When I first came across Joy of Life, I was hesitant to watch it. I looked at the description on Viki and was like, " This sounds like it will have a lot of drama in it. Do I really wanna watch this and potentially get my heart broken by the writers?" I didn't wanna watch it, at first. Then I watched it because I had nothing else to watch and I don't regret watching it. Joy of Life is one of the best Chinese dramas that I've seen in a really long time.
Story: The story line is intriguing. I didn't think it was gonna be a guy who was born in the past, but yet he knows about future inventions and the like. That threw me off when I first started watching it. This drama kept me on my toes constantly. You never know who Fan Xian can trust 100%. A lot of people seem to be on his side or want to help him, but they're actually working against him. I just stopped trusting everybody eventually. I couldn't bear to get my hopes up that he had other people he could rely on. He has people he can rely on, but people outside that little circle of trust. I'm glad that there will be a season 2 because that ending blew my mind. I did not see that coming. I should have seen it coming, especially since you shouldn't trust anyone in this drama, but it still blindsided me.
Acting: The acting was awesome! I only looked at who played the male lead and I was excited when I saw that it was Zhang Ruo Yun. I think the first thing I ever saw him in was Medical Examiner Dr. Qin. He was fantastic as Dr. Qin. He was fantastic in this drama. I was excited to see what type of character he would be playing in this drama. He did such a good job. I loved his acting and I love the character. He made me laugh a lot. I will say that I didn't know that Xiao Zhan was in this drama until I looked up the cast list as I was watching the drama. You only hear his voice when you first meet him and it was bugging me because I recognized his voice, but couldn't place it. Then I saw it was him on the cast list and my curiosity was satisfied.
Overall: Basically, Joy of Life is a fantastic drama. It is a drama that has you questioning everyone's motives towards Fan Xian so that does add some suspense to it. It's obvious with who some of the villains are, but not all of them. I like that about this drama. It's nice to have a little mystery. I recommend this drama to everyone, but I recommend not binge watching it. There is just so much stuff packed into each episode that it can be overwhelming. For this drama, I would take it slow. It's worth it to take your time.