The art direction, acting and incredible sets are as breathtaking as the massive scope of the series.
The show is good but they left out all the juicy details from the novel,
I love the opening ost, and Qu chu xiao super cute, i am glad to see him main role,
The production is beautiful, the dialog economical and exceptionally well-delivered,
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Reasons:
1. Story- i like how unique the story is and that it is adapted from a novel. Usually a story that is adapted from a novel turns out to be great that is why i was hooked from the beginning until the end. This drama is a so-so for me. It is not that great but it is not bad also. I didn't felt compelled watching the whole 36 episodes in one sitting. I just watch it in my spare time and can still enjoy it.
2. Acting/cast- The actors here are amazing. They portray their roles really well, especially the three main cast.
Usually when there is a love triangle, i always felt bad for the second male lead but here the male main lead makes you wish that you met him in real life. His love for main female lead is unconditional, he always want to sacrifice himself for the sake of his lover. This kind of role is usually seen on the Second ML. Although the second ML is also likeable because of the things he did for female lead and also want to sacrifice himself for her the only difference is the second ML wants her love in return while the main male lead just do it without expecting anything from her.
The villains here also did a job well done. They are not pure evil but becomes evil only because of the circumstances that they experience. All in all.. clap clap for all of the cast's hardwork..
3. Music- The music is astounding. I usually skip the opening and ending song but here i was smack by the incredible songs and background music they use. Even though i didn't understand the lyrics the melody itself works its magic.
4.Rewatch value- Like i said, i only watch it because of the unique story but i think i will only watch it once. Because i know the whole plot already it is enough for me ..
5. Ending- I can't say that it is a happy ending but a good ending.. I expect more from the ending because i watch those many episode just to get a satisfaction of the ending but i am quite disappointed with it. Maybe some viewers felt satisfied with this ending because some chinese drama has a more tragic ending than this. It is still good and it is still worth to watch.
It is just a preference if you watch it or not. But just a piece of advice for those that wants to watch it.. If you like the first 5 episode of the drama continue it until the end. Because this kind of story is for you. But if not just drop it, it might be a waste of time for you.
I hope this review will help you.. ^_^
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Torturous, Bloody Romances with Great Acting
Completed - 3/14/2022I have gone back-and-forth on whether to watch this drama because I accidentally read a spoiler about the ending of a character and the mixed reviews I've seen. I am glad to take the plunge while lowering my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this drama. For a Chinese historical/wuxia fantasy drama, 36 episodes are quite short. So if it's not amazing, I am not wasting too much time. Since I didn't watch this drama when it was aired, I wasn't sure how popular it was. It does seem to be a little underrated and not being recommended enough. For a small budget production, the quality of set designs, props and costumes are well done. "Bloody Romance" has a 7.1 Douban rating, which is pretty good, but only 8.0 on MDL which is considered only decent.
What I Enjoy:
1. Li Yi Tong as Wan Mei (FL) - Li Yi Tong is such an amazing and pretty actress. She has such wide range when portraying the growth and experience of Wan Mei. This role allows Li Yi Tong to express feelings of hope, sadness, desperation, love, revenge and success. She was so cute and innocent in the beginning, esp. when she first fell in love with Chang An. Her beautiful eyes conveyed the sorrow and hurt when she realized promises weren't kept. The heartbreaking reunion scene in ep 16 was amazing.
2. Qu Chu Xiao as Chang An (ML) - This is my first introduction to Qu Chu Xiao. He might not have the classic handsome look to be the main lead of this drama, but he suited the role of Chang An so well. I think Qu Chu Xiao looks better in modern dramas, instead of historical ones. Playing the shadow, I am most impressed with the way he talks, moves and postures as the submissive shadow. There’s something about his voice that makes him the perfect shadow (he uses his own voice in this drama). Chang An is a stoic and more serious character, and doesn’t provide Qu Chu Xiao the opportunity to widely express his feelings, as much as the role of Gong Zi. I think his acting is pretty good but when compared to a powerhouse like Li Yi Tong, it does pale in comparison a little.
3. Wang Duo as Gong Zi (2ML) - It’s hard to not have second lead syndrome when Wang Duo acted so well as Gong Zi. Gong Zi is such a gray character that he would make an amazing sole male lead in another historical drama. As much as I love Chang An, I can’t deny Gong Zi also has amazing chemistry with Wan Mei. This is my first drama of Wang Duo and I am impressed with his acting. Playing the role of Gong Zi provided Wang Duo an amazing opportunity to flex his acting chops. Gong Zi reminds me of Rong Xi, Luo Yun Xi’s character in “Princess Silver”, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Gong Zi is such a mysterious character that you have to guess if he really cares for Wan Mei, or if it’s all part of his schemes.
4. “Bloody Romance” is a small budget production. However, the cinematography, costumes, set designs and props all look good and believable. It’s much better than other big budget dramas I’ve seen, e.g. “Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities”. I love the opening theme song, "Waiting For You (一生等你)" sung by Tia Ray. It just sets the mood for you to watch this drama. The rest of the songs are just as lovely, with complementary background music that doesn’t overshadow dialogs. The use of comics for storytelling is also interesting and well-done. Due to Li Yi Tong’s character, there’s quite a bit of dancing in this drama performed by her. She graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy and you could tell she’s in her element. She looks beautiful and mesmerizing!
5. General Plot - I quite like the general plot and the main romances of this drama. We follow the journey of our female lead from when she was first sold by her father to becoming the strongest of all. Along the way, she learned and grew and also had two amazing guys vying for her affection. We have Chang An would support and protect her no matter the cost. And we have Gong Zi who protects her in his own scheming, unconventional way.
What I Don’t Enjoy As Much:
1. Inconsistencies/plot holes - I enjoy the general plot of the drama but I feel that some scenes or stories could use a little more time to show us or elaborate on what happened. I am unsure if the drama was cut short, thus we have editing issues. I definitely feel that the pacing is done so well that it could be extended to 40 episodes. There are other minor inconsistencies/weirdness:
= An assassin that never kills when she’s on a mission
= Wan Mei is given so many chances to fight for her life within the first 5 episodes
= Gong Zi forgot to act blind for a while
= Xing Feng’s scar seems to change color every so often
2. Liu Guang’s voice - I cannot stand the voice of Puff Kuo’s character, Liu Guang. She sounded like a little girl when she’s supposedly a powerful Supreme assassin. I can’t picture Puff Kuo’s beautiful, mature face with a whiny voice.
3. CGI/Fight Scene - While I praised the production quality above, the CGI is quite mediocre. I like the light effect of the blood bugs, when it’s the dream/hypnosis sequence by Cha Luo, the CGI is really bad. I guess with a small budget, something’s gotta give. CGI is also used in some fight scenes, but they also look fake. The fight choreography is fine but they also rely on slow motion fighting. The actual fights weren’t very exciting. As much as I love seeing Li Yi Tong dance, when she is waving her sword, there isn’t enough power. She fights like she’s dancing as well.
Other Observations:
1. Good acting all around
2. The King reminds me of Willy Wonka
3. I feel bad for the actresses with their thin costumes. I see steam coming out of their mouths when they’re speaking.
4. Though I enjoy the matriarchal society/organization, the major scheming is still done by men.
5. I LOVE the reunion scene in ep 16, but the reconciliation scene is too anti-climatic.
6. If you watch this drama on YouTube, the titles of the episodes could be minor spoilers
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This review may contain spoilers
As I thought this will be a lot of milder than the book which NSFW content. Even though they change a lot but the interaction between Chang an and Wan Mei so heart wrecking the battle of wits and teasing just like your normal couple. But somehow I dont know what inside Wan Mei brain, I know she doesnt like killing people randomly but being a wishy-washy killer sure get on my nerves. I like their props the beautiful half face-mask and colourful robes and of course Gong Zi house was like in another world so breeze and cool, maybe the effect of that bamboo and emerald jade green colour. All the people maybe ship the main but for me I shipped Wan Mei with Gong Zi instead, he extended his hands to help Wan Mei when even he have a past of his mom that would need to deal off.
The actress which played as Chief Cha Lou is superb because we hate her to the bone, its indicating she did a great job as a villainess,
The BGM are even awesome. The only bloopers just the position when they need to do action which require harness so off, made me kind a sorry not dissapointed since the sets and props were mega awesome.
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All the characters, even the minor ones, acted amazingly. Not one person seemed out of place of out of character. And that creates a sense of completeness in the story. You believe that these people are actually humans, and not just fictional one-dimensional tools. Characterization in this drama was also amazing. No one was evil just because the writers needed them to be. No one was just pure goodness, and everybody had a little bit of hate and evil in them. The main couple also had a lot of chemistry. They had a relationship that you easily believed, due to the chemistry, the pacing of the story, and the plot itself. They trusted each other, loved each other, and would do anything to help the other, even sacrificing their own happiness or health. They had their conflicts, but their love for each other always won out.
The OST was hauntingly beautiful. When it played in Wan Mei-Chang An scenes, it added another layer of angst and passion to the chemistry between them. The other songs were really good as well, and they were always used accordingly.
Now to talk about the ladies. Oh my god, they amazing. Wan Mei might not be the most confident killer, but let's be real, if you were in her shoes, forced to kill people who are (sometimes) innocent, and have done nothing to harm you, would you be willing to? But if you want ladies that can fight and kill without hesitation, this show has got them as well.
This show also approaches a number of complex themes (is it ever correct to kill someone? how can one rise to high positions of power without using violence or low schemes) and involves character development (Wan Mei goes from naïve and innocent to a woman who understands she must fight to achieve freedom and rights for her fellow assassins).
So if you want to watch a Cdrama with good acting, good music, a good plot, and a new approach to dramas, WATCH THIS ONE. Honestly, even if you don't want to watch something fresh and new, still watch it!
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1This review may contain spoilers
(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻
I think it’s fair to say I felt insulted while watching, for a few different reasons. First episode I did love and it made me extremely excited, but it went downhill from there. At first I kind of enjoyed it as a hate watch, but later it was just too boring, repetitive and not crazy enough to laugh about. Before you read the review know, that there are paragraphs talking about sexual harassment and rape (TW).First of all, the focus on sex and impotence and magic potions that will make male slaves’ lower parts useless was just weird. The number of times it was mentioned and presented as the worst type of fate one can deal with… priorities I guess. I’d say, being tortured for years would be worse. They also had a potion that made Chang Ah horny, and it was used as a torture… yeah.
The lack of strong villains was also disappointing. What were the main characters exactly fighting against? More often than not, the bad guys and ladies had valid points. And what exactly were the motivations of the villains? My favorite part was how pressed was Cha Luo about not being able to do the do with her slave man. Like damn, the lady had some major problems.
The worst part of the show was for sure the female lead - Wan Mei. She had no solid personality nor brain. After the first episode I was hoping to see a physically weak, but strong willed and smart character slowly grow, take revenge on the bad people and fight for the good. I wasn't even hoping for an interesting gray character, because I knew this ain’t happening. What I’ve got was a dumb girl who had massive problems with understanding the information other tell her. How many times she was told it’s an assassin organization - and yet she was like “I ain’t killin anyone”. SHE WAS TRAINING TO BE ASSASSIN!
How many times she was told and shown what happens when you disobey the orders, and yet she was like: nah, ain’t doing that. And then she was surprised when the consequences hit her. She was smart when the plot needed it, brainless when it was convenient. She was weak at times, and really good at fighting at other times. I mean, when her targets literally commit suicide to help her, because she is not capable of killing them, it tells you what type of show it is. Truth to be told, FL has no real personality. She is what the scene needs her to be: she is smart AND dumb, she is cunning AND naive... I am confident, this show would be so much better without her.
The love that makes no sense. I’m still trying to figure out why both the main lead and second lead fell for Wan Mei. Fair enough, let's say Chang Ah did spend enough time with her for some kind of affection to bloom. Gong Zi tho literally started to like her because she was pretty and the first person he saw after gaining his sight back. His obsession over her never made sense. Him willing to sacrifice so much to keep her alive, even his own life? Bish why? He was willing to eat a soup made of a maid’s cooked face to hide the fact he is not blind anymore, but a few scenes later he just tells Wan Mei like it’s not important. His IQ dropped so much whenever Wan Mei was close. To be honest, she lowered the IQ of everyone that was close to her - that’s the true power she had.
Another aspect that at some point just started to make me angry was how fake woke this show is. They show this society where the females are the masters, and men are the slaves. Women are making the decisions and have all the power, and the guys are just supposed to serve them - the 180 to the usual historical styled shows, where the women are the voiceless ones. This ain’t good though. This is not empowering at all. Not to mention, with all the women over men rhetoric, male characters were still far superior and better written than female ones.
Female villain going crazy because she can’t have sex with the dude? Playing into women being unstable, unreasonable and overemotional I guess. The fact they literally said the scar on Wan Mei’s face is THE WORST thing that could happen to her was laughable. Yes, it’s worse than her being tortured for days, worse than her possibly dying, worse than her being almost raped twice. Or how Chang Ah was more concerned about that small cut on her face than the fact SHE WAS MUTE! Love the message here: a beautiful woman without any scars is more valuable than one who can speak. Because beauty is what’s important.
And then there is also the whole love for sexual assault. The show opens with Wan Mei being sold to a brothel and almost raped. This did not bother me that much. It was supposed to be tragic, showing how weak and vulnerable she is at the moment. Could they do without it? Yes. But it still made sense plot wise. The thing that annoyed me was the fact she was also almost sexually assaulted by Gong Zi - and people still shipped them. There were comments saying he just loved her so much he could not stop himself. Some even said it was hot. Don't know what is more gross, that scene or people’s reaction to it.
Then, there is a whole sub plot of a CHILD being sold to a brothel and being raped god knows how many times to the point of stopping her mental development. Years later, after being saved, she is gang raped AGAIN, while mentally being a 11 years old child. I guess the writers wanted to be dramatic and edgy. So basically, for 2 years assholes took her virgin blood coz it has some awesome "magical" youth qualities. And when she was oLd eNoUgH (13), they started to rape her. And now at the age 19, after all that trauma, she gets raped again. And literally none of this, and definitely to that extent, was necessary plot wise.
So… does this drama have any good points? Yes. The acting was truly nice - I am impressed with Li Yi Tong for delivering a good performance even though the character she was playing was poorly written and made little sense. Another good aspect was the soundtrack. A Lifetime Waiting For You easily became one of my favorite OSTs. Last thing worth mentioning is - the show is just really pretty. I took almost 300 screenshots.
Overall, I would use it to torture people.
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Story: well paced, never a boring moment, li yi tong acts good, and looks good while doing it
Characters: each and every character is likable, u will understand what they do and why they do it
Music: the ost is amazing, top it off with tia fays main theme song, killer ost, the scenes are 10x better with this ost
Cinematopgraphy: topnotch as well, i watched this in 2160p, visual eyecandy, the director is very good
I recommend it very highly
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This drama has some great cinematography, together with a few but very touching original soundtrack to make some very standout scenes. Storyline is straightforward and natural, which allows this drama to focus on the characters themselves. I have long been starving for a good Chinese drama and thank goodness I found this one. There is not a single kiss scene (thank god!), yet delivered such endless passion. In this aspect, this drama reminded me of Martin Scorsese's Age of Innocence (written by Edith Wharton), possibly one of the most romantic movie/stories out there. And of course it is only 36 episodes! Good job all around. Love it!
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Cast
It was my first ever drama of Li Yi Tong and I immediately became her fan.Her acting is superb and both the male lead actors did a pretty good job as well.
Good Points
The best thing abt this drama is that the plot is tight and well-prepared.
We can clearly see the development of Wan Me’s character from a poor naive girl to a string , determined and stubborn girl.
The plot is well connected and the production team did a good job.
Bad points
I somehow feel that the story lacks proper climax and certain turning point.
Anyway, the story is clearly not finished and I hope there will be season 2 with the same casts
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If this does NOT get a second season the story is an 6 for me. If it DOES get one it could be and 10 (at least an 8,5)
First up the Music:
My only problem was that they used the (beautiful) intro song too much. When it came on (IN the episodes) I knew it so well I couldn't help anticipating the next tunes. What became annoying since it distracted me. Even though I skipped over the intro mostly. But someone that doesn't race through this as I did, maybe wound`t notice.
Acting:
I liked all of the acting accept the evil laughter. I swear I never in my live saw/heard an actor pull that off convincingly.
Story:
I liked the pace. No comedy thank goodness! Yes I agree it has a realism to it although some of the characters (like the king) where "too much" it reminded me of japanese movie characters.
This story makes a great first part (great building up (no chaos)) but if there is no second season it's really disappointing.
The quality of the show reminded me of an good (low key epic) american movie. It certainly doesn't look all the other chinese (historical) dramas I watched so far (no cheesy coloring and bad animations).
But the ending just isn't an ending. Not a good (written) one of any kind. Though I was glad that some characters ended so we could move on in S2.
So hopefully we GET a season 2! And SOON!
Rewatch Value:
It`s only 36 episodes if there is an S2 I am going to watch it again of cause!
Do I recommend watching this (without a season 2)?:
Yes!! Because I refuse to BELIEVE this ending! This is not the ending in my head. As a writer myself I know that how I think it would (and that it does at all) continue makes more sense. The intent and potential of the story is obvious. Except if that was an accident and the author is stupid. So if someone KNOWS that this is not the ending of the novel(s) PLEASE tell me!
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Love and Pain
Bloody Romance kept me hooked till the end. I knew this would be a heart wrenching story, but the plot unfolded beautifully. No one is really good or bad in this series, several characters change under endurance or by unhappy events. They all make mistakes and exactly this makes them human. I won't say too much about the storyline, just watch it for yourself, but I have to say this: there are a lot of scenes where love is mixed with pain. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the original novel seems to be a bit on the SM side, I don't know. I'll give you one example of these twisted feelings, the scene where Gong Zi is forced to torture Wan Mei by carving her face. Although he intends to be his very levelheaded, calculating self Zing looses himself in the end. It's like a love scene he's never experienced before: https://youtu.be/RW2For449-8?t=18m38sWas this review helpful to you?
