My Track

1st) Well my first drama. Watched it quite a few times. Cast is amazing everyone I feel is just as it should be. Should check who was beggar chief's wife add her to fav list. But yeah loved it from start to finish multiple times. Light comedy start and mix. Then someone turning it up to 11 with A Zi poking her eyes out. etc.,

Tried watching other versions found them unwatchable due to likability of characters.

5th) Loved it from start to finish. It was very hard to get through youtube playlists, until I've managed to get all the episodes from 5 different sources but in the end it was worth it. None of the characters pissed me off.  And I still rewatch some of the scenes between Xiao Yan and Bai Lu those little facial expressions are just too cute.  Favourite scene is where Qin Zhi Yan is advising Zhao Yao to get some pills as well ... it just caught me off guard at the time.
I've even liked main male guys which is rare, and here Li Chen Lan with Zhao Yao looked just right.

By right it should be my number 1, but Demi-Gods had so much emotional investment at the time, so I can't bring myself to bring it down.

31) Arbaz recommendation. Insanely good.

Chicken entry was legendary and synopsis indicated the story is about a chicken taking care of a man so I kinda settled in for some children's cartoon. When I saw a carefully positioned kettle to make it look like she's blowing steam out of her arse, I asked myself wtf did Arbaz recommend? But by the end of e01 was simply hooked. I knew it was the girl from PA(the trauma of which I still carry) by e03 it dawned on me that God is also the Ywy from PA so here ngl I was excited but then I got scared that they going to have excellent go of it and then fuck up the end. They didn't. Not the end not the middle and overall it was fantastic. Acting was fantastic from everyone except Mofung(some say it's intentional but I doubt it).
Visually brilliant: colors,costumes excellent. CGI amazing - even water and even two birds FL and the retarded talking bird (here it's called Shushu).Two big scenes from PA made it water rescue and the rabbit lantern scene. The lantern scene was insane. In PA I was on chair's edge saying "please don't run away now,I know you have no reason not to,but please don't" here I knew she wasn't going anywhere so no angst at all.

Based on back to back rewatch it's a record. So not sure if to bring it up above legend or even demis. 

https://novel2u.net/chapter/the-legend-of-shen-li-english-translation-of-yu-feng-xing-%E4%B8%8E%E5%87%A4%E8%A1%8C-chapter-40-qing-ye-s-godhead-1286719047.html

It was a very tough show to stop watching. Tried 7 or 8 different shows now. 

Don't want to watch anything else.

17th) Saw some screenshots on Arbas Akhtar's profile. Brilliant everyone is awesome. like I can't pick out a bad moment there. Watched both seasons in about 3 days. Good balance of humour and serious plot lines. Yeah even if s2 did not happen the story could've easily finished there. Quib for s1 like "everyone for no reason just have to love this girl" is not as strong as in "Princess Agent" but then again if there is any notion to compare a show should automatically lose a star; but s1 was watched in pretty much single sitting. Has a feel of "The Legends" and "Eternal Love". Everything was good. Not sure if it should be above "Joy of Life" or not so it somewhere along the same level.

Turns out Go Youn Jung Nak Su from s2, was already in s1, I did not recognise her as "her" in those flashbacks. She was in the very very final scene.

Re body transfiguration in S2: after a serious hint from Arbas, When she jumped into the lake she was already transforming. Master Lee treated it her using similiar to a way when queen revived the dead eunuch (she planted the stone alright in e13). However, this body had 3 souls in it. So the one that was "cured" got the appearance of Seol Ran. Whether it was intentional or because Seol Ran was so powerful to affect it does not matter really.

He corrected me saying that Buyen was still-born and master Li modified her appearance "manually".

After re-watching a few more bits, fuuck Seo Yul, what a disgusting little creep. He does not need to stand still even for 3 seconds to be sickening.

What an amazing soundtrack! watched parts again. Even with than sickening magoot Seo Yul, bringing them up to 3rd place.

18th) Watched together with S1 and initially thought would keep it at 10, but presence of that creepy character Seo Yul, just irritated me beyond belief. Like I am not going to count the seconds but by projecting situations that were shown he seems to have spent more time with FL than Jang Uk. Since he is not privy to the main arrangement of "the marriage" some friends should have had a word or two with him like "wtf are you doing hanging around so much with your best friend's wife ". Especially Jang, should've been like "what's the story with that whistle, would you like me to help it up your arse?"

I don't get the criticisms of it being misogynistic or FL being weaker than before, since it's not clear whose soul is in charge. As far as confidence she was not different to Nak Su or whatever. Albeit I was puzzled where should I suspend disbelief like they changed actress so in the film does she supposed to look similiar or did she get some body treatment.

I was going to give it a 9 but the half a star is really for crown prince to say that he is going against the baddy because he sent the turtle away.  I just can't imagine anyone else to say that line other than that guy (Shin Seung Ho)

Will keep them together because it really feels like should be the same season.

11th) Looks like it came out right after Princess Agents with similar characters and props. From screenshots I've even though that it's just under different name (the way things are on youtube). The setting was immediately established in a world where  "magic" lives so the presence of cgi-rat  (Yuan Bao?) is not annoying. Defending a besieged city was done alright as well.

 Although Fu Yao's attitude is done in same way as Xing'er in princess agents it's more believable when she gives it and not as annoying. Well at least I don't recall a scene where I wished someone would just stab her in the face. All, the young guys were great which is rare. Definitely an improved clone of Princess Agents.

Yeah fuck it - i loved it. dynamic was great.  Nothing pissed me off. Ending very well done. Soundtrack excellent. Very emotionally intense and a lot of monologues. It's definitely different to the ones I normally watch. On aggregate it's definitely the best of what I've watched so far; but I just felt emotionally exhausted due to complete lack of comic relief. So for now I am going to put it below "the legends".

29th)  Someone mentioned it either on Wonderland of Love or on Kunning Palace.

When I saw the super CGI and fight at the beginning of e01 I was like ah crap another BTTH.
Luckily I didn't drop it. Very humourous with very dark undertones. Plenty of cheesy characters too but they didn't annoy (not even crosseyed-Wuji).

Little investigations they were doing was really a backdrop to his burnout and were very entertaining.

Good film for middle aged people and a warning to the young ?
Plenty of scenes I'd like to watch again.

Cast was excellent throughout. Easier with girls:
Rain Wang: Thought she looked familiar (yeah Fu Yao), here total star.
Cao Xi Yue: again she is like a super support character in everything I've seen

Generally young guys are in roles where I have to squint a little but here the main 3 are great:
Cheng Yi: very young but can't think of a better guy to play this role excellent.
Joseph Weng: always had mixed feelings about him since DSHS, but here perfect.
Xiao Shun Yao: not enough screentime felt like he was a support character but again did not annoy.

Someone was saying it ended with a view to an s2 (It was done by a 5min special).

I'm not sure how it's possible to do well without ruining the whole premise of s1.
In the book he is supposed to be found blind but I didn't check it out yet.

Anyway, I'm well impressed.Good Show, done well.

8th) Started watching it after Heavenly Sword also picking and choosing different version so was fairly boned up on the subject. Li Yi Tong as Huang Rong was just as I imagined she should be. Beggar Chief Hang also felt like he should be. Also,  I was able to recognize some of the characters which appear in the Heavenly Sword later it all felt very familiar. Probably except for Emperor/Monk who was frigging weird.

Every scene with Huang Rong is a joy in one way or another, so it's too soon, I am sure something else will come up.

7th) Started to look for others after The Romance of the Condor Heroes, read up on the story etc., I did not realize Zhang Wuji was supposed to be as dumb as a plank "Guo Jing". And the actor by the looks of it is cross-eyed as well. Other than that I don't have a bad word to say.

Although everyone was great. Chen Yu Qi as Zhao Min as far as I am concerned was the best part of the film. A joy to watch and masked away quite a bit of "stupid"

27th) Arbaz was really excited about it while I was watching WoL. Since I am not at my base was hesitant to start watching another series when I can't get through it in one go. Especially when I'm still excited about WoL. It kicked off with a brutal original ending where Bailu (the writer) became an empress by walking over everyone then decides to top herself in exchange for life of a guy she loves. Then tries to re-write the original story. I am not a fan of premises like that(because anything can happen to solve the story (piano falling from the sky).I get vibes of Till the end of the Moon.

After careful consideration it was a great show. And there are a few episodes I feel like watching again.

Once they stopped complimenting study partners on youthful looks casting became tolerable. Bailu once again brilliant and another rare case where young guys' acting did not piss me off.
Zhang Zhe's & Fang Yin's characters were not explored well. And her death I felt was unnecessary.

Loved finale and culmination of their romance. 

Felt like it was well made end to The Legends.

15th) Probably the first where I had nothing to bitch about production or effects. The first episode was amazing quickly established plot & geography of the place who the main players are and what's going on.

Jiang Ni aka Teresa Li awesome, Zhang Ruo Yun aka Xu Feng Nian is great as well.
Dynamic between them is excellent. "Prince Duan" is fantastic as usual ("it's truly rare in this world to see someone praising himself like that" - hilarious). And, "the little monk" did well too. prime minister from Fu Yao is also a prime minister here check out this guy again. CGI is also good - even trips on boats are fine. Scenes did not feel dragged out.
Really enjoyed everything until they've adapted the tiger cubs. No way can they finish this story in 20 something episodes - had to check the end, unfortunately story is unfinished.
Jiang Ni left to become a princess and rebuild Chu, at least he gave her his mother's sword.
Checked the writing it's another 3k chapters and we get harem-wedding.
I just don't get the obsession with this like in fight break sphere. Only this is disappointing, if you have contracts for Season 2 great if not, just wrap it up well; don't destroy own legacy with an ending like this.  Don't get why "Prince Fierce" with cavalry joined the game?

I mean so much planning to get everyone to exact location and they almost managed to lose.That said I loved it.

After re-watching a few episodes - it's a very funny film.

Had to suffer through the book to find out the deal with Fair Fox (her being from Beiman should be important) Lord, what a piece of garbage that book is. If there is S2, hopefully screenwriter will trash original source again. I take back everything I said about the ending. It seems like a logical conclusion for this part. There are so many ways to go after this. Given that shit original source this ending is probably as good as it gets.

limit 2K?

16th) Someone on "snow sword" suggested it. Cast has many familiar faces including Miss MU & The Princess. But the premise... not sure that I am going to like it. This style I am pretty sure was all the rage in 80s hollywood. In e1 the man is asking for "surgical gloves" - fuckkk.OST (other than main theme) sucks balls. Aaah "Qing Feng" is Si Li Li a lot of familiar faces as well which can't be bothered to place somewhere. Feng Xian was good played same character as before I suppose. Li Qin got little screen time but definitely all of it was gold. The "ancient past" references did not irritate (I guess they left it for s2). Explaining plot  aloud was a bit tiresome towards the end (mainly for audience' benefit). Character shifts from smart, stoic and savy to soapy bitch was getting too much in places. Generally it was funny and easy going throughout.  Read a lot of complaints about Xiao Zhan not getting screentime, well then he appeared the stupid lines he had and his acting made me pray for someone to stab him as soon as possible. He is a beautiful woman, but for fuck sake.

Overall,it was really good.

 Mexican beats and some sound effects in places not enough to bring half a star down.Also, I learned who "Mr Cao" and "Red Mansions" were and why the book does not have ending so that would bring it back up. So for now will leave it at ten.

Thought I'd skim through the book, ended up reading the lot. Intriguing and easy to read. There are a few differences in the plot so not sure how they can mix it in for the s2 & s3, could go very much sideways.

10th) Huang couple is good. will comeback to in a bit. Crystal Liu is excellent as Xiao Long Nu - definitely more passion and confidence. Some scenes look cramped but that's just budget. Well the story is obviously good, main question: did I enjoy it? Honestly it was just about alright. I prefer the Xiang'er chracter from "romance" . Will need to wait  for the "new version" to come out.  Condor Heroes might have to be split out into a different list, because the story is so good it just feels unfair to throw it all into one pot.

6th) I think I've spotted Li Su Rou and Leo Wu from in one of the clips and went on from there. Again on youtube it was difficult to figure out or identify the timeline because of all the outtakes and people looking the same over the course of decades. 

If I had prior knowledge like the book, films etc.,  I would've been well pissed off but I did not so I've actually enjoyed it. Unlike other versions Yang Guo actually fits well for reasonable age difference.  Story line with his sister and interaction with "Ro" family siblings as well ending the arc with Guo Fu, and Xiang'er I thought was better then in "the Return" at least as of 2006 version.

Controversy around dragon lady's size passed me by, although yeah my eyebrowes raised a few times in response to some monologue by "Flower Valley's daughter". Also I was alright with Meo Fung (the witch?) being presented as she was because I had no previouls knowledge of the character.

The Zhu Botou pissed me off unmercifully, some continuations made no sense.
Yang Guo was supposed to be super smart as a young guy so when dragon lady tells him eh my "mark" is gone in 2006 version he correctly says how could it be I've never done it etc. In this version she's just there he does not want to take me as the wife and flies away and he just stands there stupid why did she get upset for not being called a wife.  Again selling the kid to brothel was a bit much for maintaining his positive aura. The other negative was I think the forbidden story of Huang Yao "the grandfather", not the thing itself but the cgi generating wolfs was awful too... there was no need for that, it added nothing. 

Something else i was thinking about but can't remember now.

13th) Did not plan on watching it just popped after Eternal Love. Both are a lot less intense as Fu Yao so fairly watchable. There's some pattern basically first half of series is where she is chasing someone, they don't want to then she does not want them and finally everything is alright in the world. Yeah could not figure out the ending I am guessing that Ouyang fellah aka her master is alive. Also, it says emperor Shunwu passed away who the hell was he? Prince Weiyun promoted Hai Shi to be Empress Dowager which was kinda expected. So, maybe emperor was tXu's kid Shunwu who died, and Weiyun is her own kid? I mean all the time they've spent planting trees and she did not get pregnant? Or subtitles don't match. Im guessing Grand Mentor is Fang Jia Ming and they still have time?

After googling, translation is "Emperor's eldest son" so Weiyun is Xu's, the other kid is hers and Jia Ming's. But since she is technically emperor's wife thus everything falls into place. Anyway, enjoyed it, loved production ost, etc., but this formula is starting to annoy. I'd say it goes above FBS.

19th) Another Arbaz's recommendation and it has Bai Lu in it. Hooked straight away on the first episode. Again first episode set everything up and sent Bai Lu to the destination. Everything was going very well until they threw this curve ball of what she had todo. "The Dream, The Tear, The Thread of Silk". So the dream part was from episode 11 to 18, which felt like standalone mini-series. So many flashbacks became tiresome - maybe it would not be so obvious if to watch it once a week or something but if binging it's hard.

Most girls did great job. Young guys' acting was cringe. Sun Zhen Ni, what a beauty. Especially in a role of seduction machine. Absolutely  stunning. But she was very good in other scenes too. Despite being one of her first roles ... brimming with confidence. 

Well, Bai Lu, is Bai Lu. A Lot of screen time to show off her range. 

So, from young ones other than these 2 no one else is memorable. After awhile aids ridden patient Luo Yun Xi aka Tan Tai Jin aka Devil God got to me as well & so did Eddy Geng aka Ye Qing Yu.

OST is top notch. Despite Bai Lu being awesome everywhere, it would still have to go under novoland.

33) Was putting off watching it until it finished airing and avoiding comments etc. Then comments started to crop up in Shen Li's section and eventually had a moment of weakness and ending up binging through 24 eps, So caught up way too early and now waiting for the last episodes. Luckily they were dropped by someone early.

Anyway, so far it's better than I expected. There were too many stories to get through so none of them were going to get proper amount of time but it still felt OK. Very happy with character changes. particularly with Yan Bing Yun (check spelling) the guy actually felt very right. And Waner's friend Ye was more apt to this part of the story.

Biggest quib is Haitong's loss of curves. Although, I understand why she was on screen for a tiny bit and why those curves were gone. Still, what a loss. They didn't show that she was the one that made Fan Sizhe grow up.

Second biggest is the  RuoRuo' operation in ep30. No idea why the fuck they had to make operation to extract poison from lungs. Simply unexplainable and no reason. In the book it was to sort out internal bleeding she did just fine and I don't remember emperor helping her to get trough it. There was no need to save time etc. so why the fuck change of reason. f'knows. I hope to see that the medical college part is included this season.Overall, subplots started to feel more and more rushed towards the end. So as standalone work it would be very weak. Like if one didn't read the book it would make f'all sense to him. QW & FX were pretty much on screen all the time and most other characters felt like cameos.I know they had to cover like 150 chapters in one season. But I wonder if there was tones of planned stuff censored out. Like the limit is 40 eps but they did 36.Again, it was nice to see some of the story bits on screen but it's a 9 at best. Luckily I didn't have to wait 5 years for it.

Second time around way better ... upgraded to 10.

24th) What a show. Very funny, cast was awesome (including guys) cliches almost didn't irritate. Was watching it after the movie prequel(which was shite) and first season which ended in the most annoying way possible. I was going in with a heavy heart.
The season picks up from the second ending where Yi Fung Li survived and they both went into seclusion.
Immediately there was a map of the world, forces within it, what is the current situation and how it came to be.
Main protagonists introduced in the first episode. So expectations were set up and we are ready for the main event.
Like in Sword Snow Stride - perfect.
Unlike in other series where FL is hard on the eyes but others insist complimenting their "beauty", here words "Ugly Girl" are mentioned in places.
Wang Yu Wen, is fine but when you put her next to Daisy Li or Dai Wen Wen you know who is a 10 and who is a 6. That said, the chemistry between was amazing.
It was so engaging so the rest of it I've watched almost in one go and whatever few distractions I had were extremely unwelcome.
Although it has bits similar to Princess Agents like the training camp but it was done so well I actually did not cringe when it was happening.

Conflicts caused by characters' failure to explain their actions are extremely annoying in general and I absolutely hate them.
Here the dude was actually a 200yo so maybe he kind of saw the value behind pushing her away at first.
But then he decided to push her away due to the effect their presence had on each other I just said "fuuuuck, not you too".
First thing explain to her the story behind it, and that there are some constraints on their relationship, drop in have sex or a cuddle then teleport back to your hut.
Let her recuperate for a few days. Instead nah, I'm gonna wipe your memory and then suffer watching you suffer for a few years afterwards. Just for this bit happening multiple times it's not a 10.

26th) Arbaz mention that it was on. First time watching an unfinished series. Xu Kai was perfect Jing Tian Amazing, and what a pleasure to see Zheng He Hui Zi. Like the whole cast just looked great. Misunderstanding conflicts were quickly resolved. There were no characters I really hated. Very fast paced. Nothing went to shit. Ended up watching last 6 eps without subtitles missed out on sweet dialogues. Ending was just about alright.

Major issue I had, Tao Zi's ending. Like in Overlord the servant/sidekick couple again childless at the end. Tao Zi and Chang'er decided to get married at the same time. So FL&ML have 2 kids probably 5&6 yo. Is Tao Zi barren? wtf with this omission? Their relationship had the most normal progression and should've been concluded normally as well. Or did they spend 5years collecting herbs and shit?

Miss Gu going mad was not entirely believable such a strong character should've been killed.Great General going mad again hard to believe.

LCF's only reasonable choice always was to kidnap her and keep her in the basement for a decade.

Magic doctor was too much, particularly  firefly scene...fsake.floating CGI made me light a cig & reach for a drink .

Everything else excellent. Pregnancy & birth scene worry ... Rare to see. Will binge it when I get back home. Well enjoyed the whole thing.fast moving and didn't have things I hate in dramas.

Gu maid's attempt to feed Li aphrodisiac ... priceless. Would've been excellent if turned around around and kicked her in the head as well. Still feeds into her being powerless tragedy.

loved Fl & ML progression arc, everything was mature and reasonable. Some people bitched about damsel in distress in later episodes. Yeah she was. Once the army was gone she was all alone for the first time in her life. Everything else was perfect.

Not going to place it anywhere until I binge through it.

14th) On episode one, Bai Lu and my favourite doctor. Really hope it's something light. Sound effects piss me off. In E04 when she tries to steal his chicken, sweet: voice in the background "they fought themselves in jail then hugged each other home, now they're here like a couple". If there is another lvoe triangle I'm dropping it no matter how promising it is. It's light enough until we got to the palace, then started to drag. Godawful soundtrack. Can never understand why cant emperor just kill prime minister,especially if he knows everything ... Anyway it was light-hearted for the most part. I think they should've got Prince Zhan & Du Xiao Xian together that would've actually made sense and not such an unwarranted cruel ending. Also, Yan Bin and Xia Qin's romance seemed to have withered into nothing if after 5 years they are not married and don't have kids. They tried to make it sound cute that he is asking her 13 times but really it's just cringe. Model similiar to the Legends but sidekick is not as good as Xiao Yang. Also, poetry battles and dancing thing is too much like western stuff. Reason why I got into Chinese drama is to escape that.

2nd) One of the episodes popped on youtube, I think it was Miss Mu and Prince Duan from Demi Gods. Watched a few episodes then went back to watch from the start. Did not expect that it will end on nothing given that it was released like years ago. Waiting for 2nd part. I am guessing that pill his ancestor gave him is going to give a boost. But why did that underworld valley leader is double of Xun'er no idea. Special effects were alright, even the mountain lion was better than in some of the higher profile films (that bird in Princess Agents, jesus h christ). 

Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Check who was the bodyguard of Yan

12th) Watching it after Fu Yao and really have to curb my enthusiasm - any premise where people were supposed to be alive for 1000s of years yet act like teenagers can't work out well. Knowing the story had to jump around epsodes quite a bit. "Zhi Ro" aka Xuan Nu aka Zhu Xu Dan was simply amazing in all her scenes (I did cringe a little when according to the script she should be uglier than Qian Qian). Didn't buy the emotional attachment between Ye Huan and Su Su. Bai Feng Jiu aka Dilraba with Dong Hua aka "Lord Fierce" aka Gao Wei Guang was excellent too (I remember in Flame's daughter she was great as well). Picked up after 29th episode when she regains memory. Yeah the rest was great. Once that stupid demon extra triangle was sorted out the story picked up. Demon's sister Yan Zhi (Dai Si) should've got together with Zi Lan disciple guy.

21st)Another Arbaz's recommendation. 

Again, Leo being all grown up feels weird. Although his appearance was wooden justifiably or not who can tell. For this role though he kinda fitted well I just don't see any other guy to be walked over by Zhao Lu Si.

Lu Si was a bit hard on the eyes, luckily there were only a few scenes where people were complimenting her looks. Again she was crying over a dead child like in the long ballad. Is it a thing she has like Bai Lu gets tortured and someone attempts to rape Yang Mi? That said she felt right so can't say a bad word about her acting.

On yt soundtrack was cut again so ended up watching low quality version.

Story was very good, there was no excessive fights/magic. A bit of Mary-Sue but it was tolerable. Film about relationships and role of women I suppose. Would not go as far as saying it's feminist in western sense ... so thank god for that. Very engaging for the most part.

22nd) I remember not being sure if it's supposed to be 2 season or what, playlist had 56 episodes. Did not notice where one stopped and the other started. If I had to guess it should've been when she followed the empress into abandoned palace. Does not matter much. 

Ending was weak, last episode was alright as they were tying up loose ends also the temple trap idea was good. But Zhao Lu Si saving the village, f-knows how was disappointing the amount of arrows fired and kerosene around the place would've made that village go up in smoke in 5 mins flat. I was wondering about her special method of fighting fire. Thought she would dig a trench so fire would not go up the hill. 

Turned out it was ... sand? 

Anyway overall it was a decent show.

23rd) Acting excellent. Good engaging storyline up until the very end. But conflicts caused by characters' failure to explain their actions are extremely annoying. Here nothing was simpler... you are floral goddess if you kiss "that" guy you'll turn into ash. Then would not have to walk around thinking like a jealous muppet she is not in danger because she has her own brain everyone happy.

The plot never made an attempt to make anyone care about the city because apart from people in the castle no people from the city were shown. Like so what if it's destroyed I don't care.
If winged tribe doesn't get the pollen I don't care either. If it's the main theme that's where focus should've been to establish some relationship with inhabitants.
Ending(s) complete disaster. Both endings are stupid. Resolution of the FL/ML/SML takes about 10 minutes and immediately after we should care about some 3rd rate simp jumping out of the plane and growing his wings in the process. What an anti-climax. Particularly the second version of the ending. The Floral Godess takes over the body of FL and she tries to kill Tiang Yi until he manages her to recall the memory that he's her man. Does not create an impression of a very powerful goddess. Similiar scene at the end of Fu Yao I had to have a drink and a cigarette to get over it. Here it's like "Oh it's over. Every please care for a simp jumping off the plane. Is not he wonderful".

Second Season picks up from the second ending where they survived and went to live in seclusion.

Anyway most of it was good and engaging. Chemistry between the two was amazing. Just sorry for the fuck up in the end.

20th) Arbaz's recommendation . Strong start in e01. Strange to see Leo Wu being grown up but he did a good job. Dilraba was disappointing. Although the story was solid it felt bland, no humour or intense emotions felt like everyone just walked through each scene. Yang Ming Na aka Khatun of Ashile tribe aka Old Huang Rong was impressive. From young ones Zhao Lu Si (the other princess) although not an eye candy but her acting felt engaging. Another name popped up Cao Xi Yue she was that Mimi Guli. Surprisingly she had very few main roles; but here she really felt like a main lead. That fade in and fade out really made me feel like I am watching "Magic Star" same slow pace. The story was so good that it really should've been so much better.

After looking over some bits, the chemistry between Hao Du and Li Le Yan is probably most believable. Production wise it looked very well. Like setting up of crowds, colours, costumes and scenery was very pleasant to watch. Soundtrack was not great.

3rd). Went to this one when I started to look for 2nd season of  Fights Break Sphere.

Kind of looked on it as some sort of power rangers, with low expectations. Story twists were alright. Pitied the cast they must've been filming in sub-zero conditions. 

 Ah Ji ending up in the brothel for a month was a bit too much.  

9th) Ended up on this after the The Legend of Condor Heroes.

Looks like it's trying to be four or five different films at once.  Given that there is such a great cast, every woman is an eye-candy every guy is ... no idea. Each scene is shot great. Acting is great for most of the the time. What the hell happened to the plot and what's that frigging CGI bird doing there. I wonder who the person was to suggest that it would be a great idea. I don't even want to know. She was a sassy slave, then "oh no" she is actually John Wick with amnesia.

The cast of Royal Court was great as well from maids to eunuch. Can't remember the name of emperor's consort ... sweet. Princess Li Qin aka Chun'er's arc was by far my favourite. Although was dropping it three times in the end had to finish to see how she'll endure.

In any case for now has to go under Magic Star, which was probably shot for 100th of the budget.

32) Watching it after the Legend of Shen Li. 

First 10 eps were alright, obviously everything feels like a drag at the moment.

Story itself feels like a sub-mission upon sub-mission. And we got at least one SML hanging around and misunderstandings due to failure to communicate. 

It has very fairy tale look similar to ashes of love et al. So, not sure if it might need to end at some point. But ZLS's character is very similar to LLTG, so she's watchable. The others are alright. The Fox was also in LLTG (I think I found him irritating there too). 

Jia Nai (Eagle girl Yan Shuang)found nothing in immortal cave and just brushed off question about it. Wtf they like had a 100 year war & some agro with peacocks over entry there. Nah let's not talk about it.

Anyway it had all the things I hate in dramas and some things I didn't know I hated. Main storyline pulled it through. I think I could watch some parts now that I got a good grasp of the story. Nice, colourful,good OST.Overcomplicated story

Guess slightly spoiled by TLOSL

4th) Spotted emperor of Dali from Demi Gods and someone I thought was Xun'er from Fights Break Sphere. Thought that original love interest backing off was more than a bit of a dumb twist. But the main power struggle was intriguing. Just about alright.

28th) Just finished Kunning Palace. Noticed that it started to air and unfortunately I had to have a look. It really undermined what I wanted to write about KP. 

After watching half of first episode, I just feel disgusted. 

Instead of S2 it is some very cheap remake and I don't have the strength to come up with insults for them. Prince Duan is now the Yao guy trapped inside the  ring. The ring is still with Xiao Yan. Xun'er is explaining why he should join academy out of place. Everyone developed amnesia as to who he is. And jokes are aimed at 5 year olds. 

During the 5 minute intro where it touched on epic battle at cloud mist sect. His line whatever the fuck it was, was said against a backdrop of some shed. I nearly choked. Not just because of the shed but also the tone of voice and gesture. Fuck, how much fail was in that dubbed voice. S1 was not exactly an example of great acting, but here it's at the level of village amateur dramatics club or some school christmas show.

User Hearsay made a comment:

I don't really mind about the cast change, what matter most for me is the S1 has officially became cliffhanger for lifetime 

Completely agree. It's unlikely S2 will ever see the light of day. 

Someone noted it's S2 for a show with non-existent S1 - and it's closest to the truth. BTTH shares  nothing but common ancestor with FBS. So, let it stand on its own merit. I was too old for parts of FBS; BTTH just misses me completely.

30) Binged through large portion of it, so a lot of confusion at the moment.

34) Alright.

35) 60 episodes supposed to be split for legal reasons so far they've shown only the first part. The other block might come out next year. Though each bit is licensed individually it might've been not good enough. Need to watch out for the rest individually.

1.Hot blooded 30ep
2.Eastern Heretic & Western Venom 8ep
3.Southern Emperor & Northern Beggar 8ep
4.Nine Yin True Sutra 8ep
5.Duel on Mount Hua 6ep

Not sure if to start ranking it now or keep them altogether.

Overall it's not bad, a few characters don't fit well others better than before. Anyway, I just think story line really needs different people for different parts. So, to have one that fits every scene might be an impossible task.

36) Alright.

25th) I've started it after castle in the Sky S2 by accident and watched probably 10 episodes which were so promising. Gripping, colourful, brilliantly directed, great costumes, great characters. Right up to the moment it's revealed that she is the lost princess. 

Then it turned into Mary Sue shit show. Guys dropping their shit and honeys for some mysterious reason which was not declare and I cant even make out. Like OK, princess you knew when ye were 5 - returned. So, now you're overwhelmed with love? What the fuck happened to you? 

Luckily yt playlist had some hint of episode contents, so I've jumped through it.

So disappointed, on hold for now.

Picked it up again during S2 and in the context of those discussions had to change how I view certain characters. Again, overall it's just not for me.

37) Honestly, it was a bit of a drag. As expected she ended up with Jing and XL died on a battlefield. 

XL character brilliant Tan Jian Ci did fantastic job. Despite my finickiness in this context he was great.

Really grateful for the comments section. A lot of people split up into teams and in the end made a lot of fantastic observations. So although I read the book it felt like I haven't read it at all. For some reason it was about something completely different. If I realized it ahead of time I probably wouldn't have bothered with it. But finally finished S1 as well.

38) Noticed CX from LYF thought I'd give it a watch. 

That's the one where CX pretends to be someone's husband and then she finds out she goes off to establish her house.

Frigging double amnesia for most of it and and like everything was bad about it. By 25th episode I just didn't care about any characters and just tried to get through it. But the apology scene in e32 placed final nail in the coffin. Like a parody of 80's mexican soaps.

Hear people say it has a great ending, but I just don't care.

39) Around same time as Are You the One. Xiao Yan had a main role so I thought I'd check it out. Turned out she was again an annoying sidekick. Poor thing can't get a break. The story of failure to communicate was just dragging on and on I didn't find anything good or intriguing in it. 

Stopped on 14 or 15 not sure if it gets better or not.

40) Finally something decent. Again it's on air with Are you the one and Melody. Thought It'd be similar since XL from LYF is in it. Turned out quite good. It was a bit of a drag when it was on air but after binging it was about right. It's unpretentious kinda kids adventure story. 

Few bits which were kinda wrong for 13+ like Ah Shilan killing herself and a few angsty moments but not too much. 

TJC was great. Really liked how the relationship with Ah Shu started and the overall cheeky vibe  they had.  WKW & Yuchi was a very good match too. Pity about Susu. But she was in so much awe of An Xiu and I doubt their relationship would've lasted but still would've been nice to see them at least make a start. 

Mr Yu (aka Fu Sheng from TLOSL was excellent).

There's a bit of rage about toxic female characters which supposedly bullied male characters. I guess women know better what men want. Oh the irony.

Ending was good, they kinda showed their daughter in the house in Changle on a swing so I guess they move back and forth, I'd say not an easy one to explain without creating more silly plot holes.

The only thing that seriously annoys me that once again the second couple doesn't have kids. Yuchi & WKW are going on some patrol all the time ... wtf I just can't explain it.

(btw there's also an 8 minute special)

40) A bit odd mini series BL non BL stuff? or just normal.

I watched it without sound, later I realised her thinking voice is that of a guy

 A high flying dude goes back in time ends up in the body of a female. Deals with a lot of intrigues of running a household and women trying to break out of restrictions of the time. The story line is very good there were a few awkward moments, but it was alright. 

Story was intriguing, done very well and I liked the acting. I really liked backstabbing and challenges that had to be overcome so I kinda missed the romance aspect of it
Gender swap comedies were around for ages and I wouldn't fret about a few awkward moments. Anyway, dude waking up in the end,in shock, realising it was all a dream doesn't have to mean anything other than realising it was just a dream.

Ke Ying is just so sexy that she's bound to look too feminine for some scenes so I can see where some could get idea that she's coming on to LS,also, for a desire for things to turn into romance... but if it they'd sent a woman back in time I doubt the show would work out so well.

Anyway, Ke Ying was absolutely brilliant.

42) I've no idea how i came across this mini/microdrama. Brilliant parody. great acting done very well.
Probably a pisstake of stuff like romance of tiger and rose and a few other ones where a viewer gets transferred into the drama. The evil plan of demon king is to monopolize the supply of fresh fruit! I thought I was getting it wrong. If it had normal duration it would probably be unwatchable but at 4 mins per episode it's grand. A lot of funny expressions and acting was awesome.

43) Initially discarded it too fast due to synopsis,but sandrusca mentioned it so I thought I'd give it a go. Enjoyed it a lot. Loved substories as well. Generally it engaged me fully so despite some slow scenes had to be jumped through quickly it wasn't because I found them draggy or unnecessary so it will be a 10.
Peeve was that it wasn't clear the level of magic in the world. But it kinda made sense overall given that it a dream sequence, so it's understandable. Dream also explains a few de javu like scenes with minor alterations and how the pace picks up towards the end. I'm pretty sure some scenes had almost fast forward feel to it.
Anyway some female soldier finds a wall and a dagger in a jungle somewhere. Initially it's unclear whether she went back in time or is dreaming. In any case, she ends up in the body of a mistreated younger sister.
Kinda got hooked on it pretty fast bad timing really but yeah feels great "Zhirou" is in main role.Great pity the dude wasn't in stick to the script would've loved it. Pretty hardcore features on that face. Watched bits and pieces again. Everyone did a great job.
The ending was a bit off but it's grand, a la SOKP and Hard Noble Lady, but I won't hold it against it.

44) Fucking brilliant! Especially the first 15 The other parts are shorter but still excellent. Pity there's supposed to be S2 which will never happen. No idea how it ended up on ptw list, but I could've missed it due to stupid comment and such.

Really funny. I was grand even with scenes where I'd normally consider humour to be cringe-worthy.

Most of the cast are from JoL and WoL, and all of them are brilliant. It's a kind of a spinoff from JoL but throughput of feelgood factors is higher and way more consistent. 

Yeah a writer is writing a story, body transmigration...simple so no need to explain how he knows what.

Ruo Ruo was amazing. Although she is FL here with her brother in JoL but she does everything so well.

45) Not done, went on hold. funny enough but mood changed.

46) Very good so far. Anyway ML is investigating massacre in Luo village.

Looks OK, BeiQi princess from JoL is FL. Too many moving pieces and intrigue for my liking but fairly involved.

In e23 leaving the strand of hair on the floor is fucking cruel. Leaving without saying goodbye 10 times worse.

Anyway business deals were not the cause of the Luo village massacre. It was one of a series of massacres instigated by killing of some Censors by one of the princes who was trying to stage rebellion. He was essentially trying to avert crown prince killing off his family etc., aligned with one of the lads in Lingyan sect. Prince almost predictably turned out to be the mysterious master of Yuntai sect as well.
Jin though expected but still unfortunately dies... then turns up again coz he's saved by FL and was secretly recuperating.
FL is a daughter of Lingyan sect hence she was trying to play him all along but fell for him.

I feel that a lot of the issues they were dealing with could've been solved by brute force rather than ingenuity.

Anyway, good show good happy ending.

47) It's a mini series like 6 mins per episode. Again a writer ends up in the novel. And is trying to fix it. Like it would've been grand if they didn't introduce a fucking "Novel Officer" like a little kid who says that if she doesn't fix the plot of the novel she'll stop existing in the real world as well. Kinda Stick to the script business at least was pulling the piss out of it. Anyway, this bit is f'ed up and annoying.

There are 5 seasons, but they add up to about 7 hours in total, So, they go under the same entry.

I'm not sure how to do fair ranking scheme for movies and mini series. Like 6 hour binge isn't a binge really so my engagement with the story ranking system doesn't extrapolate well to this type of format.

Nothing stands out in S2 really because S1 kinda bled into it.

Skipped a few bits in S3 but then went back. Not a good sign to skip 6min EPs. Stopped on E17 looked very well. Would be OK if ended here. Very nice 3 EPs. Ending was excellent too. I'd give this a 10.

S4 is where emperor & his dude turned up in modern times. I don't watch modern times. So, it's a massive exception. Suspended disbelief a lot. It was pretty good. In fairness nothing to bitch about. Most cast is present too so yeah. 

S5 is around them being in the real world still. Not a type of a show to bitch about how emperor got to grips so fast with modern world and where his money comes from. Entertaining enough.

I feel like I need to check my testosterone levels because I liked it too much. Anyway, overall marking it as one normal season as a 10.

48) Mini series with the same girl as the one in Stick to the script. Transmigration story again, but the twist here is the ML can hear what she is thinking. It was alright, had some attempt at humour not as good as stick to the script. 

Also, him being able to hear her thoughts had me stumped a few times if drama is called Shoufu can read my mind... whatever

Ends with a view to an S2 which is unlikely to happen. 

It also has "novel officer" as in "Please don't spoil me" which I'm guessing they are taking a piss of some common drama. I'm guessing tiger & rose because of glasses but I dropped it before officer could've turned up.

Anyway, it was just about alright.

49) Some girl who likes to eat aka foodie. Ends up in body of some consort who works for investigations office. Set up of her family very similar to Bossy Husband Who loved me. It's funny enough. So far I don't see novel officer and she is not a writer just some girl reading a book.

Anyway, good show. Given that in the end she stays where she is as well (something that's frigging rare) I think it's a good happy end.

Actually, I'll give it a 9.

50) lol such a round figure for a mini series. whatever. Again fucking writers transmigrating into novels. Here first episode was done very well. Now if there's going to be a goddamn novel officer I'll be dropping it. FL & ML are very good. Her Entry was pretty excellent too.

no officer, it was pretty good. still it felt like a parody but wasn't so a little bit wrong.  just about alright.

52) Deadbeat student travels into a comic book. Just like a normal student knows fuck all what needs to be done. The Class monitor (who also played the emperor) turned out to be author of the comic book. In fairness, major emphasis was around the fact that just because you know more about modern things does not mean you can apply them elsewhere. I liked that most of this story was about character growth in the present. There was a fair amount of skipping so really it can't be higher than 8.5. 

Humour was excellent ... the Chefs of Imperial kitchen...hats off.

Line to summarize everything was "I wish I was still in school where people thought I was retarded". 

Unusually the character growth was happening outside of the novel. Nice touch to have modern setting at the start of each episode. So, really no magic here. Good show.

53) A micro drama which is not on the list called "After losing her marriage, the female general surprises the world". Weird show, like most episodes are less than 2 mins long not mdl. Shot VERTICALLY. Even on IQ site it does not have any cast but pretty good. Want to know more https://www.iq.com/album/after-losing-her-marriage-the-female-general-surprises-the-world-2024-rw7q61g1t9?lang=en_us

55) I'm fucking giving it a 10. Most of it was alright but once it started hitting later eps... very moving. Mini drama ... transmigration story with a small twist. It's the one where the girl could pull modern suff out of the bag. Anyway her mission was to get her host with a princess. Eventually they fall in love business. The one with a wooden chair. Anyway, I thought it was done very well. Good mix of humour and "girl power" wasnt very annoying, So yeah. Good show overall. NO PROPER CAST LISTINGS...ANNOYING.

Wang Ze Xuan, very good.

54) Very good. not finished yet. but Lord Furong ftw.

55) Another mini. supporting actress competing with FL and falls into a story whenever she falls asleep. Same girl as in the Girl Inside Me (Cheng Fang Tong) in fairness it's alright. Great discussions of how plot mechanisms work in cdramas. Lots of jargon like in stick to the script.

56) Another mini. It's not timetravel/body shift etc. the start of it her boy attempted to stage a few rebellions which were unsuccessful and they had to drink poisoned wine. Kinda groundhog day. anyway she woke up far enough to cancel marriage. But in this reality he really becomes crown prince and shenanigans go from there. They are drawn to each other because they have some left over memories from previous times they died. Anyway the rebellion turned out to be staged by the scholar (Munghe) & General Wang.

Crown Prince's brother (Li Ji) excellent actor. Herself is Miss Gu from wonderland of love. Overall pretty good show. But ending... mmm, prince turns up as new teacher. So not sure what' up there. But meh, not going to dwell too much.

57) Well not sure how it happened, but yeah. A lot of cheesy stuff in fairness a lot of it grabbed attention and was done very well. Anyway, I assume she's going to be back to where she came from in s2. but Didn't get much of SML syndrome from this.  Some bits are done very well. Most of the action does not use her "outwardly knowledge".  I was entertained, so just about alright I guess.

58 ) First of all ... drunk bitches were excellent. Flashbacks of uni days are everywhere.  Entry back to jail... (E6&7) priceless. Solemn faces eating crayfish e10... done very well. E18 waiting for grooms, excellent. Massacres of E19&20 not so much. E21 and the wrap up  made little sense. still I turned into soapy bitch anyway. Good show. S2 is a little better than s1 but again separation doesn't feel like it's split into 2. Both should be 8.5/9.5 but yeah too may great moments which when taken in isolation are fantastic so fuck it let both be a 10.

59) I don't remember why I dropped it awhile ago. Picked it up now because of a few mini-dramas which sound similar to that. And it looks pretty interesting and ZLS looks alright. Still on e5. Just no recollection whatsoever.