Heart-warming drama about family and love

"Go Ahead" is one of the "talk-about" dramas this season, and though I am not a big fan of modern drama, I went ahead with it. I really like it.

First, let me share what I like about this drama.
Firstly, there are a lot of relatable family dramas to cry about. The story about three unrelated children growing up with two dads is extremely bitter-sweet. It shows in a heartwarming way how family love can look like despite not connected by blood. Particularly the start of the show had so many beautiful scenes between Li Hai Chao and the children that made me cry a river. At the same time, it shows the naked and honest of how relationships between parents and their own children could be like if one becomes self-centric, especially when the cruel reality called "life" hits you. I appreciate that the drama depicts many of these realities: single-parenthood, loss of own children, adoption and relationships between own and adopted children, depression of children, grow apart due to physical distance, relationships between parents and children when children are young vs. when they grow up, re-marriage of own parents... and the list goes on. Though you might not agree with how characters have dealt with each situation, this is one version that you can take away and learn.

Secondly, it is the acting and the characters. My favorite characters in this story: the dad Li Hai Chao, played by Tu Song Yan, the daughter Li Jian Jian, acted by Seven Tan, and finally, He Zi Qiu, starred by Steven Zhang. Let's first talk about Li Hai Chao. He is the type of loving father that every child would want: always supportive and loves his children unconditionally. The most important aspect of all, he understands his children and treats them like an equal. Tu Song Yan depicts Li Hai Chao flawlessly and shows what veteran actors have in their arsenal.
Then there is Li Jian Jian, the tomboy who grew up among four men. Righteous, down to earth and speaks openly about everything. Seven Tan fits Li Jian Jian's character perfectly. Despite being the oldest among all three actors, she plays the middle school girl or the young adult without effort. I really liked Seven Tan's performance in Under the Power, but her achievements in Go Ahead make me respect her even more.
Finally, there is He Zi Qiu, the adopted son, and the audience's favorite 2nd male lead. Abandoned by his own mother at a young age, he hides his hurt, insecurities, and longing for motherly love by always carrying a smiling poker face around everyone. In shadow, he does whatever he can to pay back the Li Family. He Zi Qiu probably the biggest tear dripper in the whole show. It is not easy to act out such a three-dimensional character, but Stephen Zhang absolutely did it. This is probably one of the most impressive performances I have observed among young Chinese actors. My top 5 best actors of China drama land just found a place for him, and if you don't believe me, you just have to watch it.
This drama also has many other interesting characters, one that is for all kinds of taste.

Let me quickly speak about what this drama could have done better.
I have no problem with this drama being too "dramatic" or, as they say in Chinese, "dog-blooded," but I have a problem when actions become unlogic as a result of this. Some examples would be Ling Xiao's mother's abandoning her son in the first place and then coming back for him no matter what. Or the reason for Zi Qiu's mother abandoning Zi Qiu for more than nine years and realizing her mistakes at the end of the show. And let's not even go there why the two brothers were not even able to come back for even once during the nine years. I appreciate the drama trying its best to show the diversity of life and some of the real struggles people have to go through, but I wish the makers have come up with a better script for this drama's essential storylines.

Another weak point is this drama's 2nd half. I agree with most audiences that the makers made a too strong turn after the two brothers' return towards the loveline. The drama gained popularity with the strong start of the family-line and should have shown more of that: How did Jian Jian and her two brothers grow up? How was it for Jian Jian to leave home and live alone? How did Zi Qiu live his life in the UK all by himself? How was it Ling Dad not seeing his own son for nine years? How did Li Dad live all the years without his two sons by his side? How were Ling Dad and Cheng Ting's relationship before the passing of their daughter? .... All these could have been great material for this drama, even if they only show snip bits of that in retro-perspective.
Though I have no problem with this drama showing a loveline (who does not like it!) It is not well thought through. Two people grew up together but had to leave each other due to some unfortunate events. After returning, the brother-like character suddenly confesses to his sister-like character though the girl only looked at him as a family member. They quickly got together; the only person who was "in the way" is the mean mother-in-law who does not like the girl her son has brought home. How is this different than any other melodrama's loveline? No difference at all! Where is the struggle to overcome the fear of losing your sister if this does not go well? Where is the development of "brotherly" love to something else for Jian Jian? Where is the awkwardness for the rest of the family members? These are some of the points which the makers could have detailed to make this special.
Apart from that, I did not see much of the chemistry between the two leads, but that might also be only a preference thing. I found Song Wei Long's characters really out of the league with the rest of the cast though I am sure he did his best.

All in all, despite the shortcoming, I still think this is one of the most heartwarming family dramas of 2020 with a lot of laughter and tears. I would recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of genre.

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Extremely funny and sweet BL adapted drama that you will enjoy

I started this drama because it is adapted from a BL novel, seems to have a good looking cast and is enjoying some good reviews. And I was not disappointed.

Story: In order to bring peace to the country, the youngest apprentice from the righteous clan Zhao Qing Feng tries to infiltrate the evil clan by getting close to the demon lord Ji Chuan. As Zhao Qing Feng is a bit socially awkward he is learning the steps from his teacher's book "win someone's heart". However, it turns out that Zhao Qing Feng is actually the long lost brother of Ji Chuan and the two men got close.
The whole drama is just extremely cheesy, cute and funny. I almost fell from my chair from laughing after watching episode 1. There are some very sweet scenes between the two main leads - who are by the way both very good looking and have distinguished personalities that are very likable from the start. Although the drama is a comedy, characters don’t always just make fools of themselves - there is a serious plot running through this drama which makes the viewers pounder about the fate of the main leads and also for the supporting characters. Good news for all BL lovers, though there is the female lead A Fu who fell in love with Zhao Qing Feng, this does not disturb the two main leads. There are some slow moments in the middle and a bit of predictable ending, but overall I did enjoy the drama and found story convincing and sweet.

Acting: The characters are just all very loveable from the start to the end. The two main leads, despite having an idol background without professional acting school training, acted very naturally and brought the distinguished two main lead characters to life. Besides the two gorgeous leads also all other supporting roles have done great work. A Fu, played by Su Xiao Tong, is extremely strong and sweet at the same time. Then you have the cute youngster Xiao Lin who is in love with A Fu and therefore acts coquettishly all the time (there is a great scene in the drama between him and A Fu that made me cry); you also have the gorgeous Dr. Yan, played by Song Ji Yang from Untamed, but is extremely jealous of Zhao Qing Feng; you also have the beautiful Yue Qing Qing, who turns into a REAL MAN when she takes off her makeup and the masculine Wei Qi who has a Taiwanese accent. I am sure you will find one or several characters to your taste.

Production: you can see that this is a drama with a low budget: some outdoor sets can look a bit cheap, some of the props and costumes seem to be a bit off, there are not enough extras in some of the scenes; however I would say the drama did use the budget at the right areas: the most important sets (e.g. the bedroom of Ji Chuan, the kitchen, the entrance to the main hall, the main hall itself, etc.) are nicely created; the choice of colors not too bright red and green but just right, the lighting is well toned; I also very much like the fact that they are using the actual voices of the actors (though sometimes the tones are a bit difficult to hear). They add these cat and dog special sounds to the two main leads when they are fighting - this is just hilarious and brilliant.
This drama has a very funny and contagious title song and a very beautiful ending song which however only started to play by the middle of the drama - also some BGM also only started from the middle (did they suddenly have more money in the middle?).
There a few scenes which are almost good to be hung as a poster (e.g. the drunk scene at the lake, the brother scene at the entrance hall, the bamboo forest scene, the night festival scene, the fighting scenes (esp. the last one - which is very well done!). You can see the production really gave a lot of effort in making this drama and they have done this well with the budget they have - unfortunately they ended up not having enough for marketing so not many people know about this.

Summary: This is a funny, light-hearted drama full of sweet scenes and great acting that will make you smile for sure. This BL adaption has not challenged the Chinese censorship this much as Untamed as it is really only a bromance drama but has retained a lot of sugar for all the fans. I hope all future BL adaption will at least be at the level of the Birth of the Drama King.

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Best Modern Drama of 2020!

I normally don't watch modern dramas. Nor have I ever watched esport drama. In the case of Cross Fire, I made an exception: time travel, good CG between games and reality, and two good-looking youngsters as main characters. Who can resist?
Let's see how this drama do according to my criteria:

1. "Sleepness Night": 5/5 ★★★★★
I binged watched this drama from the very first episode to the end.
Cross Fire gives you the right kick for sure. It blends the right degree of suspense, drama with humor and romance. It's not only a esport drama but it is all the personal drama that makes this drama irresistible.
Especially, the 2008 timeline is one of the best-written storylines I have ever seen in C-drama land. 2008 is a year when playing the video game is being condemned as child play, a waste of time, worst, an evil addiction. Our ML Xiao Feng and his teammates overcame all kinds of difficulties and fight their way to the top of the first official competition in China. We have the honor to witness this struggle as if it is our own: fight for a dream only you, but no one else believes in. The endeavor is real, mixed with tears, sweat, and blood. No way, you can look away.

2. Emotional Rollercoaster: 5/5 ★★★★★
For me, both the MLs Xiao Feng and Xiao Bei have done a fantastic job in terms of acting. Their acting feels natural and never over the top. I did not know both of them when I started watching the drama; now I cannot wait for future works from these two.
In terms of romance both MLs have their own love lines, plus another one between two supporting characters Su Jia Yi and Wang Kai. All of them are depicted uniquely different, so there is a couple for every kind of taste.
Personally, there is this only one romantic kiss scene in this drama (not going to spoil which couple), is THE BEST kiss scene I have ever seen in a Chinese drama, and I am not kidding!

3. Natural and Intelligent Story Telling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
On this criterium, I am quite torn. I love the 2008 storyline. The 2019 storyline has certain gaps which could have been improved, but overall still convincing.
However, the biggest gap of all is probably the logicality of time travel. There are two types of time travel: one type at which you can do anything in the past, which does not affect your own present, i.e. your own past remain as well as your memory of your past. The other type is whatever you do in the past could also affect your own present, i.e. your own history is changed at the same time and you lose all memories of the previous past. Cross Fire clearly depicts the second type. But there are countless scenes at which the viewer is confused whether we are at type 1 or type 2; or more like something between. The writer jumps between both types as he pleases to create drama. One notices that it is clearly not the makers' focus to make the story logical from a time travel perspective. In my opinion, this did not affect the drama's overall quality negatively.

4. "Loveable supporting Role": 5/5 ★★★★★
One reason why I rate this drama this high is because of the great characters in this show. Both playing team of 2008 and 2019 bring their unique characters who are portraited by great actors. I would be sitting here until tomorrow if I let loose talking about what I love about each of them. Cheng Hao, Chang Sha, Qi Ling, and An Lan are my favorite supporting characters. Especially, the character growth of Qi Ling and An Lan between 2008 and 2019 is extremely convincing.
Another supporting character I have to talk about is Xu Wei, the anti-hero of the show. I don't think I have ever liked an anti-hero this much as how I like Xu Wei. The story of how Xu Wei slowly developed from Xiao Feng's best friend to the biggest antagonist of this show is probably the best "Hei Hua" (becoming bad) I have ever seen in any C-drama. Finally, there is a writer who managed to convince the audience why someone would turn from good to bad. I have shed so many tears for Xu Wei at the end of the drama because I sympathize with this character.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
With 35 episodes, it is not a long drama, and after finishing it, I wished there are more episodes. However, certain scenes, especially in the 2019 plot, felt slow and draggy. Certain drama between team members seemed slightly artificial as they happened out of nowhere. Proportionally, I wish the author spent more time showing the 2008 storyline. There are many scenes in which the viewers are eager to find out what happened next in the 2008 story but suddenly got cut by the inferior 2019 plot. That wasn't very pleasant. But overall, it is still great pacing compared to many C-dramas I have seen.

6. Technicalities: 5/5 ★★★★★
Another great aspect of this drama is the realistic game sequence at which they use the actual actors and models of the gaming world to realize the battle scenes. The (head)shots, using the right amount of CG are both realistic and suspenseful. It makes me want to know about the actual Cross Fire championship, which is certainly what the makers wanted to achieve. Most action battle scenes in this show are very well shot, with the right amount of slow motions, special effects and sounds. I also really like the songs, a few sung by Lu Han (who plays Xiao Feng) himself.

7. Solid Finale: 4/5 ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed the final games. However, the personal drama bit felt a bit unnatural. And I had to roll my eyes when China had to play against Japan in the final game. What a surprise! There was also a lot of propaganda about China's strength in professional gaming compared to the rest of the world. If not because of, I woud have given the finale a 5/5.

My final verdict: this drama has won a solid 10/10 in my heart. But because of some more rational scores, I give it a 9.5/10. If you love Shonen Jump kind of manga/anime of which Deep Friendship, Give Effort and Winning are the main themes, you are at the right drama. Don't miss it!


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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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It had so much of a potential but developed to a propoganda drama and a waste good talents.

Story: ★★
The story started extremely well. You are always worried about whether Chen Shan will expose himself and wonder how he will survive his next mission/test.
However, starting from the middle of the drama the cases became more illogical and less realistic. I just suspect that the Communists Party started to alter the script to fit their propaganda: The Japanese are pure evil and have invaded their homeland. Many brave Chinese revolutionists had to sacrifice to save the country. But they all died gloriously because a strong belief supports them to the very last minute. The Chinese who worked for Japanese are national traitors and deserve to die. The Nationalist party is also bad while the Communists party is the only right and good party.
While there were 3-dimensional characters are the beginning, they all became extremely 2-dimensional at the end. The story evolved to be very one-sided and predictable. The spy missions circled around the same three topics (the pilots, the factory map and the boxes of penicillin) and the logics are always the same: the Japanese started to suspect Chen Shan but he managed to deceive them and the cycle starts again.
Some plots were added intentionally to extend the number of episodes; I think they could have finished the whole drama in 20 episodes instead of 45.
And is such a shame! For example, the Japanese spy lead Huang Mu Wei is such an interesting character! They could have developed this character with so much depth but the writer just ruined it by making him a killing machine without any emotions. You can see this clearly at interactions he has for Chen Xia, the sister of Chen Shan. Similar goes for his subordinate Qian Tian Ying Zi. And also the story of the Qian Shan’s spy colleague Qiao Yu who also worked for the Japanese. At his last scenes, I felt nothing but sorry for him which I think should not be the intention of the writer.
In the end, the story became so ridiculous that I started to laugh at the development. Each character started to do things completely without any logic and out of their character just to create dramatic and underline the message of the Communists party I described earlier. (I had a bit of Deja Vue with the last season of Game of Thrones...)

I gave the story a two-star to pay tribute to the good start and some intriguing development of the missions. If only judging the middle and end of the drama I could have even given it a one-star.

Cast/Acting: ★★★★
I watched this drama because of Zhang Ruo Yun. I was not disappointed and his acting is amazing as always. Half of the supporting cast is the same as Joy of Life; they and most new casts also did a great job. I especially applaud Adi Kan who played Yu Xiao Wan, the wife of Xiao Zhen Guo. She did an amazing job depicting a rather selfish party girl at the beginning who then slowly grew up stronger and more independent after having developed affection to Chen Shan and the love for her country. I thought she was better than Angel Wang who played Zhang Li, the 1st female lead. I understand it was her character but I found her too stiff most of the time and there was not enough chemistry between her and the male lead as compared to Yu Xiao Wan.
I really liked Wang Long Zhen who played the main villain Huang Mu Wei. Hus character was interesting and multi-layered. I just wished the scriptlet would let him have played to out, which unfortunately did not happen.
Chen Shan’s three friends are the only ones who brought some laughter into this otherwise serious and gloomy drama. Esp. Dong Kei Feng who played Liu Fen Fang performed well.

Production and music: ★★★
The quality of the cinematography is really high and the shots well made. All shots are well framed, colors and lighting are executed to the spot. You can see that it must have had a big budget. There were many really good actions and shooting scenes. All explosions are real and well captured. - No wonder, it's the same director as Joy of Life. The BGM underscores the suspenseful scenes well. There are two reasons why I deducted the two stars: editing and the voices. There were a few scenes which you found illogical: important scenes were cut out or scenes that supposed to come later came earlier instead. I really don’t understand why they did this and actually believe the audience would not notice? Also although the drama uses the real voices instead of over-dubbing, they did not do it consequently. There were so many lines that were over-dubbed and they were so obvious! I was so annoyed by them switching back and forth.

Summary: ★★
All in all, I barely made it to the end and force myself through so I can give a full review. The same director and almost similar actors do not guarantee anything if you have a bad script. Joy of Life and Insects Awaken are just miles apart from each other.
If you are a fan of spy drama + good cinematography and love Zhang Ruo Yun you might want to give it a go and start to skip from the middle onwards. Otherwise, I would really not recommend this drama.

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A drama that lightens up your day and absolutely deserves a 2nd chance!

Once upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain (let me shorten this to Lingjian) is a funny and lighthearted drama that will cheer you up in every possible way. At the same time, you will be seduced by the delicate balance between BG and BL romances between the characters. I can really recommend those in doubt to stick around a bit longer (after episode 12-13) to give it another chance. You will not regret it!

I started Lingjian when it was airing around the end of 2019 because it had a high ranking. Similar to many others, my mind was full of "WTH is this?..." I found Sandrine Pinna's acting too exaggerated and the jokes very forced. I also could not stand the cheap-looking CGs and sets. So I put it on hold at around episode 12 and gave it a 6.5. The fact I did not entirely drop the ball is because I did not completely dislike it. Fast forward to early 2020, out of curiosity, I picked up the Legend and fell under the charm of Xu Kai. After also watching YanXi Place and Arsenal School of Military, in which Xu Kai showed utterly different sides of capabilities as actors, I just had to pick up Lingjian again. And I did not regret it. On the contrary, this has become one of my favorite c-dramas. I even watched it twice and I rarely do that with any dramas.

Let me start what I absolutely love about this drama: the courage to make a fool out of itself entirely. The origin of Lingjian is a very long but famous web novel that was adapted into a manga and an anime. The scriptwriters of the drama did their best to mimic the characteristics of the Shonen manga: serious and original main storyline but funny mixing with foolish connecting dialogues. The serious main story touches on relationships, love, family, friendships, loyalty, effort, immorality, and the constant fights between good and evil, questioning what considers as right and wrong in this world (sounds familiar?!). I have not seen many drama adaptations daring to mimic this style because of one simple reason: they are afraid to lose the audience by appearing to be too foolish. Real actors simply cannot make the same funny faces and turn themselves into walking emojis and animated characters! But the makers of Lingjian did it! They deliberately broke walls (e.g., Wang Lu mentions the names of Wei Ying Luo from Yanxi Palace or often declares he has the "protagonist aura"), incorporate parodies from other dramas/famous mangas (e.g., Naruto and Dragon Ball) and even Asian dramas (e.g., Meteor Garden and O2O) and request the actors to showcase the most improper expressions one can recall. Indeed, this is something you need to get used to. But once you do, you will start to adore this drama and be entertained through and through.

The other excellent watchpoint is the sweet combination of BG and BL romance. The brotherhood (BL) relationship between Wang Lu and Hai Yun Fan is something that did not exist in the original story but added by the makers. And they are so sweet. Their bond is very strong, and the two have the most beautiful moments together. I am amazed that some of the dialogues and scenes can even passed the Chinese censorship screening!
Many scenes made my BL-loving heart aching like crazy as there are some unexpected turns towards the end of the drama (I am not going to spoil more, but in my view, they even crossed the level of Untamed!)
Again, hats down to Xu Kai's over the top performance as Wang Lu! Unlike many other young actors, he showed he could step out of his comfort zone and display all types of expressions without any shame. But at the same time, his performance is to the points for all the serious scenes. In terms of the "wifey", I had to first grow into Zhu Yuan Bin's performance as HYF at the start. But as the show goes on, I liked him more and more. HYF has a charming personality but hides some darker obsessions within (does it remind you of someone?!). ZYB was able to show both sides convincingly. I will be looking forward to his future performances and his growth as an actor.
In terms of the GB romance, Wang Lu and Wan Wu's chemistry is not the strongest, but you can understand why and how they are falling for each other. Their romance is very subtle, and even towards the end, it is not very obvious whether there is a mutual feeling towards each other. Therefore this does not interfere with the BL aspect. I have to admit that I needed to get used to Sandrine Pinna's interpretation as WW (esp. the dubbing did not help!). But also here, you begin to like her after a while, and soon you cannot imagine someone else playing WW other than SP. She would just make expressions other pretty Chinese actress would not dare to do, and that is what makes out the charm of WW.

Finally, I would like to mention a few last arguments: the supporting characters are adorable. Wen Bao is absolutely my favorite here. I also really like Zhu Qin. The fighting scenes are surprisingly well made; combined with the FX, they mix well with the humorous side of the drama. The drama has a digestible of 37 episodes. Except for the first few episodes, there are limited fillers, and pacing is good. Finally, I like the ending! We know that many C-dramas have a lousy tail. Though many viewers complain about the open end, I find it just about right. It features a great and unexpected climax in the last few episodes and leaves us viewers wanting more. I really hope they are going to produce a second season! Otherwise, I am going to complain about the hell out of the studio!

I already mentioned a few improvement areas at the start, so I will not repeat them. Also, there are a few unlogical character development and storylining to create a dramatic effect. But ok... this happens so often in c-dramas that I start to ignore them.

All in all, this is an excellent drama that deserves a 2nd chance. In this time of global chaos and downturn, let Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain and its cast lighten up your day.

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A light hearted drama for in between with great cinematic elements and beautiful cast

Story/plot: ★★★
The drama is about a 4 people insurance investigation agency specializing in solving insurance fraud cases; eventually, the cases lead to revealing of the mastermind villain behind all the evil doings.
I must admit I was not a big fan of the story. Though the cases themselves did have interesting outcomes and twists in-between a lot of the details seem a bit out of this world and felt rather artificial in order to create the surprise effect. The cases also do not build well towards the climax so that even before the final reveal at the end, I did not have an urge to find out who was behind all this. The villain himself was also not big of a surprise to me. And worst of all, they left the ending sort of open but nowhere a second season was mentioned.
What I did like a lot is the relationship between the leads. First, their specialties and characters complement each other very well. The viewers can clearly see how all the main characters started off not trusting each other but solely worked together for their own benefits. But slowly through their teamwork and even life-death situations they grew trusting, caring for and relying on each other, eventually not wanting to continue without one another. This was well depicted in the final case. Though this drama is not at all a BL drama there are some really beautiful shot scenes between the two male leads which satisfy the female viewers’ craving.

Acting and cast: ★★★★
I really liked the cast and found their acting is pretty decent. Gao Ren playing the team lead Fang Yuan did a fantastic job. He is the more mature actor from the crew. Fang Yuan's character has a lot of depth as he went through a lot and this was well demonstrated by Gao Ren’s great acting skills.
The second lead Mi Ruo, played by Xiao Yu Liang, was younger and had still a bit more room to grow in terms of his acting. However, I think he was able to showcase good acting skills in quite a number of scenes (one of my favorite being the refrigerated truck scene in ep. 12). On top of that Xiao Yu Liang is sooo cute (which is one of the main reasons why this not so famous drama caught my attention). I think I haven’t seen such an angel-liked face in Chinese drama land for a while. My husband says that he even looked prettier than the female lead Fan Meng which I totally agree with. I would really love to see him appearing in more dramas going forward (my dream would him playing in a proper BL-adopted drama...he would be such a fit!!)
Fan Meng, playing Luo Xing, the computer geek did also a good job. I rate her in a similar stage as Xiao Yu Liang: a very talented young actress with room to grow. Her character is very like likable: an independent, smart girl who does not obey to anyone, a more refreshing type of character compared to a lot of “proper female lady type of lead characters” in C-drama land.

Cinematography and music: ★★★★★
This is the major selling point of this drama. Most scenes are beautifully shot; they use well-positioned perspectives and angels, zoom-in and outs and frame and rendering techniques. A lot of the scenes remind me of a movie rather than a drama. The drama has almost no action scenes but the dramatic scenes are well depicted. The music was also top-notch: a lot of various combinations that successfully created intended emotions with the viewer. Sometimes they could have turned it down a little bit as some scenes were accomplices by really dramatic music thought the scenes themselves were not all that dramatic; as if they were trying to compensate the missing suspense from the plot.

Summary: ★★★★
All in all, I would say that if you are into detective type of mysteries with a nice touch of brotherhood, you will like this drama. It would not blow your mind or deprive your sleep but it is nice in-between drama with beautiful cinematography and good looking and talented actors.

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A romance drama with pretty people - but that's about it

Overall, I rate this drama a 3/5, ★★★☆☆, a pass. I got into this drama because I loved Ding Yu Xi in the Romance of Tiger and Rose. But I was a bit disappointed.

Let's take a closer look at Intense Love based on my seven criteria (see below for a detailed explanation of the criteria - Intense Love is my first trial to use these criteria).

1. Emotional rollercoaster: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: Intense Love is a simple, almost superficial, romance drama targeting young female audience. The drama has countless tooth-aching sweet scenes between the leads, but I did not feel a lot of emotions because of the lack of chemistry between the leads. The start was compelling at the start, with the female lead being very bold, creative, and a bit cunning, but this soon faded. Her personality became kind, some times even naive, well-behaved, and just helpless in love with the main lead. Dr. Zhou's character is even more boring and only a fraction as interesting as Han Shuo's character in The Romance of Tiger and Rose. This is also reflected in his acting (not sure if I need to blame his role or the fact he was less experienced at that time), which is a shame cause he is such a talented actor. The only watchpoint was these sweet loving romantic scenes between two beautifully looking people; some are beautifully shot (e.g., coffee shower?!).

2. Fantasization: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: I adore Ding Yu Xi, but I didn't feel much of a chemistry between him and Zhang Yu Xi. This might be the reason because both main leads have almost perfect personalities. Zhou Shi Yun: doctor, perfect-looking, kind most of the time, but takes charge when he needs to, can cook well... Bei Bei: actress, beautiful, soft-hearted, but has a cute temper! Like where in the world do you find these people? Why would these two already be engaged since birth and fall in love almost right away? I also find ZYX's acting a bit over.

3. Sleepless night: 1/5 ★☆☆☆☆: the story was never particularly dramatic at any point or particularly sorrowful at any point. I enjoyed watching it, but there was never an urge to want to know what's next.

4. Natural and intelligent Storytelling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: The story was told fluently without many question marks. I guess the only problem I have with the drama was the setting. Except for some misunderstanding and roadblocks from female rival 2, it was smooth most of the time. To create some drama, the writer created a bit of out-of-character behavior misunderstanding between the main leads towards the end. This was a bit annoying but nothing to be too be angry about given the fluffy setting.

5. Loveable supporting Roles: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆: The best friend couple Wu Di and Xiao Yuan Song were the opposite of the "perfect main lead couple" - down to earth, real and funny. I really like them, yet, their story was not that interesting. I don't understand why XYS has fallen head over heels in love with Wu Di after spending just one night with her. I also don't comprehend why Wu Di would reject him this much. The main critic that their story seems to be just a parallel love story next to that of the main leads, as it has almost nothing to do with the main storyline. Supporting roles need to have a "supporting" function (that's why they are called this way!), yet this was not executed. If you are very strict, you could see them as fillers, a different type of couple to romanticize with.

6. Proper Pacing: 4/5 ★★★★☆: drama has only 24 episodes, just enough episodes to tell the story. There is some-slowing down in the middle, but I did not feel like pressing the fast-forward bottom.

7. Solid Finale": 4/5 ★★★★☆: I was satisfied with the ending. It was a predictable finale given the type of drama it was and the type of audience it was targeting. On the other hand, there was also no forced turn or artificial creation of dramatic, which would have been redundant. There is a 30min extra of this drama, which showed a parallel world in which the two main leads switched roles, jobs, and even personalities (the last one was not very clear). I found it quite refreshing a great add-on to this drama. I wish they could have made a few more episodes.

Overall, if you like pure romance drama, with not much thinking and plenty of pretty looking scenes with two beautiful people, this is the drama for you. Otherwise, I would suggest you spend your time elsewhere.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.

1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.)
2. "Fantasization": the degree of how much I care about the fate of the main leads, how often I have to think about them in my everyday life, how much I wish the characters are part of my real life: I call this
3. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
4. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers are taking us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
5. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to support the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have proper motivations behind their actions.
6. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that starts to lose its grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

Obviously, many other criteria could be important as well, such as unique story setup, visual elements, camera work, music, costumes, etc. Some of the points are indirectly included in the criteria, and others are not this important for me.

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Michelin star ingredient that turned out to be fright chicken instead.

Here am I again, emotional about the binging 49 episodes of the Wolf and conflicted about how I will rate this drama. Apologies for the lengthy review.

Let me start with what I genuinely like about this drama.

★Set-up:
The story of a boy raised by wild animals and later on fall in love with a human girl is nothing new. But putting this into a historical background in China, when the boy became a ruthless general serving the evil king, is new. The drama explored the grey areas of love and hate, revenge and forgiveness, evil and good, friendship and family, power and helplessness. The drama drew me into its fascinating world since episode one, and I just could not take off my eyes.

★Production:
Beautiful natural scenarios:
Many of the wide-angle shots are shot directly in the beautiful natural scenes of Shangrila. They are simply breathtaking. Even those scenes that have been created with the help of CG (e.g. the great battle) were very well executed. I am also impressed by the CG animals which looked extremely real and their fighting scenes thrilling.
Marvelous soundtrack:
Jolie Tsai herself sang the title song, which throughout the 49 episodes I only skipped 2-3 times. It is unique with a beautiful chorus mixed with modern rap. Jolie also sang a few great background songs that just were fitting perfectly to the scenes. I can see myself listing through the OST, again and again, remembering the scenes of this drama.

★Characters and actors:
This drama has an excellent set of characters.
For me, the most memorable remains the wolf, being one of the most complex characters I have ever witnessed in a Chinese drama (the other one being Li Cheng Yin fron goodbye my princess - in fact, both dramas have a lot in common).
The Wolf or Chu Youwen went through an extreme character development of being an innocent wolf pup to feeling betrayed by Xing Er (Ma Zhai Xing). From there, he turned to a powerful general, understand the warmth of family and friends but at the same time gaining power through brutality and creating fear. Ma Zhai Xing re-appear in his life, he started to love again and regained some of his initial purity. However, the more he fell for her, the bigger the guilt he felt towards the FL. When he finally could not hide this fact, he used the cruelest method to chaise away his love of life so she can use her hate to kill him. He thought this could protect her and returned her happiness. When all the misunderstandings were finally cleared, he realized what it was mistaken, and they could finally enjoy a few moments of joy until the tragic ending. There were moments in the drama that I could not understand the wolf and his way of loving the FL. But later on, it all made sense, and I am grateful to see such an incomplete character coming to life. Darren Wang was the perfect actor for the wolf. He adequately depicted the young wolf's innocence, prince Bo's coldness and power, and love towards the FL. Most surprising of all, I think I have not seen a more "manly" Chinese male lead than Darren Wang as the wolf. I had seen Darren in previous roles, and he was just like any other idol Chinese male actor. I became a huge fan.
There are still a few aspects he could have done better, such as micro-expressions showing flashes of sorrow when trying to chaise away the FL or emotions of relief or affection during moments of reunion with the FL. I can see that he has great potential, and I am looking to his future roles!
A few words to the other characters:
I also enjoy Ma Zhai Xing's character a lot. I think she and the wolf had great chemistry. Just like the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, MZX went through enormous growth from a naive girl to a respected ruler. It was painful to watch when her hatred towards the ML blinded her, but you also cannot help but feel empathy, knowing how everything she ever believed in turned out to be a lie. Luckily, just like butterflies can always find their flower when the truth came out, MZX freed herself from all the chains to fully love and trust her WangZai.
This show would not have gained this big of popularity if not for Ji Chong's character, starring the famous Xiao Zhan from the Untamed. I can see this positive, carefree, brave, and kind-hearted role truly fits Xiao Zhan's personality. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Wei Wu Xian. In the end, like an eagle, Ji Chong longed for freedom and exploration which is what he decided to do. The only improvement is probably the romance. I wasn't sure if I understood why he fell in love with the FL and how he was ready to give up his desire for freedom for her; it felt abrupt and out of place. The same went towards the end when he decided on Princess Bao Na. Of course, Bao Na is a character loved by many, but it does not fit the list of reasons he has given why he liked the FL.
Besides, I need to mention Yao Ji. I love both her tragic and deep character as well as Xin Zhi Lei's performance. I enjoyed her acting as Duo Duo in Joy of life and certainly could compete with the FL in terms of skills.
Finally, two of my favorite supporting roles: Ding Yong Dai as the emperor Chu Kui and Zhang Hong Na as Ma Jing. Both had a very memorable performance in their roles and helped the main cast to shine.

Now let me come to the areas of improvement why I cannot give this drama a higher rating:

☆The story/scripting:
For me, the wolf had everything a great drama needed: unique set-up, complex characters, skillful production, and a famous cast. But the writing just failed in delivering to its full potential. There were countless developments, key events, and actions that felt out of place, illogical, artificial, and banal. On the one hand, I am in love with this drama, but these plot issues just once threw me out of the story numerous times. They left me with many unanswered questions in my head, feeling disatisifed when the credit of the 49th episode rolled.
Below are some of the key ones (spoilers ahead):

☆King Chu Kui and his sons
One of the most important turning points of this drama was that the king, in fact, killed his oldest son and hid it from both prince Bo and the 4th prince. He even blamed family Ma for not have lent a helping hand and justified his action of killing FL's family to prince Bo. The biggest gap is that drama never explained why he actually did it. I understand this drama had to be cut from 58 episodes down to 49, but this is a critical piece of the puzzle that just shouldn't have been left out.
Besides, the king's relationship with all of his sons remained a mystery to me. I know he was a cold-blooded person who used the wolf merely as a tool for his hunger for power, but he showed signs of affection to the 4th prince. What did the king feel when he knew the 2nd prince might not be his son? What was his intention to keep his 4th son alive after he has betrayed him? Later, did he truly wanted to pass on his throne to him when he knew he did not have much time left? Was he just being simple-minded or did he had some thoughts after he let the 2nd prince return? What did he feel when all of his sons left him, and even the head eunuch wanted to betray him in his final days of life? I recognize good dramas by giving their antagonist a soul, but the king was simply a tool in the Wolf. In fact, by answering some of these questions, the audience would understand ML's actions and personalities a lot better. Despite the brilliant performance of Ding Yong Dai, the show failed to deliver that.
Similar can be said about the 2nd prince. We knew he truly loved his wife who played a key role in the drama to keep him sane. The drama could have made this character less one-dimensional if they had let her appear in his final moments.

☆Bo Wang's relationship with the king
This point is slightly different than my previous critique as this shows more the feeling our ML had towards the king. The show's second arc focused on how Bo Wang chased the FL away, trying to protect her. Next to the guilt he felt towards his older brother, was there some degree of loyalty towards the king, or was it purely a lie he told the FL? There was one scene where he said he "needed to stop Chu Kui from his wrongdoings." Does it mean he ultimately did it for the FL and forgot about how the king raise him for seven years? Another turning point of the story was when the ML found out about the death of the oldest prince and decided to betray the king. But that was very late in the 2nd arc. What was his plan before that? Did he also intend to go against his king in any different way? What was Bo Wang and the king's last scene about when he forced him to step down? Was it guilt and remorse? That would go against the early theory. Perhaps it was simply respect... again, the show did not explain.

☆Displaying different types of love
I understand that the show tried to depict a different form of love, well-intended but ultimately misguided - which was great. The problem I have was the way the drama revealed these clues. They are hidden and maybe even confusing. There were verbal explanations to Bo Wang's Ye Cha at the start and actions to the end, e.g. by revealing Bo Wang did not throw away the wolf tooth pendant or by confessing to the FL that he missed her every day when she was gone. But why not share these earlier in the second arc? Most viewers were confused about whether the ML really stopped loving FL because of the cruel words they throw at each other. There were also little signs of remorse or bitterness in the ML expressions (which might be due to acting). It was confusing for many episodes.
When Bo Wang was sent to the prisoner's camp and protected the people there, FL said that she saw that he "changed" and he "reminded her of Lang Zai" it seemed he was remorseful about his cruel past behavior. But did he really changed? Or was he and has always been the kind Lang Zai but tried to be cruel to be strong? I will not find out the answers...

☆Jumping between black and white of emotions
This point relates to my point above. Love and hate just come and go like days and nights. ML suddenly dropped all of his affection and started to force FL to hate him the day after their beautiful wedding. Equally, when the FL found out about the wolf's truth, everything suddenly turned into perfect harmony. Both for her and the ML. Where did the conviction and the confidence go? Again, if the show had dropped hints of emotions or explanations throughout the arc (rather than a confession at the end - we are not in the mystery genre where we needed a surprise), this would not feel so abrupt and artificial.
Similarly, I did not understand the character development of Yao Ji. It was a too strong contrast where there was only suspicion and hatred between her and Bo Wang at the start (I don't blame them as she indeed suffered 5 years in prison because of him). But towards the middle, though she revealed her love towards Bo Wang, suddenly they turned out to be like "more than family members" who deeply trust each other? I wished this could have shared more about their past so we audience can understand their development.

☆Lang Zai and Xing Er
A central theme that comes up again and again is the pure love between Lang Zai and Xing Er. That was where both of them returned to and drove tears in many. But out of 49 episodes, the makers spend one episode describing them. Despite flashbacks throughout the show to fill this gap, it was not enough to appreciate and build up the emotions. I wished the team had spent more time on the first part, which was the entire show's foundation.

☆The ending
Sadly but true, the writing of the ending was not satisfactory. Though it was clear ML suffered from his early recovery from the Lang Gu Flower, but where did the sudden illness that drove him to his death come from? Why did it suddenly become so bad that he could not even walk properly? From the arrow of the 2nd prince? How did Yao Zi create an almighty medicine from the FL? Couldn't they just use any other person? And what was going on with FL's superpower that let her beating all the soldiers? Is it because of that medicine? What's going on with this ML dies for FL and then again FL dies for the ML? Wasn't there any other way to save the 4th prince? Did the FL really have to go all by herself and die in this way?
I have nothing against a bad ending. I think a BE is the best way to end this drama. But how this drama ended felt forced to create an artificial reunion and dramatic death in the loved ones' arms for which I could not shed any tears.
My ideal ending would have been: A series of push and pull between hate and love between FL and ML during the second arc. However, FL kills ML in the battle and fulfill ML's wish. FL later finds out about the truth and deeply regrets what she had done. She gave up all her titles and lived all by herself in the wolf mountain, remembering her wolf pup.

All in all,
For me, the Wolf was like a great piece of raw chicken soaked in high-quality spices and sauces ready to become a Michelin star dish. But to please the wider audience, it became fright chicken instead. But hey, fright chicken is needed. I loved it as well and will not easily forget it.

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Post comment:
Apparently, the original story was more logical and would explain so many of my questions above and made the story more logical - the novel version and the first adaptation but was cut and edited later. Will try to summarize this in three points:

1. In the original story the ML himself did kill FL’s father but heard the bell of FL, recognized her and saved her. Therefore he had a much stronger motive not to tell the FL about the truth and the hatred of FL towards ML is also justified rather based on misunderstanding.

2. In the original novel, after the ML fell off the cliff he actually dropped into a poison pond that can turned him into a real wolf when he smells blood. He became more less ”human” as compared to the drama adaptation. As a wolf, he was like a blank sheet which follows the order of the herd wolf (his owner) to whom is extremely loyal - if his owner is FL he is good, if he is owner is the king, he becomes a killer machine. That would explain his long loyalty to the king even if it was obvious he was only using the ML. However, this version would make the ML more flawed.

3. The drama adaptation cut out a lot of scenes from FL2. In the original version FL2 had a snake poison in her own body that can counter the ML wolf poison. But he had to suck her blood and it can only happen twice before she dies. That's the true explaination for ”sharing the same body and dying together”. In the novel FL2 did it once for him after he was being whipped by the king. At the end of the story, there was no poison that slowly killed the ML but he himself went ahead to kill prince 2 but was pieced in the heart by prince 2 . When FL rushed to the ML, prince 2 tried to ambush her but ML2 arrives and pushes him off the wall where he dies.

Instead of travelling the world with Bao Na, she forces ML2 to marry her. ML2 finds FL who hid herself after ML’s death. In fact FL2 took away ML’s body after the fight however the ML was seen somewhere being alive. This means there is a chance that FL2 sacrificed herself to save ML and he is still alive. Thus ML2 and FL decided to look for him.

As this shows the original ending was not this tragic but hopeful. But the characters were less heroic and more flawed. To please the audience the ML was changed to more humain and loyal to FL but this confused the story and seemed less logic.

I am not sure I can support the writer’s decision. What do you all think? Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

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A great drama you would not have expected!

Ancient Detective has been on my watch list for some time due to its great reviews. Finally, I managed to watch it. And I really loved it!
I rate this drama a 9.5 out of 10. It is the first drama I immediately rewatched from beginning to end after finishing it.
Below are the reasons based on my seven review criteria:

1. "Sleepless Nights": ★★★★★
Ancient Detective is a kind of drama from which you won't expect much. The mainline setting does not seem to be new - the ML (here the Detective) tries to solve the riddle behind his father's death and the culprit. The entire cast is not particularly famous. And the detective stories don't seem to be that mind-wrecking. But you quickly are drawn by the drama and cannot stop watching it.

First of all, the two main leads are excellent: Jian Bu Zhi and Zhao Wo Huan. Having almost opposite personalities (one is controlled, a brain but weak, the other one careless and strong but simple-minded), the two make up the Holmes and Watson that you can imagine. I love the bromance line between these two, which did not feel over the top but just enough all Fujoushis out there to fangirl a bit. Both Yu Ji Wei, starring JBZ, and Wang Yang Yang, starring ZWH, have acted well. Though I see that YJW still have rooms to improve while WYY is already a few levels better.

Secondly, the overall story design is good. Each case does not offer the great revealing satisfaction at the end, but it also does not show the ML as the almighty hero who finds all the clues and foresee the culprit right away. JBZ makes mistakes along the way, and there are a few unexpected turnarounds that offer great satisfaction never the less. Additionally, I like how all cases give enough clues and mysteries to the central riddle, which drives up our anticipation about the finale.

Finally, all supporting characters in the drama are incredibly loveable, which is the crucial reason for this drama's success. But more details later.

2. "Emotional Rollercoaster" 4/5: ★★★★☆
Due to this drama's outstanding character design, you just cannot help but care about the fate of almost all characters (yes, ALL), even those who appeared in only a few episodes.
I deducted one point here is because I felt the romance lines could have been written slightly better. JBZ's love line with FL1, Zhan Shi Qi, appeared to be very unnatural, almost embarrassing, at the start. The same goes for ZWH's and Ming Yue's love line.
I suspect that since romance is not in the center of this drama, the writer did not want to spend too much time developing them.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling." 4/5: ★★★★☆
Every character sets clear intentions, and you understand why they act the way they act. Nowhere in the story you are puzzled about why he or she is doing that. Within each case, there are sometimes plot holes for which I deducted one point.
A big plus point of this drama is the natural humor that the writer managed to install in various places of this drama. Such as the names of the characters, the dialogues, or individual scenes.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles." 5/5: ★★★★★
The characters are what provide this drama the success it deserves. I really adore most of the supporting characters, whether that's the kind-hearted Doctor Ye Xiao Xiao, the funny reporter Si Ma Dang, the sweet doctor Xiao Yoa Nu, or the forever young Wang Lao Da. Every one of them has interesting background stories that one can relate to and love about.

5. "Proper Pacing" 5/5: ★★★★★
Pacing has been fast and tight. With only 24 episodes, it is easy to rewatch any time.

6. "Technicalities" 5/5: ★★★★★
The fighting scenes of this drama are really beautiful. Especially those of 17! The makers mix the best slow scenes with quick ones which make the Wu Xia scenes as beautiful as art. Additionally choice of shots, lighting, and costumes are also excellent.

7. "Solid Finale" 5/5: ★★★★★
The finale was predictable as it was pretty clear around later half of the drama who is the main culprit who killed ML's father. The only question remained to be the murderer who continued to kill those who would tell the ML's about that fated day. I was surprised when the person was revealed. I hope you all will be as well. The writer already announced that there would be a second season, and I cannot wait for it.

All in all, a funny, heart-warming, and incredibly addictive drama that I would recommend to anyone. Definitely one of the costume series of 2020.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After watching many dramas and writing several reviews, I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster, etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI, etc. I try to grade this taking into account the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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A bit above average movie, with really disappointing ending. Watch it if you are Xiao Zhan Fan.

Story: ★★★
I don’t know the movie or the novel so I don’t have any prejudices. A clumsy but kind-hearted boy who turned into a demon but still got the likings of all the pretty girls around him. We have seen these types of stories and they are nothing new. However, I believe the book or novel has a pretty complicated story and interesting character development. However, all these were rather difficult or impossible to pack into a 90min movie. There was just not enough time to develop any attachment to the characters and comprehend why they did the things they did or felt the emotions they try to display. Esp. the two main leads - you don’t really comprehend why they suddenly started loving each other. The final scenes supposed to evoke a lot of sadness with the audience but failed to do so. The sudden emotional changes in the main characters are just a key gap of the movie adaption (and all happened towards the end) which left a bad taste and many question marks for me.

Cast and acting: ★★★★
The movie has a great cast. The acting is pretty flawless most of the time. Xiao Zhan once again topped himself by successfully portraying the clumsy, unskilled but kind-hearted Xiao Fan. This goes for all the female leads. But I guess because it's difficult to understand characters’ motivation I also cannot appreciate their acting this much. The other problem I had was that all of them are so major that you do not know who is lead vs. supporting. I mean why is Tina Tian a supporting role vs. Li Qin? She has as many screen time or even more than Li Qin. But overall I have no complains about the acting. The fighting choreography is really beautiful and one of the best I have seen in Chinese movies.

Camera and post-production: ★★★★
The cinematography and the CGI are really nicely done. I have seen many low-quality CGIs in Chinese dramas that this one really comes refreshing. I think that it is the major watching point of this movie. However in order to show these beautiful choreographies (e.g from the female leads) one left out a quiet bit of zoom-ins to characters' faces which are a bit of shame given they are so good and beautiful actors.
A major turn off is the dubbing of the voices. The voices do not look like they are coming out of their mouth and is esp. bad for Xiao Fan. The voice does not match his mouth movement so many times. And what about this sudden lower voice at the end of the movie? Did they switch the voice actor? For me, voices are one major part of a good movie and the acting itself and that was a huge disappointment.

Summary: ★★★
Overall, I think you should watch the movie to see Xiao Zhan’s great acting (and to see some of the other female leads) cinematography, beautiful costumes and CGI. But if you want to enjoy a good movie that does not have a proper ending (that has a pretty weird cliffhanger) that’s probably not one you should go for.

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I really like it!

There are quite a few negative critiques for the Dance of the Sky Empire (DoSE). Before you read my review, I have to say: I AM BIASED. People who read my reviews know that I love Xu Kai more than any actors in the C-Drama land. In this review, I am trying to be the most objective as I can: I really like this drama.

Be warned that there are some minor spoilers. So here we go.

1 "Emotional Rollercoaster": 5/5 ★★★★★
I agree with many of you that if you would look this drama from a serious perspective, it lacks in many perspectives: the naiveness and weakness of the "spy", the missing plot to develop the background story of the ML Li Xuan, the unnecessary second love couple. After a few episodes, it is clear that this is not a deep, mind-wrecking, spy-drama, in fact, it is a funny, romance, school drama, set in an ancient/fantasy world. The whole birth and spy thing are just how other school-romance shows create misunderstandings and put roadblocks for the leads but in a unique way. As long as they make the audience tear and cringe, they have achieved what a great school-romance drama supposed to do. That's why I really like this drama.
So what are the components of an excellent school-romance drama: comedy, romance, and heart-wrenching sorrow. And the mix of DoSE is perfect. I went from laughing out loud during the school scenes, to "oh my gosh, this is so sweet" during their time inside the realm, to crying from pain in the middle and around the end of the drama. The end of the realm arc has one of the most abusive scenes I have seen in drama land. Once again, I need to emphasize that Xu Kai performs the most beautiful crying scenes I have ever seen in a male actor. I actually think he has some sort of button he clicks to control the flow of his tears in terms of position and speed. This is just insane!
Wu Jia Yi did a better job in Arsenal than here, but I blame it on her character design rather than her acting skills.

2. "Sleepless Nights.": 5/5 ★★★★★
I was binge-watching the entire drama and could not wait for the new episodes.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": 5/5 ★★★★★
Despite the light-hearted school elements of the drama, it cleverly integrated a serious topic: discrimination and how useless war and revenge between races are. Netizens have pointed out that the FL Su You Lian's is too soft-hearted and her behavior is not suitable/realistic for being a spy. Don't forget that not everyone can be cold and heartless once trained. YL soon realized how kind humans are in reality and was conflicted between her obligation as the holy lady and her foundness towards her school mates.
I would find it more unrealistic if LX would fall in love with a fierce and heartless spy who was determined to deceive everyone. I could also perfectly emphasize with LX or YL why they would behave the way at each point of the story.
There are some minor plot holes and illogicality (e.g. superpowers which are there when they need to be but disappear when they are not needed), but I was able to ignore them.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": 4/5 ★★★★☆
The show employs a few very beautiful and young actors, who did a pretty good job. There is a personality for everyone.
Big applause for the performance of Zhou Jun Chao, who played Xiao Feng Ming. I saw him in "Handsome Siblings" as the villain Jiang Yu Lang and do believe he has a bright future as an actor. I also really like the best friends Chang Qing and Ling Cheng, two very different characters but with a strong bonds that warm your heart. Another honorable mention is the crown prince played by Zhang Song. Despite playing this dorky, stupid prince, who no one seems to take seriously, his acting was extremely to the point, and his talent cannot be ignored!
Last but not least, Yu Xing Tong's performance as Long Wei Er. She has a, if not the most interesting roles in this drama that provides more depth than other dramas; her character development is convincing and heart-wrenching towards the end. I can understand why some netizen end up rooting for her rather than for the FL.
The one minus point is deducted for the siblings from the country of Sha Guo. There are both very pretty people, but their performance of playing the important ML2 Yu Feng Mu and FL3 Yun Shan is disappointing. I also saw myself fast-forwarding some of the scenes between Yun Shan and Xiao Feng Ming as I found the romance scenes forced and the chemistry missing.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
With only 28 episodes, I saw myself wanting for more. The last 1-2 episodes feel slightly rushed and though I was hoping some of the emotional climaxes could have been depicted better, I find the episode number to be suitable for such a light-hearted school-romance drama. There is a nice climax in the middle following by a second arc. There are no unnecessary watering down, though sometimes there could have been fewer flashbacks.

6. "Technicalities": 4/5 ★★★★☆
Despite being a low-budget drama, the technicalities are nicely done. Especially, I was impressed with the CGI-enriched fighting scenes. This goes really badly with a lot of Chinese drama but DoSE did a decent job there. I also really like the rooms' internal designs - make me want to stay in one of those student dorms. And finally the songs are just beautiful - they are part of my frequent play list now.

7. "Solid Final": 4/5: ★★★★☆
For me, the final is not only the last episode but also how it is building towards the climax. In that sense, I like the ending. I am not going to spoil it for everyone but I understand why the writers have chosen such an ending. It would have been less convincing otherwise.
I love the fact that there was so much heart-warming act of forgiveness and letting go of hate. Many historical Wu Xia is so much about revenge from head to toe and it is great to see that the pointlessness of that (e.g. the last scene Long Wei Er was so beautifully taken).

Overall, I would give this drama a 9.0 out of 10. I would recommend it anyone who likes romance, friendship, school but with slightly more depth and twists. And of course to anyone who loves Xu Kai as much as I do!

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
2. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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9.5 for the first 30 episodes, 5 for the remaining

This is really a difficult review:
If I would only rate the first half of the drama, I would give it a 9.5; the second half a 5; so altogether, it became a neither here nor there 7.

This drama, adapted from a popular internet novel, revolves around a notorious evil ex-sect leader Lu Zhao Yao and her story of revenge at the supposedly benevolent sects. But the story truly after she has died and wanders as half spirit half-human body, taken the shape of another girl, Qin Zhi Yan, whose personality is 180 degrees different than hers. The other great aspect is her romance with the new sect leader, Mo Qing, whom she saved in the past, but due to a misunderstanding she wanted to kill at the start but later hopelessly fell in love with.

What I love about this drama:
** The first half (up to about episode 30): except for the first 2-3 episodes at which the story was a bit confusing, the remaining episodes up to episode 30 were executed extremely well as the story and character development stick fairly close to the original work, which is original, light-hearted and funny. The episodes have a good pace, the progress logic but unexpected. There is a clear path towards a climax and an "ending" to it, that leaves the audience satisfied.

** The romance and chemistry between the main leads: the way how the relationship between LZY and MQ has developed is extremely natural and sweet. My emotion was going wild moving up and down together with the progress of how their misunderstanding got slowly resolved. There are a few really romantic moments in this drama, especially the kiss scenes are probably the best ones I have ever seen in a c-drama. Bai Lu is wicked, strong, and cunning on the outside, but righteous and caring on the inside. MQ is kind-hearted and caring but also easily jealous, strong and would do everything to protect LYZ.

** The acting of the main leads: Both Bai Lu and Xu Kai have done a fantastic job bringing LYZ and MQ to life. Through this drama, I have fallen helpless in love with Xu Kai. I have seen him in Once upon Time in Lingjian Mountain but did not think much of him at that time. But now I know why he is this popular. He can project this affectionate and kind gaze, the kind of gaze of being deeply in love with the female lead that is just heart-melting. His facial expressions showing sorrow, jealousy or anger are extremely to the point, I am in awe. The same can be said to Bai Lu. Her character is one of the most interesting female lead characters I have seen in a c-drama.
I also need to give big praise to the second main leads Shane Yan playing Qing Zhi Yan and Daixu playing Jiang Wu. Shane Yan had to play two opposite characters which she did excellently. Her character showed the most growth in the drama. Jiang Wu is bossy and malicious but developed a very loving side towards the end.

** The supporting characters. The Legends has a great set of supporting characters: Gu Han Guang, the doctor, and Zi You, the narcissistic sect lead are my favorites. Most supporting characters, even the evil ones, have a story that made them 3-D and the audience becomes empathetic with them. However, some of the stories were too long and often cut in at the wrong moment.

** The music: the title song Zhao Yao (same as the Chinese name of the drama) is extremely beautiful and I have been listening to it non-stop since the drama.

What I disliked about the drama:
** The second part of the drama starting from episode 30 onwards: The episodes start to fill with filler episodes with little involvement of the main leads. The characters of the main leads start to change to a state of none-recognizable. The audience can clearly see that there is less effort made to make the scenes look professional. Esp. the last few episodes are a disaster: the editing and story development are all over the place and nothing made sense anymore which left me feeling a little... WTF’ish. My train of thought during the early part of this drama went something like this:

“Oh no, how can this happen? Oh, good, nothing bad happened ... Wait, what are you doing...? Hm, isn't this the scene that supposed to come earlier...? But then where is this scene coming from?... Oh no, he is gone?! Oh, he is back again!... Is this a sad ending?... Should I cry?... Is this a happy ending? Should I smile? ... utter confusion.

I found out that the scriptwriter, the novel author herself, adapted the drama to fit a 28-episode long drama, which had a different ending than the original script. Later she was told to extend it to 40 episodes, which she barely made it. However, then she was asked to extend it to 56 episodes which forced her to completely rewrite everything last minute. Thus it completely derailed from its original story, including the personalities of the leads as well as the bad editing and the fillers in later part of the drama. The fans started to criticize this drama in the middle of its airing that the makers start to cut the final episodes so the direction of the final episodes changed completely to be closer to the original story to please the audience. Even the makers themselves had to issue an official apology after the final episodes have been aired.

After watching it, I felt so dissatisfied that I went back to read the original novel to reimagine how the drama would have been if it had stuck to the original story. So far, I like it very much. With what I can see, the drama had the potential to become a "second Untamed" but failed to do so due to the awful capitalism of Chinese drama land that made this drama a complete disaster at the end. (Yes, you heard it right, it is the same director as the Untamed! Now you know, next to the actors, the director, it's the scriptwriter who is the soul of every drama).

All in all, If you are a fan of Bai Lu or Xu Kai and have a good imagination you might want to watch it to the end. Otherwise, I would recommend you watch it to episode 30 and just take the interim climax as an ending which is satisfactory in itself.

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An light-hearted drama that will make you smile

I really enjoyed heroic husband as this is one type of non-conventional Chinese costume drama.

One of the main reasons is because of Guo Qn Lin as Ning Yi. GQL does not have the handsome face of a typical male lead, nor does he have years of experience as an actor. He is a former comedian and regular in TV shows. It is these experience that gives him this aura as an actor that pushed him up to his popularity as Fan Si Zhe, the cute brother in Joy of Life. It is his cunningness to trick his opponent, his talent to win friends, his sweet relationship with Su Tan Er, his consciousness for what's right and what's wrong that makes him very attractive as a male lead. The way he talks in his own voice, especially when he delivers long lines, creates a positive mood and makes the audience want to listen to him. Just like when listening to the perfect way a comedian talks.

Another reason is the reverse role. Similar to Joy of Life, through a novel, the male lead suddenly transferred into the body of “赘婿”, the form husband who marries into the house of a higher-status wife instead of the way around. Society regards them as lower status. In an ancient setup, it's refreshing to see how wives dominate the household and order the husband around; while the husbands cook, massage, and fear the wives. A setup that you rarely see in modern dramas. Of course, Ning Yi’s intellect soon shows that he is not just a weak Zhui Xu. But he stays humble and unconditionally supports his wife STE and her business. It is the balance between the two of them that makes them a role model of couples, whether this is in ancient times or modern times.

The drama is split into two parts. The first part is about NY supporting STE to become a successful business owner and overcome all kinds of evil tricks by both outsiders as well as family members. A lot of the tactics are used in Sun Tzu's Art of warfare. More than Joy of Life, Ning Yi is using modern business tricks to win over his opponents. The results are very rewarding and explanations are very clear and logical. The whole process is filled with humor and colorful characters. The second part is much more serious which involves freeing the city from bandits. I agree that the second half has lost a bit of the first half's light-hearted flavor as well as the sweet romance between STE and NY. However, I also see that it would be boring to continue to the same plotline as most parts have been exhausted so I welcome the fresh perspectives. I just wished they would have continued some of the key elements which have made the first half successful. There are also moments in which it was highly unlikely for Ning Yi to escape a dangerous situation that felt slightly unrealistic but suddenly the ending was very serious and realistic. On the other hand, I really welcome how the writer finalized the story between Xi Gua (Watermelon) and NY as there was a big risk of out-of-character behaviors of NY. Not only did the show keep the NY's natural personality but kept the relationship between the two characters.

Overall, I would recommend this drama if you enjoy a light-hearted period drama that is mixed with the humor of a modern drama.

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Best well-rounded drama of 2019!

I have only recently started to watch Chinese drama- Joy of Life is my 3rd one. Before I have been a fan of Korean dramas (and in my early years' Japanese dramas as well). What used to put me off was the high amount of episodes, long dialogs, dragging stories and often bad quality firming.
But after I have recently watched a few Chinese dramas again I am positively surprised about the overall improvement in the quality of Chinese dramas - often due to great adaptions from popular novels. And why wasting your brainpower to come up with mediocre stories if a novel has been proved to be great?! Joy of life is one of them.
PS. My first full review so apologies for not being too clear sometimes.

Story/plot: ★★★★★
The story is really creative and interesting - modern beliefs mixed with an ancient setting. Though it is quite politically loaded, it does not go into the usual “palace dramas” and keep a high notch of mystery and suspense throughout the plot. Due to the slight element of Fantasy/ScienceFiction, but not too much, one also cannot easily predict how the story may unfold in the end. On top of that though the main storyline is rather heavy the scriptwriter inserted many great jokes and funny scenes which make the viewers laugh out loud. They help to lose the tension so the mood does not stay too dark all the time. One minus point can be given to because of the complexity of the intrigues and sudden turn of directions it can be sometimes a bit difficult to follow. You need to understand that they are trying to pack an extremely long novel (over 4mn Chinese characters!!) into 3 seasons. But of far it is not that you are completely out of the picture.

Character development: ★★★★★
I love dramas that have good character development. That’s is what name then real. All characters in this drama, both lead as well as supporting have their depth. Throughout the episodes, viewers can clearly feel that each of them has their own motivation, their source of joy and sadness and the stories which make the way they are. Esp. lead character Fan Xian’s character development is phenomenal and one of the best I have seen.

Acting: ★★★★★
This drama has a great cast. From young talented actors to veteran stars, it gives what a drama fan desires. The excellent acting is what makes the characters come to life. Esp. Zhang Ruo Yun playing Fan Xian has exceeded my expectation (one of my favorite scenes is the dialog between FanXian and Zhuge in ep. 13 - it really gives you chills!) also the emperor, the family of FanXian, FanXian’s subordinates, the king and all the “evil characters”... just hats down to their acting!

Camera work and music: ★★★★★
Finally some words to the production. The quality of this drama is fantastic. There are not many fighting scenes, but those which are there are excellently shot (my favorite is the fight at the waterfall in ep.34). It also offers some of the most beautiful natural sceneries.
The music has been well composed with beautiful title and ending songs. Some of the background music is inserted so well to enforce the atmosphere e.g. the “rock song” for the coach and flag scene in ep. 37.

Summary: ★★★★★
All in all - this drama is one of the best ones I have seen on screen (and I have seen many). If you are new or old to Chinese drama please give this one a go. I really hope they will continue to shoot season 2 and 3 with the same cast as I cannot wait to see what happens next.
I would not rewatch this drama mainly because once the story is known it takes out the suspense element which is one best part of this drama. But I will sure rewatch some of the scenes.

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A great Wu Xia Drama that is worth your time. But ignore the ending!

Since it's been a while that I have watched this drama, I will directly jump into my seven criteria without wasting too much of your time (please refer to my definitions below).

1. "Sleepness Night": 4/5 ★★★★☆
This drama is very well made with the atmosphere, lighting, and shots of a movie. While romance plays a central role, this drama's dominant theme is political conspiracy revolved around Male Lead's family and the Female Lead's relentless effort to save his master. The first arc at which our main characters gather to retrieve the "Shan He Tu" extremely nerve-wracking. Most shots are taking with natural sceneries; the action scenes are enthralling, and you quickly start to fall in love with all characters. The later arcs started to have plot holes and became slower but still overall thrilling.

2. Emotional Rollercoaster: 5/5 ★★★★★
This drama has three very different couples. All three go through their own unique development, showing that every love story has its flaws and selfishness. My favorite pair is Wen Si Yuan and Shen Man Qing. Their love is mature, direct, and just very sweet at times. I have seen Zhou Ting Wei playing at Ashes of Love but was not that impressed with his role. But in Love in Between, Wen Si Yuan is a character you just cannot resist. Despite playing the silent Shan Shui Du Master, small facial expressions such as one jump of the eyebrow, teary eye, or pressing lips, reveal thousands of words. I enjoy that this show is using the original voices of the actors. Zhou Ting Wei has the perfect voice.
The main couple Zuo Qing Ci and Su Yun Luo are more painful to watch. While ZQC sacrifices quietly for the FL, FL had to learn to appreciate the ML while balancing off her duty of saving her master with her feeling towards the ML. The ML's behavior reminds me of Si Feng from Love and Redemption. His crying scenes are breathtaking. And he cries a lot!

3. Natural and Intelligent Story Telling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
While the start of this drama was great, the later arcs were less smooth. Some development (such as tragedies and turning bad of supporting characters) felt forced and a bit unnecessary. I wished they would have stuck to the original external story.

4. "Loveable supporting Role": 5/5 ★★★★★
Most of this drama's characters are extremely well-written and developed. Besides the couples, my heart was struck by the anti-hero character Gui Tong Zi, played by both Wang Zi Run. His background story, acting, action scenes remain strongly in my memory and is one of the best anti-heroes I have seen in C-drama.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
The drama could have shortened the last arcs.

6. Technicalities: 5/5 ★★★★★
Excellent and really nothing to complain about. Beautiful shots, great lighting despite that over 70% of the shots are taken at night. It gives the dark atmosphere that this drama needs.

7. Solid Finale: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆
That's really a shortcoming of this drama. It has a happy ending, which is really not logical. All flags and plot developments indicate towards a sad ending but it did not. I am tired of great drama trying to please the audience but forcefully ends happily. If this drama had ended tragic, it would have been so much more convincing and suitable for this show's overall tone. They should learn a bit from shows like Goodby My Princess.

Overall, my verdict is 8.5/10 given some of the shortcomings. I would still highly recommend the show: great actions, interesting characters, and an appropriate balance of politics, Jiang Hu conflicts, and romance.

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way

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