THE RISE OF PHOENIXES was a highly worth while series to watch. Beautiful aesthetics, with a superb attention to detail, breathtaking historical settings and costumes, plus acting unlike anything I've seen in recent years. Truely superb! I can't explain the sense of realism this series conveys, it feels so genuine, mainly due to the skills of the stars, but also due to the level of detail and passion in the writing of the story and characters, as well as in the visual scenery, costumes, setting etc.

The story was very moving in itself, both thrilling and compelling. Years after tragic events took place in the kingdom, after the treacharous changing of an empire, a banished and useless prince moves out of the shadows and a young woman tries to defy destiny, but both become tangled in a tale masterfully woven. Highly addictive and hard to look away.

The Rise of Phoenixes was so rich and beautifully constructed, drawing you in, deeper into the web. This tale is so complex and brilliant, filled with memorable characters, suspense, political intrigue, court power struggles, epic strategy, romance, tragedy. So many characters were wonderfully played, whether you loved or hated them, the acting is all excellent. Character chemistry was excellent, love, hatred, rivalry, friendships...all very well portrayed.

Lead Actor Kun Chen (Ning Yi, Prince of Chu) and Actress Ni Ni (Feng Zhiwei/Wei Zu) made great leads in this series. I've since become a die hard fan of them both. Both stars were absolutely brilliant in their acting abilities. The character of Ning Yi was deeply complex and mesmerizing to watch. Kun Chen played his character with masterful skill, conveying vast amounts of expression, emotion and intelligence into his part. I can't describe how hypnotic he was in this role. There's something about his mannerisms that are so deeply compelling with eyes that seem to see everything and stare into your soul. Those eyes of his are some of the most expressive eyes I've ever seen too.

Ning Yi is a deeply brooding one, passionate and fierce, yet calm and restrained at the same time. His character is a very complex one, driven by revenge but also by a deep sense of justice. You truely feel that Ning Yi is a character with a deeply fascinating mind. And he was able to be quite unpredictable. I was won over by him pretty early on.

Actress Ni Ni played her part beautifully, able to believably change gender roles and personality depending on her identity in the series. As the young Feng Zhiwei she is bright and witty, full of laughter and sweetness and high spirit. As her male persona Wei Zu, she was clever and studious, cunning and direct. She is always brilliant and beautiful. As she steps up into higher classes she carries herself ever with more grace and poise, and all the while never loosing her spirit. I found myself entranced by her as well. She is such a highly skilled actress and played her role so believably. All the leads, as well as many of the side characters, we're brilliant in their parts as well.

This series far exceeded my initial expectations. It has a great mixture of the epic story of classic C-Dramas, (master storytelling, depthful characters, tradegy, mystery, intrigue, romance) but with a keen eye to historic detail and masterful cinomatography to boot. There's a great balance of serious and humor within the series as well.

I was slightly apprehensive going in, worried the western (Netflix) influence might have altered the series but was deeply satisfied with the results. It was truely an epic series that will definitely win more worldwide audiences over to appreciate the complexity of Asian dramas. You can tell good money went into this masterful production. Everything seemed to have such care taken. For a drama it felt uncannily realistic, believable, addictive, gorgeous to watch, seemingly painstakingly crafted. Definitely not one to miss!

Overall this series was truely unforgettable and not one to miss if you are a fan of historical C-Dramas; especially epic sweeping series filled with power struggles and political intrigue, court drama and scandel, darkly tragic romance and thrilling, intelligent storytelling that you keeps you always on the edge. Seriously worth several watches. This left me craving more...