STORY: 8/10
I will agree with most people that the story was much better in the first half of the drama than in the final arcs. Overall, I think the progression of the story seemed steady and flowed fairly well, albeit having a few less exciting parts at various times. Watching Fu Yao really grow as a person from the young, bubbly and bit stubborn slave girl to growing her martial arts and becoming more powerful for herself to finding out her true origins and setting everything back to the way it should have been - it felt like a very natural progression for her and you really get to see her change and grow as a person - not just being told from the get go that she's a badass for whatever reasons.
The Xuan Yuan Sect arc began a bit slow, but overall I think it was a great opener to meeting these main characters. I think this was the area where I most enjoyed Fu Yao and Wu Ji's relationship because it was the most playful part. They had a somewhat common bottom line when it came to morality and making decisions, but overall they had their own views on things and were able to help each other out along the way. LOFY did a very good job in my opinion on setting up and progressing the relationship between the main couple because you really understood why they came to love each other as much as they do, whereas many dramas it just feels like they're together because someone wrote it that way, and you don't really understand how they got to that level of relationship.
Tai Yuan arc was probably the most entertaining for me - and most people as I've read. My favorite genre for C-dramas is more imperial settings, so having that in combination with the background story of Fu Yao just made things more entertaining. At this point, the only thing that really bothered me was Yan Jing Chen and Pei Yuan story line. I could tell from the beginning that Pei Yuan was going to be one of the enemies, which is fine, but it got a bit stereotypical for me at times - blaming everything on the main girl just because the guy she likes has feelings for the other person/everything is the main lead's fault/etc. Sam with Yan Jing Chen, he made his decision over and over, but obviously regretted it every time, though still had no issues betraying Fu Yao and making the wrong choices. Everything else was great for me though. The story did well tying in the other side characters and giving them a place in the overall story.
Tian Quan arc was pretty short, so not too much bad here. The introduction of Fo Lian took me by surprise honestly, and then the crazy amazing episode with Fu Yao and Zhang Sun Ping Rong (you know which one I'm talking about). Even ? of the way into the story, there was still a good amount of rollercoastering for me - super exciting scenes and a few more subdued ones.
Tian Sha arc is probably my least favorite (and I figured it would be honestly). This was the arc where I knew that the main leads would be more support characters, but I still think that it wasn't as bad as people are making it seem. There were still important bits happening, and the relationship development for more side characters.
Xuan Ji arc brought the story full circle at this point. I think at this point it was fairly predictable what was going to happen, but at the same time, it was still fun seeing how the female run kingdom worked and bringing Fu Yao into the next high point in her life.
Final arc (Tian Quan/Qiong Sang) - I will admit that it kind of amazes me that with 66 episodes, there were still parts of the ending that felt a bit rushed. I wouldn't necessarily say it needed to be longer, but just that they needed to balance out the story a bit more. So much is going on by the final few episodes that it feels a bit like a whirlwind. But again, I'm not an expert on screenwriting so I honestly don't know which parts of the overall show they should've cut down to make things seem more balanced.
ACTING:9/10
Yang Mi - for those who've read my other reviews of Yang Mi's acting, I think she's a very hit or miss actress. TMOPB I think she excelled probably because the writing of her character was good, but still overall there were times when Bai Qian felt kind of one note to me. I think Yang Mi's portrayal of Fu Yao outshined her character in TMOPB and others - if only for the fact you get to see more personality out of her and you really see this overarching journey of Fu Yao's life. YM pulled of the mischievous, young slave at Xuan Yuan, to the more matured concubine at Tai Yuan, to really coming into her own character by the end of the first half of the drama. Overall good job.
Ethan Ruan - Normally I'd say that these types of dramas, unless the male character is the ACTUAL lead lead character, they normally get overshadowed by the female. LOFY was NOT that case. I hadn't seen anything from Ethan Ruan since Fated to Love You, but I remember loving his acting from there, so I had fairly good expectations. Ethan Ruan knocked this out of the park for me. From his first introduction, I was hooked. He was playful and flirty, but mischievous and mysterious. His character was strong and powerful, merciless when he wanted to, but kind and loving when he needed to. I'd honestly say that I'd wish he had some kind of fault to him because his character was overall too perfect in that sense (being supposedly ruthless could be a downfall, but I don't think they really showed that side of him as much as they just talked about it). But overall I think that Ethan Ruan definitely outshined Yang Mi. He had good comedic timing, he wasn't afraid to get ugly when he was angry or sad. Legit he was so into it that there are times when Fu Yao and Wu Ji are having emotional scenes, and you can see a tear drop from his face (even when the camera is just filming from behind him). I'm honestly hoping that LOFY opens up some more doorways for him in mainland China because I really wanna watch more stuff from him ASAP.
Everyone else - this review is already super long, so just quickly, overall everyone else was very good. Qi Zhen (Liu Yi Jun) was definitely a standout bad guy, just as he was in Nirvana in Fire. Superb acting and super believable villainous qualities.
OVERALL/REWATCH: 9/10
I honestly loved this drama. It's not perfect by any means, but it was memorable and exciting for the most part. It's definitely one of my new top favorite dramas. It had just enough relationship storylines along with political plots and general human growth stories. It's definitely going to be one I watch again and again. I really never got bored with it to the point of wanting to drop it. The storyline made much more sense and had much better flow than others of its type (looking at you Princess Agents) and I think that the directing and cinematography was great. Acting overall was a huge plus - especially with such a large cast, but I think everyone did a pretty solid job overall.
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First of all, this drama should not be called ‘Legend of Fuyao’ because didn’t focus enough on Fuyao. It should not be called ‘Legend of Wuji’ either because Wuji was willing the risk the safety of all the people in the 5 kingdoms for his love interest. Though his love and devotion to Fuyao was admirable and touching, this is not what a good ruler should be doing. So, no, Wuji does not deserve to be called a legend either.
I think a more appropriate title for this drama would be ‘The story of Fuyao, the woman who changed Wuji’s life’, because Fuyao turned Wuji’s life upside-down and brought his arrogance down a few notches the moment she entered his life. It is also a coming-of-age story of both Fuyao and Wuji as it shows how they change as a result of knowing each other and going through the trials in their lives.
The story takes us through 5 kingdoms (Taiyuan, Tianquan, Tiansha, Xuanji and Qiongcang) and has a lot going for it – court intrigue, action, adventures in strange lands, long lost identities and an epic love story. However, the focus, development and pacing of the script was inconsistent. . The drama’s title and first 8 episodes in Xuanyuan Mt. had us anticipating Fuyao embarking on a quest to find her true identity and remove her 5 seals. However, after she left Xuanyuan Mt, the focus changed all to Wuji and Fuyao became an accidental follower in his schemes instead of leading the story as the main character. Too many episodes were devoted to the court intrigue in Taiyuan which did not move Fuyao’s quest along one bit. The result of this was that everything else had to be squeezed into the remaining half of the drama and so there was no time for proper development of the stories in the remaining kingdoms. The story in Xuanji kingdom - where Fuyao’s childhood story and true identity were revealed - was especially short and rushed (only 6 episodes). Wasn’t this drama supposed to be about Fuyao? I would have loved to see more time devoted to Fuyao’s backstory (because it was just so tragic) and how it shaped her strong character.
ACTING
(1) Yang Mi as Fuyao
I liked Yang Mi since TMOPB, but after Fuyao, I have become a fan. Her performance was simply PHENOMENAL! I love actors who can emote with their eyes and Yang Mi did this superbly here. Her eyes are so gorgeous and expressive, I found myself drawn to them every time she appears on screen. She had a lot of epic scenes that had no dialog – the attempted rape scene, Yao City battle, rain scene, when she regained her memory, when she turned evil). She relied only on her eyes to convey Fuyao’s emotions and slayed every scene. Just a simple change in the expression in her eyes could convey so much, especially when she teared or cried – my heart just went out to Fuyao and I could really feel her pain. I particularly love her scenes with Uncle Zhou as the surrogate father-daughter bond was just so heart-warming and touching. And despite all the heart-break and hardships Fuyao endured, there was always strength and fire in her eyes.
I feel a lot of viewers do not give Yang Mi enough credit. I guess this is because majority of viewers are female and prefer to focus and swoon over the male lead. When a male lead cries, it is hailed as good acting whereas the female lead can cry buckets and no one takes notice. Is it because females are expected to cry, so that no one thinks much of it anymore? I vividly remember 3 scenes - just before Fuyao passed out after her fight with Zhangsun Ping Rong, right after she regained her memory and just before she stabbed herself. In each of these scenes, Yang Mi dropped a tear that totally broke my heart. It’s sad no viewers bother to mention her great acting in these, as well as many other scenes, whereas when the male lead drops a tear, viewers shout about it.
So, I do wish to give special mention to Yang Mi here because her exquisite and excellent performance was one of the main reasons I enjoyed this drama. At the end of the drama, I realise the character I remember most is Fuyao. Yang Mi made Fuyao come alive. She made me care for Fuyao and want to continue watching the drama to find out her fate. I only wish she had more screen time. She lights up the screen every time she appears and stole the show.
(2) Ethan Ruan as Wuji
This is the first time I have ever seen Ethan Ruan acting and so I did not know what to expect from him. His performance as Wuji was both a hit and miss for me. It was a hit because he looks handsome as Wuji, had great chemistry with Yang Mi and was good as the cheeky and flirty prince. But it was also a miss because some of his facial expressions, especially his smiles/smirks, come across as sleazy and goofy instead of suave or endearing. There were several OTP scenes where he suddenly gave a goofy smile that just totally spoiled the tender moment. And he tends to overact, such as crunching his face into an unrecognisable mess to express pain or angst. It made the last few episodes, when Wuji was crying over his parents’ betrayal and when he was chained to the ice on the mountain, very difficult to watch. I cringed more than I felt touched. I just wish he had used more of his eyes to emote (like the senior actors and Yang Mi) instead of such exaggerated acting, because some of his emotional scenes were good.
OTP’S LOVE STORY
Fuyao and Wuji’s love story has got to be one of the most well-written and best developed I have ever seen in a Chinese historical drama. Their epic love story is one of the things that really draws you in to this drama. It was wonderful seeing their relationship grow from the initial fighting and flirting to trust, support and finally self-sacrifice for each other. And Yang Mi and Ethan’s chemistry was simply sizzling! They looked so natural and comfortable around each other and their scenes together were a joy to watch.
MUSIC & CINEMATOGRAPHY
I absolutely love the OST and BGM. Every piece of music suited the mood of every scene so well. I daresay I prefer Fuyao’s OST/BGM to TMOPB’s. Cinematography, sets and costumes were also very good and gave the drama a grandeur more common to movies than a TV drama.
FIGHT SCENES
One of my favourite are the fight scenes. There are more fight scenes here than the average Chinese historical drama and you could tell a lot of effort was put into these as they were all very well-choreographed and visually stunning. Fuyao had the best fight scenes and Yang Mi just looked soooo freaking COOL fighting and flirting!
FINAL THOUGHTS
As someone who read the novel before watching the drama, I was very frustrated over how the drama scriptwriter had changed and butchered Fuyao’s character. Drama Fuyao was a victim of circumstances. In contrast, novel Fuyao was a dictator of events. All the schemes that Wuji planned in the drama were actually plotted by Fuyao. She single-handled plotted and helped put all 5 male leads on the thrones in their own kingdoms. So, I didn’t like the fact that the drama made Wuji more like the lead character and accredited all of novel Fuyao’s achievements to him.
When writing this review, I had to treat the drama as being NOT RELATED to the novel at all. Otherwise, it would not have been fair to all the cast and crew who put up such a fine production. Other than the inconsistent script, everything else about the drama was very good – from acting to music to cinematography and fight sequences. Putting my drama vs novel bias aside, this is still an entertaining drama with lots of action, adventure and intrigue to keep you engaged. If nothing else, Yang Mi’s and Ethan’s superb chemistry and love story will keep you invested and wanting more.
If you are debating whether to read the novel or watch the drama first, do yourself a favour and watch the drama first. You will enjoy the drama a lot more this way. Then go read the novel to understand what a truly awesome character Fuyao is and why she is a legend. The drama totally does not do any justice to Fuyao and the novel.
REWATCH VALUE
I will definitely rewatch this drama for my favourites scenes, action sequences and Yang Mi’s superb acting.
* ENDING SPOILER ALERT *
In case anyone is still confused about the ending, Fuyao and Wuji did not die. In the last scene, they are alive and well on a bridge (probably in Tianquan), not in heaven. The words spoken by Wuji in that scene (ie. follow her to the mortal realm etc. etc.) are actually lines from the novel that novel fans love. The scriptwriter probably put it in thinking that it would please novel fans but instead, it ended up confusing everyone about whether they lived or died.
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Fantastic appetizer but don't bother with the main course and desert.
This drama really wowed me at the beginning - heart stopping kungfu fight scenes, the two leads had good banter and chemistry, the set was gorgeous (obviously big budget) and the story had a good balance of intrigue, romance, action and good and evil characters. I was hooked and truly enjoyed the first 25-30 episodes of it. Then just when you are at the point of addiction, the show peaks, which is just plain cruel. And then in a truly impressive way the show crashes and burns, getting progressively worse as it advances. I kept watching in the desperate hope that it would turn itself around but sadly it did not. It was as if an entirely different production crew took over and set out to purposely destroy the show. The plot meandered down multiple mind numbingly boring and ultimately repetitive political plots to steal the thrones in 3 of the 5 kingdoms only to be foiled by Fuyao and her friends. There were lots of unnecessary side characters and multiple unanswered and non sequitor sub plots. Not to mention the many long winded and boring philosophical discussions that I strongly suggest fast forwarding through unless you have trouble falling asleep at night.Ethan Ruan and Yang Mi were great together most of the time and especially at the beginning. However, there were long periods where Fuyao/Yang Mi was on her own and the story/actress could not really carry those moments alone, frequently coming across as reckless and annoying. I did not love the supporting cast either and I felt that Vengo Gao's role/storyline was almost as if they were trying out two potential male leads with parallel (repetitive) plots to see which was better. Obviously Yang Mi and Vengo have zero chemistry and that sub plot that went on forever should have been eliminated altogether. I guess the entire crew was being paid by the episode judging from how it ended up being all pasted together to create one big mess of a storyline. Its a shame because this could have been a terrific and memorable (much shorter) drama with some ruthless editing and tighter script/plot writing.
The only thing epic about this drama is the effort I had to put in to see it through the end. Starts with a bang and then death by a thousand cuts of boring inanity. This is one of those shows that definitely would have benefited greatly from the latest Chinese government ban on excessive budgets that lead to too many unnecessary episodes in Chinese costume dramas. To be fair, I would say the first say 30 episodes are actually worth watching. If you can endure some suffering you can even watch a few more episodes until Fuyao discovers Wu Ji's real identity. After that, do yourself a huge favor and drop it. You will just feel angry and cheated if like me, you persist until the bitter end because it then becomes just so, so much more bad than good.
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A non-fanatic, realistic review of Fuyao: the excellent half, and Fuyao: the mediocre half.
A brief review of the drama "Legend of Fuyao". We will see familiar faces from Yang Mi's previous drama Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in some of the leading roles, as well as the two Marquises from Nirvana in Fire in supporting roles again.Story Start - Synopsis:
Fuyao is a lazy but smart girl working as a serf on Xuanyuan Mountain. She's in love with her undecisive Eldest Disciple Brother, who recipriocates. Unfortunately, she is opposed by her arrogant Senior Discple Sister Pei Yuan (who also likes him) at every opportunity. The arrival of guests from Taiyuan Kingdom, the ambitious Grand Duke, Qi Zhen, and a useless/hidden-genius Crown Prince, Xuanyuan Min, stirs up some intrigue.
Episode 1-8: Xuanyuan Sect Arc
I feel it is a pretty good introduction to the drama. Xuanyuan Min in particular is a very watchable mystery that us viewers want to solve. This guy gets his flirt on so quickly playing around with Fuyao, their interactions are very entertaining.
Props to Xuanyuan Min, Qi Zhen, and the Saintly Doctor Zong Yue for carrying the first arc. Yang Mi is good when she's badass, and when she's melancholic, which is very little of this arc.
Episode 9-30: Taiyuan Kingdom Arc
The most interesting and entertaining arc of the drama bar none. Absolutely funny watching Xuanyuan Min as an incompetent wastrel of a king. The by-play between the four consorts is insightful too, especially when Noble-Consort Tang's true colours come out. The Xuanyuan Sect storyline comes to an end in episode 24 and is never mentioned again; I am so relieved. After having to suffer through Pei Yuan's cliché'd "petty woman", the competency of Liu Yi Jun's Qi Zhen is refreshing, just like Nirvana in Fire again!
Fight scenes are great too: two stand out for me, Fuyao and Xuanyuan Min's tag team fight (best in the drama), and Zhan Beiye's solo rampage.
Music in the Taiyuan Arc is the best in the drama. The melancholy of Zong Yue's theme is moving, and the epicness of Xuanyuan Min's ceremonial/plotting theme induces plenty of I-can't-wait tension in the listener. The best scenes are when we see Zong Yue and Yun Heng together; their acting really lets us feel the sincerity of emotions in the characters.
I do dislike the inconsistency of Fuyao's "Shattering the Nine Heavens" Swordplay. Isn't this supposed to be a top tier martial art? Fuyao can fight evenly against top experts, but lose terribly if more than 20 minions appear?
I also consider the end of this arc the end of Season 1 - The Excellent Half. What follows is Season 2 - The Mediocre Half.
Episode 30-35: Tianquan Empire Arc
It's a bit less interesting than the Taiyuan Arc, with most of the political plotting out of Wuji's control. I found Fo Lian devious and the Emperor serene. It's unexplained how Fo Lian knew to target Fuyao. Fuyao and Wuji's flirting come to an end when they have "...but I saw this happen" misunderstandings. Pingrong is one creepy dude, but he gets whats coming to him during the close of the arc.
I really like the portrayal of the Tianquan Empire in this arc. The prestige of the empire is so high that it doesn't need to rely on grandiose displays of power and rank at court. Instead, the Emperor is sort of honoured as a spiritual sage "Lordly-Father-Emperor" to his subjects. His hobby is literally medicinal alchemy. This sort of sagely court is rather rare to see in historical dramas.
Episode 35-41: Yao City Arc
As a general rule, I hate desert arcs in Chinese dramas. Deserts always come with an unnecessary long attempted crossing where the protagonists are out of water, injured, or lost. This is the worst arc in the drama, partially because of the above, but mostly because this entire arc is full of sub optimal decision making.
Example 1: If you can swat arrows from the air with your bare hands, please don't run while facing away from archers.
Example 2: If you have a secret but amazing plan to beat the enemy army, please tell someone. Literally anyone is fine as long as you think they are not a traitor.
Example 3: If you are a garrison commander, please shoot arrows at the giant army which you are sure is hostile, not at one person running away from the giant army who you think might be hostile.
Example 4: If you are severely injured to the point of dying, please don't run into the uncrossable desert to find your friend.
By the way, this is the third arc which ends with Fuyao getting saved by a man. I don't see in which way she is a "Legend".
This arc contains one great fight scene: the second fight in the Heirong Encampment. It still doesn't makes up for the terrible writing for this arc. Now that I've written all this out I feel like I should decrease my score for the drama.
Episode 42-53: Tiansha Arc
Oh look it's good again, though I still don't like the Zhan Beiye and Ya Lanzhu storyline that much. I wish he would stop singing his lonely wanderer wilderness song; it is very depressing. The scenes with Zhan Beiye in the cursed wilderness are long and draggy, and an entire episode was wasted in the forest. Ya Lanzhu grows on you in this arc though; Episode 52 in particular is hilarious. Zhan Beiye's martial arts master is one funny dude.
The plot against Zhan Beiheng was well played, but I felt like the Tiansha king gradually lost his cunning through the arc. Fuyao's sycophantic True Martial General was well portrayed. Fuyao and Wuji are now in the lovey-dovey confidiant stage of a romantic drama, there is much less entertaining flirting to be had.
The Taiyuan arc resurfaces again, and is concluded in standard Mainland drama tragic style. Still the best arc in the drama; it is fantastic to see Zhong Yue and Yun Hen's frustration and despair acted out so well. I was slightly disappointed to see that water bending didn't come up again, and that no other country had their own element to bend.
Fight scenes that stand out: the Heavenly Gate Abyss fight and the General selection competition.
I liked the steel armour of Wuji's army, very restrained, but disliked his personal white paper-mache armour. The deux ex machina teleporting magic hamster is also ridiculous.
Episode 53-59: Xuanji Arc
Significantly better than the previous couple of arcs, this is probably the second best arc in the drama. The arc starts off with a great fight in Episode 53. The eldest Royal Daughter is such a dear, falling in love at first sight. Unfortunately, happy times end with the reappearance of the second Royal Daughter Fo Lian. Her mother, the current female King of Xuanji, is a pretty charismatic character much like Fo Lian the first time we see her.... but we all know: as mother as daughter.
Xuanji's matriarchal society and government is a refreshing look on different cultures, and its definitely not one that has a lot of exposure in previous Chinese dramas.
Fuyao's decision making process continues to stymie, all the way from deciding to start a dangerous, immobile activity as potential enemies close in, to accepting gifts from people who've tried to kill you, to immediately giving up every time someone frames you for something.
Episode 59-64: Tianyuan Redux Arc
Wuji has to go to war, while Fuyao finds that the Emperor is not who he appears to be. Tragic dude, the Emperor, but his willful insanity is kind of understandable. We finally find out the backstory of the crazy Lady Xuanyuan back in the Taiyuan arc too!
I did not much like the big fight in Episode 62, it was very mechanical compared to previous fights.
All I can say about the ending of the arc is... its very Chinese.
Episode 64-66: Ancient Firmament Arc / Ending
Only one and a half episodes for Ancient Firmament?! This might be cutting it a bit short. Lets start off with the four elders of the sect trying to reinforce the seal of Di Feitian, which doesn't go exactly as planned. Next, Wuji forces his way into this religious cult waving a sword like an idiot, which doesn't go as planned either. I have a newfound appreciation for Xuanyuan Min (or whatever her real name is); she's a great girl, so true to her love. Seven too, so earnest.
Fuyao will Fuyao till the end, at least until the person who we know is really evil suddenly reveals the evil plan and backstabs everyone in order to revive Di Feitian anyway. Then, the power of love.... sort of does something....
The final ending looks like it's Ending A, but upon closer inspection on the dialogue appears to be Ending B. I wish it was actually Ending A, since the ending shots of the city devoid of people is pretty damn creepy.
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Underrated Gem - Amazing Lead Chemistry and Acting
7/18/2021After watching almost 200 K-dramas and C-Dramas, I am compelled to write my first review of this amazing show. This show is so underrated compared to shows like "The Long Ballad" (which I like as well, but not as much as FuYao). It took me a while to pick up this show and I was probably deterred by the 66 episodes, because long C-dramas tend to drag in the middle. I am glad I decided to finally watch this.
Lead Characters/Romance: This is my second Yang Mi drama after "10 Miles Peach Blossoms" and my first of Ethan's. Their acting was sooo good. I like Yang Mi's (FL) acting here more than in 10 Miles. Ethan (ML) is a surprise and I can't see any other actor playing this role but him. He reminds me of Chen Kun in "The Rise of Phoenixes". Such amazing acting for a character with so many layers. He is not what I would consider a typical handsome lead, but his presence and charisma are so there. FL and ML have amazing chemistry. When they are not on my screen, I miss them. They both have great character development throughout the show. FL is not the annoying, naive little girl, even when she was younger. She is smart, independent and a badass! ML is funny, flirty, sly and mature. They are such a great pair. The romance was developed nicely and they have such a mature and open relationship. There is no silly misunderstanding and they talk to each other openly about their feelings. It's not just ML declaring his love, but FL also expresses herself, which is rare in a C-drama. They supported each other's decisions and stand by each other. The love carries throughout the drama through actions and words. I love this pair so much.
Story/Plot: The first part of the drama is great. You are introduced to the 5 kingdoms and the world building. The first 35-40 episodes went by so fast and kept you engaged throughout. It has a good combination of comedic moments, wuxia fighting, palace politics, wars and romance. The second half of the show definitely slows down. There's more talking and less action, and the lighthearted moments reduced (probably due to a more stable romance and less flirting from ML). I feel that they could have cut down a little bit on the TianSha arc and also the love triangle/family angst of the King/Queen/Queen's Brother, and spend a little more time on the actual ending. The ending felt a little rush after the big "fight" at the end. There are some more minor plot holes in the second half. The one I remember the most is when FL needed to take a poisonous pill to save ML and the bride. They made a point to show the flashback of the pill and pan the camera to the facial expressions of FL and Little 7, yet the show didn't say anything about the after effect of the pill at all when the crisis is over.
Acting: Aside from the great acting of the leads, the supporting cast is just as good. It's no surprise that the more seasoned actors and villains are good. But the younger ones are not bad either. I do have a problem with the 2ML (Vengo Gao) always opens his wide really really big when he's angry. The 2FL is ok and I did find her a little annoying in the beginning but she got better. I like her acting here than in "Love in Between". Lastly, AMAZING acting for the lead characters in the last episode. Just WOW!!!!!
Production/Costumes: The sets and the costumes are amazing. You can see how much money they spend on the building all the sets of the different kingdoms. The leads have so many different costumes and I particularly enjoy the color themes of each kingdom. At first I was wondering why ML's emperor outfits are so "black" and then I realized the white comes when he's back becoming the Crown Price. You can distinguish each arc/kingdom by the color of the costumes - from white, black, gray and red.
Fight scenes: For a wuxia drama, I expect good fight scenes. But with a C-drama, I also expect slow-motion fight scenes with a lot of spinning (which I dislike). This drama shows some good fighting choreography, but I still find the fighting to be a little too "slow mo". I like live fighting speed, esp. when it's a serious wuxia drama. The fight scenes are not bad here, but I wanted more. However, there's no wimpy fighting. All characters acted well, even for the female characters. They are no weaklings and I enjoy seeing them saving themselves and putting in the effort to contribute in fight scenes. I do think FL gets knocked out by others secretly a little too often in the first half of the show, when she's supposed to be such a badass.
Overall:
Positives - great acting, amazing lead chemistry, strong/mature romance, good pacing (esp first half), beautiful costumes, good cinematography
Negatives - minor plot holes in the second half, too much time on certain plots without the leads, not as interesting secondary romance, rushed ending (last episode)
p.s. can't believe I write such a long review. Thanks for reading till the end.
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Moving onto the actual plot, I really liked the first 30 episodes. It was when the story was setting up, the pace was moving along in a good speed. The story took place in Taiyuan Kingdom. The two lead characters slowly came together and started to work together against the common enemy. Both Fuyao and Wuji were super witty and were able to outsmart many times. Then, after Taiyuan Kingdom, the story took place in Tianquan Kingdom, the story continued with excellent pacing and the plot thickened. But the part where the drama began to slow down was during Tiansha Kingdom. It became draggy maybe because the focus of the drama shifted from the adventures of the two leads to the second lead couple (Zhan Beiye and Yalan Zhu). I liked the second lead couple but their relationship of how they came together was very questionable. Their relationship don't seem as genuine compared to Wuji and Fuyao and I felt like their relationship was forced. I was not convinced how Zhan Beiye suddenly turn 180 degree and started like Yalan Zhu after she partially sacrificed herself. After that, the story journeyed to Xuanji Kingdom. I liked this kingdom better than Tiansha but nothing really stood out to me as much as Taiyuan. Personally, I wished that we had more screen time for Xuanji because I would liked to see Fuyao as the queen for a longer period of time. The title of this drama is Legend of Fuyao but it really is an understatement at time because Wuji had to rescue Fuyao most of the times and she was always getting hurt for the stupidest reasons. Last but not least, the ending! Legend of Fuyao has an open ending but the leads are alive and happy nonetheless. I still wish that the drama follows the novel's ending since I read that the novel ends with Wuji and Fuyao married with 3 kids (how adorable would that be!!!). In conclusion, the drama would be so much better if the writers shorten parts of Tiansha's story arc to give more time for the ending and an epilogue to explain to what happen to all the kingdoms and their friends.
Overall, this is one of my favorite historical Chinese drama of this year along with Nirvana in Fire 2. All actors are phenomonal and I hope Ethan and Yang Mi win awards for their amazing acting. Also, shoutout to English subbers on Viki, you guys are the best!
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As per the initial introduction they already cleared that the story is related to 5 kingdoms. And i m really happy that in each kingdom there is a different story waiting for u ...otherwise it will be very boring to see the same story through out 66 eps.
I really enjoyed each and every episode, every episode is very good but there are few eps which r even more amazing and well portrayed in terms of emotions .....
The LEADS chemistry is SPEECHLESS ....i could feel each and every emotion be it happiness, sadness, crying, jealousy and agony .... i know each and every drama has some + points and some -ve points .....but when it comes to legend of fuyao -ve pts didn't even cross my mind like i really dont care even if its there bcoz for me it doesn't matters. I had sleepless nights bcoz i was so much drawn into this drama and couldn't stop ...it took me 4 days to complete this drama.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
MIND-BLOWING AND FABULOUS DRAMA .
This my #no1chinesedrama till now ...until i find something better than this one....
Well one thing is definitely clear, never judge any drama on the basis of others recommendation or their theory always first watch the drama by urself and then make ur own decision and theory ...<3
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i fall for Wuji and Fuyao chemistry. I never regret watched this drama. I hate when somebody compared Ethan with Mark, i know its your right to say what you want to say, but can you please stop compared them. Will you happy if you be compared to anyone else? Please consider Ethan hard work in this drama. In the end, I love you, Ethan. I'll root for you and wait your next project.
For Yangmi, i never doubt about her acting, she is one of my favorite actress, she such a goddess so pretty.
I watched LoF press conference, oh my god, ethan so funny in real life
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In terms of the overall story, I gave it an 8.5. It was a 10 for 2/3s of the entire series, but then it just started to drag, and plot holes started to leak in. It started to drag in the Tiansha Arc. I don't remember exactly where and which episodes it started to feel draggy, but I can remember it lasted about 4 episodes. I understand this was to promote the second leads, but the story didn't make much sense either. Once the Tiansha Arc completed, things got on track again, except instead of being draggy, it was rushy. Xuanji was very thrilling, but too short, especially for the reunion of father and daughter. The second half of Tianquan, where the emperor was exercising his plot was also rushed. The ending was perfectly paced, except because of the draggy Tiansha Arc, there was not enough time to conclude the drama properly. It did meet my minimum requirements in that it logically made sense, especially after all that talking while they were lying on the ground bleeding out.
Some improvements to the ending (if they increased the Tiansha pacing by about half an episode) would be to show 2 seconds of someone/something saving them at the Ancient Firmament, and to show 30 second clips of Fu Yao and Wu Ji visiting the 5 kingdoms, as Fu Yao wanted to. This is 2 minutes or less of extra time, and it would also allow for filling of plot holes.
The only reason why Tiansha didn't bore me was Wuji and Fu Yao. There is no doubt in my mind this is the best written love story I've ever seen. Watching Fu Yao and Wu Ji go at kept giving me feels.
The Acting:
Yang Mi and Ethan Juan. Doesn't get better than that. As said above, watching Fu Yao and Wu Ji go at it kept giving me feels. Watching these two talented actors portray these characters made me emotional. Just watch episodes 63 and 64, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
All the other characters were portrayed excellently. A well rounded cast indeed.
The Characters:
All the characters were well written. The character developments of Ya Lan Zhu and Zhan Bei Ye were very questionable. If I could go blind to save someone I love, and have them love me back for doing it, I'd do it anyday. The problem is that it doesn't really work that way in the real world.
The Music:
Looping while writing this review. Still gives me feels, and it's been 3+ days since I've finished watching it raw.
Rewatch Value:
Although the Tiansha Arc is draggy, and the ending is flawed, just watching the love story is enough to be worthy of a rewatch.
Side Note:
Props to the writers for being able to write such a well rounded story for 44 episodes, especially when part of it has to be different than the book that was being referenced (Empress Fuyao), and there are multiple subplots inside a main plot. Although it couldn't be done for the entire length of the drama, the love story was able to be flawlessly written for all 66 episodes. The flawed ending can be used as a starting point for improvement in future scripts.
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Just a high budget drama with full of boring romantic scenes
PS: This is the worst comment I type in my life and I hate the person who suggested me this drama (whoever that is)I don't understand why people love this. There are thousands of reasons not to like this.
I know that different people have different tastes. But do you call this a good chemistry? Am I the only one felt cringey watching the main couple and wanted to skip? I mean the FL was not that comfortable with the ML!
Even though they are good actors, and acted some parts amazingly, sometimes the acting is a bit dramatic, forced and didn't feel real.
Some of the first few episodes were good and had some kind of an interesting story that I could enjoy.
But after the first story ended, everything was totally about the main couple's love story. And it's not even that interesting. Maybe it could be interesting if it was shorter. There were like 5 minutes of interesting parts for once in 5 episodes.
The whole story is focusing on the ML and the FL and the writer did not care about what happens to the other characters and all the other characters were just background characters for their love story. They just come and do their part for the main couple's love.
I absolutely hate the way they ended the story of Xiao qi. He was the only character I liked. (Yun hen was also a bit interesting)
I was expecting a legend, but there was just a boring love story. The writer tried to make their background story an amazing back story, but for me, it was ruined with long and boring scenes. Right when I think oh it's getting interesting, he cuts off that interesting feeling with something annoying.
The drama is also full of childish jealousy and bullying which I hate to see in a drama. Normally I avoid these cruel continuous bullying dramas. I think adding more scenes like this promotes bullying, and it should be stopped!
I've never fast forwarded a drama, (I watch average 2 dramas a month, at least 5 historical cdramas a year) but I fast forwarded almost all the last 10 episodes of this drama while cursing the person who suggested me this. I felt so relieved after finishing the last episode. I was like "thank god it ended".
I've watched dramas that focus a lot on the main couple, and I could enjoy them even though I'm not a big fan of romantic dramas. But this is annoying and boring than interesting.
Finally, this is my least favourite drama I've watched for the past 4 years. I've wasted 2 months of my life!
Again, I know different people have different opinions and tastes and this is just my opinion.
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