Had Potential to be Greater

This movie was a decent watch but seemed to only scratch the surface of what could have been a really great love story. The casting choice was good. The acting was strong and kept me engaged and the plot setup was interesting but I found trouble connecting with the story. I felt as if the details of this story was missing. There were a lot of time jumps, reminiscing and bits of situations being presented but not much was being shown about their relationship except for some of the ugly moments. We didn’t see much of the build up or connection being built between the two so it left a lot to be desired. I did enjoy the literary references as it attempted to provide a deeper connection with their love story.

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More of the same…

For me, I would say this drama is a little overrated. It’s more of the same type of Xianxia that many of us CDrama watchers have seen many times before. It does have some high points that many shows within this genre doesn’t have.

The Good

Production quality was definitely higher than a lot of Xianxias but by no means perfect. The CGI was more polished, the costumes looked pretty well. I can appreciate that ShenLi did not have a million dangly bits and fake jewels hanging from her. The OST was one of the highlights as the music was very nice. The overall acting was good which I typically expect from an older cast. If this would have been played out by a younger cast, the perception may have not been received well by older watchers due to many younger actors having limited experience in acting. Although this was a serious drama, the comedy was well balanced through out.

The Bad

The plot is typical and predictable. These CDrama Xianxias tend to go through the same cycles and not too many of these stories offer anything new. This story was a character driven plot which they tend to be very slow and at times, not much was happening in most of the episodes. I found myself starting to skip through it towards the end. There were a lot of throwaway episodes that could have shorten this show down to 24 episodes. Although I liked the overall production, the skin smoothing and whitening was overdone and sometimes made them look too unnatural and unrecognizable. I would have also liked to see the actors dub themselves. With more CDramas doing away with dubbing, it’s refreshing to see the actors display their real talent. The credit in this drama goes to the great voice actors who can pull off different emotions in their voices.

I am a fan of the genre and will keep hoping and waiting for a new thrill. This one was average and I likely wouldn’t rewatch it. If you are a fan of the cast, it’s worth checking out. Make your own judgement.

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Never seen a story like this one!

This has got to be one of my favorite CDramas that I have ever watched. I’ve never quite come across a story as captivating as this one! I didn’t read the summary before going in so I had no clue what it was about. It kept popping up on my recommended shows. The plot definitely did not follow the path of a typical CDrama. Although there were misunderstandings between the 2 MLs, they did not drag it out as we see with most CDramas. The story progression was amazing along with the progression of the characters. It was very well thought out as there wasn’t a ton of plot holes or unanswered questions.

Every actor perfectly fit the character that they were cast to play. Wei Wuxian/Wei Ying is definitely an unforgettable character. He is very relatable as being kind can sometimes make you the target of hatred. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced as many emotions as I have watching this one. I found myself crying, laughing, angry, etc.

The soundtrack was also amazing and really nice to hear the two MLs singing on the OST. Even though some of the visuals were bad and you can tell it was a low budget show with some of the props and visuals looking too cheap and fake, it did not take away from the show. This is definitely a show that I can rewatch multiple times and never get tired of it.

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Not necessarily for me

This show is okay. Nothing new. If you are fans of the leads then I’d recommend a watch.

The Good

Decent acting. Lots of romance. If not for Tan Songyun, I probably would have dropped this drama but I’m a fan of most of her work. She can really carry a show. Not a huge fan of Xu Kai outside of Variety Shows but his acting is getting better per project he does. He did well in this one. The costumes were much better than the average modern CDrama. The OST was nice. That is where it stops.

The Bad

Typical drama. I can name at least 10 other dramas with this same plot. Rich CEO guy saves the girl, they break up due to a misunderstanding and get back together again. Where this one falls short is in the character development of the two main leads. It was of course very imbalanced with your ML being perfect and FL being flawed. I don’t know if that was intended but doesn’t make for a very interesting story as the characters become two dimensional and flat. I felt no connection to them and found myself skipping through scenes at the end. Side characters were also cliche and not very interesting since their character arcs were also very typical and predictable. The bad people became repetitive and kept trying to sabotage them. Also too many episodes. Should have been no more than 24. I’ll end the review here. I wouldn’t rewatch.

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Went in with low expectations

I was surprised at this production. I didn’t read the book so I went in with low expectations but was moved by the high quality of the story, acting, visuals, and OST.

The bad

Not much really. The CGI isn’t the best I’ve seen not the worse but doesn’t take away from the rating at all. Overall the visuals are still beautiful.

The good

The story is very captivating. I’ve never come across a story as complex as this one and it’s to the point that I really have no clue what is going to happen next as I watch each scene unfold. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a show make me feel the full spectrum of emotions. The acting is done so well from each character. Even supporting characters are able to hold their own in the acting department. I also appreciate that each character is different and has different goals and ambitions. No character is good or bad and you almost forget that they are deities or creatures. They seem so human, unlike most non humans in xianxias. I also like how logical they are which gives them a sense of realism. Though this is a romance, it’s not all filled with romance and definitely leaves you pondering about the complexities of life and relationships. This story doesn’t have the CDrama tropes that most of us come to expect in these types of xuanhuan/xianxia shows. The OST is beautiful, each song is carefully tailored at the right moment to elevate each scene.

Though I understand this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I’d highly recommend you watch it for yourself and make your own choice.

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Could have been better

A little disappointed in this one since the Blood of Youth was very good.

The Good

CGI was great at times and grand when it came to the fight scenes. I appreciated all the connections thrown in from the Blood of Youth, down to details to some of our favorite characters. I also think the some of the cast did a great job playing their roles, whether they made us hate or love them. I also appreciated the well placed comedic moments.

The Bad

I don’t think the focus of the plot was well thought out and the scenes were not executed very well. This made for a much weaker prequel to the Blood of Youth. It’s also hard to watch this as a standalone with so many character introductions and no explanations to the casual watchers on who they are and why they are important. It’s as if the directors assumed the audience would have all watched the Blood of Youth. The fight scenes seemed to be mostly nonexistent which is disappointing since this is a wuxia and Blood of Youth had so much of it to show. This was 90% talking and 10% fighting. Most of us tuned in for the high action that we thought we’d get. It attempted to focus on poorly written romantic connections that left me unconvinced. I love a good romance but it was poorly written in Blood of Youth and was the same here. Half of the time, I didn’t understand why these people liked each other. I also think some of the acting of the main cast wasn’t that great either and was hard for me to connect with the characters. I would have liked to see more details of Ye Dingzhi/Ye Yun’s rise and fall instead of just telling us about it. Story seemed to focus mainly on him even though he is billed as 2nd lead with Baili Dongjun as main. He was definitely overshadowed, which was odd.

I wouldn’t rewatch this one. I feel like it can be skipped all together and just recommend Blood of Youth. I’m looking forward to the at sequel and will even check out Dark River when it airs.

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Decent attempt at a vampire story

This story was interesting but not captivating. I wish the story would have focused more on the families of the stones and more of a backstory as that would have made a much more compelling story.

The Good

Stands out from a lot CDramas in which it isn’t heavily focused on romance or even more so the romance is subtle. It does attempt to tell a story about a vampire and his journey to undo his curse and there is a lot of action that keeps things interesting. Fight sequences are done well from the perspective of a vampire. Everyone tends to have different lore when it comes to vampires but the main makings were there. Acting was done well from all the cast. The costumes were really nice and sets were decent.

The Bad

Had a lot of consistency issues that led to many plot holes. His vampirism seemed to only be there when the situation called for it or because the script is telling us but other times it seemed as if he no longer had special abilities during critical moments (e.g. super hearing, fast speed, flying, etc). This made many situations no longer make sense. The relationship between the main couple wasn’t always clear. Sometimes it seems as if they were a couple and other times they were more like father and daughter. It was written a little strange and would have been better if they didn’t make Mi Lan so childlike. Too much focus was placed on the cat and mouse game with Shen Zhi Heng and Li Ying Liang that it became a little redundant to the story. Censorship is odd here. The actual fictional vampire stuff can’t be shown but killing of humans with guns can. Make it make sense.

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Entertaining Watch

This drama was entertaining. It had some predictability with other stories that have the same themes but overall was still fun. Not everyone will find the charm in this but make your own decision on whether to watch.

The Good

Hua Qingge was one of the most consistent characters throughout the series. I would say her acting was on par with the chosen character. We got to see the cheerful, witty, smart, cowardice and kind woman from a modern time period, live in a time that was cast with palace corruption and violence and still stay true to her overall self. Her common sense didn’t randomly fly out of the window when falling in love like we see in some CDramas. Although she had biases towards her written characters and their actions, as an author, she quickly learned to reshape her perceptions as the story changed without sacrificing her nature. The overall plot was well thought out and continually reminded the audience that this was a novel in which the author lost control to fill in any holes or gaps.

The Bad

Production value was on the lower end but doesn’t necessarily deter from the show. Where they fell a little short was Hua Qingge’s clothing being too oversized and being able to see the lace front on the wigs at the guys hairlines. Also the fight scenes wasn’t too great either. Not everyone’s acting was of equal level, with some main characters like Ji Chu doing pretty bad at the crying scenes. Lastly, the ending seemed a little lazy or unfinished which took away from the final climax.

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Amazing show!

Everything about the Joy of Life was done very well! By far one of my favorite CDramas.

The plot is very interesting and hooked me from the very first episode. I love that it’s a story within a story and that it mixes ancient and modern themes. There were so many twists within the plot and subplots and always had you guessing.

The acting was amazing. Every character had so much depth and so much offer to the story that it made you want to know more about each. There were so many things going on with each character but it was all related to the main story and main ML.

Normally, I hate to see cliffhangers at the end of shows but this one had me so anxious. That’s what you call good writing. I very excited for season 2!

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A suspense drama that has some unrealistic parts.

This was the first mini CDrama that I’ve watched and I was pleasantly surprised. The plot was very intriguing as it turned out to be unexpected with how it played out.

I think all of the actors did a really good job playing the characters they were given. The first half of the show kept me engaged as I was genuinely interested to see how it would play out.

Towards the end, there were things happening that seemed really unrealistic and not very logical. For instance, the FL left the house for the day when she was supposed to be in her vegetative state. Seems like a risky move that most logical thinkers wouldn’t take. Also, at the very end, if you knew your husband and his mistress murdered your mother, why would you go back to the house to confront them instead of just going straight to the police… that’s the quickest way to get murdered yourself. Who confronts killers!?

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Beautiful production!

This story was told very well from beginning to end. With the high production value, beautiful cinematography, OST and acting. This one will go down as one of the best of 2024.

The Bad

Not many negatives about this drama for me. I would only point out that there are some things that don’t necessarily follow logic and realism especially when it came to her family ignoring her identity but it’s a CDrama, I find most CDramas don’t follow logic and realism so it doesn’t lose many points with me. Also sometimes I didn’t like the constant close shots, it was a little over done, a few here and there would have sufficed.

The Good

The plot was well balanced with action, treachery, plotting, scheming, revenge, justice, and love. Everything was wrapped up nicely with a bow. All the highs and lows were satisfying and portrayed very well throughout. I also enjoyed each character throughout this story. The acting and portrayal of the 3 dimensional complex, morally gray characters makes this drama stand out from others. This drama was a slow burn but so much was happening that it didn’t matter. Plus the desire and passion the two main characters had for each other was done so well. Great on screen chemistry. I loved that they gave a proper end to their romance.

I highly recommend this drama. It may not be for everyone if you aren’t into slow burns but the revenge story definitely makes up for it.

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Still worth the watch

Season 2 wasn’t as good as season 1 but still worth the watch as the overall story is still really good.

The Good

The acting kept me sustained throughout this drama and everyone really showed their range. A lot of emotions were very well portrayed by both the main and supporting characters. If not for this, I may have not made it through season 2. I will still give the story an A+ rating if I look at it from the overall show. This is a very uniquely written story about love and loss among immortals and demons that deviated away from your typical xuanhuan stories and I can really appreciate the effort they made to let it stand on its own. The OST is still pretty good.

The Bad

This season was less interesting than the first season and seemed to have slightly lower production quality. The editing was a little more choppy and you can tell that bits of detail were removed. I found a lot of this season to be a drag. Many of the scenes had too long of a runtime, far too much of a slow burn and it became a little more of a chore to get through. I rated the first season a 10 and was very excited to watch it everyday but the airing schedule for this season didn’t make it any better and I found myself deviating to other shows. There was also some predictability in how it would end and that may be due to the endless spoilers that novel readers gave if you read comments on MDL. Either way, the climax fell a little flat for me towards the end.

I would rate this overall show an 8.5 given that season 2 wasn’t as good to me as the first season but would still recommend a watch. Still one of the better shows in 2024.

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A nice gem especially if you are new to CDramas.

I almost gave up on this story. I initially only watched a couple of episodes and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it in the direction it was going, but I decided to come back to it. I’m so glad that I did as this was a very well told story between the FL and two brothers.

I watched this show when I was just getting into CDramas so I wasn’t familiar with the pacing and story arcs of Xanxias. As I’ve watched more, I can definitely see similar themes across Xanxias and this does follow that typical path that Xanxias go.

All of the actors did a really good job and were very well fit for the characters they were given. I also really enjoyed the OST as I’ve added a couple of songs to my playlist. I’ve definitely become a fan of all of the main actors.

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So many good things about this drama!

I’ll keep it brief.

This was a very great story, very strong. The plot was well thought out. The visuals were well done and I appreciate the natural coloring of the sets as well as the actors not having overdone make up. I enjoyed the plot and all of the ups and downs that they went through. The plot maintained consistency, as I didn’t find many holes or unanswered questions. The acting was amazing. Everyone did a really good job in their role. I definitely enjoyed the romance in this story as it seemed more real and the two leads had very strong chemistry.

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