Tuo being trapped in the cave, Nie Jiuluo being stabbed by the Earth Fiends and barely clinging to her life, all of the Nanshan Hunters entering the Twilight Chasm ready to leave everything behind to build a peaceful world, Yan Tuo severely hurting Lin Xirou with Nie Jiuluo's bracelet, and so many other scenes I don't have enough time to list all of, they all happened to serve a specific purpose and built on each other, one way or another.

Now, since this is a review, it would be unrealistic if I only had praises, as I have yet to find the cdrama that I believe to be completely perfect in every aspect. While the story was more than satisfactory, I found the ending to be somewhat lacking. I didn't understand why Locust was never utilized by Xing Shen after he spent so long training him. I don't mean that Locust should have fought in the final battle but rather, after they escaped their initial cell, they quite literally had no more significance to the plot and I think they could have done something cool with him and Locust. Another thing I had a problem with was the lack of focus on the ending of the other characters. Sure, we had hints to the ending of Yu Rong and Que Cha, Lin Ling and Lu Xian, and Ms. Lu and uncle Changxi, however, they were just hints and in my opinion, did not provide a sufficient "end of story" for these beloved characters. Additionally, some very important people were left out of the ending too. We don't know what happened to the Nanshan Hunters, afterall, Xing Shen and Jiang Baichuan are both dead, the Mad Blade and Ghost Whip has more or less retired their positions to live a quiet and peaceful life, leaving only a handful of hunters left. Did they disband or is there a new leader elected? I understand the belief is the Earth Fiends have been fully taken care of, but it still stands that there are Earth Fiends alive and like they evolved to become human, they can evolve eventually to be able to cross that chasm. I will say however, leaving out the fate of the Nanshan Hunters can be intentional depending on how you look at it. The way I also see it, we don't know what became of the Nanshan Hunters for certain because Nie Jiuluo herself does not care what will happen to them and this story, in a sense, is told in her perspective. Another small problem I had with the ending was also how they dealt with Locust, which I touched on earlier. They basically handed them off to an animal control equivalent, but why and how did that not raise suspicions, as almost definitely, those researchers have never seen anything similar to an Earth Fiend? It was also implied Locust was Lin Xirou's child and Lin Xirou even asked about Locust but nothing ever came of it and Lin Xirou basically forgot Locust was in the hands of the Nanshan Hunters, as in the exchange, she did not ask for Locust. I just think it was such a missed opportunity to make the story more interesting and better craft Locust's character and existence in the film.

Still, my largest issues with the ending lies in two parts: Lin Xirou's death, and the amnesia plot. The defeat of Lin Xirou was something the show spent almost 30 episodes leading up to, yet the actual scene was less than like 2 minutes. It felt like her death ultimately didn't really matter. Also, in the final battle, it felt like they dehumanized her almost completely. She is shown to care about her people and at the very least, she was close with Feng Mi but after her friends and basically family started dropping like flies, she showed no care for them whatsoever. I still don't quite understand why Feng Mi was left behind to die and none of them even mourned her. I'm also not understanding why Nie Jiuluo ended up ultimately failing to kill Lin Xirou and it was her mother that had to do it. She was literally just shown expertly killing a number of Earth Fiends, yet when she reaches the most important one, she forgets how an Earth Fiend can be killed? That just seems really stupid and a plot hole. A more meaningful death would've been if Nie Jiuluo was able to ultimately kill Lin Xirou but the price of that would be her own "death" and when Yan Tuo watches Nie Jiuluo and Lin Xirou fall, he sees Nie Jiuluo's mother approach.

Onto the amnesia plot, in my opinion, it was unnecessary and too generic. Up to this point, LOTL had done such a good job with being unique and unpredictable but this plot was the exact opposite. I understand the need for there to be consequences to A Luo taking the Mad Blade medicine, but the whole "amnesia" thing doesn't even correlate. The excuse was that taking the medicine would essentially sever the ties to her emotions and whatnot and that's what caused her amnesia but that makes no sense because why would it only take away a few months of memories? The better plot to go with would've been that it permanently severed her emotions and the last two episodes are spent on Yan Tuo and the people around her trying to find a way to reverse the effects. At the very least, they should have gone with a different storyline if they stuck with the amnesia plot.

Like all stories throughout time and across the world, LOTL leaves many plot holes and questions unanswered behind like why did Nie Jiuluo have a special constitute that allowed for her blood to kill Earth Fiends and recover quickly, however, none of this should discourage anyone from giving this show a try. I know I talked a lot about how unsatisfactory the end was but I can promise you, it's not as bad as I make it sound. The ending wasn't amazing but it wasn't particularly bad either, I just left out a lot of the other details that I did really like for the sake of not just "glazing" this show.

Overall, this is definitely a really good watch and if you like action, thriller, romance, any of that good stuff, you will definitely have a great time watching Love on the Turquoise Land and I hope that for whoever gives this drama a try, you have as amazing of an experience as I did.

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For action fans, this is your drama

This show is absolutely good compared to most of the dramas. The Acting and technology is way better. Ep 1-6 it is the best. Bt the rest felt some lacking. They focus more on villain side in later part and it is unnecessary and not interesting. It would be better if expose the way taejun seeking the revenge more cuz first few episodes really had it and it was so interesting.

The Acting was top notch. Jichangwook as always nailed it and bro really deserve a baeksang award for that. DO is also nailed his villain role and every other actors literary brought their best performances. Watching their acting itself is making us happy.

Everyone needs to watch this because it is a drama that keep you at the edge and gave you quality entertainment. Specially if you are a fan of action genre, you should never miss this.

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I love this mini drama.

These years I have been watching loads of Boy-Love-Boy dramas. I don't care people arguing it is bromance or bl. This BLB showed how deeply ML and MC cared and loved each other. I don't care that the drama looks like or similar to other dramas. The actors conveyed emotions into my mind and made me teary. I don't care it is a low budget drama. It was pleasing to my eyes to watch beautiful scenes and pleasing to my ears to listen all the sad songs. It was the first drama that made me pay for the VIP, and the SVIP for the last episode.

I knew from the start from all the beautifully sad posters that I would be sad in the end. That was the reason I gave only 8 for the Story.

Here I am rewatch it again and again.

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FL is an acquired taste

So, I’ve loved the premise. A parody with characters that are controlled to do stuff according to a shitty script? Seems fun!
It started off ok… but I dropped it around ep 4 because I hated ML. I decided to come back just after I’ve watched the worst drama ever, so in my mind I had nothing else to lose.
I began enjoying it, but FL here is difficult… I get her motives(surviving the awful iconic moments that HAD to happen), but they don’t make up for cruelty. She was CRUEL multiple times. It’s ok if you hate someone, it’s ok if you don’t want anything with them. It’s not ok to be deliberately hurtful and cruel, like poke and kick a dying dog.
Even when ML changed she was extremely stupid and unnecessarily cruel. She started getting on my nerves for real around episode 23-25. It was very difficult to watch up until she finally stops harassing him on 31(or was it 32). And it was sudden, and not emotional at all. You know those beautiful slow burn dramas where the character makes a heartfelt apology and say they love etc?? Nope. Nothing. She just accepts him and that’s it. Before that I wonder why he kept coming back to her like a wounded dog, and it made me annoyed with him also. At least he wasn’t suffering due to her anymore. Again, I’m not saying she should’ve accepted he was great and love him or whatever, cuz I get her reasons of not wanting to be with him. My issue with her is the cruelty, the way she made him suffer even more, everytime he tried getting closer to her.
ML was too much of a martyr for my taste. He accepted everything without explaining himself, no defenses, nothing. Max he’d say was “trust me!” and nothing more. Sure, sometimes his actions would speak louder (should, but FL as I’ve mentioned was difficult to say the least, always misunderstanding and wanting to hurt him until he bled), but even so it was very hard for me to watch him do nothing. He reminded me of Audrey(the girl not the plant) from Little Shop of Horrors with her “yes doctor, sorry doctor!!” personality. Sure he was probably broken due to his difficult childhood. But something still felt off about it, specially with FL that did nothing to make him like her (quite the contrary) and he’d still go after her to beg attention.
All the other characters grew on me really fast (except the Emperor and 2ML). Love ML brother, he was super sweet. FL sister was great too.
Side romances didn’t catch me but it’s a me problem as I never care much about them. Alas, I had a difficult time trying to care about the main romance on this one!
BG music here is awesome! Every moment had music that fit it really well.
Costumes were beautiful too!
All in all, if the developments of the characters were more linear, instead of mostly sudden (apart from ML and 2ML), and if FL wasn’t such a villainess for the most part, I’d have enjoyed this a lot more.
Final episode was a fun one, but the ending was disappointing. I’ve watched the scene post credit, and it was just ok. I probably won’t rewatch but I don’t quite regret watching this.

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A Beautifully Written, Heartfelt Drama

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Although the cases were not that intense or complicated, and some of them were frustrating, with what seemed like petty reasons for divorce. As someone with a legal background, my expectations of Legal dramas is high. But the human relationships made up for some of the weaknesses.

The best part of this drama is the human relationships and connections of sibling and family love. Found family is also a theme that resonates deeply with me. The ML seemed a bit neurodivergent, although this wasn't really explained and that's why he did some unethical things.

It was also a great reminder that, despite the high number of BL manga and JBL that Japan makes, same-sex/LGBTQ+ relationships are not recognized by law, and that needs to change. So when I see people complaining about how the romance is bad, etc, I realize that we all see what we want to see and miss the important parts.

So if you care more about the story rather than the romance, then you will enjoy this drama.

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"Who are you acting for?"

This second season . . . Blew the first out of the water and up into the clouds; expanding and pulling on insecurities and self-doubts, passions and dreams, that were already there and/or just beginning to show themselves.

And there was such a perfectly natural progression of both leads' lives/story that you'd swear every moment was mapped out since the start.

It was a story of personal growth and growing with someone you love.

If Romance is a Bonus Book is a love letter to books and ThamePo Heart That Skips a Beat is a love letter to love, then S2 of At 25:00 in Akasaka is a love letter to acting.

I was compelled not just by the characters but by the various roles they played.

The cinematography? Left me speechless!

It was . . .

It was a grand play I'd been dying to see that left me standing and clapping, eyes sparkly and watery and mouth open in wonderment long after the actors left the stage.

I do so hate to see the curtains close, but I know they must.

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Almost perfect

Darn it! It was this close to giving this series my first ever 10, but then came the ultimate confrontation and ending! They weren't badly built by any means, but they were the last straw to drop the half point of being the full ten. And in general the coherent and flowing narrative throughout the story hit some hiccups as soon as they stepped away from the original storyline.

Despite that, I really liked the series. The story, cast, OST, and cinematography were all great, and I enjoyed the whole thing a lot. It felt like an international big-name company might have produced it. Amazing work, Domundi!

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Humans, fiends and a beautiful love story !!!

Love on Turquoise land has a very good premise of a long lasting battle between South mountain hunters, on the humans side, trying to protect the world from evil and earth fiends on the opposite side, trying to get a foothold for themselves, since they were formed by a meteor crash on the earth.
As the story unfolds, we are introduced to the Nanshan hunters group,the antagonist Lin Xi Rou and her gang and the main leads, Nie Jiu Luo and Yan Tuo.
The story proceeds with a steady pace, with unexpected twists and turns, and manages to keep us engaged in the drama.
The acting of all the cast is fabulous. Diliraba as Nie Jiu Luo and Chen Xingxu, as Yan Tuo, were perfectly cast.
Zhang Li, as Lin Xi Rou, is excellent in her performance, as she gives us that, creepy, crazy, eerie, fearsome feeling when she arrives on screen. Her acting was amazing.
The special effects were good.
What I liked about this drama is the matured, beautiful Love story between Nie Jiu Luo and Yan Tuo, which makes this drama much livelier and better, given its dark and mysterious premise.
The development of love between them and their chemistry is very good.
Also, I liked the fact that although it revolves around fiends, the story focused and showed the emotions of each and every character involved. The anxiety, angst, fear, pain, love, friendship,sacrifice,and all the emotions were portrayed well.
On a final note, Love on Turquoise Land, is a decent watch for its plot, mysteries, and a very good love story.
Though it has some flaws and sometimes may be boring, but definitely it is a MUST and VERY GOOD WATCH!! Kudos to the team👍👌👏

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