Jiang Jun Zai Xia (2023)

Hero x Antihero

TLDR; A fun miniseries with some interesting characters and refreshing dynamics. It's nothing wow, and the little plot it does have is quite standard in concept and mediocre in execution, but it delivers rather unique main leads and a refreshing love story.

Whump meter: ▲◭△△△ (mild/very little).

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【Very mild SPOILERS below】

►CHARACTERS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The highlight for me was definitely the main couple, both refreshing characters we don't often see in a refreshing dynamic we also don't often see. FL is a rough general who suffered a lot but still holds a lot of kindness in her heart (portrayed by an actress who actually looks like she could be a fighter!) while ML is a shady guy who switches from helpless and delicate to homme fatale. Together, they make quite the power couple (unfortunately, we didn't see much of this though), and they're adorable together. Basically, Hero FL & Antihero ML.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ My only issue is the unfortunate trope of FL having great flaws that make no sense for her character that the character simply wouldn't have if it were a man (like being illiterate 💀). Meanwhile, ML yet again excels at everything. Since they're doing the role reversal anyway, just commit to it. It didn't really take away from the experience, but I thought it was still worth mentioning.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Side characters were fine for the most part. I enjoyed the main couple's attendants/right-hand men. Prince Yue was also quite an interesting character. I'd say the most dull was Princess Sijiu, who only appeared for a handful of scenes (and was also the ONLY other female character, which is always a minus in my book, but at least they had a good relationship).

►ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I didn't have an issue with any actor's portrayal. They all did a good enough job, but I'd say ML's actor stood out as the best. He portrayed various rather complex characters very well!

►STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Hilariously, the worst aspect would have to be the story. If you stop and think about something, it all falls apart. There's very little plot to go around, but an unusual amount of attention is put on it. Conflicts and issues are resolved rather quickly, so the stakes are pretty low too.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I think it would've worked better with romance as the main plot and then a sprinkle of something else here and there instead of this romance/political drama. In these sorts of small productions, less is usually more, so keeping things simple is ideal, but yeah.

►PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Production quality is okay, noticeably low budget though. There's a lot worse, but there's a lot better out there too. It didn't bother me too much, not did it take away from the experience either.

►MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The music was not very memorable, just alright. I do remember it being somewhat out of place in certain moments, though.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? Yes
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Somewhat
◇ Would I watch it again? Yes, I loved the main couple
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Unlikely

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