Great Acting, Lazy Plot Execution/Production

I like the idea of the storyline but the entire production was lazy. I genuinely wanted to like this show due to Song Yiren. I love her as an actress. However, the problem wasn't her acting but her character He Juiling and every other character except Rong Yu. I did enjoy some parts of the beginning to episode 13, but that's where the story falls apart. The rest of the episodes explains grief, vengeance and assassination that was planned out making the heroine run around and jumping on buildings just to do nothing and to the point it looked like there was scenes cut from the episodes. The martial arts performances were done with little effort, which made me questioned if I was watching a douyin (China's equivalent to tiktok) performer. The lighting was too bright, which made every character's face look pale. The tone of the series couldn't decide whether it should take the plot seriously or make it into a comedy. There were multiple scenes that didn't fit the story or was just randomly put into the series. Overall, the storyline had potential but killed it for me with its production value, cinematography, characters and writing.

Wang You Shuo should be praised for his incredible performance as Rong Yu. Out of all the characters, he truly overshined everyone and carried the show. Literally. If it wasn't for his character's presence on the screen, the plot wouldn't had move forward.

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Best Fantasy Comedy of 2023, BUT Not the Best Show

The Starry Love has an excellent character development and consistency (for once) while incorporating humor that outshines and pokes fun at the amount of overused troupes. This fantasy drama is a roller coaster of emotions where it knows how and when to take its characters seriously and not so seriously. The director executes the pace of the story correctly, understanding when to slow down and when to move forward with storytelling. Unlike all the other cdramas I've seen, most scenes are either usually rushed or takes it long ass time with romance, political conversations and fight scenes. The Starry Love gets straight to the point, except for the last few episodes.

The series has its negatives, where its cinematography isn't well put together, down to its color lighting, obvious props standing out as unrealistic and awkward camera shots such as watching the characters behind cheap props and buildings. Lol

The last few 10 episodes did slip off the cliff in the direction of how the show wanted to end -to a point where you believe it was going to be a happy ending, then suddenly a problem shows up to break the characters apart and then its solved, everyone's happy again then another problem shows up, problem solved and then everyone's happy again, but then blah blah blah... - you get the point. It was rather exhausting watching the finale.

SPOILER ALERT: Main characters die but they're not because reincarnation is the solution to everything. Literally. That is the biggest problem I find fustrating with this series and particularly, all fantasy series! Lol

Overall, The Starry Love may not be the best show, but it is the best comedy I've ever seen in the longest time. I am impressed and satisfied by all the cast members and the execution of the direction it wants to viewers to know. Especially, the actor Chen Xing Xu who played four different distinctive characters in one series.

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Better than most reincarnated drama

Out of the numerous reincarnation storylines I've watched, this particular cdrama nailed it. The exploration of the past and present allowed for the main character, Hua Qian (brilliantly portrayed by Zhou Ye), to undergo significant character development. Hua Qian transforms from a character who has committed evil deeds to someone who rectifies her mistakes upon reincarnation. The portrayal of the internal familial dynamic is heartwarming and stands out as one of the most touching scenes I've seen in recent cdrama.

The characters are beautifully balanced and executed, with a focus on the characters who are relevant to the storyline. I enjoyed all the supporting characters, mainly the females. Except, Hua Rong Zhou a supporting character played by Zhang Yi Jie, who stood out as a character who felt out of place. His presence was disjointed, transitioning from a beggar to an obedient guard to a prodigious martial artist, a short journey of his own cultivation giving no meaning to anyone nor the plot. Including the romance, it was one of the weakest part of the series. It was more placed on the shelf for the last episodes. Other than that, the show is worth watching.

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A Cluttered Transmigrating Story

To be honest, I'm not sure where to start with this story. It begins with our main character, Lian Man'Er, entering a VR gaming world as a beta tester and gets stuck in the system. The only way out is to complete only one task, which takes an entire series. Another character, the male lead, Shen Nou, appears, hinting that he's in a game, but as the story progresses, it isn't clear. Its obvious he's from the real world.

What I appreciate about the story is the family relationships, which is the heart of the story. It explores favoritism, selfishness, healing and learning to get along with one another.

However, I dislike the story itself. It's unclear what the story wants to convey. I would have preferred the story as a period drama leaving out the random VR video game.

Joseph Zhang is a great actor, and I enjoyed his performances in other dramas like Fighter of Destiny, Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre, and Take My Brother Away. However, I the character he portrays as Shen Nou is his worst yet. I mainly watched this drama for him, but unfortunately, he was cast in such a disorganized story. This is my first time watching Tian Xi Wei's performance, and it's not bad. While the actresses and actors protraying the Lian family felt genuinely real, Man'Er and Shen Nou felt more like live action anime, webtoon characters.

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Started off strong, but fell short.

Although this series started off strong with beautiful cinematography and well-established characters, it fell short in the middle to the end. The conflicts between the main and secondary characters became repetitive with no character growth and for the minor villian characters, they were never explored. Only one character in this drama had growth but was butchered in the end. Despite enjoying the wuxia genre and its serious tone, certain character storylines were more intriguing and enjoyable to watch than the main characters. Ultimately, I stopped watching the drama at episode 21 due to its messy finale.

I would suggest giving My Journey to You a try. The show delves into a martial arts universe that contains engaging familial and romantic conflicts. The fight choreography is entertaining, although be prepared for a lot of slow-motion shots. The entire cast deserves praise for their exceptional portrayal of their respective characters.

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Overused Trope Isekai, Transmigration Done Right.

I've watched many transmigration and isekai tropes for the past 10 years and I have to say, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy does a phenomenonal job in executing the storyline and main characters. This series reminded me of Chinese Paladin with Hu Ge and Liu Yi Fei of how I fell in love with cdrama series all over again, with their OST, storyline and casting, character, dialogues, action and wardrobe. It's like anticipating if Esther Yu were to transmigrate into Chinese Paladin.....wait she already did. Not that she isekaied but play a role in Chinese Paladin. LMAO

The cast is good but not the greatest. Our two main leads deserves a standing ovation in their roles. They make you believe they are the characters as well as the famous cameo actors and actresses that come along that make you care for the characters. I haven't seen Gillian Chung play a villian since The Twins Effect/King of Blades. She hasn't aged and still beautiful, pretty and gorgeous as always. I haven't seen her character in this series yet, but I'm excited. However, I'm not enjoying the secondary main leads mainly due to their acting who seems like their reading the script rather becoming their character. I do have to give it to Zhu Xudan, who has improved. I watched her in Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and her acting isn't natural and she's quite stiff making it seem like she's playing the same roles or rather herself. But in this role, I see improvements where she's more relaxed and acts like she is her character, Mu Yao, at least sometimes.

The music doesn't stand out. I tried to like the OST, but none of them stood out except, when the characters are fighting in action. I like that music best. You can hear the Qin/Guzheng playing in the background with the beat of drums and remix which sounds like Naruto fighting his enemies.

A lot of series that was adapted from manhua's and novel medias have been disappointing. But here, Conquering the Black Lotus/Guide to Capturing the Black Lotus and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy have been great so far, and no complaints. I'm happy they took inspiration from the manhua where the clothing in the manhua comes to life in Esther Yu and Ding Yuxi. They kept their color green for the female lead and yellow for the male lead. The costume designs doesn't look cheap and lazily made as if they're cosplaying. I never read the novel, so I wouldn't how good it is, but I'm sure the manhua follows the novel. I'm satisfied in what the director and crew has done in this series. They definitely deserve an award for producing such an amazing show. Lastly, their CGI isn't the best but tolerable to watch.

Overall, I'm excited to finish this drama and finally get to enjoy a show worth watching. I just hope the ending isn't disappointing like all the other ones I've come across who had a great storyline like My Journey to You and My Journey to Love with terrible endings. My rating may change if the ending is done right. Fingers cross.

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