O Jogo do Amor em uma Fantasia Oriental (2024)

The fantasy love game plan, success

Fantasy idol drama on screen is not really my usual type of story. Love Game in Eastern Fantasy though, is surprisingly rather enjoyable, especially the front part of the story. Ling Miao Miao got sucked into a story world unexpectedly and was given a seemingly impossible challenge - increase the affection of Mu Sheng from -250% to 100%.

I love the humour that director has when executing the first arc of the story. These moments elicit a lot of laughters and made me interested to watch further, such as
- When the end credits rolled within 5 mins of Miao Miao arriving at Demon Catcher world, - plus 1 point
- When Miao Miao creatively interpreted the missions given and adaptively change her strategy to progress the story in various instances - plus many many 1 point.

Besides the humour storytelling angle, there is a number of added heartwarming touch to this TV series adaptation that were done well - such as Miao Miao’s dad, Little Bamboo, the water demon arc and Princess Duan Yang’s respectful pursue in romance.

Alas, I had probably outgrown the on screen fantasy idol genre. Somehow, I was not able to follow the continuity of the story world after Consort Dowager Zhao arc. There were glaring scene that were glossed over, Mu Sheng’s parents’ romance felt lackluster and the “turning point” / redemption of some demons felt abrupt to me, and thus, made me gradually lost interest in the story. It was also around this time when the romance progression between Ziqi and Miao Miao felt a little flat - when Ziqi’s affection for Miao Miao reached 99%. Don’t get me wrong, I love the message behind the 99% to 100%, and enjoyed the connection that Ziqi and Miao Miao shared. I just felt that the scenes didn’t draw me in as much as it did in the first few arcs.

Overall, it’s still a rather enjoyable and definitely one of the top period idol fantasy dramas for a long time coming. This show also got me interested to watch the other contemporary idol romance that Yu Shuxin and Ding Yuxi acted in, Moonlight and was glad to find the romance between Zhou Chuan Lao Shi and Chu Li. Wishing them have a third collaboration in a lovely story similar to Moonlight and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy.

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A Captivating Blend of Romance and Adventure

Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (2024) is a Chinese romantic fantasy series that follows Ling Miao Miao (Esther Yu) as she navigates alliances, demons, and a relationship with Mu Sheng (Ding Yu Xi). The drama features spectacular sights, intricate costumes, and cultural richness, capturing traditional Chinese culture. Esther Yu and Ding Yu Xi's chemistry propels the emotional center, while well-developed plots support the characters.

Despite some critics' criticism of slow pacing and predictable moments, the series strikes a balance between humor, action, and uplifting moments, making it a must-see for genre enthusiasts. The series' vivid depiction of a mythical universe and light-hearted humor make it a strong contender in the fantasy genre.

I loved it so much, highly recommended!

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Not happy with the ending

The beginning of the drama might feel boring because it seems fake and disconnected from the script. Initially, it comes across as a fairy tale, more suitable for children under 15. However, things take a turn around the 10th episode when they accept her into their team to capture the devil. From this point, the story becomes more engaging. It starts to feel realistic when her memories begin to fade, adding depth to the plot.

From that moment until the final scene, the drama is captivating. Even the secret, though guessable, adds an element of intrigue. As a viewer, you might predict the twist, but it will still surprise you.

My only issue with the writer is the lack of a subplot showing their reunion. A proper closure would have made the story more satisfying.

Because of the unsatisfactory ending, I wouldn’t recommend watching it. It feels like a waste of time after investing so much in the drama.

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More than a romance, show is about ML's quest of self-love, confidence & finally his 'rebirth'

Firstly, I've been hooked from the very start. FL being sucked into a game, the need to complete missions to go back to the real world , the enemies turn lovers trope... that was a fun premise then came the Imperial Capital arc and my enjoyment suddenly took a nosedive...don't get me wrong, I still liked it very much but the lack of screentime of our leads and the way they stopped developping their romance put a damper on my excitement.

While I think the ending message is quite beautiful and meaningful, I still regret that the romance literally took a back seat in the second half of the drama making their relationship lose all spark after some time. Why branding it as romance as a main theme when you're not delivering on that promise? Not that my disappointment solely stems from it but it was such a bummer in the end. Chemistry has been so perfectly built in the beginning with all the banters, teasing, intense stares, tension , giving me all the feels/butterflies which is needed for a good romance and suddenly you decide to throw all that development away? Are you for real? Where is the pay-off here? I know kisses aren't always needed in dramas (I didn't mind it in Snowy Nights for example because drama main theme was 'missed opportunities', leads never got to confess to each other or even kiss because they were bound by guilt, duties and grief) but here I feel it could have added a beautiful touch to their reunion after the angst part for instance. Oh well. it is what is. First part was all kind of awesome and really addictive then show totally faltered in second half wasting time on uninteresting subplots (reducing the main leads screentime)
That comment above was my primary/raw impression (yeah I was pretty pissed)

Then after calming down a bit, I've come to the conclusion we've been fooled into thinking it was a romance when in fact it wasn't. Plot is merely about a long 'letter' written by our hero/ML expressing his gratitude/love for his long time crush/muse for being the light that brighten up his darkest days.It was thanks to her he could move forward and also find the courage to undergo surgery. She is his savior, his sun, his world. He just wants to let her know how much she means to him.

Thing is that his self-acceptance and courage come from the admiration he had for the FL while in middle school. They were classmates but never interacted with each other at that time, I dare say she probably didn't even notice him. He was just silently observing her from afar, lacking the confidence to approach her and missing the chance to convey his inner feelings (due to the bullying incident+school transfer)

It was his one-sided crush all along and maybe the reason why we didn't get a kiss in the end? ...they're basically strangers in real world, he never confessed to her hence it would be weird for them to smooch in the game I guess?? Does it make sense? haha (or is it an excuse to make me feel better? Maybe lol)
And even though Miao Miao is one of his biggest fan, she only admires his work (at least for now), she never met him after all or at least she's not aware he's her secret admirer from middle school.
I have so much to say about the parallels between the two worlds and on how she ended up stuck in the game but it would be so longgggggggggggggggggg

In a nutshell, her transmigration into the game might be due to the strong desire of the ML to convey his hidden feelings, he wanted her to understand in which state of mind he was when he wrote that first novel and see his true self. Her feedbacks definitely encouraged him to change the story into a happy ending. That first novel is like the reflection of the start of their story that ended badly and with regrets...it's like he's giving himself and her a chance to make things right this time around, an opportunity to get to know each other and create together that HE he's been yearning for.
The revision of that first novel will serve as a catalyst to the final acceptance of himself and his rebirth putting all his past grievances/hardships behind and finally be able to be with the girl he likes (properly confessing to her in real world too)
Oh well,I will stop here because imagination is running way too wild, I don't think I make sense anymore (sorry for rambling)

IMHO that's an open ending leaning on a future HE (this is just the beginning, the rest is up to our imagination or you can also watch 'Moonlight' which can pretty serve as a sequel lol, plenty of parallels in this one. Highly recommended!! )

I know many people were disappointed/angry after watching the final scene but all I could think of while watching it is that it reminded me of the song 'Once upon a Dream', it funnily fits the scene lmfao
'I know you I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom what they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do, you'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream' lalalalaa (ok I totally lost it here)

She woke up from a long dream not remembering the face of his beloved then BAM he appears before her, she's stunned (hinting than her memories have returned) then smile and the END. (why not showing his face ffs? *still mad*



Acting:
Almost flawless. Ding Yunxi is the real MVP here (once again), he nails every scenes he's in effortlessly. I knew after MOGA I wouldn't be able to take my eyes off of him...I swear, man has betwitched me body and soul! And the way he's styled in this series is just chef's kiss *someone deserves a raise* His face card is insane and his acting is really good! Give him more gritty works or better scripts because boy he deserves it!

Esther Yu is delightful as the bubbly and sassy Miao Miao (much like her rl persona), she excels in those kind of roles (the cutesy ones). She's unfairly receiving criticism for her voice to the point some are even skipping her works just for that reason alone...that's a shame imo...ok, I won't lie, the first time I watched her, it also turned me off but with time, I got used to it and now think it makes her rather unique+ Industry/Experts seem to disagree with the haters because she's one of the rare actresses who is allowed to dub herself..'My Journey to You' proved she can modulate her voice when the role demands it.

Yang Shi Ze's role being very limited, he didn't have much to do but he did well with what he was given...

Zhu Xu Dan is a nice addition to the quartet...she did a commendable job as well.

I really love our Bamboo squad and the chemistry between our leads was sizzling in the beginning, kinda fizzled out in second half unfortunately...I also really like Cui Cui's character, he was such a cutiepie... like Miao Miao,I wanted to pinch his cheeks so badly xD *so squishy* Kudos to Lu Yu Hao *claps*

OST was good. I'm glad Ding Yuxi got to sing one of the ost, totally in love with his voice.

Rewatching value- Need more time for that but why not? (there will probably come a time where I will have nothing to watch with Ding Yuxi xD)

Review is in progress.....

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Had potential to be the best

Despite being a huge fan of both Ryan and Esther, and especially the screenwriter Bai Jin Jin I will still be objective with my review of this drama as I read the manhua as well and can compare both.

The drama starts amazing. The female lead is trapped in a fantasy world and has to seduce a villain to be able to survive, a very exciting concept that many enjoy and rarely anyone dislikes. For some time the drama achieves exactly that, it is funny, warm and definitely worth the hype but as the drama goes on it slowly strays away further from the introduced theme that we were sold and gets replaced by countless characters and their lore where two main leads suddenly feel like support characters in their own drama.

As much as I like that the show went a different path from manhua that turned quite toxic and dirty, the drama failed at finding a perfect balance and decided to go to the extreme making the leads romance seem like two kids in love. At the start there's tension between the leads and we are showered with many romantic and funny moments between them but at some point in the story, it falls off and we no longer feel that yearning between them despite the short amount of them being together.

However it wasn't about the lack of kisses but the lack of romantic moments after the couple got together. The two other main leads and the lore of countless other characters is shoved down our throat giving us only a minute of the two main leads bonding not allowing us to take it all in. Many of the other characters were quite underwhelming yet the need to highlight them just drained my energy as I saw no reason support nor like their lack of communication. I would've liked more seeing the lore of the tree people than a second couple who could not communicate for 20+ episodes.

After the couple finally realize they love each other, we start to get less and less of their moments together causing me to lose the connection between them because their love for each other wasn't believable to me anymore. As I was taking in the lore and desperately waiting for the couple to yearn for each other as they did in the manhua, I was quickly met with the disappointment that two two people who had their first love, which is supposed to be exciting, other now act like two really close friends or a couple that has been together for 40 years. The show continues to drift, focusing on giving us all the lore, wrapping things up losing the core of story in the process.

Now the ending of the show is amazing and the story is very beautiful however it failed to show us that these two people love each other unconditionally. Because of that, I could not cry nor feel the sadness of them losing each other. I will compare this to lbfad's ending where it was physically painful to see the two separated because we knew how much they loved and needed each other which I was really excited to see due to the both shows having the same screenwriter. The characters death did not bother me and I was fine with them dying as I saw at least some potential in a tragic plot but something in me wanted to care but I could not. I have already detached myself from the two main leads the moment we saw less and less of their love and within that died my need for them to be together.

Overall, the story is beautiful and the lesson with it as well but it lost it's most important topic of love and empathy for the purpose of lore forgetting that it is about a man who has never been properly loved and just yearned to be in peace, to be accepted and loved. Yet whoever worked on it cared more for him to beat the boss and meet 10 other characters than they cared about making us sympathize and feel their love.

I definitely thought this could top many of my favourite dramas but I don't think I can say that more. However it is still worth watching due to it's beautiful message at the end which is why I thought this drama had more potential due to its interesting story but what can you do. You can't tell us it's a love story and barely give us love.

I love this pairing and I hope to see them again in a drama that's going to give them justice like Moonlight did.

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Not terrible but definitely not a favorite

I watched this for Esther Yu. In LBFAD she started out annoying but grew on me bc she eventually matured. I thought it would be the same with this drama. But she stayed babyish and kind of annoying having very little character growth. Also the main plot is supposed to be about her being in a game and her having to "stay in character" that just stopped after episode 7. That was what made it interesting. And the main couple just wasn't completely convincing. There is definitely chemistry between the two but the romance was just okay. These two were together in Moonlight and I thought they were amazing in that drama. But here, I just wasn't sold. There were cute moments between them but all she did was cry instead of confessing how she felt when the moment came. And then, boom?, we're supposed to believe they're in a committed relationship headed for marriage? And then after that they acted more like buddies than a couple. The best acting and most emotionally moving scene for me was when Mu Yao found out Mu Sheng's true identity. And then the ending was just nonsense. Why make him the author? And then why not show them back together in reality after that or at least meeting? And what happened to everyone else?

What I did like was the friendship theme and how she changed the other character's fates by creating a bond between the 4 of them. Ding Yuxi's acting was fantastic per usual. Mu Sheng is still a great character with great potential. I believe it was simply the loose/lazy writing here that made the story fall flat for me. Not the actors' fault at all. Despite being babyish, I still find Esther hilarious and entertaining and will still watch her any day. She always does a great job with delivering her funny lines and her facial expressions. The 2nd leads were decent. Cuicui was better. The production was great. They did a n awesome job with the costumes, fight scenes, setting & effects and the music tied it all together. Nothing bad to say about any of that either.

Overall it was watchable until the end. No boring moments. But probably won't rewatch it and definitely not a top favorite drama.

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Started off good, but that ending was...

It started off really good, but the ending was a disappointment. There was an inkling that the author and Miao Miao met in the real world since they gave us a clue regarding the bunny apple, but we didn't get to see them meet. If they were going to show us that Mu Sheng knew her from the real world, at least let them meet. I mean, give us an ending like Tiger and Rose.

Let's talk overall plot, it was an interesting concept, but it was uncommon. What I did enjoy about this is the love story between the four main leads. I did also feel that they spent way too much time in the capital, but I did enjoy the plot twist that they had regarding the Resentful Woman. It was an interesting take and it was unexpected.

Characters:
Mu Sheng - I really do love Ding Yu Xi. I actually started following him after Tiger and Rose and I have watched all of his dramas. His eyes can tell a thousand words. He can surely express his characters' emotions very well. Mu Sheng is a really lonely character and I am glad that he was able to learn about who he is and become a stronger person because of it. You can feel his loneliness at the beginning and you can feel his warmth after meeting Miao Miao. Ding Yu Xi did an amazing job portraying Mu Sheng. I really like his character arc and his growth.

Liang Miao Miao/Lin Yu - I like Ester Yu. I think that she did an amazing job with Liang Miao Miao/Lin Yu. Even though this is her comfort zone, I really do enjoy her work. She played three parts in this drama and they were all different from each other. We had the happy go lucky Liang Miao Miao then we got to see the evil Lin Yu (even though it was just for a few scenes), and then the Guardian from 900 years ago. I know that this is her comfort zone and she's comfortable with playing this type of characters, however, she brings a uniqueness to each and every single one of them.

Mu Yao - I do like Zhu Xu Dan as an actress and she portrayed Mu Yao very well. Her character was indifferent to demons and she didn't care if they were good or not. She just wanted them dead but then she grew to understand them and learned to accept that not all demons are evil. She had the biggest growth in the story. She went from someone who didn't care, to someone who realized that she, too, needed to learn that not all demons are as bad as what she grew up learning. The only thing that I didn't like about her was her loyalty to her father's legacy. I get that he was her father and she looked up to him as this hero, but as she learned more about him, I wished they would allow her to accept that her father was not perfect. Even when the Consort was telling her about her father, she refused to believe that he was anything about this hero.

Liu Fuyi - I really don't know the actor who played him, but I feel that Liu Fuyi was a bland character. He didn't do much in regards to the story plot. If he wasn't there, it wouldn't make a big difference to me. He was just the supporting character who is in love with Mu Yao. I feel like they added him to "melt" Mu Yao's heart but other than that, I don't really see his purpose. As for his growth, we didn't really see much of it. I mean, he did sacrifice himself to save Mu Yao in his village but then again, if he was gone, I didn't think it would make a difference. He was just there as a love interest to Mu Yao. He didn't do much in terms to the plot. So, with or without him, I didn't think it'll be any different.

Overall, I did enjoy the drama and I did also ffwd a lot of the scenes too. I feel that there were a lot of unnecessary scenes and I also feel that they cut off parts that were important and kept those weren't. For example, the bracelet. We have learned that it belonged to Mu Sheng's mother, but how can it possessed someone to love the first person they see? And did Miao Miao explain to Mu Sheng that it was because of the bracelet that's why she "fell" in love with his half-brother. AND, the biggest AND is how the heck did they all find out that he's the half brother. I mean, they didn't have a conversation about that. They just somehow magically found out that they were half brothers. I get that Mu Sheng knew because of the dream/nightmare sequence with the Consort but there was no other conversation after that. I get that they needed to cut parts out but like I said, they cut out the important parts. We didn't need to spend so much time on the consort nor on Luiniang and Fuyi's hometown. I feel that they spent too much time with those story arcs that they totally didn't explain anything about the bracelet and the brothers.

I rated it an 8.5 because even though I did enjoy it, I was not satisfied with the ending. I would have rate it higher if they pulled a Tiger and Rose scene where we actually get to see Miao Miao and Mu Sheng in the real world because it would have been the perfect ending. But they decided to pull a Romance on the Farm ending and so I took points away.

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Definitely worth the watch! very wholesome

This drama is by far the best I've seen in 2024. it's a very engaging plot line , a very realistic take on love and feelings and very fun to watch.

ling miaomiao is an avid reader and fan of fu Zhou's books. she reads the first book he ever written and ends up not really liking it. she leaves a comment on it and falls asleep. only to end up in said book as a minor evil third female lead Lin Yue or smth.


she's tasked with two main missions. one she has to be close to the male lead fuyi and basically get between the rs of him and mu yao. second she had to reach 100% favorability with antagonist character yandere mu sheng. he's the adopted sibling of mu yao and half demon.

She of course fears this bec in the original plot he only married her for evil reasons and revenge making her life absolutely miserable. However she has to try her best. so in the beginning he does not trust her at all and is very suspicious of her, he actually kills her a few times but because of the system she kindly gets respawned every single time.

her behaviour is a complete opposite of Lin Yue original behaviour and everyone notices this and does actually like the change only mu sheng is suspicious of her. however because of her effort they slowly but surely get along and start to develop feelings for each other.

she gets to call him ziqi and everyone calls her miaomiao now as she prefers that. Ziqi is a very jealous man and cares deeply for her and does his best to always protect her. they are very cute and very wholesome together.

the bubbly personality of Esther fits perfectly for the role of miaomiao. Yu xi also beautifully played the role of mu sheng. There were many times he had to portray his emotions and feelings through his eyes and he absolutely nailed it. Same with mu yao and fuyi, they absolutely succeeded into bringing their the characters to life and their chemistry and feelings as well. bec both those characters are rather proud and stubborn they don't want to lose so they don't want to admit they like each other. they do eventually get married and it was cute.

the four of them and then later only our little bamboo sprout cuicui a bamboo demon joins them on their journey to slaying evil demons and find the resentful woman who was the cause of the massacre of the entire mu clan.

I am a bit disappointed they did not share a kiss. Bec they did have a few moments where w kiss could've been just perfect. it didn't take anything away from the chemistry and romantic feelings between ziqi and miaomiao.

I have read the novel and I must say the shows stays pretty close to following the important plot lines. it does have a few differences but it made it all the more fun to watch. It you want kiss scenes go read the novel they share plenty of passionate kisses and even got married!!

the four bamboo masters are very wholesome and funny. it's very enjoying to watch them get along and fight together. even ziqi who didn't trust anyone but his sister got along eventually with fuyi and cuicui. he's got a bit of a temper but he just cares a lot.

they do eventually face off against the resentful woman who was in truth ziqi's mother! she had no heart left so she became evil and wanted to destroy the world. the backstory of ziqi is actually very sad and even sadder when it comes to his mother.

it ends with miaomiao returning back to her own world after ziqi revealed to her that he was in fact the author of this story and that she was the reason he wrote in the first place. sick kid meets bubbly girl in middle school and believes theres more to life and starts writing these amazing books😱.

miaomiao thinks it was just a dream and didn't even remember who she fell in love with (😭😭😭) she does however decide to go to the book signing because he promised the book got revised and is now better. she wanted to support him even though she didn't like the book all that much. it ends with him calling her name.

the ending didn't justify enough. it didn't satisfy us enough. we can deduct that they will meet and talk and that she will probably remember and have a good ending. but we wanted to see that because it would've done justice to us all and to the actors as well! worth watching it tho. it's a very comforting and enjoyable show

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Stick Through Ups and Downs Together

Another day, another review. Just you know, I only finished LGIEF yesterday due to the fact that I couldn’t maintain my schedule properly and FOF was also airing at the same time (you can imagine how messy my life is). Thank goodness, after done with FOF, I picked this show up where I left off and continued through the story. FYI, I’ve been waiting for a year and had read the manga back and forth to grasp the leads’ explosive chemistry and the mesmerizing unique plot.

So, the story revolves around a modern-day girl named Ling Miaomiao, who loved to read fantasy novels by her favorite author, Fu Zhou. One day, Miaomiao was writing an overly critical review about Fu Zhou’s newest book titled Catching Demons when she was suddenly sucked into the book itself. Miaomiao quickly realized that she had accidentally triggered the system and entered the world of Catching Demons. To return to the real world, Miaomiao had to complete the plot and also deal with the enigmatic tsundere boy Mu Sheng, his doting sister Mu Yao alongside her lover Liu Fuyi. As she navigated through this otherworld, Miaomiao decided to change the whole story and rewrite their supposedly bad ending into a good one.

I must admit that LGIEF’s script is a very intelligent one. As we all know very well, transmigration plot has been recycled multiple times especially in mini dramas, however this show proves me wrong about it. It is not your typical old school cliché and also incorporates modern and traditional culture in one go, which adds a breath of fresh air for those who loathe cliché scenes and stuffs like that. I also like the moral lessons sprinkled in this show especially the one that I write above (that’s the life lesson which Miaomiao always emphasizes whenever they’re in perilous situations). My slight complain is that they never explain how Fu Zhou can transmigrate into the novel too and why he doesn’t have any memory of himself, but the memory of Mu Sheng instead :(

By the way, Esther Yu and Ryan Ding’s explosive chemistry is the main weapon which makes the watchers ship them more and more. I love the way they always bicker with each other and the emotional scenes are also heart-wrenching. I personally find that Esther Yu’s bubbly voice doesn’t annoy me and her acting skill has improved a lot too (I’m sorry for dropping Love Between Fairy and Devil tho). This is my first show of Ryan Ding and I must say that he embodies the role of Mu Sheng really well, giving off sarcastic bad boy aura from the get go lol.

However, the same can’t be said to the second couple. I’ve seen Zhu Xudan and Yang Shize back in Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact and I like their interactions there. Nonetheless, in this show, all they do is being poker-faced and never smile. I don’t whether the fault lies on the script (they’re required to act like NPCs cause they’re no real characters) or what, but I can’t detect any chemistry from them.

By the way, special mention to our bamboo kiddo Cuicui – he’s the cutest boy ever and the way he clings to his grandpa… SOOO CUTTTEEEE

Sets, wardrobes, cinematography, OSTs, BGMs are done right too. The ones that I particularly like are the Astronomical Bureau’s entrance and also the piano BGM when they’re forced to make a decision or complete a mission together.

Would I recommend it? YES, you should give this masterpiece a go! You won’t regret wasting your time in this show and my 32 hours is worth it. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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My Favo CP

Gosh, Esther and Ryan reunite!? MUST WATCH of course!!! Love this Duo so much since Moonlight! And I have to admit, Ryan in this project sooo HANDSOME! I can't!!! Either because of the coustume and make-up or what!? But for sure he's getting more handsome here.

And their acting and chemistry more and more mature and BETTER!!! Seems like they're already comfortable having to work together again. But I just can't with this DUO!!! Love them so much!!!

I wish they're getting reunite soon for the third time. And keep their friendship stronger than before! (Or if they want to be a couple in real life, I support them!)

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