Ashes of Love (2018)

Ashes of Love has become my favorite c-drama of all time. And this is coming from a person who never watches dramas with more than 20 episodes, dramas with heavy cgi, and dramas that are melodramatic. Ashes of Love broke all of these rules, so I was highly skeptical when I started it, but by the time I had completed the series, its effects on me were irreversible, and I experienced the worst withdrawal syndrome in my life. I found myself constantly re-watching the scenes with the OTP, quoting the lines from the drama, and singing along to the theme songs. Ashes of Love was THAT good. It is a roller coaster of emotions, from the heartwarming moments of a blooming love that never cease to bring a smile to your face, to the most melancholic nights of separation and loss that can drive tears down your cheeks. It has the most realistic and genuine portrayal of love, and how different people approach love. There’s one love that never extinguishes even if death does you apart, there’s another love that’s filled with yearning and the desire to possess, and lastly, the love that’s hard to notice but is always there to protect, the love that wishes you eternal happiness with another person.

Story (9.5/10)
The story is beautiful, sad, bittersweet, and at times humorous. Character interactions are fun and witty, and it is easy to resonate with some characters or understand where they are coming from even if you do not agree with their actions. The main couple had overflowing chemistry and all their dialogues are quote-worthy. The plot development and pacing are mostly proportionate, and the story can be separated into several distinct arcs, each serving a good purpose to provide depth and weight to the characters. The only downside is that too much focus is given to Yunyu in the latter half of the story and less on the main couple, causing him to be the most established character throughout. Luckily, most of the important characters had backstories that explained their personalities and motives, and all the main characters either had major character development or were given a good closure by the end of the series.

Characters (10/10)
All the actors did an excellent job portraying their characters, except for the Empress whom I felt was too over the top in her facial expressions (especially her glaring eyes). Whenever the characters cried I also felt heartbroken with them. And since the drama spanned across quite a lot of episodes, I felt emotionally attached to the characters like they were my friends. As for the individual roles, Yunyu was exceptionally well-portrayed and the most 3-dimensional character I have ever seen in a c-drama. The casting of Luo Yun Xi was perfect, as he looked, sounded, and emoted exactly like how Yunyu should be. Luo Yun Xi is not acting as Yunyu, he IS Yunyu. Yang Zi also nailed the role of Jinmi, which if done wrong would have caused the character to become stupid or obnoxious. Deng Lun, in comparison, was more tame in his facial expressions, but his aura matched the character of Xufeng like no other person could. Other side characters like Yianyou, the Water God and the Moon God were also memorable and sparked my interest. The entire cast was very fitting for their roles, and there was no single character that was out of place.

Music (10/10)
The OST kept ringing in my ears even weeks after I finished the series. I now have to listen to the opening song several times a day to move on with my life, and whenever I do, scenes from the drama would flood into my mind and I feel an urge to re-watch the drama again.
Fun fact: The artist who sang the ending song, Sa Ding Ding, also played one of the characters in the drama. She was a funny character and did a good job considering that she is not a professional actress.

Conclusion
This drama is a must watch. Do not shy away due to the number of episodes. A good drama will make time zip by, and before you know it, you will be wishing it to never end.

Citeste mai mult

Don't let the number of episodes hold you back !

I was debating for quite a while before I decided to watch this drama since it has 63 episodes, but I'm really glad that I ended up watching it. This is now one of my favorite Chinese romance drama. The story was so interesting that it kept me glued to my screen and impatient to start the next episode. All the actors were incredible and portrayed their character amazingly well. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable and they obviously know how to make our heart flutters. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this drama. I just wished it was longer. I highly recommend it!

Citeste mai mult

Broke Me!

19/01/2023

Love Between Fairy and The Devil awakened me, Ashes of Love totally broke me and Love and Redemption brought me much needed relief and healing.

Taken from Netflix:. "Hidden away by her mother, the Floral Goddess, the naïve Jinmi is drawn to Xufeng, the Heavenly Emperor's son. Yet forces conspire against them."

So, the story more or less is about XuFeng and Jinmi and what others do to keep them apart to never be together no matter what it takes or what is at stake.

And this is all done in the Heaven, Demon and Mortal realms (that order) with so many episodes dedicated to each realm starting with the Heaven realm.

It took me awhile to get into this series and I had to re-watch the first 20 episodes to appreciate the lighter side of it before it got so so so heavy.

Once it hooked me in there was no point of return, however, so I enjoyed each and every moment of it, but especially the human realm and final arc.

The scenes I liked the most were the tomb, puppet show, the betrayal and killing of the "Phoenix", the death of the demon princess's true love, the demon realm wedding and the humour throughout the earlier episodes.

What I didn't really like was the person who betrayed the Phoenix the most so I still find it hard to forgive!

Also, before I forget, Jinmi's character mightn't be for all. I had no problems with her though.

However, moving forward, I don't think I'd opt for any drama series with females depicted as weak and helpless unless it is a baby or child

What else can I say?

Oh yes! I didn't know what my life was missing until I watched all three above, but especially Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption.

Also, since watching these and a handful of others, I have come to the realisation that I prefer dramas with less angst or drawn out build ups to relationships - so for me romance or love is not the main priority, but rather the story telling.

Give me a great story with lots of action, drama, adventure and fight scenes anyday with strong male and female characters!

If you are a person who has watched several dramas, unlike me, either you will be use to 60+ episodes and therefore forgiving of the imperfections and slow burns with some of them or maybe not willing whatsoever because you prefer substance in the first 5-10 episodes as anything beyond that is a waste of time.

Also, if it is a cliched story line it will not be tolerated either.

I reckon this drama series deserves to be given a chance because it does have a great story line and fantastic cast plus the main theme song throughout it takes it to a totally different level.

On hearing that song again when rewatching those first 20 episodes made me feel so sad with this feeling of foreboding. I actually had this knot inside my stomach because I knew what was to come...

I will say that a few series after this one I watched IMMORTAL SAMSARA which has the same female actor cast in the main role of that one only I stopped two episodes short of episode 38 as the story wasn't the greatest at all for me. Giving it a chance was wrong! The actor, Cheng Yi, was superb in it and well worth watching, however, the story for me was quite boring.

Ashes of Love comes highly recommended and is re-watchable, but may not be for everyone especially if some have 200+ dramas under their belts that are flawless and A+ dramas.

Citeste mai mult

The first half started out strong. I liked a lot of the characters (both main and supporting), then the FL Jin Mi started grating on my nerves. She blames all her actions on others despite apologizing for them and people keep making excuses for her. If she weren't the main FL, she would probably be the same as the villainous 2nd FL. It just depends on perspective. Surprisingly, I liked the good-turned-bad, illegitimate-prince-turned-heavenly-emperor the most. Run Yu is a very complex character and Luo Yun Xi delivers as the long-suffering, eldest brother who was always expected to do the right thing yet his step mother keeps assuming the worse of him. He's like Cinderella, if Cinderella were to exact revenge on those who hurt them. We can't all be perfect. I thought this drama would equal or even surpass TMOPB/EL but it suffered from being too ambitious on the back end of the story and it is no fault of the cast because most of them are amazing.

Citeste mai mult

My rating is probably totally biased. This was my very first Xianxia, I didn't know what to expect. There were no major flaws, so I didn't look for any either. If I had to complain about one thing, it would be those plastic flowers. I'd rather take bad CGI instead of plastic... But it's a ver y minor complaint, so it's neglectable (and it's probably a thing in C-dramas, so I can't avoid them in other ones anyways).

The story was well woven and well told. It was capable of chaining me to my seat and making me binge this in no time. There were minor and major key scenes all the time, that kept me guessing what could happen next and made me unable to stop. They also built up a captivating amount of tension before every event. To say that certain things were predictable might be right. But it's not meant to sound negatively. It's more like you fear what would happen and wait in anxiety.

The acting of almost everyone was soooo good, I enjoyed it alot (except for SML's mother... that was really bad). What I appreciate the most is that the leads never led me down. Not even once. Maybe they didn't always do things to my liking, but it was always reasonable and just the effect of past events. They stayed true to themselves (as far as that was possible considering the Yun Elixir). They touched me with their love, passion and made me feel their pain and suffering, as well.

The side cast did their job well in supporting the leads and the story. Especially the snake, the fox and the phoenix's guard were my favorites. And what I liked about the ending was that every character, good or bad, got one that fit in regard to past happenings. There's no mysterious incomprehensible happy ending for everyone.

What a ride... I'll definitely re-watch this some day!

Citeste mai mult

Sad and happy while watching this drama

At first I didn't want to watch it thinking it's not worth my time but I'll give up everything to forget it and watch it all over again. What I like about this drama is

Music:
It's OST is so good that I can't stop listening to it everyday

Story:
The story is nice but I cried a river all through the drama because Jin Mi went through so much and it isn't her fault

Cast:
I must say that I don't know the main leads because I don't watch a lot of Chinese dramas but their acting is majestic. They portrayed their characters effortlessly

There's only one thing that I dislike about this drama is that like other dramas the heavenly empress hates the female lead. Why can't I for once watch a drama where the heavenly empress is good not evil

Citeste mai mult

Plot: Honestly its probably the most entertaining wuxia drama I've watched this year. Technically I guess its almost as good as Ten Miles of Peach blossoms, some might say its even better. The story line was very well written, although I felt bad for RunYu (found him super cute ;) ). SO MANY EMOTIONS, cried so many times during the middle to last episodes (so like GET A TISSUE BOX WITH U). Tbh theres gonna be so many times where u wanna chuck your tissue box at the empress, cuz like HOLY JESUS does she get me angry.

Acting/ Cast: If you've watched any of Deng Lun's other dramas, then u know this ones gonna be good. There's so much chemistry between him and YangZi ( ITS AMAZING!). The actress who played the empress was also super good, cuz u know that when an actress plays an antagonist and GETS U MAD, you know she's good . RunYu (aka Leo Luo) did such an amazing job at portraying his character. His character was honestly willing to do anything for Jin Mi, like he would be willing to die for her. But felt bad for his character because even though he loved Jin Mi so much, she never recuperated the same feelings back for him :( .

Music: Holy cow don't even get me started, CUZ THE OSTS ARE AMAZINGGGG. Mao bu yi has such an amazing voice, his singing shows so much emotion in it. So even if you don't like the drama at least listen to some of Mao bu yi's other song. The second OST of the drama is pretty much a female version of the OST that Mao bu yi sang, but personally I like Mao bu yi's version better. Also if you like the song Bu chou or unsullied (English translation) and Leo Luo, he sings a short cover version that you can find on youtube.

Rewatch: Totally gonna rewatch this, cuz u know a dramas good when its got good OSTs and you don't skip though it :)

Citeste mai mult

Y’all want something funny and meaningful/unforgettable or if you’re a sucker for romance then this drama Ashes of Love is it.

Story: Love the comical factor from Jin Mi and how the plot is pretty much tight(well written). The only thing that kept me from giving the story a 10 is how the producers decided to give the demon princess a supporting character so much screen time. Like she was okay at first but later on every time she appeared I just ff and some say she plays an important role in matchmaking Jin Mi and Xu Feng like ummmm no we already got our lovely uncle Yue lao. Also I’m so glad the cgi in here was perfect cause lord after this I just couldn’t with some baby crack that some assume is a passable cgi to be used in dramas. Like so far with all the dramas I’ve watched this one is hands down the best cgi ever. Another thing I love is that we get to see how karma do it’s thing in here (:

Acting: the leads Yang Zi, Deng Lun, and luo yunxi did very well imo they surpassed all of my expectations. The best acting would be Yang Zi because we can see that she grew from a naive and innocent girl due to circumstances to a girl who is very determined and caring. Jin Mi May not be a badass as in already having the powers and everyone else to save her but she to me is a badass on how determined she is as one of the users @pinocchio said if I remember correctly is “determined to right her wrongs no matter what.”

Music: Hands down the most beautiful ost I have ever heard. Loved it it was literally stuck in my head.

Definitely would recommend this to anyone out there it’s the best drama ever. And I seriously have rewatched this atleast 5+ times already so my rewatch value will always be a 10. The suck thing about this drama is you just don’t see other drama ps the same due to all the expectations that this drama gave us. Ashes of love wil always and always be my #1 drama, I’m so glad I found this gem and the lovely Yang Zi❤️! Anyways this broke my scale literally blew me away but since the highest is a 10 so that’s all I can rate for this phenomenally amazing masterpiece. Most importantly go watch the bts their interactions are so funny!

Citeste mai mult

Really loved this drama. I was hesitant on watching this drama, mainly because some of the clips I saw did not really catch my interest. However, after reading some reviews and seeing the interest people were showing for this drama I decided to see what it was about. Honestly I agree with other reviews that you would want to re-watch this drama again. The story has a lot more than what you think and the characters kept it entertaining. Jin Mi (Yang Zi), Xu Feng (Allen Deng) and Run Yu (Leo Luo) were perfect, you fell in love with them, even when you got frustrated or hated them. Highly recommend you watch it.

Citeste mai mult

Where do I even begin?

I can't believe I actually completed this series. *sigh* From the 1st episode till the last one, I was enraptured in the romance of Fire and Water Immortal for they were my main focus. Goodbye for now HSALF *sobs*

Story: I'm not a veteran on cdramas since I'm still quite new but I must say that I have not encountered this plot before. And me being a lover of fantasy, action and romance, HSALF really sealed the deal. I did, however, skipped some moments that I couldn't be bothered as I anticipated the moment Yun elixir would break completely (as it was cracked halfway until someone actually repaired it. That good for nothing dragon. Hmph *crosses arms*) and bring XF and JM together. I was really hoping for it to break earlier but sadly, the show must go on. Though, when the time arrived and she regurgitated it, it was truly a sight to behold as she finally realized her love for XF.

Besides that, there were moments when the actors would wait for their co-actors to act out their dialogues and the silence present in that moment was really awkward and odd. It wasn't scenes where they were meant to sit still and keep quiet to create such an atmosphere as those scenes would've been quite obvious but instead, it was deafening. The silence made it seem as if the video was paused whilst the scene was actually still running.

Also, maybe it's a trope in cdramas to constantly, without fail, for the main female lead to be a damsel in distress. Why don't they produce female leads that are independent and self-sufficient? Just because you rely on yourself and not others doesn't mean you don't deserve to be loved. Sure, JM said she could depend on herself but throughout the drama, people have been saving her. If you can't face your foe, recuperate and effing learn how to defeat them. Think of a plan, don't just barge into their rooms and challenge them without a thought. Seriously. Like XF said, think 3 effing seconds and yet she's still the same despite her "growth" throughout the movie. One would learn the lesson when it has plagued you numerous times.


Acting/Cast:

Jin Mi: Despite her character's shortcomings, Yang Zi was able to produce such raw emotions while acting out crucial scenes. She was stunning, tbh. I really liked the way she portrayed JM although I would've liked to see her act as a villain. It's good exposure plus, it would be interesting to see how she'll portray the character. I just really couldn't stand the fact that JM would still regard RY with trust while she was suspicious of him. Girl, if you think he's fishy then stay the utter f**k from him! Why you gotta let him touch you and sh*t? Stop letting people use you. Gosh, I find myself wanting to either slap her naive ass out of the drama or just simply hug her to death and shake the living hell outta her to wake tf up.

Xu Feng: Prince Charming right here people! I clap for you. Nah, aside form the sarcasm, I really love his scenes in the last few episodes. He had me crying when he found out JM was actually in his tears and that she absorbed the cold away from his body. Albeit, it might be due to his character's personality but Deng Lun's face when playing Xu Feng was mostly a troubled expression or a smile which really got me frustrated. Though he really outdid himself in the last few eps, still would've liked some variety. You did a good job, mate. His loyalty to his mother was what I truly admired. He understood his mother's actions were dedicated to him be he still tried to reason with her. He didn't treat her harshly or condemned her.

Run Yu (a.k.a F**ker A): Now, I might be in the minority about this but I really hoped he would pay for all of his wrongdoings and not just him resuming the post of Heavenly Emperor while only the Beast of Dreams and Kuang Lu were the only subjects present. He made a lot of mistakes thus he should have gone through a heavier punishment. But really, what he did to JM was the same as the previous Heavenly Emperor which was to force your love onto others despite fully comprehending that they are clearly not into you. If only he would realize that Kuang Lu has been by his side through thick and thin. Geez, stop letting your selfishness cloud your vision.

Sui He (a.ka. F**ker B): She can die in a ditch for all I care. Thank you, next.

Tu Yao: She really was cruel. She really deserved what she got though despite all that, we got to see her before she was downright sinister. Instead, she too was a victim of love and that made me pity her. It softened my heart to understand her more.

Liu Ying & Mu ci: I loved their story and their romance. They represented loyalty, love, care,trust and devotion to each other despite the turbulence that occurred to them. They grit their teeth and held hands to successfully achieve their love.

Yan You & Moon Immortal: The two of them were the highlight throughout the whole drama. They cracked me up when times got too serious, too heavy. They did all they could to save their loved ones from mistakes and regrets. I can say I highly anticipated their appearances to lighten the mood.

Music: I loved it. I can't get it out of my head. It's stuck. Help...

Rewatch value: 100%

Overall: It was so much better then TMOPB and the best historical cdrma I've watched so far. I admired the pure and strong love Xu Feng and Jin Mi had with each other. Finally, they pulled through and had their hea.

P.s. Who in their right mind would tell people to stop fighting while in the middle of a war? Uh, hello? This is W.A.R we're talking about. If this had happened in real life, she would've been dead before she could even utter the first sentence, honestly. *face palm*

Citeste mai mult

Longer than it needed to be

Honestly, overall this is a good drama, but it definitely felt like it dragged on more than it needed. I did end up finding myself skipping some parts forward, specially because there were some characters I just couldn't stand. One of my favorite things about the drama is actually the OST. There were some characters that made the show more entertaining as well, but there are still a few points that drag the story down other than its length. One of them is the sick "love" relationship, both on Runyu's part and the main characters. Their obsession with each other was just tiring and at some point became straight up annoying. Another kinda bad thing is the awkward acting of some of the characters, but honestly you can look past that. Overall I would go back and watch some parts again for sure. Would only recommend it if you have a lot of free time to spare.

Citeste mai mult

This is just so good!!!

No waste episodes. The acting, the plot, the costumes, the CGI and overall aspects are so damn impressive.

I wasnt a fan of Chinese Dramas before but after watching 1 chinese drama with xianxia genre, I became curious about cdramas. And now I am loving cdrama as much as i love kdrama. Cdramas are so entertaining too.

I highly recommend Ashes of Love!

No waste episodes. The acting, the plot, the costumes, the CGI and overall aspects are so damn impressive.

I wasnt a fan of Chinese Dramas before but after watching 1 chinese drama with xianxia drama, I became curious about cdramas. And now I am loving cdrama as much as i love kdrama. Cdramas are so entertaining too.

I highly recommend Ashes of Love!

Citeste mai mult