Wuxia Series Meets Detective Conan with 3 man team!!!!
What an amazing series so far, omg from ep 1 to now every episode is as suspenseful and well detailed I cannot believe this gem actually was made. FOR me it’s the series of 2023 so far. There is no other like this in its genre (Subjective). I’m praying for a happy satisfying endingStory: beginning starts with confusion / plainness however soon evolves into a mystery between 2 main leads followed later by a third side male which we all thought was the main villain, however is he…….each ep has hidden clues that tie into the overall story later on…….just deadset amazing
Acting: 2 MLs omg all had many series underneath their belt however their acting, chemistry and overall demeanour is just amazing. It’s like the ancient pair of Holmes and Watson but in an olden Chinese era. Just fun to watch!!!! Side character of each story arc is amazingly done too. This series has many characters all play their parts well.
Music: ending song is better than opening however personally I don’t watch a series based on music but the overall music that matches the scenes are done well.
Rewatch Value: 10/10 for sure, I’ve watched eps at least 2-3 times just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It’s superbly done
Overall: only weakness this series is only 1 ep to 2 eps release at one time which makes it a lot harder to keep up or making you wanting to watch more in one go. For me this series is best so far in 2023 in its genre if not overall series. Hope anyone that gives this series a go enjoys this as much as I do.
Enjoy all, cheers ^_^
Shing
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Epic
Amazing storyline and best in class acting from the leads and supporting cast. Cheng Yi’s acting has always been a different league , and he never fails with his micro expressions and emotional portrayals. What amazes me is his graceful swordplay which is entirely new to me. kudos to such great acting that brings out LLH and LXY quite distinctively.First time watching Joseph Zheng, and he’s a talent to look out for. Memorable portrayal from him, as well as actor playing DFS.
A character that was not mentioned much , JLQ. I thought Rain’s portrayal of the lunatic saintess was so spot on and deserves praises of its own.
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Worth watching
I admit that I have not made it to the end of many historical or Wuxia dramas in the past year. Dragging, poor story or editing, mediocre acting, people not being able to fix the same problem after trying the same thing over and over. But this one was engaging, fun, exciting, mysterious, and the actors were a blast to watch interact. The cases were intriguing. The family case and the town case were really well done. I want to live in a lotus tower house. It did not drag. It did not frustrate. The sets were very well done. I thought only the violence of the saintress, towards the end, was overdone. The whole drama was like pulling on that one thread to find nothing is sewn together by the same threads you thought. I loved it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Exceeds Expectations
I wish I could just say, that's it - that's what I feel about the whole drama and end my review like this, but it wouldn't do much to explain just in what way the drama exceeded my expectations. So, I'll just write a brief and simple summary of what I like so much about this drama.Cheng Yi is flawless as the legendary swordmaster Li Xiang Yi, hailed as a prodigy who achieved greatness at the age of 15 and went on to become the sect leader of the Sigu Sect at the age of 20. The drama began with the fateful battle involving him with Di Fei Sheng, sect leader of the Jin Yuan Alliance, on the East Sea, which brought upon ruin and great devastation upon the two martial masters. Ten years later, the story unravelled to reveal sect conspiracies, broken romances, the true reason for Li Xiang Yi's defeat, hidden secrets behind the Imperial Crown, and of course - the strength of loyalty and the meaning of brotherhood.
And thus we follow Li Xiang Yi (now known as Li Lian Hua) with his travelling abode, known as the the Lian Hua Lou, or Lotus Tower (which reminds me of Howl's Moving Castle), through the journey of discovery.
The journey had been a riveting watch, and I haven't enjoyed myself this much and definitely haven't sped through the episodes this quickly ever since Nirvana in Fire - and I have watched many, many, period dramas. There had been many that I hadn't bothered to review or add to my watch list and score. That was how bored I was. Nevertheless, there are some similarities between Li Xiang Yi and Lin Shu - both were hailed as prodigies, and both were afflicted with the "greatest" poison known in their universe, and both possessed a sharp and analytical mind with a dash of wit. But the similarities end there. While Nirvana in Fire was centered on the theme of revenge of which facts were already known to the main character, The Mysterious Lotus Casebook is, on the other hand, by itself an investigative series that seeks to uncover truths completely unknown to the main character himself. It is a touching tale of seeking forgiveness, redemption, and acceptance.
Both Xiao Shun Yao and Zeng Shun Xi (Joseph Zeng) gave stellar performances in their respective roles as Di Fei Sheng and Fang Duo Bing. Di Fei Sheng, the original antagonist presented to us in the beginning, was not who he seemed to be. I also find the need to lavish prasies on Wang He Run (Rain Wang) as the delightful villainess Jiao Li Qiao, who was marvellously convincing in her delivery as the scorned woman with an obsessive, psychotic streak. I definitely would love to see her in other roles in future.
I did cry when Li Xiang Yi's past love story was narrated. He is a wonderful actor - his tears were really convincing! Oh, my heart. His expressions broke me apart. Sadly, the character of Qiao Wan Mian lacks depth and thus there isn't much to say, as the importance of her role is minimal.
This has been a lovely watch, and I honestly wouldn't mind watching it again.
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Its Perfectly syncornized
"I am lucky to have you as my disciple"The story shows us how a person experienced everything from being the best to living with the simplest thing to again getting bounded with his past...
This was a perfect combination of everything...mystery, showed various shades of human nature, friendship, bickering, solving cases, a pinch of romance, and many heartbreaks...
The acting was great...even fox spirit( LLH's dog). I could feel the emotions of LLH/LXY every time he was angry, he cried, laughed...CY can express through his eyes...I liked every character...none of them were out of place...Many people complained about QWM but I think she was good, both the acting and the character...
Emotions were attached to even the objects...and it's the first Chinese drama with a case-solving duo, little or no romance that I have watched till the end and waited for the next episode...
The character development was good too...FDB's change from a young man who gets fooled easily by LLH's words to a reasonable man was great to watch...DFS's change and his character were a good contrast with LLH and FDB.
Each of the cases had their own colours and own speciality and I liked how the story build up step by step...
The ending was hurtful but good...though it didn't flutter me because I had predicted it seeing LLH's self-love and the fact that CY is playing the character...
Overall I will come to watch it again after some years when I will need a good bromance.
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Cheng Yi ❤️
I am happy with the drama. including the ending. All actors did a great Job. I loved seeing the team solving mysterious cases and how they really cared about each other. Great background music. I loved seeing character development of FDB, in the end he really deserved to call LXY his shifu ❤️ LXY really had a good brother in FDB, he was lucky to has such a disciple. I am glad at the end he passed down his skills to him and everything. I feel sad for FDB because his best friend left. But I am also understanding with the ending. This is good story. don't miss out ?? Especially if you are a cheng yi fan ❤️❤️ you know he doesn't dissapoint.congratulations to the production team for bringing a novel to life. greatly narrated. Chinese drama never dissapoint me.
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Cdrama goes Agatha Christie.
I just finished it and loved it so much.A young detective, whose aim in life is to be admitted to a legislative court meets a strange quack doctor, who is said to be able to bring the dead back to life.
Through much bickering and bromance both guys get to solve some mysterious crime cases.
Things vanishing, people dying. The cases give off clear Agatha Christie vibes, the lady of crime of English detective novels.
Whenever the spectator thinks: "OH, I got who did it and how they did." the plot uncovers yet another layer underneath and yet another.
The crimes being connected.
And it all gets us to the martial world where some ten years ago the young sect leader of Sigu sect came to be poisoned treacherously and die in a battle.
We discover, that there is an evil scheming mastermind behind all that, who is planing to take over the entire world and transform people into obedient puppets.
It's a fascinating story woven by mystery, eeriness, poison, murder, crime, treason- counter balanced by bromance, trust, loyality and faithfulness. And the ironclad will to do right by the world.
And it is all connected to that mysterious seemingly weak quack, his young detective friend and a former rival for the first place in the martial world.
To his strange wooden Lotus Tower coach, which pulled by four horses moves from crime scene to crime scene.
And to Fox Spirit, his faithful cute doggie.
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Did I love it? ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Yes I did.
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Do I recommend it?
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Absolutely!!! Do watch it by all means!
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Does it have rewatch potential?
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Absolutely. Kisskh.co has hall all english subbed 40 episodes out.
Plus one extra scene giving us a resolution.
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Friendship and Forgiveness
Personal Review:(english isn't my first language, please pardon my grammar)
start watching – 28/07/2023
finished – 10/08/2023 [2:40am]
watched on – iQiyi VIP [fast track: ep.35-40& extra 1-7]
Cheng Yi – Li Xiangyi a.k.a Li Lianhua
I have been his fan since the first episode of this cdrama that I watched him.
this is the greatest drama #1 on iQiyi, that I watched this year. in one drama, you'll be served with a gentleman, a dorky and a villain. the three of them have a great chemistry. they are also good looking. personally, I feel disheartened by Li Xiangyi a.k.a Li Lianhua's ending, his ending is "BE" indeed. yeah, sometimes life is supposed to be "BE" indeed. At least, Li Lianhua ends the things Li Xiangyi couldn't able to end. he corrected many things and forgive everyone that has repented. when he forgive, he realised that he found peace. in his view, his life is beautiful since the last ten years, he finally found the peace and freedom as Li Lianhua. he makes new two friends; first it was his disciple, second it was his rival. So, his path is indeed rough but the end is, it was beautifully written.
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Highly Recommend for Costume Series
The story revolves around a top martial arts man (Li Lixian) who started his clan with the help of his older brother who he has been since he was little begging onnthe street. They were adopted bybtheir master and his wife and both were taught martial arts. The youngest consistently triumphs and win over the older brother. The younger is arrogant and self assured but always thought the love of his brother wasnt affected by his excellence over everything.Another sect leader who was focused on being the best (Dei Fang), genuinely fixated on beating Li Lixian on an fair ground.
Betrayal caused the two sect to collide with Li Lixian ending up with 10% of his power. He changed hisnlife drastically after surviving the sects great turmoil but dedicated to find his senior brothers dead body even thou he has limited time to live.
He formed a frienship with the young Duo Bang and found out he is his seniors son.
The relationship between the two is comical and heartwarming at the same time. It is a birderline bromance that is endearing.
I love that this series isnt fixated on romance. If you are a Wuxia Romance lover, this isnt for you. The romance of the male lead was glossed over and didnt pan out to anything but it was beautifully done. I truly love it.
It is infuriating that iQIYI has the last 5 episodes as paid viewing even for iQIYI paid membership. However, with so many hooked on this after starting to watch it, there is a huge chance a lot of viewers paid the extra fee to watch the last 5 episodes.
The ending is a bit vague for me which is probanly thebonly disappointment for this drama. It may be alright for such an ending if there will be another season for it. I heard that the novel has a better ending than the series but I havent read the novel to be certain.
The wardrobe was magnificent and in qeue with each scenes.
The characters all have their own interesting story td. Some may even be considered as a branch off for this drama.
The martial arts choreography is on point and elegant. I wish there was more but as I see it, it was well balanced.
Lotus tower is SICK! I wish they ventured to shoot more scenes in different part of the tower.
There are couple of minor characters that were not addressed so viewers are left wondering as to what happened.
I am very happy with this series. I get tired of so much romantic period dramas back to back that this is a refreshing break. It is highly recommend for anyone looking for a smooth, intriguing, interesting, Wuxia series versatility. The actors portrayed eachbkf their characters so well. My most favorite is the Mom and Aunt. I hope the Aunt gets with the handsome untied hair martial arts guy (sorry forgot the name).
Please try this series if you are into costume and period series.
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This show is a masterpiece.
The story starts off slow but gradually delves down onto a bigger scheme. The acting in this was superb. I appreciate the micro expressions of Cheng yi and Rain Wang’s acting also surprised me. Was expecting some more bromance from LLH and DFS but I still loved all the moments of the trio together. FXB is still a kid at heart?. Shifu x Tudi moments are my fav . The were still some plot holes needed to be filled, I would love to have a continuation of the series. I desperately need to know their story after the ending.?Was this review helpful to you?
Li Xiangyi carries a heavy burden, a poison that is slowly killing him. He has managed to escape death and his glorious past life as #1 in Jianghu. He is simply tired and wants to live out his life, however long that is. He does not want to die, but knows that it is inevitable. Yet somehow, he finds himself entangled with old friends, new friends, and a series of crimes that all seem connected in some weird way. But he just wants to retire as Li Lianhua, why can’t Jianhu just let him do that! But an innate part of him draws him into his new situation because he slowly uncovers a hidden secret that is entirely against his own morals, so he decides to pitch in whatever effort he has left to make things right again.
Cheng Yi’s masterful performance of Li Xiangyi/Li Lianhua brought BOTH personas to life. They are the same person, yet both have their own distinct characteristics. Li Xiangyi is a headstrong, upright youth who will put his #1 martial art skills to use to uphold his own morals. Li Lianhua has gone through *life* and has long given up on his youth. The only thing they both share is their chivalrous spirit. Li Xiangyi/Li Lianhua is the calmest, coolest person in all of Jianghu and Cheng Yi did an amazing depiction of that. The audience is able to understand Li Lianhua as much as Cheng Yi wanted us to understand, meaning sometimes we knew what he was thinking and sometimes we had no damn idea what was on his mind. As satisfying it was to watch him calmly solve cases like a natural born detective, it was just as satisfying to watch him explode into action and his CLEAN fight moves. Just as Cheng Yi said in an interview, Li Xiangyi’s character development is very unique in that in most cases, characters develop from a lower position into a higher position, but Li Xiangyi’s development went the opposite direction. Despite that, he still learned a ton in the 10 years that he traveled Jianghu. Even though his ultimate state was nothing like what he had 10 years ago, his entire outlook on life has completely changed for the better, and I think he got the ending he felt most suitable for him.
This drama was a perfect example of having a plot that builds upon itself. Even though the entire plot was basically case solving followed by case solving, there were clues cleverly and mysteriously hidden from the beginning. This drama does a good job of keeping the audience engaged because we have to actively remember clues that appeared several episodes ago (with a million things that happened in between) in order to understand the logic behind the progress of unraveling the hidden secrets. Many times throughout the drama I found myself saying “OH YEA, that happened” as I tried to piece together the information. Of course I gotta applaud the SEVERAL major plot twists (no spoilers here) that happen, damn I did not see them coming. But it’s weird because I feel like I should have seen them coming. I felt like I was walking in Li Lianhua’s shoes when the plot twists were revealed, and maybe that was on purpose.
Lastly I wanted to talk about the supporting characters. Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng are actually very simple characters, compared to Li Lianhua. We already knew from the beginning that Fang Duobing is Li Xiangyi’s #1 fan and Di Feisheng is Li Xiangyi’s #1 (fr)enemy. Fang Duobing’s character development was more on the side of him growing to become a better detective and martial artists. His chivalrous spirit was already there from the beginning. Di Feisheng is actually kind of the opposite. He was already a top martial artists from the very beginning, and his only goal was to fight his way to become the ultimate #1 in Jianghu. His character development is actually building his chivalrous spirit and becoming someone who not only wants to win, but also wants to win for the greater good of Jianghu.
My favorite supporting character has to be Jiao Liqiao. Aside from Cheng Yi’s performance, her performance was my favorite. Her character was so simple minded, dumb, yet smart too??? She wanted one thing and one thing only, and she had solid plans for getting it.
Unfortunately as the story went on, I found that I had forgotten most of the characters that appeared at the very beginning. There were just too many to remember, and most of the important characters appeared near the middle/end. I wouldn’t call this a flaw of the drama, but I just wish they made some of the supporting characters that appeared (or died) in the beginning few cases more memorable.
Damn this is a long review. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama from beginning to end. There were no dull moments, and the whole thing was very fast paced. A perfect example of an epic Jianghu story.
Edit: note to self so I can go back to it later. This drama perfectly integrated comedic moments, mostly coming from Li Lianhua and his ability to lie with a poker face haha. My favorite funny scene had to be the one at the beginning of Ep 13 when a certain puppy found out he got left behind again...
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I wanted to like this drama but…
Sadly this drama was a bore. I tried to finish it two times with months apart and the secind time I watched until episode 14 which was an improvement from episode 6 the first time. I have nothing against the actors or the premise of the story but somehow I had to force myself to continue watching and I found myself always avoiding the next episode by choosing other dramas like My Journey to You and Kunning Palace instead.It is well made and not particularly different from many other dramas but the characters never got me curious or engaged. I simply didn’t care if Li Lianhua found what he was looking for. I probably won’t try and watch the drama a third time. I didn’t hate it I just was bored.
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