Half of Us (2023)

one of best young chinese female actors tackle new type or role

My Journey to You (2023) - 9/10 - C-Drama
This drama is a fascinating blend of Wuxia, with a strong emphasis on mind games, intrigue, and espionage, interwoven with romantic subplots.

Though I'm not typically a fan of this genre, there were moments when it felt reminiscent of a Chinese Game of Thrones or the anime Basilisk—albeit with less gore and fewer sexual scenes, as expected from a C-drama.

Both main female leads delivered stellar performances, despite the challenging nature of their roles, which were unlike anything they had tackled before. They truly excelled.

My rating reflects the overall experience. While some episodes felt average, the series as a whole grew on me, culminating in a compelling conclusion. However, the ending was more open-ended than I would have preferred.

Plot
In brief, an assassin sect seeks to uncover the secrets of a renowned rival ancient sect. They decide to have their female assassin spies infiltrate as potential brides for the new clan leader of the rival sect.

Genre
Wuxia, Romance, Intrigue, Espionage

Leia Mais

Wow, this drama truly captivated me from the very start. The first episode left me intrigued. Esther Yu's portrayal of a serious and enigmatic character was a departure from her usual roles, and I found it mesmerizing. Her dark, hair framing her face added to the allure of her character, and her ability to maintain such seriousness throughout was truly captivating. While her martial arts scenes were impressive, I couldn't help but wonder if she had a stunt double for some of the more intricate sequences. Nonetheless, her performance was flawless, leaving me in awe.

Zhang Ling He's ability to seamlessly transform into his character is remarkable. While I can't claim to know his true personality, his portrayal in this drama felt particularly authentic. His mastery of martial arts on screen appeared incredibly genuine, leaving me curious about whether he had prior training in the discipline.

The dynamic between the brother characters portrayed by Ryan Cheng (Gong Shang Jue) and Tian Jia Rui (Gong Yuan Zhi) was both exasperating and brilliantly executed. Their presence on screen often had me on the edge of my seat, metaphorically reaching for my shoe to throw in frustration. Ryan Cheng's mesmerizing gaze left me eager to see more of his work in the future.

The storyline was rife with mystery, keeping me thoroughly engaged throughout. However, I must admit I was somewhat disappointed by the ending. Not because of any character deaths, but rather how it concluded. It left me with a strong feeling that there may be a sequel in the works.

Jolin Jill's portrayal of a comedic character had me shaking my head in amusement. Her antics added a delightful touch of humor to the narrative.

Overall, I commend the entire cast and crew for their collective efforts in bringing this story to life. The costumes were particularly impressive, adding to the overall aesthetic of the production. I eagerly await the possibility of a sequel and hope to see the return of these talented individuals in future installments.

Leia Mais

Hmmm

this is my opinion, & if you disagree then please don’t come after me, we all have different takes on different matters.

It seemed interesting to be honest, at first I wanted to watch this because of Zhang Ling He (Gong Zi Yu) since I enjoyed Kunning Palace so much, but to be honest I held on to this show because of the second make & female leads.

Of course Ryan Cheng (Gong Shang Jue) I am so excited for The legend of the female General with him & my Zhou Ye ♥️

I was more attached to gong shang jue, shanghuan qian, and gong yuan zhi.. I find them way more interesting, and never felt bored or cringey with their scenes. I am sorry I just can’t stand yu shy xin (Yun Wei Shan) couldn’t finish the love between fairy and devil cause I couldn’t stand her voice, and her face looks too plastically if you know what I mean…

it could’ve been a more excellent series to be honest but there were so many things I dislike to be honest.

Leia Mais

A good plot idea but could have been better

My Journey to You is about assassins being sent on a mission, disguising themselves as brides to the Gong residence. It started out interesting but felt kind of draggy and slow mid drama. Also,I do agree with the other reviews that the 2nd ML Gong shangjue and 2nd FL Shang guan qian stole the show and were more intriguing to watch than the main leads. My favourite character, however, is the ML’s sister, Gong Zi Shang. I love watching her funny antics and dance moves trying to hook Jin Fan. The ending was also too abrupt and gave no closure to the audience. Maybe there will be season 2?

Leia Mais

DRAMA INI PENUH VISUAL! benar-benar bagus

AAA drama ini pemainnya penuh visual semua, acting mereka juga bagus banget, aku sampai bisa kenal semua watak pemainnya, bener-bener suka semua pemainnya. Gaada sekalipun aku skip setiap scene drama ini. Edit, efek dramanya juga gaada yang gagal menurutku. Walau endingnya agak gimana, aku gatau bakal ada season 2 atau enggak, tapi overall semuanya bagus banget! Aku gabisa menjelaskan betapa bagusnya drama ini. Alur ceritanya itu padahal serius, tapi mereka bisa buat scene-scene lucu yang out of the box T_T ! ost nya juga bagus banget sampe susah move on. Pokoknya cerita drama ini bener-bener mendalam, Ini drama ratingnya harusnya 9 ke atas sih. Pokoknya ini harus ada season 2 nya gamau tau ayo tanggung jawab😭

Leia Mais

My Journey to You: A Riveting Blend of Espionage, Romance, and Intrigue"

"My Journey to You" is a 24-episode original drama series created by Guo Jingming, weaving a captivating tale of love, espionage, and self-discovery. Set in the martial arts world of jianghu, the story follows Yun Weishan, who infiltrates the Gong family for a mission, only to find herself entangled in a web of conspiracies, hidden agendas, and emotional revelations.

At around 1 hour per episode, some may find the duration a tad lengthy, but the series masterfully melds elements of espionage, intrigue, martial arts, and romance into an engaging narrative. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.

What sets "My Journey to You" apart is its intricate and fast-paced storytelling. Each episode is like a carefully orchestrated symphony, unravelling layers of deception. The characters are fully fleshed out with unique personalities and motivations, creating a tapestry of intersecting lives that keeps you eagerly awaiting every twist and turn.

The high-quality production values shine through in the cinematography, authentic sets, exquisite costumes, and well-executed action choreography. The drama's colour palette, dominated by dark tones with hints of white, gold, and red, adds to its visual appeal.

The ensemble cast delivers remarkable performances, with Yu Shuxin and Lu Yuxiao standing out. Yu Shuxin's versatility shines as she portrays a complex character, while Lu Yuxiao's subtle expressions bring depth to her role. Tian Jiarui impresses in his debut performance.

However, the drama does have its downsides. It loses some momentum midway, leaving viewers with unanswered questions. Additionally, the weak characterization of the male lead may disappoint some, and the ending may leave you wanting more closure.

Despite its drawbacks, "My Journey to You" remains a remarkable drama. With its engrossing plot, impressive cinematography, and art direction, it's a must-watch for mystery, suspense, and wuxia drama fans. Dive into the world of intrigue, espionage, and unexpected romance in this captivating series.

Leia Mais

A puzzle that gives a different answer every time.

After finishing the drama, I realise why no one was willing to leave a bad review for it, because this drama is strange.
Shot in slow motion, but by God, you can't watch it on FF because you just can't. Sigh.
The cinematography was good, the fight scenes were epic, even the melodramatic sister had her charm. Here's my take. There's no sequel coming because:
1. Shanguan Qian is not pregnant [watch the scene carefully again and see the clues for yourself]
2. The ending: I'm not exactly upset here because the premise of this drama was never the romance, so It's either the ML died waiting for Ah Yun to return to him, or she actually did return after. I'm leaning on more of her return because she's obviously upgraded in martial arts since her arrival at the Gong's annnd she's picked up skills, obviously. Me thinks if she became pissed, she could pull it off and manage a comeback to her man after all.
3. I'm not watching a sequel because I cannot can this drama anymore, but if one does come out, which I know will not, I'll conveniently forget I wrote these words and watch it anyway, LOL.
4. This drama is a dark horse, you cannot hate it, but you're not sure you love it, the rewatch value is high, but an immediate rewatch after is slow.

Leia Mais

"wounds tell other that your body is hurt. tears tell others that heart is hurt". give it a chance.

Writing a review to this drama is unimaginably hard. I just have no idea if I should rant the series or should I praise the series. I am not Chinese and facts such as if the vibe has something to do with Japan and all I have no idea. And again the story itself was something different and the production was also very different. The dark and ominous vibe of the gong house and the mist covered jiuchen helps the story keep its mystery. The start of the story was truly engaging but after sometime the story become different and the main leads story was not as notable as the second main leads. The climax of story was rushed through 2 episodes and that was truly disappointing if they had taken more time to conclude the story by adding may be 2 or 3 more episodes it would have been totally different. The ending was a true cliff hanger you really don’t know what happened to some characters. For example the ending of the female lead was indefinite. They really don’t explain about the after math of the second female lead. Leaving the male lead at the gates of gong house was terribly cruel .the story didn’t really keep me guessing till the end but was interesting. The male lead was less interesting than the second male lead. gong zi yu (zhang liang he) was a simple character and the character development was also slow and very simple but the second male lead gong shangjue (rayan cheng) was complex and the character clearly had a development and it was a good one too. Plus the relationship between male lead and female lead was said to be a strong one with less number of things happening to them and the character development was something related to trauma and not the relationship between the lead. but then again the character development for the second male lead clearly was related to the second female lead and there is a definite reason why they can be a good couple. The series was a philosophical one and the metaphors used where reasonable though some might find it dragging and unnecessary it was quite enjoyable to me.


Overall the one thing I can surely say is that you have watch this drama at your own risk. You might feel like troughing the entire story in the trash or could feel like keeping it a souvenir. All the best.

Leia Mais

Waiting for a season 2

I didn't expect myself to complete this drama within 2 days with close to sleepless nights. The story itself builds up steadily and I would say this is one of the rare few dramas that I didn't drop. Watched it because of Linghe at first but I am happy with the direction of this story because I think it is Esther's first non-cutesy drama.

I felt like Esther did an amazing job portraying her character considering her previous dramas. This was not cringey and it was rather mature. Everyone in the show definitely had some good acting points and I really like how each character was able to have some backstory towards the end of the show.

The only thing that I didn't really like was that they didn't release the second season directly after this. Many reviewers mentioned that the ending is rather the director's style. I LOVE it actually but I would love to see a continuation!

Leia Mais

Stockholm syndrome

Overall, worth watching: excellent and good looking cast, fantastic chemistry between the leads, lots of mysteries and twists in the story and great backdrop.

However, be ready that the ending is open-ended. Would be nice if there is a sequel to tie everything up - but don't bet on it. I have not seen any Chinese drama sequel successfully released so far, and most of those released did not measure up to its predecessors.

Yun WeiShan was sent to the Gong clan as a spy by the WuFeng gang, disguised as a candidate for a bride. WuFeng was a notorious group which had dominated the martial art world and forced many clans to submit to them. However, the Gong clan rejected their demands and was about the last not to submit. And as the drama progressed, you would find there were other spies beside WeiShan. WeiShan found that she not only had to hide her identity from the Gongs, she had to deal with other scheming spies ready to betray her if necessary to protect their own identities and their mission.

The young handsome Gong ZiYu was thrown into the position of the clan leader when his father and eldest brother was assassinated, presumably by WuFeng's spies. While selecting his bride, ZiYu fell in love with WeiShan. Relationship between the spy and the new leader became complicated and it looked like she was a liability which might bring down ZiYu from the leadership position.

Highlights about this drama:

1. The story was very interesting. There was always new discoveries; nothing and no one was what they seemed to be.

2. There were good humour as portrayed by the character Gong ZiShang. Although her behaviour was funny in many scenes and helped lightened up the dark and serious drama, some were quite snapstick.

3. Zhang Ling He was as usual outstanding in this drama. He was the second lead in the drama Love between Devil and Fairy and was perhaps overlooked or overshadowed. But his subsequent performance in this and the Story of Kunning Palace along with Bai Lu was nothing short of outstanding.

4. The other main leads were equally good. Ryan Cheng played the cold faced Gong ShangJue who actually had a soft side. Yu Shu Xin hailed from the drama Love between Devil and Fairy - I am not quite convinced about her acting - she played the cool and calm spy - a character which was mostly quite boring - saved mainly by her chemistry with Zhang Ling He. By comparison, the scheming Shangquan Qian (Lu Yu Xiao) was more interesting and earned our disgust.

5. Everything was good except the last episode. Everyone was unhappy - a sharp contrast to the Story of Kunning Palace. I wish they could do a better job with the ending. I suggest with such lousy endings, come up with your own ending.

Leia Mais

second leads outshining main leads?

i honestly don't understand why this plot was so weird. the main leads are literally zhang linghe and esther yu yet the script and plot literally just showcases the "BETTER" chemistry between lu yuxiao and ryan cheng, the red flag couple.
yushuxin's acting was quite good, the contrast of her in lbfad and in my journey to you was really huge, her cuteness in lbfad and the cold vibe she's giving off in this show as the wufeng spy in this show was really great, showcasing her strengths in acting cute characters and cold/evil characters. she's such a great actress!! the casting was actually a solid 10/10. just a very unexpectedly weird plot, it seemed like the directors only used the main leads to gain fame for this show just to project viewers to enjoy the acting of the 2nd couple more. If there was more scenes and chances for the main leads to showcase their romance/chemistry in this show more, im pretty sure we can see how their relationship deepens. the ending of this show was also pretty abrupt and seemed rushed? i hope there's a 2nd season where we can see what actually happened in the end instead of an inexplainable and "forcing viewers to guess" kind of ending.

Leia Mais