watch it for leads not for story but overall forgettable

After long i watched 8+ rated show with plot that made no sense from start to finish
I see lot of people bothered about how ML fell in love with someone who has face of a sister. Thats not a major problem at all. He had not seen his sister after she grew up and he came across that face only after she was dead.
Major problem of this drama is how disconnected the PLOT is and how the characters are.
1. FL thinks ML loved her doppleganger initially but has no qualms to hug him kiss him within few days. Like what! people would think twice if ML really loves her or her face!
2. ML and his intention of getting FL to his house and when everything is revealed hardly anything changes. ML could have just solved everything without involving FL.
3. There is no proper character arc. FL is artist but is good at being CEO within a day. i wish i was that smart.
4. ML changes from cold ,abusive person to sweetest within seconds after FL declares she will protect him . lol
5. There is literally no emotional scenes between ML and FL before she falls in love. She doesnt know anything about him. It really looks like Stockholm syndrome not a love story.

This show has too many unbelievable things that it becomes a comedy . I guess it became quite famous because of ML and their steamy scenes & macho scenes but if there is no proper base for characters and their relationship it hardly effects long time . I would rather have a show with no physical affection but good relationship build than watch this uff!
ML is quite good in acting not just look wise so i hope he does good content shows not such trashy fan service ones.

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Started off well , ended up a cliched mess

I guess i am also one of the very few who cannot rave about this show and this review will not be liked by most of the current (young) audiences but well since i watched i will provide my thoughts

I was attracted by clips of first few episodes and story line thinking it will be "we. will cross all hurdles including time and space" type of love story which i am up for watching anytime but i was disappointed big time.
First two episodes was gripping. First wave of disappointment came in when there was fire in Im Sol's house . What was it ! why that sequence which did not make sense and its utterly annoying to see such stupidity. Its not comedy if it does not fit into the flow of the sequence. Randomly these sequences are integrated. There are some comic scenes which is really good but most just falls flat and importantly it does not contribute to the story in any way.

But what really doused my interest is ML already liking her and with just one look and no interaction in original timeline .Liking her to the point where he cares nothing but her. That just destroyed the premise for me .
ML cares about swimming for first few episodes then he doesnt give a damn. After that its like a list of cute scenes or crying scenes but really what is their relationship if we dont see them sit and talk and discuss other than saying they are happy !. He was a student who worked hard for it and now he is just a romantic goof .
If only their relationship was built with more substance where she comes back to save him , bcs she saw him as a person who gave back her spirit of life but then slowly turns into something more and the same with him but no.. it all stays in a very superficial level.
Even FL does not show any maturity when she is supposed to be 34 year old in the body of 20 year old and that too for a person who has gone through so much and when she remembers all of that! Being full of life is not same as acting all teenage like!

Psycho story line is a mess as well. A criminal attacked police officers and how come he is still roaming around and police officers are listening to a teenage girl what to do!! No wonder they could not keep a criminal in hand cuffs in place lol.
And then later he also manages to come to a 5 star hotel to attack the ML. wow! thats hell of a security and policy system this world has!

Same with SML and ML's friend . ML did not even know where his friend lived. And SML one day became buddies with them and enjoying in the beach ( another beach scene cliche thats a must i suppose) when he had his own gang which disappeared ?
Point is none of this characters or the relationship is built up on a solid base that you care about them (Cant help but think of SOOD here)

Only good thing is the leads and the actors who do have a good comic timing ( but sadly all are over the top or out of place)

This plot had the potential to be as good as Someday or one day. Sigh ..

PS : i am still giving ratings more than what i think it deserves

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Good start but disappointed midway

Update: it started so well as i described below but after episode 12 or so it went haywire.
FL and ML hardly had any scenes together and if they did they acted like siblings. i understand there was a situation of another wife between them but ML clearly shows care and love to FL but all she does is ignore him. Like even when he is injured all we get to see is one question that if he is alright. i mean his servants and even kings servants show more care than FL
Even story wise they show women empowerment like its a piece of cake. And men are shown dumb or too soft. thats not how it works ! changing peoples mentality takes ages. here FL just stands and give speech and every one claps.
Disappointing progress from such a great premise and start

So far it’s been such a great watch. The way story unfolds you want root for ML sand FL from very first episode . I have seen so many dramas where even if the leads have good characterisation it’s not easy to root from the get go and sometime you cannot even till the end but in this drama it’s so easy. The way it’s narrates and leads interact with others you instinctively start getting invested and then it expands to almost all characters including their servants !!
Women bonding in this drama is never seen before so that’s such a huge plus point .
ML is smart and ambitious but not cold but very warm person and FL is very cute but also smart in her own way and can really be the life of the crowd .

Exciting to see how it unfolds in further episodes

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Started well but went downhill midway and disaster at the end

After watching two firefighter shows (which were not great but not bad ) i was curious about this one.

It started well and i had no problems with FL that much as others and ML although aloof was not cold and their dynamics was fun to watch along with other firefighters. But i saw first sign of stupidness when FL saves ML by jumping into fire when there was full team of trained firefighters and ML instead of scolding her thanks her as if that was not sheer violation of rules. But i still went on thinking it is too early to judge based on once incident but then series of cliches appeared. ML instead of communicating being a pighead about SML or his injury. FL being embroiled in a case and stupidly getting involved in situations that doesnt make sense. But final nail in the coffin was how earthquake happened again in the same city at the same day when FL and ML lands . Like what! Really did the team did not have any story other than convieniently placing an earth quake at the same time when FL lands again . i mean come on . atleast if she had stayed for a month or so then happened i would give some leeway. They also really went extreme making FL outshine in everything even in firefighting. Thats just too much!

So ya although this came before Fireworks of my heart and some scenes of that drama seems to have been taken from this drama it was much more mature (although i find that drama wanting in some areas too). i would suggest watch you are my hero or Fireworks of my heart instead ,. They are definitely not this immature.

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Definitely not worth its hype

Immature is the word that comes to my mind when i watched this show.

Characters were not developed /established well. Not the ML/FL or her friend or anybody. Chemistry might be good but i would prefer that emotion development between them any day than any no.of steamy kisses. But here ML keeps disturbing FL and one act of his melts the FL. I guess the same scenes would still work but with better screenplay or something? It felt like there is no connection between scenees. I know its 2009 series but there are dramas around that era which had good flow.
But big disappointment is the character arc of both FL and ML. Fl started strong and no nonsense but just becomes a senti self sacrificing woman . Her goal of getting into civil service is forgotten. Same with ML. Them handling brain tumor is just so absurd. One day he is running around like mad and next day he sleeps with FL and he has accepted it!

Acting : FL was tolerable but MLs acting is just bad (sorry no offence if he is one of the famous actors) and his scenes were just too jerky running around till the last scene. His reaction when he comes to know his son is missing in the last epi is one such example.

I had expected even if there is misunderstanding till last epi there is that maturity in the story , the feelings etc but was disappointed.
PS : Music is horrible with no relation to whatsoever happening in the drama.

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Beautiful journey

One of the best Cdramas i have seen hands down.

Its not just a journey of a ML & FL but the whole quaint village. Their problems, their happiness, pros & cons of changing times for people in a village, for old aged people and for people who were lost and found themselves in this village. Its so so beautifully brought out. If audiences start feeling like they are part of the lives of the characters thats the ultimate goal a drama would have achieved & this drama achieves that effortlessly. In first episode itself you start rooting for FL. Same goes with every character thats introduced. Adding to that all the great actors and characters and the beautiful setting making it so perfect.

One special mention on ML. I think one of the very realistic next door "rural" ML i have ever seen in any languages. They really show ML working not just talking about working. The scene where he helps a stuck truck shows how he really helps people. Have never seen such scenes natually without highlighting "machoness" or "manliness" in front of FL(FL is not even present in that scene).

only downside could be a little bit slow and a romance between the musician and the much older women. I found it a little dragging and couldnt relate to that part of the story but otherwise very good.

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Very beautiful tragic story

Oh how i love beautiful story where both know that the other person loves them so much without explicitly confessing to each other.. love which is not shown by affectionate words but shown by actions and their eyes speak louder than words that people surrounding feel it too.

What i liked
1.All characters and actors did a great job. ML and FL had such great chemistry without much physical affection.
2.ML character sticking to his traits till the end. He is not perfect. he could have done more for the palace and for himself instead of running away from it. But still he knows he is good at fighting and leading soldiers that way protecting people and does not waver from that responsibility. He is kind and cares for everyone around him. His love for FL you can see in his eyes.
I have seen too many shows where ML forgets his responsibility once he falls for FL and just shuns it at the end. For once i see ML decides to let go of his love for larger good. People might think he is spineless but that requires more guts than leaving his responsibility and run away. And Kudos to Allen for portraying a dignified person perfectly. I have seen so many actors who are either cold with arrogant face and then so soft as if the whole character changed but Allen shows just right amount of emotions required. Even small gestures are so in line with his character.
3. I loved FL character too although most people (Viki comments were filled with it ) thought she is useless.But considering the times where the story set in i found her character close to reality. I love rebellious FL once in a while in historic shows but able to fight with swords is not the only way of being brave or having strength. She was also kind and brave in her own way. If people are timid it doesnt mean they are useless!!
4. Ending I can say i am in peace with ending bcs they both die. I am fine if both die but i cannot handle if one of them have to live or one of them gets married to someone else and suffers. Atleast they both found peace together we can say.

What could be better
Show more on what exactly she learnt from her master. it was never clearly shown. she definitely didnt learn war tactics or fighting. Just mention of music and painting. If only they showed that equation between ML and FL it would resonate more with viewers
Some of the places it looked like some scenes were disconnected as such. Screenplay could have been better .
And Sheer injustice ML and FL till the end of their life. Justice was never served to them even if they united lifetimes after but thats LIFE so not much complain there

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A drama so perfectly made

This is the first time in my asian drama watch history that i have given 10 to all of the ratings.
Every thing is so well made here. No complains at all . Even with best of the best i do have some complains but in this none.
Story, acting, cast, music everything is so smooth before you realise it just sucks you in !!
Dont miss this gem. There is a korean remake but i decided to watch original and i am so glad. I see some discussions on the over all quality being high in Korean remake but even though i have not seen the remake i think the original is so well made i didnt see any issue in the quality whatsoever. Do not miss on it for that reason atleast.

Just huge shoutout to the cast and special love for main lead couple who has so much chemistry!

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Good slice of life youth story

What i loved:

the school part where they formed a group and stood for each other
there was no melodrama on silly things like not getting to same college , stream , class etc etc. They were mature about it. In one of the famous cdrama ML was ready to change streams just bcs FL was alone in a arts class. i couldnt continue watching after such stupidity from characters. Here even after getting together they were mature about it
FL being mature and outspoken when needed. I loved how innocent but at the same time strong the FL is.
Second pair story was great too

What i didnt like
College years and working years were cute to watch but nothing new in terms of freshness. We can see where it is going unlike school years so not that exciting but thats just a small -ve point.

Overall a great youth story after Lovely Us and Flourish in time!

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Great watch with amazing cast and good quality CGI but expected more with such great premise

Before watching Cang Lan Jue i watched couple of xianxia series and this is by far one of the best with great basis for a story and most importantly character arc of male lead and female lead.

Pros :
Great plot with different basis where so called Devil/Demon are not bad. its just the matter of perspective and female lead learns this early on. The way both grow throughout the story is great to watch. Other characters are good too. So the whole experience with hilarious body swapping happening initially (again great performance the way they switch back and forth and show each others traits immediately) is great.
Cast : best part of the series is cast. Wang Hedi and Yu Shuxin are so perfect and the chemistry just oozes out!! Will repeat so many others here. Hope we get to see them together again.

Cons :
What i did not like and i realised is the case with so many other dramas i watched is either male lead or female lead leaving their main premise shown initially. Like Male lead or female lead but mostly male lead being in a responsible and powerful position (be it general, or emperor, or moon supreme in this case) and initially they are shown to be good at it too. But by the end of the series they start ignoring and at the end just leave it. I get it if there had to be choice where they had to chose between love and responsibility and they chose love but thats not the case at all.

*contains spoilers*
For ex: the episodes where DFQC just spent tending to the plant forgetting everything. Some find it very romantic etc etc but for me it does not sit well. He could have done the tending being a moon supreme too. And the epilogue where they are just travelling to different places for years too. Somehow those things destroy the premise of the character they started with. I fully understand DQQC was emotion less initially but even after getting emotions he cared so much about his tribe . i would have love if he continued to be a supreme. I feel like in the quest of making MLs hopeless romantic writers end up making this decision for the characters . *sigh* Well end of the rant on this one.

Overall a must watch. It is just beautiful.

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Bland youth drama

Nothing literally nothing happens in the drama. Main leads as well as side characters are two dimensional. FL is as usual clueless of what she wants and ML has to help. Why almost all youth dramas have that!

What i liked
Initial relationship between ML & FL was cute. There was no over the top sentiments .

What i disliked
After few episodes you realise there is literally nothing happening. Their daily life becomes boring .Side character stories are also annoying. Female side characters and Male side characters are all utterly one dimensional. Either evil or dumb or plain stupid. ML & FL has nothing much happening. Even with friendship it really doesnt look like you are part of their journey. THe feeling i get in some of the really good youth dramas.
Outright unrealistic reactions from almost all around them is just too much to handle.
After they start dating it becomes more stupid with random guys behind FL with outright stupid reactions. FL is supposed to be good at taekwando but ML has to come to rescue. WTH.
Oh yeah they introduce FL saying she joined the school bcs of Taekwando but there is no mention of that after that. She doesnt even think about it even once although other characters point out to belittle her. Everything is so half hearted in this drama. Ughh

Not to compare but another youth dram with same FL had a depth even with side characters so i would say that is much much better. Go watch that. ML & FL both has some arcs with side characters having a good story development.

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Good cozy feel of 90s. Watch it if you like these kind of shows. worth it

What i liked

The whole 90s vibe and the whole community of antique restoration department and their relationship. They are not nosy but very caring and involved with each others family. The alley with the houses has such a good feel to the over all feel of the show.
There were some scenes which felt as if its dragging but its very small part of the drama.
i know actress is much older than what she played but it didnt bother me she didnt look that old .I felt actress in go ahead felt much older in high school years than FL here.

What could be better
Although i have liked the actress who played FL even in other shows like AOL , here sometimes acting was over the top.Could have toned it down a bit and sometimes when she just stares with her big eyes it doesnt bring out her emotions . Even with that i liked the FL character. She is childish, innocent , has a dream of her own and emotionally mature when dealing with people . She kept telling her friend how to deal with people . She didnt figure out ML liked her for long but that could be attributed to their relationship since childhood.
ML is as usual( as in case with most dramas) perfect except when he suddenly decided to be noble (this trope is a must in all dramas isnt it. ) but even then there was a good arc of him figuring out what he wants in life.
Loved almost all side characters specially their friends circle.

What i hated :
Some very childish scenes of FL . not everytime but there are couple of them
FL realising she wants to come back after something really bad happened to her. it just gives out wrong message that if you go to foreign country you will end up being like that (specially for a girl) . She could have realised without all that fiasco of getting duped etc.

If you ignore these i think its still good watch and i would rewatch this show now and then

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Good plot, great characters

Good :
Characters :
All four main characters + ML's brother you start rooting for them early on and thats the important thing. And they are so normal people. Not pigheaded with tons of misunderstand. they actually sit and talk and actually work. Specially in the name of so called "strong female character" sometimes FL is made a caricature by showing her arrogant , so confident even when mistake is done that they dont acknowledge. I so love the fact that here FL knows her thing and does not hesitate to voice her opinion and do her work and she is also willing to listen to ML bcs he has more experience and has a wider perspective. its periodic drama so women would still have limited access to anything and everything so i didnt find FL acknowledging and appreciating ML as some fan girling. (as some people commented in Viki and here).
Equally good supporting characters makes it fun to watch. Second ML is so fun. Little things he does is so funny , not over the top. Even other smaller supporting characters like ML's general or Eununch's general are fun to watch.
Best part of the drama still is that they sit and "talk" it out which i find many dramas missing. Be it leads or even other characters.

Acting :
Almost all actors have done great job although sometimes i found FL just standing there with no expression. She could have done better there with a little more expressions but still does not impact the experience. She is good enough for her role. Highlights are the Head Eununch and his assistant. They did such a great job to make sure even plotting villianous scenes of theirs is fun to watch.

Plot :
Plot is not very serious that you have to be at the edge all the time but at the same time not so loose that you lose interest in it .
Overall interesting plot but you also enjoy the journey of the characters

Bad :
Attire:
Whats with the attire of the FL !! Initially she wore sort of cottonish attire which made sense from where she came but then she changes to a more expensive attire. Well we can assume she bought it from capital but then when she is back in village she is wearing some silikish fancy coats which does not go well with what her status is or the village nor does it go well with the well to do family.

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A very good drama brought down by immature characters and scenes

Good

1. Actors and the chemistry between ML and FL
2. The way they meet and bond in high school and the separation
3. Smart FL (although sometimes too soft but i can live with that)

Bad

They go to college and thats when the drama which could have been great starts wavering. Immature characters and scenes that doesnt make sense at all. Computer science competitions are no where like the way they show.( i was a computer science student and been in the industry for a decade. ) . SML is outright stupid but thats ok. ML is a good character overall but when they do fight its very immature. And some side characters annoy the heck . Be it FLs best friend who being best friends with FL cannot realise she loves ML and instead keep spouting rubbish about SML or be it ML friends who post in ML profile without ML permission to help him. And so many so many side characters who are into ML or hate FL ughh. And random scenes like some college students attacking ML bcs of a wrong accusaton doesnt make sense at all.
Also FL is shown to be hard working but there is not that much professional interest shown for her ( i am comparing this vs lighter and princess FL where FL really starts loving programming)
And also FL hiding things from ML becomes repetitive after a while. it is just way too annoying if characters dont develop and learn.
Even after all of this its a fun to watch . Just because of ML / FL chemistry and some good scenes on growth of ML and FL..

PS : i am not sure if its good to compare but i would still say this is a little immature (not great but okayish) version of lighter and princess. Bcs there characters showed growth be it communication or regrets or letting go of past. Here we dont see anything . Characters makes mistakes again and again and again!

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Expected another beautiful nostalgic happy story after one and only but disappointed

30 episodes (more than one and only) for a drama with nothing going on is too much so had to skip a lot of scenes as it gets boring in later half. First half is fast paced and you still dont know whats gonna come but that leads to dead end.
What i really wished we could get that nostalgic feel where leads remember their old incarnation . I came to know this theme is prohibited !! I dont get it how come china has so many fantasy shows but this topic is prohibited. in any case how i wish FL remembered fully and ML also starts remembering and we get those feels back .
And also i wish there was more passion and yearning. that was shown so beautifully in one and only to be here . although it was sweet love story its no way close to one and only. so having that intertwining of past tragedy could have helped the drama get more depth.
Instead we get so much awkwardness between these couple out of nowhere throughout the drama. But have to say their chemistry is still very good specially that crying scene in the batchroom both actors did such good job.
Overall a good watch if you are watching on the side but have to fast forward lot of scenes that doesnt make sense.

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