mimi
This drama is beautiful, touching, and you get to experience love and trial throughout three different lives. Fengjiu and Donghua story can be recapped as a deep love with shallow fate. Bittersweet.
Story:
10/10. Beautiful story following the two protagonists struggles through three different lives. The drama followed closely with the book, though with different sequencing. The mortal realm arc was slightly lengthy, but it was still worth watching. I’d say it has a slow start, but after episode 20, it evolve to become an unforgettable story.
Acting/Casts:
10/10 There are so many casts from Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and the familiar faces makes us feel nostalgic in a good sense. I cannot imagine anyone else playing Fengjiu and Dong Hua instead of Vengo and Dilraba. They are perfect couple with amazing chemistry on screen and offscreen. They portray three different characters so well in three different lives, and if anyone says they can’t act, I hope you take a good look at this splendid drama. Side characters like Siming, Liansong, ChengYu trio also did their roles well, providing comedy relief with right timing. Evil characters like Jiheng was able to stimulate all my hatred, so kudo to the actress. Everyone did an amazing job and Yang Mi cameo was one of the best moments to see in the drama.
Music:
10/10 Splendid music. I feel my skin crawls everytime I listened to the opening and I reminisce their love story everytime I listen to the other OST.
Rewatch Value:
10/10 I will definitely go back and watch my favourite scenes, maybe all the scenes from episode 20 onwards. I might leave out the mortal arc, since it isn’t the most enjoyable.
Overall, this drama is splendid and did not fail my expectations. I’m really glad they used the same casts, I cannot imagine how this drama would have went with a different crew. The cinematography is beautiful and I can put this side by side with Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. This deserves the rating it gets, and it’s a must watch within the cdrama community.
Highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Is it perfect? No. Is it the best? Yes.
Cang Lan Jue, a drama that no one expected to perform well, yet, it broke everyone's expectations. Cang Lan Jue, a drama that everyone assumed would be the same as other Xianxia, yet it is one that has never been seen before. Does it have flaws? Yes. Is it perfect? No. Can it be improved? Definitely. But after watching, do I love this drama the most? Absolutely.As an avid Xianxia drama watcher, I have seen most, if not all, released Xianxia dramas since 2015. Some have a storyline that is more flawless than CLJ, some have a better production and more veteran casts than CLJ. I have liked all of those dramas and praised them, yet, I was never attached to any of those dramas as much as I am with CLJ. Even though CLJ has its own flaws, it brings out so much attachment in me, and that, in itself, is enough for me to rank this drama the top of my list.
So what makes it so good despite flaws?
What I like
- Dongfang Qingcang:
Do I have to say more? He is THE best ML I have seen in a c-drama in a long time. Resolute, not a goody-two-shoes, knows when to be merciless and knows when to show compassion. C-dramas have the tendency to make ML a saint, but DFQC isn’t like that. He is a character that is willing to get his hands dirty, to let go of righteousness, and to do anything for the FL.
However, what really brings DFQC to life is the producers’ choice of casting. They have made the best move casting Wang He Di to play DFQC. I have watched several WHD's dramas, but the roles he took never suit him. With DFQC, he really brought out the character in a way like no other. Appearance wise, he absolutely suits DFQC, and so handsome on screen that even just seeing his face alone might make this drama already worth it. I've never seen such a gorgeous actor,and his look as DFQC is to die for. His appearance isn't the only thing he offered. His acting is also top-notched to the point I was surprised, especially his pained and crying scenes; they were so real and yet somehow, he still looked so hot and menacing in those scenes. I've never seen such good acting, even from veteran actors.
- Xiao Lan Hua:
I normally don't watch idol-actress. I also normally would get annoyed with Xianxia FL halfway through the drama because of forced angst that makes them unreasonable. However, XLH won my heart, entirely. The story started with her being a stereotypical young, innocent, joyful, and childish fairy. But as the story progressed, I realised she is way way more than that. Her character is so different from other FLs, as unlike others, she never loses her childish, pure, and joyful nature and STILL has great development. She learns to love and accept the DFQC for who he is. She is reasonable in every way and would choose DFQC over anything. She is bold about her feelings, her love, her anger, her sadness. It was no wonder even the coldest heart would melt. Idk why most Cdrama seem to believe that in order for an innocent FL to develop, they must lose their happy, joyful self. Well, XLH shows that this is never the case.
This is my first time watching Yu Shuxin's acting, and I loved it! She brings out the innocent character so well, and she is so cute that I cannot hate or get annoyed with her, even when she makes mistakes. And I think DFQC would think the same XD. Her voice also really brought out her character, and makes her so lovable.
- the romance between the characters, especially the well-executed slow-burn development. A typical troupe, yet, I don't think it has been done before in Xianxia drama. The chemistry is brilliant.
- The plot starts strong right from the beginning to end.
- The OSTs are haunting and brilliant and they are in my playlist that I listen to everyday.
- There are so many scenes that really had my heart and I can rewatch them in loop
- the CGI is AMAZING. WOW. The CGI is one of the best I've seen in a while.
What could be better? (subjective)
- Rushed ending. The ending is extremely rushed and could have been better executed. However, they did wrap up everything that should be wrapped up. Everything makes perfect sense in the story, if only with better execution and a more dramatic reunion for the leads at the end, and it would be perfect.
- Because of the rushed endings, several things cannot be addressed. The last three episodes feel like a fever dream ever since XLH turned into Xiyun. I am sure XLH is still in XY, however, they don't have the time to address that because of the rushed end. I wish they display scenes of their life after DFQC comes back so we could see XLH return to herself, because the way XY is, is not XLH, the XLH that DFQC fell in love with. The XLH that we fell in love with
- DFQC deserves more scenes where he showcases his power but this is just me being greedy. What really brings the supreme moon lord alive is the way he is powerful and strong. I wish we get to see him use his glaze fire that has been obtained.
- As much as I love DFQC's development throughout the show, I think he is too soft in some scenes where he didn't need to be and makes me miss his demeanour at the beginning at times.
- I wish we could see them get married ;-;
Despite the subjective what could have been better that I've listed, you can see that they are just nuances that don't matter when all the pros outweigh it. This drama is the gem of the year, and one of the best dramas I've ever seen. Do not hesitate to watch this drama because it is worth it in every way. It is one of the dramas that may not be the best in technical terms but evoke so much emotion and attachment from the audience in a way like no other.
Was this review helpful to you?
Story: 10/10
In some aspects the story drags (as expected from usual historical drama with so many episodes) but overall the storyline is great. VERY GREAT. as said above, those are some reasons I love this drama. Unlike other dramas, it was very very well made and the storyline ain't all about fluffy, cringy, cliche romance. The plot twists are great and in the end what happened to the villians are just so satisfying. Many people disagree when I thought the ending was good and happy. I can't give away too much at this stage. But let's just put it that for me it is a happy ending. The path Yun Xian (Liu Shi Shi) took in the end was right for me, personally.
The romance...it's complicated and many may not like it because it is not typically the kind of romance that is potray in most asian drama. But, for me I think that it was good enough because in the end I didn't really watch the story for the romance but the storyline itself.
Acting/Cast: 10/10
I'm a big big fan of Wallace Huo and Liu Shi Shi. I watched every dram they starred it so I'm happy the have a drama together. That was enough for me to give it a 10. Of course as expected from them they'd do a great job in acting out their characters. Chemistry is on spec and sides character do their roles very outstandingly.
Music: 9/10
I love love love love the OP and END, and OST. Very much. The end.
Rewatch Value: 7.5/10
I gave it quite low despite having enjoying the drama because it is long and once you watch it, that's it. It wraps up and there was no reason for a rewatch.
Overall I RECOMMEND :) for those looking for relaxation, comedy, extremely fluffy romantic happy drama. this might not be for you... but if not then watch it!
Was this review helpful to you?
I mean it. If you have watched the Chinese version of Scarlet Heart (Bu Bu Jing Xin) you will know that this is like 10x worse in terms of the storyline details. It failed to portray the important massages this story supposed to give, unlike the Chinese version. Honestly, there's so much holes and missing gaps in this. What I did enjoyed more in the Korean Version than the Chinese version is the quality of production. I mean like every scene in this drama is absolutely beautiful, the costumes, the sceneries etc were really pleasing to the eyes. And, yes including the actors and actresses. (lol I'm quite shallow, but those bald head in the Qing Dynasty was like a big no no to me..)
Storyline:
I gave it a 6 out of 10 because of as said above.
Acting and Casts:
I gave this an 8. Most is credited to Lee Joon Gi. I'm not at all a fan of Lee Joon Gi but his acting in this drama was superb. He was able portray his character very well, it was realistic, believable and I enjoyed seeing him on screen. He is after all a veteran actor and I would love to see more drama with him in it. IU on the other hand, let's put it as she is not the best. IU is very pretty and don't get me wrong I am her hardcore fan as a solo artist (the reason I watched this). Though she wasn't the best she was able to played her character well enough that it was believable. Her acting get better after each episode! Another thing that I gave high rating for this is the chemistry between all the casts and specifically the main couple. I also love the casts for the villians and side characters (eg. Jisoo, Nam Joo Hyuk, Kang Haneul, Hong Jong hyun etc). I also love seeing idol turn actor/actresses in this drama as well (eg. Seohyun, Baekhyun)
Music:
10 out of 10. It was great. The music are all beautiful and touching and fits the mood well. Sung by many well-known talented singers. It was also very memorable and I legit have a playlist for all Moon Lovers's OST. Like when you hear the music you can feel the emotions etc. It's that great!
Rewatch Value:
I gave this an 8. Though for me personally I wouldn't rewatch this, most of the time I never rewatch any drama twice anyways and I don't have that much time on my hands. But for everyone else, I think the this drama's rewatch value is around 8 because every scence was pretty enjoyable despite the storyline not being that great. I didn't often need to use the skip botton at all which is a very good thing. (might be because I watch it when it first aired and so the episodes are scarce).
Overall:
I gave overall an 8. I would have given it lower if I were to compare this with thousands of other drama watched. Either way, this drama is okay. The casts and music saved the storyline. I personally enjoyed time travel (unless its rightdown cliche) so I gave it an additional points. Since I watch a lot of historical dramas I tend to judge it with very high standard. And since, I LOVE historical drama I enjoyed it either ways. :)
Was this review helpful to you?
