Highly overrated

I have to preface this by saying one thing - I like both Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan and I’ve watched several of their shows. This is the show I couldn’t like either of them in.

I didn’t intend to watch this show at all- the premise and trailer didn’t interest me, but I thought I would give it a shot anyway. Even though there was an uncomfortable age difference between the characters (not generally, but just because she’s a minor at the beginning), I thought the first 9 episodes were handled pretty well. There were some sweet moments and the episodic nature of the show made it look a bit like a story about growing up.

Till about ep 14, the show was still kind of sweet and funny. It’s after ep 15 that I found this absolutely juvenile and boring. I know most of the comments here will praise the “love story” and so on and how great these characters are, but I actually couldn’t root for the couple at all. From ep 15 to the end I was hoping it would get better but it never did. It was like the writer put some effort into assuaging fears of the story seeming creepy in the beginning when Sang Zhi was young, but once she was “older” all of those efforts went out the window.

My main issues:

When did Jiaxu fall in love? For someone who had been through a bunch of trauma and had a difficult family situation, he has no hesitation or thought about getting into a relationship with Sang Zhi. I didn’t like how CZY played Jiaxu as a cocky, overconfident guy (I’m guessing that’s what the script required him to do). It seemed like such a bizarre decision. We are told that he somehow blames himself for what his family got into (the accident and all that)- at least that’s what we hear Sang Zhi saying- but we never see it from Jiaxu. He has no trauma that we can grasp - his father gets shown only twice in the drama. Once when he’s about to pass away. This is where we learn that Jiaxu doesn’t drink because of the accident his dad caused. None of these traumatic events are even touched upon until the story demands them to be there. Without them it would make no difference. Instead this trauma should have been a big reason for Jiaxu to hesitate or to believe that he’s worthy of being loved.

The other issue- Zhao Lusi playing a 19 year old like she’s 13. Initially when ZLS was playing a 17 year old like a kid, I accepted it. I thought it was cute and endearing in a way. But when she’s a supposed adult, she continues talking in a baby voice. I don’t see the difference between this version and the younger one. It became rather annoying after a while.

I also don’t understand why they cast a 10 year old kid to play 14 year old SZ. With all the comments about grooming and all that going on, you think the makers of this drama would’ve been extra careful. Instead, this didn’t help the case.

The love story did absolutely nothing for me. We are somehow supposed to believe that these two have an amazing love shared between them. They never have deep conversations about things like a real couple would. Instead there are just lots of kissing scenes inserted randomly. Where are the long and deep conversations? Where is the friendship and banter in a relationship? For two supposedly smart people, they surely don’t have any smart, intelligent conversations.

I think all of these are easy fixes. Firstly, SZ and DJX could’ve met once again probably 8 years after she gives up her crush on him. At this time having both of them as working adults, having meaningful lives outside each other would have been interesting. From a slow friendship it could’ve eventually grown into love. This would’ve been much better as currently there’s no friendship stage on this show. They go from “you’re my brother/sister” to “I want to woo you” within one episode.

The supporting characters could’ve been interesting and could’ve had their own stories but their lives mostly revolve around the leads. I liked SZ’s brother the most but even he doesn’t get as much to do outside the leads.

This show is just so disappointing. It’s not a horrible show by any means- the beginning was rather nice- but it is so superficial and lacks any depth. I’m rather shocked at the immensely high ratings for a show that has nothing to say or contribute.

I’m really stumped that the rating on MDL is this high, beating out masterpieces such as Nirvana in Fire, the Untamed, etc. Actually even ZLS’s other dramas like Love Like the Galaxy and Who Rules the World are so much better. To put it into perspective, a show with a simple story - such as Reply 1988 - is so brilliant that it could do so much with the time it had. It built multiple storylines with multiple characters and everyone had their own story to tell. HL missed so many of the important elements that makes for good storytelling, so yeah, I am indeed shocked by the ratings.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention how unrealistic it is that by 24, Jiaxu has paid his father's debts and medical bills, etc, owns a really fancy car, gets a house soon after, quits his job to move to SZ's city, all in just 2 years of working. Is he a millionaire or what? Another example of the writer not having had any experience of adult life.

I also completely dislike how this drama pushes the idea of a perfect romance to very young people. SZ is only 19 when she gets into a relationship and I guess she gets married 3 years later? That’s a really terrible idea when an individual’s brain doesn’t fully develop until they’re 25. I wouldn’t have had any problems if these two were actually above 27 (ideally late 20s), but this feels like it’s telling youngsters to find “the one”’ immediately after they become legal adults.

All that said, I’m happy that Chinese dramas are getting some popularity through this show, even though in my opinion this is an average Chinese show and far from the best. However, I guess it has made some people happy and I can appreciate that.

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Melancholic, contemplative and sublime

RATING: 9.25/10

Lost You Forever was not one of my most highly anticipated shows this year. After all, four men after one woman didn’t sound like a convincing enough reason to watch a show. But thankfully, the trailer of this show really drew me in and I’m glad I went on this ride.

I have to admit - this is one of the best shows released so far this year. The first episode had me in tears, and logically there’s no reason to cry during the first episode of any show - because you don’t know characters well enough to care for them so much. But it was touching and mournful and it immediately felt like a special show.

What makes LYF really stand out is its contemplative approach. It is extremely slow, but never draggy. It builds a convincing world with interesting characters, all with their own stories and traumas. Our four leads have rich histories and have lived for hundreds of years. I like how this aspect is not brushed aside, but is actually fleshed out. For one, they feel mature and world-wise. In the case of Xiaoyao, the abandonment she experienced multiple times in life makes her hesitant to hope for things. Cang Xuan losing his parents tragically at such an early age forces him to grow up fast and pushes him to want to protect those he loves. Tushan Jing is the embodiment of forgiveness and kindness that in spite of suffering so much, he never seeks revenge. Xiang Liu is bound to his benefactor and has his own tragic backstory, but always cares for Xiaoyao secretly and from afar, without seeking rewards. Although it may seem like LYF is a romance show, it is not. Every character exists for things other than love, but love definitely connects everyone. This show has all forms of love present in it, which at many times transcend romantic and physical love.

These are some of the things I love on this show:

CASTING: I have to say that all actors are exceptionally talented and perfect for their roles. This was my first time watching Yang Zi in a full production (I’d only seen her for a short while on another show), but also my first time watching Zhang Wan Yi. I’ve seen both Deng Wei and Tan Jianci before (albeit in minor roles). Everyone has done a stellar job, including supporting actors. There’s no fault I can pick here and I look forward to watching all these actors in their future projects. It is because of their amazing performances here that it has been so easy to cry. I also need to mention the child actors who played Cang Xuan and Xiaoyao in the first episode - they were so amazing!

MUSIC: I have to give a special mention to the music in the series. The songs are beautiful and inserted at the right moments. I also did not expect Tan Jianci to sing so well, so that was a pleasant surprise. Other than that, the instrumental score is phenomenal and elevates the show and the emotional core of the show. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack on loop and it immediately transports me back to the show.

THE WORLD BUILDING: Because the show takes a very slow approach to storytelling, the world feels very well-fleshed out. It feels like an alternate universe with its own unique rules. At the same time, it feels lived-in and realistic. This is hard to achieve for many shows and I commend LYF for doing this so well. Can I also mention the cute fictional animals like feifei (poor thing), as well as Chubby and TSJ’s white fox - they’re all so adorable.

EMOTIONAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL DEPTH: I have lost count of how many tears I have shed watching this show. I think there are some very small, seemingly insignificant moments that are given so much emotional depth. Also, because characters are so well developed, it is easy to see the bonds between them and be emotionally invested. One of the aspects I appreciate most about the show is how the seemingly unimportant interactions between characters reveal so much about the characters themselves. It is quite difficult to achieve such a balance, but LYF nails this wonderfully. Furthermore, the show asks a lot of philosophical questions about life and the nature of existence. I really appreciate that approach.

All in all, I don’t have anything bad to say as such. I think seeing Xiaoliu/Xiaoyao being tortured many times during the first several episodes made the show very difficult to watch. Not my favourite bits. Similarly, Jing being trapped with Yiying because of a long-winded plan hatched by his grandmother, Yiying and Hou is not my favourite story arc. Jing’s grandmother, Yiying and Hou truly suck.

Now I’m waiting impatiently for Season 2 like everyone else.

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A beautiful love story with a predictable ending

OVERALL RATING: 8.25/10

Like many others here, I waited a long time to see this show (2 years to be precise) and was very happy when it finally aired. I was waiting to see Xiao Zhan return in a costume drama, and he definitely did not disappoint.

The Longest Promise has a simple enough story - not as complex as most other Xianxia. Although that sounds like it might be a bad thing, it is actually one of the strengths of the show. I’ll come back to this point later.

I have not read the original novel, so I had no idea what to expect. It took several episodes to get into the show - even though it was interesting enough initially. This show works when seen as a character-driven extremely slow-burn love story, but does not hold up well when dealing with palace intrigue and conspiracies. I think the student-teacher romance tag is a slight oversimplification of the relationship between the leads, which is a complex one, starting from childhood and later embroiled in prophecies and other complications.

WHAT I LIKED:

The love story between Shi Ying and Zhu Yan is convincing and sweet. This is done rather well - there is an unspoken love that they both have for each other and we never need to see physical touch to be convinced of this. It is through their actions and sacrifices for each other where this is made apparent.

The side characters are compelling enough and we are also invested in those storylines. Qing Gang and Bai Xuelu have an interesting progression to their relationship, but they are also compelling characters on their own. Yuan is a lovely second male lead - his 200-year-old love for Yao Yi is quite touching. Although he realises that Zhu Yan is Yao Yi’s reincarnation, he never pushes her to love him or does not seek her love in return. The High Priest makes for a very interesting character as well. His motivations are clear - and his ruthlessness and humanity both make sense. Chong Ming is another favourite - he provides some comic relief but he is also more than that.

The acting is great - I think everyone did a stellar job. Of course I watched this for Xiao Zhan and he was excellent in it (although, yes, he feels older than a teenager). This was the first show I watched with Ren Min - and I initially went in with some trepidation. However, she convinced me that she is a capable actress.

The CGI was relatively good - better in some places than in other places. Same for the music.

WHAT I HAD PROBLEMS WITH:

What was the relevance of the Ice Clan? They seemed to be there, lingering in the background, but we don’t know anything about them. Why do they want to cause chaos and what is their true purpose?

The last 2 episodes were a real let-down. After all the tears we cried for Yuan, he was resurrected. There was absolutely no reason for this. Soon after, he was possessed by the God of Destruction. It seemed like he was completely stripped of his agency and humanity and became obsessed with Yao Yi (which he never was before). It seemed like such a bizarre decision to do that. What was the point of bringing Yuan back from the dead just to do this? It was absolutely bonkers. When he died the second time, it didn’t have the effect it should have had. Also, the way Shi Ying died had little impact because suddenly in the last 2 episodes, our heroes are fighting a foe that was just introduced and is now all encompassing. It makes the plot convoluted and complex, without being meaningful. This is why I said the show’s strength is in its simplicity. The ultimate villain being this way was such a weak trope that ruined all the emotional buildup of the previous episodes. The multiple resurrections and immediate healing just lessened the emotional impact of the show because the stakes were so low.

Similarly, Zhu Yan loses all her senses bringing Shi Ying back to life, but then she is immediately healed by Qing Gang and Xuelu. The emotional effect of her sacrifice is lost. Of course she later says she cannot smell or taste, but as the audience, we don’t see her being seriously affected by those things (versus things like sight or hearing) and so again, the impact is gone.

The ending - did Shi Ying come back to life again? I would’ve preferred if he had actually died and not been shown again because keeping it open again kind of ruins the emotional impact it could have had.

OVERALL:

Don’t go expecting the most amazing story ever told. It is a good show and is strong when it deals with characters. However, I was very disappointed with the last 2 episodes. That said, it is still a good show with great acting. Can I also just mention what an ethereal beauty Xiao Zhan is? It was difficult to focus on subtitles when he was on screen.

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Breathless in Chang’an

I just finished this show after several days of binge-watching, and I can honestly say that it is one of the most visually stunning shows I’ve ever seen. While I was watching it, I couldn’t stop thinking of how every frame looked so beautiful.

The Longest Day in Chang’an is a show I’m very happy to have watched. It is an extremely special show that has the ability to transport you to a different time. It is extremely atmospheric and pulls you in almost immediately. However, I somehow feel like it didn’t really resonate with me on such a deep level. I think this may have to do with several aspects which I’ll get to in a moment:

Characters:
Whereas the characters are rather strong and their motivations are quite clear for most part, I was unable to fully love any character. I don’t think this is necessarily a flaw in the show or anything. It’s definitely a more plot focused drama rather than a character focused one, and that’s fine. It’s just that I was personally unable to feel any strong emotion for any of the characters. Many of the kind hearted people of Chang’an (those with guest roles) died in horrific ways. That was just pretty depressing. I am not complaining about the moral ambiguity of most of the main and supporting characters, but it did distance me a bit from them, even though I could empathise with a lot of things they were feeling. Zhang Xiao Jing is presented as a heroic person, although he has done some terrible deeds too. However, what made him less relatable to me was how much of a superhero he appears to be. He is touted as the one who can save the city, and he never gets tired. Instead he is able to do pretty much everything and survive without many problems. Li Bi kind of ends up being not-so-smart, even though he’s supposed to be a prodigy. Xu Bin - I’m not sure his reasons to do what he did are clear enough, or justified. I like that he is the person no one believed would be able to pull off what he does, but in the end, his motivations are not extremely clear. Xiao Gui (Long Bo) is a compelling villain, but I still don’t understand how he was able to kill off so many poor workers at the Peacekeeper Corps so mercilessly after saying he wouldn’t hurt them. It was understandable that he was reeling from the pain he and his friends endured during the time they had been members of the eighth squad, but what good would it do killing off a bunch of helpless officials doing their jobs? It wasn’t the moral ambiguity that was the problem- it was just what felt a bit like out of character stuff. Other minor characters like such as Yuan Zai and Wang Yun Xiu were just plain annoying. Wen Ran also seemed to have very little personality. Yu Chang was just plain annoying to me. Eventually there were very few characters I actually felt something for. I wonder if feeling an emotional distance from the characters also has anything to do with the point that I’ll talk about next.

Endless action sequences:
For a show that happens over the span of one day, there’s surely far too much going on. Zhang Xiao Jing (will call him ZXJ from now on) goes through a million hurdles over the course of the day - and these are all explosive action sequences. If I clean the house for two hours, I need to sit down for another five hours, but ZXJ just seems to have boundless energy. He almost gets killed several times on the show but somehow manages to be in the best form. Even Li Bi manages to survive some near death experiences and has no problems. Tan Qi gets buried alive but shows no signs of fatigue later on. Having all these near death experiences and constant action scenes took away from the feeling that these characters might really die at some point. The action became saturated to the point where it became a spectacle rather than something that leads the story forward. At the beginning of the show, the action sequences seemed to serve some purpose, but they just became excessive at some point and seemed to have little tension to them.

Length:
This show needed to be condensed into 35 episodes at most. 48 episodes for a show uncovering a mystery in 24 hours is a bit too much. That’s why the endless action sequences also seem implausible and give you no breathers. For this reason, I actually enjoyed the mundane talking and scheming political intrigue parts more than the action sequences.

That said, this is still an excellent show. The acting is very good and the background score is beautiful. I was completely blown away by the work that went into making this show so technically breathtaking. I think that anyone reluctant to start watching a Chinese drama should start with this one. It’s an absolutely beautiful-looking drama and really requires thinking on the part of the viewer. The political intrigue is very interesting and the intensity of this show never ends.

It doesn’t touch a 9/10 for me, but an 8.8. Somehow, it didn’t touch my core, even though it was a very impressive and thought-provoking show.

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A Lesson In How NOT To Write Your Main Characters

Wanted to watch NEF mainly for Liu Haoran and because Xuanhuan is a genre with a lot of potential (think Douluo Continent). Evidently, NEF has a LOT going for it, from the beautiful cinematography and music, stunning location shooting, very good CGI (for most part), as well as mostly solid acting. It is obvious that so much hard work went into making the show- and this passion can be seen in moments throughout. It managed to be an intriguing and compelling show for the first 20-ish episodes…and then things went downhill, like really downhill, without ever getting better.

I have never been this frustrated after watching a C-Drama EVER - and I have never lost sleep thinking about how a show can be butchered to this extent. What starts out as a show with immense promise ends up disrespecting the very characters that made it interesting, sinking deeper into the quagmire of terribly inconsistent (and juvenile) writing and unfocused editing. A classic example of style over substance- to such an extent that the characters no longer make any sense.

This will be a long rant, although I have a headache thinking about what all can be said about this show.

I thought episodes 1 to 20 were actually setting it up to be a very interesting show. We have our male lead- the vulnerable and kindhearted Asule, who goes through several traumatic moments from the first episode itself. In spite of what he has been through, he has immense kindness in his heart- something that seems uncommon for the tumultuous world he lives in. Though he has a million internal battles to fight - such as the guilt over his childhood friend Suma’s death - he remains committed to protecting everyone. He is also sickly but has the ability to become a killing machine under certain circumstances.

We are later introduced to the other two main leads, Yu Ran and Ji Ye, also interesting characters with unique personalities of their own. After going through some life and death situations, they find themselves becoming fast friends. There are also some incredibly interesting characters such as Su and Xi (or as I call their pairing- Sushi). The unspoken love between these two characters makes for such wonderful and heartwarming (and heartbreaking) moments. However, our time with a brilliant character like Su is cruelly short. The first 20 episodes are by no means perfect and editing and unfocused writing shows up here as well. Examples of this are the multiple times we see Ji Ye being tortured. We get it- we don’t have to be shown his torture a million times to understand that he is in a pitiful state. Yu Ran and Ji Ye’s kiss and confession also kind of comes from nowhere and it’s hard to root for the romantic pairing of the two when we’re not really sure when these feelings developed into more than friendship. We saw Yu Ran making googly eyes at Ji Ye even earlier on, but from puppy love into a full love confession- all of this does not seem earned. Then we have unfortunate Asule thrown into all of this for a love triangle that could have been impactful but ends up being a joke instead.

Down the line, Asule and Yu Ran have to give in to a marriage so that they can save Ji Ye. This leads to some of the sweetest scenes in the show - Asule opening up to Yu Ran about his feelings for her and his sadness that she dislikes being married to him. We are given no time to dwell on these aspects - the aftermath of their marriage or even WHY their marriage happened in the first place - before a new romantic interest for Asule is squeezed in from nowhere.

Honestly, I liked Xiaozhou initially- she is smart and kind. However, after episode 20, she was literally EVERYWHERE! If there was a scene with Asule, she was there. If there was a scene between Asule and Yu Ran (who were married at this point), she was there. If she wasn’t on screen with the two, Yu Ran HAD to mention her somewhere and for some reason found it appropriate to tease Asule (who had revealed his feelings for Yu Ran earlier) that the princess is interested in him. This makes Yu Ran look like a totally inconsiderate person and friend- disrespectful of Asule’s feelings.

Never mind that their marriage amounts to nothing. They act like they’re not married - not even in the Capital city, where they have appearances to keep up! Yu Ran goes frolicking around and NEVER spends time with Asule. Instead, the princess is ALWAYS with him. Way to shove a character into our faces, writers! Not like you could have made it less obvious that she was going to be Asule’s love interest.

I’m not bitter that Yu Ran didn’t return Asule’s feelings (though I think if she had treated their marriage with some importance she may have come to love him). I’m bitter that Asule (our main lead might I remind everyone) had to be offered a consolation prize in the form of the princess. Is he even an important character anymore? Where is his character growth or arc?

Let me not get started on HOW MUCH SCREENTIME Xiaozhou got over all three of our leads. She was everywhere! In a ridiculous side story that was another way of forcing the pairing of Asule and Xiaozhou was when she went away on a diplomatic mission and Asule decided there was no way she could go “alone” so he had to follow her. The amount of time he spent with her on that trip and conversed with her was more than the total amount of time he had spent with his best friends- and his now wife.

After all of this it was really impossible for me to be interested in the story. To make matters worse, Asule was stabbed and ended up “dead”. However he wasn’t actually dead but had amnesia and ended up being a killing machine. Again, who “stumbled upon” him except for Xiaozhou? Of course it has to be her again ?. Because the writers couldn’t obviously make Asule love Xiaozhou without something drastic happening, they made him forget everything so that he could be totally dependent on her for everything. It was like Stockholm syndrome on screen. It was so ridiculous because it butchered his entire character and his agency and left his personality tied completely to hers. She’s not even a main character!

At this point, the only characters I ended up caring about were Asule (when he wasn’t with Xiaozhou), the Iron Emperor, Yin Wuyi and his daughter. Yu Ran and Ji Ye were also good outside of each other. Ji Ye and the princess of Li’s scenes were somehow the nicest in the latter half of the show and I thought they were better matched.

I have soooo much else to say. Yu Ran and Ji Ye’s “love” story made me feel nothing. They were more believable as friends. Asule and Xiaozhou‘s “love” story just made me feel annoyed. Apparently it was possible for him to switch off his feelings for Yu Ran immediately and then forget he was even married to her. The writers probably had amnesia themselves.

I don’t even want to comment on Su Ma’s return from the dead. Again, Asule’s grieving and torment over her death eventually amounted to nothing in the end. She’s then made into a plot device. Good lord! The last several episodes in the North had some nice scenes but were soooo long that I had no patience to watch them carefully. The show has a problem of showing us a million battle scenes. They weren’t artistic like wuxia battles but ended up repetitive and pointless. They also made the show exhausting to watch. It was like NEF was showing off how much money it had. Instead of giving us these lengthy action sequences, the show could have focused on character moments.

The ending left a lot to be desired. None of the main character arcs were even interesting anymore because princess Xiaozhou suddenly had the most screentime and the most happening for her character.

Just a thoroughly disappointing show. When I was at Ep 20 I couldn’t see why people had rated this so low, but after 15 episodes of pointless meandering in Tianqi, it became clear to me. I lost all interest after the princess character was introduced. She was this perfect, Mary Sue character there to save the male lead and to be his love interest. She became insufferable because she had to be everywhere. That’s not how you write your characters. Why does everything surrounding your main characters somehow have to be linked to a new character you introduced in episode 20? Furthermore, the disservice done to a character like Asule is a travesty.

This show had so much potential but was eventually ruined by its focus on how good it looked and how edgy it was trying to be. Even though like most Chinese dramas it lacks overt gore, it was still extremely violent and dark (I think it was trying to be like Game of Thrones). If there’s one thing I know about Chinese historical shows, they’re usually wonderfully complex and have their own uniqueness. Instead of drawing from that tradition, it tried to emulate American adult fantasy shows. Unfortunately it failed to leave any lasting impression (apart from a bad taste in my mouth). I feel so upset about the wasted potential on this show. Please get Liu Haoran better acting opportunities (like he had in Nirvana in Fire 2 and With You) where his character isn’t treated as an afterthought.

Will I recommend the show? Probably the first 20 episodes. After that, don’t hold your breath.

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An Unforgettable Jianghu Bromance

Mysterious Lotus Casebook came after a very long wait - and a long C-Drama drought. I can say - it was definitely worth the wait and is the best Wuxia drama this year after Blood of Youth (in my opinion).

The story is as much about friendships as it is about uncovering mysteries and conspiracies of the past. Li Lianhua becomes a “miracle doctor” after helping bring two “dead” people back to life. He meets Fang Doubing, an up and coming martial arts hero who is fiercely protective of his “shifu” Li Xiangyi (who is presumed dead after certain events that transpired a decade ago). Unbeknownst to Fang Doubing, Li Lianhua is none other than Li Xiangyi, but instead of wanting to go back to the martial arts world, Li Xiangyi is perfectly content living his life as Li Lianhua. After solving certain cases in jianghu, Li Lianhua bumps into his old nemesis, Di Feisheng. What follows is a gripping tale of friendship, bromance, betrayal and letting go.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook for the most part is pretty outstanding. It has all the elements that make it one of the standout shows of this year. In no particular order, these are my thoughts about the show:

THE BEST BITS:

MAIN CASTING: Our three leads - played by Cheng Yi, Zeng Shun Xi and Xiao Shun Yao are PERFECT for their roles. They have incredible chemistry with each other and are magnetic whenever they are on screen. Without this trio, I don’t think this show would have been as good. Cheng Yi exudes a wonderful and contemplative maturity as Li Lianhua - he is both world-wise and world-weary. Whenever he lies through his teeth, he leaves us laughing, but when he expresses the pain of betrayal, it is heartbreaking to watch. He plays 20-year-old Li Xiangyi and 30-year-old Li Lianhua very differently. On the other side of this is Zeng Shun Xi, who plays Fang Doubing as a young and naive puppy. He’s very adorable and needs a lot of guidance from his one true friend (Li Lianhua). ZSX does a great job here too and the age difference between him and the other two is very obvious. Xiao Shun Yao’s portrayal of Di Feisheng is so magnetic. He exudes a maturity and yet an intimidating aura suitable for his character. Some of the best moments of the show come from the interactions between these three characters.

THE FIGHTS: The fighting sequences were very well done and interesting to watch. I wish there were even more of them, but I am happy with what we got.

THE WRITING: Linking the plot to conspiracies and mysteries that needed to be solved was an interesting way of unravelling the story. I love how the characters - particularly our main characters - were written. They had such snarky ways of talking to each other and it was a real treat to watch.

PUPPY: Fox Spirit needs a place on this list. At least he was a regular on the show and wasn’t forgotten ?.


THINGS THAT WERE LESS IDEAL:

Although I liked most of Mysterious Lotus Casebook, it misses out on a full rating for a few reasons.

THE VILLAINS: The villains, although not bad by any means, felt too on-the-nose. The maniacal laughing could have been toned down and perhaps they could have been given some more back story so that we understand their motivations a bit better. In addition to our main antagonists, Zijin was really the most annoying character on the show. He would show up at the worst moments and try to force LLH to jump or fight to the death. He was so one-note that it was annoying.

UNDERUSED/MISCAST ACTORS: The supporting cast is largely good, but some actors seem quite underused, and others miscast. From one of the main supporting actors, I thought Chen Duling (Wanmian) wasn’t exactly the best choice. She somehow seems to be crying ALL the time. She didn’t look like she was a martial artist either, but a rather weepy woman. Unfortunately, this is similar to the way she portrayed her character in Till the End of the Moon. Huang You Ming (Zijin) was also very miscast. He is a good actor, but he had extremely little to do here.

MISUSED MUSIC: Whereas the show has a good and extensive instrumental OST, it is often misused and inappropriately used. It often detracted from what could have been an impactful scene.


OTHER THOUGHTS:

The Sigu Sect sucked! But maybe that was the whole point of showing how these so-called virtuous martial arts sects are actually hypocritical. They were quick to believe all the defamatory things said about Li Xiangyi and somehow were quick to believe that he had suppressed the Bicha Poison. They really did not care about him at all.

THE ENDING: I felt that the ending was rather tragic and sadly Li Lianhua ended up being a rather tragic character. We do know this is how he is - that he accepted that death was coming to him. He did not want to be a part of the pugilistic world but wanted to be free from those burdens. When he left his Lotus House and Fox Spirit and snuck away without saying goodbye to FDB, this was expected. But I wish he had stayed and allowed himself to be taken care of by his best friend. I wish he had given DFS a chance to fight him. After surviving for 10 years to look for his martial brother, only to find that his martial brother was the reason for his miserable existence, he would have felt that his life was a lie. Cheng Yi seems to love playing such tragic characters. Li Lianhua probably hated who he had been as a youth and did not think he deserved to be doted upon or that he deserved to stay alive. Like FDB kept telling LLH - “you don’t care about your health at all”, and that is so true. I just wish we had gotten a closed ending instead of an open one. I usually like sad endings, but I would have liked a happy one for this, where LLH would have survived and roamed Jianghu with his besties. Is that too much to ask.

All in all, I love this show and will really miss all the bromance. Definitely worth the wait and worth a watch!

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Felt like an American show

I was very excited to watch Dear Missy since the director and writers were involved in making one of my favourite modern Chinese dramas “Hikaru no Go”. I have to admit, I also watched this mainly for the HNG cameo with Shi Guang, and also because I wanted to watch something with Zhang Chao (Ji Li is also another actor I was interested in watching this for). However, the sismance aspect drew me in as I’m always interested to see strong women on shows.

The story started out well and had that warm fuzzy feeling that HNG had (basically, friendship and kindness). I think for about 3 episodes, I was invested in these friends and their journeys. They were portrayed as strong, independent women although Lu Ke and Shen Si Yi are like polar opposites. They still supported each other and had to help their failing company.

Then came all the extraneous stuff I found rather boring - Zhang Chao’s character pursuing Si Yi - them getting into a passionate romance. Other romances and stuff happening simultaneously. It was like I was watching an American show with all the usual tropes of mutual friends falling for the each other, people who hate each other initially falling for each other eventually, passionate kisses, pregnancy scares, proposals, weddings at the end of the show, will they- will they not couples. These are things seen multiple times on American shows, so I felt that the show was nothing new or fresh from that perspective.

In fact, Si Yi felt a lot like Robin from How I Met Your Mother. She’s kind of tough and all on the outside, but warms up to the male lead at the end. They have their trials and tribulations, both date each other first and then other people. But they finally end up together.

I still went on watching the show expecting it to change at some point. Don’t get me wrong- it’s not a bad show by any means. It’s just very formulaic and lacks the depth or philosophical aspects of many other Chinese shows I’ve seen. It was trying to be far too much like an American show, in my opinion, and therefore lost the chance to be unique. I know many people probably like the drama for this reason- it is familiar as everyone has seen American shows before. I guess the fact that this was supposed to be a Gossip Girl remake actually lends to it a very American show quality.

My favourite scene was undoubtedly the one where Shi Guang (Hikaru no Go watchers will know) has his little cameo. It made me tear up for the first time on the show (and I cry very easily). That was by far the scene that felt most unique and not tropey.

Overall, the characters are good and the acting has no problems. However, I couldn’t relate to anything. The girls lived a very lavish lifestyle for those in their 20s. They also had a lot of time to talk about their romantic lives. I wanted to see more of their friendship minus all the romantic stuff. I like the realism in many coming of age Chinese dramas - especially those the screenwriter has been involved in (Hikaru no Go and With You come to mind), but this show had very little that seemed realistic. Eventually Dear Missy became about getting married or getting together with the one who got away. Everyone ended up in relationships and that was the happy ending. Because of this, this show feels more like it’s about romance than friendship. If that’s your thing, go for it. If you expect to see a show where friendship is given more emphasis than the romance, then watch something else.

It did get super draggy at points, especially with the back and forth in romances. I would probably give this show a 6.8/10 but I’m giving it an extra 0.2 just because of the HNG reference.

I honestly feel let down as I expected more. It did not stay with me at all after finishing the drama. Not a bad show, but quite superficial and very forgettable .

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A pretty good show that needed to be shorter

FINAL RATING: 8.35/10

NOTE: I have changed some of my initial review (which I had written after watching 25 episodes). Some of those thoughts still hold true though.

Ren Anle, a female pirate with 30,000 naval forces under her command (the show never forgets to remind us of this in almost every episode) steps into the capital with an ulterior motive. 10 years ago her entire family, as well as 80,000 troops serving her family were massacred by the ruling emperor as a result of a conspiracy. As a sole survivor of the Di family, she was sent to a mountain to spend her days in seclusion. 10 years later, she returns under a fake name and a fake identity to infiltrate the court and bring her family and troops to justice. She puts up a flirtatious facade with the crown prince Han Ye, who was betrothed to her since childhood. However, Ren Anle (or Di Ziyuan) and Han Ye slowly develop feelings for each other but are embroiled in complex relations and conspiracies from the past.

As of episode 25, The Legend of Anle did not feel like a spectacular show with incredibly layered writing and characters. However, it picked up pace after that and delivered some strong emotional moments during the last quarter of the show. Initially, it felt like they were going for a Nirvana in Fire-esque approach, but of course it did not reach that mark. The palace politics and scheming on this show were not as deep and detailed and hence, it might be easier to follow for newbies to this genre. Dilraba and Gong Jun did a good job (particularly when it came to the later parts of the show where their characters have to go through some pretty traumatic events).

I think this show could have benefitted from fewer episodes. As of episode 25, it had been a rather slow buildup to something that should have happened episodes ago. The show could’ve saved itself from comparisons to NIF by simply shortening the “clearing the Di family name” arc.

The big, important moments of the show (which happen in the last quarter) were handled quite well. Supporting characters we had grown to like, such as Anning, Wen Shuo and Linglang were given their own arcs. Anning in particular had quite an emotional one and became one of the most tragic characters on the show.

As not episode 24, the logic did not flow very well and hence questions arose, such as what is the point of having a fake Di Ziyuan come down from the mountain and cause a stir in the capital? Isn’t Luo Mingxi the same age, or close in age to Anle - if so how did he amass so much influence in 10 years when he was just a child bodyguard? How does Anle have so many forces under her command in such a short amount of time and at such a young age? Why and how doesn’t the fake Di Ziyuan know about the real Di Ziyuan? Does she think she can become Crown Princess without any issues - if she’s fake, wouldn’t someone rat her out? Why do Luo Mingxi and Ren Anle let the fake Di Ziyuan just act rashly? If the Dowager Empress wants to kill Di Ziyuan in the capital, why didn’t she try to kill her before when she was living in the mountains? Sadly, these weren’t really answered.

The last two episodes seemed to be a bit more saccharine than I was expecting. I know both Di Ziyuan and Han Ye go through some rather terrible times and it’s only natural to want them to live happily at least. However, the way everything was wrapped up in the end was not too satisfying. Luo Mingxi got a farewell that should have been a bit more emotional and hard-hitting than it was. He was a main character after all.

The music is good enough - although I’ve noticed that a lot of instrumental tracks from Princess Agents are used here. It’s a bit distracting if you tend to notice these things (which I do).

Overall this is a good show and is quite entertaining. It isn’t the best in its genre but it isn’t a waste of time either.

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A poignant and realistic tale about growing up

There are so many thoughts I have after finishing this drama. One of them is that it’s been hard to move on. This drama brought out so many emotions in me. It felt like being in high school again, but it was also a reminder that life does not always turn out the way we want it to be. We just have to hold on to hope that one day we will be the best versions of ourselves.

With You (I prefer the other title- The Best of Us) follows the story of the not-so-academically-capable Geng Geng and her deskmate, the very smart (but in physics and maths) Yu Huai. From day one of their meeting, they strike up a special bond that survives not only the entirety of their high-school years, but also beyond that. Apart from their characters, we also have the sweet but quick-to-declare-love Lu Xiang He, Geng Geng’s girl friends Beta and Jiang Dan, as well as a host of interesting side characters, including their adorable form tutor Zhang Ping.

Other than characters we meet at Zhenhua school, we mainly see family dynamics in Geng Geng‘s family. We see her negotiate her way through her parents’ divorce, her father’s remarriage. It takes her time to warm up to her step brother and step mother, but this progression is natural and beautiful.

Most the drama draws on slice of life moments that high school is all about. What is realistic (and what I love so much) is how romance isn’t the central aspect of this high school experience. We get a glimpse into how difficult it really is, how stressful it becomes for the kids, and how pressures from family and peers can move some people to the brink. Of course there are also first loves, heartbreaks, unrequited love- everything that happens in school.

It’s surprising how this lovely drama has such a low rating on MDL when it’s so highly rated on Douban. I attribute that to two complaints most people seem to have on MDL about this drama- lack of communication between Geng Geng and Yu Huai when Yu Huai goes off to study camp and the ending.

Here are my thoughts about these two aspects.

When Yu Huai went off to study camp towards the end of the show, he did not tell Geng Geng that they couldn’t keep phones near them. This resulted in both of them not getting a chance to speak to each other, and for Geng Geng to feel like Yu Huai hadn’t contacted her. However, I interpreted this as a sign that Yu Huai was already falling into some kind of depression he wasn’t aware of. He was extremely distracted during the camp. His panicked reaction after he fixed the broken phone only for it to end up broken again, is an indication of this. In his mind, he needed to contact Geng Geng because they had promised that to each other. However, his desperation to call her seems more like he needed her at that point because it was a cry for help. He doesn’t ever acknowledge this to himself because even he doesn’t know what he’s experiencing. Hence he didn’t tell her, because the desperation was actually from his side.

Once he is back from the camp, we see how he changes. He was already under this immense pressure to be the best of himself, but he falters at the first step. Geng Geng then tells him that if he gives up, what will people like her do (she means this in a supportive way, but its impact is different). That adds even more pressure to him where he feels that he cannot fail.

This brings us to the end. Many people cannot understand why he cut all communication and disappeared without informing any of his friends. Not only did Yu Huai not do well because of pressures and family circumstances, but he sank lower into depression. It’s not uncommon for people to retreat into a shell and distance themselves from others when they are under these circumstances. He was unhappy with himself. He (to himself) was now a failure who could not be the strength he thought Geng Geng wished him to be. He could not even pick himself up. Throughout these ten years, Yu Huai may not have appeared as a failure to others (he did eventually go to a local university and then got a scholarship to do a PhD at the USA, which he had to leave), but he was ashamed of not doing as well as everyone else. He was not where he wanted to be- and that’s the part most people don’t understand. It wasn’t about how others saw him but how he saw himself.

It was all this, coupled with the stress of having to take care of his sick parents. It wasn’t his pride that stopped him from asking for support- it was his low opinion of himself and his inability to find a solution to his ongoing problems. It’s very natural he did not reach out to even Geng Geng during this period of time. We only accept the love we think we deserve- and he thought he did not deserve her love. He thought he had nothing to offer her.

The ending is beautiful and poignant and many people probably see it as strange because there’s no resolution. Yu Huai is still in a terribly distressing situation - we learn that he might donate one of his kidneys to his mother. He still has all the worries. Geng Geng reaches out her hand to him- to support him. This is as realistic as it gets. Yu Huai isn’t just going to run and embrace her, or kiss her. He is depressed, still has a low opinion of himself. At the end when he goes to meet her, it is only a small step he is taking of allowing Geng Geng into his miserable life.

This is a highly underrated and beautiful show which is incredibly realistic. It was easy to cry buckets after watching this, because it leaves one with a lingering sadness. The ending is not happy, but bittersweet. This makes it so relatable.

I have to say that all the actors in this show were amazing. This was my first show with Tan Songyun, but she was so cute and brilliant in this role. There’s nothing that can he said about Liu Haoran - for someone who was around 17 when this show was made, his understanding of sadnesses and depression was just brilliant. His eyes said everything. He is such a promising actor that it’s a shame that he’s only been in such few dramas. The other actors were just as impressive and made this show incredibly special.

I think this is one of those rare gems that you come across that makes you reflect on your own life and gives you different insights. I would totally recommend this drama to everyone.

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Started off strong, but could have been better

I have mixed feelings about this one. Went to watch it because of the really high Douban ratings. I was a bit disappointed though, probably because I expected more. It's by no means a bad show at all. I see people comparing the ML to Mei Changsu and the show to Nirvana in Fire, but I can't see how? This is so heavily based on romance and then suddenly becomes more focused on the political stuff in the second half (which wasn't THAT well done. In fact I would say it's one of the less complex Chinese costume dramas with political intrigue I've seen). NIF is a master in its genre.

The acting was good and Gala Zhang did do a great job. Everyone else was good too. I just didn't root for any of the characters. My favourites were Chang ge and Jiang'er and I cried when they died (even though it wasn't clear to me how they fell in love). I feel the show tried to grapple with concepts that have been done well in other dramas. The wuxia/political stuff is amazing in shows like NIF, Joy of Life and Word of Honor (and many other shows) but it falls short here. Zhu Yan's story was very similar to Yan Xun's in Princess Agents - and even though Princess Agents has many problems, I thought it showed Yan Xun's turn to the dark side very, very well. I felt like in LIB, Zhu Yan's turn to the dark side is externalised by this 'other' side to him in his head. He would just snap in and out of that alter ego whenever it required him to. I felt that was weak writing, instead of actually making us see what that grief and trauma of losing his family drove him to. He just battled in his head and woke up being evil after a while.

The show is shot very well. I absolutely love the music for the show. I think the real problem is the writing. None of the love stories were convincing to me - especially that of the ML and FL. They were just so terrible as a couple. There was no mutual understanding but just some sort of chemistry which brought about a lot of angst and lies. That would probably work in a xianxia, but wasn't expecting to watch it here. Wasn't too fond of the Man Qing wedding storyline which created a misunderstanding between her and Si Yuan. It didn't really add to anything. Just added one more angsty couple to the list. Therefore I thought Chang ge and Jiang'er were the best couple. Started out very well but trailed off after ep 10-ish.

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Started off different before ending up as a mishmash of other school dramas

OVERALL RATING>: 7.8/10

Watched this drama with some expectations seeing that the rating was pretty high (for school dramas). At the end I felt like I didn’t watch anything very new though. I then realised why - this show is a mix of different storylines from different school dramas.

I actually quite liked the fresh approach it was going for initially - a boy who has eating disorders and is therefore quite chubby. That started off pretty well and pretty cutely. However, the male lead only stayed chubby for about 5 episodes before he changed into a suave and good-looking ML. It was also like his personality completely changed and he became immediately confident. I did like that the female lead was quite strong and not babyish. She held her ground and grew throughout the show.

I thought the show was a bit too long - this should have been wrapped up in about 20-24 episodes at most, but there was too much filler.

As I mentioned earlier, this wasn’t anything very different from other school dramas. The FL proving that she hadn’t copied during an exam is exactly the same as in Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me. The fast forward to the future at the end of the show reminded me of both With You and A Love So Beautiful. The friendship between the leads reminded me of those two dramas as well. However, in My Calorie Boy, the ending came out from absolutely nowhere. The last 4 episodes of the show were a letdown, but particularly the last episode. The ML shows up all of a sudden and feels entitled to step back into the FL’s life after ghosting her for so many years. He shows up at her workplace, and doesn’t even care to ask if she has moved on. He comes in with the full entitlement that she will just forget everything that happened prior to that. And let’s not even talk about the last few minutes where they kiss in front of everyone. It was just so random. Although many people were upset with the ending of With You, the ML didn’t just show up expecting the FL to accept him. He had such a low opinion of himself that he didn’t want to burden her. She was the one who wanted to be let into his life. Sadly, that’s not the case for MCB.

I am writing this review months after watching the show and somehow I don’t even remember that much of it. It goes to show that it wasn’t really THAT memorable. I did like some moments - like when the FL cries seeing how the ML is starving himself, or when we find out that the mean teacher has his own problems (taking care of a disabled daughter). Those were touching moments. However, aside from those, the forced emotional moments (such as the ML’s mother randomly abandoning her son and husband and the ML’s father dying) just seemed there for the heck of it. I felt like it was trying to capture the trauma that the ML had to go through (like in With You), but it just never deals with it in a logical way the way With You does.

Because of this, my actual rating is actually somewhere around a 7.8/10. It had potential to be really different, but unfortunately it squandered that opportunity.

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Overall a good and fun show

Handsome Siblings is overall a really entertaining show, with several fun characters and performances . It has a very impressive production quality and is highly engaging. I did like it a lot for most part, but decided to break down what I thought was good and what wasn't so good. There are minor spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

THE GOOD
I actually enjoyed about 90 percent of the show immensely. The story was intriguing and I couldn't stop watching. It was hilarious at points. The acting was pretty spot-on overall. Honestly, after seeing Hu Yitian in A Love So Beautiful, it was great to see him here. He acted the two characters he played rather well. However, I think it was Chen Zheyuan who managed to steal the show in almost every scene (especially the funny ones). The acting from other side characters was also pretty good overall.

By the looks of the show, it seems that the production budget was pretty high. I could see great sets and costumes and plenty of outdoor shots and the show was a visual feast.

I know many people complain that the show drags at points, but I thought the pacing of the show was good and let you take in the journey of the characters. Some of the parts where Xiaoyu'er has his own little side stories with the villains were actually very interesting to me. There were great character moments and I don't think those parts dragged at all.

There are several interesting characters here - especially the Ten Villains and Little Fairy. Even Jiang Yulang managed to be hilarious when he was stuck with Xiao Mimi and Xiaoyu'er. I think the many interesting side characters on this show actually made it even better.

NOT SO GOOD
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed most of the episodes, probably until the last 4 or so episodes. At this point, the show had started to drag a bit. I also thought the last few episodes were a bit inconsistent. This was mainly due to the fact that Xiaoyu'er felt a bit too cocky (not in a fun way anymore, but in a smug way). He kept saying some pretty misogynistic stuff. I wasn't so bothered about it initially because he was a character who had never been around girls (apart from one of the Ten Villains), so it was funny when he would comment like he knew how girls were. But as the show went on and his comments just got worse, it became sort of annoying.

That brings me to the female characters. Tie Xinlan started off as a really cool female character who knew how to fight and stand on her own, but she became rather useless by the time she fell in love. Every time there was a fight or something, I expected her to show off her skills, but she just stood there and got saved by the heroes. She was a weeping mess at other times (nothing wrong with crying, but she literally did nothing else). It was an absolute waste of her character and her potential. Generally, I didn't see very strong or well-fleshed out female characters on the show. They were either far too evil (the Hua sisters - although I know LianXing was never evil to begin with, but I thought she needed more character development), or needed to be stripped of their memories to become less evil (as in the case of Murong Jiu). Su Ying is pretty strong and independent but I wasn't fond of her overly jealous nature either. I think the female characters could have been improved upon especially when the material for it already exists. They were very one dimensional in most cases. I mean, why not make Tie Xinlan as cool as she was when we saw her initially? I liked seeing Little Fairy most, even though she was supposed to be quite a brat. I disliked Tie Pinggu the most, out of all the female characters. It is like she had no brain to think of anything after she and Yulang became an item.

I know the story called for the Hua sisters to orchestrate this long-winded plan to get rid of the siblings, but I thought if they were going to show Yaoyue become so single-minded in her quest for revenge, they needed to build a more convincing reason for it rather than her being scorned in love. I mean they could have shown why she was this selfish and heartless. They needed to show her more examples of her arrogance (and not only when it came to being scorned in love).

I didn't like that Hua Wuque just disbanded the Yihua Palace at the end of the show. I mean, the Yihua palace may have been coldhearted in many ways, but he could have ushered in a new era. What about all the disciples of the Yihua Palace - what a shame for them. Oh well...

I thought the ending was not the best. The brothers seemed to have more chemistry together before the found out that they were brothers. Could've done without the ending where they both rush to their respective partners. Wasn't a big fan of the romances anyway, so ending with the brothers would have been better. But that's just my issue with the show.

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Complex machinations in the Ming dynasty

At the time of writing this, I’ve only finished 13 episodes, so I am not yet at the point where I can give a concrete rating. However, it’s been over 2 months since I started watching this show and I’m still not even halfway through it.

Wanted to watch this because it has an impressively high rating on Douban. So far I see why- it is extremely complex. Not much happens in terms of action and episodes are sometimes made entirely of a couple of sequences that just involve characters talking. If characters talking about politics puts you off, I would not recommend this show. However, since I enjoy those aspects, this has been an engaging show.

The characters are very realistic and there are corrupt officials, officials that want to do good, and those who think they are doing good. They’re not black or white characters but are complex beings with motivations and fears. My only complaint so far is that the two female characters I’ve seen this far on the show do not have much agency or much to do. They’re either tools in the hands of others or are treated as lesser beings. Not enjoying that aspect much, even though it might be historically accurate.

I’ll write a longer review for this when I finish it, but for now, I see this is a complex show. It is almost like watching history unfold. I highly recommend it if you like historical shows.

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