Acting/Cast: No complains on acting. Everyone did exceptionally well. Everyone's veteran actors and actresses; so they know what they are on about. The chemistry between the 3 leads in the love triangle was very good and believable. The only issue I noticed was a wardrobe malfunction with King Yuwen Yong... where you can see his 'fake hairline' in one of the later episode (forgot which one). They probably hurried the production of that episode. Other than that, all's fine and dandy!
Music: Beautiful songs that reflects the mood of the story. You will love the hauntingly sad vocals of Della Ding and Jia Jia. Each of the 3 leads have a song for them that pretty much sums up their love for each other.
Rewatch value: Time permits; I'll defintely re-watch this gem. In fact, I am out and about trying to get hold of the whole series in DVD.
Overall: I gave this drama a 10/10 simply because I can't give it 9.5/10 here. It is not really an 8/10 either. I made this decision by comparing this drama against Bu Bu Jing Xing (the perfect 10 ancient chinese romance drama for me) and against BBJX, this drama is around 80-90% at the level of BBJX. To me, BBJX is still No. 1 and this one here is a close No. 2. I hope this gives you an idea where this drama sits in terms of ranking. Lastly, just sit back and enjoy!
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If you're thinking of watching this drama but being put off by the 46 episodes, as I initially was, I have to say- don't worry! The episodes aren't as long as those you'll find in some dramas, and you'll find yourself flying through them.
With those 46 episodes in mind, I guess it's obvious to say that a lot happens in this drama. The story is a classic one of fighting the good fight for the good of the people, with a thrilling and beautiful romance (and love triangle!) to spice it up. I almost want to say that the romance is a bit too much, considering it feels like the center of our love triangle becomes a plot point more than anything, but it's definitely excusable.
There are several different arcs that we see our characters go through, and the characters also naturally develop with the story. By the time each character reaches their peak in the show, you've basically had a complete rundown about why they are the way they are, why they're doing what they're doing, and what your opinion is on them. This drama has much better developed characters than most in the sense that there are literally no characters I can think of (besides one that becomes irrelevant fairly early on) that I hate COMPLETELY. Of course there are moments of frustration, but even then you can definitely understand where they're coming from. This is a far cry from the usual drama antagonist, the ones that raise hell for no other purpose besides raising hell. It was refreshing.
Now, I'm complimenting the characters and their development, so you might be wondering why I didn't give a '10' to the Acting/Cast... well, that's honestly for no other purpose besides some brutal overacting in occasional places. But thankfully enough, those expressions that were overacted were at least fairly accurate!
The music was flawless. Nothing else needs to be said about that. Trust me.
Side note as well- this was a very... well... simply put, it was a very pretty drama. Besides the occasional questionable CGI sequence (that I'm fairly positive would only bother a perfectionist like me), the aesthetic qualities of this drama are worth being noted. Both in scenery and in people's faces. The Prince of Lan Ling isn't exactly unpleasant to look at if you know what I mean. And the clothes! The costumes! They were gorgeous, I feel like the people who made the clothes were having the time of their lives designing those clothes. Don't even get me started on the hair, which was almost* completely flawless. (* I think one of the actors had the occasional allergic reaction to the wig glue or something, I don't know man.) Basically, it was a very pleasing drama to look at.
Rewatch value is only a 9 for length, but the depth of the story, characters and romance will no doubt make for an engaging, interesting watch every time.
Ugh. This was just such a satisfying drama! Just watch it! I no doubt have more to say but it isn't occurring to me right now.
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Anyway apart from that I always loved Chinese historical movies the most so it's logical that I enjoy in Chinese dramas too. Lan Ling was easily one of the best historical dramas I've seen and I could gladly give even the higher score but those episodes from 20 to 26 or 27 I think, were too draggy and unnecessary with many illogical turn of events and I found the reactions some of the characters too unbelievable. Except for that everything else was FANTASTIC. LITERALLY. I think that the acting was outstanding and that even the side characters were brilliant and shined in some moments more than the leads.
Ariel as Xue Wu was perfect, she became my fav. female from historical dramas, so witty, smart, caring, funny, cool, brave and strong full of love to give to her man and all her friends, it's so rare to see a woman like her. I loved how she was such a support to Lan Ling and a true wise woman who deserved to be treated as a Queen, without her Lan Ling wouldn't succeed in anything, she was so psychically strong and in some scenes I loved how she showed balls like a real man. :P
William as Lan Ling- beautiful, wonderful, so freaking hot and grandiose man, a true leader who loved his people more than anything, who was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save the woman he loved and to save his soldiers and his country, I enjoyed in watching his brotherly love with Fifth Prince and how they shared their deepest thoughts together. And when he was a masked warrior oh well I was so in love with him, that role was even more suited for him. ;)
Yu Wen Yong-the way Chan Daniel has portrayed him was just magnificent, his expressions, gestures, his ability to be such a great Emperor and grand man, how he fell in love with Xue Wu and loved her until his last breath and who fought for her but to the point when it was possible, how he respected her, I enjoyed so much in their scenes together, I think they had incredible chemistry, they should make some other drama as a couple for real. ;) He broke my heart several times, I really fell hard for him and once more I had that second lead syndrome.
Amongst them all, there was one character I literally loved the most, it was Wei Qian Xiang as Xiao Dong, that guy was freaking brilliant and I have to say that without him, his helping and solving some things, nothing would be possible, he was of the crucial help for Xue Wu, Lan Ling and Yu Wen Yong. So spontaneous, free spirited, in love with life, a rebel who was by each step side by side with her, who supported and believed in her no matter what, who was also the most intelligent one- he saw before everyone else threats, who was evil and who's not, reminded me so much of Moon Jae Shin in SS which was fantastic. Above that he had so great chemistry with Ariel, both of them were such a splendid sight for the eyes, their scenes were the most funny and interesting ones. ;)
This drama also has such a great villains, the most hateful ones. I really found in Lan Ling the character I hate the most but really hate, she climbed up to my number one and most definitely she well deserves that place. Zheng Er- you who have seen this drama know why I'm saying this, you who haven't- go and watch. I've never seen some woman to be this evil to the core, to the tiniest bone in her body, twisted, nasty, terrible, disgusting, obsessively jealous, her smile is the most creepy one, I have goosebumps every time I think of her. The actress deserves and award for such a brilliant performance.
Music was beautiful and so wonderful, I like all the ballads, especially from Della "Shou Zhang Xin", it brought tears to my eyes.
I liked fighting scenes, cinematography was great, costumes astonishing, sceneries breathtaking, and the chemistry between the leads one of the best I've seen if not the very best one. They became one of my fav. couples in the whole world, their chemistry was too great, moments they shared were priceless, kisses, conversations, hugs, teasing, even fights were great, intimacy- one of the best I've seen, mindblowing for sure.
Every vivid fan of historical dramas should see Lan Ling, every fan of the actors in it should see Lan Ling, every fan of intelligent script should see Lan Ling and every fan of real passionate love and intimacy should see Lan Ling.
The bottom line is- Lan Ling is a great drama with its own flaws, holes and boring moments like almost every drama but hell it was worth watching every moment of it. And it has the most perfect ending. At least I found it to be so appropriate and logically wonderful.
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Also , for the record, it's been a while since I've seen this drama.
Anyway.
I was prepared to like this drama. I really, honestly was. But for me it missed the mark - by several miles .
First off, Yang Xue Wu is the biggest Mary Sue I’ve seen in drama (any drama) so far. She has absolutely zero flaws and needs constant rescuing from Lan Ling Wang. For all her skill with fireworks and healing she can’t even save herself ? Sorry if I find that to be a little unbelievable. No, scratch that. It’s totally unbelievable .
The costume design was amazing , but that's unfortunately the only redeeming thing for me. Special effects were rarely well-executed, instead looking obviously out of place in this historical fantasy setting.
Pretty much every other female character was either eeeeeeeevil or disappeared quickly, save for Yuwen Yong's niece who I didn't really see a whole lot. The other female characters only served to enhance Xue Wu's already ridiculous Mary Sue - ness.
I hope by now you know I absolutely hate Mary Sue type characters.I know it's never the fault of the actresses playing them, but just lazy writing. Really, what is so difficult about writing a complex main character who actually has to work for what they want?
The ending theme was repeated way too much throughout pretty much every episode . Sometimes it's just fine to let a dramatic moment speak for itself but no, every single one of them is "emphasised" by repeating the theme over and over again.
What I hated the most was that everything seemed to revolve around the idea of 'Xue Wu gets in trouble , Lan Ling Wang rescues her' . The rest of the plot is secondary to that .
Lastly, what's up with that ending ? After 46 episodes you just want to have a happily ever after for the main characters , but clearly the writer(s) had other ideas.
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The drama is very fun in the beginning and begins to get more and more heart touching. It is very beautifully done, events spaced out well. Actors are great :) Many people fall for the looks, which is very eye pleasing.
Story:
It is based on the battle between the two territories, but not overly based on action scenes. Having a magical spark added to a historical dramas always makes things more fun. As a result, it becomes more of a legend rather than realistic portrayal of the history. Very calm and steady storyline, no heartache until the ending. Can't say if it's totally tragic, but tears were shed.
Cast:
Again...eye pleasing. Although sometimes the long hair really bothers me. The main characters were into their characters, especially the bad ones. Totally feel the rage to kill them. Details were portrayed very well. As well, we have two great main actors.
Music:
I must say that the music itself makes me remember the scenes from the drama. Everytime I listen I have flashbacks. Ost totally match up to the mood of the drama.
Rewatch:
It's not a heavy drama, which will set you to a depression or something. It is a drama you can watch to just relax yourself and to release yourself. The ending is worth watching over and over again. For those who wants to cry, but have no specific reason why the ending is a very good start.
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I know this drama is about Lan Ling, but I fell in love with Chan Daniel's character Yu Wen Young. He was the most consistent character. I enjoyed every minute that he was on screen. Feng William portrayed Lan Ling Wang with the perfect blend of dignity and warmth. I admit that sometimes I found his character frustrating, but it had nothing to do with the acting. His character was supposed to be loyal to Qi state and the people and he was until the end. Ariel Lin is a very interesting actress. I don't think many actresses could pull off the quirky character of Yang Xue Wu as well as she did.. Mao Lin Lin as Zheng Er was amazingly freaky. Her smile gave me the shivers. I was frustrated and enjoyed her madness at the same time. All of the other actors were good also.
The music is nice.
I might rewatch the first 20 episodes one day.
If you enjoy historical dramas with a love story, then I think that you would enjoy this.
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Story: (8/10)
The story is based on reality and it is mostly very good, but personally I would cut out about 10-20 episodes of material and storyline that feel like "fillers". Overall though the story is entertaining and nice, but it might cause impatient viewers to skip some parts.
Acting/Cast: (7/10)
For me the biggest problem with this drama is the mild chemistry between the main actors. They seem like good friends instead of passionate lovers. The main actors are both charismatic and do their jobs well, but it all seems a bit shallow. I have my suspicions that some important scenes might have been cut out since some Chinese series have had the same fate with more risqué scenes. Overall the acting is very good, but at least I did not really care about what happened to any of the characters and I didn't cry at any point in the drama (I almost always do :D).
Music: (6/10)
The music was pretty good at points and one of the vocal ballads, but there were quite a few low quality filler songs that really dragged the overall experience down.
Rewatch value: (5/10)
I can't really see myself watching this again any time soon. There were no extremely noteworthy scenes in the drama and since it is low-paced and long I can think of many series I would rather watch than this one.
Overall: (7.5/10)
My review might seem pretty harsh, but the fact is that I really emphasize CHEMISTRY above everything else. In this drama it could be due to the editing or directing of the series, but something is lacking between the main actors. The visual effects are much better than in usual Chinese period dramas; the war scenes look massive and convincing, the clothing and make up is really well done and I really appreciate that the female lead is not a generic beauty (she looks very unique). Maybe my problems is that this series really drew me in at the beginning, but in the end I feel let down.
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Acting/Cast: Great cast, and I also feel that the costumes were great. It was a joy to watch them. And the prince of lan ling and the king was hot!
Music: There were 2 songs that were on replay through the serie. And I love them. When I hear the songs it reminds me of the rememberable moments of the movie.The lyrics is so meaningful and beautiful.
Rewatch Value: I feel like I can rewatch this serie and never be bored.
Overall: Great job, great drama.
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Acting: I felt the main lead and supporting did a good job. There are two antagonist here. Even though, you will hate them. But they have a reason to why they are bad. Daniel Chan acting has improved since his Chinese Ghost Story days!
Music: The OST was amazing. I liked all of it, but my favorite was Heart of Palms.
Rewatch: If I find a DVD I will surely watch it again.
Overall: There were no boring moments at all, but the war scene could have been better. You could tell that it was faked and the extras were in so much pain even though the sword was not close to hurting them, but overall I enjoyed it nevertheless.
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The story moves at a brisk pace and it provides us with likable characters. An OPT that's easy to root for because they can do no wrong, a fiercely loyal band of brothers and a second male lead that'll definitely give you second lead syndrome.
But all this goodness comes to a halt when we're introduced to the drama's main antagonist in the form of Zheng Er. To my disappointment, the story shifts it's focus from being about the bigger picture of Country of Zhou vs Country of Qi to a mere lover's spat. The story starts dragging as we are introduced and re-introduccd to more and more unlikeable characters and ridiculous plot lines.
Having said that the story get draggy, the ending however felt rushed and unsatisfying with unnecessary deaths and (IMO) justice not being properly served.
However, Prince Lan Ling does provide audiences with the pretty. Set is beautifully filmed with luscious backdrops and are of high quality production value. Costumes and hair are also of high quality although at times the fashion is questionable. Music is very easy on the ear with the ED being particularly addictive.
I want to spend more time on the acting because this is were the drama truly shined for me. The acting is on point from each and every one of the main cast. OTP has great chemistry together, their interactions felt genuine and their love felt believable. Gao Wei (Zhai Tian Ling) is the single most frustrating character onscreen from start to finish whilst his partner Zheng Er (Nikita Mao) is one of the most despicable characters I've ever had the dissatisfaction of watching ever onscreen even though at times it felt like she's evil for the sake of being evil but props to both actors for bringing alive these two terrible characters because they really made my blood boil. Shawn Wei and George Hu who played Han Xiao Dong and An De Wang respectively also had memorable performances through this drama. Though one to lookout for in particular is Daniel Chan's Yu Wen Yong. Daniel's Yu Wen Yong was a sometimes despicable but always loyal, caring, prideful and regal Emperor of Zhou made him in my opinion by far the most interesting character in this entire series.
Would highly recommend if you are looking for a purely historical romance drama.
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