Do you know why Heroes are short-lived? Here is the answer...

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Thoughts before starting and after watching:

I wasn't sure before starting this, whether I should give it a try or not... Actually, I was new to Cdramas that time and was searching for good dramas and also not into BLs (many people titled it as BL and the novel itself is a BL).

I am glad that I watched it... I don't know how the original novel is, but this drama is not a BL for sure... It is more like a friendship drama to me.... As many fans state they feel something more than friendship between main leads... but honestly, in my region, this refers to friendship among people that one can go to this extent for his bosom friend. The main focus of drama is on the core of the story, that is very interesting and worth to be praised... So, from my perspective, it's not a BL but a friendship drama which holds so much to learn about life...to come clear, I believe, majority of fans that see it as BL are the book fans, but I respect others opinion.. so no hate to anyone.

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Plot:

The pugilist world is ruled by the powerful Wen clan, which dominates over the smaller Lan, Jiang, Jin and Nie Clans.

Qishan Wen Clan, use fire-based techniques, dominating the land with its arrogance and might but secretly practice unorthodox methods of cultivation...Residence - Nightless City...

Gusu Lan Clan, the most righteous sect, specialized in music techniques, values etiquette, discipline and orthodoxy the most, and have more than 3000 family rules... Residence - Cloud Reassess...

Yunmeng Jiang Clan, skilled in water-related techniques, values passion and compassion... Residence - Lotus Pier.

Lanling Jin Clan, the richest clan. But along with being rich, they are also equally arrogant... Residence - Golden Koi Tower.

Qinghe Nie Clan, specialized in sabre techniques. Residence - Unclean Realm.

Wei Ying, the first disciple of Jiang Clan and raised by Jiang Clan Leader, sent to Cloud Reassess along with Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi (children of Jiang Clan Leader) to take lessons from Lan Clan... The disciples from other clans also came to Cloud Reassess to take lessons.

While studying and training in Cloud Reassess, Wei Ying strikes up an unconventional friendship with Lan Zhan, the second son of Lan Clan Leader and one of "Twin Jades of Lan".... They accidentally discovered the secret of the Yin Metal and after following the clues, they discover that the head of the Wen clan is the evil mastermind behind a series of plots that would wreak havoc in the world. However, their attempt to foil the Wen Clan Leader's wicked plans go wrong. A series of disastrous events made Wei Ying to gave away his spiritual powers to Jiang Cheng and forced him to put his screws on "Demonic Cultivation" by practicing music, to protect himself and others...

His unmatched powers and unrestrained personality have caused almost everyone to view him as a threat and he was being ostracized to use unorthodox methods of cultivation and to protect the innocent remnants of the Wen Clan after its fall... Apart, Lan Zhan, no one was by his side at the end of the day...
And in a dramatic turn of events, Wei Ying died.

Sixteen years later, Wei Ying is revived and brought back to life by some demonic means by Mo Xuanyu... Wei Ying takes up the identity of his summoner and soon reunited with Lan Zhan and become involved in solving the mysteries of the present and finding the ultimate villain behind current conspiracies, his own death and treacherous schemes of past.

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Introduction to Key Characters:

Wei Ying (Xiao Zhan): Courtesy name "WuXian".... The infamous "Yiling Patriarch", a free-spirited, friendly, clever, mischievous and straightforward young man. Has a fearless, unrestrained and compassionate personality... renowned for his excellent swordsmanship before but later for unrivalled demonic powers... His spritual sword and demonic flute named as "Suibian" and "Chen Qing" respectively.
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Lan Zhan (Wang YiBo): Courtesy name "WangJi"..... Renowned as "Hanguang Jun", a cold and aloof person, but justice-loving, observant, clever and disciplined young man. A prodigy in both music and swordsmanship... He is the kind of person who doesn't attach himself to anyone easily, but once he does, he can go against everyone to protect his bosom friend... His spiritual sword and guqin named as "Bichen" and "Wangji" respectively.
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Jiang Cheng (Wang Zhuo Cheng): Courtesy name "WanYin".... Competitive, strict and passionate... sometimes ruthless and arrogant but still care for his loved ones... and for an age, when young, Wei Ying's partner-in-crimes.
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Wen Ning (Yu Bin): Courtesy name "Qiong Lin"... Well known as "Ghost General"... A grateful and loyal person... He is actually a very sweet and loving person but fate never do good to such type of people....
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Jin Guang Yao (Zhu Zan Jin): Got a title of "Liangfang Zun" and also known as "Meng Yao". The illegitimate son of Clan Leader Jin.... Loving, kind and humble on surface but deep down equally manipulative, shrewd, cruel and scheming.
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Nie Huai Sang (Ji Li): Second Young Master and later Leader of Nie Clan... Timid, carefree and fun-loving but truly slick and cunning from inside.
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Wen Qing (Meng Zi Yi): A well-known physician of Wen Clan... a great friend and grateful person... Skilled in swordsmanship and her medical skills are unparalleled.

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Acting:

The whole cast was new to me and I admit, the acting by the whole cast is just marvelous... Mostly artists had not much of acting experience that time, so took time to get into the characters but once they did, they gave remarkable performances... One can feel their development and improvement easily... and can't help but praising their excellent abilities from the bottom of heart....
I had never watched a drama with Xiao Zhan or Wang YiBo before this but now I am a fan of Zhan and YiBo and many of the actors worked in this drama.

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My Impressions:

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan really got my heart and I have no words to explain how my much I loved these two characters. Opposite personality like fire and ice but best friends and loyal to each other.

When Wei Ying died, he regretted his decisions because at the end of the day, he couldn't save any of them he wanted to protect and felt guilty and responsible for all those deaths.
On the other hand, Lan Zhan regretted his decisions to not support Wei Ying from very start and couldn't save him when he wanted to protect and support him.
But.. when life gave them another chance to make up for their regrets... they cherished each other 'cause Wei Ying didn't have anyone who trusted him except Lan Zhan... and Lan Zhan didn't have someone like Wei Ying who understood him the most...

Jiang Cheng , Wen Qing and Wen Ning were strong but really pitiful and I don't hate Jiang Cheng, he did everything for Wei Ying he could, despite not knowing his purpose/reason of choosing the demonic path, but gave up when he lost his whole family after the death of his sister.

Jin Guang Yao proved that villains are not born but made... I don't hate him for what he did to his father 'cause that serves him right but that does not give him right to make others' life miserable who have never hurted him.I'm surprised to see Nie Huai Sang's real abilities....the way he managed to take his revenge, left the viewer in shock. All the juniors SiZhui, JingYi, RuLan and others were pretty hilarious and amazing....

Xiao XingChen and Song ZiChen were like the shadows of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, but life didn't give them another chance and I really hate Xue Yang for parting them, though he regretted his actions, but now there was no use for it....

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OSTs:

OSTs are heavenly... the beautiful lyrics defines the characters' personality in a poetic way... Wei Ying's flute with Lan Zhan's guqin are such an unparalleled match. The ending theme "Unrestrained" is repeating on my playlist and I can't get enough of it.

"Brew a cup of life and death's joy and grief, to honour a young man;
The bright moon is still the same, so there is no need for sadness..
Why not soar high and free as a bird with the winds and waves;
And sing this one song together to the world..
And sing this one song to the world.."
~ Unrestrained

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Pace of Story and Life Lesson:

Its pace is slow in starting but it picks up after episode 8 really well and keep the viewer hooked to it till the very end...

The main lesson I learnt from this drama is "the world only knows to shift the blame no matter how much they wronged a person, they just found some good reasons and a common target to shift the blame from one to another and never feel sorry for anyone, so do whatever you want to do without concerning the world and be true to yourself."....

"Died at the Nightless City..
Who would believe that the young man told no lies?
For justice and for a promise I took up the flute and gave up the sword...
The rumours go ahead of me..
What's the point of arguing that my loyalty is still the same?
Everything in the world involves a thousand people, with a thousand opinions and a thousand faces....."
~ Song Ends with Chen Qing (Wei WuXian)


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Recommendation:

It's a 10 star drama for me without a doubt...
I am totally satisfied with the ending but still wish for a season 2...

If you are not watching The Untamed, you are at loss buddy...you are missing a whole beautiful journey...and such a masterpiece.

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Journey ahead is full of dangers. Do you still want to step on this path and know who your enemy is?

Overview of Plot:-

Fan Xian, the illegitimate son of Fan Jian, grew up far from the capital city in Danzhou, in the care of his grandmother. From the very young age, Fan Xian has intelligence of adults and memory of an entirely different era which in not even recorded in the history books of Qing Kingdom. His mother was killed shortly after giving birth to him and left him in the protection of her blind guard-cum-friend Wu Zhu, who is not less than a grandmaster of martial arts.

At the very young age, Fan Xian mastered the martial arts as well as poisons. As he grows up, he wanted to explore the capital city and live a carefree life there.

Finally, Fan Xian was invited to return to the capital city but an assassination attempted to kill him, breached his peace of mind. This made him to question his identity. He decided to investigate the perpetrator and why someone wants to take his insignificant life.

He returned to capital and get to know that he is already engaged with someone he never had seen before. After a number of events, he found out that his mother, Ye Qing Mei, was a mysterious yet genius lady, some very powerful people in capital favour him and are his backers because of his mother.

What's so special about Fan Xian that makes these powerful people favour him? What kind of person his mother was and how and why was she killed? What relation had she with those powerful people? Why so many people wants to kill Fan Xian? Why has he the memory of a different world? Will he ever be able to live his life care freely when everyone is plotting against him at every step?
Dive in to know more.

Key Characters:-

Fan Xian (Zhang Ruo Yun):- Genius at learning things, untamed, playful and crafty, combined with a loyal and warm heart. He has sense of humour that no one can match upto. Always unexpected, especially in dire situations. Exceptional in martial arts and poison at his young age. However crafty and powerful he is, he never lack compassion towards innocent or tried to covet power. His every action has solid reasons which we can't even imagine. He stands out with his abilities and genuine care for his family and friends. An unparalleled male lead I have ever encountered.

Chen Ping Ping (Wu Gang):- Director of Overwatch Council and a slick person. His schemes precede him. His cunningness and ruthlessness always masked under his warm demeanour. His schemes will leave you in awe.

Emperor of Qing (Chen Duo Ming):- A person whose thoughts are deep hidden in his heart and no one has ever seen through him. Nothing can escape his sight. What he really wants is yet to be revealed and no one has ever been able to figure it out. He trusts nobody and also has a warm demeanour, yet his ruthlessness and scheming are no child's play. The best chessmaster.

Wang Qi Nian (Tian Yu):- He works in Overwatch Council. Excellent in tracking someone and a money lover. He is funny and cunning at the same time.

Lin Wan'er (Li Qing):- The illegitimate daughter of Princess Royal Li Yun Rui and Prime Minister Lin Ruo Fu. She is a sickly and gentle girl. A arrange marriage with Fan Xian was bestowed upon her by Emperor and she is the key to control Imperial Treasury.

My Views:-

This is such an interesting drama from starting to the end. The story itself is captivating, so are the characters. I couldn't help myself but to binge watched it. It's full of action, adventure, mystery and political intrigue that never been seen before, with balanced humour sprinkled throughout the drama. Every second spent to watch this, is definitely worth.

Storyline is one of the best I have ever seen in dramas so far. It keeps the audience guessing all the time as to what will happen next, no matter how much you try to guess, it never turns out to be exactly what you thought but is always unexpected. The schemes will blow your mind. Every action, every detail, every expression of characters is crucial to the plot. The story unravels like an onion, just when you start to think you can predict the next action of the characters or the plot, there’s always more to it than meets the eye. When you think you know who is the schemer there comes something which will play with the mind. This is one of those dramas where no matter how much you praise the writing it can never be enough. Hats off to the makers for creating such a brilliant masterpiece.

This drama is full of interesting characters. Not only the male lead but support characters are fascinating. Most of the characters are multi-layered and capricious. No character is poker-faced. Fan Xian, Chen Ping Ping, Princes, Li Yun Rui and Emperor Qing are some of those which will make you thrilled with their schemes and actions. Never trust them fully, there is always something hidden, even in their micro-expressions. The Emperor Qing is the most sharp and scheming emperor I have ever encountered in dramaworld. Wang Qi Nian, Fan Ruo Ruo, Uncle Wu Zhu, Prime Minister Lin and Fan Jian are also noteworthy.

I loved how Fan Xian handled his relationships, whether it was with his family and friends or his enemies. Drama doesn't focus on romance so it feels somewhat cliché. Despite her being significant to the story, Female lead character is not developed well enough, so is her screen presence. But there are some other female characters like Li Yun Rui, Haitang Duo Duo, Emperor Qi and Fan Ruo Ruo who are worthy of praise.

Acting:-

Speaking of acting and casting, I can’t imagine anyone else other than Zhang Ruo Yun as Fan Xian. His physique is perfect for this role and his acting didn't let me down. How shameless, cunning and ruthless Fan Xian is and just, funny and warm-hearted at the same time! Zhang Ruo Yun perfectly nailed this character. Other actors like Wu Gang (Chen Ping Ping), Chen Duo Ming (Emperor Qing), Liu Duan Duan (Li Cheng Ze), Tian Yu (Wang Qi Nian) and Gao Shu Gong (Fan Jian) also did marvelous job with their characters. Additionally, the child actor played Young Fan Xian also gave remarkable performance. All other casts also did a great job.

Other Elements:-

There are some modern elements added in the drama which make it more fun to watch as it's also a sci-fi and Fan Xian has the memory of 21st century.

If we talk about costumes, the production is done well, so are the costumes, especially for Fan Xian. All the action scenes are certainly splendid. OSTs, I would say are average.

Ending and Recommendation:-

We still have two more seasons up ahead so it's understandable that the ending is a cliffhanger. There remains many schemes yet to come into light. But by the end of this season, Fan Xian now has a life goal to achieve. I'm excited for the season 2.

"The wind so swift, the sky so wide, apes wail and cry; Water so clear and beach so white, birds wheel and fly.
The boundless forest sheds lits leaves shower by shower; The endless river rolls its waves hour after hour.
A thousand miles from home, I'm grieved at autumn's plight; I'll now and then for years, alone I'm on this height.
Living in times so hard, at frosted hair I pine; Cast down by poverty, I have to give up wine."
- Fan Xian

For me Joy of life refers to when you have someone to protect with your life. This is a must watch drama without any doubt. Highly recommended from me.

A True Masterpiece!

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An Unforgettable Journey of Life, Love, Revenge, and Duty.

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The Plot:
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The plot is basically the political intrigue between the two states: the State of Wu and the State of An...

There was a fierce battle between the two states, the Wu state was defeated by the An state, and Emperor Wu was taken hostage in An. Due to Emperor Wu's stupidity and arrogance, Wu was badly defeated... The An demanded ransom of 1,000,000 gold tales to be delivered by a Prince of Wu as envoy to release the Emperor Wu unscathed...
Both the states have their powerful spy/detective agencies.. the Wu's Six Realm Hall and the An's Scarlet Gaurds..

• Six Realm Hall consists of six paths and also skilled in Martial Arts:
1. Heaven Path: in-charge of royal security.
2. Human Path: monitors all the officials.
3. Asura Path: does work on prostitution to collect intel.
4. Hungry Ghost Path: good at making traps.
5. Animal Path: specializes in spying.
6. Hell Path: famous for assassination, resourcefulness and intel.

• Brief discription of positions in Scarlet Guards:
1. The Chief
2. Left and Right Envoy
3. Red Emissary
4. Purple Emissary
5. White Sparrow

Ren Ru Yi, the infamous former Left Envoy of Scarlet Gaurds 'Ren Xin' who faked her own death to escape from the bloody organisation and execution punishment decreed by Emperor An, due to a false accusation... Ren Xin was renowned as the best assassin of the world who never missed her target.. Ru Yi rejoined the Scarlet Guards as White Sparrow to seek revenge for her fallen friends and benefactors, but to avoid detection, she fled to Wu state and became a member of Wu State's escort delegation..

Ning Yuanzhou, the member of Hell Path of the Six Realm Hall, renowned for his excellent martial arts, intelligence and remarkable spying abilities... He was the part of calvary sent to battle with Emperor. After surviving the battle, he wanted to live a carefree life, so faked his own death, but could not succeed and was summoned back to become the Chief of Six Hall Realm with the mission of rescuing the Emperor Wu. He wasn't intended to accept the offer but to clear the name of his comrades (who were accused to betray the Emperor in war), he accepted it as the last task..

The escort delegation is dispatched from the Wu capital with ransom money and a Prince, who actually is a Princess, named Yang Ying, and very close to Ning Yuanzhou. Yuanzhou appointed as chief member of State's escort delegation together with Yu Shi San, Qing Zhao, Yuan Lu, Sun Lang and Ren Ru Yi.
The story is actually about their experience together, throughout the journey of saving the Emperor and innocent people from war to make peace in the world...

The plot is very interesting and captivating, there are no boring episode and paced well..

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Introduction to Main Characters:
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Ren Ru Yi (Liu Shi Shi): A former top-assassin of the Scarlet Guards, fearless, ruthless, and highly skilled in martial arts... A badass woman and beauty with brain. She has cold and aloof personality. Her intelligence is as high as her skills in martial arts... Used to work alone on the missions and relied on her abilities to make success... Always plans a step ahead of her enemies... Didn't know what the meaning of living, assassination and revenge were the only things she knew as meaning of life before meeting Yuanzhou... One of the best female leads to me so far...
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Ning Yuanzhou (Liu Yu Ning): Member of Hell Path and new chief of Six Realm Hall. A warm-hearted person, brave, kind, cleaver and a good leader. He understands the value and meaning of life, friendship, brotherhood and love... Aspired for a carefree life far from the royal court and politics... Has a sense of humour and calm personality... A top-notch martial artist and his intelligence is second to none... Skilled in assassination and spying... I don't even have words to explain more how great this character is...
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Yu Shi San (Fang Yi Lun): A free-spirited person, well-known playboy and master of makeup. Member of Asura Path of Six Realm Hall and knows his way around women. He can be said master of gossips and humour..hahaha! I guess, without him, the drama would be so boring... Mainly skilled in crossbow but can use every weapon.. brave, cleaver and loyal to his comrades... He stated it again and again that he is wanderer and does not want to stop for any woman even if he love her sincerely, and if he stop he will die... but still knows to respect women and his limits...
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Princess Yang Ying (He Lan Dou): An unrespected and unloved 16-year-old princess of State of Wu, seeking for love. She was timid at first and bowed down to everyone but her character shows the most development in the whole drama, from timid and crybaby to brave, cleaver, intelligent and mature...
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Yuan Lu (Chen You Wei): Member of Hungry Ghost Path. An orphan and 18-year-old young man raised by Yuanzhou, skilled in handicrafts and traps. He is an optimistic person and loyal to Yuanzhou. Treats Yuanzhou as his real brother and can do anything for his sake. He is the one everyone dotes on...
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Qian Zhao (Wang Yi Zhe): Member of Heaven Path, usually silent and skilled in attacks and medicines. He always bear a poker face but knows all the gossips around and never stand back in teasing someone...hahaha!
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Sun Lang (Li Huan): Member of Human Path and knows his way around animals and birds. Skilled in defence techniques and always the last one to know a gossip..hahaha!
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Li Tong Guang (Chang Hua Sen): A 22-year-old boy and the first disciple of Ren Xin, a marquis of An and General in An state army. He lead the army in battle and captured Emperor Wu alive. Has controlling, obsessive, impulsive, rude, cleaver and arrogant personality. Obsessed with his master and take many reckless decisions, disregarded many lives and rationality due to obsession, despite his cleverness. I hoped for his character development, throughout the drama, but whenever I was feeling like he get mature, everytime he did something that can not be digested..
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Some support characters are also worth mentioning like Empress Zhao Jie, Jin Mei Niang and Chu Yue...
This is one of the few dramas where I have more than one favourite character like Yu Shi San, Ning Yuanzhou, Ren Ru Yi, Qing Zhao, Yang Ying and Yuan Lu, they all are my favourites and I loved them all.... Almost every character get the sufficient time and development to shine and use their skills. They are not just fillers to the story but are very important to plot progression and balancing the seriousness of the story...

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Acting and Chemistry:
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This whole cast is new to me except Fang Yi Lun and I can't help but appreciating their tremendous acting abilities again and again. This is kinda refreshing for me to see Yi Lun in a completely different character from the previous one and he showed that he is an all-rounder and has versatility. Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi proved their excellent abilities. I am most impressed with the girl He Lan Dou who played Yang Ying...when she played a prince/boy I was doubting myself whether she actually was a girl or a boy in real!.. The main couple has decent chemistry, it's not top-notch but above good... They resolved their issues by healthy communication in no time, even if they have arguments and has healthy relationship...

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OSTs and Costumes:
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OSTs are so good and worthy to be played repeatedly...
Costumes are done so well for everyone especially the uniform of Six Realm Hall. But, the hair style Ren Ru Yi wore most of the time wasn't to my liking much...

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Conclusion:
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This drama focuses on many types of relationships other than the romantic love and has many plotlines... The brotherhood, the friendship, the love, the obsession, all are worth to be mentioned and portrayed beautifully...
There are many life lessons in the drama which add value to the personality of a person and quality of life...like respect for women and her feelings, brotherhood and loyalty...
Production is done well and fighting scenes are great while politics can be categorised as decent...

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Ending and Recommendation:
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I'm a little confused about the ending whether it's sad or happy 'cause I don't get what happened in the last five minutes... To be honest, the opinion on ending is a subjective matter here... For me, I think it's a sad ending but I'm fine with it. In my opinion, not every story needs a happy ending, sometimes tragedies are the most memorable and best fit with the situation...

As for recommendation, from my above thoughts, you might have guessed that this is a highly recommended drama from me... So go for it!

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Plot had potential but Bad Storytelling and Editing wasted it.

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This plot is not somewhat new in Xianxia genre but could have been more interesting if emphasis given on flow of storytelling. It feels weird and jumps from one scene to another which makes no sense sometimes.
Some scenes don't make sense why they are included in the particular situation.

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Now come to the acting and chemistry part.
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To be honest, acting was not worst but yeah not exceptionally good either. It was watchable to me so I feel it was in just okay category. The expressions of leads wasn't on the point sometimes, let alone micro-expressions.

I couldn't feel chemistry between leads when they were in Heavenly realm or in the Demon/Devil realm. It was almost bland without any spark.

A little spark I feel, when they were in human realm and Female lead was a General. This is the most interesting and well done arc of the whole drama. I think makers should have extended this part of the story.

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Characters
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I like SiMa Wang Yue and Chen Yan more than Wei Zhi and Yan Yue. Nan Mu was also good. Wei Ling Yue had potential to do something good but she end up being a toxic person.

Some characters are just annoying and waste of screen time like Yi Er. They didn't do anything in progression of the plot.

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Ending was rushed and bad. I don't have problem with sad endings but this one was exceptionally bad. Many characters died without any solid reason and efforts, like they were just for dying. I'm not even impressed with main villian as he could have done something more interesting but what he did was all predictable.

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Costumes were good but hair accessories of Female lead were too much even when she don't have money and comes from a poor family, though I like it in some scenes.

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So, in the conclusion, I won't recommend it to anyone.

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Home is our driving force and Love is the reason we stay put. A Family can make or destroy a person.

Overview of Plot:-

The plot mainly revolves around the female lead Mai Cheng Huan, who belongs to a middle-class family. The drama depicts the personal development of characters and value of relationships and choices in a person's life. This is a family drama mainly focused on mother-daughter relationship or it won't be wrong to say it's focus on how to deal with controlling parents.

Key Characters:-

Mai Cheng Huan (Yang Zi):- The almost perfect girl from a middle-class family. She is mature, responsible and cheerful. She is an independent lady who supports her family financially the most. A bit emotional but determined and confident. The urge of doing her best and earn more along with keeping everyone happy around her is what she aspires to. She wants to give her best in her relationships and career.

Yao Zhi Ming (Xu Kai):- An oversees returnee and a successful person in his career. He is money-minded and cunning who only seeks benefits in business and never allow any feelings to meddle in his business. He believes in keeping private and professional lives seperate. Zhi Ming is not a type of person who always pulls a long face and never smiles.. instead he is a bit cheerful type. He knows how to take advantage of others to get his way. Money is what gives him satisfaction as he believes it's the only thing which will never abandon him. He doesn't know what is the warmth of having a loving family as he never had one.

"Nobody can avoid the temptation of power, and those who can avoid it, it's because they don't have power."
-Yao Zhi Ming

Liu Wan Yu (He Sai Fei):- The mother of female lead. She is controlling and overprotective type but deep down not a bad person. She wants her family to be happy and see them leading a rich life. In order to make the life of her family easy she did everything regardless of right and wrong which made her character overbearing.

My Impressions:-

The drama perfectly fits under the family theme. Don't expect it to be romcom though a modicum of romance is there. This drama is more focused on family relationships, how to handle them or deal with them. There are always some people in our lives whom we don't want to hurt but when these people start to think that they can control our lives then it's time to take stand for ourselves. This is what this drama wants to convey all along.

Female lead's mother is a domineering character though she thinks good of her family but her controlling nature ruins everything for her. She is a bit greedy as well as believes in showing off wealth. In her opinion, money brings happiness and parents have right to fully control the lives of their children. Children needs to obedient, they mustn't go against the parents and whatever parents do, regardless of right and wrong, it's always the best for their children, that's what she believes. Because of her this nature, she falls out with her loving family eventually. Though she enraged me many times as her acts weren't all acceptable but I never think she is an annoying character to be honest.

Female lead's father is also not that great. He never spoke up whenever he must had. He never tried to stop his wife's ridiculous acts or talk some sense into her. Just an agreeable and obedient husband. He lacks the sense of being an elder of the family. With a personality like this he can never be considered a good husband nor a good father in my opinion.

The best relationship in this drama is the sister-brother relationship between female lead and her brother. In addition to that, the leads relationship is also great because they support each other when needed, they helped each other to grow higher and to become the best of their own-selves. Furthermore, they respected one another's career and family. They never meddle in one another's problems yet always remain supportive of each other. Their relationship developed slowly yet firmly.

Grandma Mai is also a worth praising character here. She is the wisest person in this drama. She was an emotional support to both Cheng Huan and Zhi Ming.

"We are free to cry, but we must cry with good reasons."
-Grandma Mai

And there is one more good character and that is the secretary and best friend of Zhi Ming. He is such a fun boy and never failed to make me smile everytime he was on screen.

Female lead's ex is one of the worst character, the boy has no backbone. He wants to marry Cheng Huan but can't deal with his own parents, neither want to built his own career nor respects Huan's career, playing games all day and still wants to marry her. Initially, he looks like a cute and lovely boy but as the story develops more his inability to take stand for right thing came into light.
"Only love can not provide everything in life, one needs to be realistic and also work hard to be financially independent."

Secondary leads' relationship is more looks like a filler to me which was definitely not needed. Their chemistry seems awkward and I couldn't make myself invested in their relationship.

There are also few complaints I have. Firstly, Xu Kai as being the male lead has very less screen time especially in first half. If we analyze justly, he even has less screen time than the female lead's mother who is listed as support role. Honestly speaking, female lead's mother seems the only main character here and other are looking like support characters including female lead and male lead. Apart from that, his back story wasn't handled well as a main lead.

Additionally, I didn't like the take of drama on parents mistakes. The drama tries to justify wrong actions of parents in the name of them being parents and demands forgiveness and a second chance for them no matter how misdeed they did in past.

For example, Huan's ex's father had an extramarital affair with his secretary. When they get caught then the drama takes an u-turn on his actions after he was betrayed by his own lover. He started to singing praise for Huan and drama tried to show that he had an extramarital affair because his children are not close to him, and they just want his money and such kind of things. But in my views, it's still can not justify him having an affair.

Same goes with Zhi Ming's father. He didn't spare a single chance to destroy his own family. Had Zhi Ming not been this sensible and without Grandma's support to him, his life would have destroyed already. Yet the drama advocates for forgiveness to his father that now he wanted to change so Zhi Ming should forgive him. When a person is this irresponsible towards his own family and almost destroyed them then he doesn't even have the right to ask forgiveness or to get close again.

Acting:-

Acting is superb from all of the cast. Yang Zi and Xu Kai are amazing as always. I have nothing more to say about them. I'm amazed that Xu Kai and Yang Zi used their own voices in this drama. He Sai Fei did her job perfectly as she made me enraged time to time throughout the drama.

Conclusion:-

I tried my best to include everything I could in this review without spoiling much. For me, acting and leads relationship is the best thing in this drama, OSTs are average but plot isn't that great or exceptional nor the execution of the story. I enjoyed some parts and there are many I disliked and wanted to skip though I never skipped. Personally, I loved the conversations between Grandma, Zhi Ming, Cheng Huan and Cheng Zao. If come to number of episodes then 37 is big number for this plotline, 25 to 28 episodes would have been enough.

"Life is like opening a blind box. When you make a choice, you never know if it's wrong or right."
-Mai Cheng Huan

In the end, it's upto you whether you wanna watch this drama or not.

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The One Who Never Betrayed Him....

Overview of Plot:

Lighter and Princess is the story that follows Li Xun and Zhu Yun, students of Computer Science... Li Xun, a true genius in computer programming in the internet world... The top scorer in the college entrance examination but not interested in cooperating with his batchmates and loves to work alone. Zhu Yun, a pampered girl from a wealthy family, enrolled in the Computer Science Department because her parents made this decision for her.

Li Xun and Zhu Yun are like fire and water and don't have a favorable opinion of each other from their very first interaction, yet fate made them encounter each other again and again. What will happen when they start to fall for each other, will the water evaporate or the fire go out, dive in to know more...

Key Characters:

Li Xun (Chen Fei Yu): An arrogant and aloof genius who loves to work alone. Making friends is a waste of time for him. His computer is his wife and coding is his life. A hardworking person who believes in his own abilities. He desires and works hard to develop a software to help society. He is a person who has flaws but also many qualities. As a leader, he thinks well of the members of his team but his method of doing things for their development may not be right for everyone. As I said previously, he has flaws, it's one of his flaws, but it's what makes him more realistic.

Zhu Yun (Zhang Jing Yi): An innocent and cheerful girl and princess of her parents. Not a clingy type but actually intelligent, loyal, and responsible person. Because of her protective parents, she is a bit naive and not fully aware of the cruelty of the world. She used to be an obedient girl and her parents made every decision for her in life until she met Li Xun. She is a person who knows how to acknowledge other's intelligence and never afraid of admitting her defeat.

My Impressions:

This drama is literally good. The thing that touched my heart is that Zhu Yun never betrayed Li Xun even after that much happened between them. She never broke up with him even when Li Xun tried every means to make that happen. She supported him when everyone was against him. Though Li Xun is a genius, but in my opinion, after his fall, without Zhu Yun supporting him unconditionally, he would have never achieved whatever he wanted to do lawfully. She is one of the best female characters I have come across. She is loyal and determined towards her love.

As for Li Xun, I think his own behavior isn't that great to become a favorite of mine. He has flaws, so has everyone, but that doesn't justify rude behavior with others. One might be a genius but when living in society, one still needs to be considerate of the feelings of his close ones or friends. Being rude to anyone in public might lead to hostility and if the other person holds grudges, it will lead to downfall even of a genius. Teaching someone by scolding in public or by being rude can never be a good way, even if it's for their own good. People may justify his behavior saying that he is a genius so he can be rude because he has ability and is realistic but that's not how society works. If rude behavior and arrogance can be justified because he is a genius then no one should complain about what happened to him after that and should not put the blame on Gao Jian Hong, his jealousy is also justifiable by then.

Additionally, compared to Li Xun, Gao Jian Hong was way worse. He wanted to compete with Li Xun. He could have done it fair and square but the means he adopted can never be acceptable. He doesn't know how to admit his defeat and lacks the bravery of admitting other person's intelligence being higher than his. This lead him to end up losing everything, including his own abilities, intelligence, and of course his friends which could have become his most important support in his life. He destroyed everything he once had by his own hands because of jealousy and hatred.

There is one more character I loved other than Zhu Yun. It's Tian Xiu Zhu. He is so fine, not having a single flaw. He has a sense of humor and is very supportive. He is definitely boyfriend material.

Acting and Chemistry:

Acting was pretty good by leads and also from other actors. Despite the young age of leads they delivered great emotions making viewers smile with them and feeling heartbreak with them. From being naive and cheerful to mature and serious, Zhang Jing Yi played everything beautifully, so did Chen Fei Yu. The chemistry both the leads have, can be considered as top-notch. Li Xun's teasing is on another level, honestly.

Overall it was an emotional ride from comedy to heart-wrenching moments... For me, the most worth watching thing in this drama is Zhu Yun. She is the reason I stayed with this drama. Stream or skip it's up to you now..

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Underdeveloped Female Lead Character and Story. Overrated to me.

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Let's start with 'why I choose to watch this?'
So, I chose to give it a try because of e-sport and romance as main theme, secondly for Yang Yang and thirdly it is quite popular.
I hadn't seen any work of the Main Lead actress before, so this was the first one. And to be honest, I'm very disappointed in the actress and dissatisfied with the makers.
ML is okay, but in my opinion this character doesn't suit Yang Yang, maybe because of the storyline. I have seen a few works of him, most of them are amazing, but this one 'a big no'.

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Now come to the plot and characters:
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The setting is in University. FL (Bai Wei Wei) is a student in CS engineering as well as ML (Xiao Nai), but ML is senior to her.

So Xiao Nai is quite popular in college and Wei Wei is among few girls who study CS and believes 'if boys can be smart in this field then why girls can't be'. So she chose to study CS and is quite a good student & intelligent and wants to prove herself.

She plays online games and met Xiao Nai through this game, but didn't know that this person is actually her senior. They made a team in the game and get success in their almost every mission as Xiao Nai is one of the best players in the game as well as Wei Wei. They both started to fall for each other. Xiao Nai discovered her identity first and asked her out, while she didn't know how exactly is Xiao Nai looks like in person, yet. They met, and she found out that the online partner she fell for is actually the senior she admired. Their real life relationship starts from here.

I admit, it was a good relationship as their was no misunderstandings, they trust and respect each other fully. But, it feels lacking in terms of chemistry. The expressions of main lead actress seems off sometimes.
There is little to no character development in the whole drama.

Xiao Nai started his own company but Wei Wei, she's just there to be a helping lady rather than, actually working and making contribution to prove that 'girls can be as smart as boys in software development'. What's her goal? Where are her efforts? She's just being stuck in romance and doing nothing else. And her friends, they are so annoying and just waste of screentime.

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At last, Xiao Nai's company get success in their project and his dream comes true, but what about Female Lead.
I don't understand why even was she in drama? Did she do something for herself? Did she do something for Xiao Nai? Did she do anything for anyone to make any change in their life? She did Nothing. Her character is so underdeveloped.

The only thing I like in this drama is that Xiao Nai and Wei Wei's relationship is good and appreciable. That's solely the reason I'm giving it this much rating, otherwise it's just waste of time, despite being highly rated and popular, to me.

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I would not recommend this to the ones who want to watch a good plot and developed characters.

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Shows Respect to all Rescue Workers with Romance as Sub-plot.

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The thing I loved the most about this drama is that it shows hardwork of the Rescue Workers. Many people in society don't have any respect for the rescue workers, army, doctors and more, they think that this is just their job to protect people in the emergency. The actual thing they don't know is that it takes dedication, sense of responsibility, willingness to take risks of their own life and bravery to protect people when they also have their own families waiting for them at home. This drama shows it all in a very beautiful way.

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Acting and Characters:
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Song Yan: Yang Yang played his part very well when it comes to as a rescue officer, as a friend, as a leader and as a lover. He knows how to train and motivate his team and keep their moral up. He was obsessed to become number one but never forget to take care of his team members. He is not an unreasonable person and have valid and solid reasons for his actions and decisions. He was badly hurt in his first relationship and showed that dissatisfaction and disappointed to his lover when she wants to come back in his life, also give her chance to be brave and decide and respects her decision whether she wanted to be with him or not.
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Xu Qin: Xu Qin was an orphan and adopted by a rich family who loves her very much but wants to have a full control over her decisions whether it's her career choice, studies, behaviour and even her love life. She have gratitude and love towards her family to brought her up and give her love but also feels dissatisfaction with their control over her. Her mother forced her to break up with her love and threatened her with destroying her and Song Yan's career. She broke up with Song Yan but never forgotten about him. She became a very professional doctor to become independent and live her life with Song Yan despite her mother's objection. When Song Yan gave her chance to be in his life again, at first she couldn't decide 'cause she neither wants to hurt her family and nor Song Yan but finally she choose to pursue her love after so many interaction and incidents happen and they both go through life and death situation together. Loved her character 'cause it's not easy for a girl to decide what to choose between her family and love. Totally understandable. Wang Chu Ran totally nailed her character.

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Acting by whole cast was pretty good and I hate her mother literally, for destroying Song Yan's career. Her mother was very cruel to Song Yan but when it comes to her own son she was even ready to kneel before Song Yan and wanted him to forgive her. Xu Qin's brother was a good person although he also didn't like Song Yan but he always wants his sister to be happy and be free from the cage of their family. I loved many characters in this drama.

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Finally I wanna say that it's a good mix friendship and romance. Worth to watch.

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