Ashes of Love (2018)

Saw it based on all the Hype with a 宝宝 FL

After a few years since its been out, I finally got around to seeing it early this year. GF saw it around the time it came out and has been asking me to watch it with her since then. She didn't mind watching it all over again. *All 63 episodes* Amazing, applaud her for the dedication.

What is the verdict? Uh... it's ok. I'm not really a Xianxia fan.

What's the short of it?

Xianxia Genre. Grape fairy who can't fall in love and wants to level up on magical powers quickly, Phoenix Immortal loves her first, Grape fairy or Frosty Flower later on can love him back but Phoenix Immortal needs to come around to loving her again. Some comedy in the first half. Second half is Romeo and Juliet angst, drama, major misunderstandings, rinse and repeat.

Why would one want to watch this?

* All 63 freaking episodes is devoted to the love, angst, and drama. I will say there were parts of the storyline which were engaging. The ML does a pretty good job with his acting, he has the ingredients of:

- Pompousness and Pride
- Inexperience and naiveness with love (isn't he supposed to be an Immortal that has lived thousands of years? You would think he would have honed his love skills)
- Courage and Willingness to go against authority
- Some initial coldness towards the FL
- Being a Powerful Immortal
- His face kind of looks like a Bird

With all those ingredients combined, viola you have the recipe for the Ultimate Romantic Bird Immortal ML. The way he shows his emotions on his face while he is gradually falling in love with her and the passion he has for her was believable even if it got cringey.
* The storyline where the ML and FL end up in the mortal realm was the best in my opinion. The love that unfolds between them is told pretty well and you are drawn in as a viewer to the love story.
* Cute FL, yes she is cute like a bunny
* OST is good
* Love triangle and power struggle, some hate it and some love it. It's meh.

Why would one not want to watch this?

* The FL acted really childish 宝宝 and kinda stupid in the first half of the drama. I didn't really like the personality. She was completely unbelievable as a male attendant for the Phoenix Immortal. The scenes where her hair gets unpinned, it falls down, and she is finally seen as a girl who is extremely pretty were cheesy. They might be immortal but they lack a fair amount of brains.
* Cheesy Xianxia settings, costumes, and roles.
* Leave your brain in between the gap of the door and door frame before entering, let the door slam firmly shut and squish it to pieces.
* Love triangle. See the bullet in the above section.
* Didn't like the love story of the Demon Princess and her SML lover.
* It dragged on for far too long. The last 6 or 7 episodes really sucked in my opinion and wasn't necessary. Fast forward time.

Leia Mais

Two Mama's Boys Fighting Over a Doll

I watched this because of the favourable reviews and I was interested in Chinese mythology and culture.

The actual story is fairly interesting to me, as it really draws you into the world of the heavenly realms, where nothing is as it seems, and anything is possible.

To be an immortal with all the power, magic, and time everlasting, yet when it comes to affairs of the heart, they must be conducted clandestinely, and never end well.

The gods are one part homicidal, one part suicidal, and all parts bored out of their little minds. That is what watching Xanxia dramas has taught me.

The CGI in the final battle of good vs evil is absolutely stunning, and it's worth skipping to the end of this melodrama to watch that one scene.

The FL, instead of being wooden, makes cheesy faces throughout the drama in a bid to have us relate to her through her quirkiness. Maybe that's your cup of tea, but it isn't mine. I think there is a difference between innocence and stupidity, after all, a child is innocent, but they aren't stupid. I understand that FL characters in C dramas are meant to be naive and innocent, but, in my opinion, they just come off as stupid, and I can't imagine anyone who thinks this FL was anything but a brain-less "quirky" child inside a grown woman's body. That makes the love triangle all the more cringe-worthy. Imagine two somewhat intelligent (well, ML wasn't very intelligent), grown male gods attracted to a cognitively challenged child inside a grown woman's body. Doesn't sound good, does it? Well, that's exactly what ends up happening in every Xanxia I can think of, and it bothers me to think that someone came up with this trope for it to be repeated.

This drama could have been half as long, if the ML and FL characters had just communicated with each other in the first place. There wouldn't have been any misunderstandings turned into feuds. Near the end of the drama, the FL figures out what the ML really is, and it was refreshing to hear her tell him how and why he is a manipulative douch-bag.

The drama is really all about two half-brother mama's boys, fighting over their quirky fairy doll. The ML tortured the FL physically, and the SML tortured her emotionally. The ML's inability to prosecute his mother properly, even after he knew of her crimes, is the most selfish act of all, in my opinion. I don't even see the SML's manipulation of the FL as being nearly as detestable as the ML believing hear-say about the FL, as the ML being cruel to the FL, and as the ML denying justice to the FL and SML. Subsequently, I was rooting for the SML the whole time. He was more fit to be a heavenly ruler than any of the other characters.

Leia Mais

(SML) Second Male Lead Syndrome to the MAX!!!!

Team Runyu!!! it felt good watching him get his revenge. I was happy every step of the way. He was the ONLY reason I finished this overrated drama. He was the BEST Character imho, I rooted for him to get the throne. He had a way better ending than his brother who is ML, who did not get the throne like his evil parents wanted, but ended up with that dumb weak FML whom his parents hated and she killed him in front of his Evil Dad?????. Overall 6/10 but for 2nd Male Lead 10 Stars Across the board. The Best Actor and Most Realistic Character. TEAM FISH FAIRY!!!!!!!! 2nd lead couple must get props too I Loved them.

Leia Mais

Hyped up for no reason

I'm so excited to watch this drama, because all the great reviews and how so many people love it. I have such a high expectations, but, oh boy, what a disappointment. I'm forcing my self to finish all the episodes, hoping that along the line the it will eventually get better. But, nope... TT TT
First of all, the story is dragging too too much, this drama shouldn't be this long. And then there's the female lead. I don't know why the writer had to write her like that, so annoying, and to make it worst, Jin Mi was not performed well by Yang Zi. The two male leads however is quite enjoyable to watch. Leo Luo done a great job with his character. If you like a fantasy love story it's still watchable with a lot of skipping and fast forwards

Leia Mais

Good drama, just too long!!

So, apparently this review turned out to be an essay so I apologize in advance…!
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I kept reading of how amazing this drama is but I always put it off due to its length, but I finally decided to give it a chance since I had a week off work and a lot of time to spare! I have to say that I was disappointed. (I am going to put this in the list of high rated/acclaimed dramas that didn’t live up to the hype for me).

For me this show's downfall is its length. Too many characters, too many side stories that take more time than they should, that kept making me lose interest and pay no attention to my screen. I mean there were episodes where I looked at the screen for a total of 10 minutes out of 45 and honestly did not miss any part of the plot (I don’t speak nor understand Chinese, so it was just background noise). From some point on I think we also saw more of the supporting characters than the main cast. At the second half of the show Ru Yan (2nd ML) had more airtime and character development than the main couple combined and at some point, the main couple became side characters in their own story!

To a more positive note, the acting was really good, it made you interested in the characters and really care for them. The main couple has chemistry and it’s what keeps you interested and invested in the drama. Also, the acting was exceptional from all 3 Main Leads.

I had seen the FL on Go Go Squid before this, but she really blew me away here! What a performance. She portrayed all the variation of her character so convincingly, from innocent & carefree, to wise and calm , to broken and dark!
The ML was Incredible as well. Usually Chinese Male leads have a hard time portraying sweet/caring and cold and stern at the same time. It’s either one or the other, but he managed to do so effortlessly. You could also feel his sadness every time. As for the 2nd ML his acting was on point he went from gentle, sweet and calm , to broken, to buts**t crazy seamlessly and he portrayed all of those brilliantly. He also had a scene where he got to act silly (when another character pretended to be him) and you could immediately tell he was supposed to be someone else!! He really is a brilliant actor I am goanna search for another drama of his to watch! Ohh and the soundtrack amazing!

The best part of the show - story wise- for me was their time at the mortal realm, which should have been the shows primary focus. It had the perfect balance of humour, romance and drama. At the first part of the drama it was too much comedy and after the mortal realm just too heavy and dramatic.
The CGI was surprisingly good if we take into consideration that this is a TV production and no matter how high the budget it is never going to be enough for mind blowing CGI.
Also shout-out to the demon princess the best character in this show! Strong, level-headed, rational!

If this were a 40- 45-episode drama it would have been excellent. I mean the last episodes where brilliant. Do not even get me started on the wedding episodes, Game of Thrones who, but if half of your episodes need to be boring fillers with flashbacks in order to fill in 60/63 episodes (depending on the version you are watching), then maybe you don’t have enough story or material for a 60-episode drama! I mean it’s not great when you are on episode 55 and your reaction is “Thank God, there are only 5 episodes left”!

The first 20 episodes could have been summed up in 15, maybe even 12, then we spend 3-4 episodes on Run Yu’s back story which was too much. 1 would suffice. Then after the return from the mortal realm we have 10 episodes that all could be summed up to 5. In general, all those filler episodes made this drama frustrating for me. Episodes 33-44 basically useless and could have been summed up into 2 or 3 episodes!!

Due to this, some amazing episodes such as ep 45 lost impact and momentum! This is the closest I’ve come to dropping a drama, since I got frustrated by all those unnecessary filler episodes, but I never drop since I think you should always have a full picture if you are to complain or praise a drama.

At the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t because it was a good drama and worth the watch but boy the road there was rocky and I don’t think I have enough patience to ever rewatch!!

Leia Mais

I am Luo Yunxi biased. Read my rant about him and how perfect he is in costume dramas

I really liked this one. It was my first xianxia, a fantasy drama. I am writing this off of the long-lasting memories this show left me from 2 years ago.

Story: Jinmi is a lowly little fairy who becomes entangled with the higher-up of the heavenly realm, the fire Phoenix, Xue Feng, and the night immortal, Run Yu.

Characters:
- Jinmi, played by Yang Zi is a bit annoying at the beginning, but it really isn’t her fault. She grows and becomes more mature.
- Xue Feng, played by Deng Lun, is kind of mean to start off with, but love really changed the guy. He just wants to love Jinmi. He will do anything to be with her. Let the man be happy for once.
- Run Yu, played by Luo Yunxi, a seemingly nice, perfect immortal, who turns out to be scheming and selfish.
I say that Yang Zi and Luo Yunxi really shined in this drama. Those two know how to act. Deng Lan fell a bit short for me. His acting was not the best, but I still bought into the story. I felt for the guy. The scene with Run Yu and Jinmi at the end is my favorite. I still think about it from time to time. Yang Zi and Luo Yunxi just are so good in that scene. It is bone-chilling.
- I skipped everything about the second couple. I found them, especially the girl, to be very annoying, and a waste of time.
- Other side characters, like the moon immortal were good comic relief.
- All of the villains are well done. I hate the mother, I hate the girl who simps over Xue Feng. I love to hate Run Yu.

Chemistry:
Xue Feng and Jinmi’s relationship is so tragic and good. Their love for each other was so so strong, strong enough to break the curse that Jinmi had in her heart. Some parts of their relationship even got me crying.
The mortal realm was the best part of their relationship; it is where Jinmi and Xue Feng really fell in love with each other. I cried my eyes out at the end of that. The whole concept of these fantasy characters going to the mortal realm seemed to be innovative to me. I had never seen it be done before (granted this was my second costume drama). Once you get to the mortal realm, the story just gets better and better. So tragic.

Editing/Setting: Pretty believable for me. The editing is not the best. Some of the CGI looks really cheap, but it gets the point across. I really enjoyed the fantasy world. The heavenly realm is beautiful. Where Jinmi lives with the other fairies is pretty too. Excited to see what the team who created this world has in store for Immortality.

Music: The Osts were so so good. Appropriate music is played at appropriate parts of the show. Especially the opening song. They played that song during the parts that were really emotional and now just by hearing the opening of it I tear up. I listen to the most to this day. It’s a shame Luo Yunxi didn’t sing an ost for this show because he has a great voice and I would’ve loved to hear a sad, tragic song sung by him.

Final Thoughts: I am a sucker for tragic stories. I am aware that this story is cliche, but I had never seen anything like it before. I had no idea that they could go to the mortal realm. I just thoroughly enjoined this story. I really did. It was really good, at least for me.

Now for my rant about Luo Yunxi...

Run Yu is amazing. You love to hate the guy. He carries the show a bit at parts when it is falling. I fell in love with Luo Yunxi because of his acting here. It is phenomenal.

Run Yu is a cheeseball from the start and I love it. He is manipulative and slimy. He used JinMi from the start. She is right, he never loved her, he only just loved himself and a higher position. Haha and the scene where he watched Jinmi and Xue Feng do the devil's tango, was so great, he really deserved that one. Run Yu was a gaslighting manipulator throughout this whole show. But I don’t hate him for it, you see why he acts the way he does. Man’s has got a tragic backstory. He really knows how to make emotional scenes just so good. Tears fall effortlessly from his eyes. He is a beautiful cryers. His scales were torn off. His mother died in his arms. His stepmom openly hated him to the point where his mom died. He never had a chance with Jinmi and he knew it; he was friend zoned since the beginning. His wontons were thrown in his face and he got spat at for it even though he died trying to save his disciples ungrateful a**…. Wrong story

- Scene, where the Moon Immortal is pretending to be Run Yu, is hilarious and cute.
- The wedding scene is so beautiful and tragic. I love it. Run Yu is so beautiful in that scene. Peak Chu Wanning (besides the torture bit at the end).
- Scene, where Run Yu’s mother dies, is Chu Wanning also. Gosh, Luo Yunxi is just so beautiful in costume dramas. He transcends the beauty standards that are on Earth. Even if this show were sh*t I would still watch it just because of Luo Yunxi wearing a pretty costume, with his hair all long and majestic and his mannerisms being like that of a graceful professional ballet dancer (which he was).
- Ahh and the ending!!! I love the fact that Run Yu willingly chose to put himself in that much torture in the end. He willingly chose to gasp and moan and tie himself up on his bed (we love the little gasps and moans). It is amazing. Very Chu Wanning of him. I go back and rewatch those scenes every so often just to get my Chu Wanning kick.
Every time Run Yu was on screen I became so engaged. Luo Yunxi is just so beautiful. That man is so ethereal. He cried, I cried. - - He laughed, I cried. He started yelling, I cried. He was shown on screen for a split second, I cried. He just looks that good.

I can see why Luo Yunxi got called in to be Chu Wanning after watching this show. I see Chu Wanning in him. He seriously was born to play the role. Have you seen that man with his hair down gasping and moaning for fresh air? Like… come on now! Makes sense why the casting team of Immortality didn’t even consider anyone but him. The man is the living breathing epitome of Chu Wanning. He is graceful and delicate, yet strong and stern.

I chose to watch this show after reading Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun because I wanted to watch a costume drama with Luo Yunxi in it to really get that Chu Wanning feeling. And wowwwwwwwww did it deliver. Obviously, Run Yu is no Chu Wanning, he is quite the opposite actually, but the look alone is just !!!!!

After writing this I think I might rewatch just to really take in Luo Yunxi looking all pretty, beautiful, handsome, attractive, fair, righteous, lovely, impressive, clean-cut, gorgeous, radiant, ethereal, wonderful, riveting, (all the words that describe someone looking good).

Leia Mais

Overall a good drama

I finally watched this drama. After deliberating to watch or not for almost a month, i finally watched this drama. So, safe to say my expectations were over the roof. It had a very decent start. Unlike everybody here, naive jinmi did not annoy me. I mean i did read a few reviews so i knew what i was getting into. But what did annoy me was the main leads' protrayal of love. A good part of the show is lost with jinmi unable to feel. I didnt get that soulmate feeling between the leads until later half in the show.At times i even wondered if xunfeng was even the male lead. There was no depth to his character and it felt bland to me. But i really really wanted more of his character. Also it kinda felt illogical how he fell for her just like that in 10 episodes. But mortal and demon xunfeng made up for that. I was like finally they did something with his character.The later half of the drama excluding the side plots was my fav. Though there were less scenes ,the angst was *chef's kiss*. I wish the demon realm part was a bit longer.
I would say runyu's character singlehandedly ran the show. Getting into this , I knew he was the villain. I was waiting for his scenes to hate him. To my shock, i still could not hate him.His scenes were a whole rollercoaster ride. It made me want to root for him. His scheming did not annoy me, in fact i admired how tactical he was. I loved his character the whole drama except in the last couple episodes. Though i do not like him with jinmi.I was surprised at how well his character arc was portrayed. Like until upto 30 episodes, i kept questioning how he could turn out evil. His character proved no one is truly evil. That there is no black and white. A person you least expected could betray you.
Coming to acting, everybody did a great job. Yang zhi's acting was top notch. Every jinmi crying scene made me cry. Also love the ost. Overall a pretty decent watch.

Leia Mais

I am the weird one...

Ok, I admit I am the weird one here because I don't like this drama so much. Once I watched it out of curiosity because million praises to the highest. I am not into super fluffy sweet surrender kind of love story, Yang Zi giggled and act in childish way, makes me want to slap her (get a grip, woman) Ok I know she supposed to act that way but it crawled my skin just to listen high pinch giggle in whole drama. Deng Lun and Leo Luo made story come alive, so much sadness from one sided love..so much aggravation from ambition...so much visual effect that kind of fake. So, I am not a fan, don't want to re access it. I don't watch Yang Zi since then. The positive note: I love the soundtracks.

Leia Mais

Lack of attention to details makes it hard to immerse in it

The story line is quite good, but not well rounded. The entire thing was written from the same perspective. Heroes are heroes and can do no wrong (even when they do, it's forgivable). Villains are villains and everything they do is wrong (even the good things they do are considered negative). There's also a very obvious good guy/bad guy. Everybody likes the good guy, and hates the bad guys.
With that said, it's very hard for viewers to hate the bad guy because of the very one-sided perspective of this drama resulting in very unfair treatment of the said bad guy. We feel that he is very unfairly treated so we root for him and can't hate him.
Acting is good but it's only acting after all. There are dramas where the actors are merely acting and then there are dramas where the actors become the character. This one is the former. Good acting, but not true to life. For example, a woman who does not know love doesn't mean she is childish. And a person who's about to die does not talk very fast and with the same usual energy. But, this could be a problem with the script or director, not actors, because these are reputable actors. And I suspect it's the director because there are scenes that are quite ridiculous. A character takes a leisure walk through a forest (seems quite careless and humming happily). All of a sudden she trips over an arm, she looks down and is shocked to see a forest full of dead bodies. Her acting was very good through the whole thing. But I ask, who in the world would walk through a forest of dead bodies without seeing one until you trip?
Overall the drama is very beautiful. But it's very unfortunate that it misses so many small details. For those who are only into the love story, they'll love it. It's a great love story. But it's a very modern love story that's very selfish. It's does not have any of the ancient values we know about. All that is thrown out of the window.
I gave up 3 times before I decided to come back and finish it. It's quite hard to immerse in it. Sometimes I succeed only to get pulled back to reality by another detail that's not true to real life, and I remember that I'm just watching a drama. Needless to say, has no rewatch value for me. (And I'm the person who watched Pride and Prejudice more than 10 times.)

Leia Mais

Stock up on tissues! Started off laughing and then cried my eyes out. This is a show you’ll definitely go back to watch again and again. I’ve done it twice already.

The only thing I didn’t like about this drama is that it spent too much time on secondary characters instead of the main couple. The mortal realm plot was my favorite, it was funny and sweet but a chunk of the time was also ate up with Mu chi’s story. In addition, although I loved learning the backstory for Run Yu, it still was way too much focus on him without giving the same detailed attention to the main character. I think Xu Feng was an under utilized character in the drama which is sad since the he is such a lovable character. They wasted screen time on unnecessary plot lines and rushed the ending.

My other issue with this drama is the ending. I maybe in the minority here but I found the ending a little underwhelming. After the emotional roller coaster we went through i would have loved to have seen a little more of happy couple time, a little more of the romance. I was curious to see, after everything they have been through, what kind of couple they would be.

My heart still aches for Xu Feng, I think he suffered worse than most. He paid the price for his parents mistake, his brothers ambition/vengeance and his loves betrayal. The actions of people around him caused so much pain. Although I believe Jin Mi also suffered for her actions it’s still not comparable to Xu Fengs’s.
As for Run Yu, I think that hateful fish got off way too easy.

Am I the only one disappointed that the last kiss we saw between Xu Feng and Jin Mi was the one where he pretended to be drunk in the demon realm? Huh- did not like that at all!

Leia Mais

(Full, spoilerful review here: https://dramavixen.tumblr.com/post/178041972179/
I had a lot of fun with this one.)

Ooh, baby. Should’ve jumped aboard this hype train sooner because this is quite the ride.

From my perspective, Ashes of Love is the definition of a dark horse drama. It possesses a star cast with Yang Zi and Deng Lun at the top of the list, but its synopsis only lets on that this is a rather typical romance in which everyone happens to be dressed in layers of colored silk. And everything about it proves me wrong.

For all intents and purposes, the story of Ashes of Love is not the strongest I’ve seen. It’s fairly creative, but still incorporates the tropes of “aloof male lead,” “let’s kill the person that killed this person that I rather liked,” etc. However, the writing allows you to not mind any of those stereotypes as they surface because of how the characters grow and evolve in the grand scheme of things. Though set in a fantasy land of immortals, the struggles of every character in this story is poignantly human and wrenches at your heartstrings. I might even argue that the romance isn’t even the star plot of this show. While the main couple is very enjoyable to watch, my lasting impression lies with the revenge story of the second male lead—and I usually despise revenge stories.

But let me rave about the characters some more. Their success was half due to writing and half due to acting. May I shake the hand of the casting director; because I can’t remember the last time I was this impressed with every single actor. I entered for Yang Zi, but stayed for Yang Zi, Deng Lun, Luo Yun Xi (this guy makes me speechless and I could talk about only him for ten hours if someone would listen); even the “minor” characters add so much emotion to the story. The depiction of each individual is amazingly spot-on, whether it be in comedic moments or scenes that make you exhaust your tissue supply. You may be able to identify someone as good or bad; but you absolutely cannot point a finger at anyone and define them as purely one way or the other. That acknowledgement of a dual human nature is Ashes of Love’s true strength.

All things considered, I find it somewhat of a blessing that I charged into episode one with no knowledge of the emotion that was about to slap me in the face. It’s quite a pleasant (and heartbreaking) surprise when you get deeper and find that this isn’t just a pretty drama with pretty actors and pretty visuals. It is those things, too, but the value of Ashes of Love lies much further beneath the surface.

Leia Mais