its simplicity delivered a superb, binge-worthy drama that will leave you smiling and feeling good!

What I like about this series is that it really is a very simple plot line. A young girl's admiration developing into a crush then to a puppy love then the love growing as she matures and eventually getting her happily ever after. I like how the interaction between the characters shows the difference as they grow/mature. The initial stages, the interactions of DJX and SZ are like an older, doting brother taking care and indulging a younger sister. Just like a different version of Sang Yan - SZ's real brother who happens to be his best friend in school. Whereas SY often teases and makes fun of SZ when they are together and is portrayed as being brash and a bit cocky, DJX is the caring, gentle and warmer brother. Though he is indulging her, he makes sure to still teach her and correct her behavior when needed - like when he told SZ to (1) pay attention in class when he helped her by pretending to be her older brother so her parent wouldn't know that her teacher requested another meeting, (2) how she should act when she gets confessed to - study first as she is too young, but to thank the other person for having an interest in her and to either accept or not to hurt him but to politely reject the other person's interest if she does not reciprocate the feeling. Not that SY does not indulge her, SY just has a different love language shown to his sister. When they met again when SZ was in college, you can see how DJX starts seeing SZ as a woman, not just a younger sister. You see him starting to fall in love with the adult SZ. You then get to join their journey from their courtship to how they lay the foundation of their relationship and how it (their relationship) and they (SZ and DJX) grow as individual and together as a couple. In today's society of instant gratification, I especially love how they brought back the art of anticipation during the courtship period. Qian Fei had a point when he asked Jiaxu why he is still decided to pursue his girl when he knows she likes him and they could have gotten together then. I like that they build up the anticipation of them becoming together. The kilig moments in this series is just *chef's kiss*. (KILIG is not misspelled, its a Filipino term that I think best describes the situation in the drama. It refers to the feeling of excitement or elation one gets in various romantic situations like making eye contact with your crush, holds for the first time, your first kiss with someone you are romantically interested in and other situation like that. I may have mucked up the explanation, Google it if you must.) They did great in making their experience in their courtship period very relatable, makes the series more endearing because it somehow reminds you of your own experience - remember the scene when SZ was telling her girls about her and DJX status and ending up giggling with each other and laughing and being silly about it? I was smiling along with them, like its a secret between us sisters!

I am not the biggest Chen Zhe Yuan fan out there but I must say HIS ACTING WAS SUPERB in this series. I've seen his other works and they were good, don't get me wrong. Boy can act, but he would not be the first actor I would have in mind had the character of Duan Jiaxu been explained to me before seeing this drama. As CZY mentioned in their special, this is the first time he is acting as an older brother/senior. I think he really pulled it off. He has shown DJX being playful, teasing SZ and even his friends, being cold to Jiang Ying, being indulgent to young SZ, being cutesy and loving to adult SZ. I love how even his eyes are delivering in this series. If you watch how he looks as SZ from start to finish, you can see how even they way he looks at SZ had changed as their story progressed, especially how his eyes looked when he kisses SZ at the later episodes. I especially like the scene in the airport when SZ confessed she liked him since she was a kid. You can see in his whole facial reaction that DJX was having a whole flashback of (1) what had transpired in that very airport when SZ went there in HS - what SZ said, what he said, how SZ reacted and cried and (2) when he picked up a drunk SZ from a bar and she shared her secret about liking someone. You can see minute changes in his face as realization dawns on him.

Whereas I am not a big fan of CZY, I love, love, love, love, love Zhao Lusi. Other than those that have not been aired yet, I have not see (clips in YT included) only 4 of her works. She is one of my go-to actresses when I want to rewatch a drama. I love how she portrayed SZ in this series. She had shown a different SZ in each stage of the series. From being a young, bratty, spoiled princess to growing up and being a mature young adult. I love how for the most part, she looks timid but she knows how to stand up for herself. I like how they showed in the drama that even when she is in love with DJX she has not lost herself and her priorities.

This is the first time I have come across Victor Ma and I must say, I love his voice. He played Sang Yan so well, I could not imagine another actor playing SY. He and Lusi has such great sibling chemistry. I love that despite being brash and a bit cocky and always teasing and making fun of his sister, he is his number one protector - remember the scene with the bully when SZ injured his leg? and when he picked her up at the airport when SZ went to Yihe in HS? and when he visited Yihe and SZ was getting bullied at the office where she was interning? I absolutely adore that the show still reflected his love language for his sister.

I could go on and on about what I like in this drama and it will make this review waaaay too long. So overall, I love how even though the plot line pretty simple, all of its cast and crew delivered a phenomenal job. I can go on an elaborate episode per episode what I liked about it. Suffice to say, after this drama aired its last episode, it has been a constant repeat whenever I want something on to pass time. I think I've watched this 6-7 times now since it last aired. That's how much I love this.

Citeste mai mult

I watched this to just see silver-haired Demon Yuxi and it gave me more to like and appreciate.

Pretty simple plot. As they described it, the ML and FL are supposed to go through a love tribulation for several lifetimes. I was honestly not expecting much as the main reason I am watching this series is because I wanted to see the silver haired demon Yuxi. Lo and behold they let him out towards the last few episode so I had to sit through the whole thing. After silver hair Yuxi was gone, I honestly just finished the last episode coz, why not? I sat through 37 episodes, 1 more will not make much of a difference to me. So why the higher rating? Coz I am not picky and the drama gave me more to appreciate than just the silver haired demon Yuxi. And did I say they gave me silver haired demon Ding Yuxi? (yeah by now you should be able to tell I love love love love that character - the whole make up and costume and attitude works!!!)

What do I like about it other than demon Yuxi? As I said, the plot line is fairly simple. I do not see much character development as we are speeding through several lifetimes, and that is ok. If they wasted episodes on developing each character it would make the series longer and might get boring coz really, we do not need to invest too much on the "side characters" the ML and FL are playing. What I appreciated was they kept the basic personality of the ML and FL in each reincarnation. Enough to make you realize that the love tribulation character are still them - same attitude, same take, likes, just different clothes. I was honestly more invested in the love story of Jin Lou and Zihui. I wish they extended their last scene to show how Jin Lou introduced herself to the Zihui reincarnation instead of just leaving it with her running after him after hearing about his dream girl. Also, I love Jin Lou's violet dress. Lu Yu Xiao surprised me when her character started as the bad guy but i liked her character as her story unfolded. Jin Lian I appreciated both as the Molou Clan Protector and as Qian Ren. I am saddened by Immortal Li's passing . I could tell they were about to kill his character but it was fun while he was around. The small bickering interaction he has with Xiangyun made me smile. I laugh whenever I see Red Thread Master as I was coming off from watching him in another drama where he played a womanizer dad... I appreciate his love for Xiangyun though. The emperor guy, I don't know if I will pity his character or what. I mean really, the root of all the evil doings he masterminded was his jealousy. Even after Chu Kong explained to him that he was not interested in leading the clan and just want to be with Cang Hai, he plotted against his brother. Then compounded it with lies on top of a big lie on top of a bigger lie, you get the picture? So I guess, he got his karma? Xui Ming, I am guessing he got healthier after assuming the throne. I take his character as one of those who is not decided if he is good, neutral or evil. Its like, it depends on which side of the bed he woke up in. Confused. I kinda wanted to know what the Red Thread Master and Immortal Sun planned for the extra-strong thread/match they set him up in. Immortal Sun was one of the side characters who surprised me. I thought he was just one of those side characters the writer will kill off somewhere when the plot needs killing but he ended up doing something helpful to the side of the good guys that helped expose the sins of the Heavenly Emperor. I only liked 2 sound tracks. Well the other one is not really a sound track but a consistent background music they use when the ML and FL meet on their love tribulation (you know that one where a womans voice goes aaaaaaaaaa - I'm not a lyricist, can you tell? - with the drums?) so technically I like just 1 song- Only Love.

Let's not discuss what I do not like about the drama, that would entail how I would like them to rewrite the drama as and that is another story. Oh, what I can say as I don't like would be how they put silver hair demon Yuxi at almost the end of the story. He is just one of the ML side characters in their love tribulation but I wanted him to get more air time. I honestly thought they would make him a white nine tail fox, I was not expecting him to be a cat demon. But it works as the bed scene where he was rubbing himself on Xiangyun would not have worked and would not be as funny if they made him a fox.

Now, would I watch it again or recommend it? Now, if you are the type that wants to think deep, puzzle things out or into heavy character development, or intense story line, this is not the drama I would recommend you to watch. I would say if you are looking for a drama to watch to pass time, something that will not make you think too deeply, something to just laugh at or you just want awesome costumes, or if you also want to see the silver haired demon Ding Yuxi like I did, then you can give this a go. The CGI is fantastic, the costume design is amazing! There was more fight scenes that I was expecting which surprised me and I certainly appreciate it. Did I say the costumes where amazing? The costumes were amazing, especially Chu Kong's and Xiangyun's costume in the Demon Realm. So, have fun and happy watching!

Citeste mai mult

I am seeing Yu Shu Xin and Zhang Ling He in a different light and I absolutely love it...

iQiyi have only realeased 3 episodes and I am hooked. Episode 1 got me hooked. I will extend the review as the episodes come along. I am not up and up on the names of the characters yet, I am bad enough with English and Filipino names, so I am more confused with Chinese names. So if I get the names wrong, sorry. My bad, I did not mean to.

I love love love Yu Shu Xin here. I've watched her dramas and I am so used to see her playing cutesy, charming, always giggling, sometimes brainy but mostly shallow, bordering ditsy FL roles so I am so happy she has a chance to play something a bit more serious. I can only imagine the hours she put in to make the few martial arts moments she has in the first 3 episodes released make it seem believable, especially the fight scene in muddy water. I just hope if Yun Wei Shan does succeed, she doesn't get poisoned and killed because of a "no one leaves Wujeng alive" kinda thing. All that to say I am greatly enjoying this Yu Shu Xin that I am watching right now...

I like this Zhang Ling He here. I am not his biggest fan, I have only seen him in 2 dramas Love Between a Fairy and Devil and Sparkle Love, the later I stopped watching coz I got bored with the story. So I wasn't really sure how he'd be as the ML. I like it so far. He starts out as character in the story that those around him doesn't pay attention to, believing his playboy persona. Are they going to make his character start so-so then show he really was smart and very good at martial arts down the road as the story progresses? I hope so, they are certainly building up for something. I like how when he was told he was inheriting the Sword Wielder position, he was crying for his loss but he was also observing his father. I also like how they set up the scene for Ziyu's character to shed his easy-going, playboy persona. I hope it goes on and Ziyu's character develops better. Also, I like how the first episode they already made him fight. I hope to see more action scenes from him.

Lu Yu Xiao's character here is a surprise and not. I mean I have seen her play as the "bad" character in Love You Seven Times where Jin Lou started out as the enemy but ended up not being the enemy. So I am thinking, that may also be the same here, just a feeling mind you. I like how her character was mostly just being manipulative and have not really shown her hand. I am curious about her and her, what did they call their handler in the story? Raven? Him, the dude with the shaved head. I wonder what is going on between them. But I am enjoying her character so far. She said in the story she has a different target than Weishan's so when she claimed she is interested in Shangjue when the bride-to-bes were having a powow session, was she setting up the scene coz he is her target? I'm curious.

Gong Shangjue. I know I remember him in the drama A Familiar Stranger. I don't recall him having a fight scene there, I doubt but I maybe remembering it wrong, but all that to say I like his character there. That is the only bar I can gauge his acting from. So far, I like how they are setting his character up. So he is like known as smart and very good in martial arts in their village but I like his one scene where he put the innkeeper in his place when he said "... instead of worrying about the gong family, he is more worried about the succession..." or there about. I do now remember the line word for word. But when you see it, yeah. I like his character at that moment. Let see how they develop his character more as the story goes. I wanna know if he is gonna fight Ziyu for the position or like when he kept trying to interrupt Ziyu's dad from saying he should be the next Sword Wielder, he really does not want to be the successor and will support Ziyu in his new role.

The poison expert guy. I dont remember his name. I want to see how his character progresses. I mean he is being defiant at Zhang Ling He when he became the Sword Wielder because he genuinely believes that it should be his brother and not Ziyu. I understand that. But is he going to relent later down the road or what?

Will I continue to watch this drama? Duh! Dumb question. I am repeating all 3 episodes as soon as I am done writing this initial review. I only want to be able to share my excitement for this drama. Will I recommend it? ABSOLUTELY. Even if you are not as invested in the characters as I seem to be, I want to share how very well choreographed and executed the fight scenes are in this drama, even with only 3 episodes. I hope it keeps up until the last episode. I am not a big fan of the internal politics they have going on in the Gong Family so forgive me if I don't say much about it. Even IRL, I don't play politics so I don't mind it so much. It adds to the story but I am not racking my few remaining braincells with what's going on and how it will affect things and what not. I will just wait for whatever they wanna share in the drama. I am not going to nitpick and overthink about it ahead of time. I am not big on costume drama music but so far I can say what they used seem to match what I have seen so far. I have not heard anything that seemed off. Now if the lyrics are saying something else, I would not know, I haven't checked any of the music translations yet.

So. that's it for me. I am going to rerun the drama from episode one and will update my review when I get done with the whole drama. Have fun and enjoy watching it!!

Citeste mai mult