Perfectly done yin and yang romance
Do you think that the love between sweet, naive little girl and a badass, overpowered devil is possible? Is it even possible to write such a story and make it rational and logical?Yes and YES!
First of all, this is not your typical xianxia about 3 lives, reincarnations etc... This drama will surprise you a lot. Even if you watched many other xianxias, this one will surprise you with characters' choices, story developments and turnovers.
MAIN LEADS:
The female lead - Orchid - might seem like a cute, naive, sweet little girl that could annoy you through the whole drama, might ruin your fun to watch endlessly, but not hear! If you feel irritated by her character at first, bear with her, just trust her. She will grow on you. Orchid is one of the bravest and most loyal female lead that are out there - she knows who she loves, she can make a decision and do everything for her loved once. Her love won't wave. She knows that decisions she make are risky, but she is brave enough to do them. Her pure intentions and love can melt even the devil's heart and that's what she does.
The romance between the main lead is logical. Our Moon Supreme couldn't fall for Orchid if he weren't bond to her through the Heart Curse. The evil he is, he wouldn't give her a chance to live longer than an hour knowing his short temper.
She is a pure love. He is a pure evil. A true love between Yin and Yang.
And it works.
Both main actors did splendid job with their characters. Their acting was perfect. They know at what stage what they character feels, what are their motivation, and they act just splendid through the whole drama. You can see so much through their expressions and their eyes - it tells the whole story.
Supports:
Characters developments is one of the point that made me truly appreciate this drama. Each, I mean EACH character had their own story, motivation, character and character development. No one stay pure good or pure evil, whatever - all characters change through many circumstainces. They grow, they change. They don't stay stubborn till the day. They know logic. Wow.
Visual development:
The CGI is once of the most beautiful I've ever seen in xianxias. The world building is full of variety. Each scene was built carefully and thought well through - you can see it in the details. Some really good concept artists sat down and spent lot of time wondering how this and that person live, what would they have in their room, in hwta environment they grew up, what are their people customs, what is the lighting, etc. If you watch this drama, you spend a lot of time just consuming these beautiful, well designed environment settings. Mniah :)
Music:
All OSTs are beautiful and addictive :) And they know the right moment to play them ;)
Ahh, whatr to say more? Just go watch the drama, if you haven't seen it yet and don't give up on it after 1 or 2 episodes. It does get better with each one.
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Beautiful fairy tale
This Chinese version of Beauty and the Beast is romantic, funny, dreamy, heartwarming and heart-wrenching. The artistic CGI enhances the fantasy feel. I was blown away by the stunning music, beautiful set design and the heartfelt portrayal by the cast.Dylan Wang nails a challenging role of the heartless and ruthless but inadvertently funny and loveable Supreme Lord of the Moon Tribe, Dongfang Qingcang.
Esther Yu as lowly Fairy Orchid Xiao Lanhua is initially annoying with her high-pitched, whiney, babyish way of talking but she eventually grows on you once you realize Lanhua is really a baby immortal, just 1500 years old compared to Dongfang Qingcang who is more than 30,000 years old. And Lanhua does grow up, becoming much less whiney and babyish as the drama progresses. However, she retains a baby's innocence and purity of heart, making her one of the most admirable female leads I've encountered in CDramas. Instead of the usual revenge-driven grudge-keeping CDrama characters, Lanhua sees the best in everyone and is quick to forgive and forget. She does not hesitate to come to the rescue of other people, with no thought of her own safety. Her pure heart, kindness and courage melt DFQC's heart, or rather, restore his emotional tree.
Roc Chen's sublime background music (also featured in Royal Nirvana) soars, a fitting accompaniment to the exquisite artistic visuals. The other musical pieces are equally stirring.
In summary, it's a beautiful and powerful drama that dares to make viewers believe in the supremacy of love.
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Short and fast paced limits the typical repeatedness.
Here, a lot of the 'hero' formulas are flipped on their head. On one hand, there are highly toxic ideas of what can make a good person and what can inspire change in a person. On the other hand an important lesson for all: that true, genuine sacrificial love - honoring what the other person needs and not what you desire - will always win.
The acting and chemistry here is decent between the main characters, Dylan Wang is excellent when he is brooding and quite adorably childlike cute whilst in love, the melding of the two personas never really settles in properly. Yu Shu Xin is bubbly and earnest but the plot keeps her smart and with agency - not a fool.
Music is fairly good, not sure I'd rewatch.
Themes: 8.0
True, genuine love where you see each other and respect each other, flaws and all is transformative. With shared values, old rules about who you fight for and who you love go out the window. Ego and the desire to deaden your own humanity may allow you to dominate and win as an individual, but will never be the answer to saving your community. Never forget that there is usually a larger common enemy stirring the pot of discord and divide.
Character Growth: 7.5
Dong Fang Qing Cang jumps around between a cynical, deadened soul and a boy who never grew up - while this is an excellent way to portray him at the beginning, and is justified based on his origin story, the final integration never really satisfyingly takes place. Xiao Lan Hua / Xi Yun is not allowed the same time to integrate and is bubbly and earnest 90% of her screen time.
Complex Women/Interactions Between Women: 7.5
There are plenty of women characters but the desire to pair each of them off with a man leaves them with little meaningful interaction. The friendship of Xiao Lan Hua and Jie Li is the exception, but even that relationship it's unclear what bonds them as friends besides Xiao Lan Hua's open heart and gullibility.
Production Values/Cinematography: 9.0
Compared to the CGI in previous XianXia, this is much more flattering. The sets are well-done and I didn't mind that they replicated Little Orchid's home over and over in order to re-use that set. The color palette, costumes, jewelry and make-up are all very pretty - this is true in all the 'realms'/worlds. Action scenes are very simple, but are pulled off well instead of being complicated and clearly fake.
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DYLAN, DYLAN, DYLAN
Y’all. I am SHOOKETH. Let me tell you. Try to get to episode 9… and you will be hooked. TRUST. It needs to build up to episode 9. Dylan Wang as the Moon Supreme carried the entire show to the moon and back. He was PHENOMENAL. He Worked this role like a BOSS. Sexy, masculine, fierce, strong, brave, confident and above all.. he feared NOTHING. He acted his heart out and honestly… one of the best actors of this generation.Storyline: very, very interesting. Ignore some minor flaws (mostly the FL in the beginning) and you won’t regret watching. The FL shows a lot of character development and becomes very lovable.
Love: Their chemistry is fire! When they fell in love, they fell HARD. Like one of those, I will die for you a thousand deaths and flip off all them haters in the process with hellfire. Their love was indestructible. I enjoyed all the romantic scenes and affections.
Second leads: did not disappoint. They all kept their morals strong and no one was evil. Very enjoyable to watch.
OST: for the first time, I really enjoyed the music. Incredibly moving.
Overall, I’m off to watch more of Dylan’s other dramas. Huge fan, now!
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LBFAD IS THE XIANXIA DRAMA OF 2022
Finally we get the ONE xianxia drama of 2022, like every year I usually wait for a xianxia drama that will be the ONE of that year and honesty I've never been disappointed,instead it just keeps on getting better and better with an amazing casts full of chemistry and great storyline.LBFAD is such a good drama that while watching you keep asking yourself if you're watching a fiction story or if you're actually experiencing it with them because of how real the drama was.
Initially it took me two days to finish episode one because of the FL, I didn't like the sound of her voice and almost gave up but I said to give it a try and boy was I hooked.
Right from episode one it was already shown that love will be the the main theme of the drama, what do you expect when you put a soul that's kind, compassionate and know how to love with a soulless being of course it will turn out OK.
The fight on who get to sacrifice for each other is so beautiful and heart wretching. I cried my eyes out when watching this drama. Their love story is like how a woman get pregnant, concoon the baby for nine months, give birth to the baby, take care of it with love and affection from infant to adulthood and watch it makes its own decision.
The supporting casts also did well and I especially feel that Danyin should have been giving more story and well balanced ending to her character, I came to fell in love with her character.
Honestly was expecting Chengheng to finally love Danyin but I guess the writers knew what they were doing and didn't want to make it look like cliché like other dramas do sometimes. Chengheng felt more like a supporting character than a 2nd ML.
The one thing I love most about this drama is the ML, this is my second time watching his drama and to me he is really a good actor. His facial expression and dialogue is amazing, him as a woman and him as an evil being makes him so versatile as an actor. I hope he branches out more with different roles and all.
My first time watching Esther Yu drama, I think she can do more if she stop with the baby voice, it was the main reason while I didn't want to watch the drama in the first place but towards the ending she stopped speaking with the baby voice so I really think she can stop using it if she really wants.
The Ost is such a loving, beautiful and painful songs. Each time I hear a song I find myself shazaming away and guess what it always turn out to always be my favourite singers like Zuo Shen and Lui Yuning. These two together on an ost for a drama then you better belive that drama is gonna be bomb. My Spotify playlist is so blessed because of these two amazing singers.
Xianxia drama is my favourite kind of genre to watch in a drama and that's why every year I always expect something great and they always deliver. The amazing story, the CGI and the Ost is something you don't want to miss. This drama has a great CGI like ALP.
Watch this and you definitely won't miss out.
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A weird first episode, a great middle-part and a totally rushed finale
I've only recently entered the Xianxia universe, everything is still fresh and new to me, so bear with me and my totally subjective point of view and rating. My first one was Ashes of Love which I binged within one week (and only two weeks ago at that, hence still present when I started this one), so the bar was set quite high from the very first minute.The story is intriguing and the title itself already hints to what you can expect (even though it sounds a bit cheesy). Two completely different beings fall in love with each other. You can already smell the scandal, the passion and the tragedy. Everyone who's a sucker for starcrossed lovers would take the bait. Me included, even though I didn't want to give in to the hype during its airing time. But the temptation was too big and I didn't regret it afterall. I'm actually glad because I can't be spoilered anymore (the risk was high, believe me).
The first episodes didn't pick me up right away. It was quite slow-paced and the female lead's voice was very high pitched. Many people complained about it. I bore with and got used to it pretty quickly though, until I didn't mind it at all anymore. At some point it started to fit her. It formed her character throughout the drama and became a special trait while she was evolving. It also helped distinguish different sides of her later on. She started off as a somewhat naive young woman who already experienced some hardships, i.e. not being accepted by others but her master, or loneliness. But she also got a sense of responsibility and took care of the destiny books in Arbiter Hall where she lived. Sometimes she behaved a bit childish but at the end she instinctively did the right thing. I wouldn't call her foolish either. She often found solutions on her own, even though those caused inconvenient consequences once in a while and were not always to my liking. But as the story went on, she grew with her tasks. I was really impressed by her resolution whenever she made a life-changing decision. Once she realized her biggest desire, she never wavered. I didn't always know what she was going to do, but I was never let down by her.
Dongfang, the male lead, had a hard time to win me over. But once the ice was broken, it was a pleasure to watch his character grow. In the earlier episodes he was moody all the time, what I could totally understand regarding the situation he was in. Sometimes though I found his expressions somewhat lacking, albeit that part was intended right from the beginning, and got explained later on. The missing emotions had positive effect though. It was quite impressive whenever his cold demeanor unexpectedly burst into fury. In the second half then, Donfang's character also gained a lot more layers and got complexier which made me happy beyond explanation. There was a point that completely changed my impression of the actor himself and allowed me then to fully enjoy his performance while finally wholeheartedly diving into the abysses of the lead.
The God of War, Changheng was never a character, I liked a lot. He was the second love interest which didn't even bother me. But he never thought twice about his implusive decisions. And when consequences hit him or bystanders hard, he rowed back. He decided on his own what was good for others. At some point though, he actually changed to the better, made me like him in some way which I didn't think was possible in the beginning.
The side cast was as intriguing as the main leads, I was invested in their stories alot, esp. Rong Hao's. Without telling too much, his tale was one of the most understandable and heartbreaking ones. On the other hand, Dongfang's brother got a reasonable history on his own. Whether intended or not, he never made me trust him completely though. There were also some loose ends of other people which I had liked to be explored some more, but I guess I can't have everything.
The acting was overall really good, however one or two people still need some fine-tuning, for example Dongfang's ~sidekick. At times he acted really well, in other situations he didn't seem confident at all.
What I really appeciated was that the love story took its time. It was slow-burning and subtle, hence it released a satisfying feeling when it finally bloomed, and got poignant at its climax. Misunderstandings get cleared pretty fast, too.
But as great as the middle-part became, the end itself was a small let-down for me. Alot of things suddenly happened in a really short amount of time. As if the writers didn't have enough time to tell everything. Fast changing scenes and small time jumps that led to a dysbalance of the overall atmosphere. Because it felt so rushed, the tension somewhat abated and didn't touch me as much as previous events in the drama. That part would have been a great finale if they had added one more episode.
As for the framing, beautiful music and CGI, and stunning costumes make this drama a feast for eyes and ears, but my absolute no. 1 highlight is Dongfang's hair. I can't even fathom what spell bewitched me here. I was always in awe whenever I saw it (which happened like... 90% of the drama, yes).
If someone is considering whether to watch this one or not, I'd say yes. It doesn't have that many episodes, the story is easy to understand and the character development is quite presentable. Also, there's a nice shifting of who the actual villain is even though it's predictable (if you include jerks, that damn almighty emperor would get first place, but who asks me).
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You're going to have to get over the baby voice first
==Breakdown==Background plot - 40%
Romance - 40%
Misc comedy - 20%
Background plot - Excellent
Romantic chemistry - Excellent
Misc comedy - Excellent
Production value - Excellent
As many other reviewers have noted, the character of Orchid has extreme baby voice. I'd tried and failed to watch this series several times, never making it through the first episode, and ultimately deciding a few months ago just to give up because it made me cringe so very, very hard.
If you're like me and this is a big issue, may I recommend watching the show on mute for the first few episodes. I did this with subtitles until I connected with the story, then I gradually increased the volume (very low, moderately low, low, medium, regular) until I didn't notice the voice as much. I'm REALLY glad I did, because this show was fantastic!
Let me stop here and say this is not a criticism of the lead actress. It's a "me problem." I have a hard time when adult men or women affect a child-like voice. It's like nails on the chalkboard for me, and that's 100% entirely on me. I also don't like mayonnaise. That doesn't mean there's anything inherently wrong with mayo, it's just a personal preference.
ANYWAY, a month ago a friend of mine strongly urged me to watch this CDrama (my first Cdrama) because I'd just finished Alchemy of Souls and wanted another fantasy. She said this was THE BEST fantasy TV show of it's kind and I'd regret it if I didn't watch. She was right.
The story was good. Not fantastic, but good. The relationship, which started antagonistic because he's a serious bad guy without emotions, actually ended up pretty darn healthy. In fact, I'd say it was remarkably healthy given who the characters were and their backgrounds. It was lovely to see how much they respected and cared for each other from episode 20 to the end.
However, and this is really why this show is so high on the re-watch scale, the chemistry between the leads was off the freaking charts. Esther and Dylan portrayed this epic love story perfectly, and I was able to suspend disbelief and lose myself in their story. The production values matched perfectly (even when the CGI wasn't perfect, it was still perfect for the show). And I loved the costumes, make up, hair-- it all added to and heightened the deep fantasy.
I will re-watch this show again, probably several times, and now that I've grown accustomed to the baby voice, I suspect I'll enjoy those early scenes that I'd originally muted.
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Grating FL.
This show has the worst female lead I've ever had the displeasure of watching for 18 long, ardruous episodes before dropping this show out of sheer exhaustion.Anything good about this drama doesn't really matter if it exists only to profilerate more scenes involving this screeching female Caillou. Every scene with her is grating to no end.
I read online that the show's supposed to get better. Its been TWELVE. HOURS. The show isn't getting better. I'm not putting myself through any more torture.
I understand the k/cdrama community have an exceptionally low bar for enjoyment so I'm not surprised this trainwreck is getting a great score on MDL. Becoming accustomed to grating trope characters like this seems like a requirement to becoming a longterm drama fan. But I can't do that. I don't want to do that.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watched it Only for the last 7 episodes
First blow to the rating is because of Esther yu ...let's accept her performance was pathetic..Fairies are playful but her fairy character was "retard".. absolutely zero acting talent ... Annoying voice modulation ... Though her character was quite serious and had no necessary demand to over-act this superficially cute .. yet hell knows who suggested her to that act this way.Even in the serious situation she doesn't give her cringe a break.
These things are even more highlighted when your co actor is an immensely talented artist .... Dylan wang on the contrary played her own character better than herself during the soul swipe parts ...
Enough ..let's discuss the good parts
Both ML and PML did an amazing job ..effortless performance.
Vfx and stunt scenes are on spot ...
I love the soundtracks.. I don't remember but the opening soundtrack gave me a feeling of nostalgia..like some other drama has a similar sounding track
One of the main highlights of the show was their costume design ... Big thumbs up to the stylist and designer.
Chemistry between leads was 95% form Dylan's side ... While FL was busy acting like his daughter in that annoying child voice ?
Plot was little slow paced and very ridiculously multidirectional ..things got a way out of track in median episodes when they visited the mortal world ... Things accelerated from around episode 29 ..
Bottom line : this particular story was not meant to be stretched all the way to 36 episodes ...for what it's worth even a 16 epsiode series would have been enough and more intriguing.
PS: I loved Dylan wang's performance this is my first drama watching him act ...looking forward to more .. XOXO
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This review may contain spoilers
Xianxia that would be beautifully adapted for a theatre show
This is my first toe-dip into xianxia since I left the genre over a decade ago and it has set the bar very high going into the future. So high that after years on this website I’m finally writing a review. I don’t believe in having to defend a culture’s set of norms, ideology, values, gender expectations, and such when reviewing a storytelling production. I may touch on it and analyse some parts but I won’t go around telling societies how to behave because that would be disrespectful and reductive.To start, I’ll discuss the overall value of the production. It can be very jarring when you are unfamiliar with cdrama or xianxia/wuxia from recent years. All of the scenes, with no exception, are done as if on stage. I think this is brilliant that it did not hold back the storyline by showing us the travel from one place to another. Nor did it concern us with logistics. I take it as these are immortal beings, they can go to places as they see fit - it doesn’t matter if they walk, fly, take the train or Uber it. The background for the most part are CG. The CG can be rough in some places, but this is a TV series and not a blockbuster film production. More importantly, it doesn’t take away from the story and for the most part, I think it’s the production’s artistic choice within the confines of their budget. And I can wholeheartedly accept that.
Moving on to the core of the story, it starts off rather typical: the kind and clumsy woman, her perceived hero, jealous competition of the woman, the cold and distant man. If you are not open to go on for a couple more hours, this can lose you because it is too formulaic. And it’s not to say it’s not formulaic, but I say it’s not about the plot as much as how the plot delivers the characters’ development. What I think is important in storytelling of any length, but especially at this length or more, is character progression. And that’s how this story succeeds in unveiling the changes in the characters. This is done through tropes of grumpy/sunshine, body-swapping kiss, misunderstanding, etc. Many times, love is told to be panacea for all ailments. And this is where I would eye roll. And to an extent, a part of me does that in any story that centers on the transformative power of love! However, here it actually recognises the many forms of love and the way it affects different types of pain in life. Romantic or platonic love, love for your home or your tribe, love your mentor or mentee, love for a long lost family member or a stranger - it’s all covered. It’s telling me, if you navigate life with compassion and remember where you heart is, it will serve you the best way possible. I don’t like quoting non-English work because unless you speak the language the translation/interpretation will definitely lose meaning yet the phrase “everything in this world happens so fast except for love”. Love as first sight is incomparable to love that has been nurtured mutually with effort and time. It is not the same concept of love when you first meet and feel sparks. Slow love gives you hope and carries you through tough times because it changes you and your heart. It's more than just sight and it's life-changing.
Finally the actors, they all did amazing. I haven’t seen Esther You in anything before and on a personal level, my sensory issue took some time in adjusting to her voice. Overall, she is adorable and her acting is highly commendable when she body-swapped. I am most impressed with Dylan Wang who had to do many heavy deliveries due to his literally dead tree of emotions slowly regaining life throughout the show. I’ve only seen him in the remake of Meteor Garden and did not think much of his acting (which tells me what I already know - the script wasn’t great). But I’m happy to be proven wrong. He clearly has an affinity with his craft and I will keep an eye on his future work particularly in this genre.
Conclusions, personal note & TL;DR: I haven’t been in love with a fantasy romance drama like this since Goblin. While it’s not perfect, and I don’t believe there is such thing as objectively perfect storytelling, it has given me deep thoughts and pure enjoyment to watch the story developed. This is one of those dramas that despite being predictable will leave a void in your heart for some time. I already have plans to rewatch.
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A good drama but probably not the best
I don't typically watch xianxia dramas but I decided to pick this one up because of its raving reviews. And honestly, it was a good ride but I don't think it was the BEST and I'm not sure if it deserved all its raving reviews. However, there was something about this drama that just kept sucking me in and wouldn't let me go. Even though the drama is a bit too long for my tastes and I had to put it all in 1.5x speed, I enjoyed it enough. The main leads were amazing and I clearly felt how deep their love ran, I mainly watched it for them. The second leads were also cute too, but the antagonists were so annoying. The graphics and cinematography was absolutely stunning. This is probably worth your time but I just wouldn't expect a 10/10 drama.Was this review helpful to you?
A sweet but emotional rollercoaster
This a fantasy costume romance drama starring Esther Yu as Orchid, Dylan Wang as Moon Supreme and Zhang Heling as Chang Heng God of War.The pacing of the plot moves along well and the acting is truly something special, especially for fans who have also seen some bts clips. I especially want to applaud Dylan Wang's acting in this drama, truly a tremendous performance.
The entire casting was great and they chose great actors to bring the characters to the screen.
With both sweet and heart wrenching moments, the romance between the main characters is a true test of their love journey.
Great soundtrack/OSTs. Zhou Shen is amazing and love hearing his voice bring out the emotion in the bgm.
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