Poesia de Amor Milenar (2021)

A deep story of love and sacrifice

This is the best drama I see this year. Bai Jue manages to go from cold master to boy in love brilliantly. The female protagonist acts very well, she manages to be cute and strong at the same time. The special effects and soundtrack are perfect. I just loved every detail of this drama. Xu Kai was the perfect choice for this role. The script really surprised me in a positive way, we are captured by the plot from the first moment, and the twists are very interesting. I really hate Wuhan for what she has become and the way she wants to harm shanggu. I love how the main couple overcome difficulties together. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. This drama is definitely one of my favorites. It's really satisfying to watch something so immersive.

Some people are criticizing the appearance of the lead actress, and I must say I totally disagree. She is perfect in her role. People are very used to actors who have a very unattainable beauty. She smiles with her eyes, her face lights up completely. And she fits Xu Kai perfectly. Some also criticize Xu Kai's appearance, but I must say he's perfect here. Even in his serious moments, we can see the love for Shanggu in his eyes.

I know the opinion is very personal. Therefore, I recommend that people watch and draw their own conclusions, without sticking to the standards of beauty. Many artists suffer from their own country's haters about this. And they end up putting history in the background. This is a profound story of love and silent sacrifices. A story full of magic that transports you to another dimension. Everyone has their own beauty. It makes me really sad to hear that artists get so much hate because of their looks. While people ignore your hard work.

I really feel sorry for Tian Qi, he really loves shanggu. On the other hand, some people don't understand Bai Jue's plan, but I feel he goes to great lengths to protect his love and makes some troubling decisions, but his character is brilliant at every step. I wouldn't change anything about it. The moment when Quimmu finds out he's going to disappear and when Shanggu finds out that Bai Jue has returned, it's really painful and beautiful. You can feel the real sadness. I really can't hate Bai Jue. I feel your lonely suffering. He does everything for Shanggu and silently endures his sacrifice for her.

This drama was a wonderful surprise to me. I feel the actors fit the role perfectly and there is a lot of chemistry between them.

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Minha experiência incrível sobre Ancient Love Poesy (Poesia do Amor Ancestral)

Para mim, a série chinesa mais significativa, eu senti o ódio, amor, alivio, felicidade, tudo isso junto com os personagens, muita vezes achei o Bai jue intrigante, ela fez muitas coisas pela Shang Gu que nem em sonho eu poderia pensar, ver a história de amor entre eles, me machucou muito, chorei mais que os personagens em algumas cenas, mas enfim conseguir passar por todas essas adversidades e o terminei. Eu no começo , como acredito que a maioria das pessoas, eu gostei bastante da Wu Huan, quem diria que ela seria a antagonista que eu amei odiar. Continuando, no último episódio, eu chorei do começo ao fim. Vale dizer que por causa dessa série, não terei um relacionamento por um longo tempo. Essa série é perfeita, gostei da história, dos figurinos e principalmente dos protagonistas, claro que eu amei os personagens igualmente como a Yue Mi( Que chorei horrores na morte), Tian Qi( Foi o que eu mais gostei, sua personalidade me fascinou) Hong Ri( A besta espiritual do Bai Jue que eu realmente gostei tanto que senti saudades o decorrer da série sem ele, outro que chorei muito mesmo com sua morte). Apenas termino dizendo que essa série é perfeita e fantástica, dou meus mais sinceros parabéns aos envolvidos nessa série, tanto a produção, os artistas. E meus mais honrados e especiais parabéns ao meu ator favorito chinês, Xu Kai, esse foi mais um drama que fizeste perfeitamente e ficou como meu drama favorito chinês.

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Rosana

A melhor série histórica de 2021, não teve um episódio chato ou cansativo , uma série que com certeza te leva as lágrimas , a odiar , amar , momentos fofos e engraçados mas nada exagerado ! Atores sensacionais , enredo bem desenvolvido sem enrolação , efeitos visuais incríveis , lutas bem desenvolvidas com maestria e sem forçar na coreografia .Zhou Dong Yu desenvolveu muito bem a personagem Shanggu/Hauchi que no início parecia meio bobinha mas que me surpreendeu no decorrer da série por ser uma mulher decidida com um caráter forte mostrando quando alguém erra sem medo das represálias . Xu Kai dispensa elogios porque é um ótimo ator e desenvolveu Bai Jue/Qing Mu/ Bo Xuan perfeitamente . Os demais atores também foram perfeitos sem exageros na atuação . O Cenário lindo e rico em detalhes como em todos os dramas históricos que a China produz, o figurino lindo e sem exageros , as osts uma mais linda que a outra . Super recomendo!

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O melhor drama Xianxia de 2021

Bom antes de mais nada quero dizer que antes de assistir já tinha grandes expectativas por esse drama.
Correspondeu ao que eu esperava e entregou uma boa historia e com um final completo.
Para os amantes de Xianxia como eu, esse drama é a escolha certa, vale muito a pena.

Preciso dizer que o casal principal é realmente bom, quero dizer é o esperado de Xu Kai ele nunca decepciona, ao que parece houveram algumas criticas negativas, mas foram totalmente ignorados e sobre a atriz Zhou Dong Yu, ela com certeza cumpre o esperado e entrega boas cenas, alias devo dizer que ela é bem fofa no inicio como Shang Gu.

A trama é boa e se mantem num bom ritmo.
A obra consegue emocionar quando precisa e lhe vai tirar lagrimas dos momentos tristes,
além de o fazer sorrir nos momentos fofos e descontraídos.

Poesia de Amor Milenar é um drama ao estilo Eternal Love, Love and Destiny e como eles também é um drama longo são 49 episódios, mas que mesmo sendo relativamente longo está longe de ser cansativo ou monótono, por mais que a obra possa ter falhas, seus acertos são tantos que pequenos problemas são insignificantes.

A historia é boa e está basicamente dividida em basicamente três partes, sendo a primeira aquele clichê básico em que a FL "Shang Gu" precisar treinar sob a tutela do ML "Bai Ju" para ficar mais forte, pois seus poderes são fracos para que então ela possa cumprir seu dever como a líder dos quarto deuses verdadeiros. Ao longo dessa parte veremos um desenvolvimento da FL e sua interação com o ML movem a trama, Shang Gu é bem travessa e divertida enquanto Bai Ju é frio, mas se abre aos poucos.
A segunda parte diz respeito a sinopse vai nos mostrar o desenvolvimento de Houchi (Shang Gu), não vou entrar em detalhes.
E por fim terceira que é a parte final e a conclusão da historia, só posso dizer que todos absolutamente todos os personagens tem finais que condizem com o que você espera deles ou finais merecidos.

A qualidade da produção é excelente e a CGI é realmente boa.
Não tem muito o que dizer sobre coreografias.
O figurino é bom, gosto do visual de Shang Gu~

A OST é maravilhosa, absolutamente todas as musicas são boas e eu preciso fazer uma menção a melhor musica ao meu ver.
A musica "The Thought of Life" (执生念) cantada por "Ye Xuan Qing" é pra mim a melhor OST do drama, quando essa musica toca em um episodios especifico eu fiquei encantado e fui obrigado a procurar a musica, mais tarde fiz questão de traduzi-la.

O romance é agradável e funciona muito bem,
o casal principal é maravilhoso.

Zhou Dong Yu como Shang Gu/Hou Chi sua personagem sofre grandes mudanças ao decorrer da historia e ao meu ver a atriz consegue desempenhar uma boa atuação e me agradou bastante, a personagem em si é boa e no inicio é adoravel.
Xu Kai como Bai Jue/Qing Mu seu personagem começa como um deus verdadeiro sem emoção e frio e ao decorrer da historia vemos suas mudanças e suas emoções se tornando evidentes, a atuação é simplesmente perfeita e esse é o que eu espero de um grande ator como Xu Kai.

O elenco como um todo é bom e não tenho grandes menções a fazer, no geral todos me agradaram,
se eu tivesse de citar seriam as atrizes Luo Qiu Yun como deusa Yue Mi e Jenny Zhang como Wu Huan.

Devo dizer que o inicio da novel é diferente do inicio do drama, ou seja na realidade o drama começa contando a partir de Shang Gu e o reino dos deuses verdadeiros, enquanto a novel tem o inicio com Houchi, acredito que muitos deve ter achado estranho quando entra a segunda metade do drama, mas entendo do por que o drama escolheu começar por Shang Gu, inclusive devo dizer que a novel detalhe melhor, mas o drama tem seus méritos e é com toda certeza uma obra prima.

Não há grandes considerações finais, devo dizer que o drama é bom.
Cumpre o esperado de obras desse tipo e entrega boas cenas,
a historia me agrada, os personagens são bons e o final é completo.
Para quem gosta de dramas nesse estilo é uma boa escolha, com toda certeza você irá amar.

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Ancient Love Poetry: The Xianxia Drama of 2021

Countless days of waiting weren’t for nothing. My anticipation was sky high for this Xianxia, and my patience was also tested to the maximum. With a lengthy list of countless words to describe Ancient Love Poetry, I can say without any hesitation that ‘disappointment’ is an excluded word.

I’m probably not lying if I call the Xianxia genre my soulmate. I am a sucker for this beautiful genre, and Ancient Love Poetry is a must-watch if you enjoyed/loved the previous famous Xianxias. The drama brings you into a world of magic and beauty that makes it terribly hard for you to take your eyes offscreen.

Story-
What may appear at first glance to be a Cdrama filled to the brim with Xianxia tropes, it is not false to say that Ancient Love Poetry has difficult tribulations, character reincarnations, and most of all, heartbreaking sacrifices. But with the addition of beauty and elegance, a Xianxia drama can take these tropes to a heavenly level. Adapted from the well-known Xianxia novel “Shang Gu”-Ancient God (上古) by Xing Ling, the drama followed the original piece evidently well, and maintained the tension, angst and beauty masterfully to the very end.

A Xianxia would not be very well-rounded off without world building and character introduction, which Ancient Love Poetry did magnificently with. As with the majority of costume Cdramas and even more with Xianxias, it can be difficult to attempt the memorization of characters and locations. With a helping hand that is the first few episodes of Ancient Love Poetry, the audience found less struggle with this concept. I could even call Ancient Love Poetry educational in terms of the Xianxia genre- From just 49 episodes alone, I, who has done extensive research on this fantasy genre, broadened my knowledge even more.

What comes with the introduction also comes with a slight impatience towards a rather slow-paced plot in the beginning. In easier words, Ancient Love Poetry did not entirely succeed to capture everyone’s attention at the beginning, resulting in the creation of let-down droppers. As many of us say, the story gets very interesting starting from eps 12-16. And as expected, the story only progressed towards more captivation. Longer dramas may provide more time for the background story, which may seem unnecessary and boring but are actually important for the story as a whole. The sheer level of love and angst in this drama is enough for one to cry out numerous waterfalls.

It was also a pleasure to discover that aside from the lead couple, romance spread across many lovable supporting characters, as well as familial love, long lasting friendship, and even hateful grievances. Although Ancient Love Poetry focuses heavily on romance, the story also kept the audience on the edge of their seats with a few major problems that spread throughout the four realms and that threatened the existence of the true gods.

Production-
Ancient Love Poetry’s production is such a gem that I decided to give it its very own section in this review. The production is simply gorgeous, and the drama’s high budget certainly paid off and was used to its full potential. The costumes look simple with its light pastel colors, but with its simplicity comes a wave of freshness and slight joy. The drama’s CGI is not a joke, either. Each strand of magic and spell is carefully produced to the most believable extent, providing a most magical experience for the audience. Each realm in the drama also gives off special vibes. The bright gold Heavenly Palace boasts its grandeur while the lighter-colored Qingchi Palace expresses its beauty in the form of nature and water. Inside the palace, rooms and props are delicately adorned with the uniqueness of its realm, from shimmering golds to billowing blacks. Editing was not a problem either, as traditions were neatly made without any distraction.

Cast-
Please allow me to disagree to the fullest extent with the Chinese netizens claiming that Zhou Dongyu was not fit for the role of Shang Gu. She absolutely nailed this with astonishing talent. With the challenge of Ancient Love Poetry being her very first costume Cdrama, Zhou Dongyu portrayed Shang Gu perfectly, a playful girl who later grows up into the leader of the God Realm with a difficult destiny. Zhou Dongyu does exceptionally well with deep scenes, and Ancient Love Poetry gave her another chance to display this talent. Her acting was not forced at all, creating a lovable character with a heartbreaking history.

Believe it or not, Ancient Love Poetry is my first drama starring Xu Kai. As I watched this along with his first modern drama, Falling Into Your Smile, I got the perfect chance to compare his completely different roles and made the conclusion that he is an amazing actor who can portray almost any character. As a caring male lead holding unspeakable love, Bai Jue stole the hearts of everyone. He successfully made us cry rivers for him as we accompanied him on his grueling path of love and sacrifice. Xu Kai as Bai Jue and Xu Kai as Qing Mu couldn’t have been more different and heartbreaking. With contrasting personalities but the same passionate love, both characters gave way for the audience to experience their love and pain.

Shang Gu and Bai Jue are cute. Period. With cute chemistry and powerful love and care for each other, the director of ALP, Yin Tao (one of my favorite directors), did not make a mistake when he casted Zhou Dongyu and Xu Kai as the leads. I can’t think of anyone better.

Many of the supporting actors and actresses did phenomenally, to say the least. A drama is never complete with a complex range of supporting characters, all with different beliefs and lovable or hateable traits. Completely contrasting with Bai Lin in Love and Redemption, Liu Xueyi as Tian Qi was an absolute pleasure to watch. Liu Xueyi kept the balance between a playful and perky true god to a caring friend and master. Lai Yi as Gu Jun was one of my favorite characters. This righteous high god couldn't have cared less about power and the messiness of the Heavenly Realm, and lived life to the fullest. Even as a father, no one and nothing could stop him from protecting his daughter at all costs. Last but not least, I would also like to give a big round of applause to Zhang Jiani, actress of Wu Huan. This complex character is a major challenge for anyone, but Zhang Jiani did more than wonderfully, and was such a pleasure to watch on screen.

Even with characters of very minor importance, I was always invested in their own stories and their part in the drama. Character development was done so well in Ancient Love Poetry that some characters made quite a big personality change, while others never failed to keep our attention.

Soundtrack-
What more than breathtaking awe for the OST of Ancient Love Poetry? With songs sung by exceptionally talented singers, they truly brought out the magic and beauty of the drama. Along with traditional background music and propelling lyrics, what a gem of a soundtrack this is.

I will do another thing I have never done before in any review, which is listing the soundtrack, to show the very preciousness of the OST:
-----------------------------------------------------------
“Penannular Love”《绝恋》by Zhou Shen (周深)

“Yearning”《年岁》by Mao Buyi (毛不易)

“Sense”《感应》by Liu Yuning (刘宇宁)

“Twilight”《朝暮》by Deng Shenme Jun (等什么君)

“A Thousand Years of Searching”《千寻》by A-Lin

“Mountain Sea”《山海》by Zhuo Yao (灼夭)

“The Thought of Life”《执生念》by Ye Xuanqing (叶炫清)
------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a verse from “The Thought of Life” that I deem most beautiful and heartbreaking:
“她, 化身飞烟, 生死离别, 他为她守护三界”

“She, turns into flying smoke, parting life and death, while he protects the Three Realms for her”

Overall-
It is still quite hard to believe that Ancient Love Poetry might have just become my favorite Cdrama of all time. The title of Xianxia of 2021 is most fitting for this drama, if not enough. With tens of thousands of years of love and grievances, I was sucked deep into this moving love story. What started off on quite a good note only got better and better with a diversity of characters and relationships and a journey across the magical Xianxia world.

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Beautiful xianxia drama that may have its flaws but overall is still worth the watch

Before I get into this, I would like to say that negative reviews have had no effect on me and I think Zhou Dong Yu looks the part.

This story follows Shang Gu as she lives up to her role as the leader of the four immortals and takes responsibility for the realms.

The story starts out somewhat stereotypical: Shang Gu needs to get stronger so she trains under Bai Jue. However, the character development was nicely done in this: Shang Gu grows from a mischievous, useless goddess to a powerful, self-sacrificing leader. Bai Jue also begins to open up, and the chemistry between the two is adorable. Shang Gu is like a puppy dog of happiness whenever she's around Bai Jue! The plot also begins to pick up around 4 episodes too, and the story becomes very interesting.

The second life is also neat, but one of my only criticisms of the show comes here: Shang Gu(or Houchi in this life) becomes a bit wooden. Zhou Dong Yu still acts out Houchi like she was the strong female ruler she was, but after 30 episodes it starts to get a little stale and unbelievable. In Xianxia dramas (or any drama, really) I wish to see a lot of character development and growth. Shang Gu experienced emotional and physical growth, but I'm not sensing a lot of emotional growth from Houchi where it feels like there should be some. She still faces problems and reacts to things in exactly the same way for 20 episodes straight. I find it hard to believe that her personality will change drastically when she becomes Shang Gu again too. Despite this, I still enjoyed the second arc.

The third phase (starting from the return of Bai Jue) was both the best and the worst phase. It was the worst because in some places, there were some cheesy and unbelievable scenes, such as (no major spoilers) when everyone stood in a circle around Bai Jue and Jing Zhao and watched everything unfold without reacting. There were some pretty shocking things happening, so the vast majority just standing there like statues kind of took the emotional impact out of that moment for me. Another thing is Shang Gu interacting with Bai Jue during the period when they weren't on the best terms. They basically said the same things for three encounters. Xu Kai's acting saved the day because he has the best despairing gaze, but I feel like they needed to switch up their interactions a bit.

Now for the best parts (and these override the bad parts by miles ). I said above that I may not like Zhou Dong Yu's acting in the third arc, but I was pleasantly surprised. Her acting, like in the first arc, feels lively, spirited, and quick-witted. The second great thing is actually the villain's development. I want to give props to Jenny Zhang for portraying Wu Huan's character with such depth. Her desperation and resignation of fate led her to her actions, and I can even relate with her a bit. Her story was well written and her ending was justified. And that leads me to the third thing. Ancient Love Poetry has one of the best endings that I've seen. All the characters were written off nicely, everyone got what they deserved, and the ending was beautiful. Nothing felt rushed or unsatisfactory. The ending sealed the deal for this drama being a great drama overall.

About the main characters: I sometimes felt Zhou Dong Yu could've acted some parts with more emotion. She's awesome at the cheerful/intellectual/imposing scenes, but her sad scenes aren't totally there yet. Xu Kai is great; he goes from an emotionless True God to a hot-blooded immortal, and he's great at subtly showing his emotions in his third form. Like Zhou Dong Yu, his acting is also a bit wooden at times, but his emotional scenes hit me where it hurts. He's got some great acting abilities. Despite their individual acting, their chemistry was adorable. I also liked the fact that their relationship was not a stereotypical guy-is-the-best-at-everything relationship.

The side characters are a joy to watch in this show. I love them all, from the friends to the villains. They are multifaceted and compelling, and I'm as invested in their stories as I am in the main couples'. Wu Huan is a dislikeable but understandable villain, Yue Mi and Feng Ran are friends with interesting backstories, the other immortals are all people with flaws struggling to do their best, and the Demon Tribe is just another group with its own troubles and stories. Tian Qi is actually one of my favorite characters. They are part of what makes this show charming.

For the animation: the trailer was beyond beautiful, but making every little part look amazing is going to cost a lot of money, and this drama is already CGI heavy. However, this show is the best-edited among long-length xianxia dramas up to and during its air. It really is dazzling and gorgeous.

Overall, Ancient Love Poetry is definitely a drama worth watching, and despite my criticisms, the number of great scenes vastly outnumber them. Also, once you get deep into the story, you want to know what happens next!

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It takes 60,000 years worth of patience to watch this show...

So, I really tried to like this show. I mean, it has good actors, a splendid wardrobe, amazing production and special effects. Even the opening and ending OST match the vibe that this show is trying to achieve...

BUT:

1. The Gods are weaker than the Devils till the 46th episode
2. The secondary lead/Muguang is a complete and utter fool but also gets major screen time
3. The villain is known from episode 12 and continues to go undetected and run rampant till episode 46. AND you get to see this all the time as everyone else is taken for a ride but you still ought to believe that they are Gods and not idiots.
4. Only saving grace are another pair of secondary leads - TianQi and Gu Jun - who unfortunately do not get enough screen time or the power to solve anything
5. The ML is too busy falling in love/out of love/ reincarnating/ suffering amnesia/ solving reincarnation problems and acting like the entire universe 's problems are on his shoulders
6. One avatar of the FL which is all powerful and can actually solve problems is there in approx 22 episodes. The first 12 eps where she is busy training and falling in love (so in my eyes - basically doing nothing), and then the last ten where she alone is able to devise how to make good triumph over evil. The rest of her avatars are powerless and only involved in entangling with the ML and suffering in the hands of the villain

SO:

Story:
If you can't tell from the above points how frustrated I am with the overall pace of this story then my rant has fallen on deaf ears. The storyline is pretty interesting as it has been derived from a popular novel. All story arcs are also fleshed out sufficiently with multiple secondary leads. My only bone of contention is that this story will try your patience to the limit and then some.

Acting:
TianQi and Gu Jun were good. The female lead is a good actress and Xu Kai is good at looking good. To me the story overpowered the acting. I have zero tolerance for fools and characters that just don't take the hint. Unfortunately, this show is filled with them so I wasn't able to get past my frustration with the characters to appreciate their acting.

Overall:
This is watchable if you are a fan of xanxia/wuxia genre. The production value is fantastic and the special effects are truly wonderful. The acting is okay and if you are a fan of the book you'll probably be a fan of the show. I think I would have rated this higher if it was a K-show with only 16/24 episodes. If I am watching something for 49 episodes it had better be sensible and keep me invested in the characters. I lost hope after ep 40 and only sheer grit made me finish this show so I could share my review truthfully.
All in all, if you have low patience for issue resolution and do not suffer fools gladly then do not bother to watch. You will thank me later!

PS: This is my opinion. If you don't agree that's fine but please desist from writing rude comments.

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Four True Gods in Three Realms!

Must-watch for Xianxia lovers!!
I always have a soft spot on Chinese Xianxia dramas since Ashes of Love. I always spare my time to watch Xianxia dramas. Since this drama and the cast was announced, I was super excited and highly anticipated. I even read the novel so I could get better understanding in stories and characters.
Trust me, this did not disappoint me at all. This is a masterpiece, kinda different than other Xianxia.
The plot is so original and unique. It set in God Realm which was ruled by The Four True Gods. Our FL is Shang Gu, Leader of Four True Gods. She sacrificed herself in a trial for 60,000 years. Bai Jue, Our ML come up with a master plan to save her and to be sacrificed himself.
The storyline is bittersweet but fruitful and exceptional in every aspects. Don't worry! It has happy ending. You will experience a beautiful and emotional journey until the end.
The directing and writing are all excellent. The cinematography and CGI is hands down the best among Xianxia dramas. The fight scenes and visual movements are top-notch.

THE STORY: It was so excellent and well-executed. The writers knows how to make a perfect Xianxia in 49 episodes, which usually work on more number of episodes. Everything is on point, the story does not drag or rush in every way. It happens just in time when it need to happen.

THE CAST/ACTING:
The casting team choose the ensemble cast with outstanding acting abilities. Everyone in this drama performed so well in their roles. There is no acting hole at all (this is crazy) because their acting seems really natural, nothing was out of place.

Zhou Dong Yu: She is known as the Movie Queen of China, with many deserving awards and records. But, since I haven't watched any Chinese movies before, I only watched dramas, I was not familiar with her. This is my very first time watching her acting performance. Now, I know the reason why she is called as the Acting Queen. Her acting is on next level, way ahead of Chinese famous drama actresses. The way she emotes is not like the other. She can really act. She shows the best acting performance among any female lead in Xianxia dramas. Zhou Dong Yu rocks both as Shang Gu and Houchi.

Xu Kai: I am a huge fan of Xu Kai since the Legends and Arsenal Military Academy. I know his strengths and weaknesses as an actor. He always works hard to improve his acting, now I can say he is upgraded from an idol actor to a quality actor. I'm so proud of how far he comes. He really understand his own characters, to be as Bai Jue/Bo Xuan/Qing Mu, his portrayal is very natural and excellent.
The other supporting actors are all exceptional. The actress who plays as Wu Huan is so amazing.

THE CHEMISTRY:
Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai...I wasn't expected much from this coupling at first. But, I was completely on board with them since the first few episodes and was shocked at how well they seemed to be hitting it off together. Their chemistry is on point! Their eyes speak to each other. I'm amazed by their genuine and excellent acting and chemistry.

MUSIC:
The soundtrack was enjoyable and emotional throughout the drama. It works so well with the story. My favorite OSTs are "Chihiro" by A-Lin, "Perseverance" by Ye Xuanqing and "Ju Lian" by Zhou Shen.

CHARACTERS:
All the characters are well-written, even the supporting characters shine here. I'm in love with all the characters:
- Shang Gu/Houchi
- Bai Jue/Bo Xuan/Qing Mu
- Tian Qi
- Hong Ri
- Yuemi
- Feng Ran
- Zhi Yang
- Gu Jun 
- Jing Jian
- Zihan
- Yuan Qi.

REWATCH VALUE :
I am sure I will re-watch it many times. It is that great.

OVERALL
This drama is unique, great, captivating, and one of my favorite Chinese Xianxia dramas along with Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption. I am always longing for this kind of drama. Definitely 10/10 for me!
In conclusion, this drama is everything I expect from a xianxia romance. Be prepared to fall in love with the characters, three Realms, their love stories.

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An Exquisite Xianxia That You Shouldn't Miss!

When I initially came upon Ancient Love Poetry, it was being slammed from all sides, but I still decided to watch it for some reason.
Now, 49 episodes later, it has blown my expectations and is perhaps one of the best dramas out there in my list. The unique storyline, outstanding performances by the entire cast, numerous lovable characters, villains that make your blood boil, suspenses that leave you worried along with numerous tales of sincerity and undying love completely bewitched me. I'm so glad that I didn't pay heed to all the negative reviews and kept going. Bear with me, my review will be long and I have tried covering a few points that might put off many viewers and the things I loved about this drama. I hope that it convinces you to give it a chance:

1. Don't be fooled by the bland beginning. Ancient Love Poetry has one of the most unique storylines I've seen. And they did not kid around with the title "Ancient God". The story takes place waaay before the existence of humans. In the God Realm - where our lazy female lead, Shangu, is forcefully pushed to master the Power of Chaos in a race against time to stop the Tribulation of Chaos and also protect the Three Realms as the power that protects it begin to dissipate, something which only she had the ability to permanently solve. Her master happens to be Bai Jue, one of the True Gods, who is rather cold and strict towards her, but slowly warms upto her rather humble nature, eventually falling deeply for her. Her hardwork pays off, but the tribulation turns out to be her ultimate test which no one is able to stop. But, destiny has more in store for her....
The story is also the most strongest point of Ancient Love Poetry. It delves away from the Heavenly Realm, focussing on the life of the Ancient Gods, the most powerful beings across all Realms, which was a first for me. The events and mysteries unravel in a rather ominous and nerve wracking manner. I paused an episode and decided to spoil myself as I couldn't handle anymore surprises that were often accompanied by painful experiences. The plot purposefully takes a drastic turn after a certain point, but it did not feel disconnected and maintained the right flow. The chronological way of narration is done right in Ancient Love Poetry - it might have been shot that way to avoid unnecessary flashbacks to the past and helps us connect with their present selves better.
[The author of the novel, Xing Ling herself was involved as a screen writer. While the story does deviate from the original work at times, it stays true to the novel for several major plot points. And the script is well plotted despite having some issues at the beginning, but that was necessary for the plot.]

2. The timeline - is a MAJOR factor that no one probably notices. A single episode may consist of several days or even months, hence the romance is pretty fast paced. Right from EP1, it's implied that several days/weeks had passed. Three months and 1000 years, all pass within two episodes. Shangu's training might have taken months or years, but we see glimpses of it. This might be off putting for many, but I personally was not bothered by it. The actors played the roles really well and nothing felt rushes.

3. The characters, particularly the leads and even the supporting ones are the pillars of the whole story. Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster.
The Female lead is very unlike the ones we usually see - she is not stunningly pretty or the typical Goddess type. While she might not be everyone's cup of tea, I think she is beautiful and was the smartest choice out of the cast to be chosen to portray the young, innocent Shangu who grew up to become someone who was wise enough to hold the title of the "Chief God". I had begun watching ALP for the lead - Zhou Dong Yu is well known for her acting skills in movies, but I can tell that she brought justice to her character here just like she did for her other roles. She managed to portray the duality of Hou Chi and Shangu beautifully. I missed her smile as Shangu and I don't think anyone could have played that role and still managed to maintain a smooth balance between emotions.
I loved Xu Kai's role as Bai Jue. I think most people have seen him before in his previous works where he played lighter characters, but its good to see him in something new. As for stereotypes and how comfortable we are with the actors, its upto you, reader.
The supporting characters, I have to mention, left a deep impression on me. Particularly in EP15. Even the ones that had only a few minutes of screentime managed to convey the emotions perfectly. Characters like Gu Jun (a flood dragon who ascends to the God Realm), Tian Qi (a noteworthy, naughty True God of Demons and the one who brought Shangu up), Yuemi (Tian Qi's closest friend who spoils Shangu with him) , Zihan, Hongri... all manage to steal our attention. They were very well portrayed and I'm sure that I'll never forget any of them anytime soon and will definitely be looking forward to their future works.

4. The romance... has a more "natural" feeling, particularly for Shangu and Bai Jue. Their relationship is not forced, even if it seems rushed. Ancient Love Poetry is not heavy on physical display of affections, but their sincerity towards each other is completely driven by their actions. There are no declarations of love or confessions, but their actions are strong and silent enough to convey the depth of their devotion to each other. When the second arc begins, we see a whole new side of the "fire and ice" relation of the Gods. This change is particularly delightful as we get to see the "Ice Cube" be warm and talkative while the "Bubbly and strong" Shangu becomes the meek and powerless Hou Chi. Their story in the second arc is particularly well written with plot twists, villains and schemes that puts them against the Immortal Realm.
The romance is not just for the leads. Two supporting characters in particular, had, good solid relationships that managed to make me root for their happiness. They might have not had enough screentime, but were beautifully portrayed with such intensity that many of us wished for their happiness. The plus side was that no one imposed themselves on the one they care about, but accepted their choices and supported them, never once becoming an ill wisher. (In short, no serious love triangles.)
There are several other memorable relationships, may it be between the Gods and their Divine Beasts or just plain loyalty and friendship between each other. The God Realm arc might be a bit unsatisfying to many, but I yearned for those precious moments and missed the characters from the first arc terribly during the second one. The bromance between the Four True Gods, Yuemi and Shangu are noteworthy. While the second arc might be serious, we have several supporting characters such and Fengran, Chang Que , Jingjian and Jia Ye who lighten up the mood for Hou Chi and Qingmu as well as for us. Their banter and loyalty to their friends was constant throughout the drama. It's worth watching even if its just for them.

5. The Antagonist: That's one major question. From my perspective, it has two. An intangible entity that can not be stopped and an actual vile villain.
What sets this drama apart for me is that the 'villain' is not introduced as such. Rather, the seeds of what lies ahead are already planted in the earlier episodes and we see the gradual transition to the current state. Driven by covetous intentions, the disgusting actions and motives sets them aside from the ones I've seen. And the absolutely stunning portrayal by the actor alleviated the character to such a level that we are beyond disgusted whenever the person appears on screen. Not to mention, the character was an actual crook, who was cunning and clever. Never have I wished for a character to stop breathing as much as I did for this one. Whenever the abode of the 'evil one' appeared, I wished that the episode would move faster and go back to the locations where I feel calm enough to watch.
As for the former antagonist I mentioned... watching the drama might give you a better idea about why I mentioned it.

6. The CGI is hands down the best one I've seen to date in a major xianxia drama. It doesn't lack in intense action scenes too. One thing I noted was that most of the Gods and Immortals used a mixture of both magic and weapons in a combat, which is the first time I saw such excessive use of CGI. I was impressed with the God Realm in particular. As I mentioned in my earlier review: The make up and costumes compliment the scenery so well that each shot seems to have been spun from dreams.
While the costumes may lack in colour (something minor, but that may put off a lot of viewers), the production team went so far as to visit historical sites and attempt to weave the details into them.

7. The OST: I suck at evaluating music, but the song "Perseverance" is heartbreaking, even without the scene. I get goosebumps whenever I listen to it. Many of the BGMs were my favorite. The lighter fun music during the initial arc were really memorable, but turned to nostalgia inducing everytime I heard it in the second arc.

8. The Finale: As a hint, the drama ends exactly like the novel. I loved how the writers managed to provide closure to two storylines in 49 episodes. I, for one, am left with a bittersweet feeling of parting with my favorite characters. I grew to care for many of them, both major and minor ones. (Special mention to Sen Yu, Chang Qin, Chang Que and Jia Ye, Hongri, the Gods of God Realm, Puhua.)

All in all, I'm glad I picked up this drama while it was being avalanched by negative reviews. (There were some with valid criticism, but 80% of the CNets slammed it just for the actress's looks and the ratings and general reviews almost made it seem like an unwatchable atrocity.) I have to warn though, it might not be your cup of tea. In the end, it depends on preference. I usually drop dramas within the first five episodes, but this one being a Xianxia, I had to give it a go for some more.
Does it deserve a 10? Maybe not. (I knocked off a .5 from the Rewatch value cause the pain is real. But, this is the second CDrama that I did not drop this year and one of the best in terms of cast and story as a whole. And based on it's quality and storyline, it deserves a better rating albeit its faults. Watching it was a truly delightful experience. It made me go through a roller coaster of emotions. We see multiple hardships and sacrifices being made by people for the ones they care about. Almost every character was memorable in their own ways, even the bad guys.
And I certainly will not be forgetting the Legend of ShangGu and Bai Jue anytime soon.
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I left my first impression/review below as a memory. :)
June 20, 2021: The major drawback of Chinese Dramaland is the predictability of storylines and the numerous over used tropes that pop up as a result of it, particularly for Xianxia and Wuxia genres. Which is why it is hard to find something that captures my attention.

One of 2021's highly anticipated xianxia dramas, Ancient Love Poetry follows the progress and growth of our Goddess of Chaos - Shangu. I have to admit, I needed three episodes for the drama to finally pique my interest. The rather slow and uninteresting first episode, coupled with the carefree attitude of the female lead who is still unaware of what lies ahead is jarring for viewers looking for a fast paced drama. I have to note, the MDL synopsis seems to spoil the furure of the plot, but gives enough hint to know what trials the happy-go-lucky Shangu is yet to face. I have not seen anything yet and I'm on EP6 at the time of writing this review.
Zhou Dongyu nails her role... if the character Shangu is whom I perceive her to be - she is not dumb or stupid, but had been pampered for too long and shielded from evil by Zhiyang and Tianqu (two amusing Gods) until they are left with no choice but to ask their fellow God Bai Jue, who had retired to the lower real, to return to train Shangu as she would soon have to bear the task of protecting the dangerously thinning barrier between the Nether world and the other realms.
Xu Kai fits his role as Bai Jue, the cold God of War and his performance is convincing enough to know the power and grace he wields.
The slow moving tale (as of EP6) has scattered several hints of what lay ahead and I am curious to know how the legend of Shangu and Bai Jue come to conclusion.
The romance is... 'natural'. I have no other words to describe it. It's not mushy or cringeworthy, but there's something real about their interactions which are the highlights of the first few episodes.
Another strong point: usually the VFX of CDramas make me frown. This drama exceeds expectations. Taking place completely in the God Realm, the CGI is top notch and can be on par with many Hollywood productions. The make up and costumes compliment the scenery so well that each shot seems to have been spun from dreams.
Rather light colored without being flamboyant, the costumes are surprisingly stunning. The make up doesn't look too bright, but just good enough without being overbearing. Most of the "supernatural aura" is carried by the actors' performance. None of them disappointed me as of now.
I will rate this an 8/10 as of now. I recommend that you check it out for atleast three episodes before deciding to drop this. Long Chinese dramas often have a slow start. So far, this is one of the better hyped up fantasy dramas Tencent rolled out this year for me. Now, I'll wait to see if this one can leave a remarkable impression in Xianxia land to stand the test of time...

Leia Mais

Lifetime of Love, Regrets and Sacrifices

Happy, sad, happy, sad, and happy. Yes, these are the emotions I have been experiencing throughout this drama. When the times are good, everything is cute, lovey-dovey and funny. Then chaos strikes, I cry for the losses. And life starts all over again. Things become cute and funny once more, and I laugh. Just as the water is finally calm, chaos strikes again. I cry my eyes out for the losses, mourning for my favorite characters. It is really amazing how such a drama can fully capture our emotions and make us feel for the characters so much.

60,000 years ago, almost everyone dies after the battle of the gods and the demons. Now 60,000 years later, the gods are reborn through the remnants of their spirits. They become the immortals, relatively young gods with lower power. They meet and fall in love all over again, until the true gods, who are within their subconscious, are awoken, and their minds merge and bodies taken over. At the same time, the return of the devil means another war is imminent.

Shang Gu (Zhou Dong Yu) is a happy-go-lucky, one of the four true gods, doted by the other true gods, Tian Qi (Liu Xue Yi) and Zhi Yang (Li Ze Feng). She’s carefree and playful, but the stern teachings of Bai Jue (Xu Kai), one of the four, help her realize her potential, and she falls head-over-toes in love with him. Through him, she begins to understand the importance of her role in the universe. With that, she grows stronger and becomes the most powerful god of all. This growing pain doesn’t come easy. It takes her through enormous emotional struggle and eventual sacrifice of herself for the greater good.

Zhou Dong Yu’s acting hits the mark, as Shang Gu and Hou Chi, right on the spot. She can be girly and playful with a sweet mesmerizing smile. Then in one whiff, becomes a serious and powerful god feared by all. Many viewers complain that Zhou Dong Yu not beautiful enough, to that I would say beauty should not be the focus here, but her aura and acting should.

Bai Jue grows from a cold emotionless being into a person who can feel love and love in return. Many viewers complain Xu Kai can’t act, but to me, his acting is exactly right without overacting. As Bai Jue, he is cold and emotionless (ironically Tian Qi nicknames him, the God of Fire, Ice Cube), but as Qing Mu, he is not as cold and more animated. Xu Kai manages to show the distinct emotions of both characters very well, and through his eyes, he exudes passion, longing and turmoil. When he’s been wronged, the silence pain he endures shown in his eyes is so real, making the viewers empathize with his characters. When Xu Kai cries, I cry. Yes, Xu Kai can act and is excellent in portraying his roles.

My most favorite character is perhaps Tian Qi. After the drama “Qing Luo”, I really love Liu Xueyi and his acting. Once again, he’s given an excellent performance here. Over all, the acting from the whole cast is fabulous, from the main leads, to the second leads, to the kid, to the antagonists. Everyone has put up their best performances and it shows in the final production. The writing is good, the story is intriguing, the editing is coherent, the pace is just right (especially at the second half) and the CGIs are awesome.

OSTs
Absolutely must listen. So good.

My Verdict
The beginning episodes are very interesting with amazing CGIs. Then it becomes somewhat draggy with quite a bit of the to-and-fro, playing out the relationship development which I find rather boring. I must admit I did yawn a little here and there (maybe even dozed off from time to time) for the first 10 episodes as the characters are developing. Then the second life begins (around episode 16), ushering in the births of the in-between gods with the introduction of new characters. They are initially confusing and their relationship overlapping. Many viewers begin dropping the drama. Clarification comes later as the story unfolds. Then the pace picks up. The second half proves to be most enjoyable. As the antagonist grows stronger each day and finally becomes a full-blown demon, the whole drama becomes incredibly captivating.

Re-watch? Absolutely. There are so many things I believe I have missed on my first watch. Re-watching can help me catch the nuances, hence provide even better appreciation of the overall story.

For me, this drama is much more enjoyable than “Love and Redemption” (sorry LAR fans) as it captures the human emotions more realistically. For viewers who dropped this drama prematurely, do come back and complete it. You won’t regret it.

In “xian xia” stories, there is always a life 2.0. One can correct a mistake and make everything as according to one’s wishes again in the next life. But in our mortal world, regrets cannot be undone, deaths cannot be revived or life cannot reborn. It is therefore imperative that we treasure what we have while we’re still alive.

Great watch! Must watch! Bravo!

TWO THUMBS UP!

Leia Mais

On-Par with Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms

"If you're not watching this, then you're missing out"
I thought I was gonna hate this but I decided to give it a try today and it's life changing, as person that drop cliche series quickly. This drama is really good, instead of leaving the viewers with questions; it didn't leave any expenses and started from narrating the old God Realm up to the newest one, true to its title "poetry" the scenes were beautiful. I cried and laugh but don't worry y'all its not tragedy. Basically this drama did what most of the dramas out there is missing, a stable story line with proper execution of narrating the events properly. I had to sign up just to review because people should watch this hidden gem. I've watched a lot of dramas and this is definitely on the top.

Leia Mais

Love transcends deaths

There have been a lot of superlatives being used to describe this drama : amazing, perfect, awesome! There are also some critics who constantly find faults with this drama just because of certain actor or actress. Personally for me, this drama is the epitome of a xianxia done well. If you are able to watch it with an open heart, unbiased and uncluttered with prejudiced opinions from others who may not have completed the drama, you will be in for a pleasant surprise. If you are a lover of xianxia genre, you should not miss this drama.

Ancient love poetry brings a new concept where there is a separation between the God realm and immortals realm, the former being the more powerful and higher in ranking than the Immortal realm. The third realm, the demon realm is depicted as able to cohabit peacefully with the Gods and Immortals. I find these three realms living peacefully a refreshing change from the normal heavenly gods battle with the demons. This lasted in the first arch of the story. There are altogether three arches in the story which brings a roller coaster ride of emotions. And yes this a love story that stands the tribulation of times and deaths (yes, multiple deaths). The story is fresh, with plots that make sense. It keeps you guessing, while dropping hints and nuances along the way. I find myself rooting for all the characters in the drama, (well, except the villain). I should say that the actress playing the villain is excellent. Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai gave one of the best performance, with their facial expressions exuding their character’s inner feelings. This is my first time watching ZDY and I have high respect for her after watching ALP. The supporting cast, in particular Liu Xue Yi is convincing as one of their best friend ever. Even the child actor who appears at the last arch of the story is very talented. The relationships in this drama are varied: we have the lovers relationship, father-daughter relationship, father-son relationship and friends relationship. Each of these are very endearing. There are moments that make you squeal in delight and there are moments that make you bawl your eyes out. My trash can was full of tissue papers during the last three episodes. CGI and action sequence are top notch, realistic and done in perfect taste.

This was even better than L&R or AOL for me. Watch it and let love permeates your soul.

Leia Mais