The Long Ballad (2021)

Almost worked

I usually skip Dilraba Dilmurat works as I don't think she has chemistry with anyone. Yes she's beautiful and her acting skills gotten better but she still didn't pull off what the story required. Her big eyes always looked kind of blank & I am sure there will be lots of people offended with that comment.

What worked:
Story - overall interesting at least for the first 30 ep. Then the last portion dragged on w/ the the evil witch
Character growth was well written: FL, the princess & Hao Du were my top 3
Strong overall cast and supporting cast:
Zhao Lu Si (Princess) - I always watch her dramas even the subpar ones. She's always a delight to watch. Her character growth was the best in this drama.
Liu Yu Ning (Hao Du) - Loved his character the most
Leo Wu (Ashile Sun) - The little kid that was in Nirvana Fire grew up! Ok I didn't think he had any character development but every drama needs that hero
Random super cool swordsman - standard new character introduction with a pop in rescue
Ending - It's NOT the typical everyone dies kind

What didn't work:
2nd 1/2 - dragged on and the whole evil plot wasn't that entertaining
The disappearing martial arts of the FL. It happens a lot in many dramas. Fierce FL started out can beat a 100 men and then as the story goes, she needs to get rescued by literally everyone
Not enough screen time of Zhao Lu Si & Hao Du. There was a huge gap where she just didn't even appear in any episodes

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大道无为 (Dàdào wúwéi) For The Noble Deeds

Since “Nirvana In Fire”, I have dreaded watching a grown-up Wu Lei (he was only 15/16 in Nirvana In Fire) because I fear his grown up image may ruin my fond memory of the juvenile Wu Lei as the Fei Liu (Nirvana In Fire) character. To my pleasant surprise, Wu Lei has grown up into a fine young man with a chiseled good look. Together with Dilraba who doesn’t seem like an ideal partner in the beginning, this drama has taken me by surprise and totally out of my expectation.

Adapted from a manhua (comic), the story begins at the Xuanwu Gate incident in 626 during the Tang Dynasty when Li Shimin assassinated his brother the Crown Prince, Li Jiancheng, and his younger brother, Prince Li Yuanji, and later became the emperor (Emperor Taizong) himself. This story is based on real historical events and people, interjected with fictional characters and incidents. The story is captivating, nail-biting and well told. The fictional parts fit in perfectly with the actual historical events.

Li Changge is a fictional character whose father was the Crown Prince assassinated by Li Shimin. She vows revenge. Her quest takes her through the plains to the steppes. She meets friends and foes. She loses ones she loves and meets new ones. Ultimately, she finds the love of her life whom she would sacrifice everything to be with.

Both Dilraba and Wu Lei were not on my favorite actor list. I also didn’t think very highly of the matching of the couple. I was so wrong. Here in this drama, both are amazing, in their acting and their styling. As Li Changge, Dilraba is strong, tough, decisive and strategic without the cringe-worthiness which I have always associated her with. The two strands of her hair become her trademark and is very pleasant to watch but criticized by some viewers. Whether dressed as a man or as a girl, Dilraba is beautiful and her acting is convincing. Wu Lei has an aura of a man with few words but a lot goes through his mind at every instant. As Ashile Sun, he’s extremely charismatic and authentic, looking stunning in tribal costumes with braids on horseback, fearsome and stunning in war helmet. With Li Changge, their chemistry is wonderful and reassuring.

My Verdict
I love all the characters, friends or foes. Each has a story and the cast is well selected. The acting is convincing and authentic. Some scenes can be heart wrenching and tear jerking. The pace is just right with actions and connivance packed for every episode, making the whole drama irresistible to watch. And the OSTs are some of the best.

Everything looks good until the fighting comes. The substitution of expensive scenes (such as wars) with cheap manhua blemishes this wonderful drama. For me, it hasn’t diminished my pleasure and would have given this a 10/10 had it not been the little blemish.

An absolutely wonderful drama. Highly recommended!

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a quasi-historical fictional series with strong imaginative storytelling

this series borrows certain elements from real history and historical figures, but is not about the reiterating of history and historical figures. it is very much more of creative story writing and imaginations and the re-imagining of. it is absolutely not about wuxia or martial arts and the pugilistic world. it is more about the variety of political intrigues, circumstantial developments in relation to politics, causes and effects, and romance, and human relations. occasionally the series can feel long-winded (beat-round-the-bush), nevertheless, story telling is one of the series's core strengths.

many of the supporting actors stand out in this series, probably because they are experienced, perform their best, and they are guided/mentored professionally. the actor who performs Li Changge has more dramatic role and performances in the earlier dozen of episodes, and progresses to become a character that matures and grows up (emotionally and psychologically). i feel the female actor's performances are more noteworthy during the earlier dozen of episodes. in comparison, the main male actor performs in a consistent manner, but there are segments where he performs stronger.

chemistry-wise, i feel that the chemistries between Changge and Leyan, and Hao Du and Leyan are more enjoyable. for some reasons, the chemistry between Li Changge and Asule Sun feels lacking.

i think the director and whoever is/are involved in guiding/mentoring help bring out the best in capturing the actor who performs the role of the princess Li Leyan. it makes the character more believable and endearing. the actor also performs her role excellently. i dare say she has what it takes to be a leading actor in CDrama and films, as she has a lot more to offer than just a pretty/cute face.

it is also worthwhile to note the involvement of several young actors in the series. i believe that the producer and/or director see strong potentials and/or future potentials with some of these young actors. it is really a treat to see talented young actors being groomed, and to see their acting potentials even though they are still rough around the edges.

the quality of the cameras used for shooting this series is definitely good. the shot techniques are also good. although there might be short segments that employ redundant/superfluous camera techniques, there are also numerous camera techniques that are big screen quality. there are many beautiful building architecture and interior designs and props. you can definitely observe many nice trinkets and props that accompany the beautiful costumes. the costumes have intricate designs, motifs, and sewing quality. it is a good thing that the ornaments/trinkets that accompany the costumes appear believable and in harmony. i cannot comment on the accuracy of the ornaments, buildings designs, costume designs, behavioral etiquette in this series in parallel to early Tang Dynasty era.

the implementation of the CGIs are also not excessive, and i think they compliment the series as a whole. this includes the decision, the arrangement and the editing of comic-like animations to enhance the story telling. the team in charge of the background music/sound arrangement/selection should be complimented, as i think they did an excellent job. it is unfortunate that the team in charge of the voice dubbing is not as good as the team in charge of the background sound/music.

i especially enjoy the weaving workshop scenes. this segment has a common backdrop involving common folks, but it enhances the story telling of the series. another notable mention is the tragedy/ordeals experienced by the princesses. it is simply amazing that the two princesses do not experience or suffer severe post traumatic depression or mental breakdown due the repeated pain, despair, disappointment, anger, hatred, and humiliations.

//after thought//
maybe because i just finished watching Word of Honor before this series, so when I found out there is the character Li Changqian (crown prince of Li Shimin), i was half-expecting to see whether there is a sub-plot development revealing/hinting Li Changqian as a homosexual. of course it doesn't, as the character is portrayed in his adolescent years.

//turnoffs//
- the most noticeable issue with this series is that the voice dubbing is not often synchronized well. it is possible that there are dialogues spoken by the actors that have been altered in the voice dubbing.
- there are scenes/segments that do not make much good sense, and there are some scenes/segments with small flaws that could have been avoided. for example, the little girl (Gongsun Heng's daughter) who got lost and blow the whistle so loudly, which doesn't make any good sense.
- the interior designs of the sets can often appear too symmetrical, too neatly arranged and too clean.
- another issue with this series that might not be too noticeable is that there are certain segments/plots that don't make much sense when taking considering the dangers and chaos of the surrounding environment during these early period of the Tang Dynasty.
- one of the major turnoffs in this series is the overapplication of whitening makeup. for example, there are segments where the application of thick whitening makeup on the main actor who plays Li Changge is excessive and unnatural. she is already beautiful and fair, and makeup should only be applied on her to enhance her natural beauty instead of drowning/masking her natural beauty. there are several instances of other actors whose face had been applied whitening makeup too excessively, too.
- i do understand that it is for that dramatic aspect in story-telling of a tragic character, but the decision to make the Princess Yicheng character as the main antagonist in the latter half of the series is a major turnoff for me.
- the usage, placement and acting of the extras are good, but there are instances where the rationale of the spectators placement/directing can be inconsistent/unbelievable. though not frequent, there are extras that do not act as instructed.
- the quantity and positions of the lanterns/lamps can sometimes be unbelievable, considering the efforts to lower/raise the lanterns/lamps, to light the fire, and how realistic is it to light/place certain lanterns in certain locations, etc.
- there are a few sets that don't fit the logic, for example, an outdoor battle camp that comes with lavish set decorations which made it unrealistic/unbelievable.
- sometimes, the rationale to light up so many candles during daytime and at certain segments can be questionable and become more of a distraction.

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I want to start by saying that I was looking forward to this series. The amazing cast and the hype around this series were the two things that made me add the series to my watchlist. From the OST clips I’ve seen, I thought the series was a full-on romance with a little bit of politics with the royal family. I was extremely disappointed to find out it was the exact opposite – more politics and very light on the romance.

What I like about the series:

Liu Yu Ning’s character of Hao Du, I was rooting for him the entire time. I couldn't help but notice the way he looked at the Princess the first time. I am so glad there was one thing from the series that did not disappoint me.

The storyline was very well thought out, there were a lot of side characters that were added each time FL faced a trial that developed her character growth.

The OST. Lately, I have this tendency to listen to OST before watching the series. I love fan-made clips of the series, sneak peeks always get me excited and I look forward to these scenes. I also love how Sa Dinding’s If you come back was used in a lot of “dramatic” scenes. It was probably one of the songs I had to look up right away.

Did I mention Hao Du? My favorite scene of his was when Hao Du jumped in fighting off the She Er to win the princess's hand in marriage.

The cinematography did not disappoint, the one thing I really enjoyed was how some scenes transition from live-action to manga. I found this to be very refreshing. I prefer having this transition rather than an overload of CG.
The cast, I am familiar with some of these actors and actresses so I was super excited to watch this. The last I’ve seen any of Dilraba work was in Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and the spin-off Eternal Love of Dream. Zhao Lu Si has been one of the actresses I’ve been following this past year. A lot of her series was light and romantic, thus I was looking forward to seeing her in this role. Other familiar cast played minor roles but it was enjoyable to see them.

The bad:

This is more personal, and I think most folks will either hate or like this. I skipped a lot mainly because I’m not into politics and the military strategy and the scheme. I was bored out of my mind as I kept skipping these sections, which was a good chunk of the series. I probably grasped onto enough to understand what was happening and didn’t care for the minute details.

They're probably more that I didn’t like but I am not going to list them all. I don’t have a long list to make a case and to justify that it made the series bad, it was more of my personal preference.

Personally, my rating is 6.5/10. I think the second lead made the series enjoyable, I looked forward to seeing how Hao Du slowly changed from this cold heartless man to someone dear and loving. But they only play a small role, the entire series was on Sun and Chang ge, and simply I just didn’t like the politics. As much as I love the second leads, I know I won’t re-watch this series.

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LONG and repetitive... but good:)

Do you like historical dramas with lots of conspiracies, power struggles and epic battle scenes? Then this is the one for you.

Let’s start by saying the production is very good. The cinematography, the costumes, the sets... all very well done. The music background and OST is very memorable and well-suited with the characters and story. The actors all portrayed their roles very well, with a few annoying characters and typical Chinese hahaha evil laughs. Wu Lei who plays the male lead Ashile Sun imo carried the whole drama. He’s only 21, so him portraying this character was amazing. He’s definitely one actor to keep an eye out for. Plus he’s also very good looking ;) and yes there is a shirtless scene;);) Lol.

As with all too-many-episodes dramas (this has 49!!) the storyline became repetitive. Every 5+ episodes there will be an introduction to a new town, new characters, new problems... but same ol’ greed for power. It can get rather confusing with so many different names.. unfortunately towards episode 30+ I started skipping forward. The plot is predictable- you know who will die, when they will die, and the good guys usually outsmart the bad guys. Haha...

The last episode was DISAPPOINTING. many characters and side plots were left unfinished, and of course the main couple love story did not have a great ending. It was a happy one, but no great epilogue. It is true there is hardly any skinship... there are lots of hugs✔️, intensity✔️ and chemistry✔️, but no kiss ;) You do get a great view of two birds kissing though lol. BUUUUTT, this was way better than One and Only.

Another character I liked was Hao Du, how he evolved from being a goody-two-shoe always following instructions but not using his common sense- to learning to think for himself, sacrificing himself and fighting for the woman he loves!

The fight scenes are the best!! Well choreographed with lots of Kung fu style movements and intensity. There’s also a legendary football match in Epi 1, which is fantastic how they set it in ancient times and infused martial arts into it. What I didn’t like was most of the huge battle scenes were shown using anime... I don’t know why it was done that way. I read maybe it had something to do with Covid restrictions at that time.. or maybe time or financial constraints.

All in all, a definite recommended watch although I hoped it could have been better. :)

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Patchy Storyline saved by Good looking Actors, Good Acting Skills & Stunning Cinematography

I'm sorry to leave a not-so-glowing review for this drama as I really looked forward to watching it because of the featured cast. The story is meant to show how the lead character, Li Chang Ge, a Princess and daughter of the Crown prince, suffers the hardship of witnessing her father being murdered by her Uncle and her mother committing suicide because of a political coup, flees away in anger vowing to take revenge for the sake of her family and country, but eventually realises that seeking revenge was the not best way to truly find peace and contentment in Life because seeking revenge by instigating a political rebellion against her Uncle would (1) not resurrect her dead parents from the past (2) and just incur more internal wars that would cost the lives of more innocent bystanders (3) weaken the country's abilities to defend itself from its real enemies- the neighbouring Ashina and Mobei Tribes.

I really think the scriptwriters wanted The Long Ballad to be a different kind of Revenge Drama, where instead of purely avenging one’s loved ones by resorting to the same (underhanded) methods that one’s loved ones had been subjected to, the Protagonist would find their own form of redemption by focusing on a more noble non-self-serving goal instead of taking the destructive path of anger-fuelled revenge. To forgive, let go and find more constructive ways to deal with life's setbacks etc...in contrast to the opposing Antagonist of the story, who seeks revenge and does things none the wiser. After all, that is why we are meant to admire the Protagonist as a positive role model in these sort of Revenge Dramas right?

But if that was meant to be the intended purpose for the audience who view this drama The Long Ballad, I felt that the juxtaposition was poorly built up and came a little too late. I will elaborate more on this later.

Li Chang Ge is written as the charming intelligent female Protagonist of the story who has her character strengths and weaknesses and is supposed to go through some character growth throughout the story and emerge as a more mature heroine with positive traits for us to look upon and admire. I get that. Except that I did felt that the scripted storyline displayed her positive strengths too fast and too soon, to the point Li Chang Ge struck me as a character who had it too good, and I found it too unbelievable to be true.

For eg. I am amazed that Li Chang Ge never seems to die despite being shot by multiple people in the same side of her chest (always seems to be the right side of her chest above the heart) multiple times! Also, I'm not convinced how quickly Li Chang Ge manages to persuade Shui Zhou's Governor, Gongsun Heng to recruit her in as his trusty advisor. To get the level of insider access to the state's top secrets just by saving his wife and daughter in an "accidental" encounter and to be promoted overnight to become the city's military commander by just providing mere advisory words of consulting strategy, to me is just laughingly unbelievable! The way Li Chang Ge gets picked up and ordained overnight as a sworn disciple of the eccentric Swordsman Situ Lang Lang is too coincidentally convenient, he just met her whilst saving her and immediately he trusts her? And how quickly her lover Ashile Sun forgives her after her impulsiveness caused his adopted mother to fall prey at the hands of his evil step brother. No break up or cool off period after she makes such a costly mistake on him? Maybe Ashile Sun’s long-suffering forbearance as a character makes him too good as Li Chang Ge’s lover to be true! Lol

I know this is a drama, but it's a little sometimes too stretched from reality. But back to what I think was the key weakness of this Revenge drama…

I felt that the script writers could have introduced Princess Yicheng earlier and give the audience more backdrop and time to understand how this Sui Dynasty Princess came to be the most unsuspected sinister villain in the story. Many of the malicious schemes that she came up with to eliminate rivals who stood between her and the Empire, were not elaborated sufficiently enough through the lack of scenes, so understanding what she had done and had sought to do, was not easy to follow and to me, came across rather far-fetched. They should take a reference from Nirvana in Fire's strategist Mei Chang Su hahaha. His schemes were intricate and complex but at the bare minimum, they were at least understandable and brilliant.

Acting wise, Leo Wu did not disappoint. I thought that he has carried the role of the intelligent and valiant commander, Ashile Sun, very well for his age (21 years I believe?) even when he stood against an older female actress, Dilraba (27 years old then)whom I thought embodied Li Chang Ge's clever, courageous but impulsive character pretty convincingly. I'm sorry, I did not end up paying much attention to the second lead couple Hao Du and Le Yan although I know many other reviewers raved about how their enemies-to-lovers romance storyline was one of the memorable highlights of this drama. Leo and Dilraba’s acting skills and couple chemistry was the key thing that saved this drama for me.

I wish some parts of the storyline could be rushed and given more space to be more cohesive and developed, even if it means cutting out side characters and their story arcs. If not for these plot-holes that left me feeling skeptically unconvinced, I'd give this easy-to-watch drama a much much higher rating.

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Character driven drama with amazing story line.

A very interesting story of Li Shi Min's reign of the Tang Dynasty. If you are familiar with the history, it added to the enjoyment, knowing some real-life characters and how LSM started to unite/conquer many lands.

Story:
It started with the journey of Li Changge in her revenge but it became the journey of the characters for self-growth. Even the antagonist got their own stories and I pitied them at the end. Maybe the flaws that I can comment on is sometimes it feels like it was a shortcut to how they resolved the problems. Maybe because of the number of episodes. But nevertheless, it was enjoyable and exciting to watch.

Acting/Cast:
They chose the best actors that can portray the characters. Well done team!
Changge- Dilraba was so fit in the role of a strong and independent woman. In the middle, really hated her attitude and almost dropped this but I'm glad that I gave it a 2nd look because she became a matured princess and warrior. Looking forward to Reba getting this kind of role again.

Asun-Ahh.. My boy Feli Liu has grown up. A manly, strong, and capable guy. He really acted well how Asun must be.

Leyan- Lu Si perfectly portrayed the cried princess turning into a very brave and inspiring princess of Tang. She got the best character growth. Her sufferings and experienced from the journey made her strong and understand the people of Tang.

Hao Du- My newly discovered gem in the c-drama world. I cannot put into words how much I love this guy. A cold, arrogant, cold-blooded killer wolf but with a tender and kind heart behind that sullen look. What I love about this guy is his micro expression which is best for this kind of role. He conveys his feelings with that eyes. No need for big gestures. His character was so well written that most of us were rooting for him to have a happy ending. He's my favorite character. Great job Liu Yu Ning!!

The others did a great job esp. A Dou, Li Shi Min, Du Ru Hui, Li Jing(although I wanted to have more screen time for him), Situ Lang Lang, Mu Jin,She Er, and many many more.

Song :
It's a perfect 10 for me. Never skip the OP and ED song. All the ost and soundtrack were cool and amazing. Cannot complain.

Overall I really enjoyed TLB and I can see myself rewatching it. I laugh and cried. The first time that I am active in the comment section. Everyone was excited and I love to share my insights and feelings in every episode.

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Worth your time and probably the best in 2021

Excellent drama in terms of story, cast, soundtrack, equally humourous and touching scenes. Lost 1 point because battle scenes and dance scene were erm unsatisfactorily in manga form and the lack of kissing scenes (aha, c’mon admit it … most of us here allocate 20% of our investment for these scenes in dramas..)

This show left me with a feel-good feeling. I get where most reviewers are coming from about the rushed ending but personally, I’ve had the closures I needed for the characters that mattered to me. I think it's also because I'm not a big GeSun shipper.

There were a bit of fillers and drag in between, but nothing more than 5 episodes I would say. Still a whole lot better than many of the c-dramas out there with their fillers and misunderstanding arcs.

Actors - Dilireba, Leo Wu, Zhao Lusi, Liu Yuning, Geng Le and the ministers were superb. They have such amazing chemistry all round. I have to say upfront that Dilireba and Leo Wu's romance is not the sweep-off-your-feet kind of romance that you've seen Dilireba in her previous shows. Zhao Lusi will cover that for you in this drama. Remember, Dilireba plays a heroine in this show so she's a bit more "boyish". In terms of age gap, I didn't really see it being so obvious between Leo and dlrb so no issues here.

Just want to end this review by saying this show has one of the best soundtracks imho. When you see Zhang Bi Chen do a track you know it’s gonna be a good drama. Love the ending theme just as much too. It fits the scenes between Chang Ge and Ah Sun sooooo well. <3

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Best historical drama

Just like the heading, this is THE best historical drama I’ve seen so far. It kept making me trying to grab for more. The story is the best part. The story had great potential and so does the acting. The acting was on point. Crying parts also did their part(crying and dabbing my eyes out on episodes even before 10). Although the age differences between the actors is quite ridiculous, the male lead looks older than his age and the female lead looks younger than her age. So all in all, the cast was amazing(I couldn’t have thought of a better cast to be honest). I didn’t really like the music but i didn’t hate it either. The rewatch value is a 10 for me. Like I said, best Chinese historical drama I’ve seen so far.

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Great drama, no boring moments

I've watched a lot of chinese wuxia/xianxia , historical dramas (e,g TMOPB, Tiger and Rose, Nirvana in fire, Ashes of Love, Minglan, Eternal night, Fight breaks sphere...) and modern dramas as well. However, lately it's been getting harder to find quality ones, as most of the new ones coming out have repetitive, oftentimes ridiculous storyline/script. This drama has enough novelty/twist in the plot that you don't feel like you've seen everything before, and has good logic to keep you interested . I rarely skipped scenes, and I enjoyed the performances of all the casts. I liked the ending as well.

I do wish there were more romantic scenes between the male leads, and less animation ( e.g. would have loved to see Li Changge and team perform the dance competition for real in Mobei). Kudos to the director, scriptwriter, actors and production team. Surprisingly, I looked up the other dramas by the same director on here, and found that I've seen a few of his work and have enjoyed them as well. Now, I check who the director/scriptwriter of upcoming/have not watched dramas first before investing my time in watching them.

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Riveting! Awesome Drama with a fitting ending

What a talented cast! Hands down, one of the best drama. Not sure why people said this is not as good as the Manuhua... I watched the movie and read the story... the movie was far superior in laying out the story from beginning.
The movie made me cry... once too many times... but it also made me smile... Boy-Girl relationship, heart break/ heart ache, Brotherhood and Loyalty... even at the end... it was hard to hate the bad guy because he lived to fulfill his duty and loyalty.

The OST is hauntingly beautiful.
Leo... hope to see you in these leading man role more often! So young, but so talented you are...

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