Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - All aboard the Lotus Flower RV for a fantastic tale of wuxia, mystery, and brotherhood

This is 9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         9 Stars Plot:                       9 Stars Acting/cast:            9 Stars Chemistry:              9 stars Music:                     9 Stars Re-watch value:       9 Stars Enjoyment factor:    9 Stars

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) reminds me of why I love the wuxia and detective genres so much - the drama is a fantastic combo of both.

A wonderfully witty script, fascinating characters, and action packed scenes full of thrilling choreography as befits a wuxia, this drama had me hooked from the first episode right to the very end.  The ten cases are certainly interesting enough, but the draw for me was the bromance between the trio of male leads (Cheng Yi, Zeng Shun Xi, and Xiao Shun Yao), which was both hilarious and deeply moving. 

For those who find the staple fluffy c-drama romance tiresome, this drama largely eschews the usual romantic tropes and instead focuses on the close bonds of platonic male friendship and found family.     

Honestly, I wanted the trio to continue their travels in the lotus tower RV, solving mysteries and having jianghu adventures together forever. But in many ways, this drama is about letting go and saying farewell. There is bitter-sweetness in having to acknowledge that all good things come to an end, but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.    

Also, can I just say I want a lotus tower RV of my own. The one in the drama looked so damn cool...

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Chinese title: 蓮花樓 / 莲花楼 (Eng translation: "Lotus Flower Tower") 

Episodes: 40 + 1 short special episode

Genre: Wuxia, mystery/detective, historical

Original network:  iQiyi

Release date:        23 Jul 2023

Airing schedule:    23 Jul 2023 - 9 Aug 2023

Synopsis: 

Ten years ago, the leader of the Si Gu sect Li Xiang Yi was the best swordsman in the world and the shining light of wulin. But both Li Xiang Yi and leader of the Jin Yuan alliance Di Fei Sheng disappear after a deathly duel in the Eastern Sea, leaving both the Si Gu sect and Jin Yuan alliance in disarray.  

Ten years later, countryside physician Li Lian Hua travels the world, with his faithful dog and a lotus tower in tow.  He inadvertently becomes famous for his medical prowess and is reluctantly dragged into the jianghu which he no longer wishes to be a part of. 

Along the way, Li Lian Hua meets Fang Duo Bing, who dreams of becoming a hero. Fang Duo Bing suspects that Li Lian Hua is not who he seems and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.  Meanwhile, Di Fei Sheng remerges in jianghu, recognises that Li Lian Hua is none other than Li Xiang Yi, and demands a rematch.