The Lotus Casebook (2023)

Excellent drama with one flaw

THE STORY:
I started this thinking that we'd get to see detective stories, where I could solve cases together with the heroes. The cases were, although interesting, not of that sort. They all made sense, but the audience often only got to see the clues at the time Li Lianhua or Fang Duobing revealed them to their co-characters. The cases themselves were overshadowed by the overarching plot relatively early, so for me, they did not have too much merit by themselves, and only served as a vehicle to move the story forward.
The overarching story wasn't that complicated, we got to guess the main villain quite early, and some of the plot twists weren't that twisty for me.
(Also, the main plot point -- evil people from a defeated foreign country try to overthrow the mighty and just and overall better [China] and fail -- is typical Chinese nationalist fare.)
What makes the story interesting, is the journey of Li Lianhua, both in the past, which is revealed to us in increments, and in the present -- Li Lianhua, who is terminally ill and is pulled into the Jianhu after ten years of solitude, whose journey is one of finding closure, of forgiving or avenging, of finding meaning in life and death.

A plus, for me, is also that the series has little romance -- most of it finds it conclusion within three episodes or so around episode 20 (they decide their romance will stay in the past only). Unfortunately, most female characters' motivation still circles around love, more on that see below.

The story unfolds over 36 episodes, which never drag or feel rushed. The series kept my interest throughout -- the pacing was always just right.

THE CHARACTERS:
Li Lianhua is a wonderfully human character. He is flawed, he lies, he deceives but still seems to be a person who has his values he lives by. He is a miracle doctor and a horrible cook. He is someone who pushes others away, and it's never quite clear if it's to protect the other person or himself. He is selfish in his last decision, and at the same time sacrifices his life (essence) for others over and over again. Li Lianhua is world-weary but can still find solace in the little joys in life and seems to believe that most people are ultimately good.
Li Xiangyi was young and inexperienced. He trusted wholeheartedly -- but also judged hard. He thought he was the most important person in the sect -- and died because of it.

I also loved the other two main characters -- loved their banter, of course. They both had their distinct personalities and unique goals. Fang Doubing and Di Feisheng had good character development -- more time to show their personalities and their inner life would have been even better.

The one thing that irked me for the most part of the series was the portrayal of the female characters. Their motivations mainly circled around "love" (or a version thereof), and usually, they had no agency without a man. Let's look at the four most prominent women:
Jiao Li Qiao: Her motivation for anything is to get Di Feisheng as her husband. That's it.
Qiao Wan Mian: She is important as the past love interest of Li Xiangyi, who waited for ten years for him. Later, she gets a bit more agency, but it remains half-hearted. Has she left Zijin or not? Why does she take his Sect leader token but does not take on the role herself? (He is obviously still the sect leader later.)
Master He (Fang doubig's mother): She's the only woman without an interest in pursuing another man; the only one who is shown with significant skills who can contribute to the fight. She is also the only married woman, and the only middle-aged woman, so it's probably just that she's "too old" to be a potential love interest who can be heroically disregarded.
The princess: Her interest in marrying Fang Doubing is somewhat understandable -- as a princess she lives a highly regulated life, and probably knows that the only chance to get a bit of freedom is as a married woman. (Of course, her interest has to take a backseat next to her fiancé's desires.)
There's also the young girl who we first meet when she disguises herself as a man -- she could have easily been a cunning woman with a network of informants or a vast library. But no! She always gets her information from her grandfather and she is allowed to bring Li Lianhua to her brother for treatment.

That's enough of a rant for this review. Let's close with another excellent aspect:

THE ACTING:
I did not find one actor unsatisfying. The minor characters were all right throughout.
All three main characters were portrayed incredibly well. Especially Chen Yi (Li Lianhua) who needed to show his multi-layered personality without words had excellent micro-expressions. Di Feisheng is probably more interesting than the script itself has provided because Xiao Xun Yao manages to hint for underlying emotions of his character from the first second we get to see him on screen.
And a special mention has to go to Rain Wang (Jiao Li Qiao), who, despite her single-trait character, shows how chillingly deranged Jiao Li Qiao has become over the course of the series.

OVERALL:
This is, despite the one flaw, a series that tells a story about friendship, betrayal and revenge -- and a man who just wants to have a quiet death.
Recommended!

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Good Watch

One of the strongest points of this show is the plot itself. The pacing to me was great, the scenes would always feel important to the plot, and every case was related to the main story. The way it was all weaved together was amazing: the mystery reveals would take place at the perfect moment, the action scenes were very satisfying and the relationship development among the characters were well fleshed out. It is so refreshing to find a drama that let the plot naturally explore the relationships that would form among the characters rather than let the relationship (the romance, for example) drag the plot along. The action scenes were also all amazing - they really showed us how mighty these characters were, especially Li Xiang Yi/Li Lian Hua. The audience could truly feel that he was the best who was around! The choreography and execution really lived up to the hype that the scenes were trying to make us feel.

However, what truly kept me glued to my screen was the acting. I have some gripes about the acting of some of the supporting characters BUT the main trio was amazing throughout the entire drama. Special shoutout to Cheng Yi, who was nothing but only brilliant in portraying Li Lian Hua. He truly brought the character to life. He weaved in certain mannerisms and behaviours that may have been subtle and even unnoticed but they filled in Li Lian Hua's personality tremendously, to the point where I could feel his emotions - his feelings of grief, regrets, affection and betrayal - very, very deeply. Joseph Zeng and Xiao Shun Yao also showed that they understood Fang Duo Bing and Di Fei Sheng greatly, and their performances allowed for the perfect chemistry among them three as they journeyed towards uncovering the mystery that had been haunting them for years now.

Overall, you should give this drama a chance! It was definitely worth watching.

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My favourite Cheng Yi's drama yet

I was usually not a fan of Cheng Yi - insofar, the dramas I watched of his are mostly of him portraying depressive characters. This was the first time I see him in a character that was somewhat playful, wickedly humourous and cleverly cunning - a lot more interesting, and I think he did very well. Of course the second lead Joseph Zeng also did very well as his naive side kick.

Overall, I rated this drama very highly although I hated the ending. An excellent cast, good looking actors/resses, interesting story, realistic costume and backdrop, good cinematography - it scored well on all the important factors. But like a lot of Chinese drama, it had a bitter sweet ending.

Li Xiang Yi (Cheng Yi) was an outstanding swordsman with a very strong sense of justice and righteousness. Di Fei Sheng, head of the JinYuan sect challenged him to a fight for the top rank in the martial world. Secretly poisoned by Jiao Li Qiao, a psychopath, before the fight, he fell into the river after destroying the ship of the JinYuan sect and was missing.

Ten years later, Di Fei Sheng recovered from his injuries and emerged once again in the martial world. Around this time, someone who earned the title of a miracle doctor known as Li LianHua was travelling around the world in a tower horse carriage. He met Fang DuoBing, a young passionate swordsman who claimed to be the disciple of the missing Li XiangYi. Both had identities that they were either hiding or were ignorant of.

The story was interesting as DuoBing and an unwilling LianHua worked together to uncover a huge conspiracy involving a vanquished kingdom and the bloodline of the current Xi dynasty. It was one of the best detective dramas that I had watched.

Strongly recommend this drama but I must say, you better not be suffering from a depression as the ending was melancholic.

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A dying man's 2nd chance to life & his inescapable destiny prior to his death | A Peculiar Trio!

"Those who truly repent deserves a second chance in life" - Li Xiang Yi

How can I not like this drama, honestly? I know that it has flaws that are too evident not to notice however the excellence of how it was created and produced completely made me look past its shortcomings. It is one of those good dramas you can't stomach to give lower ratings to, simply because it was crazily entertaining that you just end up letting those little silly imperfections slide in consideration of how good the entire story is. I feel like giving it lower than 10 (my own standard) will mean that some other dramas I had watched is better than this even if it's not.

Anyways, let me start this review by saying that I will certainly miss the uncanny dynamics of Li Lian Hua, Fang Duo Bing and Di Fei Sheng trio. I never expected their chemistry to be so good and I am totally pleased on how they portray the main antagonist to be someone reasonable and even go all friendly with the main protagonist. Isn't it nice and refreshing to see both characters go along so well once in a while? or is it just me? Lol. Maybe I got so tired watching the same shit go off again and again for the 2 most significant character of the story that I feel extremely satisfied watching them finally having genuine friendly relationship for once.

Above all, I believe that this story have become a platform for the Author to tell us that there is more to life. That life is limited and full of uncertainties, so we cannot be conceited that it will always remain stable and flourishing because it can be a bad bitch and turn its back against you in a blink of an eye. I feel like this story was created to show us the aftereffect and/or the future that no one has ever predicted coming. The story of how the ever thriving and most powerful young man fell off his grace and realized how multifaceted life truly is. It's his journey of rediscovering the other side of life that he has never seen and experienced from where he was back then. Thus making his current self uncurious and detached from the world he used to be part of. This also made me realized that the worst person to fight with is the one who doesn't have the will to fightback.

It also holds another valuable and important life lesson that the closest people to you can turn their backs against you and how you can gain mutual understanding and connection with your mortal enemy and even become BFFs. Lol!

Lastly, I think what made this drama unique and interesting lies on the way they made the main characters different from how they normally are. It gave this drama more color and substance because instead of fighting with each other they are instead solving cases and wandering around together building unanticipated bond that no one has ever expected of them before. It also further emphasizes on how unpredictable and constantly changing our life can be. That it can turn rivalry and hatred into something wholesame and can make years of intimate bond, affection, affinity and experience into a smelly nasty trash.

P.S. I just wanna say that I'm amazed by the pull over Lotus Tower. That's such an iconic infrastracture they built right there.

Story - 10, It was a unique story that is completely different from all the Wuxia I have watched until now. It feels like its main purpose is to educate and entertain; and when I said entertain, I meant E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N!! This drama is a whole mood! No dull moments at all and the story progression itself is nice and constant. Just bear through the ridiculous moments when the characters can't recognize their Leader simply because he's wearing a half mask and or he gained a little weight and you will be fine. Hahaha!

Acting/Cast - 10, Oh God! No questions at all! The 3 main leads killed it. The chemistry was insane. Like, I-N-S-A-N-E and I will never get enough of this Trio's interaction. They're so chaotic and lively together. Also, I have always known that ChengYi's a good actor but DANG! His portrayal here deserves some kind of award. I love his clever and unserious acting + His facial expression made his character even more mischievous looking. Hahaha!

Music - 10, I never really got to pay attention to the overall music because I was so engrossed to how good the drama is. But one thing is for sure and that is I was never bothered by it.

Rewatch Value - 10, One of those dramas I'm willing to watch again from the very beginning even right after I finished it. It was that good!

Overall - 10, I'm sure everyone has seen this coming. Hahaha! All I can say is that this is my kind of drama. A fun, entertaining and easy to watch one. If you're still comtemplating whether to watch this or not, then this is your GO SIGNAL to do so. It will never be a question if this is a hit or a miss because it straight up will always be a HIT!

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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A perfect mix of Martial Arts, Emotions, Mystery and Suspense

The friendship between Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng is truly special, as three people who would otherwise never meet work together due to circumstances, becoming the most unlikely trio in this story.
Watching them embark on their journey together, grow to love each other and be there for each other in every situation is truly an eye-opener. We as humans can learn so much from these three - because nothing is as it seems.

Each episode was so thrilling and exciting that you could hardly wait to see the next episodes. The story had so many twists and turns that even normal situations turned out to be different than we would have expected.
This story has the perfect mix of martial arts, emotions, friendship, mystery and suspense.

Cheng Yi delivered as he always does. When he plays a role, he plays it to the very bitter end and makes sure that we can feel the emotions of the character himself. If you know his dramas, you will immediately understand what is being referred to. No one else is capable of playing such a tragic role.

I have seen Zeng Shunxi in many other dramas and I must admit that his portrayal of the young hero Fang Duobing is on point and he portrays the young, naive, rich character who doesn't have that much life experience yet very well.

Xiao Shunyao did an excellent job of bringing Di Feisheng to life and making us realise that for Di Feisheng, Li Xiang Xi/Li Lianhua is his absolute number one and he is determined to keep him alive, at any possible cost. Even if he doesn't admit it and instead always puts forward the reason to fight with him or against him one last time to find out who is the better martial artist.

The actors worked hard for the action scenes, and you can tell. The behind-the-scenes footage shows us exactly how much everyone has trained in advance to prepare for their roles in order to deliver an ultimate martial arts experience.

The staging, production design and costume designers have gone to great lengths to show the difference between the ruling dynasty and the Nanyin Empire. It is obvious at first glance who belongs where.
They have also given the characters from the Blood Empire characteristics that distinguish them from the ruling dynasty.
They have brought Lianhua's house to life with great attention to detail, which he travels around in. The house is somewhat reminiscent of ‘Howl's Moving Castle’, even though Li Lianhua's house is pulled by horses.
Each sword is different from the other, which also hides clues to the different characters and their behaviour - the formerly arrogant Li Xiangyi (the hilt of his sword is elaborately crafted, the second sword should go unmentioned as it hides a very tragic story), the simple-minded Di Feisheng (single-edged sabre) and the rich Fang Duobing (his sword is elaborate, with a very expensive jade pendant and marked with the family name).
The more Li Lianhua's illness progresses, the more his clothes and especially his hair sticks change. These show that his health is deteriorating. Where vibrant colours once played an important role, they are gradually replaced by calmer colours. The fabrics used for the hanfu are also changing. Where once light and supple fabric was used, over time it becomes less elegant and much simpler - sometimes it could even be described as a little rough. His hair sticks were once lotus flowers, which were gradually replaced by the lotus root or by the leaves, which were slowly dying off. On the one hand, it could mean going back closer to the origin (ashes to ashes), but it could also mean that he has shed his former arrogance and prefers simpler hair sticks.
In Fang Duobing's case, his clothes are designed to suit the noble, rich gentlemen and he carries an extremely expensive jade stone attached to his belt, which he inherited from his mother when he was a baby. His clothing also reflects the high status of his family and, above all, the fact that he is in no way inferior to his fiancée, the princess, in financial terms.
Di Feisheng's clothing is adapted to his combative nature so that he can move quickly at all times and show off his superior qigong skills.

As for the OST, I have to say that whenever Liu Yuning and Modeng Xiongdi have provided the soundtrack, I've always been absolutely thrilled by the story and, of course, by their music

In general, I really liked the OST in the drama, which is why the drama is perfectly rounded off by the OST for me.

Of course, the storyline isn't perfect, but it's the characters and the twists and turns in the story that captivate us. Rarely have I watched a drama in which it was so difficult to tell what was right and what was wrong - are we perhaps completely misjudging? We only really knew what was true and what wasn't at the end - in the end I was absolutely wrong, because everything turned out differently than I had initially assumed.

The Impossible Trio shows that friendships are always possible, no matter who you are: whether you were once foes, whether you've met someone new, whether you're rich or poor - a person's background is absolutely irrelevant and we should give everyone a chance. This story conveys the idea of never being too quick to judge a person, but to get to know them first, because sometimes people can surprise one another.

I hope that everyone will enjoy this drama as much as I did.

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As good as expected

This was one of my highly anticipated watches of the year and it lived up to my expectations.

The bad

The only things I didn’t like was the random forced love connections they were trying to make with our leading men. They were clearly not interested but glad it didn’t take the same approach like Blood of the Youth and force it in the end. Also, the acting of Chen Du Ling left a lot to be desired. During her crying scenes, I couldn’t tell if she was crying or smiling. Definitely didn’t move me. The third thing was the constant vicious cycle that Di Feichang had with Jiao Li Qiao.. That story arc could have ended earlier on but they sort of dragged that out for the sake of having a story. Lastly, the OST wasn’t anything special.

The good

So many good things about this show. I still give an overall 10 rating even with some flaws because it was a uniquely written story that kept me engaged all the way through. There wasn’t a single throwaway episode. I appreciated how they kept the story progressing even when completing side cases. Many of those still connected to the larger story. I also loved how our 3 men used their real voices. It made things so much more authentic and the conversations and interactions between them seemed so natural. Definitely one of the more interesting and most fun leads in a show. Each had a different personality and brought something unique to their trio. Of course the acting was top notch in here. Besides Chen Du Ling, everyone else did such an amazing job, especially our 3 male leads. Hands down, this is the best show I’ve seen for them 3 to date. Next the fighting scenes were amazing. I wish we had more. It’s refreshing to see leads with good coordination and real martial arts pull off the scenes. It elevated the show for sure. Lastly, the visuals were beautiful. Pretty good CGI, costumes were good, high quality wigs with no visible lace fronts that I see quite a bit in CDramas. Also no CDrama tropes that most of us come to dread.

Watch for yourself but this one goes down as one my favorites. Make your own judgement.

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The Best Choice Of The Year

My first bromance drama ! never thought i need this kind of genre in life . one of the best decisions that i have made in life is watching this drama . will go and find the same genre with this drama !

Three actors got a great chemistry together ,
Such a great trio made me jealous of their friendship.
Fang Doubing and Di Feisheng are being portrayed by a great actor !
The bickering of Fang Doubing and Li Lianhua literally lighting up the story. Really glad that Di Feisheng are not a real antagonist because i really love their scenes during Di Feisheng lose his memory .

At first i kinda disappointed with the ending and really hoping there is a twist in the end to saves Li Lianhua so he can be Li Xiangyi again , get to travel together with Fang Doubing.

but when i rewatching it again , im understand why that was the best ending .
its tiring for Li Xiangyi to live and Li Lianhua never want to be Li Xiangyi again , even i feel empty after it end.
I feel really sad everytime Li Lianhua disease acting up.

last but not least ; its a well written drama with a great cast! It even made my imaginary turn wild like a kids , thinking if i can be part of the sect and being a legendary swordsman like Li Xiangyi .

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Bromance

Uma trama muito bem elaborada, personagens desenvolvidos e atuações de primeira! Os mistérios eram como peças de quebra-cabeça, que conforme eles iam resolvendo tudo ia se encaixando. Sempre com um plot twist pra nos surpreender. A dinâmica entre Fang Doubing, o Li Lianhuan e Di Feisheng é demais, variando com brigas, discussões, cuidados e demonstrações de carinho. O fato de não ter foco em romance, (mas ainda ter umas migalhas) foi muito bom. O detalhe das ilustrações da casinha do Li Lianhuan andando conforme os lugares que eles iam passando achei uma graça. Fang Doubing foi meu personagem favorito, e não tem ninguém acima dele!!! A vilã feminina, uma diva, linda, maluca, psicopata, amoo!
Ainda não digeri o final! Devastada!

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mysterious lotus casebook

ceritanya bagus banget, plot twistnya bener bikin kaget,jasad senior yang dia cari selama 10 tahun ternyata hanya tipuan, orang dia cari masih hidup dan penuh dendam terhadapnya,sangat terharu liat peran joseph sebagai fang doubing yang sangat sayang terhadap li linhua meskipun sering di tinggal dia tetap setia, di bohongi soal identitas sebagai gurunya li xianyi,meskipun dia marah tapi setelah mengetahui soal racun yang di tubuh gurunya dia membantu menacti obat penawarnya, di feisheng sebagai teman petaruhnya bagus banget ngelakuin hal yang bisa membantu li linhua agar tidak menyerah

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Captivating and intriguing

I truly enjoyed this drama becos , I love this genre so much, the various mysterious cases, the case solving all reminded me of Agatha Christie's and the likewise detective stories I grew up reading n so i enjoyed this drama so much. All the actors did good job but i personally liked fang doubing ckt the most. Although I didn't watch last episode becos I didn't want to watch the sad ending n so by watching epi 39, i gave myself closure with the thought that it had happy ending and evryone lived happily like they wanted i.e LX roaming with FDB solving cases in martial world, n DFX helping them sometimes n always wanting to have a spar with LX?, that's the ending I m going to live with in my mind, so I avoided watching epi 40.
Although this drama seems underrated n not hyped much maybe due to no romance n love story part in it I would highly recommend this drama for mystery and thrill lovers.

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I would recommend everyone to watch this drama... Though the drama was bit slow in the start but later on it gets interesting.. U won't get bored even for a second... The lead actors and the support actors all are too good.... I never thought that the combo of 3lead actors would turn out so good... Cheng yi's acting skills are on point and not to forget the fight scenes I have never seen thismuch perfection in any other dramas... I have seen Joseph Zheng and the otherlead actor in other dramas but this was my first drama of Cheng Yi and don't regret watching this masterpiece... Even the other 2 lead actors role were different in this drama which was unexpected... The plot is 10 /10....so future viewers don't keep thinking jst go for it...

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