one of my alltime favourites
As I have read the novel the drama is based on, I was very eager to watch it.I have to say, it is one of my favourite dramas!
Not only has it perfectly transferred the dark and mysterious scenery of the book onto the screen, but also have the actors done a beautiful job and the OST is remarkable.
As for the seemingly sad ending, I can only say one has to read the book to understand the hint given at the very end of the drama - or check the comments on Youtube or wherever the drama can be watched.
With only 36 episodes the drama can be considered relatively short for a chinese historical drama.
As the name suggests the drama is quite bloody and has a good deal of really evil characters, but what I like about the drama is the absence of a good character- bad character plot. All of the characters have reason for what they do and none of them is complety good nor completly bad.
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STORY: Overall I think it was somewhat a predictable story. Innocent young girl, joins a new world to escape her past, fights her way up the ranks, becomes the head of this new world. You knew who the enemies were. You knew who would end up with who. You could assume that essentially everyone would end up dead by the end of it.
Even with the predictability of it all, I think it was still a very enjoyable drama. It was somewhat weird for me though. I normally breeze through dramas pretty easily (hello binge watching) and this is a fairly short drama (on average for Chinese dramas at least), but for some reason it took me almost two weeks to watch just 36 episodes. Partially I was busy at work, but I think there were certain times I lost a little bit of interest honestly.
Pertaining to the actual story, I think honestly my biggest gripe about it was Wan Mei's personality. I think in this kind of setting it would have been the more obvious choice to just have her become a skilled assassin all in her own, but the constant moral turmoil she faced was honestly kind of off-putting for me. I get that she was supposed to be a loyal and morally righteous person, but honestly if this were real life (using that term lightly) it really would make ZERO sense that she survived in Gui Hua Cheng, let alone become the new leader. I get that in the end people showed her loyalty because she was not a sinister person, but really, a city of assassins and the leader refuses to kill anyone.
It just made little sense most of the time that she kept fighting to be a part of Gui Hua cheng, but was constantly thrown off by having to kill anyone. Again, I get that she was escaping a past life and this was her escape, but idk, it was just giving me very mixed emotions.
Romance wise, I wish that there could have been more skinship between the leads (or really anything aside from hugging and longing looks) A) because who doesn't love a good kiss here and there but B) for two people who were in such life and death situations with each other and constantly fighting for there lives, you'd think there would be more passion involved. Other than that, I do really like the relationship between Wan Mei and Chang An. I think they relied on each other well and I think the angst between them while she hated him was very strong.
I also appreciate that for the most part, the characters who disliked each other felt like logically reasonable to dislike another character. I get really tired of dramas where a bad person (typically a female) hates the female lead because of a boy but then EVERYTHING that happens is always blamed on the female lead/etc. I know that trope is never going to die, but it's just super overblown most of the time (my most recent memory is Pei Yuan from Legend of Fu Yao who literally every scene was her just hating on Fu Yao and blaming everything that went wrong on her even if it was someone else's fault. Just Bleh.)
ACTING:
Tong Li Ya - I think she was very good in this drama. She portrayed emotions very well and she did a very good job with the character she was given.
Qu Chu Xiao - Especially for a very young, very fresh actor, I think he did an exceptional job as Chang An. He powered through this role both as Chang an and as the lost heir, Xie Huan. Even though he knew his past life (for the most part) all along, I think there was a distinct difference in his personality when he was just the lowly shadow and when he comes to terms with his true identity. I know that QCX has also received nationwide recognition for this role, so it's no surprise to me.
Everyone else - Overall I liked all of the acting. The people who needed to be exaggerated were the right amount, whereas the more solemn characters hit those notes as well.
OVERALL:
Looking back at my review it feels like I had more problems with this drama than I enjoyed, but honestly I don't have a bad impression when I think back on this drama. Even with the things I mentioned I disliked, I overall still enjoyed watching and I'm hoping that there will be a second season coming out because the ending could definitely be a cliffhanger.
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Encore, encore!
What a pleasantly surprise of a drama!Entirely refreshing though has a somber tone. Slightly familiar story but presented in a different way, without predictable moments or lack of intrigue. Very well written and a highly recommended watch!
1. Story
Wan Mei's journey from an impoverished birth to being betrayed and having to fend for survival, ultimately reaching her destination was filled with dark moments and decisions that tested her moral conscience, yet out sprung a beautiful romance and unexpected alliances.
This drama is very well written, many times in some dramas I would be left with questions or asking myself what happened to that particular scene or part of the story but this drama appropriately addressed in within the script.
It is well paced and rarely a dull moment with the characters being so open ended and sometimes you could not tell which side of moral conscience they were on. At 36 episodes, its filled with mystery, intrigue, and surprises. It didn't feel lacking or anything dragged out.
2. Characters
The main leads were exceptional and exhibited natural chemistry. There were some stronger characters that I will highlight below but the majority of the supporting cast did a wonderfully in their roles.
Wan Mei -- an exceptional actress; she brought to life this character and throughout the story, she held with her, her humble beginnings and though she took on a new identity, Su Qi Xue could still be seen underneath it all. Her chemistry with Chang An was genuine and moving, they definitely created a memorable relationship even if I initially thought it was unlikely.
Chang An -- complimentary to Wan Mei's character and he was her main foundation. His character was a calm, thoughtful and loyal opposite to Wan Mei's indecisiveness and fragile character. He remained her source of inspiration and his role heavily influenced the development of Wan Mei. Their chemistry was very alluring since there were many moments where they weren't able to show affection, yet you could still feel it there.
Gong Zi -- an interesting character; he exhibited antihero tendencies and other times heroic capacities. He was the silent supporter of Wan Mei and she sort of filled a hole that was left in his life. He fit this role perfectly, and he portrays a mysterious and slightly dark personality very well.
Yue Ying -- she was one of the more hapless characters as all of her intention and feelings went towards Gong Zi, he never reciprocated the same sentiments with only one scene a saving grace. A very likeable character and very much similar to Chang An in some ways. I really wanted her to end up with Gong Zi, it was a perfect match!
Wan Xiang -- in the beginning, a very detestable character that closely resembled the main villain, however she entirely changed and became a person to root for in the later half of the story. She played her character extremely well.
Xing Feng -- maybe the most interesting character since he is a Shadow, similar to Chang An and Yue Ying, yet his master was the main villain of the story and his character is closely associated with her. However like Gong Zi, he showed heroic capacities towards the end and holds secret to the hopeful ending.
Cha Luo -- the main villain and a very good (bad) one. Her performance was entirely believable and a great cast for the role. In the story, she could be compared to Wan Mei in terms of her journey and also romantic relationship with her shadow, yet she was on the opposite side of the moral spectrum to Wan Mei. There were many "Yin" and "Yang" characters in this drama and she could be considered the Yin to Wan Mei's Yang in terms or morale.
I also really enjoyed Liu Guang's character.
3. Costume / Set Design / Cinematography
The other drama with highly exceptional set production and attention to detail was The Untamed. I think these dramas are on the same level since the set design fit so well as if it were actual and authentic. Costumes were outstanding, it all fit together so well.
Cinematography, no question was superb. Almost any frame could have been considered very artistic. It is something to highly praise about and comment on.
4. Music
It was different but somehow the soundtrack fits so perfectly. The main theme can be considered haunting yet moving and beautiful. They also featured many instrumental pieces that were outstanding as well.
The soundtrack very close to being one of the top soundtracks, but its a matter of tastes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL_VDLnrRkU&list=PLXNBJ-hfssNYmf9YOulQSUGCtqVAURocO&index=12
5. Ending
If the ending had not been open ended or hopeful as the last scene insinuated, I would not have given such a high rating. Luckily though, it was neither good nor bad since it left room for a possible Season 2, or if not, it retained one of the main characters -- Chang An.
Overall definitely a recommended watch, a very good surprise of a drama!
Only reason I hesitated to watch this was because of the title, which I feel could be renamed.
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Good Artwork
The drama had one of the best cinematography, grip worthy plot and intriguing action scenes. But it's not for everyone. You must have immense patience to appreciate the storyline and the direction. Many a times it might even feel a little dark. But that's just the genre of this drama.Story:
The story was quite great. It's unique and thrilling. Almost every character was beautifully written. The assassin's training sessions and the development of the story was all new. Most importantly, I loved the action scenes. They were so smooth and so well captured. Even the females were given great scenes. The only thing that was difficult for me to absorb is the constant fight between the assassin's conscience and the action of killing, especially in the case of the leads. In the name of survival, killing is promoted. Usually for an assassin, there is no conscience. He either works for money or for revenge. These 2 reasons are digestible. But the excuse of personal survival is too negative for me. There are many ways to survive. Therefore, at many points of the drama, I felt angry at the characters.
The storyline is indeed deep and heavy. So watch patiently.
Cinematography:
Absolutely fantastic. Every set location was unique and beautiful. The costumes were gorgeous. I believe the only thing restricting this drama from going into the category of 'dark drama', is the visuals. At various points, the visuals were lighting up my mood.
Acting:
Acting was good. Everyone played their part beautifully. The chemistry between the leads was obvious from the first time they met. Their story was emotional. Again, the only annoying part was the 'conscience v/s killing' scenes.
Conclusion: Unique story, thrilling storyline, amazing visuals but a little dark. This is why I labelled it as 'A Good Artwork' instead of 'A Good Drama'. I won't be re-watching this show. Even though I highly appreciate it but still, one time was enough for me.
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Bloody Romance? What romance? ?
I started this on a whim and funnily, I had already been a fan of the opening OST so I was excited and had big expectations.At the beginning, they really held my attention and because of the unique plot idea, it was setup to be very magical and give something new. First ep, and encounters, I loved.
However, as the show progressed and I held faith, I never found it getting better. It was always anti-climatic in a sense, here's why:
Plot wise: The beginning was gold, such a great point to start on from, but as the episodes went on, I felt the storyline and production to get sloppy. I understand this is based on a book so I'm unsure if the script was changed by a lot or a little but it just got disappointing. We were always told something big was coming and being arranged, but it was never really giving anything when it did come? Especially in the end. In later episodes, we didn't get the filler we needed. I think it got dragged around halfway which was upsetting, so imagine when i finished the drama and we got whatever they call that as an ending.
Character wise: They were Beautiful. There was some amazing character personalities throughout this drama but to be honest, after the MCS first few interactions, it went flat. I'm not sure if it was the actors fault but the male actor that played Chang An was conveyed so mysteriously and beautifully at the start, as well as FL but then he was simply just boring as fuck. He just never showed any reaction or much reaction, like the female lead and it just looked silly? And....Chang An clearly was not meant to be a king, we could see that, it always looked like he had no damn thoughts going on behind that head and never showed any other reactions other than blank stare. It reminded me of a stubborn rock in the middle of a path that just wouldn't move and would cause inconvenience to everything to pass. That can be said for the main three characters. Wan Mei was nice, her arc seemed promising but when the drama came to an end...what the fuck had she actually done? 😭 all of that damn drama and work for nothing. She just preached about wanting to do something and did nothing logical. There was so much influence for martial arts but we never got to see her training or work hard for what she wanted and that was so disappointing considering the power dynamics were insane in this drama....leading me to the prince. His character was interesting, but he didn't have much of a backbone and i think we got to see that when Yue Ying supposedly left at the end to be alongside the emperor, and girl, i don't blame you. Running errands for a man and risking your life, making that apparent in every way possible just for him to not even acknowledge it, he was such an entitled idiot and I hated him from the moment he touched Wan Mei without her consent, which happened multiple times?? He was just a pig. Xing Feng was a silver lining in moments, Li Guang was a sweetie, Cha Luo was a crazy, villainous bitch and the moment I started to hate her, I just knew she took that role and did such a good job! The emperor of Jing was absolutely terrifying the first time I saw him, he had such a unique persona for a king, i've never seen one portrayed like that so it was refreshing.
Scenery / FX: The FL did a good job working with the special effects but they were so dead. Especially the ones when fighting, they were very poor quality and didn't actually give an "effect" to the watchers.
Overall without ranting too much, It could've done so well with higher production costs and better planning of the plot and adjustments to characters. Maybe that's just how the drama was supposed to be, i don't watch solely historical dramas with action, i watch mostly for romance, and especially romance being in the title, we were so let down. It wasn't consistent at all and watching the prince fawn over Wan Mei when she had rejected him so many times and made it obvious, it felt like they were just trying to fill the episodes. But yeah, i'm not sure what the aim is, whether it was to magnify about self discovery, loss or tragedy but it didn't hit the mark. All things could've been avoided in more ways than one and everything was quite inconvenient. It was pretty annoying to hear them always relay on "god" to determine whatever happens, maybe it was due to the time but yes, definitely not my drama.
Props to the actors and attempt at the unique plot.
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This story kept me engaged. Good versus evil is tremendous!!
I recommend this drama for the story and the acting. I was always engaged and binged the whole 36 episodes in three days. I love assassin stories. The fighting was awesome and the plot behind each mission was thought provoking. I found myself rooting for the people who were the targets. I fell in love with the ML and the FL is one of my favorites. The side stories helped to tie everything together. I’m not crazy about the ending but it made sense for the overall story. I will watch this again.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
and nooww lets talk about Qu Chu Xiao:)) first of all i love him and he is hot!!!! would love to see him more and more in the future,
A rousing thriller loaded with nifty gimmicks and head-spinning twists. Bloody Romance is like a flawless diamond: stylish, multifaceted and so sharp that it could cut glass. Everything clicks
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A Hidden Gem!
I usually don't write reviews but I feel like this drama has been very overlooked. I highly recommend it for 1-Casting: the leads' chemistry and sexual tension is off the chart and acting is superb, along with the support actor who plays the prince. It really does make you feel for them. 2-Original story that is very binge worthy, I chased it and finish in days. Usually I find Chinese dramas to drag but this one has the right amount of episodes with me wanting to see more. There is also a poetic nature to story I love. 3-Production: from the begin song to costumes to sets to fight scenes, you can tell they put in the work.However I have two negatives and "spoiler alert", DO NOT continue to read if you did not watch drama yet...1-all the teasing and sexual connotations amount to as far as only hugging was very VERY disappointing! and 2-not a complete story, I need part 2, Shaw Qu and Li Yitong now becomes my top couple I desperately want to work together again.
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I loved his drama. I love the cast. The storyline. Everything. There were some scenes that made me dislike some aspects but I loved it nether the less.
The ending however got me a bit riled up. I do hope there is a second season to continue to story and to tie up some loose ends
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I took a few months break from dramas and this was the first one I started to watch and I was HOOKED in every episode, this drama genre fits for me but it definitely could have been even more better. Good cinematography and acting with deep storyline was amazing to watch, Even the music is lovely and fits which I still listen to it. First of all I love dark themes in storylines so the torture and killing scenes were fine for me but I did read the novel a bit and okay that one was too much for me...The drama did very well in making it interesting without going overboard.I loved the villains and was amazed by the animation when showing each character backstory! At times I got annoyed by how main actress acted in her missions but near the end of the drama her reasons for it fits and I started to agree with her choices. She starts off weaker but grows stronger with each mission till she snaps at certain scenes and it was so awesome when that finally happened! Watch this drama if you don't mind torture, betrayal, angst and finding love at a dark place and don't mind having some hate/love treatment towards the villains.
SPOILER ALERT BELOW!!! regarding romance in this drama ( Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled <3)
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I was dissappointed on the lack of romance scenes since it did not even make sense as they were seen as lovers but hardly acted like one. I just wanted more romance between them and felt like they should have added more to have bigger impact as you get closer to the ending part. Id feel better if they would make season 2 since the story does go on in the novel and have more romance in there and some stuffs left unanswered.
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Worth your time!
It's a good watch. A familiar story (poor girl who later succeeds) with unusual twists. Among the three leading roles (Wan Mei, Chang An, Gong Zi), the scriptwriter and the director have favored Gong Zi the most. Not only he has the best costumes in the drama, but his character is the most compelling one: good looking, strong will, keep cool in every situation, burning with revenge, superb in strategic thinking, martial arts, music and culture, but fatally sick, secluded, lonely, and generally has a pessimistic view of the world and people. He is the only one in the drama who displays the full range of human emotion: joy, amusement, hate, jealousy, love, passion, despair and rage, This kind of role is usually a gold mine for any serious actor and Wang Duo did rise to the challenge. Since Gong Zi's revenge is the major part of the story, the scriptwriter has reduced the role of Chang An to cooking, fighting, hugging, and longing for Wan Mei. Among these tasks, showing love to Wan Mei is Shaw Qu's weakest point. Without the dialogue, their embrace looks very much like between two siblings. Had the love scenes between the two had half of the desire and passion of Gong Zi's many attempts, their love story would have been more convincing. Li Yi Tong is good at tragic moments, but tends to shout and scream whenever she has to show anger. Sure she can shout, but it has to go with with the equivalent expression on her face. Wan Mei is also a character with contradictions: wants to help unfortunate people, but doesn't want to sacrifice herself/her goal/her life for anyone. In fact, only Cha Luo and Wan Mei are the only two characters who never make any sacrifice.The opening song is very good but is overused throughout the series. Make-up (especially for Gong Zi, the Emperor) is overdone at times. Good martial arts choreography. In history, Gong Zi/ Li Si Yuan eventually became the second king of Later Tang. As such, the ending is appropriate. Although Chang An loves Wan Mei deeply, he actually understands her the least.
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First of all i want to dwell on Wang Duo as the prince/young master/Gong Zi.
This is my 1st time watching his craft and oh boy oh boy was i blown off my feet. I loved, absolutely adored his acting. All his tumultuous heartfelt actions and thoughts were all displayed by his facial expressions. This guy literally left my jaw sweeping the ground. I loved him to bits.
I found this story very refreshing and it provoked my imagination and let it run out of control. The locations i mean Gong Zi's bamboo manor left me in awe. His laid back attire, his lazy postures, the way he carried and conducted himself in his manor i must say it was all befitting of his character, looks and that manor itself.
I loved the new feel to the story. If there are other dramas done with a similar storyline and locations then i probably missed it and this is my 1st drama. I enjoyed it so much. It was full of twists, turns and surprises along the way. I did muddle headed quite a lot along the way and that was the magic of the drama. It constantly kept me up on my toes paying close attention to all going ons and all the suttle emotions and gestures. This got to be one of the best dramas i watched in 2018. A true hidden germ.
As much as i loved almost everything about this drama i hated how the female lead kept on going back and forth. I hated her indecisiveness. It was kinda hard to figure out if she was an assassin or a spineless wimp. That is how the writers intended her character to be. She played her role well and she was such a bore and a wet blanket to the story.
As for the main villain Cha Luo i hated her cruelty and wickedness and i fell in love with the actress playing her role.
I can go on and on mention each and every character but this review will be too long.
So if you are looking for something refreshing, something new, something out of the norm then this drama is the perfect catch. I found everything refreshing. Even the locations, customes, hair and make up. They went a little out of their way with the hair and make up esp with Gong Zi and that pathetic emperor.
This is a must watch.
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