Nirvana in Fire (2015)

Exceptional plot twist and mouth gaping story~!!

Spoiler!! Be ready for Wu Lei, He'll be coming at you HARD!!

I don't even know where to start! This drama has brought me so much amazement that made me reassess my hopes and expectation in every climatic scenes cause they never go the way I thought it would be; It made me realize how dumb I am. Hahaha

It's a story that is smartly created and is placed accordingly without any loop holes. I'm not that keen but I can usually see through plot holes and such however this drama really is a cut above the rest. Hands down to that! My compliments and respect to the author/writer of this drama.

Another thing I notice is how abundant the budget is. This is a drama that thought me how big of a difference there is between Well Funded and Greatly Funded projects. This drama surely SPENT so much. From the costume, the location, the # of people, the horses and all other stuff. Just Wow!

ONE FACTOR that must be praise no matter what is its Meticulous tactics and planning. I love guessing of what might happen next but I just never got it right. Really, It always goes the opposite way of how i thoihjt it would and that is a Great Indication of an outstanding piece. Deserved every high praises!

Story - 10, I have high praises and mad respect to this story and it's writer. It's almost 1 in a million chance that I get to encounter such a great piece in this oversaturated dramaland.

Acting/Cast - 10, Do I even need to tell? Main Leads are Phenomenal so does the 2nd Leads and other actors. Everyone is well-versed with their characters. You'll know they're professional when you see the fire and concentration on their eyes. It's different to how "experienced actors" look like; they're certainly on that PRO LEVEL.

Music - 10, I appreciate how the music compliments the scenes and story. It never bothered me instead soothed me and highlighted the emotions the actors are sending/relaying when the music plays in each scene.

Rewatch Value - 10, No doubt that this is a great drama which deserves all the views it can accomodate! I will surely rewatch it IF I feel the need to watch a drama that's above the usual cliche storyline.

Overall - 10, I would be to ashamed not to give it a Perfect score! It deserved all the love and support. EXCELLENT & PHENOMENAL!!

If you find my review helpful please let me know.

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INCREDIBLE JUST INCREDIBLE

No, there is no need to read anything more. just watch, just watch and I am sure you will be back here to tell others about how the series is just beyond what one would call magnificent

It is not a review but a form of appreciation to everyone who gave their best in the making of this drama. I have no words to tell you how much I have enjoyed this series and everything in this drama is more than stupendous. from the selection of the cast to the set preparation and the post-production works there is literally no flaw. The story is beautiful and filled with thousands of foreshadowing and such a brilliant script. One thing about the script is that though there are a lot of stories from the past that are related to the story in the present, the scriptwriter Hai Yan did a wonderful job alongside the directors Kong Sheng, and Li Xue by telling them as mere memories that are just shards from the past. The acting by Hu Ge, Liu Tao, wang kai, ding Yong dai, and Leo Wu is just beyond the best, and the casting director Wei Wei thought through each of the characters and selected the ones that were maybe just born to play that certain role. such a great story such a true gem and my favorite story that I have seen. To describe it is beyond my capacity and if you want to know if it is drama you should watch I would say not watching this is a crime done against such a great piece of art

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Let's get to the point! The OSTs are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.   My review is neither critical nor serious nor in a serious tone, but more like a guide, a persuasion, and an encouragement for you all to watch it. My review is long and is also a copy-paste of my replies to many people here. I won't put spoiler below. There is NO spoiler.
 
1. I did not have much knowledge about the Ancient Chinese drama theme (the names, the huge casts, confusing who is who, the rankings, the imperial titles, the culture, etc.) before viewing this show. Hence, that's why the drama might seem boring coz it's a new thing for me. It's a turn off when you get confused about who is who.  This sounds like a con, but the drama's directors can't help but doing things this way. Also, you can memorize names or get a pen and paper to write down names for tracking who is who.  Although this is a con, there are a lot of pros in this drama to override this.

2. This show is the kind of shows that is made for REWATCHING. The rewatching
value is over 9000. Most of the complainers, who said they couldn't get hooked
before the 20th Episode mark or below, needs to know that after they get hooked
and watch all the episodes till the end, they will come back to rewatch; AND
rewatching is even more juicier than the first time viewing.  This is why I say this
show is made for rewatching. It's just not made for the A+ first time viewing
experience because most impatient viewers (I am very impatient too sometimes)
complain "it's going nowhere for them, no destination, no goal", "it's boring to them",
etc.

3. This show is the kind of shows that you won't get hooked no matter what
(exaggeration but it could happen to some people). You need to be patient and not
lazy.  I was hooked after EP 14.  

Such long series that is over 50+ episodes like this, it is not condensed.
During my initial viewing I was lazy, so if you're lazy, it's over for you.
You'll find it's boring if you're used to watching 16-20 episodes Korean or other
asian romance dramas. IF you are into romance, then it's even more game-over for
you. In that case, I'd recommend Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms (TMOPB) if romance
 is your preferred genre.

Coincidentally, NIF is just like TMOPB for me, I was hooked after the EP 14th mark.
Long series that have a lot of casts need time to introduce the characters.

MY ADVICES:

- Just bear the beginning episodes below the 20th episode (at most). You might even get hooked below that, and try to relax when watching it, don't think to much about who is who, let it flow, then complete it, and now it's your second time viewing. The second viewing will answer all the Qs.

MY VIEWING JOURNEY:

I had watched 12 episodes of Nirvana In Fire, dropped it (nah, more like put it on hold for 10 months LOL).  After that I completed Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms (TMOPB), took a month break (watching other dramas), and then back to NIF (from the 12th to the 54th episode marathon). Luckily I still remembered most of the things happening before EP 12 so I was set.   I was too lazy to start it from the bottom (1st EP) so I started from where I left- the 12th EP.
I was like, "f**k it! I wanna finish it for the sake of finishing it." Have you ever had that urge? I wanted to complete it ASAP coz I had started it already 10 months ago/almost a year ago. It's shameless if I can never finish it.

Now I'm rewatching NIF from the 1st-54th episode. I encourage you to watch this ASAP but leave a free time for this coz you might need to marathon. Once you start it, you won't stop. hahaha  I am so biased. The only thing I rated a 9.5 is its story. The rest are 10/10. Too afraid to be too biased so NIF can look more legit.

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Well, I am a little late to watch this, but I've finally watched it and I'm so glad I did. I literally cried the last episode, and not a lot of shows can make me cry. Here are my top reasons why I loved this drama:

- The story was compelling
- The characters were lovable and I was so invested in them
- (related to above, but) the relationships between the characters were so beautiful and both warmed my heart and tore it apart
- The protagonist was very intelligent

Please, if you haven't already, go watch this drama!!! This is now tied for my top favorite asian dramas that I have watched so far. Absolutely loved it.

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WARNING: major spoilers below

I’m really glad I watched this; it’s definitely one of the better dramas and I can see why people like it so much. It’s not for everyone though, because it’s incredibly conversation heavy - about 70 to 80 percent of what takes place/exposition are conversations between the characters. The rest are action scenes and in one case, a military fight. This is fine with me because I am also a fan of mystery dramas and those are conversation heavy too, but this might not be for everyone.

What I liked:

I think the actor playing the main lead, as well as the entire cast did a great job in portraying their characters. I like the overall story arc as well as the smaller cases in between where they had to get rid of two princes and some corrupt officials one by one before getting to the emperor. I normally don’t like sad endings but this one fit and was satisfactory.

male centricity: This is one of the things that worried me at first. I thought this would be one of those male centric dramas that had mostly male MLs with only a handful of token strong female leads thrown in every now and then, ala Lord of the Rings. Thankfully it wasn’t like that. While there were more male characters, there were also plenty of diverse and strong female characters and they had a lot* of screen time, significantly influenced the plot and in some cases, were just as smart as the main lead.

character relationships: All the characters working with the lead were great and they seemed like one big family (regardless of whether they were related or not) who supported him. The strongest relationships in this drama were the filial ones. The relationship between Mei Chang Su and Fei Liu was like that of a father and son. He also seemed like a father figure to two of his younger friends JinRui and Yujin, who were much younger than him. It also has a strong focus on mother and son relationships such as the ones between the palace consorts and the crown princes- I really liked the relationship between Prince Jingyan and his mother Consort Jing. There is also a bit of romance although it is subtle. Mei Chang Su’s relationship with Nihuang reminded me a lot of Li Mu Bai’s relationship with Yu Shu Lien (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), except that they had far more screen time together. It also explores toxic filial relationships such as the relationship between the emperor and his sons.

What I felt undecided about:

Prince Jing. I think the actor did a great job but his role but could be very frustrating at times. He doesn’t have that many scenes until episode thirty something, and there is an entire arc where the ML gets into trouble because of him because he reacts in a way that causes a lot of trouble; this is in spite of everyone telling him otherwise. There were times when all the characters seemed smarter than him, from his foot soldier to even his mother. He is also the last to realize the main lead’s true identity in spite of supposedly being best friends with him and yet so many people, from the war general to the love interest and even (yes) his mother, figures this out earlier on. The good thing is that he redeems himself at the very end* of the drama, so I was glad to see him get a happy ending.

What I didn’t like:

There are some boring episodes…not many, but a few. I personally found the first episode hard to watch and this is the reason it took me awhile to get to this.

There were some events that were incredibly hyped but never shown. There’s one arc where they hype this debate among scholars and the appearance of a master scholar who was so wise he could end the debate…but they never show this debate. You see the master scholar arriving with melodramatic bg music…and then it cuts to after the event where they say he won and all is well now.

There’s also a major battle where they play up Prince Jing’s role as a Gandalf type figure who goes off to get some reinforcements. You don’t see him do anything at all while the rest of the characters are fighting. You get this scene were he is about to challenge his brother to a duel and then it cuts off again. The only good thing about this is that it is princess Nihuang who gets to defeat the enemy general.

Poison of the bitter flame: It’s not the illness I disliked but there is a character who reveals symptoms I found completely unbelievable…if this was a fantasy or xianxia drama it would be acceptable, but it doesn’t work here, IMHO.

I also don’t like ‘the ending’ of one of the female characters; it was too ambiguous and I feel that we deserved to know what happened to her.

Is this drama like Game of Thrones? Overall no, but I can see some similarities in the wide range of diverse characters, scheming/one-upmanship ( the main lead is very good at this) and a kind of fight for the throne, in a way. But NIF is much smaller in scope. It focuses on only one kingdom, getting rid of corruption (it doesn’t really have morally gray characters/views like GOT) and has a slight ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ theme. Also, it doesn’t have magical elements in it. It’s a pretty good drama but it’s its own thing.

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This is my favorite Chinese drama of all time, and I don't even usually like historical dramas. Political intrigue typically bores me. Dramas with 50+ episodes generally make me shudder. But I couldn't stop watching Nirvana in Fire. By the time I got to the 40th episode, I was dreading the fact that I was getting close to the end. I wanted this drama to never end.  The casting is STELLAR. Not just  Hu Ge, Wang Kai, and Liu Tao, but also Wu Lei, Chen Long,  Cheng Hao Feng, Guo Xiao Ran... There is betrayal and all kinds of plotting in this drama, but there is also humor and a hint of romance.  I've even watched this a second time.

The theme song and Liu Tao's  "Aging of a Beauty" are both spectacular songs.

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Superb rendition of a historical drama!

I have never like Chinese historical dramas due to the plot oftentimes being pretty slow-burning and a lot of times there is little action and Alot of talking...

This drama has completely changed my views abt historical dramas. I chanced upon this drama because I have been following several Leo Wu's dramas. His latest - The Long Ballad is another classic hit.... Read my reviews there.

It turns out this drama got a 9.1 rating on Mydramalist hence I decided to put this up in my must watch list.

It has not disappointed me at all. I loved everything abt Mei Chang Shu /Lin Shu. He plots, schemes and is able to turn greatly unfavourable situations to his advantage, and in ways you never expect it.

I sacrificed 2 sleepless nights to finish watching this as it was such a mind-blowing story! Kudos to the author /novelist who first wrote this story... Double kudos to the entire production team and cast for the EXCELLENT & EPIC performance too! Only thing I did was to play the drama at 1.25x or sometimes 1.5x speed just so that I get to the end faster...?

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Give it a try!

Normally I don't like this type of complex political-type show, but a lot of my friends were recommending it so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I'm really glad I did. As a person who has anxiety and really hates misconceptions in shows, this drama had quite a low amount of plots that had me super anxious. Instead, it's really cool seeing how Mei Changsu is going to navigate the latest dilemma and what things he's got hidden in his sleeves. I absolutely loved his character, as well as Prince Jing, Meng Zhi, and Fei Liu. The acting for everyone is amazing. Even if you hate the character, you have to respect the actor and the script-writer for their work, because I was amazed every time. This show really gets you invested from the second episode (the first has necessary set-up) and really makes you want to re-watch to see everything that you missed, especially if you're like me and haven't read the novel. There are truly no filler episodes, and the only tiny thing that lagged was the semi-romance but frankly it wasn't at the forefront of the show so I didn't mind. I really recommend it, not only because of the plot, but because every aspect is really well done.

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A Series that Just Gets Better with Every Rewatch

There is a saying that the first viewing of a great series/ movie should be done for the plot, second watch for the details and third watch for the craft. While rewatching things (especially a long series) has never been one of my favourite things, i had done it for a very few JP dramas, which definitely the ones i love the most and since they just have a little number of episodes. Recently i had the chance to binge-rewatch this, and the sole reason was because i was triggered after seeing the series’ six-year anniversary post on twt LOL. I first watched it three years ago, though i had to finish it in haste before the university’s end of semester exam period coming up. I remember i loved the overall quality of the series, admiring some of the amazing casts, repeating the theme songs, looking up for the fanficts, but didn’t manage to rewatch it until this year, when i finally have more spare time and less thing to watch on my list.

STORY - They served us with the damn near flawless presentation of story and ideas, with a very well-written & executed plot, and various pacing for every arc. I didn't even touch the fast-forward button because there were no dull and cringe moments, made the 54 eps felt short honestly. I've watched so many great Asian series with great plots and production, but in terms of story-telling and characterization, nothing can top NiF on my list until now, with 1 Litre of Tears (JP) and Mr. Sunshine (KR) come next. The amount of subtle forshadows throughout the series is insane, every dialogue, manner even cinematography does matter to build the dramatic tension and suspense that will keep the viewers turning the page.
Note that if you're looking for a cute romance, then this series might not be your cup of tea. But if you're like me, who prefer a longing and tragic, but still an unwavering and beautiful love story, then come join the club~

ACTING/ CAST/ CHARACTER - It's an ensemble of stellar casts! I started watching this series as a total stranger to any of the actors, and i didn't expect to find a remarkable performance from EVERY actors that could brought me into their realm of thoughts and beliefs.

About the MLs, i like how Hu Ge acted with his whole body as Mei Changsu, he pulled off the cold demeanor and perseverance naturally, but also showed various ranges of emotion through that restrained expressions and gestures . His character was so resolute about his plans as he had a limited time & breath, he wasn't easily distracted by other things & always ready what to plan even in the last minute. He's smart indeed, but i prefer to say that he's a great observer and opportunist. He fought with psychological warfare, preparing for 12 years should have resulted in nearly perfect scheming capability.
As for Wang Kai, our Prince Jing with his utmost sincerity and fidelity toward family and camaraderie, i like how his character developed throughout the series without him erasing his roots, ideals and loyalty. Wang Kai did really great to act as a hot-headed but lovable prince, i did hope to see him doing more sword fights though!!!

There are a dozen supporting characters in this series with important roles. Mei Changsu and Prince Jing are indeed the pivotal characters, but the key figures who executed the major events are mostly the supporting ones, and that's soo satisfying to see them taking actions together for something of greater importance. Also this show is fun because it's not always the fight between protags vs villains, but the protags scheming for fights between villain vs villain!

Next, though this is a male-centered series, it exceeded my expectation by having the female characters stand out with different strength each. They're not superwomen, they have their own weaknesses but it's not a reason for them to back out from the difficult and unfair environments. We got the physically strong and loyal women like Nihuang, Xia Dong, Gong Yu. The benevolent & quick-witted Consort Jing, clever but ruthless strategist Qin Banruo, the mentally strong & brave Grand Princess Liyang! The first drama ever where i admire all of the key female characters.

MUSIC - I'm just glad that our 3 main leads are also singers in real life and they gave us the beautiful and legendary OSTs that i'll never forget, and all of Meng Ke's instrumental musics are absolutely another amazing thing in this drama!

REWATCH VALUE - it's all going back to the headline and introduction section of this review. For me personally, who hardly find a C-drama that mainly focus on palace politic intriguing back then (i only loved watching wuxia/ xianxia/ republican ones) and was a stranger to the actors (i only found out that Hu Ge played Liu Lang in The Young Warriors 2006 after like 20eps in!) this show is truly a gem and i could see why it was a BIG HIT, even bagged soo many awards for the creative team and actors. And guess what, NiF was also claimed by Chinese drama industry as the work that restored the confidence in historical/ costume drama back in 2015 due to its realistic setting and respect for history and the source material, and it started the cinematic style trend for historical drama. The deep messages, which is absolutely not about revenge, but about how to live, how to die, how to admit past mistakes, accepting our weaknesses and try to give ourselves and other people a chance to change into the better human-being are very well conveyed to the viewers. The lingering awe that were left for it's brilliant script, character dynamics, the warmness and slight comedy revolving around Su Household make every rewatch of this series worth my time.

A 10/10 overall score, which i rarely give to a series, is not an exaggeration. I'm happy that in this lifetime i could find such a masterpiece and the amazing actors involved there. To you who have just started watching this series, don't give up even if it doesn't hook you right away, everything will be unfolded beautifully as you follow the flow of the story.

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As the title indicate it the nirvana was indeed in fire through the judgement that Mei Changsu brought into the royal palace and in the imperial family.
This drama is what you would call a masterpiece, from the story to the acting and the set. Everything is made for you to fall in love with this drama. This drama didn't need any romance or any filler episode to make your heart flutter or your eyes turn red.
First of all the first episodes are here to set the pace and background story of all the characters. So you will discover the main one Mei Changsu aka Su Zhe who came to the capital to help one of the prince to become the crown prince but is actually helping this forgotten prince Jing to become the future emperor. As soon as the backgroung is set, you will fall into a rollercoaster of emotions between happiness and sadness over the interactions of the character but also their own stories which are heartbreaking. And I do think that all of these details doesn't make any of these characters fall short when it comes to this drama. They are all here for a reason, and which one of them has a story to tell and a goal to achieve.
Second of all the directing is magnificient. The set where they filmed the drama was thougth on a delightful level where your eyes will be cleaned from it. It it beyond beautiful. The costumes are beautiful. And each dressings was thought according to the personality of each characters.

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Story - Strong plot with several amazing aspects, build up is a good kind of heavy but you must be patient, the story will drag and take forever but if you're patient enough it'll get you through. Like every drama you will be bound to some disappointment and poor story development in some areas. Very little hints of comedy and romance but they give you enough to show different sides to the characters. Relational build up I feel wasn't too great, this drama was more focused on the goal than the relational development. There is a lot of soul and passion that makes the story great and intense but at some points it will drag because of the redundant political schemes.

Cast: - You will love the main character, I mean who doesn't love Hu Ge? I wanted to see more sides to him in this drama. It would have been cool to see different mini versions of the drama with the same plot but just Hu Ge with different characters. Knowing the past of the main character, how would the story developed if he was still aggressive and cunning? Or silly and clumsy? It would have been way cool to see Hu Ge fight in this drama. At first, I didn't get a good glance at the princes and I found that I didn't like her until I had a clearer look at her. She's beautiful! Wished they had more romance. Overall, the acting cast is great, they chose a good set of experienced actors and actresses. You can tell that it's not your typical mediocre cast. The main characters bodyguard was young and could tell he was a newbie but he has more fighting scenes than he does acting/talking scenes.

Music - I didn't pay attention to the music, I just like the opening song which was just music, very enjoyable. Other songs or soundtrack didn't stand out too strong for me.

Rewatch Value - I wouldn't watch this again because most of it is just political scheming. There are probably one or two scenes I'd go back to rewatch, that's it.

Overall - I rated this 7.5 which is a fairly high score for me. There were some things I was really looking forward too but I was left disappointed but it didn't make me hate it. Most reviews for this drama put a 10 and seemed to be absolutely in love with it, I wasn't. But it wasn't terrible.

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