Joy of Life 1 (2019) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:                      Joy of Life (Season 1)

Chinese title:         慶餘年 (第一季) /庆余年 (第一季)

                              (Eng translation: "Celebrating the remaining years")          Episodes:               46

Genre:                    Fantasy, Sci-fi, Mystery, Political, Wuxia, Romance  

Screenwriter:        Wang Juan 王倦 

Director:                Sun Hao 孫皓

Original network:  IQiyi, Tencent 

Release date:        26 Nov 2019

Airing schedule:    26 Nov 2019 - 1 Jan 2020

Synopsis:

Fan Xian is born in the empire of Southern Qing, but inexplicably has memories from the 21st century. He is raised in the small coastal town of Dan Zhou by his Grandmother, where he is taught the art of poison and medicine by his mentor Fei Jie and martial arts by his late mother's blind bodyguard, Wu Zhu. Fan Xian's mother, Ye Qing Mei, was once a celebrated inventor and the founder of the Overwatch Council (Southern Qing's spy network) and the Treasury Department, but was killed shortly after Fan Xian's birth.  

After Fan Xian survives an assassination attempt, he ventures to the Capital to investigate who wants his life and to learn about his late mother and his mysterious past.

  

Blossoms in Adversity (2024) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Blossoms in Adversity (2024) - A heartwarming comeback tale with family at its centre and a strong heroine at the helm

This is 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8.5 Stars Plot:                       8 Stars Acting/cast:            8.5 Stars Couple chemistry:   8 stars Music:                    8 Stars Re-watch value:      8.5 Stars Enjoyment factor:   8.5 Stars

Blossoms in Adversity (2024) is one of the dark horses in the 2024 drama line to date. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Hua family's heartwarming comeback tale, how much I rooted for their success, how moved I was by their losses, and how invested I was in their outcome.  

For those who despair at the preponderance of flakey c-drama heroines, the titular Hua Zhi as played by Zhang Jing Yi is a breath of fresh air, with her incisive intelligence, her courage in the face of adversity, and her visionary outlook.  If anything, Hua Zhi is a little too perfect, a few minor flaws notwithstanding. But who better to take the helm? It certainly makes for some very compelling feel-good watching.  

Undoubtedly, suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy this drama because plot armour abounds. That said, the story is engaging and full of twists and turns, and the empowerment of women by women is an uplifting leitmotif throughout, as is the importance of family.   

While the drama is not romance focused, the main pairing of Zhang Jing Yi's Hua Zhi and Hu Yi Tian's Gu Yan Xi is also a #relationship goals portrayal of a very healthy romance.

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Blossom in Adversity (2024) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:                      Blossoms in Adversity

Chinese title:         惜花芷 (Eng translation: "Cherishing Hua Zhi")

Episodes:               40

Genre:                    Historical, Romance, Palace 

Original network:  Youku

Release date:        2 April 2024

Airing schedule:    2 April 2024 - 25 April 2024

Synopsis:

When Imperial Minister Hua Yi Zheng speaks truth to power, the Emperor is enraged. In one foul swoop, the Emperor demotes Hua Yi Zheng and his sons, forfeits all the Hua family's assets, and exiles all the Hua menfolk to the barren lands of the North.  

The ladies of the Hua family and their young are left destitute and rudderless.  In the face of adversity, Hua Zhi, the eldest young lady of the Hua family, steps up as the head of the household. Using all of her considerable acumen to ensure that her family survive and thrive, Hua Zhi gives them hope for an eventual family reunion.  

  

Fighting for Love (2024) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Fighting for Love (2024) - Hodgepodge of cringe comedy, decent action, and poorly written palace intrigue that falls well short of epic

This is 7/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         7 Stars Plot:                       6.5 Stars Acting/cast:            7 Stars Couple chemistry:   4 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      4 Stars Enjoyment factor:   7 Stars

I really wanted to love Fighting for Love (2024) - what's not to love about a drama with a kickass female general beating unbeatable odds in a man's world? 

The drama had such promise - a fantastic cast with Zhang Tian Ai, whom I remember fondly as the lethal foxy swordstress from Sword Snow Stride (2021), and Zhang Hao Wei, who has had a number of intriguing secondary character roles under his belt and who recently did a stellar job as the comical lead in The Trust (2023). Not to mention Wang Rui Chang whom I have not seen in a substantial role since In a Class of Her Own (2020) and whom you can always rely on for very watchable snark, as well as some veteran actors, such as Wang Yong Quan (whom viewers may remember as the iconic Xia Jiang from Nirvana in Fire (2015)).   

The source material for the drama is also great.  The drama is based on the popular novel A'Mai Cong Jun 阿麥從軍 ("A'Mai joins the Army") which as at the time of writing this review has a rating of 8.5 on Douban, which is a high score on a platform not given to generous ratings. 

And yet, despite a promising beginning, this drama failed to deliver compelling viewing. I'm not of the view that a drama has to follow its source novel religiously, but watching this had me wondering how it was possible to butcher a great story this badly. It's as if the scriptwriter decided to demonstrate that with enough incompetence it is indeed possible to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse.  

It's not all bad - there are some decent fight scenes, some great acting from the older veteran actors, and Zhang Tian Ai holds her own with a committed performance as the lead.  I also thought that the ending was a fitting one.  But unless you are a huge fan of the leads, this is definitely not a must watch and an overall rating of 7 is probably on the generous side... 

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Fighting for Love (2024) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:                      Fighting for Love

Chinese title:         阿麥從軍/ 阿麦从军 (Eng translation: "A'Mai joins the Army") 

Episodes:               36

Genre:                    Action, historical, palace   

Original network:  iQiyi

Release date:        31 Jan 2024

Airing schedule:    31 Jan 2024 - 21 Feb 2024

Synopsis:

A'Mai is a young woman disguised as a man, in a man's world. She lives for one purpose - to hunt down Chen Qi, the childhood friend whom she thought of as an elder brother and who killed her entire family when she was a child.  

In the course of her investigations, A'Mai meets Shang Yi Zhi, the happy-go-lucky son of the Grand Princess (the Emperor's sister). The Emperor repeatedly tries to assassinate his "nephew" Shang Yi Zhi, but A'Mai rescues him on more than one occasion, and the two form a close bond.

  

Egg and Stone (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Egg and Stone (2023) - A wuxia parody romp with zombies 

This is 7.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         7.5 Stars Plot:                       7 Stars Acting/cast:            7 Stars Couple chemistry:   7.5 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      7 Stars Enjoyment factor:   7.5 Stars

Egg and Stone (2023) is a tongue-in-cheek parody of the wuxia genre, complete with zombies. Some of the goofy humour is a bit hit and miss, but it is all done in such good fun and with such self-aware cheekiness, that I couldn't help enjoying myself. 

It does help if you can understand Mandarin, as there is some deliberate mangling of the language and some funny homophones and cultural references which probably get lost in translation.  But even if you don't, there is still plenty to laugh at.  Also, an English drama title that is apt, perhaps even more so than the Chinese one - this must be a first in c-drama land surely. Will wonders never cease?😅

The drama gets a bit draggy midway through and becomes noticeably less funny, but I think this is still a good pick for when you just want a stress free watching experience. There is also some fluffy romance in the mix.  

This drama must have been fun to shoot and it shows in the way Wu Xi Ze and Xu Lu fully commit to the silly - who knew that they had such decent comic timing?😆 

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Egg and Stone (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:               Egg and Stone

Chinese title:  少女闖江湖 / 少女闯江湖 

                       (Eng translation: "A Young Girl embarks on Jianghu travels") 

Episodes:        24

Genre:             Parody, wuxia, romcom 

Original network:  iQiyi

Release date:        31 Aug 2023

Airing schedule:    31 Aug 2023 - 2 Sept 2023

Synopsis:

Huo Xing Chen is the daughter of Huo Qing Liu, Wulin's leader and leader of the renown Wu Yue Sect.  She decides to embark on some Jianghu adventures to escape the matrilocal marriage that her overprotective father has arranged for her.  

Although Huo Xing Chen is her father's handpicked heir for the Wu Yue Sect, she actually knows no martial arts but is completely oblivious to this. Armed with little more than courage and tenacity, Huo Xing Chen sets out to become a hero.  

She encounters sickly Jiang Bu Ting, who is investigating the mysterious disappearances of renown martial artists, and the two join forces and along with their friends, uncover the conspiracies that are afoot. Ones that involve zombies...