I do not review any series, films or programs. I watch it, evaluate it and move on. I'm not Asian, but I'm fascinated by culture, both Chinese and Korean. I've watched several hundred Asian series, so I have some knowledge. After watching American series, it's probably oversaturated with brutal, erotic and very predictable scenes. We have different tastes, different views, we people from Europe or America love what is fresh and beautiful. But back to Shen Li.
I have several favorite Chinese and Korean actors and actresses, and even if they make a lower quality series or movie, I will always watch it, out of respect for their work and commitment. He hadn't met the actors playing the main roles in this series before, I hadn't seen any series with them. Interestingly, the "poster" advertising the series on Viki scared me away because I thought that the main character was too serious for me, and interestingly enough, at that moment, she was even supposed to give up watching this drama. However, I know the work of the author of the novella, I have so far watched all her filmed novellas and I simply love LBFAD. Due to the fact that I have a very distorted taste when it comes to Chinese actors I like, I was afraid that I might just watch it and forget it, so I read the novella. The story is simple, very predictable, but written in such a way that I couldn't stop reading. It is a perfect story for the series, full of emotions, slow pace, but with great verve on the part of the heroine, as well as charming but well-thought-out slowness on the part of the main character. You have to forget that he is a typical male ML, he is definitely a character of someone quite unusual. At the moment of reading, I imagined them like Judy Hops and Nik Bayer from Zwierogrod and that was enough for me. I fell in love with both characters and now I had to face their actors. The story is not cliched, and despite many such reviews, I disagree, I find it fresh, timeless and very fairy-tale-like. When I started watching the series, the character of Shen Li was too energetic, too fast, too arrogant for me, but XHING ZHI was so charming in his slowness that I started searching through the actor's work because he immediately won my heart. And even though many people write that he is too heavy for this role, that he is too fat or too serious, I completely disagree with it. First of all, he's skinny, very skinny to me. Secondly, he has an attractive body structure, because he is a man, not a boy, so he must be tall. Thirdly, she looks perfect in these outfits and has a very interesting interpretation of the character. He is a truly excellent actor and great in this role (it's a pity that some people don't see what Gods look like in American or European productions, they are definitely more powerful and sometimes even obese :)) and they don't fly above the clouds) The chemistry between the characters is perfect, they express themselves complements, and their common dialogues are simply very accurate and give us lightness, sometimes a smile, and sometimes we just want XZ to read Shen Li's thoughts. From the beginning to the end, the series focuses on the main couple, but in the background we have characters from two different worlds, a simply caricatured life in the Kingdom of Heaven and a very hard, full of struggle life in the Kingdom of Immortality, where Shen li comes from. However, it is a kind of romantic comedy, so there is a lot of lightness in it, but don't let that fool you. I shed a sea of tears in several episodes. The music is simply perfect, don't think it's Bach or Chopin, but the recording of this music, the songs and the motifs are just incredibly coherent, and "Blazing Heart" just melts like butter. I still have the ringtone from the song from "LBFAD" on my phone, because in both films I see a lot of tribal elements, ethnic music and fitting into different worlds. The series is sometimes slow, but it is there to prepare us for new emotions, and most importantly, the series has a happy ending and a sweet episode of "life after" all the dramas, which gives a lot of solace to the viewer. This is a series for the viewer, with their needs and emotions in mind. This is not a series for critics, it is something that should be assessed by ordinary viewers and cdrama fans. By then I had already watched several episodes several times. I can't go to the next position because I'm still stuck in the XZ world, Shen LI. The inverted role of a strong woman is only apparent, despite her loneliness in the fight, he complements her with his loneliness in carrying the Three Kingdoms, and even though she is a typical woman of the 21st century, on her own, he gives her care, tenderness and is always there for her, without imposing anything on her. leading the situation. It allows her to be a woman, but it also allows her to be herself. She simply falls in love with him, because who would not fall in love with a handsome ancient god who is willing to freeze the sea for 10 days for his love? Which of us wouldn't want to be carried in our arms like a princess and fed by the man we love? This is a series that touches on women's emotions trapped in the fight for positions in the 21st century, this is a series for men who, even though they want to lock their beloved in a golden cage, must give her freedom, but be there for her and by her side in every situation. That's why I will watch this series not once, but definitely several times and I will come back to it whenever I feel too lonely and too unfeminine. I congratulate the actors on their great roles and I wish everyone to return to this drama with pleasure, but without thinking that it must be an Oscar-winning film. The special effects and the entire setting are very natural, don't expect the animations to be too coarse, everything has its place and level in this series.
That's why I think you can love characters that are so simple, timeless and perhaps predictable, but they touch our hearts so much. :)