Nirvana in Fire (2015)

Yes, the characters jump 20 ft in the air. Yes, the tone can kind of be ridiculous sometimes and seem over the top. Yes, this is also one of the best shows I've ever watched in my life. THE STORY TELLING IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. The foreshadowing even from episode one is so clever and Mei Changsu is just SUCH A PROTAGONIST. Like I love crafty, scheming characters and he is no exception. His will to do anything in his power to receive justice and put Jingyan on the throne no matter what happens to him... Like his line about doing the things Jingyan won't be able to do like he really said I'll be the bad guy so you don't have to <3 like those two are INSANE. Mei Changsu is just a brilliantly written character. He's extremely sick and always one step away from death, but he's man on a very dedicated mission. And atp he really does have nothing to lose so ofc he's going to do the actual most and have all the audacity ever. Ugh i love him. That being said, I also ADORE Prince Jing as the justice focused, honorable soldier type who doesn't even want the throne until master manipulator Mei Changsu comes along. Jingyan and Changsu complement each other so well and just have one of the best dynamics of all time like YEAH THEY !!! Ofc the plots are so well thought-out and leave you on the edge of your seat and YEAH Jingrui's birthday party arc is my favorite arc of television EVER. NO ONE could've prepared me for the sheer insanity that I witnessed like just. HUHHHHH. How was any of that real... WHAT AN INSANE COUPLE OF EPS. And yeah that being said never invite Mei Changsu to your bday party. But yeah the plot is perfect and so brilliantly written and every single one of the twenty million characters are brilliantly. Yeah, it can be hard to keep track of all of them but they're all perfect. Commander Meng is loyal to a fault and such a fun character like what a guy I adore him. Fei Liu is just <333 Another loyal to a fault character he was just everything I love his dynamic with MCS. Prince Yu is so hilariously pathetic he's so funny. AND THEN THERES THE WOMEN !!!! Nihuang is perfect, Xia Dong is perfect, Consort Jing may be the best character in the show, AND THEN THERES BANRUO. No one has ever gaslit gatekept and girlbossed like her im absolutely OBSESSED WITH HER. Like Prince Yu is so STUPID he would be NOWHERE without Banruo. This show is just genuinely incredible and completely keeps your attention for all 50+ eps ugh i just truly am obsessed with this show its just so well written <33

Leia Mais

Possibly one of the best court dramas in any language

A piece of fiction that has all the basics covered. The plot is exiting at every instance, the characters intriguing. While there are many twists and turns that the side characters go through, we see the drama through the focal point of all those twists and hence, the audience is let in on all there is to the drama. The showrunners, therefore, counted on the characters to be relatable and flawed enough that their reactions to those twists to be the anticipated parts of the drama.

The overarching story, therefore, is very simple. It's a story about a man whose family and friends were wiped out by a proud, foolish emperor. Instead of revenge being his driving principle, he sought after seeking justice for their legacy and a better future of his homeland.

Music fixes a lot of the flaws of the drama. It has a romance plot between the protagonist and his former betrothed. Their relationship was sadly not explored enough but the saving grace was the acting and the music alleviated them as much as possible. A lot of characters were also not explored enough. Consort Jing for example never had any role in the story besides feeling sad for the past and helping her son and the main character. Unfortunately, almost all female characters in the story shared the same fate. They had no desires or interests of their own aside from helping the male figures closest to them.

But, despite its flaws, it is possibly one of the best court dramas ever made. It has the right pacing, the right plots, the right actors and the right dialogue to keep audience on their toes. The values espoused by this drama are the same as most dramas that tell age old tales of brotherhood, community and bravery. Hence, I recommend everyone to watch it. It has something for everyone.

Leia Mais

I usually dislike long drama series. Mostly because i find long serial drama has too much plots and it felt dragging. However, this is not the case with this drama. Each plot has reasons and justify the progress to the end. This is the exact example of well written script.

This drama is exceptional with the push of the talented actors and actress as well. Hu Ge especially has been able to display Lin shu's passion to clear his family and army which is hidden behind his frail body. His tale is indeed sad but inspiring. He is an amazing person who is also recieved love the most from everyone around him. All of his followers follow him not because of fear, but love and loyalty. He is an unforgetable character and has become one of my most fav too.

Another thing that I love is the fact that the story highlight the importance of loyalty, family love and amazing display strategies.
This drama is a total must watch.

Leia Mais

ABSOLUTE GEM

Do you know he was in a car accident and has to be out for a year or something. Didn’t know if he was ever going to walk again. The director decided they will wait for him to come back. No one else can replace him for this role. Notice his eye lid has a scar. He fought his way back against all odds. Bravo to Hu Ge !
NIF has all leading actors and actresses; there are no supporting. Everyone performed superbly of their roles. Each of their performance absolutely will make you BELIEVE in their struggle, love, care, goals, principle etc. their performances will draw you in emotionally and as if also physically. You’ll find your heart and breath skip the beat as you can feel their anguish, pain and happiness.
The whole story is so well coherently written and told. The plots and their exquisitely smart dialogues in each and every moment are all necessary; not more and not less …. Such perfection! The entire drama shows great respect to its audience with zero dumb or nonsense moments.
The costumes were rich, beautiful and elegant.
There’s so much depth in this drama and its pure beauty in conveying it to us make this drama 100% enjoyable watching it over and over and over again. Love it to death.

Leia Mais

I created an account for this site just to give this a review. Best thing I have ever watched.

Story/Script: This is not your average revenge drama. It's a story about wanting to set things right, to obtain justice for a case that was misjudged years ago and it's beautifully done. It may start a little slow, but rest assured that the pace will pick up. There are also some really funny but jokes/puns in the script which may be hard to get if you are not a native Chinese speaker, but they really add a lot to the drama.

Characters: Honestly the best part of this drama. They are complex, emotional, human characters. Unlike many other dramas which cause you to unconditionally hate the villains, the villains in NIF are just as human as the protagonists and have their own hardships and reasons.

Acting: Very well done and in character.

Music/setting: Beautiful music and amazing cinematography. The wordless opening is perfect and really gives you the feel of the drama through the use of music and art.

Rewatch: I have rewatched this a couple times and every time, I discover something new. Definitely worth several rewatches. The only thing is that the politics discussions get a little windy and so I often skip through those.

Truly a masterpiece. I understand many romance genre fans are unwilling to give this a chance due to the lack of romance, but romance is there (as is a lot of bromance), just not the main focus. The romance in NIF is a pure form of companionship/friendship which I honestly think is harder to achieve. Give it a try, and it may just top your list :)

Leia Mais

Becoming extinguished

Nirvana Fire - an appropriate title for this philosophical story. The meaning of Nirvana (via Britannica): Literally, it means “blowing out” or “becoming extinguished,” as when a flame is blown out or a fire burns out.

Quick summary: The story is incredibly well crafted; varied and complex characters; the plot was well paced and not too long at 54 episodes; ambience of music, cinematography, and costume was effective; there was a good balance between political intrigue, wuxia, military, romance, fantasy, etc.

The first few episodes can be confusing, so a character chart and episode recaps can help. However, the show is successful introducing characters, developing them, so that viewers get a clear grasp of what's going. When, for example, we meet Lin Chen in the first episode, then he disappears for 40 or so episodes, we are still well connected to him in his return at the end of the show.

Many characters besides Lin Chen were distinct and well-presented. It was a joy to watch their depth, development, and interaction with one another. I'll highlight a few gems. Because every character was so eloquent and precise in speech, Fei Liu's stunted and grunted speech was an effective counter point. Bai Li Qi, the northern fighter, was quite enjoyable (and cute). Consort Jing was impressive - the queen of "my pieces are moving on the board, but you can't see them in the first place". Eunuch Gao Zhan was subtly humorous and the perfect counter point to the Emperor. He had an awkward, yet charming smile. I won't even praise the main cast here because you'll undoubtedly agree how terrific they were.

Besides distinct and well-presented, most characters were complex and nuanced. Grand Princess Li Yang is a model character of complexity. Despite the awful circumstances of being forced into matrimony with Xie Yu, it's obvious they've grown great affection for one another. This character also outlines the moral/philosophical crux about this show. While Grand Princess Li Yang did some terrible things, she was able to reverse her path of moral degradation and contribute to something wholesome later on. Even though the truth of the Chiyan army massacre was covered up, seeking the truth while losing face, is the correct path. Looking at modern leaders who are wholly unapologetic for their mistakes or looking to rewrite history through propaganda and social ignorance, it's a reminder that this moral push and pull in the grand societal play is persistent like a good weed.

One thing this show got be thinking about was rebirth. Not so much in the 'wait til I die and start life again in a new form sense', but rather what change or 'rebirth' can one experience within the current life span. Many of the characters go through processes of change and, are effectively, a new form of themselves. And I wonder how distinct our life embodiment is vs. shared with others and carried forward by others. Lin Shu is reborn into Mei Changsu and then is reborn into Lin Shu again; it is as if he has had 3-lives in one lifespan. People's characters, goals, values, and dreams are also 'reborn' through others. For example, Prince Qi dies, but his life spirit is reborn through Prince Jing and others. We cultivate life spirit, disperse it to others, and don't need to count on death/rebirth to 'progress' again. The idea is not to wait to improve or change one's form in the next life and simply accept what one is now. Cultivate now.

Leia Mais

At last after almost 3yrs, I was able to finish this drama and still, my opinion is the same. Its boring. Its a highly political drama hence I understand that there's less action and more conversations but I didn't sign up for that. I remember I was watching Six Flying Dragons and Nirvana in Fire at the same time and dropped this because SFD though highly political, there are intense scenes and high profile characters that keeps the drama interesting. I picked this up again last month because I want to see why people are highly praising this. Yes, the story is solid, acting may be good, but the plot and execution is boring for me. The ending was expected though sad but unlike most historical cdramas, this one has tied most loose ends. But still, compared to the ones I have watched before with the same genre, I am not moved with this. 6/10 for me.

Leia Mais

this drama overrated

I found out this drama not as good what people said .. kind of boring a bit, fast forward quite a bit. I even didn't watch it for 3 days before continuing. May be because its to much for a matter about Huge sickness, No way to re watch this drama. Huge is great though but the rest just ok.. The story is good , but the ending not that good. I planning to watch the 2nd season, but not for now. I am sorry if my honest review is not like others, but it is my own opinion. It is overrated.

I found out this drama not as good what people said .. kind of boring a bit, fast forward quite a bit. I even didn't watch it for 3 days before continuing. May be because its to much for a matter about Huge sickness, No way to re watch this drama. Huge is great though but the rest just ok.. The story is good , but the ending not that good. I planning to watch the 2nd season, but not for now. I am sorry if my honest review is not like others, but it is my own opinion. It is overrated.

Leia Mais

This is my first time writing a review and it would just be me gushing about how brilliant this show is.
The execution of the story is truly remarkable, layers upon layers of the character's story woven into one big plot that was the main reason this story exists. The script is always spot on with getting the audiences engage in the story. And the directing as well as, the production of the drama is one of the best things this show has got to offer. The costumes, places, castings, cinematography, is top notch. Even though there are moments of editing that could be improved but those details were easily overpowered by all those I mentioned.
The casts all have their moments, especially towards the end. The revelations and the way they did it is just epic. It would surely hit you right in the feels and that is the reason why this show is so popular.
The women in NIF is one of the best aspects of the show as well.
In the end, just watch it !!!!!!!!!!

Leia Mais

This is a masterpiece. The story in itself beautifully written. The characters are well rounded, even the supporting characters' story-line are well developed. Coupled with perfect casting, you couldn't help but love the characters. Even for the villains, you could get their motivation and you'd get why they would act in a certain way (not in the sense that their actions were justified but because it's in their personality, "that's who they are"). The acting was solid. I loved how the director used subtle gestures and actions to convey the emotion of the characters like how he would zoom in on trembling hands to show anxiousness. The score was also great. It's not in your face like others in which you'd know that something is about to happen because of the music. It helped elevate the scene. My personal favorite is the humming version of Aging of Beauty.

I could talk about this all day but there is no better judge than yourself so go watch it. The pilot was good, you might be overwhelmed with the number of charters introduced in the first episode but you'll eventually get a hang of it. By the second episode, I was already hooked with the story and invested on the characters. If you are still not convinced, at least give this a shot till episode 12. By then if your still not invested then i don't know what to say anymore. :))

Leia Mais

This drama is amazing (very near to be perfect), there´s been a long time since I´ve see a story I love this much, and I’m talking about dramas, movies and books.
Since the beginning the plot is fast paced and keeps interesting all the time, building tension continuously I felt restless to know about what was happening. The plot never falls.
When there are so many intrigues and plotting characters its all about who can win over the enemies, and of course a great point about this drama is the fact that there are plenty intelligent characters and there is no weak point in the argument, everything is perfectly logical during the 54 episodes. You will enjoy this more if you like political dramas and palace conspiracies.
Of course this show is not all about fighting for power, beyond that there is one of the most emotional stories I have seen. This show is about revenge and the seek of justice, those two are important elements which set a clear goal to look for. But the drama is also about friendship, loyalty and morality, these things are important for the individual character development, but also for the relationships between them. But not everything is this highly mood, there are relieving moments and characters too, I got captivated with Fei Niao, he´s so cute.
Of course the characters are the core and all actors are exceptional. As I have said before, this drama is emotionally deep and every character portrays perfectly the situations around them.
The songs in Nirvana in Fire are a perfect addition to the general mood of the story, check out the lyrics they´re so perfect and emotional.

Leia Mais

Excellent Revenge Story

After watching "The Princess WeiYoung" I was desperate for another period drama with a strong revenge plot and deep romance to move me to tears and give me a satisfying feeling. I scoured websites looking for similar shows, and this show was recommended to me. So I started watching. This was very different from WeiYoung because there was minimal romance, the main character was a man, the drama was way more believable, and less annoying and the revenge was a slow moving magma. It took me a while to get into, but slowly but surely the plotting was on. The schemes were taking hold and they wouldn't let go. By the end of the show I was in tears, and begging for more! Tears of joy, and sadness, and satisfaction. I'm disappointed there wasn't more romance, but honestly... I have to say that's about my only disappointment.



At first I wasn't impressed by the main character as I couldn't get a good feel for him, and found him way too cold and cavalier. He didn't have that burning passion that most main characters do. But Prince Jing Yang made up for it I suppose, and the main character eventually gets a bit fiery. The music was nice, I enjoyed the ending theme. I really love that the intro and the outro don't give anything away like most Chinese drama's do. The acting was A+! really pulled me in and had me getting the feels. Story was amazing. Took me a while to put the entire family tree together and piece it together with the story but that's minor.



By the end all those long episodes came together rather nicely, and I didn't even notice the slowness anymore. I was racing through all the episodes by the time things started taking shape. The revenge is sweet and the ending is sweet with a hint of bitter. But it's worth it. I wouldn't rewatch anytime soon because I prefer faster moving stories, and I am also not one to rewatch shows. But maybe one day many years from now I might. HOWEVER, if YOU are reading this and are curious about whether or not you should invest your time? I have two words for you: WATCH. IT.

Leia Mais