HUMAN AND DRAGON SHENANIGANS

Pros: Loved the first half of the drama which I felt had the perfect amount of truly funny moments mixed in with the plot. I also absolutely LOVED the FL's character, and Zhou Ye's acting definitely made me shed some tears during some of the more emotional scenes. I do feel FL and ML had great chemistry and liked seeing them together. The ML was adorable and was definitely very pretty. Plus, he's a dragon!

Not so great: The second half fell a bit short for me as I just could not take the main villain seriously. There were also way too many long and unnecessary backstories and scenes for all the villains, pseudo villains and the many, many side characters that I feel like they could have cut out. The whole production was also sort of a miss for me - it looked low budget, where some of the scenes are really awkwardly shot, and the costuming (mainly... the hair) and CGI looked hilariously fake, especially when the CGI was combined with human interaction (i.e. that scene of them petting one of the monsters... I could not help but lol). The acting was a bit iffy for the ML and SML ... my main gripe is with the ML in that he's definitely a bit of a wooden board and oftentimes just has one or two of the same expressions (concerned and angry). One more thing - music I felt was decent and times added to the story, but I have to mention that there was this one background music that they play during some of the comedic moments that COMPLETELY took me out because it sounded so ridiculous and I know it's a stock background music from somewhere else (maybe other shows? movies? IDK).

Conclusion: Liked it, but definitely not my favourite. However, it's worth a watch if you're looking for a xianxia to pass the time.

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Fantastic comedy rom com

Absolutely love a good comedy rom com and this was no exception. The story was probably a max 7.5/10 but the overall enjoy-ability of the show was close to a 10/10. I loved how it didn't take itself seriously, the refreshing take on all the cliches and tropes present in rom coms, and the chemistry between all the characters. The story and vibe of the show kind of petered off near the end where they tried to go a more serious route and it felt kind of rushed, but overall I was satisfied with the ending and thought it wrapped everything up nicely. This is the perfect show for when you just want to wind down after a long day at work, and want to watch something funny and light-hearted.

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I have around 4 episodes left and the stupidity and absolute nonsense these past few eps has been almost unbearable - and based on the reviews before I even decided to watch this show, it seems like it only goes even more downhill from here.

To be honest, I really was invested and interested in the beginning but as the episodes dragged on, the story got more and more out of hand and ridiculous, to the point where I wasn't even sure if I liked any of the characters anymore.

When I do finish this series, maybe I'll return to leave a more detailed review because I really did enjoy this in the beginning - I even decided to watch this knowing it wouldn't have a great ending! Unfortunately it just didn't live up to the hype for me.

Edit: Finished this series, to say I was disappointed is a severe understatement.

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Redemption after PA

This was a very high budget drama with great fight scenes and CGI. It had an equal mix of humour and seriousness between the main leads; ZLY and LGX played their roles perfectly, and the banter between their characters was fantastic. FL's usual serious demeanor worked very well with ML's much more lax and teasing personality.

However, the humour completely missed the mark for me for the other characters. This affected the plot for me quite a bit as when the conflict actually came, everything seemed low stakes and not as serious since we've seen all these characters cracking jokes like two episodes before. The main antagonist was also a pretty bad actor so it was another thing I could not take seriously. To be honest, other than the main FL and ML, I didn't care about 98% of the side characters as most were just for comedy purposes or their characters weren't fleshed out enough for the audience to care about them.

If you're looking for a high-paced drama - this is most definitely not it. It's a slow burn with a slow moving plot but it's a beautiful production so you don't really notice it as much. It's also got a wonderful, no doubt about it, happy ending which is A+.

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High Expectations Fell Flat

I went into this directly after having watched Eternal Love, so I really did have high expectations going in due to how much I liked the two of them in Eternal Love.

I really, really wanted to like this. This drama...... I know this is based on a novel, but I feel they could have cut down on 10-20 episodes and it would have made it so much better to watch. This drama, to me, felt painfully slow. There was just so much filler fluff to me, and the humour in it felt so forced that I couldn't laugh. I still enjoyed the relationship between Dong Hua and Feng Jiu, but that was basically the only thing that kept me watching. Their acting was decent, but the acting for most of the others was painful and amateur - and I'm not even sure if this is just them or also due to a bad script.

I get this is like a 3 worlds thing, but the latter part of the show where they were in the dream world, I just did not care about at all. They really tried to get me invested in their alternate universe selves who I had absolutely no attachment to, just because they looked the same as the main characters. I liked the two main leads due to their personalities as themselves, and not as other people, so it was a definite miss for me.

The main couple had their sweet moments that kept me going but everything else was a pass, which is a shame, The OST also wasn't as good as the one for Eternal Love, which was disappointing. All in all, lacklustre drama and acting.

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I'm seriously looking at all these high rated reviews and I feel like we've just been watching two completely different dramas. Maybe my expectations were too high, or I have different tastes, or the drama is just genuinely.... not good. If you're looking for a fast-paced, super romantic drama, look away because this is not for you.

And I gotta be honest, I feel next to nothing for most of these characters. Like, almost apathetic. The acting, the characters, the plot line - nothing was engaging and real enough for me to feel invested.

First of all - the Emperor. I'm sorry, but he is straight up trash. He sexually, emotionally, and physically abuses Tilan until she's so scared of him that she flinches away whenever he even approaches her, and the show tries to excuse all of this because of his past trauma. HELLO. EXCUSE ME. I don't care WHAT tragic past you have, because absolutely nobody deserves the shit that Tilan went through. I swear, she got strangled by him at least like... three times. Wtf. And then all of a sudden, everything is okay because the Emperor sees the light! He understands what he did was wrong, and Tilan is so understanding! And even comforts him! .... People. If someone treats you like this in real life, please leave them. You cannot be their savior, what they need is therapy.

Second of all - Jiangming, the ML. This emotionless rock. Even the rare times that he showed emotion, I just wasn't into it, and I'm not sure if it's just an issue of me just not jiving with the character at all or what. He keeps the FL in the dark about literally .... everything. Just ups and decides the rest of FL's life for her, under the guise of "protecting her" without ever asking her about what she wants - actually, FL told him multiple times what she wants, but no, he decides to ignore all of that because he loves her so he gets to decide how things go. Lmao. Okay.

Now - Haishi. Y'all. I feel like her life just revolves around the ML, I literally don't know how she would be able to live her life outside of him. I get having a love interest, but I also feel like she needs her own character, her own hobbies, you know? Right now, I'm just not getting that at all.

The acting - I wasn't impressed, to be honest. The acting for the Emperor was especially not doing it for me, kind of felt like the same 3 wide eyed, angry expression throughout the whole show.

The chemistry - not feeling it. I felt like if I could feel genuine chemistry between the two leads, I would be so much more invested in the show. I haven't watched any of William Chan's dramas but I've watched Yang Mi in Fuyao and Eternal Love and the chemistry between the leads in both of those shows were off the charts. This one? Definitely can't say the same, and I don't know if it's because of the ML's character in the show or ???? I also feel like it might be how they shot 90% of these romantic scenes where it's SUPER CORNY - they slow down and zoom in on everything and it just makes the whole scene feel unnatural.

Another (lol) complaint I had was also the terrible wigs for some of the guys, like the wig for Duo Luo made me not take him seriously at all because every time I looked at him in that curly wig, I couldn't help but laugh.

Anyway. Not to say there weren't good things - I liked the OST, I enjoyed the relationship between Haishi and Zhuoying, and Zhouying and Zheliu. I liked Tilan, I guess. I've spent a lot of time watching most of this drama already, so I'll finish it up at least, but I don't think my review on this show will change much.

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The production, the storyline, the characters, the acting (and major emphasis on the acting because Wu Lei and Lusi absolutely knocked it out of the park and more) - all of it was top notch. The way that this drama just pulls the viewers in so easily even when it's a slow burn and has viewers emotionally invested in all the characters so that you can feel all their emotions, from their happiness to their pain. I loved having main characters that are not perfect but where we can still manage to love them despite all their flaws due to the complexities of their characters.

This was one of the top dramas for me and definitely the top 2022 drama so far.

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This has become one of my top cdramas ever, and not just in 2023. Absolutely everything about this was a joy to watch, but I especially loved the relationships between the characters. It's hard to find a drama nowadays that doesn't focus on romance, and this drama is an example of one that's perfectly done even without one. The production was top notch, and everything just looked high budget and realistic (martial arts, settings, costumes etc) which made it so easy to immerse yourself into their story.

100% would recommend - watch for the friendship and the mysteries!

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Fantastic slow burn drama

I am a huge fan of slow burn romance dramas, and this one ticks all of the boxes for me. It has an interesting storyline, likable characters that you can relate to and empathize with, and amazing chemistry between the two leads. I've watched too many shows where the FL falls in love with the ML in just a few episodes and while I don't usually mind it, a longer relationship progression is much more engaging and realistic. In this drama you can actually see the FL and ML's love, respect, and trust for each other grow throughout each episode.

People have mentioned that it had a slow start, but I found that the beginning actually lay out great groundwork for future episodes and I didn't find any episode boring at all. I loved learning more about the FL and her family life as it made her more relatable and interesting.

Things also worth mentioning: beautiful cinematography, humour that is comedic but not overdone and exaggerated, and storyline/scenes that really pull at your heartstrings. While I don't know what part 2 holds, I highly recommend watching part 1!

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Visually Beautiful with Decent Storyline

I really can't say this enters into any of my top drama lists, but was it enjoyable to watch? Most definitely. For cdramas, and well, often with dramas of a certain length, it takes a while for it to pick up but I was hooked from the start. The humour, acting, and premise of the show had me equal parts genuinely laughing out loud and cringing from second-hand embarrassment.

However, after the first half of the show (I would say maybe after they left the mortal realm), things kind of fell flat for me and the storyline kind of lost direction. It lost most of its humour, which was one of the aspects of the show I enjoyed the most. Jin Mi, though weak, I had found charming before, but throughout the second half, I was frustrated with her helplessness and character. I think I lost amount of times I rolled my eyes when she kept yelling "stop fighting!" into the void during the last few episodes with her wide-eyed, helpless flailing.

Run Yu was the one that truly stole the show for me, and also was the character that I felt was the most fleshed out. I felt his happiness and his pain, and truly dreaded when he made those bad decisions because I sympathized and pitied his character (also, major kudos to the actor that plays him). Despite his tragic past and upbringing, he still never achieved happiness - he was the one I rooted for throughout the whole show (though through his obsession with Jin Mi, he definitely made a lot of very dubious, shady choices), and while I guess I'm glad he managed to survive, his ending was disappointing.

The reveal of who killed the Water Deity and the reveal of Sui He's true character was one of the things that just felt anticlimactic for me - I felt Jin Mi would have had a stronger say in reaction to what happened to Sui He, considering how she literally killed the only remaining member of her family, and made her mistakenly kill Xu Feng. The ending of the war also felt anticlimactic and a bit of a copout to me, and just felt like a very typical sacrificial drama trope to solve all problems.

One of the things that truly kept my watching was the aesthetics and visual effects of the show. Definitely one of the best I've seen!

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Hugely Underrated

I stumbled upon this drama while looking for something to watch, and after finishing this series, I can safely say this is such a hugely underrated series. Everything from the production (the sets and costumes are beautiful and everything just looks high budget), to the the acting (no wooden acting to be found anywhere!! a miracle!!), to the story (perfect mix of cry-my-eyes-out story and cry-my-eyes-out hilarity), to the music (THE AMAZING OST!!! caught in my feelings every time it played) was SO good.

The best part of this series to me to be honest, wasn't even the romance, but the friendships, the familial love, and the theme of found family. The two sisters are just genuinely so supportive and loving towards each other despite how differently the two of them grew up, and every one of the friendships they've developed over the course of the series just felt so heartwarming. I usually have at least one or two "good" characters that I don't like and straight up find annoying, but I honestly, genuinely loved all the side characters. A special shoutout goes to Emperor Tun who I thought I would hate but actually became one of my favourite characters.

Easily one of the best dramas of the year so far for me, would definitely recommend a watch.

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Unsatisfying

If you're planning to watch this, be prepared for a ridiculous plot filled with unlikeable characters. I honestly believe it had potential, the beginning episodes were interesting, but by the end of it I disliked basically almost every character. Some parts were so ridiculous and overexaggerated/acted that I unintentionally just burst out laughing during serious scenes.

I really wish that they fully committed to the revenge plot instead of throwing the cliche twin flames, star crossed lovers thing into the mix. Honestly, they should have just thrown the whole romance aspect out the window and it would have probably upped my enjoyability of this show tenfold. I've mentioned this before, but what these people need is to therapy, not relationships. Also, the styling for this show is pretty bad imo, to the point here it just takes me out of the show.

Promising plot, terrible execution, decent acting, awful characters.

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Despite the numerous great reviews I've seen on my timeline about WoH, I honestly just went headfirst into this with relatively low expectations since I watched the trailer and it didn't seem like something I would like.

Well, I am very pleased to say that my first initial reaction was wrong and this was a series that was well acted, and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Before the series even ended, it even managed to get me to shed a few tears, which really shows how much the storyline and acting made me care about these characters.

Also, for a bl adaptation, I was honestly very surprised at the ... blatancy of the whole thing and how much they actually managed to get past censorship. The two male leads had great chemistry together, and the acting was pretty top notch and at the very least, fairly decent, for every one of the characters.

My main minor gripes were maybe some production choices for some scenes (I'm distinctly remembering this one unintentionally hilarious scene in the later episodes where WKX looked like a bobblehead) and the ending OST, which I'm ngl, kind of took me out of some serious scenes because the singing was just... not great (though points for trying!) and it was all I could hear and focus on.

But all in all, I highly recommend giving this a watch!

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Background Show

Blandest couple award goes to the main characters, Wei Wei and Xiao Nai! This was basically the POV and world of the benefits of being pretty - the two main characters were beautiful, smart, and pretty much flawless in every way. The main girl is basically a Mary Sue (and same goes for the main guy too tbh).

My other problems with this show:
- Internal monologues, where we could hear all their thoughts but their real conversation is only like 2 sentences between each other

- No real conflict to speak of, so if you want a background show that doesn't require much thought, this show would be perfect for you

- Wei Wei has no personality, and is basically only there as Xiao Nai's pretty sidekick girlfriend, and Xiao Nai is constantly calling after her like a dog (this sounds terrible, but the way he always tells her to 'come here' or do this, and not making it as a request really reminds me of someone calling for their dog lol)

- The acting for the two main leads were wooden and unnatural, I really couldn't get into it lol

I almost dropped this show but I really have an inability to drop shows unless they're absolutely terrible so I stuck with this until the end. Maybe if I was 10 years younger, I would have enjoyed this more.

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