I was interested in The Long Ballad because of, you guessed it, Dilireba. I wanted to see her portrayal of the boyish princess Li Chang Ge, which is such a contrast to her last role Bai Fengjiu, but I did not expect to have come across a marvelous drama. The Long Ballad does not center around romance, although it is there, it is a story of personal growth, of maturing and growing up, and of realizing what's more important than revenge.

Let's start with what I, personally, love about this drama and there are so many things to talk about. First of all, the English title. Now, this is very personal, I know, but I appreciate how they did not just decide on something like "The legend of Chang Ge" because crappy English titles happen A LOT and there are so many "The legend of ..." drama title in the Chinese dramaland that I already got tired keeping count of. If you have watched enough Cdramas, you may have come across a few. The English title really suits the story and the theme of the drama. At first read, you can already tell that the plot will be about a long journey to, perhaps, find oneself of our protagonist. A more important thing that makes this drama worth watching though, was the character development, not only for Chang Ge but for all the supporting characters as well. The growth arcs of all the characters felt very satisfying and inspiring with (spoiler alert) Chang Ge valuing the peace of her country over revenge, Ashile Sun finally decided to live his life by his own rules, Le Yan being grateful for her extravagant status as the Tang's princess after experiencing hardships of the common people and, my personal favorite, the heart-warming growth in bromance between the two sons of the Ashile Tribe and more. Moreover, the villains in this story felt, to me, very convincing. Some of them I can not be label as "villains" for their motives to do whatever they did felt logical to me because of their own pasts and stories. Instead of hating on these "antagonists", I can rather sympathize with them, especially the evil, scheming Khatun who showed Chang Ge what she would have become if she did not give up her revenge. There are so many things about this drama that you would love other than what I mentioned, such as the sizzling chemistry of the second lead couple (the love story of a big wolf and a cute bunny), the beautifully choreographed fight scenes, the superbly produced soundtracks which I have played on repeat for at least 5 times a day, the bonds and relationships between each character (especially the fatherly love between the Tang emperor and Chang Ge) or, perhaps, you may also fall in love with the handsome alpha male boyish prince Ashile Sun, portrayed by Wu Lei.
Side note: I watched this drama for Dilireba but ending up falling for Wu Lei. Lol.

However, every drama has its own shortcomings and this one is not an exception. Something that really annoyed me was how they replaced some important, highly-anticipated war scenes with comics - cheaply made comics. This strategy did reduce the production budget but there were mixed opinions from its viewers and I am certainly on the negative side. It did not live up to the intensity that the plot built and was rather confusing for me. In addition, the lead couple's chemistry felt like a brotherhood or a sibling relationship rather than a romantic bond, if not for all the romance scenes. At times, it does spark some butterflies in my stomach but other times I did not buy it. Moreover, the "kissing" scene was a major disappointment. Like many viewers, I prefer the second lead's story, which got me screaming like a madman, over the lead couple. Lastly, BIG SPOILER ALERT, the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Although it did wrap everything nicely and conclude all the characters' stories - unlike The Rebel Princess *insert heavy sigh* - it still feels a bit rushed. Apparently, some scenes that were filmed for the ending were cut out which explains why.

All in all, the plot of this drama about growing up, coming of age, and maturing did resonate with me a lot. It was a beautifully made drama with good acting and plot. Was it one of the best dramas I've ever watched though? Almost there, but not quite. Still, if you like dramas with the themes I mentioned and want to watch a good overall drama then you should give this a try. I'd definitely rewatch it when I have time.