Great plot + dumb characters = A HOT MESS

I came across this drama when I was scrolling through an article last year, plus I'm Zhang Linghe's fan. Since then, I have been awaiting for this drama to release. At first, the story was rather promising, but it went downhill in the middle and the ending was... pretty bad enough.

The plot is nothing new in terms of xianxia dramas, considering that it is a demon-hunting-themed drama. I truly loved demon-hunting stuffs and even read the manhwa before starting this series so that I could understand much better when I watched it.

Also, the 2MLs (Hu Zi and Qi Xiaoxuan) had subtle bromance which I liked the most. I can really feel the chemistry between both of them - if it hadn't been the censorship, it could've been much better and perhaps turned into a BL series. LOL!!

The other main leads (Zhao Xintong and Wang Yuqian) were nice enough and added the depth of their friendship. Later, they faced a life-and-death situation and sacrificed their lives for the future of the human mankind. However, their deaths were totally unnecessary to me - I have been hoping to see the four of them to have an adventure across the world together - and... the way they died was a tad ridiculous. I didn't even shed tears when they were dying.

In the last episodes before the ending, there was a little plot twist about the main villain in the story. I was quite surprised to see the Qi's family ancestor was the culprit behind all these evil forces. Yi Mei only served as a secondary antagonist, if you ask me. Her arc wasn't even needed and everything would still be alright without her meddling around. And her reason for avenging her master was nonexistent. Her servant didn't help much too.

Special mentions to the elders of the Fulong Capital and QXX's dad and sister. They made an absolute hot mess in the story - I really wish I could knock some senses into their heads - all they cared about was power, money, and greed. Cheng Jinian was quite infuriating too - believing that his father was one of the elders, so that he could use his authority to manipulate people (but, he got a redemption arc, though).

Anyway, the opening OST is one of the best OSTs amongst the historical c-dramas. It evokes our spirit with its powerful instruments and nice vocal work by Faye Zhan.

Will I rewatch it again? NO and NEVER. I really regret watching this drama. If it hadn't been the fast-forward button, I would've dropped it a long time ago. If you're a fan of one of the leads, you can give it a try. If you find it boring, look elsewhere. Good luck!!!

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Despite the glamorous budget, the plot is...

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact aka Yue Hong is the first installment of the Fox Spirit Matchmaker trilogy. IQIYI and Stellar Pictures did spend a huge sum of money to produce the trilogy. While waiting for the release date, I kept searching for information on the manga's wikipedia site and also watched a tidbit of the anime. For your information, I've been waiting this show for a year and even kept fantasizing and imagining what the scenes in the show would look like. But my expectation is cut short when the actual release date is confirmed. Despite the stellar casts, aesthetic backgrounds, exquisite costumes, top-notch CGI, and high budget, the show falls short when it comes to the script. You can see just how disappointed I am. However, I don't want my one-year awaiting turns into a fruitless effort, so I keep pressing on until the final.
(For the synopsis, you can check it out at MDL main page or at justjacky's review. I'm not going to copy it down because this is gonna be a very long rant.)

The plot is simplistic, dull, and bland as if it were an exquisite cake without any icing on top of it. I don't feel any emotions out of the dialogues, instead I just keep a poker face and stare at my screen as if nothing had happened. Moreover, the script is full of typical cliches of a childish rom-com drama like are you injured, are you hungry, try my new dishes, it's late now-go back and rest, and blah blah blah. This cycle keeps repeating for countless times and soon becomes very repetitive. To me, it's like the parents nag to their child to oblige to the rules and do what he/she is supposed to do and not to meddle in someone else's business.

After searching the wikipedia once more, I only discover that the writers ATTEMPT to cram several little arcs into the show in order to prolong the story. However, it doesn't work out because the story becomes more underwhelmed, and those couples barely have screentime of their own. Somehow, I kinda feel that they always prioritize the main couple over the others.

Aside from the bad script, the show also suffers from choppy editing. The transition between every scene is done haphazardly even though the post-production team is given a one-year time. When a certain scene has reached the climax/pinnacle, it will zoom to another random scene which has nothing to do with the previous one. I personally feel that this absurd scene jumping hinders some of the audience to understand the story thoroughly, but all we can do is to ENDURE it!
(Note: The choppy editing is resulted by using panoramic screen instead of the normal green screen, claiming that they wanted to try using a new technology that never existed in other Chinese fantasy dramas.)

As for now, I'm going to explain every couple's arc and the rant will continue below. Here we go...
- Tushan Honghong and Dongfang Yuechu (Yang Mi and Gong Jun)
Honghong is the chief of Tushan and the eldest of the Tushan sister. Being a leader of the Tushan fox clan, she shoulders a lot of heavy responsibilities. She is cold, aloof, and can be authoritative. She has been acting cold because she fears of falling in love and is still guilty of what happened to Dongfang Luo, her childhood sweetheart. Yuechu is the descendant of the Dongfang family and has been hunted since he was younger. He is intelligent, mischievous, and a bit cunning. To him, Honghong is his life savior, and he can't help but to have a crush on her. Despite her objections, Yuechu relentlessly pursues Honghong and never gives up when she rejects her. The two of them have the same wish, which is to see humans and spirits live in harmony. In the process, he melts Honghong's cold heart and she decides to fall in love once more.

- Tushan Yaya and Aolai SanShao/Ah Lai (Cristy Guo and Wei Zheming)
Yaya is the deputy chief of Tushan and the second eldest of the Tushan sister. Yaya has a carefree and reckless personality, which is the reason why both of her sisters prefer to keep her dark of the truth, afraid that her recklessness will bring chaos to Tushan. Aolai Sanshao, disguised as Ah Lai the Poison Boy, is one of Honghong's friends who had been helping her to investigate the black fox. He has an easygoing, cheery, and cheeky vibe. As he spends his days in Tushan, he is attracted to Yaya's carefree nature while Yaya also admire Ah Lai's cleverness and courage.

- Bu Tai and Shi Kuan (Zhu Xudan and Yang Shize)
Bu Tai is the princess of Spirit-Master Kingdom. She is a nice person and also filial to her kingdom. She has a secret crush on her loyal spirit guard, Shi Kuan. She is the first person who confesses her love to a spirit under the Grief Tree. Her love is later reciprocated by Shi Kuan. Unfortunately, Bu Tai was assassinated by Guoguo as one of Shi Ji's schemes. Later, Shi Kuan ascends to the position of Spirit-Master Kingdom's new emperor.

- Lu Jianwen and Yan Rushan (Sebrina Chen and Mao Zijun)
Lu Jianwen is a new constable of the Yiqi Alliance. As far as I know, she is a justice-driven person. She gets entangled in the women abduction case alongside Yan Rushan, also known as Thousand-Faces Gentleman, who is Rongrong's former disciple. At first, they never see eye to eye, but soon they are drawn to each other and stage another love story.

- Yueti Xia and Hu Weisheng (Chen Duling and Zhang Linghe)
Yueti Xia is the descendant of the Yueti Family who possess Seven-Treasures Bark. She has a playful and mischievous nature. Hu Weisheng is the disciple of the Ximen Family who takes part in the Seven-Treasures Bark's hunt. He is a naive guy and clueless when it comes to love. After escaping life-and-death situations and spending time together, they realized each other's feeling and love blossomed between the two.

- Tushan Rongrong (Hu Lianxin)
Rongrong is the third chief of Tushan and the youngest of the Tushan sister. Rongrong is more mature and meticulous compared to Yaya. She is one of Honghong's trusted aids in accomplishing Honghong's missions.

- Shi Ji (Wen Zhenrong)
Shi Ji is the former chief of Tushan and also Honghong's sworn enemy. She is a cruel, manipulative, and egoistic woman. Guoguo is her personal informant.

As expected of the stellar casts, their acting is actually top-notch if it hadn't been the stupid script. All in all, most couples have bare chemistry and the only redeeming quality so far is the fifth couple. I actually like Gong Jun, but his acting as a hot-blooded youth is so-so to me. He's better off to psychopath/unhinged/murderous characters. This is my first time watching Yang Mi. I have to say that she acts as the stoic and cold leader too perfectly - not even a smile appears once. Even if she smiles, it feels rather forced. Somehow, they have master-disciple dynamic or worse mother-son relationship. I keep feeling that Honghong looks like a mom nagging to her child to obey her, seriously?

And what's with the amnesia trope? Logically speaking, after sacrificing the Love Seed, Honghong should've forgotten both Yuechu and Dongfang Luo, but why does she only forget Yuechu? Very illogical, right? Anyway, this shitty trope is played for ten episodes until I'm fed up with it. In other words, it can be simplified as a push-and-pull game.

Another thing is that Yuechu suddenly has a crush on Hong Hong after being raised in Tushan for 16 years!! What on the earth is going on? If Yuechu were still a child, it was more understandable. However, he has grown into a teenage boy and suddenly falls for Honghong at the first sight. It's weird, isn't it?

The villain is too one-dimensional and boring. Unlike JOL Season 2 which has unpredictable villain, this show exposes too much of her true intention to usurp the 6 realms. They should've made her more mysterious to captivate the audience, but hell no! Every time her scenes pop up, I'll remind myself that an I-will-kill-Honghong-and-rule-over-the-six-realms sentence would spurt out of her mouth lol!

Don't get me started at the ending! It's a forced happy ending and the most ABSURD one! It's obviously a sad ending for every couple. However, they make it looks like they've entered an alternate universe and got together with their loved ones. Also, the last scene of the main lead doesn't make any sense. I just can't work out what the writers are thinking about. And we don't need the extra clip either!

Don't expect good fighting scenes - there are only hand-waving gestures and everything is done. I know using CGI in a fight scene is not a bad idea, but they need to combine with weapons too.

OSTs and BGMs are okay-ish, but not enough to hook me up.

I'm settling at the score 7.5. I DON'T recommend this show and will never rewatch again unless I need some brainless antidote after tiring out myself. I feel sorry for the whole assembles of casts who have obviously tried their best, but who knows this is going to be a flop?

For those who are casted in Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Zhu Ye and Wang Quan arcs, I'll wish you all the best and hope you won't suffer the same fate as Yue Hong does. This is the end of my rant and good luck!

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A decent family drama blended with funny camaraderie of mother and son

While trudging on Fox Spirit Matchmaker, I accidentally found this show when I was looking on the main review section. I admitted that the casts looked average, and it might be a low-budget show. But it was the plot that made me glued to my seat as I skimmed through the whole 20 episodes.

The story revolves around the happy-go-lucky and cheerful Qi Yue, the stoic and no-nonsense top student Lu Xiao, and her grown-up yet childish son Qi Shuo, who claimed to have come to Qi Yue’s past time so that Qi Yue didn’t suffer in the future. Logically speaking, if you were Qi Yue and your son suddenly came out of nowhere, telling you that he came from the past using a time machine, would you be baffled? Nah, that was what happened to Qi Yue. Slowly, she started to acknowledge the existence of Qi Shuo. In order to avoid the misfortunes in the future, Qi Shuo became the matchmaker and persuaded her to pursue Lu Xiao as well as she could, because in his eyes, Lu Xiao was the best candidate for Qi Yue’s future husband.

The plot is actually nothing new in a generic family drama though there is a little element of sci-fi through the time travel trope. Fortunately, they don’t dwell very much on it and the plot picks up again where it leaves off. Another good aspect of this show is the bickering relationship between mother and son. You can see that they always argue for trivial matters every day lol. As noted by Lu Xiao, they have similar personalities too. Furthermore, there is no third wheeler which is a fresh air for everyone. All of Qi Yue’s friends are supportive of her and even help her to chase Lu Xiao. The ‘real’ future husband of Qi Yue, Xu Zhaoyang, also has a crush on her, but little does she know about his violent nature, and thus makes the wrong decision to marry him. After Qi Shuo convinces him, he decides to stop chasing Qi Yue and watches her being happy from afar. There is also Liang Yufei who is Lu Xiao’s close friend. She is indeed annoying, but after several episodes, she’ll also let go of Lu Xiao.

Though average the casts may be, they are able to pull off their characters seamlessly. Every arc is done perfectly though there are a few glaring plot holes. The ending is kinda of bittersweet, but I’m glad they make it this way. Personally, I find that Qi Yue has more chemistry with her son compared to Lu Xiao. I don’t know why, but I just can’t feel anything when Qi Yue and Lu Xiao are together (this is just a matter of taste, I suppose). The shooting locations, sets, and wardrobes are nice too.

If you want to watch something simple/short or a fan of bickering family drama, you can give this a shot and see if this is to your liking. Overall, a ten out of ten for this hidden gem. Good luck and happy watching!

Quote:
- Lu Xiao to Qi Yue
"Don't listen to what other people say. Just do what you think is right."

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An amazing tomb raiding show with suspense and slight horror

Actually, I had done this drama last year while waiting for Neo Hou's new work which is 'Back from the Brink'. To my surprise, Cheng Yi also starred this drama, and I couldn't help but to get excited because two of my favorite actors actually collaborated together. Alright, I'll get straight to the plot and here we go...

The Lost Tomb 2 is the continuation of the previous story (The Lost Tomb) about Wu Xie and his group of tomb raiders. If I'm not mistaken, in previous one, they ventured through Seven Star King Lu Palace and found an artifact known as the Snake Eye Copper Fish. In this story, they went into a new adventure to the Underwater Tomb of Paracel Island to retrieve another Copper Fish. Aside from the Paracel Island, they also went to the Bronze Tree and a tomb that has been designated as a residence in the Republican era (that's all I remember, I'm too lazy for another rewatch). For your information, there will be a lot of flashbacks of Wu Sanxing's (Wu Xie's uncle) journey too. Thank goodness, they also sprinkled some humor here and there to ease the growing suspense of the plot.

As I've expected, the acting is wonderful from Neo Hou and Cheng Yi alongside the one who portrayed Pan Zi. They had a lot of bromances when they were together and even still had time to bicker how they were going to survive inside the tomb LOL. Credits for Li Man who pulled off the best version of Ah Ning that I've ever watched. Aside from the four main characters, I also like Xie Yuchen/Xiao Hua and Huo Xiuxiu (who were portrayed seamlessly by Liu Xueyi and Huang Yi).

Despite the good plot and nice character development, I stopped at ep 37 (somehow, they went to the Korean border by magic) and considered it as completed. If you're not into horror, you'd better avoid this one in case you're too frightened to continue (I once had a nightmare because of this drama LOL). If you like it, then this is for you. Good luck and happy watching!

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When a lunatic psychopath and a former assassin form an unlikely duo

So, how am I going to start my review? For your information, I've dropped this on ep 5 before I picked up where I left off. As I continued further, the story became more and more interesting. So, let's just begin!!!

Alright, let me explain the plot first. It revolved around the former head of the Window of Heaven who stepped down from his position due to his own reasons - Zhou Zishu and the head of the Ghost Valley - Wen Kexing. As you can see, the both of them had very different personalities and it would be too UNLIKELY for the both of them becoming soul mates. After experiencing the ups and downs amidst the chaos in the martial arts world, they became more attached and decided to trust each other for this lifetime (just like those sworn brothers did, but I guess soul mates are on a more intense relationship, considering this is a censored BL).

I also want to specially mention a very important property which contributes to the story - the Glazed Armor. The Glazed Armor was made by the 5 righteous sects in the martial arts world. It was rumored to be keeping all sorts of martial arts techniques and manuals which have been hunted by lots of people. However, the actual KEY is the jade hairpin that Wen Kexing always wore - not the Glazed Armor.

I just can't help it, but I really root on Wen Kexing also known as the Lunatic Wen. He's a real psychopath and had deep hatred engraved in his heart. The last thing he wanted to do was to destroy the world and then pay for the sins he had committed. However, after he encountered Zhou Zishu, he changed his perspective and tried to cherish his life as possible.

Adding the depth of the story are Gu Xiang (Wen Kexing's loyal subordinate), Cao Weining (Gu Xiang's lover), and Zhang Chengling (an orphan who was defected by the Ghost Valley's ambush which killed his family in the process and also Zhou Zishu's beloved disciple). By the way, the sad ending for Gu Xiang and Cao Weining was unnecessary at all. Why should you kill them off and causing bloodshed again? That double-faced master of Cao Weining - he shouldn't have trusted him or this kind of accident wouldn't happen at all.

The acting is... WOW!!! Sometimes, I just can feel the main leads' bromance. I'm not a great fan of BL, but this drama has made into one. Shout out to Gong Jun who portrayed Wen Kexing flawlessly. I hope he will get more psychopathic roles in the future. Zhou Ye did marvellously too and it is where she showcased and utilized her full acting skills which helped her gaining popularity. Not a great fan of Zhang Zhehan, but his acting is commendable, I would say.

The set, CGI, and cinematography is quite nice to me. I don't understand why people said everything was fake and cheap-made. Overall, a ten out of ten and will probably rewatch when I'm in the drama slump.

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My very first memorable c-drama

My adventure in the world of c-drama couldn't have happened if it wasn't for Love and Redemption. Looking from the synopsis, I have been hyped by this show and always wanted to watch it until I got the courage to.

In the first few episodes, everything was great especially the Hairpin Conference in which they had to catch a legendary monster in the wilderness. This conference also contributed to the first encounter of the ML and FL. Later, after 4 years old separation, they bumped into each other again, but ML seemed to stay away from the FL many, many times. As the story progressed, FL found out shocking evidences and the real identity of the ML. Then, they tried to heal each other and began spending more time together.

In my opinion, it could've been shorter, though. I skipped nearly all the scenes of the 'so-called self-righteous' sect leaders and the evil sect's scheme, crafted by the second lord of Lize Palace.

The friendship between Yu Sifeng, Chu Xuanji, Chu Linglong, Zhong Minyan, Xiao Yinhua, and Ruo Yu is one of the great aspects of the show. Their cute banter in the beginning is very funny before the show got angsty.

I become a hardcore fan of the ML because of this drama, but not for the FL (who is banned for tax evasion).

I've rewatched this, perhaps, 4 times already. Yeah, it's a very amazing drama and I love it very much. But, I do remind you to only look for the couple's scenes and skipped those unnecessary stuffs.

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When you mix an illogical story and a cliffhanger into one mess

Okay, I have to admit that I stumbled upon this show weeks ago just to kill time while waiting for Amidst A Snowstorm of Love's new episode.

The plot is nothing new for a xianxia drama and some scenes are rushed pretty quickly. I used fast forward and finished watching it under 2 hours.

The story focuses more on the FL and I feel that the ML got minimum screentime. There's no logic in the story and it follows typical xianxia tropes such as reincarnation, battle between immortals VS demons, and etc. The ending is a bit of cliffhanger and I wonder when will they start the second season.

The sets look quite nice plus the costumes and the headgears can be considered as decent (love the ML's hairstyle. It fits him so well). It's obviously a low-budget mini series, so don't expect too much of it.

It is an one-time watch so I don't think I will rewatch again soon.

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Stick through ups and downs together

Another day, another review. Just you know, I only finished LGIEF yesterday due to the fact that I couldn’t maintain my schedule properly and FOF was also airing at the same time (you can imagine how messy my life is). Thank goodness, after done with FOF, I picked this show up where I left off and continued through the story. FYI, I’ve been waiting for a year and had read the manga back and forth to grasp the leads’ explosive chemistry and the mesmerizing unique plot.

So, the story revolves around a modern-day girl named Ling Miaomiao, who loved to read fantasy novels by her favorite author, Fu Zhou. One day, Miaomiao was writing an overly critical review about Fu Zhou’s newest book titled Catching Demons when she was suddenly sucked into the book itself. Miaomiao quickly realized that she had accidentally triggered the system and entered the world of Catching Demons. To return to the real world, Miaomiao had to complete the plot and also deal with the enigmatic tsundere boy Mu Sheng, his doting sister Mu Yao alongside her lover Liu Fuyi. As she navigated through this otherworld, Miaomiao decided to change the whole story and rewrite their supposedly bad ending into a good one.

I must admit that LGIEF’s script is a very intelligent one. As we all know very well, transmigration plot has been recycled multiple times especially in mini dramas, however this show proves me wrong about it. It is not your typical old school cliché and also incorporates modern and traditional culture in one go, which adds a breath of fresh air for those who loathe cliché scenes and stuffs like that. I also like the moral lessons sprinkled in this show especially the one that I write above (that’s the life lesson which Miaomiao always emphasizes whenever they’re in perilous situations). My slight complain is that they never explain how Fu Zhou can transmigrate into the novel too and why he doesn’t have any memory of himself, but the memory of Mu Sheng instead :(

By the way, Esther Yu and Ryan Ding’s explosive chemistry is the main weapon which makes the watchers ship them more and more. I love the way they always bicker with each other and the emotional scenes are also heart-wrenching. I personally find that Esther Yu’s bubbly voice doesn’t annoy me and her acting skill has improved a lot too (I’m sorry for dropping Love Between Fairy and Devil tho). This is my first show of Ryan Ding and I must say that he embodies the role of Mu Sheng really well, giving off sarcastic bad boy aura from the get go lol.

However, the same can’t be said to the second couple. I’ve seen Zhu Xudan and Yang Shize back in Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact and I like their interactions there. Nonetheless, in this show, all they do is being poker-faced and never smile. I don’t whether the fault lies on the script (they’re required to act like NPCs cause they’re no real characters) or what, but I can’t detect any chemistry from them.

By the way, special mention to our bamboo kiddo Cuicui – he’s the cutest boy ever and the way he clings to his grandpa… SOOO CUTTTEEEE

Sets, wardrobes, cinematography, OSTs, BGMs are done right too. The ones that I particularly like are the Astronomical Bureau’s entrance and also the piano BGM when they’re forced to make a decision or complete a mission together.

Would I recommend it? YES, you should give this masterpiece a go! You won’t regret wasting your time in this show and my 32 hours is worth it. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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The best masterpiece of 2024

Honestly, I went here without any expectations plus I'm not a big fan of Wu Lei. However, I've watched Zhao Jinmai before and she has impressed me in 'Reset'. Months before this show aired, I've read the complete version of the novel so I will make my judgement based on what I watch and read.

The plot, in my opinion, is quite simple. The story basically tells us about two strangers bumping into each other in a bar on a rare snowstorm night. Then, the ML starts having a crush on the FL when they shared the same apartment days later. He also learns that she is a popular nine-ball player and it sparks more of his interest towards her. Because of her, he starts over his already-retired career as a snooker player and becomes a famous player once again.

I can say that the chemistry between the leads is swoon-worthy. I found myself constantly giggling in front of the screen for no reason. Wu Lei and Zhao Jinmai really nailed the role and fitted the description of Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo. I can't imagine any other leads being them. They were just too perfect in being a green-flag couple. Special mention to the supporting characters too, including Meng Xiaodong, Jiang Yang, Wu Wei, Chen An An, and Meng Xiaotian. I also love the master-disciple relationship between Lin Yiyang and Mr. He Wenfeng. I'm usually indifferent when it comes to the angst. However, I shed some tears in Mr. He's funeral scene.

OSTs are quite nice and adds more sweetness in the scene. I like nearly all of the OSTs in this drama. Usually, I would've skipped the OSTs, but this time I'm all ears for them.

I seldom rewatch dramas, so I think I will only watch some clips and try to rewatch it if I have spare time. Kudos to all the casts and the production team. All in all, this the best modern c-drama I've ever watched (the best gift for celebrating Lunar New Year). This is the end of my review. Enjoy your day and happy watching!!!

P.S.
The drama follows closely to the novel except they changed the shooting location from the USA to Finland (and France for a brief moment).

As for the ending, the novel ends after Lin Yiyang proposes to Yin Guo after singing a song. However, in the drama, 3 years later, they return to Finland and take Jiang Yang's son with them. In the last scene, they go back to Redfish (the bar where they met for the first time) and listen to 'Love and Shine' again. The final scene shows that they've left Redfish and walked together side by side. Nevertheless, it's a HE and you won't be disappointed.

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