A good in between watch

Good and entertaining. If you need something lighthearted, this is definitely one for you.
The only gripe I have is the change in the ML behaviour. It happens often in the C dramas, and I don’t get it. Why does a strong ML change into a pathetic puppet after he falls in love????? What kind of hang ups do the script writers have to think it’s attractive?
However, apart from this, the story is super fun, clever, and well paced. I absolutely love the FL and her mischief, a very good actress. ML is definitely one of my favs on the short drama lists, hope both get more and more opportunities to shine in larger productions. Don’t give this one a miss if you want something g to lighten up your evening. :)

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OMG Zhao Lu Si, why????

I watched it because of Zhao Lu Si, as I found her performance in Who Rules the World amazing. This is going from hero to zero. I know she’s meant to have the child like voice, but it was an overkill to a point of me wanting to throw the TV out of the window. Her performance was lukewarm and she did not bring any sparks to the relationship. I am really disappointed. Watching her other works I would have almost believed she is only a character actor who always plays silly girls, but in Who rules the world she disproves that theory.
It didn’t help that the story was also boring and ML, who I believe has talent, didn’t bring out his best - probably because of the weak story and serious lack of chemistry with FL .
Worst thing of all is the OST, annoying tune on repeat, nearly drove me crazy when combined with her whiny voice overkill….
I am not sure who failed here - was it the script, the director or the actors being too tired and just going through the motions???

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Must watch

This drama blew my mind. Can’t recommend it highly enough. It is a departure from your usual fodder of costume drama topics.
It may put people off because of the difficult issues it tackles, which reflects on just how current the pressures on women are. Women who suffered abuse are still having to deal with blame and shame, a large percentage of court cases never make it through courts, and often, in sexual harassment it is the woman who is shunned and shamed. Rape, abuse of power, the shallowness and consequences of public sheep mentality, all are so directly, yet seamlessly dealt with in this drama.
Part of me, when I started watching it considered switching to a more light hearted drama, as I didn’t want to get sad and depressed when I am meant to be relaxing. However, I was hooked from Episode 1. The magic of the way this was produced is that it didn’t induce darkness and depressive mood, but instead it provided a superbly immersive experience, succinctly bringing up the reality within a world of costume drama.
I applaud the directors and producers for the way they created such a refreshing take on filming, intertwining past and present events in each episode, no plot holes or clumsy flow in the story development. Not too slow and not too fast. Just perfect.
Whoever selected the cast, should be given an award - they all fit in their roles perfectly and their acting was immaculate by all, which is astonishing because normally you get some weak links. Here, main and supporting characters have unbelievably good acting skills, delivering emotions and flavour of each character with perfection.
If you are hesitating to watch this because of the subject of the drama, I definitely recommend you give it a try. From story, through filmography to acting it deserves 10/10, probably the best quality drama of 2023. Yes, the big budget series with popular eye candies, love to watch these, but every now and then, we come across dramas that feed the soul. This is one is truly one of a kind.
I do hope that the actors and actresses, the director and screenwriter get the recognition they so deserve.

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True menhua feel

Superb. What makes it different to other mystery dramas is the way the characters retain the comic book qualities in their acting, lending the series slightly goofy and a very uplifting vibe. It is so refreshing!! The fight scenes are pretty good and aplenty :) Loved Ding Yu Xi having fun with his cat impressions, nailed it - retained the kitty vibe instead of being too fearsome like a tiger or a lion. His friends and foes also got their characters spot on, the only one I feel a bit unsure of is Ren Min - her delivery was a bit flat, trying to come across as strict and uncompromising but with a good heart…. Alas the role didn’t work for her in this series. It is funny to see how many people got confused by this series, so used to standard wuxia / xianxia scripts, totally forgetting that this is manhua and unlike the usual series, it actually sticks to the comic book feel of things. Bravo 👏

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A must watch

Definitely one not to miss - both the leads and support cast - top notch performances. The plot was refreshing and although I love happy endings, this I didn’t mind the not so happy ending here because of the pleasure of the entire drama - no fast forwarding, or “half watching “ sections. I am really fussy about actors - their acting skills are a priority, good looks simply not enough. ML is now one of my favourites - he’s not only superb as an actor, but also quite handsome which is a bonus. FL was outstanding, I want to see more of her works now. The storyline is refreshing, not following the “safe plot lines” , and keeps a good pace. I me of the best dramas of 2023.

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A little gem

I am giving this one a 10 because I think it deserves way higher rating than it got so far!!!
After the debacle of many promising costume c-dramas ending in disappointment, and most of them focusing on romance this one is a rare gem.
Note for those who only like dramas which focus on appearance, loads of make up, glitter, childish females and heap of romance - this won’t be one for you. (See reason 2 below)
A few of my reasons to give this one a try:
1) It will thoroughly refresh your palate before embarking on yet another heroic romance.
2) the flavour of the drama and filming style is in line with superb series like Faithful, Judge Dee Mystery, Wind blows from Longxi, Side Story of Fox Volant etc… scenes are dark, the hint of monochromatic colouring adds to the suspense, characters are not overly made up nor glittery, OST is unremarkable, yet perfectly supports the story and moods. Dialog is also similar - kind of flat speaking but not in a boring way, it is intelligent and creates that certain mood which makes you immerse. And yet, despite the dark style, it is undepressing and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy.. so, if you enjoy this type of drama, definitely go for it!!
3) MYS - I always found him cute and watched a few dramas just for him, to see his development as an actor. And oh my gosh, was I rewarded - this is by far his best performance. In this one he is unable to make up for any shortcomings with hot sexy scenes, and he delivers a seamless performance!! I hope he will now be cast in more and more serious dramas and his skills duly recognised.
4) Perfectly cast supporting characters, both the lead supports and the villains. The FL super intelligent yet holding something back, SFL bubbly but not OTT, SML doing a good job of rebellious boy finally finding purpose and yet maintaining the boyishness and generous openness - perfectly balancing the ML and FL’s seriousness and their hiding the dark secrets / traumas. The villains are dark as hell, the main adversary such a far gone psycho, it actually gave me shivers 😅
5) Fun and refreshing plot incorporating a bit of weird sorcery, with twists and turns keeping you occupied. At least I found myself immersed and not skipping through bad ring bits by scrolling Insta 😆
6) no screeching female leads or support characters who sound like they have learning difficulties / mental age of a baby trying to somehow sell themselves as adults independent strong women (my huge gripe with Love game in E.F., Go East etc…. It’s so nice to see yet another drama with women who actually exude intelligence and strength
7) fight scenes - not too many , yet enough to compliment the mystery, the 3rd ML and 2FL deliver nice moves and look pretty authentic, the fight scenes are pro and don’t look too artificial.
8) ending - superb! No tragic end (soz if this is a spoiler), it ties up all the loose ends and yet introduces more twists, leaving the drama complete but also open to second season!!! Love it.
All in all I am surprised at the quality, considering this is short series (16 eps) one would have expected production to be on cheap side, instead this has the equal clout of any 30+ episode star studded dramas!
I hope as more people watch this, the ratings will improve as we need more quality like this, not just to support the budding actors but also the screenwriters, producers and directors who are able to deviate from the mass produced recipes of storylines / cinematography / candy make up and predictable story progression and endings. So please do give it a chance and be generous. Xxx

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Domestic abuse in reverse

I need to have a rant about this. I cannot believe that people called this story “funny, endearing or romantic”.
If a man gave a woman black eye and on a repeated basis, it would be considered disgusting and unacceptable. How is it ok if a woman physically and mentally abuses a man????
I cannot believe that they actually produced a drama telling violent behaviour as romance! I don’t care if she stops because he “tames her” or stands up for himself. It is plain disgusting.
I noticed this trend in a few dramas. I am not sure what emotional issues there writers have if they think that abusive behaviour somehow portrays a strong independent woman. The opposite is the truth.
Yuck 🤢

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