Ye Lin Shen Tan (2021)

Great story, cliché characters; season ends very abruptly

This unknown gem is actually one of my favorite dramas of 2021. It's all unknown actors,* which suggests that it's a low-budget drama, but the leads are cute and production value is very high. The sets, costumes, and martial arts choreography are all top-notch, and they put more effort into the injury makeup (gore) than many high profile dramas.

The best part is the cases, the most important part of a detective drama, and they are all very convoluted with lots of unexpected plot twists. The crimes are original and well thought out, they keep things suspenseful, and don't insult our intelligence with really obvious plot holes.

It's not really clear who is the first male lead and who is second, but the two men are the brains of the operation. Cheng Yang, the deputy-commissioner of police, is the most well-rounded character of the bunch, being both intelligent and a skilled martial artist, but can be a bit uptight. Analyst/consultant Jun Wugui is physically weak, with no fighting skills to speak of, but by far the smartest, and also a bit eccentric, which is expected for a genius detective. He's also supposed to be a playboy, but they never show him with any girls other than our female lead.

Speaking of which, Inspector Su Wenyue is the pure muscle. Her martial arts are incredibly strong and so far none of the bad guys can beat her. Unfortunately, she's not the brightest crayon in the box, and her personality can be a little too feisty sometimes, to the point of being annoying. But all is forgiven because she's such a babe when kicking ass!

As for the second female lead Ouyang Chuchu, the commissioner's daughter, I really hope she goes through some major character development, because so far she's just been acting like an immature, spoiled, crybaby princess, with no useful skills to speak of. Her character seems to have no purpose other than to look super cute while annoying us with her clinginess and obsession over Cheng Yang.

So yeah, the characters are pretty cliché. Tropes like the eccentric Sherlock Holmes, the feisty tomboy, the spoiled girl who's desperately in love with a guy who only thinks of her as a sister... they're all here. BUT none of it detracts from the quality of the drama because it's awesome where it truly counts: the story.

By the way, this is a review of only the first "season," which consists of 12 episodes. I have no idea why they decided to split it into two seasons when 24 episodes is already pretty short for a drama. Season 1 does NOT end at a logical break in the story. Instead, it ends randomly in the middle of everything. I was literally waiting for episode 13 to come out before I did some research and realized it was "over."

*With the exception of the police commissioner, who is played by an actor who is in almost every drama I watch. Recently he was Fei's father in Legend of Fei, and Minister Han in The Imperial Coroner.

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