Korean Zorro

This is as corny of a drama as you could hope to find. It's Korean Zorro, fighting against the Japanese occupation. The FL is wandering around getting herself and everyone else into trouble and then the ML has to rescue everyone again and again.

I kind of laughed at the exaggerated acting at the very beginning (people get killed, I'm not proud to say I laughed, but I couldn't help it, the acting was so over the top, so very corny). The FL, well, she was missing both a personality and a brain, so it was hard for me to care about what happens to her. The ML was not helped by the cheesy lines he was given, nor the fact that his main job in his role was to fight.

The SML, in contrast, had time away from shooting guns, where he could really display his inner termoil, and that was what made him the most rounded character in the entire drama. I'd have shot the FL in the very first episode, buddy, so I can understand why you had enough of her by the end.

It's about 75% fight scenes, and the rest is the ML rescuing people whilst pretending he isn't rescuing people. If that sounds appealing to you, go ahead.

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My Body-Snatching Alien Cat Prince

Firstly, I want to make sure everyone knows that: MINT IS HIGHLY TOXIC TO CATS!!!!

Whoever wrote the script has never had a cat in their lives, nor knows anything about cats. Please don't feed mint to any cats, like the FL does to cats in this drama, because she is an idiot.

Also, with the stray cat population in China being at crisis numbers, there is absolutely no excuse for the Chinese TV industry to be advertising human bred cats by featuring them over rescued Chinese domestic short hair cats. These bred cats not only have genetic defects because humans breed them to look a certain way, and often suffer their whole lives from physical illnesses. My rescue cats are 8× more beautiful, sweeter, and smarter than these genetically modified cats that exist for absolutely no reason but to look the way shallow, selfish human beings want them to look. They are not superior in any way, nor are they easier to train.

Anyway, I think you get my point.

1. This drama promotes poisoning your cat through mint consumption.

2. This drama promotes the purchasing of bred cats, when millions of rescue street cats need a home.

And now to the rest of my review:

I don't know why I enjoyed this drama. It had just about everything I hate in a drama:

Saccharinely sweet FL

Every possible Chinese costume drama cliché

Body-snatching alien trope (so overdone).

Every episode or two, they are catching a bad guy, just like in Pokémon, really. I hate that.

The FL is supposed to be an ancient chinese vet of some sort, but, as I stated earlier, she is "curing" cats by feeding them mint, which is toxic!!

There is every reason to hate this drama, but somehow, I didn't hate it. Somehow, I kind of liked the FL, despite her being Saccharinely sweet. At least she wasn't wooden like Angela Baby or Gulnazar (I can't even tell the difference between these two actresses, as they not only look the same, but also neither can actually act. This FL should have been painfully annoying, but somehow, she wasn't. The antics of the ML were fun, even whilst he kept a stoney stoic face. The SML was the most likeable character, as he was not only easy on the eyes, but was also written as a genuinely nice person, which made it hard to choose between ML and SML.

Technically, this should have been another unwatchable and annoying drama, but somehow, there is an undeniable charm to this series that I can't deny.

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Cute and Watchable Costume Drama

Costume dramas are my thing. If I see a Chinese costume drama, of course I will give it a go. Mostly, they can't be relied on for acting, cinematography, story, or anything else except costume. There is no way of knowing what a costume drama holds in value until I start watching it. Li Yi Tong annoyed me in "Court Lady" so much so that I held prejudice against watching another drama with her in it.

However, her character here was charming and relatively relatable in its fragility. She was the naive do-gooder archetype, but she wasn't the village idiot, which is what is most important to me.

Anyway, it's a cute story. Nothing unusual. Wish that there wasn't a supernatural aspect to it, as turning into a werewolf is a pretty embarrassing character trait that, let's be honest, wasn't even slightly important for the plot. I found myself getting bored, despite the series being very watchable, which most costume dramas are not.

The ML here... I thought he was going to be a model with no acting skills, but I was wrong. He did a good job with what he was given. Just a bit too good looking to be relatable, in that "characters touch us through their weaknesses" kind of way. He is almost too good looking to be a serious actor (not his fault).

I find it difficult to want the FL and ML to become a couple after the ML brutalises the FL in the first few episodes. I realize it's almost a prerequisite for Chinese dramas, but I hate it. Why does the ML have to strangle, wound, or almost kill the FL at first out of mistrust??!! The FL obviously poses no threat to the ML, yet he must always treat her with suspicion by strangulation, attempted assassination, or duel?!! I don't like it. It's not endearing!!! I can only think of a few C dramas that don't have this trope in them. The SML is always considerate and pleasant to the FL, and the ML brutalises the FL in the beginning, but she still chooses him! Well, it's just a general annoyance I have about tropy C dramas like this one. Make no mistake, this is a tropy drama and this year's version of "The Autumn Ballad".

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Piggy and Tiger Tales

I'm a bit on the fence about what to talk about with this Xanxia. I don't like Xanxias in general, but I love Chinese costume dramas, so I give them a try nonetheless, just in case one might be watchable.

I've stated in other reviews how I feel about the ML and the FL as actors. The actress who plays the FL always plays the exact same role of the gentle ingenue with a good heart, but somehow, compared to most FLs inhabiting this archetypal role, this FL seems to not annoy me or grate me in the same way as the others. The actress here, not only has a rare and astonishing beauty, but a real aura of goodness about her within her screen presence. I don't know what kind of person she is in real life, but I like her because she gives off a real sense of goodness. The ML is obviously a better actor technically, but the list of Chinese FL actresses I cannot stand is long, and this actress is not on that list because her expressive eyes and her screen charisma prevents her from being just another pretty, but wooden actress. In her defense, she's not the best, but she is so much better than the overwhelming majority of Chinese drama actresses.

The ML, is one that I had not enjoyed his performances up till now, but was pleasantly surprised and impressed with his performance in this. He doesn't scowl here, as I had previously encountered.

He was really, very good. If he is lacking in anything as an actor, it's charm. I wasn't charmed by him, and I didn't feel anything for him as a character. In fact, the 2nd male lead, though a very, very shallow character with no great charisma going for him, interested me more than the ML as a character. The story connecting the stories wasn't built up enough for me to want to watch further, but I appreciated the attempt at an original Xanxia story, at least.

It's not a bad Xanxia, but it is quite boring and predictable. The CGI used is laughably bad, and is worthwhile noting for that reason. Overall, an almost watchable Xanxia.... almost.... watchable.... but not quite.

A generous 6 grumpy pigs out of 10.

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Promising, But Boring

We get it, China. People with money= bad, poor people= good. We get it.

Two childhood sweethearts divided by class difference. Nothing new here. We know they are going to get together, but there is no actual connecting story here, so the plot is stretched over sexual tension that just doesn't burn bright enough to keep interest.

I have a girl crush on Janice Wu, which is why I gave this a chance in the first place, and she did not disappoint. I love her facial expressions and mannerisms. The ML was ok as well, but he was written without any real depth, and that also has to do with his lack of flaws. A perfect ML is a boring one.

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Plain Piece of Toast

Life do-over very similar to "Till the End of the Moon", minus the crazy magical element. This is a very plain piece of toast drama.

The ML.... who is the SML up till now (ep. 9), is wonderful, as he always is. Actually, all the actors are well-cast in this. No weak players here. But there is no plot to be found yet.... at ep. 9... and that's pretty late to be looking for a plot. This could have easily been a really good "slice of life" drama.... except.... it wants to become a melodrama, which would give it some flavour, but I personally don't like melodrama. It kind of wanted to be another "A Dream of Splendor" drama, but fails in the story department.

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E Gamers Behaving Like Teenagers

If you fancy watching a bunch of teenagers playing E Games, then please go ahead and watch this drama. If that isn't your cup of tea, then leave it.

The FL actress is also why I couldn't finish The World of Fantasy.

Everytime I see this actress in a drama, she is acting like a sulky, brooding teenager. She isn't wooden, although she is emotionless, in that she is in a constant state of arrogant irreverence instead. In this drama, she is her usual uninterested sulky teenager self, and, as always, the ML falls for her despite her not having one redeeming quality.

By the way, that Ragdoll cat of hers is a bred cat. Any person or character that owns such a cat, is someone who is deeply superficial and vacuous. Someone who shops for a cat because they "need" a cat to have blue eyes and white hair in order to love him/her. There is a cat population crisis in China, and tv casting chooses a bred cat, which shouldn't even exist in the first place, over an equally if not more beautiful domestic short hair, or domestic long hair rescue cat??! Shameful.

I skipped a bunch of episodes after about the second episode, as I couldn't stand the sulky FL anymore. I am dropping this drama like a hot potato. If Xu Kai's character wants a sulky, irreverent teenager with bangs over her eyes as his girlfriend, well, good luck to him.

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Even My Leg Hair Is Beautiful

"I'm the most beautiful and lovely fairy. Even my leg hair is beautiful." -FL

Updated at the end:

What can I say? This drama appealed to me more than "The Eternal Love" did. The ML has real "good guy" energy to him, and so does our FL. I have seen this ML in a number of other dramas, wherein he had all the charisma of a chair (made of wood). Not so with this drama! The FL and ML worked so well together that they won me over. I didn't even have Second Male Lead Syndrome for once. Their PDAs felt authentic and they msde each other interesting as characters to watch. Excellent casting choice here.

I love that the item that allows the characters to time slip is a meteorite stone. Haven't seen that used in a drama before.... or in any story, now that I think about it.

The story is nothing new. It's full of tropes, but I am very entertained, which is all I can ask for in a fluffy drama like this one. Oh! And the quote above that the FL said; I copied it out and will be repeating it as an affirmation.

So... this drama crashed and burned after the 20th episode. 20 episodes was all it could handle before running out of ideas and running off the rails into melodrama city. Should I take the rating down for this? I think in this case, the core charm was so strong that I will just pretend there were only 20 episodes to this series.

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Dismembered Dragon Lives On

This is my impression having seen the first ten episodes of this Xanxia:

It's not bad. It's watchable, and might even be..... * gasp* interesting!

Neo Hou isn't the most charismatic or versatile of actors. He only has two facial expressions, and, even when playing a character with a lot of power, he still ends up giving the impression of the nice guy next door, rather than a strong presence to be reckoned with. He has the presence of a short, nice guy who wouldn't necessarily win in an actual physical fight, but who is a nice guy, so you would cheer him on nonetheless. I bet some stubble would go a long way in improving his overall look. Nothing wrong with being androgynous, but it doesn't suit a character that is suppose to possess any type of strong mental or physical power. Lots of actors have femininity about them, but they are able to create a certain masculinity through characterization, other than just scowling. I don't dislike Neo Hou as an actor, and there are certainly much worse actors in Chinese Dramaland, but I offer this critique because I think it's valid. Certainly I find it difficult to dislike any actor who gives off such a positive "nice guy" vibe like this actor does. Can't help but notice his nose looks fake to me.

Our villainess is possibly the best written character out of the lot. She embodies all the negative aspects of female entitlement, greed, dictatorship, and manipulation, all in order to sooth the wound of being rejected and all as a cover for her low self-esteem. I found myself thinking this is possibly the best written antagonist I have seen in a Chinese Drama of the fantasy genre. The actress playing the villainess does such a great job here, despite being an icy and stoic person, she still succeeds in creating a rounded character.

Moving on, our FL, optimistic, naive, and even bubbly without being the village idiot. Well done to our FL and writers for writing a FL who is young without acting like a toddler. Our ML, though obviously supposed to be hundreds of years older than our FL, maintains a youthfulness about him so that the relationship never feels creepy or incestuous in any way. So far, so good. Doesn't seem like a really special drama, but doesn't seem bad either. Right now, it really feels "middle of the road", which is really good when it comes to the Xanxia genre. No characters I want to strangle have appeared so far. I hope the drama continues in this manner. Yes, the extras with the alien creatures masks on are totally cringeworthy, but I don't really expect a small budget production to be able to afford extensive CGI, and what CGI characters there are incredibly tacky, cartoonish, and out of place. Why they didn't just make them recognizable animal spirit characters from Chinese Mythology is beyond me, but that's OK. Story is what matters overall.

6.5 dragon horns out of 10.

Edit: It's getting boring now, and it's only at the eleventh episode. I might drop it now. The major obstacles have already been dealt with.

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The Wolf Ate My Plot!

Imagine every possible cliche you can possibly think of in a Chinese historical drama. Add in an unlikeable, overly grumpy FL, now make that unlikeable FL have a split personality that is supposed to be some sort of anamorphic wolf spirit that takes possession of her body when she gets too close to the ML. Does that make the FL any more likeable? I'll let you decide.

Just because she doesn't fit the typical weak, naive, airhead princess trope, doesn't make her any less unpleasant as a character. I can name many FL roles where the character is strong and smart, and was still able to not be a completely unpleasant b**** at the same time.

If every possible Chinese Hanfu costume drama cliche you can think of in one drama sounds appealing to you, or you just want to see a spiteful FL torture the ML character for no reason, when he actually has good intentions and just wants to help everyone, then this kitchen sink drama might be just what you are looking for.

Is her wolf split personality actually a metaphor for PMS?!! That would explain a lot!

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Tribal Wars, And The Destroyer of Dramas

You know that angry teenaged girl who acts like a spoiled brat in high school, doesn't care about anyone or anything, just goes around being irreverent and having a bad attitude? Meet Cheng Xiao, a destroyer of dramas. A woman who can't act her way out of a paper bag, but somehow, has become so popular through her manager, that the chinese entertainment industry forces her presence on us. Are there actually young women in this world that want to watch this "actress"? Has she bewitched the general public with the bangs covering her eyes? Whatever the reason, as soon as Cheng Xiao recieved a larger part in this drama, is exactly when it stopped being watchable. For those that think I am being catty, or unkind, please consider that not everyone has what it takes to be an actress, and that it is a waste of the entire cast and crew's work to cast a person who beyond being wooden, is the very embodiment of apathy.

It's been a while since I've watched this drama, but I do remember liking it quite a bit. I remember the male characters were likeable, and I was rooting for them, but the main conflict was resolved relatively early on, up until then, I could skip all the parts where Ms. Cheng's charcter was just moping around feeling sorry for herself. Until, the first "resolution", and then she was "infected" with some evil spirit or something, and became an important character, and that's when I couldn't take anymore.

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The Usual Messy Simplicity

Nothing you haven't seen a hundred times before. Twin girls split up at birth, the bad one dies, the good one loses her memory and takes on the bad one's identity. Both sisters are the children of the man who killed the ML's father.

Really, the usual melodrama tropes of mistaken identity. Super drawn out, and super boring. I don't like the actor that plays the ML, but I did think he was good in this. The actor that plays the ML scowls when he's angry, he scowls when he's sad, he scowls when he's happy. I need more than that. I don't even think he's good looking for a ML. He just seems juvenile at all times and I want more than that from a ML. The script, not the acting was the biggest flaw of this drama. My goodness this is a boring melodrama! Completely predictable and incredibly boring.

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Characters Needed Work

I had to drop this drama, after many attempts at picking it back up. Mainly because I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters enough to try to properly identify the different clans and their kin.

Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a Wuxia watcher. Maybe you need to care about the Martial Arts World to watch Martial Arts centered dramas. I couldn't believe that the FL was played by the same dough-faced actress I hated so much in "Love Between Fairy and Demon". Could her role have been played better by a much better actress? Absolutely. But, she wasn't bad. She just doesn't have depth to her, naturally. She looked absolutely ridiculous in her wig, which was too large for her head. In scenes where she was supposed to outshine the other potential brides, she looked remarkably plain in comparison. Now, I am a huge fan of the moral story of a prince that chooses not the most beautiful, but the most innocent bride as his, but true goodness of character has to be expressed by the bride for us to fall in love with her.

The SFL is one that I fell in love with. They showed her vulnerability in flashbacks. They really fleshed her out. Not to mention that her beauty outshone the FL many times over.

The FL kept being saved by the SFL, the ML, and others, and without beauty, or character (like the SFL), I needed a reason to root for her, yet I found myself unable to come up with any except that she was the FL. I hated seeing the other female characters being harmed. I cared for them more than the FL, even though I knew less about them than I did about her. Without being able to care what happens to the FL, there was no tention left for me to care what happens next.

The cinematography was above and beyond the standard. It was big-budget cinematography, and bursts of colours were used sparingly and to good effect in high-drama moments.

It's not a boring drama, exactly. Just.... you have to really care about the main characters to keep your interest, as their lives are the "stake" of the entire drama. Without the two main characters, there wouldn't be a story, so if you can't care about the main characters, then you're really out of luck.

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Yikes

I started watching this Xanxia because I had previously seen the FL actress in another Xanxia, the exact name of which alludes me at this moment.

She is one of the most beautiful Chinese actresses working today, and unlike most Chinese actresses, she can actually act.

Maybe she will never have the opportunity to rise above the usual Xanxia FL character, but she has more expression in her eyes than most Chinese actresses hold in their entire face. What an outstanding beauty she has been gifted with. Truly, an exceptional beauty and she isn't the least bit wooden or prone to act out naivity as stupidity. She doesn't ride out her time in the story as the village idiot. She went through the obligatory "love blocking poison" Xanxia story trope without completely losing her brain in the process.

Despite her impish stature, she's still convincing as a paragon of "spiritual energy", because of the strong way she carries herself.

Yes, I wanted to talk about this actress first because I can't think of anything positive about this drama apart from her performance.

The story itself is very flawed. It's not even much of a story to begin with. It's the same Xanxia "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" story that could easily fit in 4 episodes, but because it is a Chinese drama, it must be stretched well past its breaking point.

There were the usual characters seen in every single Xanxia, and then there was Jeremy Tsui.... the ML... China's very own version of Christopher Walken. Weirdly stilted acting with bizarre, wild glances which never quite make sense. Christopher Walkens can pull off his trademark weirdness, whereas Jeremy Tsui's signature weirdness is just.... so bizarrely out of place or without reason.

There is a moment in this Xanxia that I had to watch several times to absorb, where Jeremy Tsui's character is given a comically large pill of some sort, and told the FL is in danger. He had the funniest look on his face as he popped that absurd pill into his mouth. I almost couldn't believe how absurdly bad the acting choices I was seeing actully were. This also has to do with the directing though. The director could have easily said something to help out their actors on so many occasions.

Now, we come to the part of my review where I am forced to talk about the inappropriate master - deciple relationship. It's disgusting, as it always will be, to have the deciple fall for the master. A young woman falling in love with her master over what I can only guess are daddy issues. The master knowing the deciple from birth during her rebirth just made it that much more incestuous and gross. I can't even really talk about that aspect of the plot without feeling disgusted all over again.

Overall, a real yikes of a drama, but even the story was a yikes to begin with, so it didn't have much of a chance to be anything other than what it is.

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Magical Immortal Idiot Tour

***This is my honest opinion after watching the first six episodes. You can disagree, but you can't impose a totalitarian ban on my thoughts and freedom of expression. I am not a pop idol fan, and I approach my reviews not as any kind of stan, but as a person with training and experience in film and television. There is no cause for animosity towards me just because I uphold a certain standard for what I choose to watch. You can't stand Esther Yu being critiqued by me, then don't read my review. Simple.***

I knew I was going to hate this as soon as I heard Esther Yu's awful, whiney, cutesy voice as narrator. She's an entertainer, not an actress. I don't know what she trained as, maybe she is a pop idol and that's why she gets FL roles, but with that voice, that lack of acting ability, and her usual cutesy stupidity she brings to every single role, here's another drama for her to render completely unwatchable.

I've said this so many times, and I will continue to say it, innocence and stupidity are not the same thing. You can be a young woman who is naive and innocent, and still not need to be saved every few minutes, or constantly trip over yourself to make you more "relatable" by making you appear quirky. There is nothing endearing about behaving like a toddler, and anyone who finds that kind of Mary Sue behaviour endearing needs to grow up.

In this drama, she finds herself swapping bodies with Dylan Wang the ML, intermittently. All she really does to become the ML, is put her head down, and stop smiling. That's all she has the acting ability for, as she isn't a real actress. She doesn't even look like a FL, as she looks very ordinary, like Zhao Lu Si, another overrated actress, except Zhao can actually act if she is put in a comedy, but not in a drama.

I'm sorry to be hard on any FL, but I can't stand the Mary Sue trend. I don't expect women to act more like men, all I ask is that they act like adult women, that's all. I don't understand what is so good about watching an adult woman behave like a toddler.

The ML is forced to mimic the stupidity of the FL when he switches bodies with her, which he does quite well. The fact that our FL is being acted in the body and voice of the ML is a decided improvement over the FL being herself. Dylan Wang seems to enjoy this chance to be both the colourful anti-hero, and the out of body FL.

The impressive acting is coming by way of newcomer Zhang Ling He, and Xu Hai Qiao. Zhang Ling He impressed me when I saw him in, "Maiden Holmes". Xu Hai Qiao is an actor with a doughball face, not unlike Esther Yu's own. He is an average looking guy, but with talent! Unlike this FL, he stands out because he can actually act, so it doesn't matter that he may not look like a male model like many of the male cast in this drama. What I guess I am getting at here, is I am not about to lower my standards when it comes to the level of acting I expect from a Chinese drama. I think that would be a disservice, and I want to believe that just because casting pop idols as actors is trendy and popular, doesn't mean that they should be allowed to take the place of real actors who have trained to become actors. That doesn't mean that no pop idols can act, but a lot of them can't, like Ms. Yu.

Anyway, after forcing myself to watch 6 episodes of this, trying to skip over anytime Esther Yu appears or opens her mouth, I can conclude that this is another Xanxia that is going to drive me absolutely crazy because of the clichès. The fairies are feminine in the worst possible way (both childish and bullying each other, gossiping, doing all those stereotypical female things, but always being really stupid at the same time). The males are stoic and somewhat boring, though, ZLH and XHQ created characters that were beginning to interest me, and I would have wanted to watch more, had the FL been even slightly tollerable, but she isn't. Dylan Wang's character, though he is supposed to be a demon, and therefore the most colourful of all the characters, I found him to be missing any real personality so far, well, except for when he is playing the FL, but then he has to play her as annoying and dumb as she is. It's possible that his character becomes more complex and interesting later in the drama, but I can't really tolerate any more of the FL than I've already forced myself to watch.

Edit: Dylan Wang just keeps getting better and better! He has the best comedic facial expressions here. He's stopped being stoic and it is so pleasant to see a ML that is so expressive, even when it is played for laughs. Dylan Wang needs more colourful character roles, less typical stoic ML roles.

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