Pretty short, typical plot, but not a "cdrama"

It's actually a short, independent project filmed likely for Douyin lol. Pretty good/fun for a douyin series, but not good at all for a cdrama lol. Very short, will only take half an hour to watch (not subbed though since it's so short).

Story: story starts with MC, a concubine of the Crown Prince, who is tortured by his favourite concubine and then killed by him. She wakes up alive in the past, reincarnated, and decides to ensure that she won't die this time round. She chooses the other prince instead of the Crown Prince.

Production: Acting is kinda ham, not really good for a cdrama. But pretty good for Douyin series lol. Costumes are also soso. Audio is too loud/quiet at times.

If you can understand Chinese and have half an hour to kill, why not check this out at one - two minutes an episode? But as a cdrama, it's not that great. Thankfully it's quite short, so it's pretty entertaining. But, I have to rate this as a cdrama, hence 4.5/10.

Leggi di Più

Interesting premise, poor execution

Themes of betrayal, plotting, and true love are unfortunately poorly executed by a meandering storyline hinging on poor communication skills. The biggest issue for me was when the main two characters did not the truth about each other, and constantly tried to hurt the other to hide the truth. It was cruel and unnecessary.

I believe that the surprisingly high rating is because a large number of watchers are first or second time cdramas, who came from being fans of the casts' other productions. Compared to other cdramas, the plots are average at best, and the main character's dynamic is nearly unwatchable during the middle part of the series.

If you want a "sworn enemies, unfortunately in love, navigating palace conspiracies" cdrama that's actually good, try Rise of Phoenixes.

The soundtrack is pretty good though, and some side characters made it watchable.

[SPOILERS IMPLIED AHEAD]
In some ways, the tragic ending redeemed such a storyline, but also made it hardly worth the watch. Forty-nine episodes which I ultimately started skipping ahead on parts just to see the resolution.

Leggi di Più

Finally, a xianxia baihe series! Though short :(

I've been waiting for something like this!

If you love xianxia and baihe, it's just the show for you.

It's quite short though, you can finish in just half an hour.

The story is pretty well done and well paced and air tight. The acting and chemistry are good. Exceeded expectations for a douyin project, and would make a fantastic drama series on its own. The vfx are also nicely done. And the characterisations are well written, as well as some unexpected plot twists!

Be sure to check out the extras on their Douyin too! :) If you can like, comment, follow, interact, please do - I want a season 2 so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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tl;dr: Interesting concept, poor execution, ridiculous romance progression, awful audio

I watched this legally on Youtube, where they condensed it into three episodes.

Had some really great potential with the concept of her trying to break a time loop, but the execution wasn't so great. Also seemed ridiculous that she never once suspected the Emperor of trying to kill her lol.

The worst aspect was the fact that partway through, the murderous emperor suddenly had a change of mind and fell for her. Before this, he was intent on killing her. At the end, somehow the second lead realised her existence in another universe and decided to help her leave the loop because the happy end kept causing the timeline to short (which is an interesting concept that was explored too late and for too little).

Also the audio was TERRIBLE. It kept cutting out completely, or becoming muffled.

tl;dr: Interesting concept, poor execution, ridiculous romance progression, awful audio

Leggi di Più

Great watch, emotional, but some plotholes

Love and need more baihe xianxia series, I am begging.

I loved the chemistry between the main two characters, and the interesting storyline that came about. It's really cute and sweet. Each episode is only 4 minutes long, so it's quite a quick watch (only one hour total!) Worth checking out. :) The story is also contained within the series and is paced okay, as well as some cute fluff side scenes that was so adorable and funny.

But... there are some plotholes that never really get resolved, hence docked points. I thought they'd resolve them but, unfortunately not. I don't think that counts as a spoiler, but just be warned. LOL

Leggi di Più

Great contained romcom that's entertaining & quick watch

Each episode is only 10 minutes. Despite this, the story is quite entertaining and a typical but nicely done short transmigration story with a happy ending. It's a great filler when you're feeling bored/down. Characters are interesting, romance is sweet, and the second lead is also interesting.

Personally had an issue with audio sometimes being a bit loud for the voiceover, but you can still make out the audio.

I ended up watching this on MangoTV but the subtitles were pretty whack LOL, if you can understand basic conversational Chinese this series won't be a problem.

Leggi di Più

INCREDIBLE story, just FL's personality is a little too weird-quirky sometimes

Genuinely think this is going to be one of the C-Dramas of the year to watch.

The plot is impeccable. Everything flows into each other beautifully, and it's not a chore to watch the series at all. It's a very well paced drama with constant small arcs and overarching ones, so it's NOT like a Criminal Minds episodic but slightly tied together story.

The only issue is that I feel the FL is written a little too ditzy at times. She's intelligent and she empathetic, but sometimes she's written so... quirky? If manic pixie dream girls existed in the Tang Dynasty in China, she'd be the equivalent of one. That's not to say that I don't like her, but she simply lacks something that makes her three dimensional like other female protags of mystery costume dramas (like the protags of the Sword and the Brocade or Story in Yanxi Palace). I'm guessing she's supposed to be the "self insert" for viewers, hence why...

In general though, the characters are written fantastically, the plot is brilliant, the way crimes are solved are also interesting without being deus ex machina. The romance isn't a huge part but it feels good, and I love the chemistry between both the main pair and also the side couple!

This is a DEFINITE must see.

Leggi di Più

Excellent and interesting story, weak villains (but great faceslapping fun)

Yes I watched Joy of Life, and so I decided to watch this since they share one producer and much of the cast.

Overall, the story is excellent and mind games are very good, very much on par with Joy of Life. The only big weakness is that the villains in this story are quite two dimensional, and it's really just a giant faceslapping event when it comes to their defeat. Sometimes, their defeats are also quite anticlimactic.

I actually quite liked the bandit arc personally speaking. Also great humour throughout the series.

There's no scifi element which is good, as it's what I didn't really like about Joy of Life lol.

All plot points are resolved by the end, except for one that intends to introduce a second season. I'm looking forward to it.

If you enjoy transmigration stories with mind games, absolutely check it out.

Leggi di Più

Interesting concept, average execution (spoilers marked at halfway point)

Brief plot: the FL is sent into the story of a manhua she was reading. She knows details about how the story ends, and who is the real perpetrator, and must navigate the challenges of a palace while doing so.

I love a good, classic transmigration story. In this case, rather than being transported into someone else's body, the FL was transported in as *herself* and seen as a goddess, and treated as such. The humour was also actually very good at the start. Then, it became quite dark in tone surprisingly. I'll talk more about the concept below, but without spoiling anything, I personally think if you see this series as less of a transmigration story, and more of an FL's development story, you'll find the ending less unappealing.

That being said, as a whole, this story could have been executed better.

***[[[SPOILERS START]]]***

Unfortunately, the FL remaining passive right until the end was this story's weakest point. We watch 15 episodes of her struggle passively as events happened to her. Understandably, it's because she did not study in school nor learn about the manhua plot nor pay attention to the palace goings-on. It's almost a cautionary tale, promising that if she had only focussed on something, perhaps she could have changed an event from within rather than after. But we're not here to watch cautionary tales, are we? No matter the moral of the story, it was unsatisfying and frustrating to watch.

What happens is, tragedy strikes over and over, and the ending of the manhua more or less ends the same though it is more "open", and then FL is transported back into her normal life. As promised, she studies hard and ends up writing a sequel to the manhua, hereby allowing the emperor to live. Unfortunately, most of the cast dies in the manhua. FL's friend, the guard, the chef, the chef's friends, the Empress Dowager... at least the Emperor reveals to the antagonist that he knows what she did (because he overheard her) and he poisons himself. This frames the antagonist because to people afar it appears she poisoned the emperor. Furious, the Empress Dowager stabs her and throws her over the edge, along with herself.

FL's sequel allows the emperor to survive, his brother to usurp the Proctor, and the Proctor to be jailed and charged for his crimes. The emperor then appears to have either survived the timeline to the present day or reincarnated (and it appears they may have all reincarnated), where it's revealed that he is FL's classmate all along. This gives some semblance of control to the FL back over the story. Ideally, she should have had tried harder earlier on instead of constantly being irrational.

***[[[SPOILERS END]]]***

While certainly the story was unique in how it went, it was also unfortunately really too frustrating in the second half of the series. It could have been executed so much better. The second half, bar the ending, was really disappointing. At the least, the revelations at the end made the story somewhat worth it.

Overall, a fun way to pass time and started strong, but do consider skipping forward in parts of it.

Leggi di Più

I don't think I spoil anything but there are potential hints to spoilers.

I watched it for the interesting premise (and was looking forward to the dynamic between the main character and her cousin), and I was expecting a fairly high quality movie in all aspects... and was unfortunately disappointed.

The character development was largely abysmal, with the main characters not being really fleshed out into round characters throughout the movie, with the exception of the cousin growing on me (I liked that they tried to get the audience to sympathise with her however there was a point where it seemed almost too far). Several characters have rather cliched story arcs, and the movie itself having parts which were largely predictable.

The story itself was also a little easy to guess, they didn't really go to "new places" or try. I also have issue with the way the movie was filmed - a lot of techniques seemed very unnecessary and didn't add to the story, instead making the viewer extremely aware they were disconnected from the story, which I believe isn't what the director was really trying to do. Perhaps you'll enjoy it a lot more if you go in with an open mind. Overall, it had its enjoyable and comedic and satisfying aspects, but there were too many "flat" characters, not just a few of the main, but also the (relatively) side characters.

The acting was alright and probably one of the stronger points. Some (like imo the main character) weren't good, but to be fair they weren't given that much to work with either.

The music wasn't necessarily bad but some of it seemed really inappropriate and not fitting to the SITUATION.

And I wouldn't rewatch it but I rarely rewatch movies unless they're pretty good or chill so I won't take this too much into account honestly.

Tl;dr: don't go in expecting an award-winning movie. Just chill out, lower your expectations, watch it for the amusement and family drama.

Leggi di Più