LynnLy
Solving the cases was more interesting than the main story
The story revolves around a female coroner, Ran Yan. She is a female ahead of her time in many ways as she is trying to support herself independent of her family. Along the way she meets and is saved (frequently) by an assassin Su Fu, and she also meets the local magistrate Xiao Song. Xiao Song immediately respects her intelligence and hires her to work as his medical examiner. Together the 2 of them, with Su Fu coming in and out, solve cases together including what really happened to her mother and the plot to overthrow the emperor.The character of Ran Yan is an intelligent female but who can be abrasive and mean, but worse I found her lack of common sense staggering at times. I lost count how many times did she fall into a trap and have to be saved. For a smart person, she was stupid at times. Su Fu is the typical stoic assassin. In many ways he uses Ran Yan, but he also cares for her deeply. Xiao Song was to me the most developed character. Highly intelligent he solves every case in front of him with a Sherlock or Di Red type mind. He respects Ran Yan and his ability to bicker with her is fantastic. His was the character that showed the greatest range of emotions.
The acting of the show was good. The actress playing Ran Yan was fine, nothing spectacular. I wonder of the character was annoying because the actress didn't handle the complexity of the role since she only seemed to have one or two emotions, The actor playing Su Fu was ok. He basically played stoic all the time and that was all. I've seen other shows where stoic doesn't means stone faced (watch Bloody Romance). Which brings us to the reason I scored the acting as high as I did, the actor playing Xiao Song. By far the best actor and the person carrying the show, He was able to show the brain of Xiao Song, the playful bickering with Ran Yan, and the hurt and loss he felt being insulted and rejected almost every episode.
I have to give a special kudos rot the actors playing the characters of Sang Chen and Bai Yi. Sang Cheng is the frightened scholar who cluelessly loves Ran Yan. Bai Yi is the loyal bodyguard to Xiao Song. The two were fantastic characters and almost ran away with the show, There scenes together were so well done and added some ,much needed humor. I found them more likable then two thirds of the main cast. The scene with Bai Yi and Xiao Cheng, without giving spoilers, was one of the best scenes in the show,
Would I watch it again, at 36 episodes it is a quick watch so yes but not right away and not before some other shows.
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So the story is about the Juan Xi was born without her six senses and has no understanding of feelings, During a tourament she meets Si Feng a member of a rival set. The two becomes friends along with her sister and sixth brother. In reality Si Feng has been with her through 1000 years and 9 lives. I won't go into details, cause spoilers can be found elsewhere,
For my review, when the show started Juan Xi was clueless and I thought oh no Ashes of Love all over again. I am not a fan of Ashes of Love and this was clueless FL with a ML that basically gets abused the whole time. Luckily that did not last too long. The FL as she regained her senses actually was fairly faithful to the ML, and there was no real "triangle" to speak of. it was more the ML doing what he could to protect the FL and she being confused but really still defending him. There were some slower parts but in all the story was well written and moved along, and there were some twists in the end that I was not really expecting. The bad people (and there are 3 of them) were well written and acted. You really understand why 2 of them did the things they did even though they were evil, and the big bad person was really not bad.
The acting was great. While Xuan JI was sort of the simple, annoying female in the beginning but the depth the actress she showed as she got her six senses back and eventually got her memories of the God of War was really amazing. Si Feng was fantastic as well. You felt everything he felt, although his character had less growth than Xuan Ji his acting was amazing. The supporting cast was great from the villains, gods, demons, "righteous" sect leaders. Ling Long, the sister was probably the weakest in the cast. My personal favorites where Lord Flying Snake, Fox Spirit, and Wu Zhi Qi. The three of them were great.
Music was some of the best I have heard in a long time and I listen to the OST all the time.
As for rewatch, it is long and has slow parts even with the main characters. For TMOPB I rewatch cause I fast forward through the storyline not with main leads, but in this case most of the story is focused on the main leads, which makes this good but rewatching 59 episodes is a lot.
Overall, the drama is outstanding mainly because of the ML and FL leads and their acting along with a very string supporting cast. The "good" people are really not good, and the "bad" people are really not bad. For anyone that did not like Ashes of Love, I highly recommend this once you get past the first episodes it is far more interesting and worth the watch.
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Oh! My Emperor: Season Two
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It started as fun and silly and then just got bad
This is a review of both season 1 and 2. I enjoyed season 1 fine understanding that it was more comedy than serious although the ending of season 1 made little sense to me.I will admit this showed up in my watch queue (it's says it's available on amazon but it's not) and Xiao Zhan is in it so I decided to give this a chance. Xiao Zhan is the second ML so he's not in it as much as I would like, but I still liked The Wolf even though he was not in it enough!
First season was confusing - I still have no idea which cancellation was who and what some of their powers were, which they never used except to play around. The FL was a cute at first but by season 2 was annoying. As for the ML, I have to assume he is a better singer than he is an actor.
In general the acting was terrible, Xiao Zhan was good, but you can tell how much he has learned since this show. I will say every time Morang realized that Fei Wei likes the emperor, he does a great job of show how sad he is. Here's the spoiler... I felt more for his character just cause he loved Fei Wei and she would never love him, then I felt for the emperor when Fei Fei the love of his life dies. Let's just say his acting was terrible, Also I had second FL syndrome as well. I loved the character of Yanran who was in love with Moran. Her character was smart and nice and she was a very different character growing along the way. If they ever had a third season it should be Moran on the thrown (since the emperor is apparently in a different timeline now?) and Yanran. I would watch that.
As for the story, it was silly fluff with bad acting and then the last 3 episodes happened. I'm not sure the need to kill everyone. Was that because the writers couldn't figure out how to get Fei Fei back to her time. Also do doctors in China dress like that? Short shorts and flannel????? Anyway, the show went all Game of Thrones Red Wedding but then they all cam back cause Fei Fei and her tribe saved them, So what was the point in a farce of a show.
Music was OK. I noticed my self humming the song every time Fei few and the Emperor do something silly. The song by Xiao Zhan is heartbreaking but beautiful,
Would I ever rewatch,,, no but maybe clips of just Xiao Zhan from the show.
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How to do wuxia with all of the basics but make it better
I have to say this is one of my favorite c-dramas that I have seen. It's not perfect but I actually enjoyed it, so that is how I base my score.First this is a wuxia / fantasy drama so it follows the same pattern.... a little long, kind of innocent female lead, stoic almost too good to be true ML, silly bad FL evil person, misunderstandings, etc. It's really a matter of extremes that determines whether I like a show or not.
SPOILER: Second is the 2 endings.... personally I feel the first ending was the correct one even if it left a sadder feel. The 2nd ending made no sense, kind of destroyed the character growth of the FL, although He Na lives in the 2nd ending and Fu Jun / Luo Ning had a nice moment. But again based on story, 1st ending was still correct cause Fu Jun needed to take responsibility and become the person he should have always been for his brother and not just sacrifice himself. I feel him being the demon king and following through on what his brother wanted was more important and He Na would never have wanted Fu Jun to die for him.
So the story is a little messy, the first arch is about the Lu Li and Liu Shao in the mortal world. I know some did not like this arch but to me it was important cause it showed why they loved each other and why Liu Shao would even tolerate the immortal Lu Ge. I found the first part of the story fast past, and any of the troupe misunderstandings were quickly resolved - which was a blessing to me. The immortal arch (like 20 - 30) was OK. I missed some of the people in the human realm the rest of the show. The last arch is about the evil spirit (good of the moon) and his plan to take over the three realms ... he shares a heart with Lu Ge,
Why it was better than a lot of wuxia.... the misunderstandings are small in duration. The evil people are not caricatures and actually have personality. The FL while still the innocent type is no where near as annoying as other ones (Ashes of Love still has the worst FL) . The ML is less perfect and unemotional (just for a few episodes). Even the immortal realm, which is normally the most hypocritical group of people, were actually ok in this show. So in generally some troupes but they are far less annoying.
Acting was good to great. Vin Zhang was great playing really 4 roles: the playful and loving Lu Li, the someone stoic but loses up Lu Ge, the god of the moon (original good one) and the evil good of the moon. Xu Lu was ok as the FL, to was harder for me to judge her cause the voice dubbing was the over childish female whining that grates on my nerves. So it may be more that than her actual acting. The rest of the mortals and immortals were fine, some better than others. Zheng He Hui Zi was cute as Luo Ning and had some good moments that helped her character grow and change, unlike the FL. not sure if that is story or acting related,
The real stars (and this has been said in other reviews) are Riley Wang as Fu Jun, the demon king's brother and the second couple with Luo Ning. his acting was fantastic especially when he was with his bother. Which leads to the star and absolute best part iof the show Wang You Shou as He Na the Demon King in White. I haven't felt this connected to a character and actor since Xiao Zhao as Wei Wuxian. He was just that good, I looked forward to every scene with him and felt more for his ending (ep 39 vs 40) than I did when either of the leads had their death scene. I can hardly wait to find all of his other shows!
Music was good.... sometimes it was a little distracting to have songs playing while people were talking so they should have toned it down a bit.
I see this as a rewatch, but more just the scenes with He Na.
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Two intelligent lead characters
I was not certain what to expect from the show, but I have to say it was well done and one of my favorites from 2022.The story is a power struggle between the six kingdoms to become the new empire that rules the world. The story centers mainly on 4 of the 6 kingdoms and Hei Fengxi (aka Fang Lan Xi) and Bai Fengxi (aka Feng Xi Yun) are a fated pair, a prince and lady of 2 of the kingdoms with of both them having another identity in the martial arts world. Where the story excels is in the relationship of the 2 main characters. The characters are equals with each helping and supporting the other and with no silly misunderstandings. The 2 are faced with the back stabbing to be named the heir between Her Fengxi and his brothers and the political turmoil around the collapse of the current empire, but they always trust each other and work together to achieve their goals. I also very much appreciated the relationship of Hei Fengxi and his elder brother Feng Chang., I was happy that even when you thought Feng Chang would turn on his brother he never did and any misunderstanding was resolved quickly, Of course his young brother Feng Ju was the typical back stabbing less intelligent prince and their was the "mother" and the whole harem manipulating behavior. The show got a little draggy in the middle with the fight to be heir, and the Heir Fengxi's father is a horrible human being. Still there are 2 things that annoy me in shows: Stupid women (especially FL) and silly and contrived misunderstandings. This show did not have any of the horrible misunderstandings between the ML and FL, or the ML and his brother, and all of the women were intelligent, capable and strong, the only exception would be the cultivation sect leader and Bai Fengxi's "sister" was little annoying and silly but that was just a small amount of the time. I really liked how Hua Chun Ran was really equal to Huang Chao, and Feng Qi Wu as the trusted female assistant of Hei Fengxi was a fantastic character.
The acting was solid. For the leads, I am a fan of Yang Yang but he really can come across as stiff and I mean physically like he has a stiff neck, but he did a fine job. I was extremely impressed with Zhao Lu Si as the FL I have seen her in other shows and thought she was cute but I was very impressed with her acting in this show and the way she portrayed Bai Fengxi, from her carefree time in the martial arts world, to her helping and falling in love with Hei Fengxi, to the tragedies that befall her kingdom and family. I was really amazed. Zhang Feng YI as the rule and Hei Fengxi's father and Carman Lee as Madmae Bai Li the conniving wife were both amazing. All of the actors were great. I was less of a fan of the villain and the portrayal, but that was even fine,.
Music was fine, It sounded similar to other OST and music from different shows, but still enjoyable.
Would I rewatch, absolutely with the fast forward button ready for the slow parts,
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Could have been better
This is a show that could have been better. Concept was interesting, a female warrior, I cannot say if she had a military rank cause I already forgot, goes back in time to prevent a revolution from happening that ruins the country and hurts a lot of people. She tries to assassinate the General that causes the future revolution but is stopped by Feng Xi, a minister on the government,Cool concept but then it fails to deliver anything interesting. As I have stated in other reviews there are 2 things that always annoy me: Stupid and silly female leads, and stupid and silly misunderstandings. This drama has both. Having come back in time you would think Dong Yue the female lead would be intelligent and have a plan. Instead she is really stupid and has no concept of anything. She totally misunderstands Feng Xi. At first that is alright cause we manipulates and lies so people think he is power hungry and a bad person. The issue is after she failed the first time and Feng Xi dies, she comes back to fix the problem again. The second time she comes back she still doesn't trust him and makes a bunch of really stupid decisions. Plus half way through it felt like the story was more about her falling in love than actually stopping the revolt,
I lost interest after like episode 10 and only half paid attention. I did start to get more interested again in the last 10 or so episodes, when female lead came back a third time and had a portion of a brain.
As for acting the ML is the true star of the show. I had an initial reaction of I do not like him, so kudos to him for his work in Princess Agents, that I had to get over. He was great at the moral grayness of the character, who is not evil but is certainly not pristine or perfect. The second male lead plays the third prince. He was a little on the slow side, but was a generally good character and when faced with his father's moral imperfection he stayed true to himself and doing the right thing, Every time I thought he would move into the gray area he stayed true., which was exactly what Feng Xi wanted was him to stay good. The FL was mediocre at best and did nothing to impress, Second couple was cute, almost too much so.
The one distracting thing was the music. It was generally ok, but there was one part where the music was the exact music used in The Untamed. I mean not like the music but the exact music. Not sure if that is normal, but seemed strange to me.
Overall, it was an interesting concept but the story never followed through on the premise. So the story which could have been interesting back the same old story in a ton of c dramas. It did get better but it was hard to watch and pay attention to episodes. Plus the ML acting was great, while the FL was not and it was more obvious with how good he was.
This falls into the what could have been category.
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Mediocre show that could have been better
There are 2 things that bother me in dramas ... stupid characters that would not survive a day in reality and the silly misunderstandings between the couples. This drama did not have the second issue, but the first one was prominent,I would give a recap of the story, but it was all over the place and a mess. Just when you thought there was a plan or goal in site it would change and then drag out to the point I really didn't care. The story basically revolves around a female swords person, Zhou Fei, and the "emperor" from the previous dynasty. Xie Yun. There are bad people not sure where they came from or why they are bad, it doesn't have to do with the current dynasty as far as I can tell. I mean I am not sure why there is an army from the previous dynasty and who exactly they are fighting, is it the current dynasty (seems like not) or the bad people (then why do they just not part of the current dynasty). The story is a mess, I do not now the source material so I cannot say if this is what the story is supposed to be like. As for the other characters - they come and go and I forget they were even there (Chuchu's brother just disappeared, the useless young guy that had no skills meets the female lead for a few episodes and then sacrifices himself for her?), and there are so many with little to no purpose . There is little growth or development from any characters except for the female leads cousin Li Sheng. The most annoying character is a toss up between Li Yan (female leads cousin) who has to be one of the dumbest and most annoying people to ever be in a show (I was hoping they would kill her when she was captured to end my misery) and also the 3rd prince (like "adopted" brother of the Male Lead but he's from the current dynasty which means there is no hope if he becomes emperor). I really cannot decide which was more annoying. I guess the third prince was like a fly, while Li Yan was like a swarm gnats (I guess she wins the most annoying award). It was nice to see a string female lead, and the two main characters were fine. I even liked the second couple (Li Sheng and Chuchu) and the country bumpkin was fine (although he was generally with the annoying female). I found the older generation more interesting - Li Zheng (Female leads grandfather), Ji Yin Chen, the Taoist, the monks that took care of Xie Yun, Yin Wen Lan, and the palm fighting lady. I would rather of seen them more. Also, in the middle of rescue missions or fights, they would stand around and talk for like 10 minutes, who does that? I mean when Chuchu is leaving the medicine valley it's like a 15 minute scene to say goodbye, ironically she finds the general in like a minute to make upper how long it took to leave the little valley!
As for acting, I thought the Zhao Li Ying was fine as the female lead. I know that she was a little old to be playing the young girl, but that didn't bother me. The attempts to make her look younger with heavy makeup actually made it harder to see her as young. Wang Yibo was good as the male lead. I know others have reviewed that he was better as Lan Wangji in The Untamed or that Wei Wuxian was the same character but better, but I think those are unfair. It's a different role and story so you cannot really compare them. Do I think he is a great actor, not at all, but he is pleasant and I think he played the carefree ML role fine even if lacking depth. With that said, I never really saw any chemistry between the two. They were just OK together. The rest of the acting was adequate, nothing remarkable. The main villain was fine and the "older" generation was fine. I enjoyed Frankie Guo's over the top portrayal of Mu Xiao Qiao (he wasn't;t in the story enough).
The soundtrack was fine. I liked the songs but there were episodes where all that seems to happen was the song playing. So towards the end they seemed stale to me.
Basically if you like the actress and actor then you can enjoy the show for them. For me that wasn't enough to make up for the failings. I would call this a mediocre show - there are worse ones to watch and also way better ones to watch.
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Ok show with eye candy
For anyone a fan of Yang Yang (which I am) or Dilraba Dilmurant (which I am not) then you will enjoy the show. My feeling is that this is an OK drama. Everything was OK about it. The story was OK, the acting was what you would expect. The brightest spot is the two leads are good looking so that is something. I have to say this is the first show I have seen Dilraba in where she didn't annoy me. I actually stopped watching anything with her cause I find her acting so over the top cuts and annoying, she maybe she has gotten better. The pull of Yang Yang being in the show won me over.The story is about an aerospace engineer, Yu Tu, who is going through a career crisis when we meet him. In leave he form a stressful job that pays poorly, ruins people's health, and doesn't;t allow for personal life. Qiao Jingling is a famous celebrity / actress who had a crush on Yu Tu in middle and high school, but he turned her down. As fate would have it she needs to learn how to play a video game and luckily Yu Tu is on leave from his job and happens to be a master gamer (not sure how since they imply they have very little free time - must be cause he is so smart). Te two reconnect but given their different lifestyles will it work out is the question. That is really it other than the two lead being cute, and there were some moments that made me laugh.
There are a lot of characters that show up in the drama for a little bit and then disappear never to be mentioned again, or they are brought back 10 episodes later and you forgot all about them. The parents of the two leads are mainly MIA, Yu Tu's mentor and co-worker Guan Zai is there for a bit and then mostly gone. I would have liked to seen more of him and his family. Normally I think dramas can get lost worrying about other characters besides the main story, this one was the opposite - so focused on the main characters that the other characters are not interesting or if they are they leave you wanting more information.
The acting was fine, Yang Yang did a good job with Yu Tu, he's very smart and gifted but also a little world weary I would say it's a grown-up version of his Love O2O character. His acting was fine nothing earth shattering. As I stated at least Dialraba Dilmurant didn't;t annoy me as much as normal, s I would say her acting was better. I found some of the other cast more interning and the actors were all good - from Yu Tu's colleagues to Qiao Jingling's manager and assistant.
If I had to give my feelings in one word it would be the drama was OK, nothing extraordinary but worth a watch.
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One of the best dramas of 2021
This show had it all..... mystery, some romance, and palace intrigue.The story centers on Prince An (Xiao Jin Yu), who controls the three judiciaries at a very young age, and the Chu Chu who comes to take the coroner examination. Along the way Chu Chu helps Xiao Jin Yu solve cases from murder, to counterfeiting, to an attempt to overthrow the emperor. Along with them are the second leads Jin Yi and Leng Yu with an occasional inclusion of Xiao Jin Yu's brother Xiao Jin Li.
I'll list all of the best things about the drama.
First for me are the main characters. The 2 leads are well written, fully rounded, mature, and intelligent. Chu Chu may have a rose colored view of the wold but she is no one's fool and is equal to the Prince and his group from the beginning. The two leads work well together, trust each other, and only have the best intentions and concerns for each other. What little understandings they have are normal issues from awkwardness and their different social standings but these never last more than an episode and the 2 actually talk about the issue. It's so refreshing to see a well-rounded and equal couple.... and since stupid, immature, silly FL leads is the worst thing for me, I cannot be more happy with Chu Chu. Added to that are the second leads. Jin YI is Xiao Jin Yu's best friend and confidant. There were a few episodes were you worry about his intentions but again that is resolved immediately and you really get the sense that the ML and the 2nd ML totally respect and trust each other. Added to that is Xiao Jin Li who is a general in the army and basically would do anything to protect his brother, It is refreshing to see two princes not backstabbing their way to the throne and really caring for one another. Another fantastic departure from normal Chines palace dramas that made me love to see the relationship with the 3 main ML. The second FL Leng Yu is a martial artist, that maybe more standard for Chinese dramas, and a town boy but even her character has depth. She protects and becomes friends with Chu Chu along with being the "sister" of the two princes. She is also written to be intelligent and not just a typical female trying to be a male martial artist. In fact all of them each help to solve the crimes together and the underlying plot, and each is important and brings something to resolve the cases, except maybe Xiao Jin Li but he admits he is just a military person,
Which leads me to reason two, the story. This is a very well written drama. All fo the cases from the beginning tie into the overall story so you need to pay attention. veery scene has a reason for being in the story, even Chu Chu's chickens which are not forgotten. The story is constructed to make the cases intestine along with the resolution. I've seen other dramas where the cases were simple, like Miss Truth and sometimes Maiden Holmes, so they were not interesting, or solved in a way that was almost downright strange just to show you how smart the lead was, like My Roommate Is a Detective. These cases make sense but even more the resolution makes sense. Then add to that the fact they all tie into each other makes this a well written story. Plus there is the added bonus of well written leads, and even the supporting cast, I call them the older generation, are well written. I love Xiao Jin Yu's mother and actually wished there was more about her, and Jing Yi's father and mother, along with Chu Chu's family all show a loving and trusting family. Again, all of them love each other and work well together even if they sometimes seem like they are not. The least developed character were the 2 bad people. The first was an over the top character that could be annoying, and the second was never fully defined, like I'm still not certain if he was or wasn't the son of the Duke of Chang, I believe they proved he wasn't, but then what was hi actual motivation? It was just a bit odd. That may be because a lot happens in the final episode and it feels rushed, like that should have been 2 episodes with some explanations.
The weakest part for me where the villains of the show, one being over the top eunuch, I am not giving anything away since it's obvious from the beginning, and then the second villain more of the behind the scenes mastermind but he was never really fleshed out other than the reveal oh he is the bad one, which again was fairly obvious. I really cannot think of anything else.
I highly recommend giving this a try id you liked Maiden Holmes (i did!), Miss Truth (so so for me) or the mystery genre. This has less romance than Maiden Holmes, which was fine since with me, and the mysteries are far better than in Miss Truth. If you want more romance than this may not be for you as the romance is there the whole time with their mutual respect and care for each other, but there is no overt scenes.
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Martial Universe: Season 2
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I will start with I have no idea what the source material is, but the show was bad and sometimes borderline terrible.The story is about Lin Ding who by the end of the show I affectionately call Ding Dong. Ding Dong is the successor of Fu Zu and has to save the world from demons. Nothing too original. Along the way he loses a "brother" gains a fairy girl, a wild girl, a marten who looks like a weasel, and fire tiger and some other people.
For character development. Ding Dong has no power at the beginning but has a good heart and wants to protect people which he generally fails at. His character is better in season 2 and shows some development but he really doesn't change and basically remains a ding dong. The brother is selfish and an egomaniac so of course he becomes the bug bad demon. He looked good, but that is about all I can say. Fairy girl i don't even care to remember her name starts of as a strong chatacter but in the end is just whiney and annoying. Marten/weseal and fire tiger are beast in human forms. They are fun to watch but not in the show enough. Old man Yuan is basically useless and a pervert. Wild girl or Ice Maiden is the only person that seems to develop as a character. She starts off as annoying, then you like her and then she is the only adult in the show making tough decisions to save the world. Of course she is the one that doesn't "survive". Is it bad to say my favorite character was the prince of the human realm and he was only in the show for like 5 episodes?
Music is fine, special effects were decent.
Would I watch the show again, a strong most likely never. Was it the worst show I've ever seen, not really. Would I recommend it no. It really did not get interesting until season 2 so 40 episodes of telling the tv that everyone is stupid. Then again they are all still stupid in season 2 but at least it's only 20 episodes so at least the suffering is quicker.
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WOW - worth the hype
I was really worried about watching this one with all of the hype I had heard. If you are worried like I was then trust me this is the one show that lives up to the hype. It is one of the best dramas that I have ever watched.The story that has been reviewed in other posts, plus I do not like spoilers, is primarily about Wei Wuxian and his "friendship" with Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian is a free spirit who after a series of events becomes the Yiling Patriarch despised by the clans with the exception of the stoic and strait-laced Lan Wangji. After Wei Wuxian's death, this is not a spoiler it happens in the first minutes of the show, and return, the two discover the secrets and conspiracies that lead to the earlier events,
The story was fantastic. I was interested in every episode and actively looked forward to the next episode. If there were slow parts I did not really notice and it never made me lose interest. Even better the story really focuses on the main characters. their are secondary characters but their storylines and growth never interfere with the progress of the main characters. I would compare this to Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms where the show could drag when it was on secondary characters. Just a great story. I really liked that the "good" people were not all that good and the villain was really understandable and you understood why he did the things he did, even if you still do not like him.
As for acting, for a primarily young cast, the acting was fantastic. The two main leads were great, although especially Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian. He captured the free spirit and playfulness of the character, the character's driving need to help and protect others even if it was not popular, and the character's devastation when everything falls apart. At the end of the flashback during the battle his acting is amazing and you feel everything along with him. I was also very impressed with Zheng Fanxing as Lan Sizhui, he was one of my favorites in the show.
Music was again outstanding. I was actually very glad that they had music and not songs during most of the shows. I find some shows become a music video during flashbacks or recaps, or the modern music is jarring to the drama. In this case the music was haunting and beautiful and perfectly fit the scenes. and the story The ending song was great, the theme of the two main leads was beautiful, but mostly listen and watch the death of Wei Wuxian. That is beautiful music.
This was the first drama I can remember actually being sad that it was over. Up until this show, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms was my favorite with rewatching, although fast forwarding through the slow parts, but The Untamed is my new favorite. I have already re-watched it, with no fast forwarding, and I still laugh out loud and cry along, and even when re-watching I can still hardly wait for the next episode. If you are worried about the hype, don't be. This is the show that really lived up to the hype and really deserves to be called a masterpiece.
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Waste of a good start
I started writing this review on episode 30 something and it had a higher rating, then the show just went all crazy and made no sense to me.First I have not seen the original show so I cannot say if this is better, and I have no idea of the source material so I cannot say of this is just following the material. I had heard the bullying aspects were toned down, which is good for me since I cannot imagine any female should find that attractive.
My biggest issue is like the last 10 episodes.... I mean the break up in London made no sense, then the day together in London was cute but again they keep breaking up and it was annoying at that time, then there was the fake kidnapping and the deserted island, I guess cause everyone has one. Then there was the next "break-up" this time forced by the mom and then the starving to death. In the end the most horrible mother of the year - who should be in jail for letting her son starve to death almost, is suddenly sympathetic, and the female lead outside in the rain for days is fine and nothing happened - in reality she would have been dehydrated and gone into kidney failure and caught pneumonia... and you really do not even see what happened to her after she collapsed, Unless the stupid last episode with the dream and the weird wedding was really she was dead - then that would at least make sense. After writing this I feel like I should lower more score more.
The acting was fine, nothing great. Dylan Wang was fun and cute as the male lead and probably had the most growth, but let's face it no one had any growth and development. In fact I found the lack of growth from the female lead disappointing. Maybe that is acting since she seems to play the same character all the time at least from what I can see. The friends were generally annoying, her crying clinging best friend and his group of friends. I did like Hua Ze Lei bit even he got annoying after awhile. Plus was he just always going to be the third person? I mean in the end everyone is doing something and he is just with Dao Ming Si and Dong Shan Can? Just odd since he had potential to be an interesting character and was definitely well acted.
The music was fine, until the one song played every time anyone in the show had a break up - which was twice every episode I think. So even the music was annoying by the end,
I will stop writing or I will lower my score even more. Just sad cause it started off fine, just a fluff show and that is all I expected, but then it kept getting worse.
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Annoying parallel story of a good show
I'll start with what I liked., I like the actress playing the female lead (at least in other shows) and her acting was fine. I liked a couple of the songs.Now for the mess that was this show. It is neither a sequel nor a prequel but a parallel story. If I had not seen Go Go Squid, I may have rated this a 5 - basically no character development, and lots of scenes with the leads staring or flashing back to something that literally happened a minute ago. There was really not much, there were other characters in the show that basically ha no story and were just there - had I not seen Go Go Squid I would have no idea who they were and would not have cared about them, so it is hard to judge this as stand alone show and not compare to the FAR superior first show.
There are just so many things that made me scratch my head but I was giving the show the benefit of the doubt..... half the characters have new actors, which was jarring but I can manage that. The ML was the same and the grandpa, 97 and One where the same. They also brought back the same actors for Han Shangyan and Tong Nian, the leads of Go Go Squid.... I almost wish they hadn't since the story basically derailed everything. Next the competition changes from Cyber security to Robot battles, with no explanation. The sets changed, and K&K moved from Norway to Chicago, and the entire K&K team was like 3 people. While Han Shangyan was mentioned he was never there for ANY of the events and the absolutely perfect Wu Bai was the one managing the club and making all of the decisions - recruiting the team and Little Mi to be the manager. Half way through the show I started to hate it and what the did to the original. I get the parallel story but to undo everything.
Where the original was cute, had a less than perfect ML growing and developing, and actually spent time given us back story on a lot of characters so you knew who they were and understood them. This version is a perfect ML and an annoying second couple (FL leads sister and Grunt (different actor). Everyone else else was just background and never developed.
I cannot understand why they basically removed Han Shangyan from having any part (to the point of being neglectful of the club). I assume the actor was busy and didn't want to bother with a minor role, so he just showed up as a guest. What I do not get was the need to wipe him out of the Solo team back story, and his presence with the team and make the ML of this being the only person doing anything.
It is so frustrating for the first time ever I wrote a review before finishing and I am seriously debating dropping the show.
UPDATE.... I finished the show. I was going to update this every episode with what was annoying. It really didn't get better. I mean at the world championship Han Shangyan was not even around. I'm assuming the actor was not available but really???? They made everything about how perfect Wu Bai was.
As for the wedding - I feel it cheapened Han Shangyan and Tong Nian in a way they were an after thought. Would Little Mi who was Han Shangyan best friend, be with Wu Bai to pick up his bride? ugh. I will see it was great seeing Han Shangyan and Tong Nian and I felt they seemed sooo much happier (especiallyHan Shangyan) at the wedding. It just reminded me how much I liked them and that this show was a pale comparison,
Final thoughts, if there was no Go Go Squid, this was a middling effort with a bland love story and a lot of characters that were never fully developed but there (Little MI story is missing, Solo story and his daughter) so it was hard to understand any of the characters without knowing Go Go Squid. Which is the probably with this show.... Go Go Squid was better in story telling and acting. It was funnier and more serious at the same time, this parallel show was just bland. Although the FL actress was good in GGS2.
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a show where both leads are string and intelligent
I have read that this is the sister piece for Princess Weiyoung, so I was a little unsure. Personally I liked this show better, inlace of silly "harem" backstabbing, this was a semi-intelligent political backstabbing drama, Every once in a while the show lost its intelligence.... example the assassin leader that raised them and only wanted revenge changed his mind in like 5 minutes which was a let down. Mainly though the show had intelligent people and stayed clear from the normal overly simplified bad people.Here's what I liked....
the acting was great especially ML and FL. I have never seen the ML in another show and was very impressed with his acting and portrayal. The FL has always been just OK when I see her, not annoying but not one of my favorite actresses. Her acting in this show convinced me she is good and just needs better roles. All of the acting was great, the Royal Mother was the only one that was over the top with her acting and the second ML was clearly out of his league. Watching him vs the ML it was glaring how much of a gap there was. Hopefully he gets better over time. I liked the relationship between the ML and FL leads. While they were not overly romantic, it was mutual trust and caring for each other. I look at that as more realistic and lasting love vs the physical love. SPOILER ....I also really liked that the 2 brothers didn't turn on each other and remained close despite some instances where there seemed to be a distance,
I love the family relationships with the FL and her family - both her real family and her adopted assassin brothers
The story was solid, maybe a little too long, but it kept me interested. Again I was happy to see the FL being friends with the Princess (other wife) and good friends with her sister-in-law. Of course the adopted sister was bad, but that was the only harem type action besides the royal mother. With that said it was more interesting than a Princess Weiyoung where the ML was stupid 90% of the show, and everyone was a cardboard villain or harem girl. However, it wasn't the most complex plot either. Do not confuse this with The Rise of the Phoenixes.
Here's what I didn't like....
The last villain, I get why he did it but it was like all of a sudden here's the "real" mastermind out of no where, but we will still solve that in like 2 episodes. It took over 30 to remove the first bad guy and he was being used by he mastermind. Crazy how easy it was to catch him.
The production value was OK, clearly not a giant budget and shows should stop showing people riding horses in closeup... it looked so bad I laughed out loud.
Music was OK, I cannot say I remembered any songs or melodies. One background music sounded like music from another show so it was distracting.
The ending was not as bad as Princess Agents, but I have no idea what it meant. SPOILER.....Some people say she wasn't;t dead and the 3 year time jump was there little cottage where he was protecting her from emperor's edict. That doesn't;t make sense because the Prince was happy and had an imperial order, so there was no reason to hide her other than to prevent gossip? of course why the FL would drink poison and give up so easy is a mystery, unless she really didn't want to cause any additional issues for him (I mean the bleeding knees from kneeling, etc.) but if that is the case where was her body. My take is that she killed herself with the poison in the garden and on the swing. He basically is in denial and couldn't;t see her as dead (so no body on scree) and 3 years later he goes to the cottage and cooks all of the food poorly like she did and basically still acts like she is alive. Probably not worth watching the last episode since there is no closure (other than the new laws are god and helping people and the ML and second ML have really ugly looking mustaches!)
Overall... I have this as an 8/10. I may change it after a bit, I tend to make my reviews even lower the longer I think about a show.
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Most Annoying Drama winner
Let me start by stating this up front Bai Lin is the single most annoying character I have ever seen in a TV show. She has literally passed Bai Feng Jiu from TMOPB as the character I hate the most (and that is saying a lot). While Bai Lin was not the main character but a friend of the FL, she ruined an already not mediocre show to the point I actually hate the show. I feel sick whenever she is on the screenNow for the the actual show. The story is a hot mess all over the place. it was an ok show and then i think it didn't know what to do and then just deteriorated to the point of awful. The show has been labelled a grown-up romance and more real life. To some extent that is true. The main FL is middling to annoying. She has really no depth and there could have been so much they could have done with the character. Like the pressure of having her father being a hero and how she couldn't live with the expectations. Instead of that they went the easy route, the ML is a workaholic, oh wait now he is an alcoholic (although they showed him drinking vodka, wine after the play, and the drink while on the diving vacation which is crazy), oh did we mention he has anger issues and bit his cousin when he was younger, oh and he is borderline autistic and cannot express himself. The victim FL is perfect while the ML is the cause of all of their issues. I mean that seems realistic, After the first couple, their is Bai Lin the most annoying, screeching and yelling female and her abused boyfriend. I mean in this case he was clearly the victim. Then their is Song Qi Qi having an affair with a married man.... sorry but I do not feel sorry for her. I hate the whole husband cheats cause he is unhappy and his wife doesn't understand him. It's disrespectful to marriages and wives. The only character i actually liked was Zhao Xiao Tang, although I think she should have followed her dream and study abroad.
EDITED - the ended was even more all over the place. should have stopped watching at like episode 12
Acting was mediocre to terrible. The only bright spot was the ML. I mean the character was all over the place but his acting was spot on when he was autistic, alcoholic, angry, etc. I think the character must need therapy, but I appreciated the acting. Again the actress playing Bai Lin should give up acting.
Music and production were just blah, nothing special.
The one thing I did appreciate was at least it was a college show where they took classes. That was a nice change,
Overall - probably the worst C-Drama I have ever watched. I wanted to give rewatch value 0
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