Zhu Yan (2023)

A good pairing.

Note: I watched on Netflix, which had 43 episodes. Not sure why MDL says only 40.

Let’s be honest… the plot was not plotting here. However the leads were fantastic, both in character on their own and in their relationship together. They were the only enjoyable aspect for me. The side couples were cute enough but truthfully I did not care about them or anything else going on really.

Ren Min is incredible. I had only seen her years ago in “Cry Me A Sad River” so it was nice to see her again and leading in a show opposite Xiao Zhan. They have great chemistry and do what they can with the story they were provided. Since they were the leads I was able to enjoy a good chunk of this. It was just any scene without them that had me struggling to pay attention.

That being said it got messy enough towards the end that even I began to lose interest in the leads themselves. I’d say around episode 37 or 38 is the last good moments had with them.

Rating it a 7 for the leads. If you were to watch only the leads scenes it’s a 7 for sure. Take the rest into account it probably goes down to a 6 but.. whatever.

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Top-Notch Acting, Patiently Built Storyline and Symbolic Flower

The Longest Promise seamlessly combines elements of romance, fantasy, and historical fiction with its compelling storyline, breathtaking visuals, and heartfelt performances. The drama excels in showing flaws in every character, their reasons and developments - as well as angst because we swam in our tears, especially on EP35-40. Yet, we also get a good dose of comedy and precious squad.

While some viewers may find the initial pace slow, I must say it is definitely worth it since those are stages that patiently build the storyline. The gradual hints and beautifully crafted parallels in the subsequent episodes make the buildup truly rewarding.

The chemistry between the lead actors is palpable, their emotional connection drawing viewers into their world. There is hesitation, uncertainty, and some reasonable (and painful) misunderstandings. But most of all, I especially liked their determination in the final episodes to save the world together. It was refreshing to see both ML and FL fight side by side, with a promise to protect and support each other.

Visually, it has exquisite cinematography and lavish sets, that leave viewers amazed. Especially the dragon CGI was one of the best that I have seen recently.

The supporting cast adds depth and complexity to the story, with each character contributing to the richness of the narrative. Their motivations and interactions add layers of tension, ensuring a well-rounded experience.

Regarding the ending, I would say it's a "hopeful" open ending that hinted at happiness in previous episodes. As Shi Ying and Zhu Yan "promised" to find each other, and Zhu Yan mentioned how she never saw Shi Ying in her dreams for a year, I think it means he returned to her.

I also had been looking for flowers that can be an inspiration for the "Snowy Rosa" and I guess they used more than one reference for the flower. The closest one I could find was Yulan Magnolia, which has a tree that is named after the Chinese word "Yulan," which means "jade lily." The blooms typically appear in early spring and the flower is deeply associated with beauty, purity, and elegance. So it symbolizes the arrival of spring and the "renewal of life," which is also why I think Shi Ying returned to Zhu Yan once again (the first time being after their encounter as kids.)

Overall, I truly enjoyed this drama and think I will occasionally revisit it to watch my favorite scenes. I will also continue making edits / fmv for the drama, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI-LyvxxdMxDDA1gonAWMPAbp_5Sx-RWU

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love Xiao Zhan visual

I don't know about dramas, I think they are pretty good and their visuals spoil audiences like me who are not used to watching Chinese dramas..
but this drama presents quite an interesting visual, for the storyline the plot is quite fast but what makes it interesting is the good acting of Xiao zhan and ren min, even though their chemistry hasn't built much, hopefully as the story develops their chemistry will get stronger, regardless of the blasphemy the visual ren min who was slammed by xiao zhan is quite concerning, hopefully ren min can silence the haters with his good acting and can keep up with xiao zhan who has also developed a lot

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Better than the source novel and gets even better each episode

This is probably the only drama that is much better than the original source novel. And the unique quality of this drama: it gets better as the episodes go on.

The world building in this drama is stunningly done. All the clans have their own flavor to them. It has some really beautiful cgi+ cinematography too.

The best thing about this drama? The relationships!

Bai Xuelu and Qing Gang start off as enemies but they end up becoming the sweetest couple there is. Bai Xuelu has the best character growth I've seen in any drama. She starts off as your usual green tea 2nd fl, but you can see from the start, there's something special about her. At the end she becomes so empowered and a overall great human being. She had potential and definitely achieved it! Qing Gang is just so righteous and charming. There relationship developed very organically.

Bai Xueying and Shi Yu fell in love a little too fast but they are the much needed calmness amidst all the knives in this drama.

Now are main couple: Shi Ying is the best! Whatever it is, looks, righteousness, kindness, backstory. He is the best in everything. This man even has some good humour mind you, definitely not your usual shifu. He and Zhu Yan are more or less the same age too! He is just so pure, I cried for him the most. He deserves the world but the world is too cruel to him.
Now Zhu Yan, I admit she's kinda annoying. I hated the way she treats Zhi Yuan. She calls him a friend but her actions kind of suggest something more than that. I was secretly happy everytime Great Grand Priest reprimanded her lol. But at the end she redeems herself with a ton of sacrifices.
Xiao Zhan always does a great job playing whatever character he gets. His emotional scenes and they eat he carries himself in character are really non-questionable. Ren Min does crying scenes like no other. Wang Churan is really good too.


Da Siming aka Great Grand Priest is my favorite character. He's this no bullshit guy everyone fears. And the only person who actually gets works done and puts the useless emperor on line. The emperor is too useless he gives me a headache. The empire wouldn't last a day if anybody depended on the Emperor. I liked the friendships in this drama too. Bai Xueying, Zhu Yan, Qing Gang trio was fun.
Chong Ming is sooo fun to watch. He's adorable, confident, hilarious and savage. Our most beautiful and favorite divine bird!!

The true OTP of this drama? Why yes it's obviously Chong Ming and Shi Ying.

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Must watch! Masterpiece of the genre

I had two reasons for watching this drama : the genre which is one of my favorites ones and Xiao Zhan. While watching I liked the drama due to many other reasons :story was interesting, the female lead played her role well (I know a lot of people did not liked her looks but her acting skills especially the crying and tragic parts were great!) the music - I became obsessed with the opening OST, having it on my repeat Spotify playlist, and the overall quality of the drama - attention to details, costumes, set up etc.
For the people judging it after one or two episodes I just one to tell this is not that kind of drama. I loved the fact that they took the time to construct the characters, to introduce the stories and slow burn the romance. This is not the typical xanxia you are used to and I think that is making it special. Xiao Zhan as Shifu is clearly leading the role and impressed the audience. What a gracefull and elegant appearance! Bottom line I loved the show and hope many people will enjoy it too.

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The Longest Promise is worth the longest wait

For a xian xia drama lover, The Longest Promise is really a treat. This drama is made with utmost love and sincerity. The 2 years preparation before shooting made a big difference. Each scene is like a piece of art. Everything is perfect from cinematography, CGI, storyline, casting, songs and costumes. The effort that the production team took is evidenced by shooting underwater. I mean most drama would just CG it . You will appreciate it more when you watch all those BTS. There were too many memorable scenes.
Xiao Zhan's acting is exceptional. Besides the fact that he looks like an immortal, his acting in emotional and fighting scenes are on point. His role is a priest raised in seclusion so he had to be serious and restrained most of the time. But he managed to display a bit of naughtiness and playfulness especially when he interacted with Zhu Yan. I like the fact their romance is subtle and gradual because it is more believable that way. You cannot expect a priest to be suddenly all passionate right? I grew to like Zhu Yan's character because throughout the drama her character showed growth. This is my first time watching Ren Min so I am pleasantly surprised such a young actress can display a solid acting skill as unrestrained courageous princess of the West. The supporting actors, actresses and even the child actors were good too. I love the non conventional story line with the open ending that stimulated so much of discussion online. The pace might be a bit slow in the middle but the last quarter of the drama is explosive. I super enjoy the fighting scenes which were very well shot and choreographed. This drama will remain unforgettable for a very long time and I will rewatch again for sure.

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GOAT

This is a masterpiece. The storyline delivered and did not disappoint. One of the most detailed works I’ve ever seen. The cast was outstanding. Everything was beautiful and on point. The trama got my attention right away and the soundtracks compel you to keep watching. Left a warm feeling.
Xiao Zhan is indeed a marvelous actor and artist in general. He always knows how to portray the scenes so we, viewers, catch the raw feelings of the characters in question. To sympathize with him an all his surroundings. To cry and laugh along with him.
Directions and customs precious.
The hard effort let to a great outcome. The actors and actresses performance was so bright and clever though. They shown passion and were the brightest. For all the viewers, do have great expectations for this work. Superb. Recommend it 100%

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Best Xanxia of this year

I rewatched this series already 3 times, this is how much I have loved it. From story which was very nice to follow, not a typical Xanxia with a lot of blood spitting and several realms, to the amazing special effects- Hollywood level they were able to create,liked it all. The Dragon was the best CGI I ever seen in a drama.
Xiao Zhan and Ren Min did a very good job portraying the characters they had. As a novel reader I appreciated the level of quality work they put in this play.
Attention to details was also a big plus!
Overall the best drama for this summer😍

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Emotionally Riveting Story of Defying Fate for Love and Duty

I'll be honest. This is not perfect (kinda rushed towards the end) but this is still so so good. I'm still emotionally hung up. The last time I felt this was because of Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Hands down to the cast especially to the ML and FL with their superb acting. Also, the high quality of production shows on the aesthetically pleasing scenes of the story. Probably, a lot of big budget put into good use.

For the plot, I love how the story started from a simple act of kindness to Fate giving them a tragic prophecy. Shi Ying embraced loneliness until Zhu Yan appeared. She disturbed his quiet sanctuary with her bright and mischievous personality. I know pretty stereotyped but well executed. I particularly loved the Wishing Tree scene, he tried to make it wither but instead made it grow and bloom when he realized his affections for her. In the end, he forcefully burned the tree. This is his last attempt to rebel against his affections and the prophecy.

A slow burn but emotionally satisfying if you understand the implied meaning of each scenes and concepts.

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Last episode make me cry

i finished all episodes, i impressed with last 5 episode, its long 3 ep more then 3 hours but its not feel boring, its been long since i have finished any full xianxia, i like to watch xianxia as a fan of this genre i am quit satisfied, starting feel little slow like like first 20 ep but its always same in xianxia so used to it, overall is fine, not fine with male lead death, i don't like when lead died in drama i like to watch happy ending, talking about acting shi ying/xiao zhan acting is great he is hard carrying last episodes, heaven punishment scene was amazing its hurt when you see him, in later ep when he lost memory his young child acting impressive xiao zhan never failed with his acting, female lead zhu yan/ren min not impressed me much i like her acting in starting ep but she can't carry angst scene, when she killed ml her expression is blank, even we look more socked then her, last killing scene same, sy dying front of her and she like what should i do, drama is good, seen lots of discussion about fl look but i don't care about looks so no comment, enjoy drama very much...

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❤️

Not my kind of trope but I enjoyed watching it. Although the first few episodes we're kinda boring to me but it got better after episode 24 at least. All in all, I would recommend this drama, it's cute yet so tragic. Prepare a box of tissue for the last arc 🤷‍♀️ The ending was satisfying and beautiful but I'd take it as a sad ending. It's a typical ending for xianxia dramas, I must say.

I like the overall production, though I find the cgi lacking a bit. I'm impressed with RenMin's acting especiallly in the latter part of the drama. Xiao Zhan, on the other hand, improved a lot👍💯 I like how he made shi ying cold and distant yet so elegant and caring. All of the cast did a great job! The only thing I don't like in this drama is some lines were kinda messy? Idk maybe because I expected more since I've already read the novel before watching this.

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