Oh My General (2017)

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

It does stick to its genre of being ROMANCE, COMEDY, HISTORICAL and MILITARY!

NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!

Well, where to start. hmmmm.

[The Story]
YOU ARE SO GONNA LOVE THE PLOT. Its about a woman pretending to be a guy for the war. She became a war hero so when she revealed to the emperor her real identity, she was pardoned. After knowing she's a woman, the emperor took this chance to marry her off to a prince. This prince is quite opposite to the girl. Their roles here might be a bit reversed however, from time to time, you will see the main girls feminine side bought out by the guy and you will see the guy's manly side bought out by the girl. They complete each other's personality. In the entire series, YOU WILL LOVE the development of the characters relationship. One good thing about this, is that it's not just about the two of them but also how they contribute to their country and how that contribution helped their character progress in time.

[The Ending]
Well, the ending is good but not THAT satisfying. Just finish it and find out for yourself. DONT WORRY, YOU ARE NOT GONNA REGRET IT!

The OST also deserves an applause! It makes you feel SO EMOTIONAL! The song makes you cry out of nostalgia... It makes you feel like the main characters are real people from legend..Their love really feels so real.
[P.S. The main guy sang it too with some other singer which is not the main girl]

Speaking of legend, they kind of remind me of the real ballad of Mu Lan. The main girl is Mu Lan and the guy is her lover. The series really does make you believe that the main characters really were legendary lovers from the past, like they were actually part of history and that you can still feel their love resonance to the present. Watching the series makes you feel like you were back at those ancient time too.


Will I re-watch it? I already did for the 4th time already AND I WILL AGAIN after I finish the rest on my list
Do I recommend it? YEAH! OF COURSE!!! GO WATCH IT NOW!

Leggi di Più

Tomboy meets metrosexual guy in dynastic period & ignore what people say

Simply said, "I loved it!" :) A series where the main characters defy what's accepted as the gender roles during their times to just be themselves with a little conformity here and there. This series just kept me laughing and smiling then eager to get back to the main couple, Ye Zhao (Ma Sichun) & Zhao Yujin(Sheng Yi Lun), whenever the main plot shifted back to the issues of betrayal, murder, war & dethronement rose up outside of them. It was nearly impossible for me to stop watching, especially with how sweet, spoiled but brave & adorably bratty Peter Sheng's character Yujin is in this series and the way Sondra Ma's character, Ye Zhao's, bravery, loyalty, strength and mischievousness perfectly fits Yujin. They both grow as a couple. Ye Zhao's powerful presence is balanced out by Yujin's seemingly meekness & beauty. Both of them are beautiful and Yujin dancing is just as gorgeous to watch as Ye Zhao practicing her martial arts. Yujin's constant use of "bah! (pēi, 呸)" that it flows so easily every time he says it, forever makes it his trademark phrase for this character to me. XD From the music to the effects, they were done quite well lol except!! there was a road/path that was taken 3 or 4 different times, looked the same each time, but was still being used and messengers kept getting killed. There was a bit of a rush on revealing the identity of the spy who betrayed the Ye family, but all in all, this was an enjoyable series to watch!

I was especially pleased to hear and later find out that Peter Sheng did both the opening and ending songs for the series. He has a beautiful singing voice. Hu Qing & Qiu Shui, beautiful couple. Xiyin & Haerdun would've also been a beautiful couple if not for their tragic end. The cast & crew are to be praised. Old Minister Yang & Grandpa Ye show you that just because they've been kissed by time, they still got moves to amaze & tickle you. To my surprise, an actor I've seen in 3 other series so far, Zhao Zhen Ting is very adorable and petulant as Xu Duohua!!! I love him being able to fully express the character he plays. As Xu Duohua, Zhao is just really expressive & sweet! So happy to see him in this series <3

So you have to see it all the way through to the end! lol they'll make you laugh time & time again. I'll be honest though, the end, I mean the very end was sweet but ... I feel like they could have given us a glimpse of Ye Zhao pregnant, Yujin at the delivery and a view of all their kids. That would've been nice to see.

Leggi di Più

Great Great Drama + Great Great Cast

One of the best dramas I've seen in a long time. Peter Sheng and Sandra Ma showed great chemistry throughout the entire drama. It was as if the parts were written just for them. I passed this drama up several times before finally deciding to give it a shot and its storyline and cast went above and beyond my expectations. In many scenes I laughed until I cried. I will definitely watch it more than once. I enjoyed every episode although midway the main characters weren't seen as much as I would have liked. The other cast members were outstanding in their parts and made the drama one that will be in my top 5 for years to come. Don't miss out on this one. From beginning to end it doesn't fail to entertain except that the ending could have been better written. I wish they would have shown them still young enjoying their children more after all the conflict between the different clans had ended and they could enjoy married life together. I still loved it and highly recommend it.

Leggi di Più

One of the best historicl dramas

Lets start with the story although it had some clichés, like the struggle for power within the court. We also get to see new things like a soft male lead and our tough general female lead. The roles got reversed which is something refreshing to see. Our female lead was also smart and was never a damsel in distress. We also have two loyal friends who never betray her and major character development from all of them. We got to see how our duke changed from a playboy to someone demoted to his wife. This story has to simply the best historical drama out there. I also loved how they stayed loyal to each other after they started getting along.

Leggi di Più

TLDR - Watch it.

I didn't go into watching this with many expectations as im generally not a fan of role reversal. But they used a BAD trope in a very original an likeable way making it better and more real than most all other dramas.

Comedy - I almost rarely find Eastern 'humor' in these shows or novels funny. This has its funny moments. Like the ML in that 'tea house' (or whatever it was ); simply Outrageous. I think i kept saying why is this happening but was chuckling the entire time.

It even has some angst, and political fare. Its really good.

Its main drawback is that it never takes itself overly serious, but that is also its strength. As such it avoids really dumb plots we see associated with trying too hard to make the audience feel bad. So if something bad happens, you can expect a resolution at some point... not a 50 episode slog to see that maybe the character was okay. And right after the resolution to an issue it doesn't have to be the next powerful lady/man who steps up to be the bad guy (the entire show is a great mix of story).

Its just better than 99% of the other shows out there. How it has a 8.0 is a quandary to me. No pretty enough people, not enough fan service? Isn't self hating or depressing? I don't know the reason, i do know its great.

Leggi di Più

Do not hesitate, go watch this drama!

This is one gem of a drama that I almost missed out, because I did not intend to watch it at first, thinking that I wouldn't like the story. But as fate would have it, after watching some video clips in YouTube and reading well-written and positive reviews, my interest was piqued so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did!

This drama has romance, comedy, action, themes of loyalty, courage and justice, political intrigue and heart-touching moments – all set against the backdrop of the Song dynasty. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama that the 60-episode length did not feel daunting. Most of the story arcs are really good and engaging, but a few are just so-so for me. I like their execution of the gender role reversal theme - it's not a complete role reversal, because the ML (Zhao Yu Jin) and FL (Ye Zhao) still retained some masculine and feminine qualities, respectively. It's not over the top, which I think is important, because going overboard will make it cringey. Other things this drama did really well are character growth and relationship development. Many characters grow throughout the drama, especially Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao. You can also see the relationship change and develop between the different characters: Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao, Ye Zhao and her mother-in-law, Zhao Yu Jin and the Emperor, Ye Zhao and Hu Qing, among others. And since this drama is in a historical setting with political intrigue and wars, there were battle and fight scenes, which were well choreographed and executed.

Overall, the cast delivered very good performances. And since this show has a big cast of characters, I will mention only some of them:
• On the OTP: I love the chemistry between Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng and their portrayal of Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin, respectively. They nailed their roles! Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin are a power couple – they complement each other perfectly. They have many sweet and funny moments, and I like how they both grow and develop throughout the series ❤️.
• Sandra Ma is very fitting as General Ye Zhao. I like Ye Zhao’s character – she’s smart, brave, loyal and cool! Sandra Ma gave a very good performance. She was able to show the more masculine, mischievous, no-nonsense and stronger sides of Ye Zhao, but still retained a sense of femininity and aura of beauty. She commanded the respect of her troops and was admired by many. It’s funny that Yu Jin’s concubines seemed to admire her more than him! In one of her conversations with Hu Qing, she said that after marrying Yu Jin, she grew from being reckless, impulsive and stubborn, to being more responsible, mature and sensible (my paraphrase). I think that’s a good summary of her character growth.
• Peter Sheng is convincing as Zhao Yu Jin/Duke of Nanping. True, his character was sometimes childish and annoying, especially at the start, but he grew as the story progresses, and became a very devoted husband. Despite his notorious reputation, he was actually very smart and talented, and just needed more push and encouragement to realize his full potential. Peter Sheng was able to portray the different sides of Yu Jin very well. What Ye Zhao told Prince Yinuo aptly describes Yu Jin: "Some birds don't fly for 3 years, but once they fly, they soar high into the sky. Some birds don't make a sound for 3 years, but once they do, they surprise everyone." (有鸟三年不飞，一飞冲天。 三年不鸣， 一鸣惊人。)
• Ding Chuan as Hu Qing/Fox – Known as the military strategist, he was one step ahead most of the time, with a keen sense of noticing things that others did not immediately see. Sometimes, he would inject a sense of humor in seemingly serious situations. It’s hard to imagine another actor playing this role.
• Lu Fang Sheng as Emperor Ren Zong – I like his portrayal of Ren Zong – shrewd, merciful, humorous yet also serious, he is a good emperor who cared for the welfare of his people. He had to consider many things and make hard decisions.
• Xiao Han as Noble Consort Zhang – Sensible and understanding, she was the emperor’s favorite consort and close confidante.
• Zhang Yao as Royal Consort of Zhao – As Ye Zhao’s mother-in-law who didn’t like her at first, she was sometimes annoying but oftentimes funny, especially with the exaggerated acting on some scenes. Her character grew and she eventually accepted and loved Ye Zhao as a daughter-in-law.
• Zhang Wen as Princess Consort of Zhao – Hats off to Yu Jin’s sister-in-law! From the start, she was one of Ye Zhao’s strongest advocates, especially to their mother-in-law. There were no traces of jealousy or competition on her part.
• Wang Chu Ran as Liu Xi Yin – She’s not my favorite character, although I can understand how broken-hearted she felt after finding out that the man she loves since she was young was actually a woman. However, the things she did while staying at the duke’s manor were out of line. She did have her strong moments in the latter part of the story.
• Qiu Shui (Sookie Pan) and Qiu Hua (Wang Xuan) – I love that Ye Zhao has these two sisters as loyal deputies and trusted friends.
• Mei Niang (Jamie Zhang), Xuan Er (Zheng Shu Huan) and Xiao Xia Zi (Zhang Zhi Lu) – They were a funny trio, all loyal to Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao.

As a whole, the costumes were beautiful! I like Ye Zhao's clothes. They may look similar at first because most of them are blue in color (occasionally, she would wear other colors). But if you look further, the designs were beautiful, and the embroideries were meticulously done. The same can be said for Zhao Yu Jin's clothes, and his wardrobe had more color variety! As for the army's uniform, at first, I wasn't used to all the blue color. But it grew on me, and I came to appreciate it in one of the battle scenes, because they clearly stood out from their enemies, who were mostly wearing black, so it's easier to follow the fight scenes. This is in contrast to another battle scene where both sides were wearing black armor, with only some shades of color to distinguish them from each other.

On the OST: I love the soundtrack! I have 2 words to describe the opening theme, “Love is Above” (愛在上) – grand and epic! It's the grand entrance to the drama. Queena Cui and Peter Sheng's duet is captivating! The ending theme, “Loyalty” (忠貞), is sweet and romantic - just like how the couple's relationship grew and matured in the story. The other songs in the OST were played at the right moments, thus complementing the drama at different points ❤️.

I'm so glad that the story ended on a happy note. I do have some wish list for the ending though (SPOILERS):
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1) When I started this drama, I already knew that the ending will show them as grandparents. I was hoping/expecting that Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng will still play the old Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin (made to look older, of course). Turns out that Sandra Ma's grandparents were the ones who played their older versions. How sweet!
2) It would be good if they had shown the family's reactions to her pregnancy, especially her mother-in-law.
3) I wish they showed the couple during their early years of parenthood, how they raised their kids, their family interactions, etc.

But that's Ok. This is a very good drama overall, a very fun and enjoyable ride! It's worth watching (and rewatching) the 60 episodes. So don’t hesitate, go watch it ❤️!

Leggi di Più

Un drama historique chinois féministe : foncez !

Je suis tombée par hasard sur le résumé de ce drama. J'avoue que j'ai moins de connaissances dans les séries chinoises et que mon domaine habituel ce sont surtout les Lakhorn Thai, pour une raison bien simple : rares sont les dramas chinois historiques qui finissent bien et c'est pour moi une condition indispensable à mon visionnage (chez les thaï ça semble plutôt l'inverse, il faut se lever tôt pour trouver un drama avec une fin tragique, on peut donc regarder en confiance). Du coup, ça aide bien d'avoir des commentaires qui spoilent la fin sur ce site, et quand j'ai vu le sujet, je n'ai pas hésité.

Résumé : on a une jeune femme qui vit sous l'identité d'un homme depuis des années, après la mort de son père et de ses frères au champ d'honneur. Comme il s'agit d'une famille militaire qui protège le royaume des Song depuis des lustres, elle a repris l'activité familiale et a rapidement évolué au poste de générale. Sa férocité, son courage et ses talents sont connus de tous au point qu'on la surnomme le Roi de l'Enfer. Les conseillers du roi craignant que sa puissance ne fasse de l'ombre à son pouvoir, on lui demande de revenir dans la capitale après une bataille qu'elle vient de remporter. Acculée, elle n'a d'autre choix que d'écrire à son roi pour l'avertir qu'elle est une femme. Embarrassé par cette situation, le roi règle le problème en lui demandant de se marier. Le fiancé désigné s'avère être un jeune dandy apparenté au roi, un play-boy de santé fragile, oisif et élégant complètement rebuté à l'idée de se marier avec un garçon manqué. L'intrigue tourne autour de l'évolution de leur relation, avec en toile de fond des intrigues politiques internes impliquant des conflits avec le pays voisin. La générale qu'on a voulu mettre à l'écart va devoir reprendre du service et déjouer les pièges tendus par le cerveau de la conspiration.

Franchement, j'ai commencé à regarder ce drama avec les sourcils froncés, prête à râler avec des "pfff, je le savais" au moindre truc qui aurait égratigné mes convictions égalitaires. Et à ma grande surprise, mon front est très vite redevenu lisse, et il l'est resté jusqu'à la fin. Finement, tout en sachant intelligemment éviter les clichés, le drama distille des valeurs féministes et des petites phrases qui n'ont l'air de rien, mais qui parleront à celles qui ont déjà avancé sur ce chemin. A titre d'exemple, j'avoue avoir été scotchée par la première réaction d'une des femmes de l'histoire qui, apprenant qu'elle est enceinte, est loin de sauter de joie. Car oui, contrairement à ce que la société toute entière voudrait nous faire croire, la première réaction est souvent bien éloignée du ravissement (à moins bien sûr que ce soit voulu et programmé, mais statistiquement une grossesse arrive plus souvent au mauvais moment, surtout chez celles qui ne sont pas informées de la contraception et qui, encore à notre époque, sont tellement nombreuses...) et entendre un personnage féminin se demander quoi faire avec le parasite qui pousse dans son ventre au pire moment qui soit, et prête à risquer de le perdre parce que sa mission est plus importante, ça a quelque chose de... rafraichissant.

Alors ce n'est pas pour l'intrigue politique et militaire qu'il faut regarder cette histoire. Honnêtement, elle n'a rien d'original, si on aime les conspirations compliquées et les intrigues fomentées par des evil bitches à l'oreille de conseillers ridés et grimaçants, on ferait mieux de regarder "General and I", il est pas mal dans ce genre. Ici, le contexte politique vient surtout donner une épaisseur à l'histoire et servir de prétexte au rapprochement des protagonistes, et la brochette de méchants est assez réduite. Somme toute, la plupart des personnages sont assez sympathiques, ils ont leurs défauts, mais on nous épargne certains clichés (la salope manipulatrice, le méchant qui ricane et cherche juste le pouvoir pour le pouvoir, etc.). On leur donne une complexité, une histoire et des fêlures qui expliquent leur comportement, et même les femmes qui agissent mal dans ce drama sont bien montrées comme elles sont : prisonnières d'un monde fait par et pour des hommes, et forcées d'agir de la sorte si elles veulent un tant soit peu naviguer dans ce contexte où le pouvoir leur est refusé et leurs décisions limitées. Les épouses trompées et obligées de partager leur roi avec les concubines n'en sont que l'exemple le plus évident. Brasser de la bouffe à pleines mains et ne laisser que des miettes à une catégorie précise de la société, c'est s'assurer que les dominés de ladite société seront trop occupés à se disputer ces miettes pour penser à renverser ceux qui sont à la source de ce déséquilibre. Alors ce n'est pas le seul drama chinois historique à mettre en avant ce déséquilibre, par exemple "L'histoire de Min Lan" est relativement intelligent sur ce point et nous montre une héroïne parfaitement consciente de l'injustice envers son sexe, mais l'histoire est différente : Min Lan se bat dans ce monde avec sa ruse et sa discrétion, elle joue de sa position de femme supposée inoffensive et son art consiste à tout faire de la manière la plus fine possible pour atteindre son but sans qu'on puisse lui reprocher quoi que ce soit ni sortir du cadre qui lui est imposé. Dans "Oh my general", notre héroïne est tout aussi intelligente et ne cherche pas particulièrement à faire des vagues, mais elle ne va pas s'embarrasser de ces considérations. Homme ou femme, elle s'en fiche, elle est compétente et elle ne voit pas pourquoi elle n'exploiterait pas ces compétences quand elles sont nécessaires. Elle ne se préoccupe pas de ce que l'on pense d'elle ou de ce que la société attend d'une femme, affirmant sans détours que ces attentes sont ridicules et liberticides. Et finalement, ce n'est pas en se disciplinant et en adoptant les codes attendus qu'elle conquiert le cœur des autres, époux et belle-mère en tête. C'est au contraire en restant elle-même, et ce détail a toute son importance. J'arrête là la digression, sinon je vais finir par pondre une thèse.

La première originalité de l'histoire est de nous offrir un couple qui a l'air super mal assorti. Une femme forte et déterminée, un jeune élégant maladif et précieux, on est loin des histoires qui nous font traditionnellement battre le cœur. Et pourtant, ça fonctionne à fond ! La simplicité, la joie de vivre de l'héroïne, son intelligence et sa ruse la rendent extrêmement sympathique et je l'ai tout de suite aimée. Sa force physique et son côté garçon manqué ne sont jamais exagérés, elle est d'un naturel incroyable et n'a jamais l'air d'une gamine attardée (oui parce que les dramas où une héroïne forte a une voix de bébé, ça me gonfle), elle prend le temps de la réflexion, sait manipuler son époux dans le bon sens et n'hésite pas à lui balancer malicieusement "ok, je t'obéirai, mais en attendant j'ai des choses plus importantes à faire". Quant au héros, il a un côté gamin tête à claque boudeur et capricieux qui le rendent aussi agaçant qu'attachant. En même temps, il est honnête et il n'hésite pas à utiliser son intelligence (à défaut de force physique, vu qu'il est plutôt faiblard de ce côté-là) dès qu'il s'agit de soutenir sa femme. Le mot "équipe" nous vient spontanément à l'esprit quand on les voit ensemble. Au final, leur histoire d'amour nous apparaît comme une évidence.

Quoi dire de plus pour vous convaincre ? Allez, pour la forme, quelques éléments qui vous décideront peut-être :
- Des concubines ravies de l'arrivée de la générale dans la maisonnée et qui œuvrent à faciliter le rapprochement des époux, parce que si leur maître divorce, elles risquent de se retrouver aux ordres d'une nouvelle épouse vachement moins sympa,
- Une héroïne pas jalouse pour un sou de vivre avec les concubines en question, parce que les filles, c'est joli et ça met de la couleur dans la maisonnée (du coup c'est le mari qui fait la tronche, il aurait préféré qu'on se batte un peu pour lui...),
- Un héros conscient de son inutilité en temps de guerre mais qui n'hésite pas à s'humilier devant la cour pour supplier le roi de renvoyer sa femme sur le champ de bataille,
- Un mari bien plus concerné par des projets de maternité que son épouse,
- Un personnage lesbien - je n'en dévoilerai pas trop sur ce personnage, mais dans tous les cas, l'amour qu'elle éprouve pour une autre femme n'est jamais considéré comme quelque chose de tordu ou d'anormal. Il résulte certes d'un malentendu de départ, mais le spectateur est suffisamment intelligent pour deviner que c'est juste un procédé scénaristique pour contenter le politiquement correct et contourner la censure chinoise,
- Une héroïne qui fait comprendre, l'air de rien, que la question du viol en temps de guerre par les ennemis concerne avant tout les femmes et que merci monsieur, mais vous vous mêlez déjà de tout alors pour une fois, tu vas gentiment me laisser gérer.

J'aurais juste une critique sur ce drama, parce qu'il faut bien être objective quand même : une histoire d'amour secondaire aurait mérité d'être plus approfondie, le dénouement m'a paru trop précipité et donne l'impression que bon, vu que le drama se termine bientôt, va falloir boucler cet arc secondaire et pof c'est réglé en 2 temps 3 mouvements... Mais c'est bien le seul truc que je regrette dans cette histoire. Alors certes, comme je l'ai dit plus haut, toute l'intrigue en toile de fond n'a rien d'original et on a vu des rebondissements plus passionnants. Tout ça reste assez gentillet et je ne pense pas avoir envie de le revisionner un jour. Cependant le principal atout de ce drama, et qui justifie qu'on s'y intéresse, réside dans la dynamique de la relation entre les personnages : leur complémentarité évidente, des dialogues pas si cons quand on y réfléchit deux minutes, et une inversion des rôles genrés qui ne verse jamais dans la caricature. Pour la première fois un drama asiatique m'a offert la parfaite héroïne que j'attendais, et c'est déjà énorme.

Bref, si vous n'êtes toujours pas convaincu(e), je ne sais pas ce qu'il vous faut.

Leggi di Più

One of the funniest drama that i watched so far. How can the writer come up with the stories like this... :D

If you think this is typical stories that dominate women than men you can't be more wrong. This unordinary stories that tell how a strong women try not to make her man feel unappreciated especially because this stories setting in the past where men typically became dominant.

This stories also tell us how the under achievement men become strong & can became something when there is a women (or anyone) push him & believe him from behind.

What I love in this stories is In the review we can read Yu Jin (YJ) describe as "pampered, lazy and spends his time on "useless" artistic pursuits" but because of Ye Zhao (YZ) who believe YJ is not like what people see him at the end YJ can prove himself to become someone that is not just an empty shell.

I also love this stories even though YZ is so strong as a women, but when it come to her families (YJ families or her own) she can become so humble and not over bearing.

Re-watch: like to re-watch several ep but not from begin to end

Overall: This funny stories is show how love and how to support each other. Very suggested for you who search new kind of drama to watch....

Leggi di Più

Story: I think like for most ppl actually the play with stereotypical gender roles is what made the series stood out first, while later seeing the hilarious comedy value. I personally wished that the series have just kept it's essence like the first 20 episodes, where comedy was the main plot. Because from the 30th episode the series definitely got weaker in my eyes with the drama and political focus, which is much less entertaining. I would have given at least 9,5 points to the series if they have kept the quality and comedy focus of the first 20 episodes.

acting/cast: I have to say it has been a while, where I was that satisfied with a cast. Like the main leads nailed their roles and supporting casts are in their role completely as well. I especially actually loved the mother of the male lead lol.

Definitely worth watching, one of the funniest c-dramas I've seen. You might need to get used to the style of this work. So at least watch the second episode, if you make it through then you got a series for laughter for a while.

Leggi di Più

The story as well as the cast were good. Both Sheng Peter and Ma Sandra portrayed their role very well. The characters development was also amazing, as you would love the evil or irritating characters at the last episode. The transition between the hate relationship to love of the leads were also good, its just that during episode 20 on wards the story focuses more on the family/political issues that sometimes both the leads were not seen. In addition the ending was quite disappointing as it looked like it was rushed. It would have been better if the story line continued were it left off rather than skip it to a much further years. But overall, the drama was worth the watch.

Leggi di Più