Reviews

For audiences who purely enjoy the detective/crime-solving genre.

The drama The Wanted Detective feels like a less remarkable version of Mysterious Lotus Casebook. The male lead investigates cases, gets poisoned, is skilled in martial arts, and is falsely accused.

Although the production is fairly polished, it’s understandable why the drama didn’t gain much popularity in China. While both shows focus on solving cases and uncovering deeper conspiracies, Mysterious Lotus Casebook stands out because each case is independent, with its own storyline and foreshadowing that eventually tie into the final mystery. In contrast, The Wanted Detective essentially revolves around a single overarching case from beginning to end, with the smaller cases serving only to lead to the ultimate mastermind.

Another drawback lies in the chemistry between the male and female leads. Despite their supposed romantic relationship, their on-screen interaction feels weak.

One strength of the drama, especially for longtime viewers of Chinese series, is the supporting cast. Many of the roles are played by seasoned and familiar veteran actors, which elevates the overall acting quality.

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It was ART: a beautiful story, but Shu He's character development was questionable

I loved it, the cinematography, OST, characters, dialogues, everything was great. A must watch.

BUT for some reason many seem to dismiss the inconsistency in Shu He's character and blame Duan Zi for everything.

If anything Shu He was the red flag, not the other way around. Shu He turned out to be quite "patriotic" for someone who never cared about politics.

First things first, what was up with returning that presented string to the Crown Prince and giving him cold shoulder after he returned from battle? He gave his insecure brother all the wrong signals to be suspicious of him and never even properly talked to him.
I can understand why he would choose to stay behind and not follow Duan Zi during the rebellion, I understand why he felt betrayed upon learning Duan Zi's origin, but if you think deeper, he himself used Duan Zi and whatever Duan Zi's lie was, he actually had all the reasons to harm South Hi's clan for losing his family and being forced into becoming a Red Shadow Guard since childhood. Yet he put Shu He first and didn't kill any of them up untill that scene at the bridge. Keep in mind, that a person who was devoid of a normal household and was trained to kill, held back.
Yet Shu He still holds Duan Zi accountable for his brother's and even father's death for 5 years - Duan Zu literally killed the Crown Prince after he lunged forward swinging his sword to put Shu He out of his "misery." And the Prince himself killed his own father. So Shu He wanting to "atone" for his unstable brother that wanted to disable him and in the end hurt his hand, framed him and wanted to kill him makes little sense. I understand their bond, and I'm not simplifying Crown Prince's character or their dynamics, but hating Duan Zi all those years and refusing his letters doesn't make. Why doesnt he also hate his brother for killing his father? More importantly revenging a DYING person also doesn't make sense - I can see why Shu He wanted to die, but there're many ways to queitly die without traumatizing "the love of his life". He once mentioned failing he protect his mother, himself and Duan Zi, but turned out to be the only person who actually hurt Duan Zi. He harbored ill will towards no one for any wrongdoings, except for Duan Zi. As if it's easy to confess that you were trained to become an assasin.

I loved all 5 main characters and their stories, almost all of them made many mistakes and were complicated, and all of them carry the reaponsibility for their choices. But Shu He shifted all the blame on Duan Zi up untill the very end. Shu He was the one that lacked coherence and purpose the most - he was like a poison both to the Crown Prince and Duan Zi.

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Best drama of 2025

After a cdrama slump for a year i stumbled upon this drama on Viki. Usually i get bored during thefirst 10 minutes but this drama is the only one in years where i didnt have to fast forward anything at all for all 30 episodes. I especially love the feminist themes throughout the drama and the underlying message that you dont need no man to save you. I find it refreshing in this drama that the FL saves the ML many times throughout instead of the usual damsel in distress dramas.

The pacing is great except for the last few episodes where i did ffwd. The ost is wonderful.

Now i have to say i was truly mesmorized by Xiao Jue and its because of the wonderful acting performed by an actor I have not seen before Cheng Lei!!! Omg this actor had me hooked in episode 1 the moment he appeared on screen. He just played Xiao Jues character to the T. His micro expressions are just wow. Because his character starts of as a very cold intimidating general he does this perfectly but also we get to see the cracks im his demeanour as he falls in love with He Yan, the fl and it was just so nice to watch. I definitely was gigling throughout those scenes of him trying to suppress his jealousy lol.

I also really liked zhou ye. Shes such a loveable actress and really played her role quite well. She had amazing chemistry with cheng lei.
The side characters were great as well. My favourite would be the training at the army.
Overall best drama of the year. I will miss my power couple so much.

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At the end we're all humans ruled by our emotions

I usually don't like watching modern dramas but after When Destiny Brings the Demon I got interested in Arthur Chen and decided to give it a shot. It has become one of my favourite dramas to date.


I admit, I have a type of ML that I like. I'm attracted to capable people who have confidence in themselves and their abilities. But even more so, Li Xun has touched me as someone who is not always perfect, not always considerate of the feelings of others but always strives to do his best, whether to help in his own way or to prevent others from feeling his own pain. He's a bit clumsy with it however, he doesn't realise that people will feel pain for him.

I think a lot of people say he's a red flag. But i think in this society, everyone strives to be seen as perfect. Not just in looks but also public image. But I would like to ask, how do you view yourselves?

Perhaps I relate to this ML because sometimes it's hard to play these people games. Sometimes I know I'm selfish, i can be immature, i can be stubborn and opinionated. We are humans and we have faults. But like what the FL said, it's easy to stand from afar and criticise without understanding it from the person's point of view. If I had undergone what Li Xun experienced in his youth, I'm not sure if I could stand as strong as he, and for that I really admire this character.

Some criticised him for shouting at others, for hurting the FL with his words, for only caring about the bigger picture and not the feelings of others. He's a realist. He is forced to be, because of his situation. Who has not felt overwhelming rage, enough to let you lose all rational thought? Or overwhelming sadness and guilt over decisions that you cannot ever take back that resulted in circumstances beyond your control? If you have never experienced such things, bless your lucky life, please cherish it.

Overall, the couple is cute. I like both of them. They support each other come what may and always try their best for each other. it's rare to ever find people like the both of them in today's society.

I think it always serves as a reminder to not judge a book by its cover. You don't know what the other person has gone through. I hope seeing FL's mother in the show, people would be able to reflect and understand that people have their reasons sometimes. It might not produce a result you agree with, but we are human, not AI. We come into the world with a blank page and fill it with our experiences gained. We don't always make the wisest decisions and we might get emotional but our intentions might not be bad. As someone who has always been misunderstood by friends and family because I'm not good with words... i understand this ML too well.

Anyway, i'm giving this a perfect score. I enjoyed the journey thoroughly and will be rewatching the cute parts definitely for serotonin (:

May Li Xuns and Zhu Yuns of today live great lives that contribute to changing the world for the better.

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How Many Whale Videos Do You Want? Yes!

What a story! The storyline is so ordinary and give us a big awareness on people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as inequality treatment towards people with disability. I personally think the overall storyline is a bit harsh for a "slice of life", but then it's maybe always this harsh for people with special condition like her. This show features different cases on almost every episode, and I like that the outcome is so ordinary and not always favorable for Young U. The strong friendship is a feature in this show, and the loveline is not overecsatic. Does it require the character an ASD to have a calmer love story?

It must be difficult for Park Eun Bin to play such "special" character, but at the end she delivers it fantastically. The other casts add a great combination to the show, especially Kang Ki Young with some silly things he often pulls. Additionally, most of the characters get a good character development.

While this show has a great highlight on the person with ASD story, it somehow takes toll on the story details. They didn't imply what is the actual beef between Han Seon Yeong and Tae Su Mi, that the former has to use Yeong U as her weapon to "attack" the latter. It is also unknown what happens to Min U that causes his change of heart. On the Children Liberation Army's case, there is a big chance to bring up more message, but they decided to skip the verdict. On the Lottery Ticket Case, Yeong U is told that Ms. Sung gets all the lottery prize amount of 1.1 billion as inheritance. This should be incorrect because her husband has spent all the lottery prize on the car which has been written off in the crash so there is nothing to inherit.

I personally think the final episode doesn't give proper closure. Young U gets a proper closure, and although vague but it's a assumable closure for Myeong Seok, Su Yeon and Min U. However it's questionable what is aftermath for Su Mi, what causes her sudden change of heart, and her relationship with Yeong U, Gwang Ho and Seon Yeong.

On the conclusion, this is a good show because it's heartwarming and has a fresh, unique concept idea.

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A star's end is a supernova, yet its death gives birth to the light of countless others.

I started watching Reset casually, with a relaxed mindset, only to finish it with a contented smile. It’s true what they say about journeys—you can only truly appreciate the path once you look back on it from beginning to end. The same holds true for a film, and indeed, for a human life.

Speaking of the film, Reset truly needs to be evaluated by its beginning, its middle, and its end. What lingers after the credits roll is a feeling of being slightly adrift, a warmth, and a sense of nostalgia, as if I’ve witnessed years, even lifetimes, pass by, all centered around a single, fated love. If I had to make a comparison, the feeling is akin to finishing a long novel series. The plot points may not be perfect, the twists sometimes clumsy, with issues in pacing and a few confusing details, but ultimately, the completeness of the story’s journey takes you somewhere. It leaves you with a poignant, bittersweet feeling. Reset is just that—imperfect, sometimes awkward and uneven, yet when the characters' journey concludes, what remains is a current of emotion, the sense that Tada and Armin's love story continues on in their world, in this life and the next. And honestly, I’m happy for them.

Speaking of life, a person's life is perhaps the most difficult journey to evaluate. The way we are born is different from the way we die, and the way we live our years doesn't directly lead to the circumstances of our departure. A person who lives a righteous life can still die an unjust death. So, how do we measure a successful life? Did we live happily? If we could go back to a single moment, would we make a different choice? No one knows, for each person lives only once. In that final moment of reflection, as everything flashes before our eyes, we will answer all these questions for ourselves. We will judge how we lived, loved, hated, what we endured, and how we died, from both a subjective and objective viewpoint, as if watching someone else's story. Life has a beginning and an end, and we often imagine our years on earth as a kind of journey—a "path of life," perhaps? Returning to Reset, it revisits the theme of returning to the past, of redoing one's life to change regrets. This time, both Armin and Tada are granted the power to reset their lives. This means that when they reached the end of their path and evaluated all they had been through, they were given a chance to return to the beginning, to write a different life, to walk a different journey. That parallel universe of time and space is destiny's gift to their love and their regrets. But I believe it is also a different life, one that doesn't overwrite the past. Armin and Tada don't relive the same life twice; they are simply living two different lives. Their reality is created by the choices they make in the present moment, and the past no longer dictates their path. From the moment they met their destiny in each other, all other fates began to shift. In the end, there was no other destiny for them but each other.

Honestly, I spent the early episodes trying to guess Reset's primary genre. Would it be a "rebirth and revenge" story, with a protagonist using their foreknowledge to triumph over betrayers and cherish those they once overlooked? Or would it be a crime investigation thriller, a hunt for a culprit? I generally assumed it would follow a "single protagonist" narrative, with love as a mere side element. But by the final episodes, looking back at the journey, I realized the ultimate theme the film was always steering towards was love. Love that creates meaning, love that saves, love that reverses fate and bends space-time. A love that heals, regenerates, and resurrects. Tada's love saved Armin more than once, and most importantly, it brought Armin back to life, both physically and spiritually. It was a love that stood quietly in the darkness but shone with the light of a guardian angel. Armin's love began with compassion, then blossomed into a response, a returned gaze, a deliberate kiss. It was a love that came from the light and remained in the light. Ultimately, the driving force of the entire film, the core element that stands at the center of every plot point and character, overshadowing everything else, has always been "love." I believe "love" was also the catalyst for the conflicts and challenges, the cause of death and rebirth, the force that controlled and propelled the darkness in the villains and the light in the heroes. Behind forgiveness lies love; behind hatred, in the end, there is still only love.

That is all I wish to say about the film's message. The ending can be considered perfect—complete and beautiful. It pulled down the red curtain to reveal the brilliant words "Happy Ending." It is no exaggeration to say this is one of the most satisfyingly happy endings I have ever seen. It masterfully comes full circle while also extending the story forward, allowing the viewer's emotions to linger in a state of fulfilled joy. The final act—or more broadly, the last two episodes—excellently fulfilled their mission of encapsulating the entire film, creating a powerful and lasting impression. It gave me answers (along with justifications I found acceptable) to questions I had from the beginning, questions I was ready to leave unanswered. This successfully elevated my final impression of the film. Indeed, what better explanation is there than the power of love, of the desire to be loved, and to live—to truly live one life to its absolute fullest?

I never thought this film would evoke so much emotion in me, nor did I think I would write so much about it. But alongside the feelings stirred by the final moments, I still have mixed feelings about the early episodes. Of course, most things were ultimately explained by the power of "love," but for some reason, I didn't deeply feel the connection between the main couple in the beginning. The fated love story felt a bit too rushed, lacking a certain smoothness in the emotional transition (mostly on Armin's part, as he truly had no romantic feelings for Tada in his previous life). Another small issue is that some events in the second life, which were caused by the new Armin's choices, also occurred identically in the first life. Some character actions also felt a bit stilted, as if they were just following a script rather than acting naturally. The fact that Armin spoke too much about his rebirth or behaved in a way that was too "over-the-top" for his true age was also a minor distraction (though to be fair, Armin wasn't the most mature character in his first life either). Furthermore, there were some plot holes in the time-setting (the 1999 setting wasn't really explored in depth). I was honestly hoping for a more developed revenge trope, wishing the conspiracies were more thrilling. The film often felt a bit too "safe" and stable; in some episodes, moments of danger failed to build peak emotional tension. I also found myself preferring the scenes where Tada and Armin were already in an established relationship over their ambiguous early stages, which is a rare preference for me.

Overall, Reset is still a good film. It has a classic feel, and its plot—a wealthy, powerful CEO who can move mountains falls for only one person, a reborn actor on his way to the top—is quite appealing, easy to watch, and satisfying. There is clear investment in the visuals and set design. While I wouldn't say Reset managed to "reconfigure" my worldview, it is ultimately an interesting, deep, and captivating film that took me by surprise.

***

(A personal musing: Watching this film brought to mind my thoughts on the "rebirth and revenge" trope. I always wonder: are the "bad guys" truly deserving of retribution for actions they haven't yet committed in the protagonist's second life? Does evil exist in one's nature—meaning that no matter the universe, those people will repeat their malicious acts? Like Sam in the film: if Armin had never loved Charlie, would Sam have betrayed Armin for Charlie anyway? And, with a perhaps naively humane thought, I always wonder why characters with a second chance don't try to change events in a way other than revenge. Because if revenge is necessary, shouldn't the target be the person who harmed them in the *previous* life, not the "past version" of their betrayer, the "child who will grow up to be a monster"? In every sense, they are two different people who have or have not yet experienced different things. On this point, I think Reset touches upon this slightly, as Armin's initial intention isn't pure revenge, but rather to live a less miserable life and fulfill his destiny of meeting Tada. The revenge I hoped for was simply to see him return the blow to those who wronged him in this new life—like Lily, Ren, or Thiwthit...)

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2025’s Biggest Scam Disguised as a ‘Wuxia’ Drama

I went into The Journey Legend hoping for a real wuxia drama, but what I got is nothing short of insulting. They brag about a 300 million RMB budget (over 40 million USD), yet the result looks like a cheap train wreck project. Where did that money go?! It was not spent on sets, not on costumes, not on CGI, and clearly not on training the cast.

The director deserves to be called out first. This is not his first time messing up with fake-looking productions, but somehow he keeps getting projects. Scenes are lifeless and flat, fights lack any weight, and the endless green screen shortcuts kill every trace of immersion. Instead of building the world of rivers and lakes, he reduces wuxia into a cartoon backdrop with no soul. He cannot stage action, cannot handle pacing, and his “vision” is just filters and fog covering up flaws. Covering wireworks with Microsoft paint level of fogs was not only lazy but straight up trash! With that kind of trash direction, no one in the world can save the final product.

And then there is Cheng Yi. He is completely exposed in this drama. His performance is unbearable, his face bloated, his energy off, and his line delivery so unclear that audiences joke he sounds like he has phlegm stuck in his throat. He tries to act youthful and lively, but his exaggerated grimaces just look clownish, while his age and tired appearance make the attempt even more painful. Worst of all, he relies on green men and wires for almost everything. The irony is brutal: a supposed physical ‘fit’ ’martial’ actor who cannot even get on a horse by himself. For a self declared martial actor, that branding is beyond embarrassing.

The styling only adds insult. Costumes look like 100% polyester, flimsy and cheap. Pink robes, weird braids, and nude-colored manicures on a male lead destroy any sense of jianghu spirit. It feels like cosplay done with no understanding of what wuxia aesthetics should represent.

And then comes the most shameless part: the data bragging. Yunhe Data itself posted on Cheng Yi’s Weibo supertopic 🙄 Many who follow data saw the numbers jumping by millions in seconds or with views being adjusted in real time 😂 . That is not popularity, that is botting. That is blatant data manipulation. And it raises the ugliest question of all: is this where the 300 million budget went, not to production, but to buying fake numbers to fool the public. Chinese netizens on Red Note are already calling it out and planning to report it, and honestly, they should. Because the poor quality we see on screen screams louder than any fake statistic.

This was marketed as an S+ wuxia epic, but what we got is a scam dressed up with plastic visuals and inflated charts. Poor direction, cheap production, an exposed lead, and a disgusting reliance on fake hype. Instead of elevating wuxia, The Journey Legend drags it straight into the mud.

⭐ Overall: 3.5/10
Not for the production, but for the sheer audacity of serving this kind of garbage in 2025 and thinking the audience would swallow it.

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After long time waiting cheng yi back🥰.. love him love his drama never disappointed in his acting skill . Very satisfied this drama 🫰🫰🫰 highly recommended to watch this drama.. thank you all the journey of legend teams . Love you all .........💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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An underdog story

A sports drama based on Rugby, The Winning Try is an underdog, feel good inspiring story that relies on sentimental tropes.

A basic sports plot - a washed rugby star coaches a struggling school team. The drama focuses on resilience, teamwork and achieving your goals against the odds. The characters are well-written, although the political narrative is a bit annoying at times.

The highlight of the show is the layered character work and their struggles. Also, the protagonist's strength to go on and his bond with his students becomes a major strength of the show. There were many funny dialogues that worked well at times.

While the show doesn't dedicate itself just to the game of rugby, it explores themes of hardwork, politics behind sports and the courage to move forward. And while I say the plot was heavily predictable and cliché at times, it did felt good to see some optimistic drama.

Overall, The Winning Try is a compelling sports drama that depends on sentimental tropes and work effectively, if not absolutely.

My Rating : 3.5/5

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Agenda ruined a great drama

In short. I thought this was such a great drama, a 9.0 drama - until episode 7 finished.
I am so annoyed by political agenda being forced into every story, even when it doesn't fit AT ALL, like here.

Anything would have made sense about the dead brother - that he wasn't allowed to study photography which obviously meant the world to him, that his rich parents really didn't approve of his girldfriend and he wouldn't have wanted to live without her, that he had been forced into the military by his father and decided to die instead, I would have even bought it if they had said he was secretely gay, as his character was played like I could have imagined that.

But to force a trans story into this, reasoning it with something like 'he always played with dolls when he was little' (which means NOTHING concering your later sexuality by the way) it's just unbearable. Netflix puts this into everything these days and I won't watch anything anymore if they do it as badly as here and ruin a good drama like that for them to get the agenda box checked on their papers.

And don't get me wrong, I am old enough to have seen 'boys don't cry' in the theater in the 1990s, and it was a true story about a real trans person and it was very touching. But what they do these days from tv production giants like nextflix, pushing this into every other story forced and kind of randomly? No.
I'm dropping this after episode 7 and I give it an 'unfair' 1.0 just for this reason, ignoring the many good aspects this drama had before.

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It could have, should have, but didn't..

For starters, we are not talking about a BL, but a drama, that bares some of the exaggerated soap opera characteristics and features queer elements for a major part of it. Of course, being a series of 2018, do expect a lot of outdated notions and false terminology included --regarding someone's sexuality-- that affect the narrative to a certain degree. However, given that there are still people who think that way, you could say that this show, despite being old, it's representative of that part of society and can still work as a realistic aspect.

The series as a whole, surely is entertaining. It has an interesting premise and the episodes will keep your attention, but after a point it felt a bit repetitive and draggy, it became kinda tiresome. The character development was neglected for the sake of more "glamorous" scenes. I would love if the initial focus, which was the big brother and his journey to reconnect with his family, remained and the story delved more into the emotional aspect, exploring the family bonds, instead of being brushed off and underdeveloped. It lost a lot of its substance after a point, for me, hence my mediocre score.

The acting I'd say was really good. It was probably the best part of these series and all the actors did justice to their roles.

Overall, I recommend this show, to anyone who doesn't mind watching unhealthy relationship dynamics. Mind you that there are a lot of toxic and abusive behaviours throughout its course, that could be triggering. The writing is a bit messed up, but it's still a fine drama with even some comedic elements to enjoy your time.

P.S. You won't find this series with eng subs by the official "GMM25Thailand" channel. Search for the YouTube user " Roop Thong BL Universe" instead.

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Good BL in a bad series

I fell asleep while watching ... Twice, mind you ... I also dozed off a few times and yawned my way through the whole thing.

That's how slow and boring this drama was.

Now I don't want to be unfair, because judging this as a BL, the love story is so good and well excuted also the chemistry was great.
Another thing that influences my judgement is I'm not a huge fan of Wuxia genre, whenever they hug and fly I roll on my couch and laugh like the joker.
I always find them very slow and full of unnecessary twists, I couldn't even finish one of the most loved Chinese bromance/censored BL ever made because of that.
So I knew I wouldn't give this a full mark, yet!! It's only 12 episodes so I was slightly optimistic, that's about the time I usually start to drop them so I thought it'll be safe, and judging by the recent Chinese BLs that are made without censorship, I was too excited ~~

Little did I know...

I won't go into the details because I don't want to get attacked by fans, but I'm giving my two cents here, the drama isn't really as great as edits made it looks, but it's a nice love story if you are a fan of Wuxia genre.

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