A Journey to Love (2023)

A Top-Notch Series: Awesome Acting, Great Story

Introduction:
"AJTL" is a captivating narrative that effortlessly keeps audiences hooked from start to finish. With a blend of excitement, touching moments, and meaningful connections among characters, the story unfolds with surprises, creating a memorable journey. While the storytelling is smart and engaging, the narrative's brilliance is slightly marred by the writers' decision to kill off numerous important characters, leaving viewers with a bittersweet aftertaste.

Characters:

1. Ren Ru Yi/Ren Xin - Female Lead:
A refreshing departure from the typical damsel in distress.
Initially a skilled assassin with trust issues, she undergoes significant growth, becoming a team player who embraces collaboration and trust.

2. Ning Yuan Zhou -Male Lead:
Embodies everything positive in a male lead character.
Shifts from an aloof persona to an adorable and clingy character, adding charm and engagement to the story.
Supporting Cast:

3. The squad is a highlight, providing more than just comedic relief.
Significant character development, especially in the princess, showcases impactful relationships shaping the characters.
Even initially annoying characters, like LTG, undergo substantial transformation, adding depth and nuance to the narrative.

Acting:
1. Top-notch performances elevate the series.
2. The main actress, a veteran returning to acting, delivers an awesome portrayal.
3. The less experienced male lead impresses, showcasing excellent chemistry with the veteran actress.
4. The ensemble cast contributes to a cohesive and engaging portrayal of their characters.

Music:
1. The soundtrack is a standout feature, complementing the series.
2. Sung by the exceptionally talented LYN, who happens to be the male lead, the music adds a layer of brilliance to the overall viewing experience.

Conclusion:
"AJTL" is a compelling series that successfully combines excitement, character growth, and meaningful connections. While the decision to kill off important characters may evoke mixed emotions, the smart storytelling, exceptional acting, and standout music make it a journey worth experiencing. The series leaves a lasting impression, with characters that evolve beyond stereotypes and a soundtrack that enhances the overall brilliance of the narrative.

Leia Mais

LIU SHI SHI THE ACTRESS THAT YOU ARE

It's been a long time since Liu Shishi did a historical drama, she did so well in martial arts to eyes acting, and she plays a charming complex character successfully. Her movements are all so elegant and clean.
The plot has been so interesting, FL is my favorite character so far she's heartless and ruthless but caring at the same time, and always has a soft spot for those who care for her, moreover, the director also plays a great role to capture the beauty of FL and her martial arts, the cinematography is good enough.

In the end, this drama deserves more recognition although it's already famous in China because of Liu Shishi.

Leia Mais

A gripping journey to love, friendship, and growth

"A Journey to Love" is the last drama that I completed in 2023, a few days before the new year. Initially, I was thinking whether to continue after 8 episodes, because I had a vague idea of the ending after seeing some comments in passing. I decided to carry on, and I'm glad that I finished it!

Story and Production:
1) The storyline is intriguing and not very common since a big part of it is focused on the mission to rescue the hostaged King of Wu (Wu Di), the obstacles the rescue team faced along the way, and how they overcame them. As a result, their relationships grew stronger and they gained a better understanding of each other. On the side, there were some mysteries that needed to be solved.

2) There is great camaraderie and friendship among the Liu Dao Hall members. It's touching to see their loyalty and brotherly love for one another, as well as their commitment to protect Li Wang/Yang Ying and the entire rescue team.

3) The drama showed different kinds of relationships – leader and subordinate, master and disciple, friendship among peers, and love between man and woman. These are common in costume dramas, but I think they’re well done here.

4) It took the rescue team quite a number of episodes to finally arrive in the state of An, so I found myself getting impatient at some points in the drama.

5) There are incredible fight and battle scenes here! The choreography and stunt work are great, and the cast look so cool and amazing in these scenes.

6) Generally good soundtrack! My favorites are the opening theme, “Offer” (奉上), sung by Liu Yu Ning, and “Standing Sword” (立剑), sung by Zhang Jie. I also like the background music played in some of Ren Ru Yi’s fight scenes; it’s a haunting prelude on what’s to come next.

Cast of Characters:
The entire cast was great, I like the main leads, but my favorites are Yu Shi San, Yang Ying, Li Tong Guang and Yuan Lu:

1) Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) and Ren Xin/Ren Ru Yi (Cecilia Liu) – Both their characters have excellent martial arts skills and are respected and feared by many. NYZ is level-headed, mature and a good leader. RRY is precise, appears cold and can be ruthless, which fits her character as the number one assassin of An. Between the two, NYZ was more used to working with a team, while RRY was more used to doing things on her own. When RRY joined the rescue team, it took her some time to adjust to “group work”. I couldn’t imagine other actors playing them.

2) Yu Shi San (Alen Fang) – He is funny, witty and a vain ladies' man. He gave me a good laugh many times! Alen Fang is such a revelation here, and his character is so different from the one in The Long Ballad (can’t help comparing them, because Liu Yu Ning and Alen Fang are in both dramas). He’s so good in comedy, but also delivered in the emotional scenes.

3) Yang Ying (He Lan Dou) – She transformed from a timid, shy young lady to a confident, smart, brave and decisive Li Wang/Princess Li Cheng. What she said to NYZ and RRY about herself is very fitting, "You have transformed a small sparrow in a cage into an eagle; she can no longer go back." I like He Lan Dou’s portrayal, she’s so good, and one of the few actresses who, when dressed as a man, is actually convincing.

4) Li Tong Guang (Chang Hua Sen) – He is capable and ambitious, but also obsessed and unpredictable at times. His character is complex, multifaceted, and have a lot of potential for growth and development, but I feel these were not maximized. They focused too much on his obsession with RRY. I think Chang Hua Sen nailed the part.

5) Yuan Lu (Chen You Wei) – He is a smart, loyal, jolly and kind-hearted fellow. It’s easy to warm up to him. Chen You Wei was able to bring out these qualities.

--- Some SPOILERS below ---


Some OTP/Pairings:
1) Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ru Yi – They are the power couple! Their relationship was not perfect, there were some amusing things that happened and bumps along the way, but they got around to it.

2) Li Tong Guang and Chu Yue – I was rooting for them since I can feel their chemistry, although they were hostile to each other in their first few meetings. And when they started to be cordial to each other, they had some sweet and cute scenes, so I was hoping for a love line to develop. But alas, the ship didn't sail!

3) Li Tong Guang and Yang Ying – In the earlier episodes, I had entertained the idea that they might be paired together, but I was still mildly surprised when it happened (I guess I was still reeling from the LTG and CY pairing). Don't get me wrong, this is a good pairing and they have chemistry too, so I started to ship them as soon as I feel the plot going in that direction, because they actually complement each other. Both LTG and YY are smart, capable and ambitious. However, LTG is temperamental, impulsive at times, and not yet mature emotionally; while YY has a cool head, emotionally stable, and has matured a lot in her journey. She would be a great help to him in his role as Regent of An.

4) Yang Ying and Yuan Lu – Theirs is a friendship that was comfortable, supportive and dependable. It could possibly have been more, but it was not meant to be.

Other Comments:
1) I like the development arc of Wu Di, how he changed from a reckless, arrogant, and unwise ruler to one who realized his mistakes and actually did something to atone for them. He could have been a great king if he returned to Wu, so it’s a waste what they did to his character.

2) The ending and the last few episodes could have been better executed. It's like they rushed these scenes and tried to cramp the remaining details to fit them into 40 episodes.

3) I wish they included more scenes of LTG and YY in the ending, how they progressed as a couple and how they’re helping the young King of An. There is mutual respect between them, not to mention respect for both RRY and NYZ. I would like to think that in the long run, they would fall in love with each other and grow as a couple, even have children of their own.

Final Verdict: This is a gripping drama and a good watch for me, so I would gladly recommend it!

Leia Mais

A train that derailed but spilled some gems along the way

I am so conflicted writing this review. Overall I'd say the drama made a positive impression but felt unbalanced. So many things were done very well, but it often was at the expense of other important aspects.

The good:
- The message I got from this story was to find your own path to happiness and live with no regrets. I think the drama did a wonderful job conveying that. We all have the choice to shape our lives into what we want it to be. We just have to have the courage to take the reins.
- Character development and arcs of the female characters. Watching Yang Ying grow into her own shoes and take command of her life and watching Ru Yi find her own version of happiness outside the Empress's last words were probably the most satisfying and fleshed out parts of the story.
- A healthy relationship between the leads. This is peak romance. Find me a man like Ning Yuan Zhou.
- Music. It took a while to grow on me, but it was the lyrics that eventually made me cave in. Catch me singing "Half a Lifetime of Suffering" any time, any day.

The not so good:
- Everyone dies for no good reason. I'm not against people dying, but I have a bone to pick when it feels like the only reason they died was to serve as a plot device to make the story a tragedy. Most of their deaths felt so ridiculous and unnecessary. Maybe their sacrifice would've been more impactful if the pacing near the end was better, but a lot of it fell flat for me. Character deaths need to feel meaningful, significant, and impactful. Squeezing all their deaths into the last episodes undermined everything the story had built up to that point.
- Character development and arcs of Li Tong Guang and Qian Zhao. On one hand, I admire that these two mostly stayed exactly the same for most of the drama. On the other hand...... why??? There was so much potential here. Li Tong Guang could've grown out of his obsession for his master sooner (arguably if at all) and matured into a wonderful young man (and had a beautiful relationship with Yang Ying). Instead, he was this lost, stupid little lovesick puppy until the very end. Ugh. Also, Qian Zhao could've learned from his impulsiveness when he tried to kill Ru Yi and later not threaten Wu's king. It was hard to feel for his death when he tried to kill the king one minute and died protecting the king five minutes later. Like so many confusing signals here. I can kinda understand where the writers were going with him, but it wasn't presented well.
- The pacing. Things were generally fine in the beginning, but man did it go off the rails near the end. The first time they did a montage of the political events, I thought I'd accidentally clicked on a trailer for the next episode. It felt like a rushed info dump. And it happened at least three more times. I also feel like they could've spent more time with Yu Shi San/Chu Yue and Yang Ying/Li Tong Guang. Like I know we love the main leads, but the other couples need some attention too. It felt like the writers wanted the main couple's deaths to be as dramatic as possible, so they really beefed up their romantic scenes in both length and quantity. I never thought I'd complain about too many main couple romantic scenes, but here I am...
- That tacky map showing their travel route. Okay, I admit I'm nitpicking here, but tell me why they couldn't make a better map?? Even a cutesy one with bouncing horses pulling the carriage would've been better.

Leia Mais

A worldly affairs’ story called longing

一念关山
…A Journey to Love,
…A longing to Guan Shan,
…A longing to one’s hometown.

It records the story of an assassin who learned what she truly wanted to live for other than killing, revenge and missions (oh, and child bearing), after joining Wu State’s Delegation group’s mission to save their King.
It’s the story of Ren Xin becoming Ren Ruyi.
It’s also the story of Wu State’s Delegation’s voyage.

In the first couple of episodes, AJTL didn’t waste time to introduce the story’s context and how our main cast came together. We have Princess Yang
Ying as the royal envoy and Mulan of Wu State; Ning Yuan Zhou’s respected leadership and strategic thinking skills; Yu Shi San’s charm and comic relief moments; Yuan Lu’s intricate and fascinating inventions; Sun Lang’s near-impregnable and often-overlooked defense; Qian Zhao’s jack of all trades’ capability; and Ren Ruyi’s knowledge of An State political affairs.

Oh, what dream team.
Oh, how I love the pacing (early parts), the cinematography, the dynamics, and their sense of humour in these early days.

Shoutout to the screenwriters for the sincerity in giving us non-NPC supporting characters.
Shoutout to the cast for bringing their characters alive on screen, especially He Lan Dou, the actress who portrayed Princess YY.
Shoutout to the directors who captured them well.
Shoutout to the OSTs - Richie, Nicholas, Liu Yuning, Zhang Jie! I love the BGMs too.

If these aren’t enough to hook you in, wait till episode 8 when the first battle and crisis happened. Each and everyone had their moment to shine as they faced a highly disadvantaged battle. Even Minister Du who is the supporting cast and Princess Yang Ying who was a crybaby had logical and satisfying contribution to their hard earned victory.

While the story quality remained on a passable high bar thereafter, I somehow steadily lost part of my momentum and interest halfway way through - starting from around the time when NYZ and RY got together, and Li Tong Guang, Ren Xin’s delulu’s disciple, came into the picture.

First on NYZ and RY’s coupleship
For the record, they are one of the healthiest couple I admire, love, and wish to have. NYZ and RY had similar background, and thus intuitively understood each other. They had complementary strengths that made 1 plus 1 more than 2. There were lots of instances where RY helped NYZ do things he wanted to but couldn’t in his position. They had matured conversations when met with challenges.

Maybe it’s the CP vibe and on screen chemistry. Unfortunately something feels lacking for me and I can’t put a finger to it. Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi portrayal was fine. I just feel neutral most of the time watching their couple’s moments.

Surprisingly, I shipped Princess YY and YL more. And they only had 2 HTHT scenes.

Second on LTG’s arc
…and where my rambling start (sorry not sorry)
Here is another obsessive character’s arc that’s almost done right. Almost is the keyword here. I can accept that he needs time to undo a decade-long obsession. Truth is, I thought LTG is one of the better obsessive characters that had made me felt for him and truly looked forward to his eventual growth. After all, he got the multiple tough love moments from our dear RY and NYZ. I even rooted for LTG & YY pairing, slightly, after accepting YL’s death.

Him forcing Ruyi to marry him after all that canceled all the expectation I had for him. I am sorry I thought you were a diamond in the rough, LTG.

I suppose what AJTL represents to me personally is the journey of Delegation Group and Ruyi’s becoming. How Ruyi came to learn care and trust with them. How the group overcame the obstacles. How Princess YY grows under NYZ’s and RY’s tutelage - now this is a diamond in the rough. Their lovely dynamics and day to day interactions amidst this stressful, impossible mission.

So even though the other storylines were solid and interesting too - LTG’s rise up in An, Emperor Wu’s redemption, the cunning Emperor Wu, the underlying tone of feminism as well as the overlay symbolism of loyalty, war and peace - I found myself not connecting much to them. There’s simply too much to cover and it’s probably 1 storyline too many. It shows in the choppy pacing of the last 6-8 episodes. So something had to give. In my case, it’s my momentum.

I felt that AJTL should’ve ended after they’ve rescued Emperor Wu and the resolution of it. They could’ve made QZ successfully killed this emperor to make a message. They could’ve made getting the antitode for NYZ as the climax instead, if they decided to kill off the emperor without the Beipan’s interference. Or they could’ve just show us a happy ending with them having their Xiao Chuan and save the fight with Beipan for Season 2.

In other words, battling Beipan as the last arc here and now felt inappropriate. For each of them to die because of a battle with some random undying never ending barbaric felt upsetting even though I recognised the well written symbolism of their death as highlighted by another reviewer, songfalcon.

Even if I were accept Beipan as the final arc, I still felt it didn’t need 3-4 episodes to wrap this up. To see Prime Minister Zhang, Prince Danyang and Empress Wu handshaked in the name of peace. To see LTG needing someone to clean up his mess yet again. To see them keep battling this group that seem to spawn and not getting NYZ, RY and YSS in the final showdown. It felt unnecessary and draggy.

The official ending is up to interpretation and debate. I am on the camp that they all, including RY and NYZ died. It fits with the story of their journey. It fits with the feel of longing that Chu Yue had for Wu’s Delegation - and hence her “dreaming” of their reunion in the afterlife in the last scene.
…Or maybe CY died too since it was rightfully pointed that it’s odd for her to be the one who had “this reunion” and not YY.

Anyways, my rambling is probably 1 para too many. Since it’s an Open Ending, I suppose everyone can choose 1 that fits with the journey of our lovely Ruyi and Wu State Delegation you connect with the most.

Overall, AJTL is a great ride. It has been awhile since I come across a jianghu wuxia story that I enjoyed.

红尘有你 The world has you,
红尘也有我 The world also has me,
红尘还有梧国使团 Last but not the least, the world has Wu State Delegation.

~~~~~
P.S. This review’s headline is adapted lyrics from Jay Chou’s Song, Inn of Mortal World (Hong Chen Ke Zhan) - 红尘的故事叫牵挂

Leia Mais

Enjoyable until they butchered it

This was an interesting drama. You have two leads who are incredibly strong and remain strong throughout the drama. Yes, we don't get another FL who is super strong in the beginning but turn weak near the end (which is a plus).

Our two leads, both assassins, both skilled, and both vibing with each other. The relationship definitely got stagnant after they became official official. It also got tiring how many times one would nearly die throughout the drama.

The side characters for this drama has more charm than many others. I definitely adored Yang Ying the most and honestly would've loved to just continue watching her arch. She was by far the most interesting character. The trio amigos each hand their own distinct character but ultimately were boring after awhile. Shisan was really the life of the party with his player game. The Marquis guy was wishy-washy but I was lowkey starting to ship him when he was working towards sanity with a particular character.

Action sequences were okay but tiring after a certain period. There was too much time skip, repeated deaths and overall plot repeats. It was very convoluted honestly but entertaining enough.

Definitely hated the ending and the rush of the last 8 episodes.

Leia Mais

A Journey to be Remembered

"A Journey to Love" is an impressive story that effortlessly weaves threads of romance, character development, and self-discovery into an emotional entanglement where you, the viewer, journey along 40 episodes to fall in love with the characters.

While the backdrop is the political struggles between An and Wu, with the intrusive final invasion of the BeiPan army, it is the journeying clan that, in my opinion, captivates audiences. Liu Shishi plays the strong female lead, an assassin perfectly. However, I did find her obsession to seek revenge for the empress a tad forced in scripting.

The camaraderie between the Liu Dao Tang brothers was the true highlight for me. Each was such a round character, but it was YSS who made the episodes extra delightful.

The martial arts choreography is probably some of the best, if not the best, I've ever seen in c-drama. And while the BGM is overused and did get a tad annoying, it nevertheless served its purpose and accentuated the action scenes perfectly.

The ending, while not for everyone, I guess was tragically fitting, Although, I do wish they spared YSS, but that would perhaps make it too complete. At least YSS and YL live on, by name, in the form of Ning Shi San and his sister Ren Lu.

Definitely a drama worth watching and will, without doubt, be remembered as one of the best offered in 2023.

Leia Mais

such a good drama to end 2023 with!

This is one of the best drama I've watched and it's going straight on my top 10 favourites out of the 200 I've watched/skimmed through/dropped since I fell into CDramaland 2,5 years ago.

There's everything I can ask for this type of drama: solid acting from the whole cast, good character writing, good cinematography and music.
There's humour, emotional moments, healthy relationships, interesting female characters, beautiful friendships/bromance/female solidarity, welcomed twists on overused clichés and beautiful fight scenes.

I was watching it for LYN and I'm not disappointed at all, he's good at picking his acting projects and is really good in this, as is the whole cast. (even the "weaker" actings are so much better than in most of the CDrama I've watched.)

Leia Mais

A Thought on Guanshan? Maybe "Reflections on Chinese version of GOT's "All men must die"

Unfortunately, I've watched all the episodes, while this entire drama should have been stopped at the episode 34, after which nothing makes sense, and my ratings refer only to that point. And until that point, the investment made by the creators was such to make a very picky (I usually drop 99% of shows of any production or country) and have-no-time person (as myself) to spend her time watching it with great expectations, all deluded by the last 6 eps.

The creators made a huge effort to build up credible characters within a credible story. The Italian saying for fiction: se non è vero, è ben trovato (if it is not true, it's (still) nicely figured out", usually used for the works of fiction) had its application. Further, a huge attention of creators was made to make sense: plots, subplots, all human relations made sense, characters were well explained, had sufficient screentime and particular personal growths that allowed us (the audience) to care properly about each and every of them. And after all that construction effort, what happened next was a complete disaster.

In the last 6 episodes the creators decided to massacre everybody and destroy every sense in the story they've built up so nicely. As in Italian saying, "everything was figured out nicely". Holly crap, can someone tell me what's the purpose of such a thing? To tell us "wars are sensless"? Well, we know that without investing so much time and feelings. Or to tell "all men must die"? We know that, too. But such a huge sacrifice happened without principle of justice being properly served. Ending such a great story with CY's dream of unprobable "10 years after" not only doesn't render justice to its protagonists (btw, some of them dissappeared without trace, minister Du, where are you?), but makes their (and our emotional) sacrifice senseless, too.
Or the message was "there's no tomorrow"? Indeed, there's no tomorrow expecting our heroes' & heroines' next move. Hello, authors, what was your final message? From the original Chinese poetry, I deduce Guanshan is a place or time or circumstance where a person can reflect on their "wordly" attachments and loyalties. The Chinese title did not serve the purpose, while the English title is missed, too, ie., it served untill the episode 34 - after that episode nothing makes sense.

Special "Guanshan thoughts" for the scriptwriter:
1) It's impossible to move such a huge military forces in a presided area without being noticed.
2) you did fine with LTG's Oedipus complex, but once they drop it, no way any marriage or relapse will occur.
3) what kind of message you've exactly wanted to launch?

Leia Mais

'if this tragedy is end of our story'

this is one of the best c drama i have seen so far. the acting, writing, cinematography and the badass female lead and male lead with great visuals , strong characters with great character development nothing was miss for even a moment. i have to specially say the soundtrack was great just as the our female lead li yu shi shi as the ruyi and the liu yu ning as ning yuan zhou even though it's his first main lead character drama which was best start to him. the personality of the leads match perfectly just as they both fierce and skilled,stunning,elegent.
'one is ruthless and other is even more ruthless' as yu shi san said. this drama mainly started with the political war struggle of the An and Wu state,and the final struggle with beipan army which cause the tragic. the former scarlet guard left emissary named ruyi as FL who ruthless yet lethal and beautiful just as her and the liudao hall commander liu yu ning the skilled leader of 8 paths not least but he's brothers which was highlight in whole story and uncontrollably bond of them.the martial arts skilled was just nothing left to answer,absoulute the best.
the ending was tragic but the story is great yet best martial arts and teamwork,romance that 100 % worthy. definitelyyyy recommenddddd ! .
i cried long time as i came the end of the drama but still seem to can't get over with because i hoped for their happy ending every time, even though most of time the best c dramas ends with sad and tragic ending but this drama hit the spot.

Leia Mais

What a Series to End 2023!

Well peeps its been a long time since I have written a Review, so here goes nothing, ^_^

Story: Starts with a bang, great plot, rhythm and flow is completely in sync. The fact this story is not adapted from somewhere shows how much the script writer and director have genuinely put in the time of day to actually give us a story that is worth watching and repeat in watching.

Acting: Both the ML/FL have a very unique and bonding chemistry which I believe is absolutely phenomenal. I am aware some hate the ML but I do not care not only is he a great singer but I believe he's an amazing Actor as well and I am very glad finally he gets to be a ML in a Wuxia series, suits him well. FL lead is not someone that releases lots of series or movies in a year, certainly not a mainstream Actress according to profile. having said this she's amazing in her own right. What's the saying,. "less is more". Her prowless and the way she controls the forum in every episode makes me want to watch her past series and movies. As for the supporting cast, their chemistry is on par and in sync with the whole team, from companionship to villains, cannot complain about any aspect so far.

Music: Subjective to everyone, however to me the music nails it on certain points where its needed and I love the opening song as well.

Rewatch Value: Absolutely there, 10/10 for a reason and I personally have re-watched every episode approx 2-3 times now, some episodes I have watched over 6 times, however that is because I do not speak Mandarin as native tongue and relying on subs, the series is this good I actually want to make sure I am not missing any important details in the plot and what the actors/actresses are saying, its that good

Overall: For me Best Series of 2023, I just pray there will be a decent ending to this amazing series to set us into 2024. Cannot wait to see and hear one day the ML/FL reprise again in another future series together, they genuinely look good together and adapt very well making the audience feel they have an amazing connection

Updated 19/12/23: After concluding this series, I can say this has been one of the most amazing series's of 2023. I will not lie as I am very fortunate to have watched the whole series before it was due to be fully released by end of this week. However I am also very upset about how this has concluded. Be prepared for tissues, I was really hoping this series will end in a more positive note! Once again another Wuxia cdrama that cannot have a good ending, however I will say the acting and story up to episode 35-36, has been absolute phenomenal. Sorry for the small spoiler all, I could not help it but to at least write it somewhere!

Cheers all, ^_^

Shing

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