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Watch for the cast, stayed for the story
This was my first airing C-drama in 2024 that I watch diligently live, waiting for new episodes with bated breath. That means theres sometging grippling about the plot that makes me come back for more.I thk I have a thg for female coroners. *Cue.. one of my favs: The imperial coroner. I like when FL have brains and wits in historical China. Then there's this face swap thg that reminded me of ..*Cue another great drama: A familiar stranger.
We have a strong cast but Liu Xue Yi's Pan Yue was bang on the money. He is so commanding on the screen, and brings so much to the character. It wouldnt be rash to say he's a great big part of why the drama is so popular. JJY's Yang Cai Wei was okay, she did remind me of some of her other period characters. Shes probably more memorable as the obsessed Shangguan zhi. The leads have chemistry and I enjoy the push pull in their relationship when the secret wasnt reveal yet. Li Ge Yang was a great casting too and he had lots of chemistry with 2FL Wu Jia Yi. I felt like I wanted her character to do more than just being there for 2ML.
For the reasons above i nearly rated this at 9 but rationally I thk an 8 is more deserving. The biggest reason being overly convenient and glaring plotholes. Evidence no1 both ML and 2ML are great in fighting but they stand around and let the resource person (imp on revealing the secrets they were trying to solve) to be killed right under their noses. Evidence no2 they make the leads a bit out of touch with the rest of the world. We were first shown ML and FL who upholds and values justice but the writing makes them brush past and move too fast from the deaths and sacrifices of ppl around them. This kind of writing is just careless imo. Because I've watched other C dramas execute this much better, I cant help penalising.
For rewatch I would only do so with clips and shorts. It has been a good enjoyable watch for 80% of the time and among the better historical dramas offered this year.
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Loved this story!
I thought it had a great plot. Glad it did not have a rushed ending like so many of the Chinese releases do.I liked the acting, thought the casting was great in that all actors fit their character. Lead actors were credible, and believable. Production and flow of the story was great. Often in other productions I skip over episodes that seem to drag on but not this one!
WHAT IS AND WHEN DO WE SEE A SEQUEL???
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A very good suspense drama
I started In Blossom with a little hesitation - Ju Jingyi's (JJY) last few shows have been quite underwhelming with all the dangling hair bits. I absolutely enjoyed her performance in Yunxi (and even in In a Class of Her Own) but everything else has been quite lacklustre. Nonetheless, beneath all the focus on beauty, I do think Ju Jingyi has potential, and I have been waiting for her to pull another Yunxi. Is her performance in In Blossom as good as Yunxi? I would say it's much better than everything else she has done recently - I can see the effort she has put in, and I hope that she would pick better projects that allow her to go beyond her comfort zoneThat being said, I wish to state this- focusing on JJY alone (with the criticism of her makeup and all) takes away from a very solid original story. Yes, In Blossom starts with another actress and then JJY takes over- the other actress was very good but JJY was by no means bad. I found her chemistry with Liu Xueyi to be very good, and one of the things that I really loved was the love story - the love and respect that the two characters had for each other, particularly Pan Yue's devotion towards Yang Caiwei. This was a slow burn love story - Pan Yue's childhood love and his early marriage to Yang Caiwei (well, to Shangguan Zhi in reality) was borne out of his commitment towards her. However, as we watch the interactions of the two, a true love story emerges - out of a deep understanding and mutual respect. It was a joy to watch these two develop their feelings for each other.
While I enjoyed the love story, the greatest pull was the plot - an original story, very well crafted (although by no means perfect) with some really enjoyable and unpredictable cases which our leads work on. I even shed a tear or two over these cases, with great performances by several guest actors. These cases made the show very engaging - individual cases interwoven into a larger one. The characters were very well-written and acted, and while some actions may not have had much sense I can see why they headed in that direction. Yang Caiwei/Shangguan Zhi is an intelligent woman, although she is no martial artist, and it's enjoyable to watch her crack these cases, together with Pan Yue.
That brings me to Pan Yue, acted perfectly by Liu Xueyi. I was delighted to see Liu Xueyi play this character, as the male lead, so different from the ones he has done in the past (he was brilliant as Wuxin in The Blood of Youth too, and in every role he has played including all the antagonists). Liu Xueyi's performance was nuanced (and I couldn't help saying aww many times he was on screen).
It would have been great to solve the face swapping issue - the show doesn't exactly explain how that happened. Nonetheless I have to say that this was one of the better shows this year - I highly recommend it, particularly for its cases. I greatly enjoyed the story and the beautiful cinematography, the acting and the OST. I happily rate it 8.6/10.
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Good vs evil in Heyang
Within this story is a potentially really great one if the drama had dared to push the boundaries of its storytelling a bit more. Set against the "evil" city of Heyang, where bad deeds go unpunished, our righteous male lead Pan Yue seeks to find his long-lost beloved Yang Caiwei and to right the wrongs of the past. Along the way, we meet a multitude of characters including the charismatic if headstrong Zhuo Lanjiang and Caiwei's plucky friend Bai Xiaosheng -- and solve some murder mysteries.It turns out that with each case solved, we are closer to solving the ultimate mystery -- who is the mastermind behind the deaths of Caiwei's parents and the dark deeds in Heyang? That, unfortunately, is never fully fleshed out. Our villains' motivations are presented only in broad strokes, making the ultimate confrontation a bit of a letdown both thematically and dramatically.
Which is not to say the drama is terrible -- far from it. Some of the stories within the main tale are quite moving such as the case of the Gu family and that of the twins and the academy. They show quite effectively the potential darkness within people and the struggle to overcome it without resorting to too much exposition, which is unfortunately present in other cases and parts of the show. If the drama had explored this theme than just at the surface level - the complexities of humankind and our capacity to do both great good and evil - it would have made for a very compelling drama.
As it is, this drama is worth the watch for the interesting cases (which actually are nicely interwoven with the overarching plot and our characters' arcs), a well-paced romance story, and some great performances from both main and guest/supporting cast alike. Liu Xueyi as Pan Yue and Li Geyang as Zhuo Lanjiang were standouts to me.
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story takes center stage
I don't quite have time or mindset for a detailed review, but I'll just say this drama was a pleasant surprise. In Blossom is a show that lets the story take center stage. It's a complex murder mystery intertwined with an almost equally complex romantic tale of two friends from noble families, betrothed by royal assent since childhood, working together to uncover a deep political conspiracy involving the imperial court. The writing was very good & the show kept me guessing right until the very last episode with a cliffhanger ending highly suggestive of a sequel. There's comedy as well as tragedy. Highly enjoyable.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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Worth a watch but don’t fall in love with second lead or you’ll be heartbroken
Spoiler alert!!!!!!!I’ve just got one thing to say….
WHY WOULD YOU KILL OFF JIANG?!??!!!! His death could have easily been avoided if they just never found the ledger on him. Baisheng and Jiang would have had their happy ending too ???
Story was pretty good. Liked all the plot twists, it kept it interesting and made you wanna keep watching to see who the mastermind was. Again, ending could have been better if Jiang didn’t die.
Cast was amazing, loved everyone’s acting.
Music was beautiful! Loved the osts.
I wouldn’t rewatch it again because can’t help but be mad that they killed off Jiang. I love him ? he deserves a happy ending too!
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Face-swap Premise
The series has a great premise idea of face-swapping but because in this series the two main female characters are swapped, the audience is impressed to see a full-body swap, yeah I think the story idea of the author is just face-swapping but because in this series the two main female characters are swapped, the audience can automatically see a full-body swap as well. The series can also be said to be a detective genre as well, because it features many scenes of investigating and solving criminal cases but each case solved is part of the main case of the series. The storyline is fun to watch and follow, we will be invited to be curious to watch the next episode and the series features two main characters (ML and FL) smart but in my opinion if the chemistry between FL and ML is still lacking but not said to be bad either. And if you're a fan of wuxia series, don't have high expectations for the martial arts fight choreography scenes because every fight scene looks less good but this is understandable because this series is not a wuxia series. The series also ends with an epic ending, but there is potential for a season 2 and the director is smart to create scenes that indicate that there will be a season 2 but not to irritate viewers. The series is worth recommending to your friends to watch.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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A Phenomenal Journey Throughout
A Youku original (albeit not an adaptation), this historical is definitely one of the best written scripts in a long time. Featuring Liu Xue Yi & Ju Jing Yi in lead roles, the storyline focuses on the resurrection of the female lead (who escapes death twice, miraculously). Once in childhood when her entire family is massacred and next on her wedding night, when the female antagonist does a face swap. As I have already mentioned in the “First Impressions”, face swap doesn’t make much sense; I’m still calling it “Soul Swapping”. The newly resurrected female protagonist Yang Cai Wei makes use of her beautiful face, and rich lifestyle to seek revenge. Easy concept right? Nope, it is easier said than done. The 32 episodes romantic saga takes us on a revenge journey where our odd couple counter each other, become allies, fall in love again and conquer the evil villain. This was a phenomenal joyride and I thoroughly enjoyed it!Read the complete article here-
https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/04/03/in-blossom-series-review/#more-706
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It could have been much better…
I have a moral aversion to face-swapping plot lines, but I thought I’d give In Blossom a try. For the first few episodes, I enjoyed it enough to keep going, but after a while.. it became tiresome.There was a lot the writer did not decide to explore. For example, how the parents traumatized all the main characters, how the characters built themselves up from the trauma, and also making sure the characters could stand on their own without attachment to romance.
Pan Yue is obsessed with Yang Caiwei, and it ends up being that this is all we know of his character. It’s a shame, because we get small glimpses into his tough childhood, with his father suspecting Pan Yue of not being his. But alas, the romantic plot is the focus. We lose out on watching Pan Yue become loving and kind after healing from his past.
Yang Caiwei is the only character that develops. She is strong, but very insecure about Pan Yue’s love towards her at the beginning, and at the end. She becomes more self-assured once she realizes that he does care for her. However, Yang Caiwei already had a lot of agency before she met Pan Yue. He simply enhanced this.
Additionally, the SFL and SML relationship was icky to me. I could not romanticize the SFL being second choice for him. It was obvious she was a rebound, and ready to be one, which I think also comes from her parental trauma. She was ready to be used, and I feel really bad for her. Especially because the SML dies.
Overall, I think the characters were not explored as well as they could have been, an it lays in leaning too much into the romantic aspects, when these characters clearly have more depth, that we are given glimpses of.
I do also agree that the FL in the first 2 episodes would be been a better choice, but I still enjoyed JJY performance regardless.
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In Blossom is a great thriller, romance, fantasy drama written within a historical setting. There are some gory scenes, necessary due to the nature of the female lead’s profession, very detailed and smart murder investigation with logical deductions and conclusions that give us glimpses of the leading couple’s strong and intelligent characters. There are very well done action scenes and bloody tortures coming from the antagonist and his henchmen, mysterious and complex characters that help shaped the validity of the plot, a fantasy element that, although it was interesting and the leading actress tried her best in her characterization of Yang Cai Wei I, it is true that the fantasy element would have worked better if they would have chosen an actress for the real Yang Cai Wei whose body was anatomically closer to Ju Jing Yi. The cinematography was well planned and executed with glimpses of Gothic elements and the cast did a good job bringing their characters to life. In the romance department, it would be right to say that it is more about a soulful than a physical connection. Pan Yue, exceptionally portrayed by Liu Xue Yi, is a man with great moral character, integrity, and above all, a man that steadfastly loved the souls of his woman. Ju Jing Yi did great portraying her character as the infatuated and self-centered Shangguan Zhi and she tried her best portraying Yang Cai Wei, but the Ju Jing Yi, although she captured the awareness and ability to express the intelligence of Yang Cai Wei, she didn’t get the body language right. This might have been due to the fact that the casting director failed to recognize that it was just a face swap, not a whole body swap, and Ju Jing Yi’s body is too frail looking compared to Zheng He Hui Zi’s that played Yang Cai Wei in the first two episodes. Besides this oversight, which was just a bit odd, the drama is an excellent thriller, with a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking steadfast romance, and a very pleasing intellectual connection between the leading couple. The supporting cast did very well and provided side stories that gave mystery and depth to the story. Enjoy it! Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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Witchcraft and face swap in a thriller-packed drama
Hi guys, I'm back again after hiatus for quite some time due to final exams and lack of spare time. I've done watching In Blossom some time ago, but I only get my time to work on this review today. In Blossom is not a drama that I expected very much, I was obsessed in Burning Flames and didn't plan to watch this beforehand. After scrolling through the comments, I decided to try it and check out my review below.In Blossom tells a bittersweet story between two childhood sweethearts, Pan Yue and Yang Caiwei. Yang Caiwei was in a disgraced situation after having escaped from the attempted murder which successfully killed her parents. Subsequently, she went to the Pan Mansion and wanted to meet Pan Yue. But Pan Yue wasn't there, and his father refused to let her in. Filled with grief and resentment, Yang Caiwei wandered around Heyang City and was taken in by a retired coroner, who worked as corpse taker now. Together with her lunatic master, Yang Caiwei became a corpse taker and did everything to relieve her master's burden.
She accidentally encountered Pan Yue again. Originally, Yang Caiwei gave him a cold shoulder and ignored him as possible. Pan Yue, of course, didn't give up and tried his best to woo her back, even wanted to marry her. A spoiled and pampered girl of the wealthy Shangguan family, Shangguan Zhi, witnessed this event and was furious. The day before their marriage, Shangguan Zhi used witchcraft to switch her face with Yang Caiwei's. After that, she pushed Yang Caiwei and her subordinates to a narrow cliff, thinking that she had erased every trace of her evil deeds.
Things became more and more unexpected. Shangguan Zhi (in Yang Caiwei's persona) was suddenly murdered which aroused fear and suspicion. Yang Caiwei soon learned about her 'own death' and vowed to find the culprit and uphold justice for Shangguan Zhi despite the latter's treatment towards her.
In order to investigate her murder, Yang Caiwei had to work with Pan Yue in the county yamen. Originally, they were at odds because Pan Yue didn't like Shangguan Zhi before, not knowing that the latter has swapped her face with Yang Caiwei. Thus, their sweet love story began.
So far, the plot is woven in intrigue and mystery, which can attract the audiences to skim in, especially mystery and thriller lovers. However, after the case of Gu Shan, I started to fast forward and skipped a lot of the main leads' scenes. Don't get me started at the capital arc. That arc was rather boring and dull. Even with skipping, I could still grab some details of the case and in short, I didn't lose anything from skipping here and there.
The acting is so-so. This is my third time watching Liu Xueyi after 'The Blood of Youth' and 'Love and Redemption'. I think he did pretty well in this drama and his persistent love towards Yang Caiwei was one of the best aspects of him. You could see him conveying his eye expression when he was staring at Yang Caiwei and you'll know why. Meanwhile, Ju Jingyi's acting is a bit of lackluster. Like other reviewers, I also prefer Zheng He Hui Zi's portrayal as the real Yang Caiwei. Ju Jingyi's Yang Caiwei is a little spoiled but thank goodness they didn't make her into a damsel-in-distress (she's still as intelligent as her old self).
Personally, I'm rooting for the second couple (Zhuo Lanjiang and Bai Xiaosheng) than the main couple. They're a cute bickering couple and help the leads to solve cases too. My only complaint is why should they KILL OFF Ah Jiang. He didn't deserve it and should have got a happy ending with Bai Xiaosheng.
OSTs are nothing special, but still commendable.
Is there any rewatch value? Nah, that will depend on yourselves. The plot is good in the first half but falls in the second half. I myself won't be rewatching this drama as this is a one-time watch for me. Nonetheless, I'll give this nine out of ten stars for the great plot and the case solving. Give this a try if you want some case-solving drama, but you can skip the rest of the scenes if they've arrived at the capital. Happy watching!!!
SPOILER ALERT:
The real murderer of Yang Caiwei points to Shangguan Zhi's brother, Shangguan Lan. I'm not entirely sure of this, but given that the Shangguan family has good connection, a private army, and witches, everything is possible for them. To please Shangguan Zhi, her brother must have intended to kill off Yang Caiwei from the beginning so that Shangguan Zhi can marry Pan Yue - and that's the only reasonable thing to do (in my opinion).
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about the series
The best TV series I watched after Ingenious One, the plot, music and casting were amazing, I found it exciting until the last episode. Liu Xue Yi's amazing performance was, in my opinion, the best TV series. Also, I had watched two of Ju Jing Yi's TV series before and found them ordinary, and in this series, her performance was top notch. They have brought it up to the level, and they suit each other very well as a duo. The series will have a second season. If they do not deviate from the subject, it will be watched with the same pleasure. We would like to watch more such series in Chinese historical dramas. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the production and broadcasting.Esta resenha foi útil para você?