Mystery + Everyday Life + Romance + Plot Twists

This drama is a mix of a few genres/vibes. Mystery aspect (the female lead is trying to figure out her world/the time travel stuff and the male lead is looking for his lost friend). Everyday life aspect (a big part of the drama is seeing the female lead working as a hairdresser/make-up artist and her struggles at work). Romance (more as a sub-plot but definitely there, the romance is darker and NOT a rom-com). Because of all the things mentioned above, the drama alternates every few episodes between very light and fun vibes and very dark and angsty vibes.

The drama tells the story of the female lead who has a car crash and believes she has travelled to a parallel universe and at the same time has jumped from 2025 to 2018. She meets the male lead who knows her parallel self and together they try to figure out the mystery of who the female lead is and how she ended up in 2018.

POSITIVE:
- Several fantastic plot twists.
- Hot chemistry between the leads. I could always feel the intense love and angst between them.
- No plot holes. All mystery questions are all answered in the end and make sense.
- Suspense aspect is done well as I was always at the edge of my seat.
- Mystery aspect is done well as the story keeps you guessing what’s real and what’s not.
- Strong-willed female lead. She was abused, yelled at constantly for no reason and yet she stood firm and strong. Her character development was amazing (seeing her being anti-social to making long-lasting friendships).
- Cinematography is stunning, especially during rain and snow scenes.
- Acting is top-notch especially from the female lead.
- Happy ending that is wrapped up well.
- The portrayal of mind distortions are done well, especially when the female lead is losing her mind and seeing things.
- Hairdressing/make-up scenes were cool to watch as it was unusual to see in a cdrama.

NEGATIVE:
- Last few episodes focused too much on the female lead’s career and a particular side character which made the drama a little boring and draggy.
- Needed more cute romance. Only one fake kiss scene (which I can get past that) but I wish we had seen the main leads hug more and have more cute scenes together when they were a couple.
- In episode 7 the male lead is manhandling the female lead. I personally didn’t mind it because it’s fiction not reality but if you are sensitive to these things, it might be best if you skip this drama.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a drama that has mystery, career/life struggles, mental health issues, darker romance and cool plot twists, watch this drama.

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I swam through the galaxy to find the beautiful love story among the boring and repetitive scenes

I only started watching this for the main leads (Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu) and was able to finish this only for them. Last year I dropped this at episode 8 and this year I decided to give it another chance. Truthfully I probably did waste my time watching this but at the same time I feel good as I will no longer experience FOMO (fear of missing out).

This drama is what I consider a timeless love story, it truly feels like a classic. Both leads learn valuable lessons about love as well as go through their own personal challenges and inner struggles. The female lead in particular learns how to open up to love while the male lead is on the path of revenge.

The highlight of this drama is definitely the sizzling chemistry between the leads. All of their scenes touched my heart. Mostly, I loved the communication style between them. It always felt raw and authentic. There were also notable scenes with the support cast that I enjoyed. All dialogue in the drama felt mature and real for that matter.

The bad side of this drama is the many, many, many annoying side characters and filler/boring scenes. The plot was lacking big time and I constantly felt everything was repeating but with just different characters. The pacing was painfully slow which added to the boredom and frustration. FF/skip button was my best friend here.

PART 1:
Ep 1-10 mostly focused on the family (which irritated me), especially the grandmother who kept screaming and crying every 2 seconds. The scenes between the female lead and her mother were repetitive. The female lead is rebellious and doesn’t feel loved. The mother is strict and doesn’t know how to show her love. I get it. I definitely didn’t need 10 episodes and more of that same scenario to drive the point across.

Ep 11-20 had a useless love story between the female lead and the second male lead. If by the end I saw the female lead actually realising that she doesn’t truly love him and he is not the right man for him, I would have considered this story worth it. But nope. They break up only because of external forces.

Ep 21-27 finally started the romance between the main leads (even if it is a one-sided love so far). However there was tons of repetition of bullying that felt totally useless and just filler.

Overall, I would have enjoyed part 1 more if it was condensed in half without the many unnecessary side characters, fillers and repetition of bullying.

PART 2:
To be honest I didn’t pay attention to the episodes as I was on a mission to simply finish this. I did use the FF button A LOT, especially I massively skipped ep 40-50. Overall, I enjoyed the love story between the leads and the way they communicated with each other. But part 2 was extremely boring. I felt like I was again watching the same things as part 1. The best part was definitely the last 6 episodes which touched my heart and I even found myself crying at that one scene.

POSITIVE:
- Raw and real communication between the leads. Their talks always felt real, deep and authentic. They would fight but later talk about it and become closer. This to me portrayed beautifully how even if two people are at odds with each other, they can still work on finding common ground. With good communication and willingness to empathise with the other person, every relationship is able to succeed.
- Hot, hot, hot chemistry between the leads. All of their scenes are attention grabbing.
- Brilliant acting from the whole cast, especially the main leads.
- Wonderful cinematography and emotional bgm.
- The funniest and best matchmaker emperor in cdrama land.
- Mature, realistic feel with non-cliche dialogue.
- Gripping last 6 episodes.

NEGATIVE:
- Too slow paced, too drawn out, too many scenes that felt like fillers, too many scenes with side characters, too prolonged dialogue at times. In general, the drama would have been better for me if it was condensed in half and mostly focused on the main leads.
- Too many women vs women scenes, constant bullying, constant women against the female lead that felt very boring and extremely repetitive.
- Boring plot. Yes, many things were happening but most of the time I felt like nothing significant was happening for many, many episodes.
- No side couples. Instead of filler scenes with annoying characters who were against the female lead, I wish we had more romance.
- Repetition of the same conflicts (different characters that are doing the same thing to the female lead). This really made my blood boil.
- Love story issue. First part of the drama the female lead is engaged and likes another man. I felt like she learned nothing from that experience and was totally pointless. Their relationship could have just been a few episodes, not 10.
- No wedding! Seriously after enduring 56 episodes I cannot believe we didn’t get to see that.
- Many annoying characters. Like for real the drama just kept introducing more and more and more characters (especially women) that made my blood boil.
- Love like the galaxy where the love felt lost in the galaxy most of the time among the many, many boring and filler scenes.
- Took me literally months to finish this (you get my point).

OVERALL:
This drama is NOT my cup of tea (but it could have been if it was condensed in half and mainly focused on the main lead). However, if you like slow paced, mature and realistic historical stories, you might enjoy this more than I did.

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A simple and fluffy story to de-stress

This drama is about two students that are linked together in the most unexpected way. We follow their journey through love, friendship and school/university years.

In short, the first half of the drama was enjoyable but the second half disappointed me. Second male lead was a much more interesting character to watch than the male lead. In the end, this drama felt sweet but didn't stand out to me. Their university years start from episode 17.

POSITIVE:
- Cute teasing/light bickering between the main leads.
- Fluffy/innocent romance.
- Second male lead stole the spotlight for me. I instantly liked him from the very first scene he showed up. The whole time I kept thinking why the heck the writers created such a compelling second lead, he really could have been the main guy. His chemistry with the female lead was so good. I almost wish the female lead had a twin sister so he could have a happy love story too. I loved that he had a lot of screen time in the first half.
- First half of the drama had the best fluffiness and heartwarming vibes.
- Meaningful story about love, life, dream goals and friendship.
- No outside forces (like family and other love interests) trying to actively break up the main leads.
- Very satisfying wrap up of the main lead’s story + (SPOILER cute wedding scene).

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama felt bland and I started ff/skipping lots. The plot at times felt very boring and draggy.
- Sad moments between the second couple at the final episode that had no business being there. The scene did deliver emotionally but it should have happened earlier. How they handled the second couple’ story wasn’t satisfying.
- Second male lead syndrome was TOO strong. It’s not to say that I didn’t like the male lead but the second male lead had so much more going on. Male lead’s story was too simple, he was just a reserved guy. Whereas the second male lead went through many challenges, he was the bad boy with a good heart that I love to see. In general his chemistry and personality was more compelling to watch and I feel a big part of why the second half of the drama failed for me was that he didn’t have enough screen time there.
- Not enough cute, romantic scenes between the leads as adults in the second half. I just really needed more.

OVERALL:
This is a simple and fluffy drama suitable for people who are going through a stressful period and just need something sweet and easy to watch.

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Slice of life + hot chemistry between bickering main leads

The drama tells the love story between a genius computer programmer male lead and a hard-working programmer female lead who face many challenges together throughout their university and adult lives. Last year, I dropped this at episode 6 but now decided to give this drama a second chance.

The drama is split into two parts. Part one is their university life and how they fell in love. Part two is their adult lives and how they deal with the aftermath of what had happened during their university years. Many people in the comments say that their adult life story is better and I agree. The second part of the drama was more exciting to watch but at the same time I might have not appreciated it enough if I hadn’t seen their university life first.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the fire chemistry between the leads. They are the reason that I decided to give the drama a second chance and also what kept me going. I loved that the main leads were often rivals/bickering with each other but at the same time always supported each other even for the little things. One of the highlights for me was the villains. They made my blood boil but in a good way. They were exciting characters to watch and so horrible that I was constantly rooting for the main leads to destroy them.

The worst thing about this drama is the extremely lengthy computer dialogue at university and later at the job. I actually know many of the things they were saying but that doesn’t mean they were interesting. I found myself ff/skipping tons of things. Also some of the side characters had too much screen time and were boring to watch. In general, I would have enjoyed the drama more if it was shorter.

CHARACTERS:
I had issues with the male lead at the beginning. He appeared to be an arrogant jerk but with each episode you realise that he is quite misunderstood. He always has a different perspective from the mindset of everyone else. He is a genius and I felt his personality was realistically flawed. Genius people in real life can be insensitive and not able to fully sympathise with people because their brains are more focused on the logical than the emotional. Even though at times I definitely didn’t like his behaviour towards the female lead and he showed quite a few red flags, he was an interesting character to watch. He is cold towards people and pushes them away but later you realise that he has gone through a lot of emotional trauma that has made him closed off to others.

The female lead is a friendly, outspoken, hard-working and brave girl. As the title suggests, she is a princess in a sense that she has had good upbringing and never felt any lack of her life in a material sense. She goes through a lot of emotional turmoil because of the male lead that makes her stronger. She is one of the most devoted female leads I’ve seen in a drama.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the leads. The tension between them was always on point. They didn’t even need to speak, their eye contact was enough to light the room on fire.
- Hot kiss scenes between the leads.
- Villains made my blood boil but in a good way. They were interesting to watch and elevated the story.
- No stupid love triangles.
- Opposite attracts. I love that even though the main leads often had the opposite perspective of life, they were learning from each other and their personalities seemed to click as the story progressed.
- When characters had arguments, the drama did well in helping you understand both perspectives.
- Meaningful storyline. The plot and dialogue always had a deeper purpose and didn’t feel cliche.
- Campus setting vibe was done right as I started to reminisce about my own university years.
- Second part of the drama (adult life) was done very well with many parallels with the first, and in general it helped me to appreciate the university part more.

NEGATIVE:
- All the computer/programmer dialogue was extremely lengthy (during university and later at the job) which made the drama very boring to watch at times.
- Some side characters were boring in the first half of the drama (university life).
- University life (first half) felt quite lacklustre compared to their adult life (second half).
- Lots of ff/skipping. In general I feel the drama was too long. The core of the story is the relationship between the leads which I loved, however the rest was easy to skip.
- Not enough cute romance. The main leads were always together but not together as a couple. Sometimes I wish we would have seen more cute scenes between them but at the same time I can see that the way the plot was set up didn't allow that.

OVERALL:
This drama is perfect for people who want to watch a slice of life drama with bickering main leads and many emotional/meaningful life moments.

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Quite disappointing. A sweet story to pass the time but nothing more.

This will be the shortest review I've ever written. I won't even write positive or negative points like I usually do. Maybe I had high expectations but I was quite disappointed by this drama especially as I loved the other two similar mini-dramas "A Familiar Stranger" and "Provoke". The drama starts with a banging first episode. Intense and eye-catching fight scenes, suspense and beautiful romantic feel of the main leads. But it's all a lie as the majority of the episodes are about watching the daily lives of the main leads - sleeping, eating, cooking, going to the market etc.

I really enjoyed the first half of the drama as we got to see how the main leads fell in love. However the second half of the drama felt very underwhelming as virtually nothing big happened. I was really struggling not to fall asleep. The plot didn't intrigue me even one bit and the fact that the biggest conflict in the whole drama was resolved in the final episodes in two seconds by a random side character.

Overall I still may recommend this drama as everyone has different tastes and what I didn't like someone else might enjoy. But personally for me this was a huge disappointment plot wise which is a shame since the cinematography and cast were great.

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Royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance

I don't pay attention to titles but I probably should because this drama is really about walking us through the journey of 'Who Rules The World' - meaning, it tells the story of Six States and who ultimately becomes the ruler of them all. The drama starts a bit slow and it takes at least 5-6 episodes to set up the setting, characters and story. After that is established, it's really fun and intriguing. If you love royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance - this drama is for you.

I'm quite a newbie of cdramas but I've never watched such an interesting political drama - there were tons of scheming and betrayal involved which I liked although at times the talking was quite a lot and it got heavy. This is not a light drama for the mind - to keep up with the storyline you really have to pay attention to what people are saying and doing. Having said that, I found the plot and characters very real and could imagine this being a real life story rather than just fiction.

What I'm most pleasantly surprised by is the healthy relationship portrayed. There were no childish and immature behaviours from the main leads - in fact it was romantic and cute. The male lead is definitely a green flag and the female lead is so badass - she is seriously an amazing character that I won't easily forget. Oh and the martial arts are super fun to watch. It’s definitely binge-worthy so overall I highly recommend the drama.

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Stunning visuals & OST but weak plot

This xianxia stands out with its stunning CGI/visuals, an OST that elevates each scene and unfortunately with a very weak plot. The drama is about the daily life of the Phoenix Warrior (the female lead) and her love story with the only remaining Ancient God (the male lead), who’s tasks are both to protect the realms.

The first 10 episodes start in the mortal realm and show us how the main leads fell in love. The main lead’s chemistry was great and the writers did a great job in balancing their maturity with the ability to still joke around. The fight scenes stand out here with beautiful CGI and the added OST elevates these scenes, giving me chills with its otherworldly vibes.

The middle of the drama is where it got boring for me. Many things were happening but at the same time I felt nothing significant was actually happening plot wise. We were mostly following the female lead and her engagement with her three men (her lover, her arranged husband and her loyal subordinate). I did love their scenes together but I needed more angst and complexity or at least some faster movement and development. Many of the scenes in the Immortal Realm felt like fillers and I had to ff/skip a lot. There was a lot of back and forth between the leads with the vibe “will-they-won’t-they”.

The last 10 episodes delivered in terms of plot and angst. They were action packed and well-paced. The final episode was very unique as it felt like an extra special episode. The drama explained everything well and wrapped up all loose ends.

It’s worth mentioning that there were guest appearances with side love stories that I loved watching. Some were even as short as only 2 episodes but they touched my heart. These love stories for me were a great addition to the drama.

POSITIVE:
- Otherworldly OST. I’ve never heard such a mesmerising OST, it was very unique and made each scene 100x times better. In fact I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have felt strong emotions if it wasn’t for the music.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Badass female lead with strong on screen presence especially during fight scenes. Her deadpan look is so good.
- Male lead who can crack jokes with a straight face. He is one of the best jokesters I’ve watched.
- The only drama where I 100% ship a chicken with a man.
- Stunning CGI! One of the most visually beautiful xianxia I’ve ever seen.
- Great fight scenes that can rival Marvel cinematography.
- Hot intimate scene (one but totally memorable).
- Side love stories from guest appearances that are short but totally touch your heart.
- No love triangles.

NEGATIVE:
Only two points but they are very significant!
- Plot was weak as it lacked the complexity and angst that I was looking for. Many things were happening but at the same time, it felt like nothing significant was actually happening plot wise. A lot of back and fourth. Perhaps if the drama was shorter I would have enjoyed it more. I’m pretty sure the whole plot is around 5-10% of the drama.
- Too slow paced and boring at times. As mentioned above, everything was just too calm and I had to ff/skip a lot of scenes (especially in the Immortal Realm).

OVERALL:
This wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but you might enjoy this drama if you want a slow paced and calm xianxia that focuses on the love story between the leads and their daily lives + you want beautiful visuals and music.

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Six youths on a self-discovery journey with romance, friendship & adventure

This drama is about two non-biological orphans who have lost their memories and together investigate their origin. Alongside their journey, join them four newfound friends who’s backstories are also explored. The drama is a mix of mystery and adventure with romance as the main focus.

All Sword and Fairy dramas are stand alone, they take place in the same world but have different stories. This drama is based on a video game of the same name thus the atmosphere feels quite different from the usual wuxia cdramas (in fact I believe it’s xuanhuan genre). The costumes and set designs do reminisce a video game vibe but in a pleasantly good way.

The best thing about this drama is hands down the main six characters. All of them have distinct personalities that make them stand out but at the same time they all work well together as a team. This is one of those rare dramas where I absolutely loved all six main characters, all six backstories, all of their romantic stories and how their friendship as a group was portrayed. All of them brought a great depth to the story and their character development was fantastic to watch.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch romance. The love stories are the main focus so expect lots of cute romantic scenes. If you are a hopeless romantic you will love this for sure.
- All six main characters are well written with an intriguing past, romance and great character arcs.
- All couples have fire chemistry. They are different and yet exciting to watch (if you are a romance lover).
- Friendship group that you fall in love with. They fight together and sacrifice for each other. You can’t help but love them.
- Love triangle (hear me out), that’s done well. We all hate love triangles but this is probably the only one where you root for both equally. And it’s because the male lead and second male lead are both played by the same actor.
- Xu Kai (male lead) did not disappoint. Yet again I loved his acting performance. He played two different characters so well.
- Besides the two main leads, the four other cast members blew me away with their performance too and their presence elevated the plot.
- Mystery plot line was done well + the suspense vibes were on point.
- Biggest plot reveal is complex and yet explained very well and shown in the drama in great detail (which I really appreciated).
- Many twists and turns that kept the story engaging.
- Second couple stole my heart. They had lots of screen time and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama lost my interest and the emotional impact was reduced. I easily cry and yet I didn’t shed a single tear during any of the emotional scenes towards the end.
- Final villain was very boring to watch. I always believe that good stories require intriguing villains and this one was NOT it. The final fight scenes were also quite lacklustre to watch.
- Cliche ending that I’ve seen in way too many cdramas at this point + I didn’t fully like how it was executed.
- Plot felt a bit all over the place at times.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a drama with tons of romance, lovely friendship and well written main character arcs + adventure and mystery vibes, watch this drama now.

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It's about the journey, not the destination

This is a great drama but definitely not without its flaws. The drama revolves around two competing assassins and their teams of members, each with diverse backgrounds and skills, embarking on a life threatening journey. Several themes of love are shown in the drama: romantic love, obsessive love, bromance/comrade’s love, self-love and friendship love. Note, pretty much the whole drama is about the journey to save the Emperor.

The male lead is a notorious assassin and is tasked with saving the Emperor who is held hostage at the enemy’s state. His four close comrades tag along for the journey. The female lead is one of the best assassins from the enemy’s state and on her personal path of revenge that collides with the male lead’s mission. We also have a Princess who disguises as a Prince and a disciple who is obsessively in love with his master (the female lead).

The drama has an engaging start, very boring and draggy middle (ep 18-28 virtually nothing exciting happens) and a spectacular ending that was brilliantly executed. The last 10 episodes absolutely kept me at the edge of my seat.

Objectivately, the drama ticks all the boxes. It has the right balance of action, politics, comedy and romance, with strong-willed main leads. The characters are intelligent and the plot makes sense. However I always felt something was missing but I can’t quite put my finger on what.

POSITIVE:
- Female lead is the best female assassin and seductress that I’ve ever watched. Smart, cunning and beautiful.
- A true assassin’s drama. People die. I mean, lots of people die. Like lots…. trust me on that one.
- Strong male and female lead. They are both intelligent and badass.
- Healthy relationships and healthy romance between the leads portrayed.
- Many awesome bromance scenes.
- Fantastic fight scenes (some are even 10 minutes long and are visually stunning).
- Acting and visuals are top-notch.
- High budget drama (and it shows).
- Last 10 episodes kept me at the edge of my seat.
- Spectacular ending - one of the best executed endings I’ve ever seen.
- Alen Fang is brilliant. I started watching the drama for him and his performance delivered. He brought the best comedy vibes.
- Many umbrella walks that are visually feast for the eyes.

NEGATIVE:
- I absolutely hated the LTG character that had an obsessive, unrequited love plotline. His plotline was so unnecessary and embarrassing to watch. It took way, way, way too much screen time (literally around 10 episodes, repeating the same thing. Him crying like a little boy and obsessively trying to get with the female lead who repeatedly rejects him). The only way I managed to watch his scenes is because the actor is a total eye candy and his acting is top-notch. But I’m seriously so done with these plot lines and wish the government bans them forever.
- Extremely boring and draggy middle. Ep 18-28 (basically 10 episodes) nothing much happens.
- Female lead’s revenge story felt lacklustre.
- The love story didn’t grab me. I don’t know what it is but I just couldn’t connect with it (which is rare for me).

OVERALL:
You will like this drama if you want to see:
1. a badass, assassin female lead
2. a group of comrades on a journey together
3. a balanced mix of romance, politics and comedy
4. many brilliantly shot historical/war fight scenes

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Three lifetimes. Three marriages. Not for the faint hearted. The anti-hero story you need to see.

This drama is about the life of Taintai Jin - a human that is destined to become the Devil God and destroy the world. He is your anti-hero male lead that you can't help but fall in love with, sympathise with and even pity. He is a tragic character that from episode 1 till episode 40 experiences injustice, suffering and pain. The female lead is not your typical and innocent character - she is righteous , strong-willed and a tough cookie to crack. From episode 1 she has a mission and no matter how challenging it is, she sticks to her mission until the end.

ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIPS:
The drama is not for the faint of heart. It has tons of betrayals and the most angsty relationship I've ever watched. Beware that this is not a fluffy love story. The romance is the true definition of love-and-hate and it stays that way until the end. The relationship between the main leads is complicated - they want to kill each other but at the same time can't help but love each other. The misunderstanding trope is heavy in this so have that in mind. The chemistry between the leads is phenomenal and they truly carry the whole drama. There are also two side couples - one of them you will probably dislike, and the other you will love and cry for. All and I mean all characters are morally grey at one point or another in the story which makes it very captivating to watch.

VISUALS/CGI:
The visuals are absolutely stunning, CGI is top-tier, the fighting scenes are majestic, the costumes are striking. The male lead alone has about 50 stunning costumes. This is where the high-budget has been spent and it's well worth it. It's truly the most visually beautiful Xianxia you will ever watch in 2023.

PLOT/EDITING:
The plot is very fast paced with tons of layers and backstory. There are 4 arcs - the Mortal arc, the Dream arc, the Mortal kingdom arc and the Immortal arc. All of them have something new and unique to show you and they weave in together like magic. From start till the end, the storyline between each arc connects really well which is impressive. The plot and characters really make the story multi-layered and can be quite complicated so you definitely need time to digest everything. You will not find any fillers. In fact the drama was originally supposed to be 56 episodes but due to China's new regulations it had to be cut down to 40 episodes right before it aired. Unfortunately what this means is that sometimes the pacing is off and the editing is choppy which especially can be seen in the last 10 episodes. But even so, in my opinion it doesn't take away from the experience of watching this addictive drama and it's still worth it.

ENDING (MINOR SPOILERS)
The ending is totally heartbreaking. It's open ended and can have different interpretations - you will have to watch it and judge it for yourself. Due to China’s regulations the drama had to be cut from 56 episodes to 40 which means that the story wasn’t fully wrapped up for the support characters in the end. In short, everything is open ended.

OVERALL:
This drama has become my all time favourite xianxia because of the emotional impact it has had on me. It’s been days since I’ve finished this and I’m still thinking about it constantly. Despite its flaws (I blame China’s regulations) it will always hold a special place in my heart. I truly believe if we had received the uncut version, the drama would have easily become the greatest masterpiece of all time. The male lead is absolutely phenomenal in his anti-hero role as he is totally unique and different from any other cdramas. His acting is top-tier, his character story is top-tier and for him alone it's 100% worth it to watch this drama.

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Angsty & forbidden love with sexy male lead

This mini drama is about the female lead who has to honour the dying wish of her sister and marry her sister’s husband (the Emperor). Five years later, a rebellion breaks out and the general who is the Emperor’s younger brother (the male lead) comes to their aid. This is a story of the main lead’s forbidden love and their loyalty to the crown.

POSITIVE:
- Very, very angsty (not for the faint hearted).
- Sexy/bad boy male lead (leaning on red flag).
- Passionate kiss scenes and se*ual tension.
- Forbidden love, jealousy and betrayal vibes.
- No love triangles.
- Lovely costumes (especially the female lead)
- Nice chemistry between the leads (it’s their second collaboration).
- Great acting from the three main leads.
- Unique way to end the drama (referring to the final two episodes).

NEGATIVE:
- Long dialogue that would sometimes take a whole episode (10 minutes). The dialogue was done well and felt angsty however it did make an impression on me that it was very long. I think the issue might have been the static camera work.
- The ending (it makes sense with the story and it was done well but a part of me wishes it was slightly different).

OVERALL:
If you are looking for an angsty drama with forbidden love and a very sexy/bad boy male lead, watch this drama.
Side note: If you love the main lead, I highly recommend you also watch “The Deliberations of Love”.

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Sensual and mysterious story with sexy and mature leads

This drama is about the female lead who’s husband mysteriously disappears/dies in an accident. After four years, the female lead is about to pronounce him dead and take full control of his company when his twin brother returns. Is he her husband or his twin?

POSITIVE:
- Main lead’s chemistry is HOT. Sexual tension in the current timeline and soft & sweet romance in the flashbacks.
- Sensual and mysterious vibes.
- Cinematography is on point.
- Story is engaging from start till end.
- Betrayal/Mystery plot.

NEGATIVE:
- An annoying childish sister who took a little too much precious screen time.
- Hot kisses at episode 1 but no more afterwards. And yet the sexual tension between the leads made up for this lack.

ENDING (MINOR SPOILER):
The drama is open ended but it can be interpreted as happy. I personally loved how it was done and it made sense to me.

OVERALL:
If you want sexy and mature leads with betrayal/mystery plot, I highly recommend you watch this.

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Dark Wuxia with crazy plot twists, romance, suspense, assassins and scheming

The drama tells the story of two female assassins who disguise themselves as brides to infiltrate the enemy's residence and complete their missions in order to receive their freedom. The main leads are a smart, quiet and very determined female assassin and a kind-hearted, compassionate, gentle and green flag male lead. The second leads are a cunning, wicked, charming female assassin and a cold, authoritative, bad boy with a hidden gentle heart male lead.

POSITIVE:
- Smart, cunning and totally badass female leads.
- Lots of interesting morally grey characters.
- Cinematography that can rival Hollywood's high budget movies.
- Beautiful costumes and settings.
- Unique dark visuals of storytelling that I've never seen before.
- Gorgeous cast, and I mean ALL the cast is absolutely stunning (especially lots of male eye candies to see).
- Assassin's Creed meets Dark Wuxia meets GOT vibes.
- Amazing fight scenes (especially towards the end of the drama).
- Crazy good plot twists with many OMG moments.
- Tons of suspense. Everything is a guessing game. You never know the true intention of anyone.You never know when someone is telling the truth or is lying.
- Phenomenal acting performance from all the cast.
- Sweet romance moments of the main leads.
- Intense chemistry between the second leads.
- Captivating plot.
- Mystery killer vibes.

NEGATIVE:
- Character development of the male lead felt somewhat abrupt. The drama heavily highlighted that he is a fool in love which took away from truly seeing his potential in the majority of the drama. In the end he became a strong character but unfortunately it felt a bit out of the blue of how it happened. So as much as I love the actor (he was the reason I even started this drama) I was not 100% happy with how his character was written.

OVERALL:
I think you can guess from the positive points above that I highly, highly, highly recommend this drama!!! Don't be fooled by the sweet sounding title. This is still a story about assassins and is dark themed. So don't expect many lovey-dovey moments. The romance is more of a subplot but still very much the driving force in the story. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart but I truly loved this drama because of the captivating plot, intense suspense, great characters and stunning cinematography!

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Healthy romance + online games and aerospace

This drama is about the love story between an actress and an aerospace engineer. The female lead is endorsing a mobile game but is caught by netizens for being a bad player. To redeem her image, she has to play at a live event and prove to everyone her skills. Online, she stumbles upon her high-school crush (who rejected her) a.k.a. the male lead. He happens to be an expert at the game so she hires him to help her. Meanwhile the male lead is facing his own dilemma in life, whether to quit his dream job and find a more stable one.

I didn’t have much expectations going into this drama, just thought it would be a nice before-bed watch. The first half was amazing and actually kept me awake at night. The gaming felt very nostalgic as it reminded me of my teen years when I was a hard-core gamer. However the second half was ok/a bit boring. I needed more of their dating/together era… something was kind of missing to make my heart flutter.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and authentic dialogue.
- High production cinematography. You can tell they spent money for the game and space shots.
- Nice intimate/kiss scenes. I loved that the male lead would always pull/grab her unexpectedly towards him.
- No love triangles, very clean romance, the exes show up and leave very swiftly and fast.
- No misunderstandings, no toxic stuff, no families against the relationship. It didn’t follow the cliche route which was nice.
- The game's visuals look amazing and if you are a MMORPG game lover, you will appreciate them.
- Cute romance but also a big focus on career.
- Easy and relaxing watch. Only 30 min per ep.
- Yang Yang is hot and Dilraba looks great.

NEGATIVE:
- Aerospace talks. I didn’t understand anything but at least visually it looked nice. Some episodes were very focused on that topic a bit too much for my taste so I had to ff/skip.
- Okish/boring second half. I needed more of their dating/together era… something was kind of missing to make my heart flutter.
- Side couple. They didn’t have much screen time but what I saw was very boring and pretty much a ff/skip.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a healthy, cute romance and don't mind the focus on gaming and aerospace, you will enjoy this drama. It’s a very easy and relaxing watch for the evenings.

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Youthful and romantic xianxia with a fox male lead

This drama is about the female lead that accidentally absorbs the soul fruit of a male fox. In order to get this soul back, the male lead needs to make her fall in love with him. Amidst their love story, the plot revolves around the humans seeing the foxes as evil and the female lead’s secret origin.

In short, the drama started great for me and I was enjoying it a lot. I found the many romantic scenes between the leads super adorable. The tone felt light-hearted and totally relaxing to watch. However the second half started to feel draggy and towards the end I found myself ff/skipping scenes. The ending is unfortunately the most stupid and illogical I’ve EVER seen and my rating significantly reduced because of it.

POSITIVE:
- Youthful romance as the main focus of the drama.
- Many cute and sweet moments between the leads. Their chemistry is great.
- Fairy good CGI for a drama like this (clearly not a high budget).
- Adorable and funny second couple.

NEGATIVE:
- Not a groundbreaking plot. It’s enjoyable for the most part but it didn’t wow me.
- Second half of the drama felt quite boring compared to the first.
- The ending! I’m very accepting of different endings and can always find a reason behind it even if I don’t like it. But this ending is the most stupid and illogical I’ve ever seen. There is a special alternative episode that makes it a little better but it’s still somewhat illogical. The writers really ruined the drama at the end for me.
- Bad subtitles (typical Mangotv style) but if you’ve seen a lot of xianxia, you will understand what’s happening.

OVERALL:
If you want a sweet and youthful xianxia with romance as the main focus, and don’t mind a stupid ending as long as there is a special alternative episode that sort of makes up for it, watch this drama.

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