Tragically beautifully crafted; emotionally stirring most memorable dream the drama delivered!

It started with arousing curiosity of what the characters' lines and attitudes were heading to. Then, it became light, fun, family themed, filled with comedy, bromance, and romance every chance it can in every epi but gradually geared towards the tragically beautiful ending it was primarily written for.

I like how it was well casted, performed, and written and the suspense I got throughout the story.
It is one among the no skinskip, no kiss yet engrossing drama.
The unique bond of gods, goddesses, demons, half-gods, half-demons, and mortals living together as a "family" fighting for the greater good of and protecting all living beings
The have destinies they couldn't avoid, the promises they could either break or fulfill
I also like how it showed various types of love and bond formed. The nemesis to besties, strangers to brothers and sisters, re-strengthened sibling bond, father and child relationships, and the romantic love.
These are the varied forms of warmth I felt from the story that were strengthened but could either last long or short lived.
On the other hand, there is also the wrong way of loving others, causing them grief and sorrow which happened to the villain and to what and how he turned out to be. But his hate turned obsession doesn't validate his sins
I like the bromance and the bickering of my 'brople' Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen and the romance of my beautifully paired couple Zhao Yuanzhou and Wen Xiao, the great demon and baize goddess as well as the always screaming and funny little doctor Bai Jiu, the wannabe-mortal-chef mountain god Ying Lei, and the badass mortal relying on her well-trained combat skills and signature weapon bow and arrow (hello Katniss Everdeen)
I like how their own stories, their entanglements, connections, and wishes were gradually unfolded
The friendship and brotherhood, the strong male lead vibe was very well shown throughout the story
The writer however appears to be more male centric. The story had strong brotherhood theme that I think overshadowed a bit the romantic theme.
Nonetheless, the injection of comedy and bickering in the epis even after some much dramatic plots made this ride an unforgettable experience.
The parallels in the story enriched the overall plot too.
I like the backstory of Ying Long and Bing Yi, the dragon god and the dragon slayer and its connection with ZYZ and ZYC but hated what was coming.
I like how the story of Zhao Yuanzhou changed after his death and was recognized for what he's sacrificed for: his wide understanding and love for all beings, his love for his besties, most strikingly his love for Wen Xiao that in all places he would return to, was his 'home' with her
The most heartbreaking is when the prophecy couldn't be stopped. One last sacrifice is needed and it had to be ZYZ, he chose to be the one. It was the freedom he had long wished for; however, at that very moment, he struggled, reluctant and unable to leave
I hated how the malicious energy and the BG divine power has to do with the couple
It was tormenting hearing and seeing him wanting to be consciously delusional for a moment with WX by his side in the dream of indulgence which was similar to when he endured the pain in his heart due to breaking the contract of staying with her a s a colleague, only to enjoy his imagination of a future with his beloved.
I give credit to the inserted comedy and bickering because it helped balance my emotions in a way, acting as the pain killer or anesthesia
Most of which were from ZYZ and ZYC interactions: E.g. When WX didn't inform ZYC of her plan and he took it seriously firmly standing up for ZYZ; he couldn't move on from the embarrassment and was pouty all over; ZYC making ZYZ not look like the great demon, the most powerful, him seeing though his acts; ZYZ fake acts, his responses, and many more
ZYZ and WX: 'The sound of jealousy' scene which was both sweet and hilarious ; the beg epi with his fake act being caught by WX and affected by her little tricks and ZYC rushing to the scene and slightly misjudging the situation as WX was in danger; the eavesdropping scenes for WX and ZYZ's words of love and ZYZ holding her hands act, dying act, and more; WX's with other's reactions to the funny scenes such as ZYZ kissing the previous BG's puppet act to provoke the thousand-year-old demon Cheng Huang (Ryan Cheng's guest role)
The story wasn't all perfect, I had my own complaints
Some instances:
Ying Lei (Xu Xhen Xuan) endured Li Lun's attack to wake Jiu was being possessed by LL; Bai Jiu (Lester Lin), the youngest, gave his best to destroy ever burning wood to cut the villain's immortality; women power moment such as Pei Sijing (Cheng Xiao) defeating her most feared enemy that became a more fearful demonized human through her own 'mortal trained combat skills' whilst Wen Xiao was often put to a situation where she'd be subject to criticisms. Others made important sacrifices, given enough screen time for the dramatic effect but she wasn't given enough moment to showcase her being Baize Goddess and its divine power, didn't have her own shining moment except for 2 scenarios but with someone else's help and had less impact. I think it was better she was interrupted while giving her all as Baize Goddess to save the human race and had flashback memories of her and ZYZ to add to the heaviness and impact of the scene. The difference prolly will add to the character's growth. There were also some prolly minor inconsistencies that may be overlooked by their editing crew that in my perspective could add to her character's emphasis
The last fight scene with Li Lun (Yan An) in his redemtion arc joining Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen, the CGI, the winged ZYC, everything, with its drama and all was epic. It goes back to the drama being more male centered in my view. I have no issue with it but even ZYZ's death, the should be most heartbreaking couple moment came out less impressive
Nevertheless, it was harder to let go of this drama with all its potential to be a masterpiece
I was glad there was a hopeful extra epi
The extra individual bts is a plus to the cast specifically Chen Duling (Wen Xiao) acting improved a lot
The main ost auto plays in my head whenever I remember their group dance, their solo parts, their voice, the individual focus of the camera, their group hugs as well as the stage performance of Hou Minghao, Chen Duling, Tian Jiarui, Cheng Xiao, and Yan An where they all wore white, their promotional dance and all clips, Neo and Jiaru funny short singing promo, and their online meetings where funny hardow TJR is always eating
The OSTS, BGMs, the instrumentals (the sound of coming death and insertion of comedy) the ending BTS/Group dance have been part of my unforgettable viewing experience.
Jiarui's make up was very elven, insane face card that equalled Neo's. Bing Yi and his new look as Zhuo Yichen and him riding the horse were fairytale-ish very eye catching (hello Legolas, L.O.T.R.)
Neo's Ying Long to his curly silver haired Zhu Yan, cub days, to his 3 silver striped hair Zhao Yuanzhou look were all flawlessly done and carried by him, very attention grabbing. Not to forget he had a scene showing off his figure, insane body card
Their acting performances were on point, Neo's eye talking, delivering hilarious as well as dramatic scenes, the fight scenes and the cast' trainings for those
I don't want to wake up from this long beautiful dream and await the return of the great "white ape" demon, a reunion with his loved ones and a whole new adventure with them
All actors and actresses in this drama are part of its success.

Leia Mais

Nicely balanced romcom, engaging story and characters

This has been a fun and refreshing ride. I'd like to congratulate the efforts of the actors and actresses for their respective roles.
I started this without knowing much of how the story and characters will be. I got hooked when it felt similar to The Beauty Inside and eventually with the added investigation, special conditions of other characters, the pairing (well suited couples), the mystery behind the mastermind of the whole zornia case and the comedy which balances everything in the story
I like that it's not all romance and comedy, but has some lessons in life to keep in mind.
I like the two sets of trios here and their relationships but I'm sad they killed Gen Nan and Yao.
This is a first for me to wait eagerly not only to the main couple's happy ending but also to the second and third couples' happy endings.
It didn't really go for the wicked mother-in-law plot, the mother-in-law daughter-in-law conflict, or the evil plot by main lead's family to ruin the relationship of the main leads.
We also got an amusing main lead family.
Xin Bai's mom is one of my favorites. She stole the limelight of some episodes when she showed her being a worried and caring mom and not only someone with a high status trying to protect her children's futures. My favorites are her reactions, her acting was on point, whether the serious conversations, semi-serious situations or the hilarious scenes are unforgettable
I like the Jiang family, SL's dad, and the grandpa; they're funny and entertaining (the umbrella scene and when XB's mom thought his son was gay and the rest had no idea what's happening 😂)
The suspense on the real villain kept me going and I enjoyed the engagements here on discovering who he is, even doubting and questioning of some of the characters.
I have to say that Ruo Qian is a very interesting supporting character, well played GZC
I have my complaints about some parts of the story, character change and some character endings and have a lot more to say about this but it's more fun to discover them going through the story. It's a happy ending and you will find fascinating characters and even couples you didn't expect to cheer and look forward to

Leia Mais

The Light Shop for Lost Souls/ Finding One's Light

The thriller-suspense of the first half hooked me that I thought I was in for a mystery crime story. I was left with several questions and it increased my curiosity of the plot. I like how they started the story to how they slowly revealed the minor to major details and the connection of the characters. The individual sad stories are the usual scenarios irl but the addition of the accident and the aftermath plus regrets and guilt created a melancholic atmosphere. Accidents leave scars that will take longer to heal but no one ever wanted accidents to happen nor be in or be the cause of accidents and lose your loved ones and watch others lose their loved ones
I love the concept of the story plus the acting is convincingly brilliant; it brought me to tears as the characters reunited with their dead loved ones in that other world and it was hard to accept the reality of not seeing them again when they regain consciousness (be in the real world) and accepting that they had to move on and continue living
I was very touched with the barking dog/rescue dog story and the back story of the light shop keeper/guardian of the afterlife and my guess for her daughter is correct. The mute woman and her lover was an interesting twist. What happened to the woman should leave the man's parents, in particular, his mother a memorable lesson. I was mad at her impulsiveness and insensitivity which led to the mute woman's unfortunate ending.
Ligh Shop is an inspiring and moving story.

Leia Mais