Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (2021)

Rewatching because it’s so good

ML & FL have strong beautiful chemistry. They should do a modern drama together as a couple. This drama gives you so many emotions. I love how their relationship develops and how ML is over protective of FL. ML is faithful to his friend, the Emperor. However, he is over protective of FL, Yang Mi. I am rewatching for the third time. I love that the ML is clear about his feelings for only her even when he tries to fight his feelings but gets jealous of her easily. Especially, when others pay attention to her. He is attracted to her especially when she dresses as the female she is instead of his student. All characters are good in their roles though some are hard to like because of the things they do.

Lire davantage

Just watch and keep watching

This drama has a very beautiful story line but be prepare for tissue has I cried my eyes out at some parts of the drama. At first when I started watching the drama, I couldn't get into it, but after the 3rd or 4th eps, I couldn't stop watching and binge it.

With Yang Mi being the FL as Fang Hai Shi/Ye Hai Shi and William Chan, ML as Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming. I would say its a perfect couple.

This drama is not just about romance but mixed with very good martial arts scene, and of course story line. Hai Shi is a female but pretends to be a male 90% of the drama. As Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming manages Jifeng Pavilion to protect Emperor Xu. Hai Shi slowly develops feelings for Jian Ming, who is her master. She is pushed away and is feeling abandoned by him as Jian Ming and Emperor Xu has a baixi. (Baixi is explain later on in the story) Jian Ming had made an oath to protect Emperor Xu and doesn't want to love as he could die anytime due to the baixi. Hai Shi then decides to leave the city and go north to guards the boarder and is away from Jian Ming. Whenever Jian Ming hears something goes wrong or when Hai Shi is in danger or gets hurt, he goes out of his way to save her and protect her. The relationship with them is a roller coaster. The ending could have ended with ep 46, but they couldn't as we didn't know who the mastermind was and it was explained in 47 & 48.

There was parts of the drama that could have been explained better or not cut out as it wasn't explained well, like the cliff part (won't spoil more than I have) and of course in the ending. Which makes me so mad of how they ended it as it didn't need to have so many flashbacks throughout the whole drama or shortened the flashback as there was too many/too long. But honestly, no wuxia drama has a happy ending.

The OST can be listen to over and over again as Zhang Bi Chen - 鐫刻 (Engraved) for opening OST, as we know Zhang Bi Chen (Diamond Zhang) is known in most OST dramas as we all love her songs. As for Zhou Shen - 以無旁騖之吻 (Undisturbed kiss ) ending OST and it is just so good and calming like her 大魚 (Big Fish).

Favourite quotes:
"They all say that when people are dying, they will see the most cherished people in this life. I didn't believe it at first, but it turned out to be Master, the person I love. So, although not reconciled, but also feel no regrets" - Hai Shi
「他們都說人在彌留之中，會看到此生最珍惜的人。我原是不信的，可是原來是師父呀，是我所愛之人。如此，雖不甘心，但也覺得沒有遺憾了。」 - 海市


"How could I not like you, no one knows how much I cherish you" - Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming
「我怎麼會不喜歡你， 沒人知道 ，我有多珍愛你。」- 方諸/方鑒明

“I’ll find my true love and never be apart” - Zhou You Du
「願得一人不相離。」- 週幼度

"I have no regrets. I want to tell Master that what I have experienced today is unique to others. Meeting Master is one of the few blessings in my life. I don't regret meeting you, before, now, and in the future, I will never regret meeting you" - Hai Shi
「我不後悔，我想跟師父說，我今日的遭遇與人無尤，遇見師父，是我今生中少有的幾件幸事。我不後悔遇見你，從前、而今、往後，我永遠都不後悔遇見你。」- 海市


"I do have a person in my heart, and I hope to spend the rest of my life with her in a boat on the river and sea." - Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming
「我心裡確實有一個人，我希望可以跟她泛舟江海，共度餘生。」- 方諸/方鑒明


"In the past, I only wanted to read and spend my life with you, Qing Gengyu, and only cared about my own happiness. I realized today that you will no longer be the Ching Hai Gong of the Liu Shan Fang clan, and you will no longer be able to mobilize the Jifeng Pavilion. You can't even go back to the temple to worship your ancestors, you really paid too much for me." - Hai Shi
「我以前只想著和你晴耕雨讀、共度一生，只顧著自己高興了，我今日才意識到，你以後再也不是流觴方氏的清海公，也沒辦法再調動霽風館暗衛營了。甚至你都不能回廟堂中祭拜自己的祖先，你為我真的付出太多了。」- 海市


"In the past, I refused to let go because I wanted to atone for the mistakes I made. Without you, Majesty and I will only be tied together for a lifetime, and we will embark on a life without end. But you showed up and let me know that there are other options in life, I've never tried to live so easily and happily" - Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming
「從前的我不肯放手，是想贖清我犯下的錯誤。如果沒有你，我跟陛下只會沉重的綁著一輩子，走上沒有終結的一生。但你出現了，讓我知道人生還有另外的選擇，我從來沒有試過像現在過得這麼輕鬆和快樂。」- 方諸/方鑒明


"How great it would have been if you had appeared during the best years of my life." - Fang Zhu/Fang Jian Ming
「如果你在我最美好年華的時候出現，該有多好。」- 方諸/方鑒明

Lire davantage

The story can make the audience feel the turbulance, its a great story, the romance, the politic, and the frendship is so good

For the acting, Yang Mi once more approved that she is the Goddess, and she can act any caracter with so powerfull and so natural. And She always could influenced and bring her ML, to improved the skill acting. And you can see with William Chan acting and Xu Kaicheng acting are improved so much in the novoland (that I never see them in other their film before)

The Song so beautiful and bring every story to be more powerfull

Novoland will be on my unconted rewatched film like ten miles and Fuyao ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Lire davantage

Great drama to watch overall.

I quite enjoyed the show. I don't think I have ever made an effort to watch a drama every day since it premiered.

First off, let me just say the synopsis that you are probably reading is wrong. Apparently, the synopsis is based on the book that is the source material for the drama. I've not read the book and I have no plans to since from all the feedback posted about it, it's quite dark. I watch dramas to get entertained, period. And to be entertained there must be a narrative that's interesting to watch. Sad, gloomy, and depressing stories are not for me. There is no love triangle. But there are sweet pairings that you want to cheer for. There is action, some political intrigue, a bit of supernational, and a lot of interesting relationships - between brothers, friends, and lovers. It is not a romance drama but what a ride it has been from beginning to end. What I liked was that each character in the story had growth throughout the drama. That being said, I found the last episode to be disappointing. It felt disconnected from the rest of the narrative. There was no proper build-up leading to the end so for me, it felt flat. I would the story a 10 if not for this rushed ending that felt out of sync with the rest of the drama.

I've liked Yang Mi in TMPB and LOF but I think character-wise, Hashi is my favorite. Her character development was great to watch. From being a young girl to a tomboy with fantastic martial arts and archery skills to a woman with substance and depth, it was great to watch. The action scenes especially in Episode 13-14 were fantastic. It gave me a feeling of watching a female Legolas in Lord of the Rings.

It's the first time I've watched William Chen in a drama and overall I have no complaints. I think the main issue with the comments of no chemistry is not because of William Chem and Yang Mi but the execution of the romantic scenes was just not handled correctly. A lot of slow-motion sequences that just went nowhere and the one kiss that we were all looking forward to was blurred after 2 seconds. To be honest, I don't get it but it is what it is.

For the rest of the cast, I thought they were good and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. Like everyone else, I loved the Mu De Qing, Zhao Zi, and Zhou You Du.

The music is great overall although I still think Ancient Love Poetry still had the best OST for the year. The cinematography was beautiful. The sets were fantastic I especially liked Zhaoming Palace. The customs were beautiful. Emperor Xu, Zizan, and Tilan's gowns were fantastic. Hashi in the light pink gown was just gorgeous but then she was also beautiful wearing that black light armor with the white embroidery in episode 14. And may I just say, William Chen in armor on horseback was just fabulous to watch. I'm just so impressed with the overall production quality of the drama as a whole. It will be tough to find another drama so well done anytime soon.

Lire davantage

Amazing production with solid plot and interesting characters.

It has been a long time that a drama kept me interested until last episode !
Novoland: Pearl Eclipse's story is nicely built up and you want to see more and more until the last 48th episode.

I loved everything about this drama; the witty dialogues, the bromance between Xu and Jiangmin, the Eunuch who is so kind and pure to the emperor, the love between Jifeng brothers ... every part of the story is beautifully assembled to keep us craving for more at every episode.

Novoland: Pearl Eclipse disrupted the usual C drama dialogues and surprised you with twists and jokes.
The script is brilliantly written. But has nothing to envy to the scenery that is breathtaking or the fight scenes that are so well filmed and choreographed.

I will recommend you to watch this drama, even if you havent seen the previous released Novoland dramas or the read the books. It will not ruin your experience and will love this drama as much.

Lire davantage

UNPOPULAR OPINION: I LOVE THE THIRD COUPLE WAY MORE THAN THE 1st and 2nd LEAD COUPLES

I started off watching this series for the leading couple but in the end, I ended up watching this series for the third leading couple and their storyline. I seriously love the chemistry between Zhuoying and Zheliu! Just the small jesters and antics he would do for her and vice versa was so beautiful and in my opinion spot on. The scene that convinced me and sucked me into their love story was the scene where he gave her a bracelet as a gift. He didn't just straight up say "yo girl I like you, here's a bracelet" but I love how he approached her and slid the bracelet down to her fingers as she is learning how to blind sew. Even though there was no dialogue, how the acting unfolded and portrayed his love and interest in her spoke way louder and so much better than any dialogue can! In all honesty, I loved their love story way more and wish that both actors would have had more screen time and that there would have been more added to their plotline. I seriously wished they would have shown us how he found her...

In all honesty, I could not make out the chemistry between the 1st leading couples which disappointed me greatly. I love Yang Mi but seeing how her chemistry was better with other leads in other series compared to this one was a letdown for me. I didn't like it that they made her come off like everything was in her head and it was all a one-sided love. I understand William Chan had to play the classic stone-cold shifu however, he could have been able to express his love for Yang Mi's character through his eyes. There were moments where there was something but it would quickly leave just as it came. The most romance you will see between the two is the last episode.

I loved the second lead couple too but was not really huge in the abuse Tilan was receiving from the Emperor in the first couple of episodes. I would say that him almost losing her the first time made me appreciate his jesters to her later. Despite us knowing that the two of them would end up dying in the end, I would say they did have an interesting relationship.

Lire davantage

love it

I really like

The chemistry of the players is good, the depiction of the past is also okay. the story is quite interesting. I repeat watching it.

Even though it's colossal, there are still scenes that make us laugh.

one of the colossal drama spectacles that should not be missed.

There is no struggle for love, their love story is mature, there is no evil party that makes you want to slam things when watching it...

The depiction of a student's love for his teacher is good, willing to pursue, because he knows they like each other and protect each other.

Lire davantage

Yang Mi played Haishi very well

This is a very amazing show. Yang Mi is sooo beautiful！🥰 The production team is very attentive and the pictures are very shocking. The story makes me feel both funny and sad. I like Haishi's character very much. She is brave, firm, smart, and pursues bravely when she fall in love.. She is really a perfect girl. I wish her happiness.
However, I don't like that the male protagonist never treats HaiShi as an independent person. He is always does not give HaiShi the opportunity to choose by herself, He should learn to respect women！I believe she can do a good job, and if he is willing to believe in her ability, the outcome may be different.
ps: Yang Mi really gave Haishi a soul, she is really a born actor, she is amazing！I hope she can get better and better！💕

Lire davantage

Get ready for a bucket full of tears

Guess most of you probably already know even before starting to watch the drama, this is going to be somewhat tragic. To some extent, it's not a sad ending but the journey towards it is definitely a very difficult one.

This drama touches on a lot of things - friendship, love, sacrifice, love for the country and comradeship.

Parts I really love about the drama:
1) The friendship between the emperor and Fang Jian Ming. They both grew up together and were technically stuck together because of the Baixi. The depth of trust between the two are even stronger than blood siblings. It's always nice to see a good bond between friends who understand and trust each other.

2) The emperor character. You can either hate the emperor or love the emperor. In this case, I love the character. He is not the most perfect person but he is very real. He has every reason to be unhappy with his life - lost the love of his life, stripped off his freedom, stuck in a role he did not sign up for and can't even feel basic physical pain. Regardless, he stayed alive simply because he was put to the task and felt the responsibility to run the country well. Putting yourself into his shoes, you would kind of understand why he acted the way he did.

3) The fight scenes. The production and execution of the whole drama in general is quite top-notch. However, the fight scenes are really the ones that impressed me. Hai Shi, Jian Ming and even the emperor have really distinct styles in their martial arts. That part was portrayed very well in the drama.

Parts I dislike about the drama:
1) Hai Shi and Jian Ming's relationship. I know, I know. Why watch the drama if I don't even like their relationship in the first place? For one, their age don't add up. Forgive me, but it's kind of difficult to digest the fact that the age gap between the both of them is acceptable seeing how Jian Ming practically raised Hai Shi (like a father / sifu).

2) The progression of the relationship between Hai Shi and Jian Ming. There are so many things that are unnecessary. Jian Ming hiding almost EVERY SINGLE THING from Hai Shi cause he's "worried" about her safety; how he pushed her away almost all the way to the end of the drama. It seems like they keep going back to square one and it's quite tiring to watch.

-- MAJOR SPOILER --

3) The evil mastermind behind the whole coup towards the end of the drama is actually quite "meh". To be honest, they have been building up the tension about the evil mastermind for so long, I kind of expect the character to be more "evil" or at least have deeper attachment throughout the drama.

In general, I am quite impressed with the plot. This is not your usual romance drama which is very refreshing to watch. Will I watch again? No, cause it's simply a bit too intense for round 2. Will I recommend the drama? For sure.

Lire davantage

Selfless People Don't Deserve Selfish Happiness

Is it me or all Novoland series end too realitically or sadly. Heartbreaking.

Pearl Eclipse tells us the story of FHS who had to be disguised as man most her life under the instructions of her master FJM. The story also includes an emperor CZX whose a bit cray cray, a princess, TL who looks like his deceased wife and my favorite of all FZY and ZL.

It took me a while to finish this series for these reasons:
-I just ain't feeling the spark between FHZ and FJM. The unrequited love got dragged too long if you ask me.
-Youdu got me a second lead syndrome. His graceful entry and exit was just too awesome a tad heart wrenching for me.
-When the emperor is emotionally and mentally abusing TL because she looks like her sister and keeps being reminded of his lost love. I can't bear watching the torment.
-So little was shown of FZY when he got back to Huku. But it kinda made sense. Lol.


What I like:
-The pure innocent love between FZY and ZL. Seriously they deserve to bw together.
-Badass FHS, she kicked a** as a soldier and as a consort. She's smart and understanda the importance of looking at the big picture at the expense of sacrifices but it does not  mean that she can't throw a fit and get mad at her master, FJM.
-The love and hate relationship of FJM and CZX, after the hell they've been through one would kinda understand the emperor. They are tied together in a sense.
-The kindred friendship of TL and FHS. Opposites attract indeed, the contrast of TL and FHS was clear and it made their bond more stronger.

FJM taught FHS well. They both know they deserve to be together but circumstances tore them apart. It's for the good of the empire, so who cares about their happiness. Which is the opposite of TL and CZX, they decided to die together at the expense of leaving an orphan heir to the throne and a huge burden and responsibility for FHS to bear. I mean FJM is supposed to be dead, so he may be in hiding after the battle and he's the grand mentor. He can't die. As I said for the sake of many they forgo their own happiness. Ergo, I love you, You love me. It's not meant to be.

The acting is great. YM as FHS is her element and expertise. WC, it took me awhile  to warm up to his FJM. But these pairing lack chemistry IMO. Youdu and FHS could have been better. Haha. I've see XKC in other works and I should say his acting here is par with the other to main leads.  The rest of the cast did great too.

The osts are remarkably matched with the flow of the series.

This is a one time watch. I would never watch this again.

Lire davantage

Cerita yang penuh makna, meski menyedihkan

Saya tidak sengaja bertemu dengan drama ini dari trailer dan free episode-nya di kanal WeTV di Youtube. Sebelumnya, saya telah menonton beberapa drama yang dibintangi oleh Yang Mi (Three Miles of Peach Blossom dan Legend of Fuyao), jadi saya ingin tahu seperti apa drama yang dibintangi Yang Mi kali ini. Di dua dramanya sebelumnya, kesan yang saya dapatkan kurang positif karena saya tidak begitu suka ending di mana tokoh utama setelah mati, bisa hidup lagi, khas trope drama-drama Tiongkok. Bagi saya, trope seperti ini tidak masuk akal. Di Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini, saya sempat khawatir karena membaca berbagai komentar penonton yang mengandung spoiler dan sinopsis di berbagai situs yang mengikuti resensi novelnya. Saya hampir menyerah di awal karena membaca bahwa Haishi yang diperankan Yang Mi akan masuk ke istana dan menjadi selir dan akhirnya seorang ratu, dan selama perjalanannya terlibat cinta segitiga yang berakhir super sedih dan tragis.

Ternyata, prediksi banyak penonton dan bahkan sinopsis yang sudah beredar tentang drama ini kebanyakan keliru (tidak menggambarkan ceritanya yang sebenarnya). Drama ini memang mengadaptasi dari novel, tetapi alur ceritanya benar-benar mengambil jalan lain yang benar-benar saya apresiasi. Karena jalan cerita yang berbeda inilah, saya jatuh cinta dengan drama ini sampai setelah seluruh episodenya selesai, saya menonton ulang sampai tiga kali untuk menangkap maksud dan detail-detailnya secara lebih baik. Saya pun menyukai soundtrack-nya dan rutin mendengarkannya ulang sebagai teman saya bekerja.

Keseluruhan 9,5/10

Drama ini menceritakan tentang kesetiaan tiga pasang kekasih dan perjalanan hidup dan cinta mereka (jadi, bukan cinta segitiga yang penuh persaingan). Pasangan pertama adalah Fang Jianming/ Fang Zhu (William Chan) dan Haishi (Yang Mi). Kedua adalah kaisar Dixu (Xu Kaicheng) dan selirnya, Tilan (Chen Xiao Yun). Ketiga, saudara angkat Haishi, Fang Zhouying (Wang Sen), dan Zhe Liu (Yuan Yu Xuan). Ketiga pasang kekasih ini memiliki kisahnya masing-masing yang unik dan sangat mengena di hati saya karena character development-nya. Di antara keenam tokoh tersebut, yang ingin saya ulas adalah Fang Jianming. Fang Jianming memiliki kisah yang paling lengkap, jelas dan kompleks jika dibandingkan kelima tokoh lainnya. Bagi saya, drama ini bukan kisah tentang Haishi (meski semua orang menerimanya seperti itu), tetapi tentang Fang Jianming. Jika kita perhatikan, keputusan-keputusan yang diambilnya adalah yang membuat cerita dalam Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini ada dan bergerak maju. Haishi "hanyalah" karakter yang tiba-tiba muncul di tengah perjalanan hidupnya dan mempengaruhi pengambilan keputusannya di separuh akhir masa hidupnya.

Apa jadinya jika Fang Jianming bukan seorang patriot yang cinta pada negaranya? Dia tidak akan berkorban diri menjadi Baixi bagi kaisar dan menyelamatkan kerajaan dengan menumpas pemberontakan. Dia tidak akan memalsukan kematiannya, mengenakan topeng , dan menjadi Fang Zhu, komandan kesatuan rahasia yang bekerja membunuh musuh-musuh kaisar dan melindungi perdamaian. Dia tidak akan menangkap kesan bahwa Haishi yang masih kanak-kanak akan menjadi sosok penting bagi masa depan kerajaan Dazheng, menyelamatkan hidupnya, dan menawarkannya untuk ikut bersamanya ke ibukota dan menjadi muridnya. Fang Jianming bisa dikatakan adalah berkah bagi Haishi, Fang Zhouying, bahkan kaisar, Tilan, dan Zhe Liu. Dia rela berkorban, tangguh menghadapi penderitaan, berpikir jauh ke depan, dan memikirkan kebaikan orang-orang di sekitarnya meski pada awalnya itu tampak menyakiti mereka. Berulang kali ia menjadi korban kesalahpahaman dan tersakiti akibat itu tanpa membela diri. Sosok Fang Jianming dirangkum dengan sangat baik oleh Haishi dalam kalimat ini:

"Beberapa tahun ini kau melakukan banyak hal demi rakyat, Kaisar, dan Dazheng. Namun, tak ada yang sungguh-sungguh melakukan sesuatu untukmu. Kali ini giliranku melakukan sesuatu untukmu. Biarkan aku melindungimu." (Ep. 43)

Cinta Haishi pada Fang Jianming menjadi begitu istimewa, bermakna dan bernilai jika kita memahami perjalanan hidup Fang Jianming. Ini yang menjadikan romansa di dalam drama ini jadi tidak "recehan". Cinta Haishi memang sesuatu yang sangat dibutuhkan Fang Jianming dan bersumber dari pemahaman Haishi tentang perjalanan hidup, tanggung jawab dan kepribadian Fang Jianming. Ini tidak seperti drama-drama percintaan pada umumnya di mana tokoh utama pria dan wanita ditakdirkan untuk mencintai "tanpa sebab". Meski banyak penonton mengeluhkan asmara di antara keduanya tumbuh amat lambat dan adegan percintaan antara Haishi dan Fang Jianming relatif sedikit, pilihan sutradara akan jalan cerita yang seperti ini bisa dimengeri dan diterima. Cinta itu tidak hanya soal hasrat antara pria dan wanita, tetapi juga pengertian, komitmen, kebersamaan, dan pengorbanan.

Menurut saya, cerita Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini dapat disajikan lebih baik lagi jika sejak awal menggunakan perspektif Haishi dan Fang Jianming secara seimbang dan kuat, bahwa cerita ini sejak awal adalah tentang sepasang kekasih ini saja, bagaimana mereka tumbuh dewasa, dari awalnya tidak mengenal cinta, kemudian belajar memberi cinta (Haishi) dan menerima cinta (Fang Jianming) dan akhirnya bersama-sama memutuskan tetap bersama, meski tidak dapat bersama secara fisik. Sejak awal, drama ini sudah hampir seperti roman (menceritakan kehidupan tokoh secara mendetail sejak lahir hingga dewasa, atau bahkan sampai meninggal dunia). Namun sayang, kurang tuntas padahal tinggal sedikit lagi. Alhasil, banyak penonton mengandalkan imajinasi mereka untuk menutup cerita ini dengan sempurna.

Mungkin memang drama ini sengaja diakhiri dengan cara seperti ini untuk menimbulkan semacam afterthought (perenungan).

Lire davantage

Superb

This drama is one of the best that I have seen since TMOPB and GMP there is depth to the story, there is realistic portrayal of human emotions albeit good and bad, OK the toxic relationship between the Emperor and Ta Lin would not be one that many would enjoy however this type of relationship is very probable given the backstory, and how the death of a loved one can screw you up mentally. Yang Mi is just great as the FL, it is highly unlikely that another actress could have portrayed the role as beautifully as she does. The actors have been cast on point, each person selected for their ability to bring to life this very emotionally complex story. Also the SML and SFL story is wonderful to watch not the usual annoying SL's where most of the scenes are fillers. In this drama they shine.

Whether we have a HE or SE matters not to me its the experience of the drama that matters and this is one hell of a ride to date. Kudos to all concerned in the production of this very bittersweet story.

Lire davantage