Burning Flames (2024)

Love makes one do foolish things

Tl;dr: this drama gives a wonderful message about love, unity, courage and cooperation. Really loved it, some episodes could've been better, but overall, a well deserved 9.5/10. I highly recommend to watch ep 39+40 together so that your heart and mind can be at ease.

When I watched the first episode I had two things on my mind: 1. How does this have 9.6 stars in the iqiyi app 2. I really shouldn't watch dramas just because there is an actor I like in a side character. These thoughts changed very soon within the next few episodes. Episode one of this drama looks like a quite cringe live action imho and didn't really make a good job with the impression and getting one hooked on the plot. I mean, it did look very much like made exactly according to a comic book (I know that it is based on a manhua), but the comic-ness was a liiiiitle bit overboard in my opinion. The next episodes were so much more better, the plot and the settings got sky rocket high better and just so good, I ended up gulping down each episode. Until episodes 33 and 34 where I felt like something is different. I get that the storyline progressed to the finale and it should be more dramatic, but to me it felt kind of disarranged. As if the writers either had to remove some of the scenario due to not being able to cover everything within the number of episodes or as if they didn't have time and energy to write it with the same feeling as the episodes up until ep 32. Wu Geng's hairband kept magically appearing and disappearing in these two episodes and I also didn't quite understand his hairstyle change here. The following episodes made up for these two. Ep 39 was a huge wtf at first but it got cleared up fairly quickly. Definitely don't wait with watching ep 40 after this one.

What I very much appreciated was, that the main characters were written well, logically and the writers didn't go overboard with the actions and behaviour of the characters (way out of character actions are a pet peeve of mine). Prince Wu Geng isn't overly gutsy, just trying to hold up the justice and get revenge for his parents, and Bai Cai isn't overly tomboy nor overly cute (those two characteristics are a pet peeve in FL for me) and I liked them exactly that way.

Another thing I very much appreciated was that the side characters didn't go mia in the story (in a way of appearing at the beginning of the plot, making them look important and then forgetting about them like they never existed). We got full circles here baby. I also loved that the writers didn't unalive characters right after some kind of reunion. In general, there were no unnecessary character deaths for the sake of dramatisation. Kudos to that.

I highly appreciate the soundtrack, the combination of "traditional" drama ost music to symfonic orchestra sections, to the melodic metal (sorry if I got the genre wrong), to the amazing guitar solos, a variety of everything. I'm not much of an OST person, but this OST is something I could see myself listen to.

The only kind of negative critique which boggled my mind throughout the drama was why wasn't the fact that Wu Geng is a half immortal half human emphasized more? I understood why it was concealed when he had to hide his identity and exist as Gou, but later on it definitely should've been mentioned. It is a pretty crucial fact for this story in terms of strength and abilities in my opinion.

Lastly, I want to mention who the actor I mentioned in the beginning is. It's Merxat, I really loved him in Legend of Yunxi. I'm so happy that his character was sort of a mini-boss. I love an evil yet still righteous man of his word character and I think Merxat did an incredible acting job to embody the pain, sorrow, and descent into madness in Shi Xing (can we also talk about his costume and hair because yes to everything about Shi Xing. Except the hairstyle in the other half of the drama, should've stuck to the usual hairstyle).

To conclude this review, if you are a fan of comic adaptations, definitely watch this. Really really great drama, amazing cast and acting with a wonderful soundtrack.

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Simply amazing.

I am going to keep this review short, by simply saying. This drama is worth losing sleep to watch! if watching on IQIYI you must watch it in premium membership 😉 because the scenes in the drama are too beautiful to watch in nothing less than 4K.
From start to finish Burning Flames was a undeniable hit!!
There isn't one dull moment, the only urge you will get to skip to the next episode is due to the impatients of wanting to see want is next.
And you then wouldn't dare skip because you don't want to miss a thing lol it's that good.
I gave the drama a 9.5 took the 5 off because I feel making Bai Cai ( female lead) dieing at her wedding was unnecessary. She and Male Lead already went through the valley of death lol literally and came out strong 💪🏾 so in my opinion the writer and directors should have just given us the bloody happy ending.
Then to have the ML went on searching worldwide 🌐 spree to find her because he believed she was not dead was stupid as we literally saw her died before our eyes.

If they wanted to do a reincarnated episode or a spirit soul transfer I would buy it, because there was alot of that in the movie.
instead they had ML walking 🚶‍♂️ through every season; Winter, Summer, Spring, Autum. Just for him to end up smiling at the door. Yep that's how they ended it! Kept us in suspense and didn't show us who the ML was smiling at!
( bloody frustrating)
Other than the clue of the snow man ❄️ that we know reflected Bai Cai (FL) as there was a scene of her making a snown man and we know she loved to make them. However There was no other proof it was her.
After binge watching 40 episode and investing 72hours of my life source.
I want to be happy dammit!!!! lol 😆
I want marriage and babies running around in a world where the ML and FL work tiresomely to create.
I don't want clues to guess Sh### cause we all know there won't be another 40 something episode. 😢 lol 😆 🤣
I want to fight the Directors and the Writers. 😆

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One of my Favorites in 2024, Surprisingly Impressive

There are very few dramas that actually hold your attention until the very end; I’m the kind of person who mostly fast forwards through the penultimate episodes because I can’t stand the angst or melodrama. I rarely did that with this show, enjoying each and every moment. I grew fond of the characters; it could be the sides or the mains. Adapted from the manhua “Wu Geng Ji” (武庚纪) by Zheng Jian He (郑健和) and Deng Zhi Hui (邓志辉), “Burning Flames” is a dystopian story with the MC seeking justice for the wrongs inflicted by the Immortal realm on the humans and the demons. It was peculiar that the antagonists in this show were actually Immortals who are supposed to protect the common people. From start to end, there wasn’t a dull moment as Wu Geng led the fight against the all powerful immortal while growing mature as an individual. Ren Jia Lun excels in his portrayal of Wu Geng/A Gou. Both are obviously varied personalities, and yet he embodies them effortlessly. Joining this ensemble casting are Xing Fei (Bai Cai), Zhu Xu Dan (Lan), Yan Yi Kuan (Zi Yu) and Zhu Zheng Ting (Ni Tian Er Xing), each of whom make valuable contributions to his arduous journey. There was character development for each of them and some more!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/04/28/burning-flames-series-review/#more-768

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The journey of Wu Geng

The story of this drama is very gripping and racy from the beginning to the end.It showcases how Wu Geng who has been forced to become a slave from a prince and finally avenges the death of his parents.
The development of story was good.I liked how Wu Geng really worked hard,overcame all the difficulties,made friends,stood by justice,eradicated evil and achieved his goal in the end.
Allen Ren Jialun has played his role well as Wu Geng/A Gou.
Xing Fei was good as Bai Cai
I liked the characterisation of A Lan and Bambi Zhu was perfect in her role.
All the supporting cast were good.
The pace of the drama is very good.
This drama is really inspiring and engaging from the start to the end.
This drama is worth watching!!

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Too much talking

I gave this series a fair shot by watching every episode but sadly I never got emotionally invested with any of the characters though I was intrigued on how it would end.

The series is good but not great. The CGI initially was just awful. It did gradually get better. The FL was intolerable to me for most of the storyline except towards the latter part of the series. The ML is okay. Didn't really feel much for him which is a bad sign. There is just too much talking and very little action. Because of that I had to watch all 40 episodes in 2x and I still wanted it to go faster. The slowest part of the plot was the 'mine'. It just annoyed me.

The set design was actually pretty good. I can definitely see the work that went into it. The plot itself is decent and just elaborate enough so you don't lose interest. But I would have liked it more if there were fewer episodes.

The series ending was not great. Guess we will get some extra scenes. The final fight was okay. Still way too much talking for my liking which dampened my interest.

It was my least favourite wuxia drama as I kept hoping it would get better but the feeling of wanting to skip ahead or wishing to play in 3x never went away. It didn't help that the poor subs made the dramatic scenes hilarious instead of upsetting.

The secondary characters were quite decent. I just wish the main characters were superior. The action scenes are okay. Mostly flying and CGI. You don't see any special fight moves because of the light and sparks.

The OST didn't make me want to go back and listen to it. But it's not bad.

I was conflicted on whether to rate this a 6.5 or 7. But if I am being honest, I wouldn't recommend this drama though I can appreciate some of the complexity to the story. It just didn't interest me enough. Some parts didn't quite make sense to me like the entire immortal realm being evil and overpowering any of the good. Another airing drama like The Legend of Shen Li is far better in holding my attention, the CGI and the dialogues are interesting. You don't feel like skipping ahead because it has good drama.

Burning Flames is good but even if you skip, you won't miss out on anything special, IMO.

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Very cool story and cool chars and original Ren Jialun's and Xin Fei's voice acting skills

The things I personally loved about this drama are that the story to me looked really amazing abd interesting to a point that I can really recommend this drama to everyone who love a fighting fantasy stories abd cute MMO vibe style because it had all of it and the most notable and something rare but also really wonderful was it that Ren Jialun and Xin Fei sounded original and no one voice acted them and that elevates this drama to much higher than most if XianXia dramas because the most important actors were completely natural and most other XianXia dramas other than that one have voice acted main actors and are not 100% real and you can't give full credit to actor because he or she was only a good visual performer but the voice was not their but in Burning Flame both Ren Jialun and Xin Fei had their own original voices except in cases where Luo Yun Xi abd Yang Zi give their original voices in Ashes of Love and Yang Zi gave original voice in Immortal Samsarabut Cheng Yi in all his character had a fake voice

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Highly Recommend

This drama had contained everything anyone can think of. The main leads made it even better. Accept the animation which you just have to keep up with, the drama from ep 1-40 is such a wholesome drama with action and adventures, it has a slow burn romance because that's not the point of this drama. This drama is filled with tons of turns and twists. Watching a drama again with Jialun Ren and Xing fei makes it more tempting to watch like Ms. Crow with Mr. Lizard. I'm not someone who watches historical dramas but this, this is really worthy of watching. Over all it's a ten without a doubt. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

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It's Time to Crown the King & Queen

When doing reviews I really like to add quite abit about the leads and will say this....

Idol is a word heavily used in c-dramas. While watching this drama I have really been reflecting on the last 8 years or so to determine who really is the best of this era?....

Allen Ren I think is the GOAT of this era.... Looking back at his dramas, he is amazing. I think I could ask Bai Lu fans & Xing Fei fans & they would agree, will add Dileriba as Blue Whisper was also very good.... I think alot of actresses have been at their best with Allen Ren as their male lead.... Allen Ren can act & keep audience engaged.... My criticism of alot of big name male leads is they have abondoned their male fans with their drama selections, they commit to boring fantasy romance dramas.... Allen Ren is one still interested in being in great selection & playing the character we love, this drama proves it....

Xing Fei what can I say.... I look at the top female names & one thing they have in common is I drop 90% of their dramas.... I mentioned above that lot commit to fantasy romance dramas, I get it, 92% viewers are females and want to see this.... But what about the minorities?.... Xing Fei I feel you get the best of both worlds.... Good actress that people want to see more of plus okay drama selection.... She has got good efforts off her Male leads such as Hu YiTian, Daddi Tang, Lin Yi & Allen Ren.... GOAT for me....

I love the fact Allen Ren has committed to this drama with Xing Fei.... Miss Crow & Mr Lizard was an amazing drama with great efforts from the leads, we are seeing it again with Burning Flames.... I think we need a third drama.... We demand it!!....

Drama overall as talked enough about the leads.... Creative story, not really a boring patch, quite entertaining.... Leads have good chemistry with the support casts.... Music very good.... Drama close to perfect!!....

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