Joy of Life (2019)

Quick review this gem

STORY
The story of this drama is amazing and I cannot stress out how hooked I was. The first few eps maybe not be appealing but TRUST ME, KEEP GOING. The story line is EXTREMELY UNPREDICTABLE.

ACTING AND CASTING
The main actor may not be attractive to many people but the story is all that matters and you will grow to love him. Everyone else did an amazing job at acting and I would not change a bit. I loveeeeee WU ZU SHU!

MUSIC
Sometimes I feel like there are random instrumental tracks that reminded me of Dora the Explorer. Although I didnt think that that track was suitable for the era of drama it doesn't make much of a difference.

REWATCH VALUE
I REWATCHED THIS DRAMA 20 TIMES ALREADY SO 1000000000/10

OVERLL
Overall this is my top favourite drama of all time. I feel bad for those who do not understand Chinese because you are missing out on the poems and language that cannot be translated into English subs.

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Must Watch!

The plot is thick. what make it different from other drama? the detail in each episode for "twist" in later episode. in short, the twist is well prepared!

the scene is funny! i.e. the scene where he is holding chicken leg, putting chicken leg in a box, "aprosidiac scene", and many other scene.

the Male Lead is smart and "shameless".

season 1 story is mostly about politic, i guess season 2 story focus on "fantasy" part of this story (about divine temple). like "Ever Night" in season 1 (politic and revenge) and season 2 (divination of ever night)

recommended!

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One of the best C-drama i have ever watched, there wasn't a single boring plotline & i did not fast forward any scenes. Excellent acting from all the cast including the supporting role. My favourite is definetely the Fan family , they are the only ones who truly care & support each other whereas the rest has a hidden agenda beneath. I also admired Fei jie & despite his sloppy appearance he is a true leader , seeing how united his team was from the investigation bureau even without his presence,( his team go all out to protect Fan Xian when he is in trouble). There is a right balance of comedy, drama & suspense at end of each episode. The only bummer was the cliffhanger ending! I had to wait another 2 years , that is a torture for the fans. If you pay close attention, you will be able to figure out who is the big boss /ultimate villain in the end, i managed to guess it

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I have watched many dramas before, but this drama is one of the best with great acting, plot, and production. In my opinion (not to compare it or anything), I think this drama is on par with Nirvana in Fire. Every episode kept me on my toes with multiple schemes and plots being played out. Romance isn't a huge part of the drama, but it is such a cute part of the story. Fan Xian is not a weak protagonist, but he did say he wanted to live a carefree life without being involved in too many complicated plots. Joy of Life gives all its characters, no matter how minor, a coherent background. There's a perfect balance between seriousness and comedy in this drama that I did not know could happen. One of the best dramas I have ever watched and I am looking forward to season 2!

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The drama starts to pick up at around episode 12. The first 10 episodes were slow with Fan Xian and Waner trying to find each other and cancel their engagement until they found out that they were actually engaged to each other. Then, the story starts to pick up with never-ending political intrigue mixed with comedy and drama.

Fan Xian was a complicated character. He comes off as goofy and happy-go-lucky. In reality, he was calculating, manipulative, loyal, and has a strong sense of justice. His goal was to build a better world but outsmarting and getting ahead of the powerhouse that is trying to kill him proved to be harder than he thought. The story did a great job at building up the intrigue and political drama in a very interesting and clever way without being draggy. However, the plot didn't quite explain Fan Xian's visions, where they came from, and his origins. At the beginning it was a rebirth backwards story. But it seemed to be more of a time travel story with Xian's mother traveling back in time bringing future technology, but the writers never truly explained it.

The romance needed work. The first 10 episodes were spent on ML and FL trying to find each other. After they finally figured out that they were actually engaged to each other, the romance fizzled out and FL gradually disappeared. Honestly, Fan Xian had a lot more chemistry with every other woman he interacted with than Waner. The fighting "dance" with the saintress made me question where the writers were going with this and why Fan Xian was even in love with Waner.

One of the best things about this drama was the goofy soundtrack with silly background music during fighting sequences.

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Super brilliant drama

I know this drama had a high rating but i don't have any expectation. I don't usually watch political drama but this JoL is brilliant. I can't believe I'm finishing this drama. Super amazing plot and twist that make me crazy haha lol.
I have watched other period cdrama but in this JoL I love how FX and the step mother can get along and support each other. And i like how the each character that has strength and power help FX.
FX brother so hilarious and FX sister i think she is strong and smart women too.
This drama has a unique story from the first episode. a story full of surprises, strategy and the unexpected. characters that will be remembered (at least, remembered with strong, clever and tactical characteristics).
I'm more shock with the ending, so Because of the curiosity I'm reading the last part of the novel. And now I know, how to breath in joy haha. I hope you enjoy this story too ^^

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Best acting i have ever seen.

minus the time travelling part. this has to be one of my favorite dramas of all time. the strongest acting and chemistry i have ever seen. it was like every single person was born to play their part. even the child actor is amazing. there was literally 1 scene in the entire drama i can say the acting was not 100% perfect. the chemistry between all actors is spectacular.

if you have not watch it. DONT, they might film season 2 sometimes in 2021, you will regret every moment after you finished it. took me several days just to cope with the fact this show finished.its that good, here we are 30 dramas after just so i can stop being sad. this is a drama that needs to be binged watched all 3 seasons and all your 1000 questions answered. hopefully the acting will be as strong season two with the same cast.

and for all your king haters. i love this characters. probably my favourite.

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Unexpectedly hilarious royal politics cdrama

Unexpectedly hilarious royal politics cdrama with a sassy, jovial, badass protagonist who aspired to just enjoy life, only to be embroiled in royal politics within and between two warring states (Qing and Qi) as he began to uncover the truth of who wanted him dead, and the truth of the death of his mom. The protagonist Fan Xian sizzles with the veteran co-stars (Qing Emperor, Chen Ping Ping, Wang Qi Nian and Teng Zi Jing) and with not the FL, but the equally badass Haitang Duo Duo.

Joy of Life effortlessly stands out as an enjoyable transition series of the MDL top-ranked costume cdrama trilogy, with a good mix of political scheming seen in Nirvana in Fire and hilarious comedic antics from a sassy, badass, frivolous protagonist with a pure righteous heart, seen in The Untamed.

The sci-fic/time travel elements and cliffhanger ending dent an otherwise brilliant, credible and enjoyable Season 1. A peep at the baidu page on the JOL novel on how the story will continue, especially the Qi King, is kinda wildly absurd plot-wise for me. That said, I’m still eagerly looking forward to Season 2, especially if Xiao Zhan continues as Yan Bing Yun, to see the growth of both Yan Bing Yun’s character and Xiao Zhan’s performance, plus Xiao Zhan’s chemistry with Zhang Ruo Yun’s Fan Xian and the veteran co-stars.

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Low expectation but ended up Jaw dropping

Story
Before i watch this drama, i just finished watching Nirvana in Fire i think NIV is of the best drama that can pair with Game of Thrones in this genre. But after i watch Joy of Life, damn...i find another historical drama with intense political intrigue as good as NIV. The better thing in Joy of Life, there is not only one hella smart person, there are many ! (Fan Xian, Emperor of Qing, Chen Ping Ping, Shen Zong even the unexpected one - the 2nd Prince! ).
I love the ending how Yan Bing Yun choose to kill Fan Xian, it's going to be more intense later when someday he will find the truth about his real identity as Xiao En's grandson and he finds out that Fan Xian has known it for long time and choose to hide it considering this truth will ruin Yan's life.
Finally can't wait to see Fan Xian resurrected and i believe he will get more memories about his past life.

Cast : more than Excellent !
Honestly i dont know much about Zhang Ruo Yun but must admit it..the cast director did a great job to choose him as male lead. He has so many facial expressions and i love it. He can potray Fan Xian very well ! smart, manipulative, deliquent, loyal friend and easy to win people's heart.

Music : overall is good, only there is one part that sound likes Italian modern music which is not suit for historical drama.

Rewatch : Do it if you have spare times. But i prefer to move on to my wishlist drama that i haven't watched yet.

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Dizinin hayranı değilim

Merhabalar Joy of Life dizisini tam 5 kere başlayıp 10, bölümde sıkılarak bırakmıştım bu sefer sebat ederek 1. sezonu bitirebildim.
Hikaye öyle incelemelerde anlatıldığı gibi olağanüstü değildi bazı inceleme yazılarında Nirvana of Fire ile kıyaslanmış Nirvana of Fire'ın yanına bile yaklaşamaz modern çağdan başlayarak tarihi olayların içine geçiş yapan ve sadece sakin ve eğlenceli bir hayat yaşamak isteyen sevdiği ile eğlenmek ve evlenmek arzusu olan bir gencin etrafında dönen entrikalarla ve güç mücadelesinin anlatan bir hikaye hikayede Fan Xian a annesinin yazdığı mektup dışında bilim kurgu dan eser olmayan ama konusu anlatılırken 21.yy anılarıyla doğan cümlesinden dolayı senaristin dizinin içine annesinden mektup sahnesini eklemek zorunda kaldığı bir hikaye olmuş hikaye ye bir sürü 9. seviye de olan ustalar var her ne kadar hikaye bu ustaların üzerine kurulmamış olsa da dövüş sahneleri ni ve ustaların özelliklerini gerektiği gibi izleyemedik yine de tüm olumsuzluklara rağmen diğer diziler gibi severek izlediğim bir dizi oldu bir açıkçası bir İngeneous One ve Nirvana in Fire değildi
Oyuınculara gelecek olursak kadın başrol oyuncusu hariç hemen hepsini sevdim rollerine oldukça yakışmıştı kadın başrol oyuncusunu hiç sevmem senarist kadını son dere naif ve kırılgan göstermiş Fan Xian ın yanında biraz aptal gibi durdu bu kadar entrikalara ve güç savaşının içinde satranç oyunu gibi oyunlar oynayan Fan Xian ın yanına Haitang Doudou daha çok yakıştı
Dizinin müzikleri orta karardı sevdim daha iyi müzikler ve jenerik müzikleri olan dizileri seyrettiğimi hatırlıyorum
Tekrar izlenme değeri bana göre hiç yok bir kere seyredilip geçilecek dizilerden 2. sezon ve 3. sezon konusunun devamı açısından seyredilebilir onları da bir sefer seyredeceğimi düşünüyorum
Genel olarak değerlendirirsek vakit geçirmek için seyredilebilir ben olağanüstü bulmadım
Sonuç olarak yine oyuncusundan yapımcısına ve yönetmenine kadar tüm ekip olarak bir emek verilmiş yayında ve yapımda emeği olan herkese teşekkür ederiz.
2 sezona geçtim onuda tamamlayınca bir inceleme yazısı yazarım umarım 2. sezon birinci sezondan daha olur

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Good concept & great implementation. A MUST WATCH

This series is so worth the time to watch. It is different from typical period story. Actors did excellently and portrayed their characters well. I only wish that they introduced the series with the story of the lead male mother. Interesting to see the development of the story explaining her but it seems lacking and minimized. Although her story seemed she was loved & admired by many men, it didn’t really highlight as to why.
The blind martial arts mentor could be explored more. I love his character. I was wishing for more story on him.
I just realized Xiao zhang is in the cast and missed it in ep 38. I was so engrossed in the story, I glossed over his short appearance.
PLEASE PLEASE RELEASE SEASON 2 SOON!!!
I’m glad there’s a season 2 being prepared for this series.
Ending is now acceptable for me since there is a sequel coming.

7/16/23 - When is the second season coming??? I am anticipating this season 2.

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Everyone loves Fan Xian

I’m late to the party and I apologise for this. JoY slipped past me when it was released in 2019. With season 2 coming, I though, it is time to take the plunge.

Seeing that there are dozens of reviews, I don’t see much point in breaking down the series in the usual way. I’ll just shares some thoughts and my expectations for the new season.

I know this will be heresy to some, but the show didn’t hook me at first. I did binge watched it and really enjoyed the series in the end. However, it was more due to perseverance than the classic “unmissable from the first scene!” vibe. In hindsight, I think there are several reasons but chiefly, the show was always meant to have more than 1 season so the first 46 eps are just a long way to set up the overarching main plot. I can see a parallel with The Fellowship of the Ring. That movie was a little unfocused and stilted compared to the rest of the LoTR series too and for a good reason.

Another aspect is that the ML is a bit annoying at first. Those were the days when you are literally asking for a beating just by looking at an official the wrong way and yet the ML is so cocksure that he is thumbing his nose at all and sundry and he gets away with it. It all make sense later on but it didn’t leave a great first impression.

This leads us to the next point; the ML really leads a charmed life. He can pull off crazy stints and “lucky” escapes. It might be fun to watch but when you consider the seriousness of the various plots, it does feel a bit flippant. This also runs contrary to the notion that the ML is smart, resourceful and strong but then he’d get “rescued” repeatedly.

I am happy to see the love line between Xian and Wan’er being so sweet and straightforward. It could have been so messy like in many other costume dramas. Small blessing, I suppose. However, in a nod to the classic martial arts novels of the last century, almost every eligible bachelorette is falling in love with Fan Xian. I can certainly see the attraction and he will need a big stick to fend them off in S2.

The OST is nice, especially the main themes. However, the show does have this habit of using some zany, jazzy music to signal a funny scene. It is a valid technique but it is more suited to a modern sitcom than an historical drama. It can be quite jarring at times.

In the end, there are plots within plots and secrets hiding more secrets so I’m not surprised that it will take over 100 eps to see it to conclusion. It is looking promising for the next season and if the production value and acting is maintained (more likely to be surpassed) then it should be an even bigger hit. The heightened expectations will ensure that.

All in all, it was worth the hype. Not quite the best costume drama I have ever watched but it certainly sets up the next season nicely. The unveiling story left me with more questions than answers. Bring on season 2!

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