Even great for non math lovers!

Yes all that math goes over my head but the story is genuinely heart warming with so many likeable characters.

Best part for me is the Dad in both worlds (with or with out that rock star hair) & if you love father daughter relationships this will definitely be a must watch.
Ep 1-9 were most people's favorite episodes because the kid actors are so good & darling, worth rewatching.
Ep 28-34 picked up at the end for a nice ending and a hint of romance

Few flaws:
After EP 10:
Adult Lin Zhao Xi didn't have the same tenacity other than a few scenes.
Cheese world Pei Zhi wasn't happy as his father described so definitely they should've matched the characters a bit better.

Overall a great drama out of the ordinary and might help you reflect on life & relationships.

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Good story but a bit too fast paced

The story itself is interesting with some veteran actors. 20 short episodes that could've been longer if they spend more on character development or spent more time on the supporting actors. There were quite a few potentially interesting supporting characters but they hardly had any screen time.

Shen Yi (Artist) & Du Cheng started off as enemies but a bit too quickly Du Cheng's 7 years worth of anger towards him resolved?? ..... It felt rather instant so the subsequent bromance wasn't strong. It still worked well enough for the story line as it focused mainly on cases. Each case went by fast w/o many twists. It would've been better if they slow the pace down a bit.

The last 2 episode circles back to the original murder from 7 years ago to resolve unanswered questions.

Overall a great crime drama well worth the time for any viewers that enjoys this genre!

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Suprisingly good for a short Drama

Typically these short dramas are low budget with no name actors. Acting could be cheesy or over the top but occasionally it's easy to watch on the side. So going into this drama I had zero expectations but did NOT see this coming.

Great Story filled with mystery and twists definitely good enough to be a longer series.
Great acting by the cast especially the 4 main leads. Chemistry was on fire between the ML and FL. In addition there were some interesting supporting actors, notability Yuanbao the little girl and ML's military advisor. Both offered periodic humorous lines.

The cinematography feel reminded me a bit like Love like Galaxy, beautiful and magical.
Music was also really good.

Only flaws:
1. They left some lose ends w/ the ending
2. Interesting stories like this should continue.........................................

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Enjoyable if you are into Ancient detective dramas

I think below are still better:
The sleuth of the Ming Dynasty <-- still the best
Ancient Detective
The Imperial Coroner

But if you enjoy this kind of niche drama then you'll like the storyline of this as well despite being a low budget drama.
The story has multiple cases and gets solved pretty quick, but every case tied to a bigger mystery surrounding the ML.
Acting was ok, no one really stood out but at least none were terrible.
Chemistry wasn't strong between the ML and the FL, but the focus wasn't on the romance. I actually preferred that being the episodes were short and I wasn't looking for cheesy romance in this kind of the genre.
Each episode ended with some random rambling, some were quite silly and funny.

The ending suggested season 2 so I hope that it will happen!

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It's really good if you ignore the obvious plot flaws

The concept is very interesting, and the cast & acting is top notch. However earlier on you'll be asking WHYYYYYY would you .... WHYYYYYY wouldn't you. I can't even with this absurd logic.

What I loved:
The entire cast from the leads the supporting cast
Jang Pan Seok (the fact that he's NOT playing a bad character for once) Literally every drama if he's in it he's the bad guy.
Lost souls in this village finding meaning of their new existence and new life -- family friends, love they never received during their living life etc. Heartwarming
The detective <-- why isn't he in more ML roles? His acting is fantastic

What I've hated: (don't read it if you don't want any possible spoilers)
Beginning of the story already with major illogical plot holes like why didn't ML report the girl being kidnapped? That would've been more logical to explain why HE was kidnapped in the process?
So many times, to tell ML about the girl (just the kidnapping part) and yet NOT?
Not so mysterious turn of events. 90% predictable.
Questionable ages . ML witness something 27 years ago and he looked 7ish ? 27 years later he supposed to be 30 but looking 40? Like really doesn't make much sense

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Watch for the laughs but skip the fans

Cliché executed pretty well overall

Things that didn't work:
1. FL - her big blank eyes with zero expressions. She's lucky ML and supporting cast offset her inability to act.
2. Fans - Excessive nastiness. It got exhausting after ep 20 and felt super repetitive. Pretty sure you can fast through 10 ep of fan hate.
3. eSports - I see many complaints since this is more about Romance and less about accurate portray of eSports it really doesn't bother me
4. Relationship growth - if this was more focused on the romance they should've played on how they developed. It was ok just could've been better
5. Character growth - it's a fun fluffy drama so don't expect this

What worked:
1. Humor -- Lots of comical dialogue and short jokes which short girls will appreciate the struggles. Of course the subtle ones may be lost in translation
2. Supporting Cast -- Good supporting cast over all especially little fatty, he offers endless comical relief. I see some of the same cast in supporting roles in Love like Galaxy too.
3. Xu Kai -- Strong ML that executed his never exist in real world unattainable drama bf character flawlessly.
4. eSports graphics - Pretty cool graphics
5. Fun Fluffy Cringy all at the same time. There are plenty of people that enjoys this kind of stuff.

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Important Learnings

The FL was such a interesting character in her other drama on Netflix "Tomorrow" that I wanted to watch this drama.

At first it was intriguing what this master plan was but then it was like "o that's it?".

Lessons I've learned from this script:

1. Daddy issues will lead to a sociopath daughter
2. Revenge can work if:
---You have a rich cheobol heir for an ex BF that still wants to get back with you and will help you no matter what.
---You have a new rich suitor who wants to be with you and help you no matter what.
Else your only grand revenge is to make a speech in a dating social to expose what the evil woman did to your dead husband.

8 short episodes of this and the story of the husband's death was repeated at least 4x. That's 1 repetitive script.

Few highlights of the drama:
Evil FL: watched her in numerous other supporting roles and this role was completely different from all her prior roles. She pulled it off perfectly. Loved her crazy eye death stares!
Rich Ex BF & Rich Suitor, both characters are quite attractive personality wise. They should've focused more on character growth instead.
Rich Ex BF's stepmom - potential interesting character. Should be a spin off on her character in future drama.

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Was strong until ep 25

The story started strong: Casting/acting/set/costume/fight scenes-- All that you hoped for in a big budget drama. I was excited and can't wait to watch more.

After ep 20, it started to slow down. The drama seemed to have lost its luster. Introduction of new characters non related to the plot seem to occupy too much screen time. Meanwhile they could've used the screen time to develop a more convincing love story between the ML and FL. That connection was rushed and the dialogue between the two wasn't convincing that they would just risk their lives for each other.

The drama continued to be anti climatic. & some of the plot twists didn't even make any sense. Ending was highly disappointing. It's still a worthwhile drama until midway at least.

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Incredible cast!

Action packed with some expected twist and turns. I can't say the storyline is all that unique but I enjoyed it because so many other factors were perfect:

1. Casting:
Han so Hee, I've seen her in many beautiful girl roles but here she's fierce, broken, angry, mysterious all at the same time. They had to use make up to tone down her beauty. Amazing acting and you can tell she trained hard for the role.
Park Hee Soon, ruthless gangster you'll just love. His expressions ever so captivating borderline psychotics
Anh BoHyun, I usually see him playing some jerk character so it was nice to see him in this role and he definitely pulled off the part.
Lee Hak Joo, Gangster's right hand man. Loved his character & a great supporting role

2. Production: action packed, great stunts and fight scenes. It wasn't a cheap production that's for sure but maybe that's why it was only 8 episodes.

3. Music, cinematography. Happy there was no super white light making actors pearl white. No shaky hand syndrome during fight scenes.

Sadly it could've been so much more:
There were some "ummm ok? that just happened moments"
Like how she got caught? what? How she walked away ? what? & how ML just what?

Only 8 episodes, could've used a lot more development. Dialogue between FL / ML to build that connection. They rushed through and that relationship really needed some more slow burn

Ending was less than desirable. Such a strong start then ended like that. I felt like they were trying to pull a Monster boy + Night in paradise style but didn't quite work

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Hooked till midway then series fell flat

The series started off strong. Character relationship development was interesting and all 3 couples were likeable. Supporting cast was good as well. Unfortunately like many other dramas mid way through the story got kind of sloppy. FL went from smarter than everyone to can't figure out anything. Some misunderstandings felt forced, some episodes felt draggy with too many flashbacks.

What I enjoyed:
1. Wen Si Yuan's character. By far my favorite character. The way he talks is distinct and his acting just grows on you. Same feeling as when he played Mu Ci in Ashes of Love.
2. Zhu Yan - before he became his other self. Very lovable
3. Overall story
4. Initial parts had really good classic wu xia fight scenes peaked at the tournament and then..... feels like the fight choreographer quit or something.
5. Chemistry between all 3 couples.
6. Bromance between Zhu Yan & Yin Chang Ge

Downfalls:
1. 2nd 1/2 of the drama
2. Non stop crying and flashbacks
3. Anti climatic out comes
4. Ending that really logically didn't make sense on how the story was progressing. I even tried googling how and why and no answer..... ???

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0 newness to this HS cliche overload drama

Then and now kind of story with first loves but ML FL clothes change in adulthood but acting gestures don't change . It's literally the same story line which would've been ok if the dialogue was a bit more interesting. Typically for these to be successful you need strong funny side supporting characters which there aren't any. Some smart back and forth between the leads which there's like one moment.

Story include:
1. FL weak doormat crybaby always needing to be rescued
2. ML cold on the outside and seems to bully the girl but is really helping her
3. Bad parenting and a terrible school official
4. Jealous side girl
5. School bully boys which only ML can defeat
6. Misunderstanding till the end
7. Countless years where no one moves on
8. Story finally resolves in the end years years years later


The End

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It will make you sm:)e

The cast was memorable. Short 24 ep didn't drag on but it could've used a few more. Ending could've been better. The development of the real 2nd lead could've used some more time to simmer the attraction. It felt rather sudden when he confessed & it was like "for real when that happened?".

Memorable moments:
Shu Zhan's solo performance on stage showcased his potential. Although overall I felt he did a decent job but that scene was the best of his acting in the whole drama.
Bella Du: Her dance solo & and her screen solo audition was very moving. I love her acting through out the entire drama.
Live streaming of the 3 girls : 1st one was the best but the whole concept was fun and unique.

What makes the drama good:
1st ep will hook you with her playing dead. "professional no script" actor.
Twist of the true 2nd lead. 2nd lead who you thought was the 2nd lead really wasn't.
I also liked that no character was written one sided good or bad. This is very hard to do as typical drama has the one sided antagonist.
It was a good mix of fun but will touch you emotionally.

Could've been better:
Development of other characters.
Story could've used more development. It felt like it abruptly ended without a real ending.
Later ep got a bit more melodramatic than fun. They could've kept some more fun scenes going

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Not as good as S1 but still worth watching!

Epic continues 4.5 years later.... Everyone's been waiting and I am so happy most of the main and supportive cast returned. Must be a tremendous effort to coordinate all the schedules. However, having rewatched S1 to prepare for S2, the absence of Xiao Zhan was felt immediately. I get it, he's a big star now but sometimes a small part in an epic drama beats ML in a mediocre drama. Actor Wu Xing Jian did not deliver the intense stare Xiao Zhan had for Yan Bing Yun's character. Not that I expected him to, but I was hoping for more? The entire character felt flat.

Story started a bit slow with some OTP crying but by ep 4, the humor really kicked in when the faceoff between the Crown Prince, 2nd prince & Fan Xian happened. You know how great the acting is when they can deliver that micro expression.

Sure, there are lots of things I am not liking:
-Dubbing for Liu Ru Yu (Madam Fan) is different and not in a good way.
-The yodeler music for silly funny scenes is a bit overdone.
-Yan Bing Yun's character changing from sexy mysterious feel to blahhhhh
-YeLingER's character went from spunky hot head to serious bitter? No issues replacing the actress but common don't replace the personality.....
-Over heavy on political scheming. Ep 15 was hard to watch as it was way over done on the interrogation scene
-Zhang Ruo Yun (ML)'s weight loss? Questionable healthy
-Lack of Fan Si Zhe, Uncle Wu. These are awesome characters from S1 that worked, and they should've continued with more scenes not less

But there are also improvements:
-Lighting (S1 was olive... browns... yeah not flattering)
S2 lighting is better but still not great. No over skin smoothing, no heavy makeup, you can see people's skin textures
-Continued character development like the crown prince, 2nd prince
- Introduction of new interesting characters like the 1st prince & princess pairing (very cute), the little Eunuch that seems to know what to say at all times

A must watch for anyone who loves beyond idol dramas.

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One giant Hot Mess

Veteran cast with great 1st episode and the script lost its way to nowhere land. I thought it focused on "Trolley Dilemma" instead it felt more like a woman's bad luck in choosing a husband.

The only reason I continued is because I loved Kim Hyun Joo ever since she was in the 1999 drama "Into the Sunlight"
Park Hee Soon (ML) was powerful in My Name
Kim Mu Yeol so memorable in Bad Guys: City of Evil

All such great actors and I just kept hoping that this drama will take it somewhere eventually. But that didn't happen and partly with the twists felt out of place. Other part was the good to bad characters ratio is way off making this drama hard to watch.

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Easy watch, not a serious drama

Lately there's been a lot of this kind of stories: Free spirit strong FL. The story genre is not new but if you enjoy easy watch costume dramas with happy endings (assuming) then this is enjoyable.

It's not as good as Romance of Tiger & Rose which I would say it's been the best so far but its got decent amount of humor.

Positives:
1. Supportive family for FL. The family scenes are quite enjoyable. Dad/Brother are especially funny
2. FL's character's got some sharp come backs. Quite witty
3. If there was a Chinese Ken doll the ML would be it for those who likes idol looks
4. Fun names "ran mian mian" "ying bang bang"
5. Creativity in costume design. I love the use of bright colors: orange, dark teal with some creative head pieces

Negatives:
2nd lead is not strong
The 2nd prince looks older than the king LOL

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