One of the absolute BEST stories out there
Nirvana in Fire is one drama I hold in the highest esteem. I watched it 4-5 years ago and I definitely think this should be a classic. The story is just amazing and so well thought out. The characters were wonderful and the traits they promote in the series make you wish that these characters exist in real life.The pace in the beginning is slow but the setting is so beautiful that it doesn't take away from the drama. I also think it was necessary to set the scene. The acting was flawless. I worried and cared about so many of the characters. Fei Liu is just adorable. The loyalty, the virtue and honour of the characters are so inspiring.
I know series like this is not for everyone, and I'm not even the type to like this kind of series but this is the highest rated series of all time in my mind. This is a MUST WATCH.
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Hu Ge is Mei ChangSu
When I watched this the first time I was like nah although I liked it I won’t be rewatching it but I ate my words big Time because I am currently rewatching it.I’m rewatching solely for the purpose of watching Hu Ge bring Mei ChangSu to life with his loyal band.
Genius strategic mastermind who plays chess while other are playing checkers is the best way to describe the character known as Mei ChangSu/Sir Su/Su Zhe.
He’s impenetrable stares we’re so chilling, it was actually one of the things I liked the most about him. Plus he’s calm and nonchalant demeanor when facing off with his enemies. He portrayed being sick to perfection, I actually would have believed he was really sick.
He had such a majestic presence, it was really a good watch the first time around and now I’m so looking forward to relishing in all his genius glory on this rewatch.
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Worthy of its ratings
I couldn't believe that I waited for several years before finally deciding to watch this series! I wasted a lot of time not knowing how amazing and beautiful it is. Story is written perfectly, it was complex, intriguing, full of smart people, will keep you on edge while watching. Full of bromance, you'll feel a lot of emotion while watching. Characters were portrayed perfectly by the actors/actress, fight scenes were executed well. Cinematography is great.If you haven't watch it and you love intrigues, revenge, politics, wars, bromance/family/friendship drama, then you better watch this. It is all worth it, the 54 episodes were not enough for me. Will surely miss the entire casts.
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Direction Outstanding.
Settings - again -- Outstanding
The amazing thing about this drama was how with every little movement of the characters in close camera scenes the camera would move likewise in a fluid movement making it seem as if we were watching in 2nd person. (Every drama the camera moves but not like this.. Ripley's believe it or not)
Story was great - The writer just knew which scenes not to elaborate to keep the flow of the story with the original feel (A writer who knows his shortcomings and where in he cant make the scene abosulutely special is worth commending)
One Word :- Heartwarming!
Advice :- Miss it at your own peril x-)
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1This review may contain spoilers
A Golden Treat in a Michelin Star Restaurant
I'm gonna keep my review short and simple and spoiler free. This was hard for me to write so beware of my cringey and ridiculous review.Nirvana in Fire is truly one of a kind. How can I describe my journey of this show? It's like going to a Michelin Star restaurant. I was tired of the same old food I'm eating and I craved for something new. Something exquisite and something unique for my taste buds to explore. A different kind of cuisine I've always wanted to scout. Everyone kept talking about this place that I must check out and my curiosity level went up. Why did everyone love this restaurant? Did they add any secret formula like the Krabby Patty? I read reviews of it and one day, I finally said, *fuck it* let's give this a shot. I went in without any expectations, ordered their 3 course meal and I got blown away. I thought I was not gonna like it, I took my first bite, it was different, then I took a few more bites and I had flavours exploding in my mouth that I had to slowly indulged and savoured every bite I took. Finally, I finished it off with a glass of wine that showed a bittersweet ending. What a ride.
I'll be honest, it was hard for me to get into the show at first. The first episode I already got introduced to so many characters that I don't even know which character I should pay attention to. The directing was different, they talked more than they showed and I was not used to it. Since this show was political, which I'd never tried watched it before because I never liked political shows, of course I got confused XD. Therefore, I would like to thank the character guides and recaps for helping me to understand what was going on in the story.
The plot was complex and intriguing. I wanted to see more about the revenge but I couldn't binge it in one go. Instead, I slowly took my time to watch. After every episode, I read recaps to see what I'd missed out. This show must be watched in detail, if you missed one small detail, you would not understand a damn thing. This show is not your typical kind of revenge story. It's more than that. I don't know how I can describe it in words, but when you watch it, you'll understand why. I won't spoil so much of the plot. Surprise yourself.
Now, for the characters. I'll just write on 2 of my favourite characters there. I'll start off with the lead protagonist, Mei Chang Su. He is a very intelligent strategist and he shows who's boss. He is the type who comes here for business. His main goal is to fulfill his duty and to clear his family's name. He's admirable and he never lets his weakness get the better of him. He knows what's he capable of and plans everything ahead. Be like Chang Su and don't do your work last minute. Don't even dare to mess with him. He'll eventually bite you in the end. Prince Jing is my other favourite. He's a fine man indeed. He's brave and bold. He stays true to himself and will do anything to protect his loved ones. A great character who has proven himself to be a great leader. We need more people like him.
The ending exceeded my expectations. I cried a lot for this bittersweet ending. It's probably the ending I never thought it could work. In the end, it did.
Do I recommend people to watch the show? Of course. Don't watch alone, watch it with your loved ones. Discuss the theories together. Just wear your best pajamas, grab a glass of wine and your favourite snack, perhaps some tangerines? Prepare some tissues and enjoy the ride because it's gonna drive you crazy. Goodnight.
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1Negative correlation between Prince Jing’s looks and the number of his working brain cells.
It took me 3 attempts and “harassment” from a friend for me to finish it. I said it once, I will say it again - this drama could be a podcast. I don’t quite vibe with the tell not show style of directing I’ve got here. I did not really watch the majority of the events unfold, I watched characters talk to each other about said events. While I did get more invested closer to the end, it was not because of the clever shenanigans, but because of the entertaining clownery.While the journey of me watching it did not become enemies to lovers for me and NIF, enemies to partners in crime, calling out everyone for being dumb, for me and Su might have been a more fitting conclusion. I feel like I went through a whole ass character development and existential crises while watching this drama, since complaining about it was part of my mdl personality for the past 5 years.
Do I think it's a masterpiece? Hell fucking no. I still think it's a podcast dressed as a drama. It should have been around 10 episodes shorter. They should have shown more, talked less. I want to see shit happen, not people describe it to each other as they sit in their fancy homes sipping tea spiked with poison. I WANT TO SEE THE TEA HAPPEN!
Is Chang Su a master strategist whose IQ is higher than the combined IQ of all of humanity? Maybe in that universe, but it's not hard to be a genius when everyone around you has a negative number of brain cells in their head. And yet, strangely I think I’ll miss Chang Su, even though I found his well organized plan to be more of a quick reaction to whatever issues other people created and the conclusion to his character being shockingly ridiculous in presentation. This man mastered the art of judging other people’s stupidity and I aspire to get to that level at some point in my life.
The whole court power struggle and the “who’s gonna be the crown prince and future emperor” question was for me dumb for a simple reason - the country would be doomed whoever wins. Prince Yu in his fancy attire was too egocentric and prone to conspiracy thinking while also being way too naive to rule, and Jing Yan and Jing Xuan were, to put it simply, dumb and dumber.
Jing might have been hot, but also had a surprising level of brainlessness at times. He was not connecting any dots whatsoever. Clueless. I was waiting for him to march with clown makeup at some point. You want to give him the country to rule when he cannot even control his own emotions? More often than not he needed to chill, relax, drink some tea and touch some grass.
Personally, I believe Jing's mom should have become the ruler and no one was even close to being as qualified as she was. Patient, smart, observant, good at manipulating people around her for her goals, taking good care of her people, and loyal. None of the men got anything on her.
The biggest issue I had was the fact I just did not care about any of the characters, I didn't care about who would sit on the throne, who would survive, if they would get the revenge. I just do not care. The tiny underlying love line between Chang Su and Ni Huang I should care about because why? They went full on melodrama on their 3rd or 4th meeting, while I still knew nothing about their past - so why should I get emotionally invested? Add to that some unexpected moments like a cameo from Bigfoot or Fein Liu fighting against gravity and winning, and you truly have a whole clownery making the watch entertaining, but lacking emotional stakes.
All that said, I truly did enjoy watching the last 10-15 episodes. Things finally started happening, all the characters were fully established, I understood their motivations and I could enjoy them proceeding with whatever plans they had in mind. The tea was spilling and it was scorching hot. I accepted the flaws of all the characters, tuned my brain to the level of brain energy the drama presents and just went on the final ride with a smile on my face.
Overall, I am completely incapable of objectively judging this drama. Truth to be told, the 5 years journey I had with it makes me incapable of judging it even subjectively - I don’t REALLY know what I think about it and how I feel about it. I don’t think I’ll ever know. My opinion is painfully blurred by the fun interactions I had with users about me struggling so much. Watching these 54 episodes became literally a memorable long term project/event in my life, and for that I know I am grateful.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“I said you are simple. Do you really not use your brain?” - said by the Emperor. Reach of him to say that when he himself had maybe half of a brain cell working.
“You have loyalty and honor, but why do you not have a brain?” facts Su said to Jing and I’m questioning why he wants him as the future emperor.
“The reason you lost to me is because you are stupid”
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Meh
I had full expectations for this drama going in but now I fail to see the genius. the characters seem very forced to me. It feels like they had certain features they were determined to convey but forgot to add the little things that make characters come alive. And really Liu Tao is such a bore to watch. The writing is also very basic, I don't follow the logic. They're trying to set up this really clever strategist protagonist but his setup is unrealistic. For lack of a better example let's say this really smart guy predicts there'll be a rainbow in the morning following the long and hard downpour at night according to this drama there's always a rainbow in the morning. But we all know it's possible it doesn't stop raining throughout the next day and there might be no sun and the real prove of ability is being able to quickly change course under such circumstances. Things like this aren't only unrealistic but they're boring to watch because everytime something comes up you know the ML has "foreseen" it and planned accordingly, so the balance is lost and there's no climax. The emotional aspect is also lost on me. The story revolves around very tragic events from the past and the ML's revenge, however, the writer didn't deem it fit to reveal the thoughts, feelings and emotions of the villains surrounding their wrongdoings.They also skipped all the complex emotions you'd expect from the protagonists considering all they've been through. For example how did it feel to not be recognized by loved ones or to live with the realities of a new and fatal illness as a former soldier. Hu Ge is also not very good at conveying this hidden anger and boiling need for revenge while maintaining a facade upfront. The fire is just not there. There are no engaging devices employed in this drama, no real chemistry between the main characters ( be it bromance or romance) and no interesting plot twists. Events just unfold one to another, the next being more boring than the former. To summarize my feelings by the end I'd say it ended without ever starting. There's really no outstanding aspect to this drama for me and it'll always be mystery why it's so highly rated but to each their own.Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
Brilliant
Mei Changsu is so intelligent! It almost seems like he is predicting the future. One good thing about this is that the intelligent villains and main characters are consistently intelligent. They don't lose IQ or what. The story is also good. Picture quality is superb too w/ nice costumes. No plot armour for characters, and realistic.Fei Liu is very cute. He always compete with the general abhaha. These two are very loyal to MCS. I love their characters.
Sad ending.
I also like the Second Prince. Even though he is the villain, I think he is suited for this role.
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Smartest Historical friendship drama I've ever watched
I just finished this master piece and I'm so sad that it ended ,, I will watch season two just because it has the same nameI will watch also the disguiser just because it has the same main leads
that's How I love this drama so much ,,, I chose to watch it in spiritual time for me and it didn't disappoint on the contrary
I enjoyed it so much
The story is perfect ,, had every thing I like ,, it didn't lack anything
it had the brotherhood/ friendship , the main lead's struggles , the light romance , the faithful relationships , the strong antagonist ,, a lot of Whump too for the male lead
The friendship between the two male lead was amazing with no exaggeration or forced physical attractions between the male leads , they loved each others as brothers to death and beyond ,, it was mature relationship with it strong story behind it
The acting was amazing from every actor even the young Wu lei was amazing in his young age made me laugh ,, broke a lot of tension in difficult episodes ,, it was the right add on to the mix
The intelligence of the writers plot made my head spins in a good way not confusing way ,, it's really smart
I can't say enough about this drama
only that I put it as the best Historical drama I've every watched ,, it dethroned Untamed in my best watched
I highly recommend this drama to anyone ,, it's really the best
you can't hate it even if you want to
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One of best revenge drama
One of best revenge drama I've ever watch!Really good plot with unexpected twists.
Definitely must watch c-drama.
Spoiler:
The only thing I didn't give the story 10/10 is because, I really wish the writer give the main character a better ending. Although it's realistic, it's just so sad..
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