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Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City (2015)
Best Reality TV Series
While the hosts can be a little mean sometimes (even to each other--poor Yamasato lol) they are also warm, spontaneous, and hilarious. I love how everyone is so natural and honest on the show including the hosts and how everything is so real and unscripted. It's a big difference from Singles Inferno, which just feels superficial in comparison. Being a Japanese reality tv show people also don't get into nasty screaming matches and fist fight like certain participants on American reality tv shows, which can feel very unpleasant to watch. Terrace House showcases the perfect blend of interpersonal conflict while maintaining consideration for housemate dynamics. There were a few cringe moments like when one participant had an emotional meltdown because of something minor that turned out to be a trigger for bigger issues. I love that this show isn't about just romance and finding a romantic partner but also about how human beings learn to relate to each other, experience interpersonal conflicts, and try to solve those conflicts. It is the kind of education on communication and developing better relationships that many of us do not get enough of. Although my interpersonal relationships haven't always been very good, I feel like I am learning healthier ways to relate to other people on this show. You do this by setting your boundaries and knowing when you are wrong (you apologize) and when you are right (you hope for an apology). Truly, this show goes beyond just romance. The hosts do a great job of calling out b.s. When they see it while still being kind and tolerant of human imperfections. I love this show and plan on watching the entire series!
3 Body Problem (2024)
Strange factual inaccuracies
I've just started watching this series and it looks promising. It's well-filmed, fast-paced, and has a cinematic feel, like you'll be eating a lot of popcorn and drinking a lot of coke for many episodes. The only thing that seems factually inconsistent is the scene at the beginning at a prestigious university in 1960s China where "counter-revolutionaries" are being brought on to a stage to be shamed by student soldiers of Mao's Cultural Revolution. A woman--I assume to be a member of the Red Guard--harangues a professor of physics and accuses Einstein of supporting the "American imperialists" to build the atomic bomb. What I don't understand is why this woman would focus on Einstein when there was a prominent Chinese physicist named Wu Chien-Shiung, who joined the Manhattan Project to help build the bomb. Einstein was a U. S. citizen, so it's no surprise if he contributes to his country's war efforts and scientific research. However, Wu Chien-Shiung was born in China (and almost won the Nobel Prize in physics but was snubbed for being a woman). Why would the Red Guard soldier focus on Einstein and not on the Chinese scientist who worked on the same bomb? Seems odd.
Yu Gu Yao (2023)
Toxic portrayal of women
Female lead characters in Asian dramas tend to be weak but this female lead takes it to a whole new level. Sychophantic, spineless, and obsequious towards the male lead she thinks nothing about begging him to take her back after he nearly kills her when hunting his adversary (who has done nothing wrong and who is also the female lead's closest confidant/best friend). Zhu Yan and Shi Ying's relationship is toxic on so many levels. First, it's not one of equals but a relationship between a (female) student and a (male) teacher. Ignoring the ethical implications of teacher-student relationships the age gap between the two doesn't feel like just a few years but more like a few decades. The ick factor permeates throughout this series since the other potential suitor is 200 years older than the female lead! The screen writers and directors seem to have some deep-seated misogyny. Repeatedly Zhu Yuan is deemed lowly and unworthy of the attention of a man as noble and talented as Shi Ying. And apparently Zhu Yuan is responsible for causing Shi Ying to die even though she had no clue about the prophecy. Watch the deathbed scene and witness the men berate her for not knowing anything about some prophecy that she's never heard of and simply playing a part that fate ordained. The message of this drama is that if you're female, you're to blame!
Western viewers living in a more gender equal society will find the lead characters' relationship repugnant and the male characters self-righteous, overbearing, and patronizing.
Imawa no Kuni no Arisu (2020)
Hunger Games-style drama with a philosophical bent
Alice in Borderland is a fantastic drama that is part Squid Games and part Hunger Games. The scenes where the characters are suffering can be intense and hard to watch but if you enjoy horror you should be fine. The pacing is great and the story moves along at a good clip. Characters can sometimes wax philosophical but with the exception of one it doesn't get too bogged with existential questions. I like the games that trigger the emotions the most--it's interesting to see how various characters manage to survive. Strange that this drama didn't get the same fanfare as Squid Games when it's probably a better drama in terms of how it forces the characters to consider questions like the meaning and purpose of their existence both now and in the past.
If you're looking for a thoughtful Hunger Games-style drama where the characters think deeply about right and wrong and human relationships, you will love Alice in Borderland!
Good Morning-Call: Guddo môningu kôru (2016)
Toxic masculinity, submissive femininity, and other offensese
The premise started off like a fun, typical Webtoon or shojo manga, where a high school girl ends up living with the most popular boy in school. However, once the storyline is established, the less savory aspects of male-female relationships in Japanese society begin to appear. Nao is a meek, spineless, hyper-feminine girl who is going about school life watching the social scene. She sees her classmates gush over the handsome Uehara, the "coolest boy in school". Life takes some twists and turns for both of them and they end up sharing an apartment. Nao is like a typical shonen manga female trope--she is hyper-feminine, submissive towards men, extremely sympathetic and apologetic towards Uehara, and meekly submits to his demands (like walking 10 feet behind him and never speaking to him in school). I think I've seen her assert herself with him maybe just once when he was being rude. Uehara on the other hand is the poster boy for toxic masculinity--distant, unresponsive, uncommunicative, rude, demanding, overbearing, and borderline abusive. Nao and Uehara captures perfectly the kind of relationship our mothers and grandmothers revolted against in the Women's Right Movement and other counterculture movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Egregious roommate offenses, like Uehara forgetting to turn 20 alarm clocks in the morning, are simply brushed aside just like Nao's needs. I wanted to like this drama but it plays out like a sexist shonen manga sloppily packaged up for a female audience. After the first episode I found the doormat-like Nao and the toxic Uehara too offensive to keep watching. I recommend giving this drama a pass if you prefer watching women and men with healthier boundaries.
Naeil: Breath (2022)
Very callous depiction of a woman being raped
I was very disappointed in the way the director and producers decided to handle the depiction of rape in this episide. The scenes of the woman who is attacked look lurid, as if the rape and torture of a woman is somehow entertainment to the audience. The lack of sensitivity in handling the issue of rape in this episode (with no trigger warnings and graphical depictions of events that led to the protagonist being raped) tells me that both the director and producers are male with little empathy for how often, how viciously, and how commonly women are sexually assaulted.
Given the fact that Korea's laws governing sexual assault are woefully light on the perpetrator (just 2 years in prison with probation?!) and the fact that Korea has suffered through the tragedy of "comfort women", this episode was an absolute disappointment and I turned it off.
If you can't depict sexual assault crimes with sensitivity and compassion for the many women and girls who are raped every year, then you have no business filming this topic.
Naeil (2022)
Applaud its willingness to look at painful societal problems
"Tomorrow" is a story about a group of grim reapers who try to prevent suicide. It doesn't shy away from looking at serious societal problems, like widespread poverty among the elderly and the currently inadequate punishments (just 2 years of jail) for rape and sexual assault--the kind of problems that lead to people take their own lives. However, I wish that the film production companies could have handled these issues with a little more sensitivity--especially the issue of rape because it has affected South Korea so deeply (from WWII "comfort women" to persistent patriarchal values that diminish the severity of women's suffering today). I gave it 9 stars for its willingness to look at painful social problems while still provide us with a simmering romance between the beautiful leads, Kim Hee-seon and Lee Soo-hyuk to enjoy.
The Witcher (2019)
Too much misogyny ruins the drama
The Witcher is a well-made drama. Pacing and story development drags a little in season 1 but picks up in season and clips along at a good pace. Costumes are lavish, actors are talented and beautiful, so it's an overall sumptuous experience. The characters are diverse but I didn't see any actors of East Asian descent, which was disappointing (millions of us live in Western countries too).
Sexism is a big issue for me in this drama. It isn't as bad as Game of Thrones, which I never watched because the George R R Martin's first book in the series sickened me. Although The Witcher has been better towards women, producers and the director need to remember that if you're making a drama for both men AND women, don't show things like a woman getting her uterus ripped out without painkillers. It's like forcing male viewers watch a male character get his testes ripped out of his body without painkillers. Do you think a male audience would enjoy watching something like that? If not, why would a female audience? The excessive female nudity is also extremely sexist. Maybe I've watched to many Asian dramas but many scenes in the Witcher looked like soft-core porn with a lot of clothed men. From a female perspective it wasn't interesting and simply felt exploitative.
While there were a lot of positives in this series the excessive violence and exploitation of women's bodies really turned me off.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Philosophically something is missing
Shang-Chi has great special effects and a compelling storyline but the script doesn't get too emotionally deep. This is one of the major liabilities of trying to tell a good story in about 2 hours. You simply can't because it takes time for viewers to develop care, concern, and emotional attachment to characters. So, what is best told in 2 hours? Robust short stories with excellent special effects that can only be enjoyed on the big screen. To this end Shang-Chi delivers in loads. The action is fast and the camera work while a bit dizzying captures the action very well. The only major issue I had with the plot is with the monsters that the heroes are fighting against. If you watch Chinese wuxia or xianxia dramas, you know that stories involving magical beasts are always based on Chinese mythology, Taoism, Buddhist, Chinese folk religion, traditional medicine, etc. Taoist immortals spouting what sounds like gibberish to laypeople is a classic character trope. The evil creatures that Shang-Chi fights against do not fit into the xiaxia genre world view. If they are demons no explanation is given for why they are so demonic? Have they been denounced by a bohisattva? Are they former immortals who failed to cultivate and somehow reincarnated into the hungry ghost realm? It may just be that wuxia and xianxia are so deeply developed (and this is obvious when you watch any popular Chinese historical drama--from "Eternal Love" ot "Legend of Fuyao") that deivating from these highly developed genres makes the film feel less "Chinese". While many elements of Shang-Chi resemble a Chinese fantasy drama the lack of proper wuxia and xianxia elements makes it feel like philosophically something is missing--at least from someone who watches a lot of these dramas on Rakuten Viki!
San sheng san shi shi li tao hua (2017)
Addictive but mediocre characters
This drama is the equivalent of television crack. It reels you in with stories of desperate people desperately pleading with their unreqeuited loves to love them back. Some of the female characters are especially base and atrocious with very little self-respect (one was stabbed by the man who she forced to marry her and yet is unable to accept his rejection).
District 9 (2009)
Human-like aliens as vulnerable as we are
While this film has its flaws nothing approaches it in terms of originality. So, my 10 stars is for the originality of this movie. Never have I seen aliens be presented as average in strength, living in squalor, socially disadvantaged, and sometimes physically overmatched by humans. It's a fantastic departure from the powerful, angry, killer beasts that films and video games always present to us and shows that the unknown can be less threatening that we imagine.
Downton Abbey (2010)
Pacing is a little slow but an engaging period drama nonetheless
I doubt if there is anything I can say that hasn't already been said. Downtown Abbey is an engaging look at the lives of the British--including upper-, middle- and working-class people during the start of the 20th century. It also has the occasional dry, wry British humor that I love. I wish we could have seen more bantering between Violet and Robert Crawley, they have excellent comedic chemistry!
Xia Yi Zhan Shi Xing Fu (2020)
Extremely slow-paced and boring
I only watched it because of the two lead actors (Victoria So g is former member of the Kpop girl group f(x) and Song Weilong is a good-looking rising actor). They're both pretty to look at, but all the acting skills in the world can't fix a terrible script and bad directing. Pure romance dramas cannot be more than 20 episodes or the viewer will be bored to tears. For this one I didn't make it past the 3rd. I'd pass on this one unless you're a big fan of the leads.
Chen qing ling (2019)
A fantasy boys love drama with a global cult following
This is a genre of storytelling that will be foreign to most non-Asian viewers. First, it's a Chinese xianxia drama (Wikipedia defines "xianxia" as a genre of Chinese fantasy influenced by Chinese mythology, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion and other traditional Chinese elements). Second, it's a boys love drama (according to Wikipedia "boys love" is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features romantic relationships between male characters. Boys love originated in shojo manga, whose audience is mostly female). "The Untamed" blends the two genres together nicely while effectively skirting Chinese media censors that generally forbid LGBTQ+ themes in television and movies. Although considered more of a "bromance" than a real boys love story, the latter half of this drama will show you that the two male protagonists are truly in love in spite of never hugging, kissing, or even holding hands. In a way their inability to physically express their love makes this story even more moving and bittersweet.
This drama is based on a novel "Mo Dao Zu Shi" or "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (an English translation is available if you google around). Each character comes with their own backstory, some of which are so complex, they deserve to have their own spinoff. In that sense every character you meet in "The Untamed" is a complex, living, breathing person already embroiled in their own struggles as they cross paths with each other. I found it very helpful to watch it in the Rakuten Viki app with the user chat function turned on. There are a lot of silly, pointless comments (as well as genuinely funny ones--think Comedy Central's Mystery Science Theater 3000), but someone will usually contribute helpful tidbits of information or provide some of the backstory to help you understand what is going on. Although it takes twice as long to finish all 50 episodes with the chat function turned on, it was a lot more fun. So, my review may be a little biased because I got to understand the "Mo Dao Zu Shi" fantasy world much more deeply than by just watching the drama alone.
Kingdom (2019)
A solid drama series
This drama makes very effective use of suspense and these zombies are not at all sluggish, slow-moving, or entirely brainless. The biological explanations for dead humans running and trying to eat living humans seems pretty plausible. The only thing lacking is intimacy in the series--you don't really get to know any of the characters intimately, there isn't much character development, and relationships don't really evovle and develop. But in terms of a plot-driven storyline this drama does a great job. Sometimes the shock effects seem gratuitious and uncessary especially after the viewer is introduced to the zombies and have a good idea of how they operate. Scenes where a character is being stalked and pounced by these zombies during the last few episodes seem a little pointless. Suspense is really only exiciting when the predator is unknown and not well-understood. Otherwise, we can pretty much predict what the monster will do.
Mad Men (2007)
The sexism and racism in this series is revolting
I found the sexism and misogyny in Mad Men so revolting that I couldn't finish watching the first episode. Overtly, the scriptwriters seemed to be trying to point out to audiences just how arrogantly and morally superior men of the era behaved with women. However, the misogyny feels like it's designed to be rubbed in our faces. It reminds me of another similarly misogynistic series, Game of Thrones, where there is an excessive amount of violence and brutality against women. There is so much sexism and (I'm sure racism) in Mad Men that I wonder if the directors, producers, and scriptwriters are simply a bunch of white men trying to live out their fantasies of the "good old days" with the "good old boys"?
TV shows are meant to entertain audiences and offer a outlet for escape from our dull, stressful lives. As a woman of color I don't want to watch a show that constantly degrades women and people of color. I don't care how many awards it wins (awards that encourage misogyny are a joke anyway), I wouldn't waste my precious time or hard earned money watching trash TV shows that make me feel bad about myself.
Hollywood, wake up! Asian dramas with less racism and overt violence against women will sound your death knell if you continue to disregard the feelings and concerns of more than half of your American viewing audience!
Saikojiman Gwaenchanha (2020)
Slow-paced, uninteresting characters
The cinematography is excellent. It's clear that this was a big-budget drama meant to supersede previous K-dramas in filming quality. However, the whole premise is dull--garden variety sociopath falls for a stiff, self-abnegating man afraid of love. And pursues him. This is their story. I lost interest by the 4th episode. Unless there are interesting distractions, like wars, zombies, challenging primogeniture, escaping enemy territory, etc. a drama that focus entirely on a romance can become boring very quickly. It's better when the romance is part of a larger story and isn't the sole focus on the drama. After enduring the dragging pace and lack of stimulation I switched to another K-drama, "Kingdom", for more thrills.
Eobiseu (2019)
Interesting concept but the drama never really takes off
An interesting concept but the drama never really goes anywhere. You're waiting for the real action to unfold but it feels like make-believe because real life criminals aren't as nice, nor do they talk as much as the serial killer in this series. Serial killers are conscience-less psychopaths who take pleasure in human suffering. The killer in this drama is an impulsive old man who likes to give long winded spiels and randomly kill people. Real serial killers typically plan out their crimes in order to avoid being caught. Psychologically tense dramas require realism. This is more like a cheesy soap opera where a "serial killer" label was slapped on this character.
I really liked Park Bo-young in Strong Girl Bong-soon. But I dislike her character here, which falls into the stereotype of the weepy, helpless woman. She makes menacing threats but squeals when the killers slaps her. Also, the hysterical behavior makes you wonder if she really is an experienced, hardened prosecutor.
The episodes got more and more dragged down and I couldn't finish.
Xiang Mi Chen Chen Jin Ru Shuang (2018)
Epic Fantasy Romance
This is superb storytelling. Epic, larger-than-life, well-paced, and not overly drawn out compared to other C-dramas. Ashes of Love offers good examples of the aphorism "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Many of the main characters are slaughtered through political machinations and desire for personal vengeance.
One thing (maybe a plot hole?) confuses me--can immortals reincarnate after their primordial spirit has dissolved? Jinmi, Jinmi's friend Rourou, and Jinmi's father all reincarnated after their primordial spirits had dissolved. If reincarnation is possible, why are the immortals filled with so much need for revenge? According to the Buddhist wheel of life isn't the evildoer simply reincarnated into a lower realm and made to pay for their misdeeds? Why is revenge necessary when Buddhist samsara will deliver karmic punishment?
Unrequited love... It makes for exciting drama, but nearly every character in this series could benefit from a copy of the book "He's Just Not That Into You". Accepting that the object of your affections loves someone else and will never truly love you can help ensure fewer bloodbaths and a higher rate of survival for all.
Coughing up blood... It's a cheesy old convention in Asian dramas and they need to come up with something more original. Don't film studios have access to basic medical information that they can't create other symptoms of human illness and injury besides coughing up blood? For the human body coughing up blood is rare unless you have some pre-existing gastric or lung condition. Hardly the standard reaction to a knife wound.
Death scenes... Some took too long and looked a little amateurish. For example, when Jinmi lays dying after intervening between Xufeng and Runyu's final battle she was way too bright-eyed and animated and talkative for someone at death's door.
Music... The soundtrack is good but when it's replayed in every other scene it can be irritating. It's also too loud, occasionally shrill, and distracts the viewer from the situation at hand. Music shouldn't tell you beforehand what sort of scene you are about to witness (eg, romantic, light-hearted, dangerous). Let the viewer discover it for themselves although a little foreshadowing is okay with background music that is subtle and set to a lower volume.
The ending... It was a bit of a letdown - confusing, messy, and not very well executed. After committing nearly 50 hours of my life to watching this drama I'd hoped for a better denouement to this story. I understand that separation and reunion is a theme in the relationship between Jinmi and Xufeng but the concept was not well-executed. Jinmi suddenly appears in good health after emerging from a teardrop in Xufeng's eye. She assures Xufeng that she has returned and they will be together forever. Two seconds later she looks at him helplessly, her promise to be together forever is broken, and she disintegrates again. Then we suddenly see that she is thrust back into the mortal realm to keep on reincarnating. This was confusing and chaotic. The two seem to attain some kind of brief marital bliss. I'm curious about the logistics of this...does Xufeng watch Jinmi grow old and die while he stays young? What happens to their children? Do the kids grow old while Xufeng stays young? What about the grandkids? Do Jimmi and Xufeng have the same kids and grandkids in Jinmi's next life? The theme of endless separation and reunion makes sense but this was confusing.
In spite of these issues I found the drama wonderfully refreshing and original. It's proof that you don't need the best sets, special effects, etc. to tell a great story. Just strong directing, talented actors, and a well-written script.
There are rumors that season 2 of Ashes is being made but the lead actors (Deng Lun and Wang Zi) might not reappear. That would be disappointing because we still don't know how Jimni and Xufeng's story ends. I'd love to see the resolution of their story and maybe see what happens to their children.
All in all a stellar drama and I look forward to seeing season 2!
Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan (2016)
Refreshingly funny deadpan humor
It's an amazing feeling to have no expectations and come across one of the funniest animes I have ever seen. This anime has fantastic deadpan humor and Saiki's witty observations quickly tear down the pretenses of the characters around him. This series works more like a sitcom than a typical Asian drama, so the stories tend to be resolved at the end of every episode. I personallty don't enjoy sitcom-style series as much as a plot-driven drama that tells a story and concludes. But in between dramas I'll come back to see more of Saiki and the gang!
Bap Jal Sajuneun Yeppeun Nuna (2018)
A bird's eye view of how Korean (and other East Asian) women are mistreated in society
If ever you were curious about how women are oppressed in Asian culture, this series will offer a good look. Jin-Ah is a 35 year old manager at a coffee franchise corporation. She falls for her best friend's younger brother, Joon Hee, who also happens to be her younger brother's best friend. Her mother is an ambitious, cutthroat woman who desperately wants to rise in life by manipulating her family members--urging her husband to climb the corporate ladder and trying to play matchmaker for her children and the children of wealthy, influential families. The mother is so caught up in materialistic, social class-climbing that she doesn't think for a moment about her children's happiness. As a result she screeches at Jin-Ah for dumping a lying, cheating but wealthy lawyer boyfriend. Her younger brother disrespectfully asks if Jin-Ah is "dumb" for involving his best friend Joon Hee. Both the mother and younger brother accuses Jin-Ah for being an idiot and choosing a cheating man.
Asa woman if this doesn't get under your skin I don't know what does. I like the realism of this series but detest the reality of how Korean women (as well as Chinese and Japanese women are treated). As an Asian American woman this is why I do not live with my parents and my family has learned the consequences of disrespecting me like that!
Bap Jal Sajuneun Yeppeun Nuna (2018)
A bird's eye view of how Korean (and other East Asian) women are mistreated in society
If ever you were curious about how women are oppressed in Asian culture, this series will offer a good look. Jin-Ah is a 35 year old manager at a coffee franchise corporation. She falls for her best friend's younger brother, Joon Hee, who also happens to be her younger brother's best friend. Her mother is an ambitious, cutthroat woman who desperately wants to rise in life by manipulating her family members--urging her husband to climb the corporate ladder and trying to play matchmaker for her children and the children of wealthy, influential families. The mother is so caught up in materialistic, social class-climbing that she doesn't think for a moment about her children's happiness. As a result she screeches at Jin-Ah for dumping a lying, cheating but wealthy lawyer boyfriend. Her younger brother disrespectfully asks if Jin-Ah is "dumb" for involving his best friend Joon Hee. Both the mother and younger brother accuses Jin-Ah for being an idiot and choosing a cheating man.
Asa woman if this doesn't get under your skin I don't know what does. I like the realism of this series but detest the reality of how Korean women (as well as Chinese and Japanese women are treated). As an Asian American woman this is why I do not live with my parents and my family has learned the consequences of disrespecting me like that!
7Seeds (2019)
Lousy adaptation to film
Another diehard fan of the "7 Seeds" manga here and a diehard fan of Yumi Tamura, who is perhaps the greatest manga artist in the history of this art form. Tamura has outdone herself with 7 Seeds. It is a gem--a deeply complex, compelling shoujo manga that appeals to all genders and ages (though may be inappropriate for children under 13).
Why Netflix would attempt such a half-assed job at animating this manga is beyond me. I suspect it was a decision based purely on avarice and a desire to diversify their TV drama selection. But clearly the decision makers at Netflix are not manga fans or else they would have known better than to half-ass the equivalent of the Lord of the Rings. Yes, that is how awesome 7 Seeds is and even Peter Jackson who directed LOTR prepared to fully pay homage to this great work of fantasy. Alas, there was no Peter Jackson at Netflix, so they hired the crappiest screenwriters and lousiest animators that their stingy budget could afford and ruined the greatest manga of all time.
I can only hope that a better production company one day attempts to animate Tamura's "Basara" manga one day. Someone who understands the delicate emotional sensitivity and complexity of great shoujo works and will endeavor to properly animate this lovely work of art.
Miseuteo Shunshain (2018)
Another K-drama with a disturbing practice of pairing male and female leads with 20 year age gaps
The drama is unfolding nicely and there is a lot of world building, which is always an enjoyable experience for great films and dramas. I'm enjoying the story progression but I am disturbed by seeing yet another romantic K-drama where the male and female leads have a large age gap. Playing off a 20 year age gap like it's just an everyday romance is a joke (even Jerry Seinfeld couldn't get away with it in real life!) These May-December romances are the exception and not the rule (unless the culture is very patriarchal or practices child marriage). Women want to date their peers not their fathers. I find this kind of casting to be exploitative of young women and I hope K-drama directors will pay attention to how unpleasant this is for members of their female viewing audience (especially for older women who want to reminisce about their youth--they prefer to fantasize about a young and handsome man!) Imagine a 50 year old female lead paired with a 30 year old male lead? If this sounds preposterous, then you know how some women feel about a much younger woman playing the love interest of a much older man. Yes, we find it disturbing and disappointing. It was uncomfortable enough (just like the "Goblin" drama) that I switched to another series with romantic leads that I can actually enjoy fantasizing about.
Tian sheng chang ge (2018)
Good drama but pace is too slow and first few episodes are hard to understand
After watching all 70 episodes I have to say that this is the best drama I have ever seen. It will probably appeal to the better educated in the general audience since the first half will progress much more slowly than the typical American Netflix drama. The plot is so dense, complex, and convoluted that those without much patience will not be able to watch it to the end. The pacing is very slow at first but if you stay with it you will be rewarded in the end. The last 10 episodes are all cliffhangers with satisfying fast-paced action. My only criticism is that the storytelling could be improved. There were many times that it wasn't clear exactly what was going on. You may need to rewind 3-4 episodes to refresh your memory and pick out the small details since so much happens in this series. The costumes and sets could be historically more accurate too. For example, in no Han dynasty painting of royal women have I ever seen the bangs on Princess Shaoning's hairdo. I also wasn't sure exactly when this drama was supposed to take place. It seems to be around the Han dynasty (around 100-200 BC) but this is not clear and seems like there were occasional references to historical events and people that came after the Han dynasty.
All in all, the latter half of this drama is a wild rollercoaster ride. If you stick around long enough the rewards are big; most of the real drama takes place in the last 10 episodes, so prepare to binge watch those. This drama does not follow Hollywood conventions and will not develop in expected ways, so it's best to just sit back and watch and allow yourself to be unexpectedly disappointed or happily surprised.
Watching Rise of the Phoenixes is not a small undertaking. The culture, customs, courtly manners may be hard to understand for anyone unfamiliar with Chinese history. But the sets and costumes are lavishly beautiful. Because of its length and complexity this drama will develop more like a novel than a TV show. Get ready to be thoroughly entertained!