Better than I expected

It is probably the most satisfying liveaction I’ve ever watched. I usually avoid Liveactions as 9 out of 10 LA are so poorly done, and cringey. Part of the reason why I enjoyed this chinese adaption is bc I didn’t read the original manga, but still as a normal sports drama, it exceeded my expectations.

STORY
Brilliant!
Previously I watched Chinese adaptation of Prince of Tennis, which was just so-so imo, so I didn’t have high expectations for Hikaru, either. Besides, when I saw posters of Hikaru, they were like some trashy posters for typical bad dramas..
But then I saw so many positive reviews on Douban and here on MDL, so I gave it a try... I am surprised and got hooked. I went into this totally blind so everything was a surprise. I laughed watching those funny moments, and cried so hard while watching sad scenes.

ACTING
Splendid!
Most of them are new faces, I have seen ML in NiF 2 but I haven’t seen other main actors. Some supporting characters are from My Huckleberry Friends, so I am quite familiar with them.
All of them are brilliant. From main character like Shi Guang to minor character like Wu Di, all of them impressed me.
Director’s cameo as Lazy Monk was a pleasant surprise as well.

BROMANCE/FRIENDSHIP
Do you know what’s the best thing about this drama?
Of course, it is bromance and friendship.Friends motivating each other, helping each other out, and the best thing is bringing them out of their darkest moments.
Bromance? This is the best part of drama..
My favorite two characters are Chu Ying and Hong He. Ofc I loved Shi Guang.

MUSIC
I noticed that some songs are quite good, but I haven’t fully listened to them. But ending song was nice.

So here are some SPOILERS...( If you haven’t watched, pls don’t read)


I have some small complaints;
1.Hong He quitting Go?
It is a little disappointing, with many obstacles he has gone through to become a professional player. He just quitted like that? And from his dad’s expressions, I can tell that his dad wants him to continue playing..
It is quite a relief that Shi Guang said he will continue persuading Hong He
So the drama should have given a proper solution to Hong He’s problem before ending

2.Episode 34
I have already cried my eyes out in Ep 32 and 33, but Ep 34 was super hard to watch. Shi Guang was like I’ll forget everything about Go bc Chu Ying left.
I expected this but this arc was longer than I expected.

These problems are very small... so small that these didn’t change my opinion about this drama.
I would say it deserves high ratings and it is definitely worth watching.

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TBH, I have never thought in my life that a drama is very short, because I always like fast paced, short to the point dramas. But Ancient Detective is one of those dramas that hooked me from the start, and I sincerely wish there is a season 2 because I can’t get enough of the storyline. It was a lot better than I expected.Here are the reasons why;

1.Wuxia/ Mystery Storyline
As a big fan of Wuxia, I have watched all sorts of Wuxia dramas.But this kind of Wuxia/ Mystery dramas are very rare. The plot is not unpredictable but interestingly executed. It has its twists and turns and a certain amount of cliffhanger at every episode.

2. Superb Chemistry/Acting
I would say the actors are kinda new faces to me. I have never seen the male lead before.Though I have watched Female lead in Eternal love of Dream, her role is only a few episodes.
But both of their actings are top notch, their chemistry is on point. 2nd Male lead and other support’s actings are very impressive as well.

3.Impressive Cinematography
I don’t know it is whether a high budget drama or not but the fighting scenes are beautifully done. The cinematography can give a kind of Jianhu vibe.

4.Overall
Osts are quite well done too.Overall, it is not a perfect drama but I still like it. It is not time consuming and fast paced.
I would recommend it to all wuxia fans

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Cute, Meaningful, and Heartwarming

Omg I love this show, and why shouldn’t I love such a cute show?
Here is a very short review:
This show is like Back to 1989(Taiwan show) female version with similar concept but better executed. As a huge fan of time-travel and youth(high school) dramas, this show was definitely my type. Things I enjoy most are mother/daughter relationship and main characters’ development. FL can be annoying at times but it is not unreasonably annoying and she has her own reasons for that.
Casts are not super well known, but acting is quality, especially our two female leads; Amy Chen and Zhaung Da Fei. Though male characters aren’t as important, Chen Jun He and Duan Xiao totally captured my hearts
High School part is well done and I’d rate it highly for nostalgia.
But again, it is not a perfect drama, and it has some flaws; some parts should be explained more clearly and Wu Zhi Xun character development is a little disappointing
But it is understandable...
Overall, I love it!
If you are a fan of time travel or high school dramas, I highly recommend it
And watch it for nostalgia, it is worth your time.

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Best Light on Series for me....

So many people comparing it with Bad Kids so here is my opinion:

It is a well-executed drama with top-notch acting.
I won’t say it is better than Bad Kids because these two dramas give different vibes though written by the same author. But I’d say it deserves 9.2 on Douban and it is definitely worth your time.....

Story- 9/10
Story is like investigation+mystery, revealing clues in small doses in each episode
It didn’t use unnecessary twists like a good guy turning bad in the last moment...
Yet first few eps were a little bit confusing as multiple characters were introduced, but as the story continues, it gets better and better...
I love that every little thing,I didn’t understand in the early eps were all solved in the last few eps
The plot is heavy and you need to give full attention to the plot as it shows past and present days alternatively

Acting-10/10
Well, Actings in all Light on Series are top notch, and Long Night further proved it
Bai Yu’s acting in last few eps were brilliant and mind-blowing
Liao Fan acting is quite impressive as well
All Veteran actors did their best, I love the trio moments most, and how they helped each other

Others Aspects
In some parts, dubbing was a lil off but it is fine overall. Editing is good, far better than Crimson River.
I love how they show things like “Laws are sometimes useless, rich people doing whatever they want, and how corrupted some authorities are”

You know a drama is good when it makes you cry
I cried for at least 3 times, so it is def a good drama.

If you want a serious theme drama, this is definitely for you

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Best Detective Drama in Chinese History...

Watching this drama is the best decision I have made as it is so much better than I expected.This is probably the best drama I have watched recently.
Here are my opinions on this drama:

Story: Story follows a beautiful girl, who was murdered in her apartment and several suspects telling the story in their own versions. I like how the story is executed, it is surprisingly very interesting as same event/ same thing was told in different versions by different suspects. Mystery part of this drama is very well done as I am on the edge of my seat throughout the whole drama.
It is one of those dramas where you can‘t stop clicking the next ep because each episode ended with a cliffhanger/surprise twist.

Acting: I know Angelababy’s acting has always been a hot topic in Weibo but I am sure this is her best work so far. She perfectly fits the MeiBao character and I believe it is very well done. I like all other veteran casts and am so satisfied that they did their best jobs.
Special mention : the Actor who played as MeiBao’s stepdad is so impressive as I feel disgusted by his words, and his expressions.

Other aspects: This drama also addresses several hot issues such as child abuse, domestic violence, PickUp Artsts, Unfair Law Enforcement, etc.
Cinematography is of high quality, camera shots are very well done and ofc the ending song is so good.

Though I mentioned so many good things, still there are some Plot-holes, but plot holes are not inevitable in detective dramas and they are not that obvious.

I’d highly recommend this drama to everyone who would like this genre, it is the best one released this year...

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Legend of awakening (or) The Failure of Plot Twists

I don’t normally watch the currently airing dramas but I gave Awakening a try since I have anticipated it for a very long time.There are a lot of good/ bad comments so I am going to give my opinion;

1. Story- The story itself is not very bad, it has its twists and turns. But the execution of the storyline is very poor. It has a very promising start, very interesting till episode 20 or 30 but it suddenly went downhill. Some episodes contain no proper message and they are there just for the sake of dragging the story. I’d say there are too many cliché scenes as well, it was such a huge disappointment.

2. Acting & Chemistry- The casts are not bad but not very outstandingly impressive either. You can see many bad comments about Cheng Xiao , I’d say I like Cheng Xiao as an actress, the acting is not that mediocre but her character in the story is not very likeable.
The main problem is the lack of chemistry. Chemistry between (Lu Ping) Chen Feiyu and (Qin Sang) Cheng Xiao? No.
Chemistry between Xifan and Ling ZiYan? No
I couldn’t feel any emotional love between these two pairs. Su Tang and Mo Lin are not bad tho.

3.Who is the real villain?
It is where the twist failed. I can understand ,the director wanted to surprise us by telling us that the villain is not who we guessed before, but it failed. It failed to the point that I lost focus. One villain killed ML’s parents and another villain is gonna destroy the world, who should ML choose? Just suicide lol

4.Character-in- depth
Su Tang, portrayed as ML’s younger sister, lacks character background. We don’t know who she is or where she comes from, I thought the Director is going to surprise as by telling us that her parents are someone powerful? But, no.

5.Music
The songs are very good.

6. Overall
I fast forwarded a lot of scenes for the sake of completing it. It was a disappointment since it could have been done much better. I kinda regret that I wasted my whole month for this drama.

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Could have been better....

A drama full of shortcomings but surprisingly they ain’t enough for me to drop this drama. I have mixed feelings about this one, here are my opinions:

1.Story : A typical fantasy drama with flawed script-writing and editing. The drama started quite well, with a certain amount of funny moments. Scenes in Academy are fun to watch but after Ep 12 or 13, it isn’t that fun anymore.
Pacing became a problem after Ep 12.At times, I feel like the story was progressing too slowly but at some moments, they were cut abruptly.They wasted so much screentime on 2nd Couple and Love Triangle stuffs,so main story didn’t progress until ep 20.
Then they have to put so many important parts in a few episodes, thus unnecessarily rushing the important scenes.

2. Acting : Acting is quite decent. Xu Kai, as always, is impressive and cheesy. He more or less carried the whole drama.Wu Jiayi, though criticized by a lot of Netizens, I don’t find her acting that bad.

3.CGI effects
Effects are mediocre but after watching so many C-dramas, it no longer matters that much to me

***Plot Holes***(These contain spoilers)

1. Why doesn’t Su Youlian look surprised at all when she knows Li Xuan’s identity?
This is very poorly done, she should show certain emotions (Maybe it was cut), still it isn’t acceptable.

2.Why would Su Youlian need a rope to go down the mountain when she has wings?
Poor Logic but hmm...

3.Li Xuan’s friends were surprised when they knew that it was Xiao Feng Ming behind the murder but after a few seconds they said Xiao Feng Ming is in power and even Lord Zi can’t beat him, so aren’t they talking things like they knew the real perpetrator is Xiao Feng Ming?
I would take this as a bad editing

4. Where is FL’s master when Li Xuan’s identity is known?
That’s unacceptable, he was literally the most annoying character and I want to see his reaction but hmmm disappointing

Overall, I would rate it as an average drama, it isn’t that good but not a trash either.
It could have been a lot better, but still disappointing.

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The Queen slayed it .....

Tbh, I went into this drama without any expectations and I felt so satisfied after watching the entire show. I am hesitant to watch modern dramas with more than 24 episodes, because I have seen too much draggy plot where ML and FL fell in love, broke up and then reconcile again. But We are All Alone is an exception, though having 36 episodes, I never felt bored watching this.

Things that I like in this drama;
1.Realistic Truth of Drama Industry
I have wanted to watch a show about drama industry long ago, but never found one. This show portrays FL as an agent, encountering ups and downs in her career. Those ups and downs are not unpredictable but very realistic, they show about realistic truth of making and producing dramas, the ugly side of rumors and fandoms.
The story itself is not very special, but it was executed very beautifully.

2. Strong Female Lead
I would not want to see a dumb and unreasonable female lead in this kind of drama. Fortunately, our FL is so strong, and solves things out with her own capabilities. Qin Lan is perfect in this role, she can act very well and I would say the casting choice is very well done.

3. Production value and Acting
I don’t like those Chinese modern dramas with dubbed voice, where the voice is off. But this show uses their own voice, and it was recorded on-set.This makes me love this drama more.
I would say this is the best Godfrey Gao’s best drama I have watched and sadly, who would have thought that it would be his last drama?
Besides ML and FL, all the supporting casts did a very good job as well.

What I don’t like in this drama:
1.Overly Dramatic Lin Xiang
Lin Xiang character played a very important role. She causes all kinds of troubles for our FL, and this is her character, I understand. But sometimes, I feel like she is portrayed as an overly useless character. I think there won’t be an A-list actress as useless as her character portrayed.

2. Too much screentime for FL’s Dad
I would say, I enjoyed the storyline but her dad’s screentime is a little too much. But that’s understandable.

I’d recommend this drama if you would like to escape from lovey dovey stuff and see the life of a career woman. Kudos to the production team and director for making such a high quality drama.

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Those who Are Fated to Meet, will Meet

Phenomenal!Masterpiece! Perfectly delivered!
I rarely give a drama perfect 10 but this one really deserves it. I watch this one as it was highly recommended by Avenue X, this was so much better than I expected.I won’t write a long review, here are some of the reasons why I like this one so much;

1.Brilliant plot
The plot caught me by surprise as it was so beautifully written.The plot is really innovative, interesting and hooked me from the first two episodes.The storyline is very complicated and mind-blowing but it is super satisfying as well. Avoiding spoilers was a right decision for me as the plot has many twists and turns, wouldn’t enjoy that much if I have read spoilers.
The plot is well-delivered, I got the message it wants to deliver as well.

2.Superb acting
Haven’t watched much of Taiwanese dramas before, so I don’t know who is Alice Ke. She is really good, maybe one of the best acting I have ever watched as well. She has to play two characters with totally different personalities, one being easy-going and the other very introverted. Yet she portrayed both characters flawlessly, what surprised me is that with a slight alteration in hairstyle and makeup, her looks became so different. This drama alone is enough for her to be in my Favorite actresses List.
Greg Hsu, the male lead, is really superb as well. He looks so much like Deng Lun and perfectly played alongside Alice Ke, with brilliant chemistry.
Other than the leads, supporting casts are also not bad.

3.Ost
So,Wu Bai’s Last dance was played so many times, as it plays a key role in time travel.It was a famous song even before the drama was directed, so it is good of course.
Shi Shi songs are good too, Miss you 3000 is probably the best ost of this drama.
I recommend skipping opening and ending songs as it contains spoilers.

Overall
It is a really masterpiece and you shouldn’t miss a rare gem like this.It became my 2nd favorite after Nirvana in Fire. This is 100% recommended and you wouldn’t feel like you wasted your time by watching this.
I feel like even if all the contemporary Chinese dramas combined, it won’t be as good as this one.

Kudos to the drama and production team for producing such a phenomenal drama.

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Fast-Paced and less time-consuming

I have always liked fast-pace, investigation dramas ,and this one is only 12 eps so I decided to give it a try. Here are my opinions on this drama;

Story- 8/10
The story is nothing special, but the way they executed is innovative. I was so confused at first, because they were showing the two time periods at the same time, but later I get the direction of the plot.
Still, it is not perfect, at times it isn’t very logical but isn’t most of the crime dramas like that?Thus, I was able to get over those little shortcomings.

Acting- 9.5/10
Story didn’t make the drama special but acting did. Zhu Yawen is impressive as always, he can act either as a funny guy, or a serious one. Thus, I was not surprised by his good acting as I expected it from the beginning. Jin Chen, on the other hand, is a true gem. She is stunningly beautiful and can act superbly.Her chemistry with Zhu Yawen is on fire, their chemistry alone makes the drama worth watching.
I would say, they made the right casting.

Production value- 9/10
The production quality is also top notch. Actors’ voices ain’t dubbed, and cinematography is well done.And there ain’t western foreigners as villains (I am so sick of portraying Foreigners as villains)

Rewatch value- 7/10
It is one of those dramas that you will enjoy at the first time, but not at the second time. I won’t probably watch it again but I will look forward to future works of Jin Chen.

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Such a Masterpiece!!

I haven’t watched such a good historical drama for a long time after Nirvana in Fire. I feel like I would have regretted if I didn’t watch it. Here are the reasons why I like Story of Ming Lan

1. Strong Chemistry
Though I know that Feng Xiao Feng and Zhao Liying are husband and wife in real life , I never thought that they would have such strong Chemistry. I love to see Gu Tingye teasing Ming Lan everytime.This strong chemistry between the two main leads is what took me from the beginning to the end.

2.Casts
As a C-drama addict, I saw so many familiar faces in this drama. Like Zhu Yilong from Guardians, Xiao Tao (Wang Zi Wei) from A Love so Beautiful, Gu Si Ye from Battle of Changsha and Surgeons, the new emperor from Nirvana in Fire and even Gu Tingye’s step-mom is from Surgeons. All of these supporting casts portray their characters very beautifully.

3.Cinematography
If u love the best cinematography, this is the right drama for you.The costumes and manors are very beautiful, Action scenes are done very carefully, and even the polo scenes are done with less CGI. Among the series I have watched ,Story of Ming lan is said to be the one of the few dramas with such great cinematography.

4.Strong Female Lead
I have always been a fan of Strong Female Lead and Ming Lan is one of them. Ming Lan is intelligent but had to hide her talents in order to survive. She is normally calm and pleasant but she will attack fiercely when one of her friend faces injustice. Zhao Liying portrays the character of Shen Ming Lan amazingly and as a fan of Zhao Liying, I would say that this is probably her best work since her debut.

5.Director
I was impressed with Zhang Kai Zhou in Battle of Changsha, Ode to Joy 2 and Love Me if You Dare, he did even a better work in Story of Ming Lan.

6.Strong Plot
A strong, tight- woven plot is everything that matters in a drama. This drama not only has a strong but also realistic plot. Unlike other typical dramas, the two leads didn’t fall in love at first sight. I love that their affections for each other grow with time, Ming Lan firstly calls Gu Tingye as second uncle, then Husband and Er Lang. There are also many funny scenes, like Tingye doing the make up on Ming Lan’s face.

7.Moral lessons
We want to gain something after watching a drama,right? I liked a quote that Ming Lan said “Being Moral is in itself a privilege”. She also taught us to be strong, brave and love your family.

8.Music and Rewatch value
I notice only one song by Yisa Yu and Hu Xia but it is not bad.I’d definitely rewatch after some time and enjoy it again.

Most importantly, you need to have patience while watching Story of Ming Lan. This is not a usual drama that will reach climax after 6 or 7 episodes and the character build-up indeed takes some time, but never drop this drama halfway, or you would definitely regret.

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This is not what I expected

(This is for ep1-22 as it was written when I was watching)
I am not dropping this drama but it really disappoints me with the way the plot is going, so I am gonna do a short review.
Story- I’d give first 11 episodes 10/10, but ep 12 onwards 3/10. If you are currently watching, you can understand why. First 10 or 11 eps are brilliantly done, capturing our hearts with heart-warming family scenes, but ep 12 onwards, I didn’t enjoy that much anymore.

First reason : I don’t understand why they are using the same logic again. I don’t believe both of the non-biological brothers like a girl whom they sincerely treated as a sister before. It creeps me out though Song Wei Long and Zhang XinCheng are good-looking.I still feel awkward when Ling Xiao tried to kiss Jian Jian in her sleep, it was so sudden and it is really creepy.

Second Reason : Something’s wrong with Script writers, They should just go with family scenes and it’d be a very good drama but now what did they do? They put all secondary characters in a loop relationship. Tang Can likes ZiQiu’s friend but ZiQiu’s friend likes Qi Ming Yue. Qi Ming Yue likes Ling Xiao but Ling Xiao likes Jian Jian.It is so messy.
So why didn’t I drop this and still watching?
Reason : Because of spectacular acting and I am curious how they will solve such messy relationships.

Edited (After Watching Final ep) -the story picked up again at ep 29 or 30. I really like Zhang Xin Cheng’s acting here, he did a very good job expressing his emotions.I really love certain scenes, such as family and friendship moments. But again, I still don’t feel right with Romance aspect. I still feel awkward with Ling Xiao x Jian Jian couple moments, she was still calling him “brother” and I still can’t imagine them as “Lovers”, as their interactions are sometimes like brother & sister. I had to fast-forward those couple moments and watch other scenes, which I still find interesting.
It wasn’t that bad for me to drop it but I surely didn’t enjoy as much as others. I still think it could be done a lot better if they mainly focus on family moments.

This is only my opinion and I mean no offense to all of Go Ahead’s fans
Just because I didn’t like it, doesn’t mean you won’t like it. There are still a lot of people who love it but I won’t recommend this drama if you expected a heart- warming family drama like I did.

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Love Is Not About Forcing The Pieces To Fit, It’s About Falling Into Something That Fits Naturally

I rarely watch mature, melodramas as they seem pretty boring to me, but believe me, this is one of the best chinese melodramas out there.Here are some of the reasons why;

1.Well-written plot
Most of the modern dramas I watch are light hearted and comedy ones.But Find yourself's plot has both dramatic and comedy scenes.The plot is a little draggy but tightly written and the characters are beautifully portrayed as well.Though 42 episodes is too much for a modern drama, it is still worth watching.

2.Casts and Crews
I noticed that Victoria's acting improved a lot, since Ice and Fantasy (her acting was not quite good there).She portrayed the character pretty well.He Fan Xing was mature when needed to be mature,childish when needed, and Victoria was really impressive to portray such a character.
Song Wei Long,though young, is an amazing actor as well.He perfectly fits the role of Yuan Song (Young, handsome and loyal)
Wang Yao Qing (Ye Lu Ming) is the most outstanding one.You may feel annoyed by his character as a scheming second lead but it is relatable and I feel for him.
Other casts are impressive as well.

3.Multiple couples
I am quite happy to watch multiple couples having their own happy endings.Other than the main couple,there are He Can Yang and Cai MinMin, Cong Xiao and Chan Huan .

4.Family and Friends
I am touched by sister-brother relationship between He Fan Xing and He Can Yang, they supported and love each other.
Their parents are so sweet as well,supporting their children and I really enjoy watching parents-children and sister-brother relationships.
Scenes like friends solving the problems together made the drama more amazing.

5.Ost
Songs are not bad.

Don't binge-watch it as you may feel frustrated and become quite bored.Take your time, enjoy the moments and you'd definitely love it.

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The original Story of Yanxi Palace is a worldwide hit drama with super nice production quality. Likewise, Yanxi Palace: The Princess Adventure is well-directed and produced. What’s wasteful is that even with this kind of production quality and amazing cinematography, the plot seems rather immature.Plotting each other for the love of a guy is kinda acceptable since it is a palace, historical drama.But in the last few episodes, I somehow feel like, the plot suddenly became non-logical. There are many ways to get revenge but acting like she is possessed is out of the most nonsense and creepy options available.
It is practically impossible to execute a perfect plot in 6 episodes though. So should they do a second season, proper time and proper plot should be provided.
The actress is impressive though. I have seen her in Legend of Fuyao, Story of Ming Lan ,Longest day in Chang’an, and this series proved me that she deserves more main roles.The other 2 guys are not bad as well.
Seeing Wei Ying Luo and Hong Li again is nice, Wei Ying Luo is still a badass.
This one is not my cup of tea but if you are a fan of Yanxi palace and don’t mind immature plot, you might like it.

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