You will have a hard time moving on
I rarely write full on reviews for dramas, but leave a comment. However, this drama just needed one. I spent the past week trying to really comprehend how we came to love TLB.First off, both main leads are very strong and loyal to their countries. What made it a success I have to say about it, is the fact that throughout the whole drama they both remain that way. They don't compromise or suddenly put their loyalty on the burner side as their relationship grows. I think this was a breath of fresh air cause many times in such enemy-to-lovers tropes, one always starts compromising their family or country all in the name of love.
Secondly, it really does a good job of showing how complex human beings can be. Not every emotion is black and white in real life and TLB characters all exhibited this very beautifully. We are forced to make decisions out of hard predicaments and while in the moment they seem right, in the long run it can be detrimental. But how do you reconcile all those emotions? It's truly phenomenal how characters exhibited such inner struggles.
Thirdly, life is a journey and seasons change include relationships, goals and hopes. Several characters had to learn this one way of the other. As a result, the story never dulls down so much. There is always a relationshio and dynamic being tested, shifting, leaving room for us as watchers to be engaged throughout.
Honestly, this is the tip of the iceberg about the great things in TLB. I have not been able to move on. I keep longing to see a drama that has a wonderful balance between all characters. Will I rewatch this drama? A lot of times. Should you try it if you haven't already? For sure.
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This review may contain spoilers
ASHILE SUN IS A GREEN FLAG
Watched this show two years ago, but I still heavily regard it as one of my favorites. I love watching historical dramas but usually have a hard time finishing them. I recall staying up so late and binging this all in 2 days.Sure there are some parts that could've been better. I am drawn to stories with a strong, smart FL and Li Changge was frustrating at times because she made rash, impulsive decisions. As a viewer, you forgive and commend her for her bravery and loyalty. I take into account that she is supposed to be very young, and this all plays a role in her character development. Love when a FL can fight and hold her own.
Wu Lei's acting was really good despite how young he is; he is showing his experience and dedication to acting. TLB made me a fan, and since then have looked forward to his works. I was also disappointed in the romance scenes, but given how young Wu Lei probably was when they filmed, it kind of makes sense. However, I really really enjoyed Ashile Sun's character and his own way of protecting Changge. For me, the chemistry and love was there. I usually can't stand too many lovey dovey scenes, and rather enjoyed the glances and small details. Like most viewers did, Ashile's character was the most likeable and memorable.
Rewatch value: 7.5/10 I rewatched it back then when I was more invested in the storyline. I enjoyed the soundtrack and honestly didn't mind the illustrations.
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This review may contain spoilers
WOW!
ok first of all, I love the plot it was constructed so beautifully. The actors did really well in portraying the characters. Everytime the ml appeared, i screamed because he's rlly fine but also his words were so sweet. when they had their first kiss, it didn't match the level of excitement i felt for their other scenes bc the ml really showed his love through actions and words. Along with that, the fl was super cool and smart and everything was under her control. Their relationship was adorable but im a bit disappointed because I feel that their love story wasn't really completed. I really wish there was an extra episode to finish off all the tiny side stories too. I wanted to see ashile sun tell changge his last wish (to marry her hehe) and a wedding, i wanted to see him and sher drink together, and for his father to get better again. I could not stop watching, i would literally pull out my phone to watch it in school. I love the hidden identity trope too so this drama was perfect for me. There weren't any embarrassing scenes and the love was adorable but not to the point where it made me cringe. Im so jealous i want someone to look at me like how sun looks at changge! Each episode was interesting and it was never boring at all. usually i dont like rewatching dramas but i can totally see myself watching this one again. The fight scenes were amazing and I love how all the friends changge made went to go help her at the end. It's most definitely a slowburn but their love story started from the first episode and was realistically developed. they respected each other and there weren't any silly misunderstandings. ALSO they were both powerful on their own but when they were together it was just awesome!! He cared for her in his own way and they were willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Their chemistry is unmatched and that’s not even the main focus of this drama! The ost fits the mood very well. I don’t think I will ever get over it. This cdrama was so beautiful and I loved it! im sad I finished it :(Was this review helpful to you?
A Very Interesting Strategy Story of Love Matched on the Battleground
The rich historical account of China's battle with its neighbors have created this tv series that fictionally account the battle strategies during the early conquests of China. Utilizing tribal inter marriages or heqins, spies and even game matches can all be strategies in order to gain tribal access, favors and even battles.The Long Ballad showcases that love can amazingly bloom even between enemies and on the battleground. That even the Emperor of Tang and Great Khan can agree that a perfect match of hearts can lead to attain peace in their war torn regions.
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Path to Revenge that turned into Patriotism
Story is about the road to revenge of a fallen princess of Tang Dynasty who ended up defending the person whom she believed to have killed her whole family. Along this revenge seeking adventure, she met with rival kingdom’s lead general, Ashile Sun - the ML - and they ended up going through life and death together. She eventually realized the right path for her was never revenge, but to live on without hate as her late mother had intended and to help ensure peace across the land.The show had a good storyline and great line of actors and production. I must say the production is actually quite clever in reducing cost. Instead of hiring enormous amount of extras for battle scenes, or great hours of CGIs, they resorted to sketches instead. Im actually disappointed that there are no actual battle scenes. There were just sketches of battles and the lead actors waving their swords around on the foreground. Although undoubtedly a fresh idea, it made the show look rather cheapskate. Although they went frugal on battle scenes, im very satisfied with hand-on-hand combat performed by ML and SML. The fight sequence are seamlessly elegant which doesnt look rehearsed and awkward.
This is also one of those shows where they spend little effort in making the actress disguising as a male look convincing because she looked so damn feminine with ample contour on the chest area. Although, admittedly there really not much u can do when u hire an actress as gorgeous as Dilireba. She can never pass as a male no matter how much they disguise her. Her features are just too feminine, her voice cant get any deeper and well, her demeanor is much too graceful. It’s because of shows like this that I value shows like Fighting for Love where they go all out to make the disguise believable.
A fair warning to romance lovers, this story aint a feast for the lot of you. There is not much romance going on, as the story focuses more on revenge line and how each character developed into maturehood. The development of FL, ML and SFL is pretty significant. Even the small support characters gets their characters developed along the way, like how Wei Shuyu changed into a more confident man, Hao Du into a flexible and humane person, even Shiba got a decent growth into a real free woman. Her love story with Xu Jing is the cutest because she had always been this stone-cold fighter who cares nothing but for her master. Meanwhile, the main love story is pretty slow moving. The ML had shown fondness towards the FL quite early on, but he didnt realize it was love yet until quite to the middle of the show, and this had only been reciprocated by the FL towards the last 10 episode. It took a life-threatening arrow through ML’s chest before she finally confesses (when ML was unconscious) that she cannot live without him.
The music score of this show isnt that memorable and catchy enough so they didnt stick really stick in my head. Although, i especially liked the tune they use each time the scene with Ashile tribe is on.
The reconcilation scene on the episode 46 is gold! Throughout the show, I have never viewed both of them as any other than father and daughter, even as FL hated him so much. I knew there’s something behind her mom’s death that wouldnt have been his fault. I just hope FL wouldve hugged him before she left for good. I really like the Li Shimin character.
However, it is unconvincing to see Hao Du as general in the last 2 episodes. Throughout the show he had always been that lone ranger imperial guard and has always been working alone. He had shown no military prowess before this other than his brawn as an imperial guard. Pretty ridiculous to see him donning the general hat all of a sudden. So yeah maybe after being Prince Consort he’s given an army of his own, but to lead one as general is rather unconvincing. Just doesnt go in line with his character at all. It is more believable if it was Changge leading the troop to intercept Princess Yicheng’s fake carriage, she had always shown to be a military strategist and have actually fought in battles.
Leo Wu has proven he’s no longer that actor with a babyface. I was not convinced in the earlier episodes, but his look as a fierce general kinda grows into you.
All in all the show as a whole does not disappoint. A plus plus for having a happy ending too. This covered up for the loss of star in music score. After A Journey to Love, I’m so sick of tragic endings already. Is it worth a rewatch? I wrote this review after a rewatch, so yeah definitely worth it.
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Powerful, mind-twisting and passionate drama!
Dwelling in the past only brings trouble, people come and go but you trust the new that is the future. This drama captures military strategies and depicts the fight against kingdoms so beautifully. I was intensely involved in how the leaders were making decisions and how Changge(FL) was coming up with interesting ideas. I personally love strategies and problem solving and this drama showed it really well and nicely executed. However, many claim to stay just for romance and forwarded a lot.Here, comes the other side, the romance of the leads wasn't that involving. Although I loved the initial part of drama, slowly it started losing its color and became dull. At this moment the second leads picked up the romance and it was worth watching because it was so fricking lovely. (Flash alert: These 2 have an upcoming drama in 2024 which is super exciting as their chemistry was just out of the world)
Acting:
I felt the acting in this drama required a lot of emotions and facial expressions and each character play their role well which is not the case with most dramas.
Story:
I loved the storyline but somewhere near 35ish ep I started feeling same strategies being repeated, characters being purposely killed which really wasn't necessary but just screentime. So i found myself forwarding in the end but the second leads romance always grabbed my eye.
On a side note, I also loved the FLs character development because they show how rage can sometimes blind you from making the right choice and end up hurting the ones you love. It was beautiful, lot to learn and grasp. The ML was just there tho, its just shown he fell hard for her and nothing more, this could have been developed better,
Overall:
Its a great drama, unlike most cheesy dramas (which im not a fan of like story of minglan or ashes of love which just show blind love and not focus on other aspects of life because the world just revolves around the 2 leads which does not resonate with me). This one was a bit real, although it lost that interest towards end specific to the leads but the rest storylines and characters, the strategies, the dialogues teach so many life lessons like moving on, what true love feels like (loves you for you) and how to take advantage of making the right decisions. I would highly recommend to watch this worth a watch historical drama. It felt hard to remember places and names but it helped me improve my memory power and focus i guess xD.
Don't look back if you're looking for a intense historical drama, this is the right one!
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Nice female leads
I loved this drama unexpectedly. I loved both the fls here. Both were strong n had such a nice ckt arc where they grew as ckts individually due to the hardships they faced. I loved dilraba n wu lies chemistry too n loved their pair but sadly it had less of romance story of them n so I ended up feeling robbed off as the drama isnt abt romance much. But still it was enjoyable. Unpopular opinion but I didn't like hao du as ckt or with Zhao lusi as her love interest. He wasn't given a proper arc or reason to fall in love with yong in. He was jst obsessed with following his father's order to kill yongan, then suddenly realised he loves yongin after going in search of her?, maybe the need to find her safe made his protective side to feel he is in love with her or something.. Anyway, we move. I loved Shers ckt too, wanted to see more bromance scenes between sher n Sun. All in all a long n slow but interesting drama, I may not rewatch but enjoyed watching it nonetheless. Oh, Leo wu looked absolutely breathtaking with Ashile tribe getup n added the charm to the show. ?Was this review helpful to you?
Great storyline!
I gave this drama 8.5 because fo the female lead acting she's always acting stiff in all her drama same face expression whilst the ml expected his role very well. Dilrelba doesn't really fit into the princess taking revenge thingy even the story is also great overall but I wouldn't recommend re watching it there are some lots of unnecessary scene that should not even be there but still this is just my opinion. Kudos to the director and production team and the cast Members aswell. I love wu lei..Was this review helpful to you?
Somewhat draggy historical drama
Was gonna give this a 7.5 star but then the drama ended up being way longer than it needed to be. It was very fun seeing Dilraba play a very different type of character but I was most blown away by Zhao Lusi. I just watched Who Rules the World and wow she is so versatile!! I am now going to make my way through her backlog. I want to just point out that I loved how well written the female characters were and the sisterhood between them. So rare in cdramas. Leo Wu was ok, his face doesn't emote that much but it fit his character in this role.Was this review helpful to you?
Heart pounding♥️, Exciting, Entertaining
Love that there are, like, no misunderstandings, there's a great cast, acting, visuals, action, and OST! I also really enjoy this drama as there's always been an element of mystery, it constantly surprises me and I have literally no clear idea what'll happen next! I feel there are a few dragged out scenes on certain characters. Also, felt there didn't seem to be too much chemistry between the 2 leads, more like a mutual respect? maybe because of the age gap?♀️ Wasn't bad though, still quite liked both characters!The other couples make up for it though☺️?
Overall I'm really enjoying it ?
Something extra...
New bias, Liu Yu Ning?
Loved his song in Love and Redemption, had no idea it was him! Love listening to his voice❤️ Great actor too?
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A decent Cdrama
Wow, I'm actually enjoying a Cdrama after a long while! It's fast-paced, many of the characters are clever (not all of them cuz that'd be unrealistic) and, despite the age difference, I have utterly fallen for the main couple! Their personalities match really well, truly a power couple! This is also my first time watching a Leo Wu drama and I'm loving it so far.I don't usually like politics and warfare but they've mixed in a balanced amount of humor, romance, friendship, action, conspiracies, and life reflections to keep me interested. Yes, it has it's flaws but I find it better overall than many of the Cdramas that have come out recently. It's not shockingly impressive like 'Joy of Life' but also far from the scathing reviews a lot of Chinese are saying. Idk how Go Go Squid(which I found the main FL's childishness and stalking behaviour quite grating to watch and the plot quite simple. I did like the ML's acting though) didn't get much negative reviews and yet this drama does when it's got much more layers to it. So take reviews with a grain of salt and just check it out for yourself ?
Dilraba and Leo also seem quite comfortable with each other behind the scenes and get along well. I noticed many of her fans mentioning how relaxed and happy she's looking, while promoting the drama, for the first time in a long while.
I'm looking forward to the next episodes, fingers-crossed it maintains the quality until the end!
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This review may contain spoilers
disorganized and preachy
Before I started, I didn't understand why there were so many negative Chinese reviews. However, unfortunately now that I tried watching I understand... for a production of this value, where the actors did pretty well, I just couldn't being myself to keep watching more than halfway...The good: Acting was pretty good overall. Leo Wu and Liu Yuning were better than I expected, this being my first time watching their stuff. And Dilraba is professional as always. The little boy Emperor was very cute and the Khan was on point.
The bad: the highlight and defining plot line in the first ~ 15 episodes of the show was Li Changge's revenge. However, after that unravelled somehow, the writers seemed to kind of give up. For the rest of the show we just got a random smattering of the usual cliches in quick succession: great justice inflicted upon the land, love triangle, random betrayal, parents dying, badass swordsman shows up and looks cool etc. Whenever the plot stalled, they seem to kill off another character and bring in a new one... The original characters also lost their original purpose, with Li Change training a new sword technique under a new master for no reason, Ashile Sun leaving his pride and joy of the Eagle division to wander around in love, Hao Du a competent warrior content to be delegated to the Princess' bodyguard, etc.
The really bad: Aside from Li Change, the other female characters were basically unbearable. Sorry but I can't stand Zhao Lusi's character. Zhao Lusi seems often cast to portray female characters that talk to others like a teacher would talk to kindergartners, a mix of idealistic preaching and repeating obvious facts over and over. And yeah, her character was just so useless it made me a bit angry... Unfortunately, Li Change is not that much better as a character. When Ashile Sun blamed her rash actions for causing the Eagle division's situation and his stepmother's death, I had to agree. The whole rescue that Li Change 'planned' was basically pure improvisation. And Mimi, what a purposeless character that reinforces negative stereotypes about women. It's always the female characters that get this dumbed down treatment.
I guess I should stop here with all this crankiness, I've already let myself write too much.
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