Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (2024)

Every episode was worth it

I am astonished by how much I liked this. I often feel more in the grey zone with many dramas, but I loved every episode in Love game in eastern fantasy. What kept me hooked was the trust and love between each character; the way Miao Miao fights to keep the group together is hearth warming, and her devotion towards a happy ending also helped keep direction for the plot. Sometimes I am watching a series, and all I can think is, where is this going? But I didn't feel that way here, everything just fell into place. I really loved how Ding Yuxi was able to make Mu Sheng look both fierce but have such a cute and soft side. His acting is great! And although many people complain about the childish personality of Miao Miao, I still found her endearing. I mean, she never actively caused misunderstandings or act stupid. I wasn't a huge fan of the system telling Miao Miao to make Mu Sheng like her, because it felt a bit forced at first. But after a while, his trust in her and her love towards him grew naturally, and there was not much scheeming anymore on her part. I thought it was good how the system became less active after the first few episodes.
I found the second lead couple also quite cute, a bit dry maybe, but they were still pleasant to watch. I loved how the love rivals in the capital weren't actually bad people. I dislike plots where the whole thing is about some scheeming second female/male lead and I didn't find that here which was very nice!
The only thing I didn't love is that the last ten episodes were a lot about Mu Sheng, and his past. I mean, I liked it, it was interesting to see his background. But I just would have liked a bit more of Miao Miao's character growth throughout the drama. In a way it's understandable, the whole world was created for Mu Sheng to find self-love and to see that he was loved, etc. I still would have liked a bit more episodes about Miao Miao. Everybody had an arc of personal growth, except Miao Miao (not saying that her character didn't grow, but it was more gradual throughout the entire story). On that note, I'd like to also say that I wished the drama were a bit longer, I really liked it and it felt a bit rushed at the end. I wish they had gone on more adventures, and please, that side plot about the bracelet was soo annoying to watch, it was almost painful honestly.
I liked the ending. When Mu Sheng found out the truth and told Miao Miao he wrote all those books for her, I was so happy. That's so cute and so loving! I think it was a good conclusion. And the fact that they never kissed, I was at first a bit surprised, but then I found it actually quite sweet and I liked it better like that. The ending where we didn't get to see the writer/ Mu Sheng at the book signing event, I was distraught. But anyways, I'm over it, and I'm gonna watch Moonlight hahaha.

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don't overthink it ;)

honestly, it's just simply fun and silly and cute. you get fantasy, action sequences, romance, found family dynamics and friendships. it's perfect for if you want to watch something entertaining and choose not to think too much into the plot because, yes, if you do, you will find it unsatisfying and see loopholes for sure lol. i don't just love the chemistry between the two couples but the overall chemistry of the ensemble. a group of people going on an adventure to complete a goal and bonding and building genuine friendships along the way, that's just my favorite thing. they were able to make me care about everybody in the group so that's really nice.

i have watched ding yuxi and esther yu before in "moonlight" so i know they got on-screen chemistry. so fun to see actors get to have a drama together again tho (because that's rare in cdramas right?). acting-wise, they were decent and have managed to moved me during emotional scenes. they seemed to have improved since their first drama. not gonna lie tho, i wasn't the biggest fan of esther's acting style especially when they make her do child-like things. but then i guess it works for the roles she gets. this is my first time watching zhu xudan tho and boy, is she beautiful. i think she's my favorite character. i was anticipating for a big emotional scene for when she finds out his brother is half-demon and it ended being anti-climactic and ziqi got away with it easily lol so yeah as i said, some unsatisying scenes and plot lines for me especially in the end there (i wish we saw them actually see each other aw) but i'm choosing not to overthink it because i was very much entertained overall.

and of course i was really shocked too that there's no kissing scene between the main couple. good thing, i adore their hugs and banters and little sweet moments here and there but what's up with that?

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Definitely drama of the year

Starting from the first episode to the last, a lot happened. From a novel that get criticised to something completely different. Miao Miao and Zi Qi definitely had the best character development, especially Zi Qi. From a cold-hearted person to someone who cares about his family and friends. Every moment in this drama was filled with emotions, laughs, tears, love, everything was completely perfect. The story about Zi Qi’s mother was really beautiful and heartbreaking, but teaching that no matter what happens, the love will never lost. Truly a 10/10 drama with satisfying ending. The fact that Miao Miao sacrifices her memories from the real world just to save the novel characters had a great impact on the plot and rewrite the ending perfectly. Zi Qi realising he was Fu Zhou in the ending really got me and bring me to tears. The idea about the 100% was really good, something I’ve never seen and didn’t expect, but truly satisfying.

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The Best Drama in 2024 Yet

What a wonderful sweet love story. If you're looking for a light romantice and comedic love story, this one is for you. Remember those wuxia drama back in the day with Hu Ge? I got A LOT of the same vibes from that series here.

The camaraderie, found family, fighting demons, discovering the secrets about each main characters was executed quite well.

What drew me into the story is definitely the main leads. They have really good chemistry. Miao Miao played by Esther is such a ball of sunshine. But the greatest actor of all time goes to the male lead played by Ding Yu Xi who played a black lotus. From the microexpressions to the quick timed wittiness of the character, DYX manages to bring out the best of what a black lotus could be in real life.

Storyline is lighthearted but there are some very wonderful messages spread throughout the show that made it even better such as only being able to love others at 100% when you love yourself.

This is definitely one of my top 10 cdramas of all time!

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Why I’m Glad I Watched This Series!

I was hesitant to watch this series with Esther Yu because it seemed similar to her past works like Love Between Fairy and Devil and Sword and Fairy 6. However, after enjoying her role in Journey to You, I decided to give it a try, even though I wasn't sure if I'd be in the right mood. The story didn’t catch my attention at first because it reminded me of other shows with a similar plot, like The Romance of Tiger and Rose with Zhao Lusi. In both, the female lead gets pulled into a story where she ends up in the role of the antagonist. Because of that, I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I’m glad I watched it.

The series took a fresh approach, and I actually found it more fun than Tiger and Rose, even though they share a similar storyline. I really enjoyed how Ling Miao Miao tried to make Ziqi fall for her, with the fun idea of a “favorability percentage” going from -200% to 100%. It was a creative twist. The main leads definitely had great chemistry. I’ve seen them together in Moonlight, so I knew their dynamic would be good.

I didn’t pay much attention to the second couple’s story and ended up skipping their parts. But the actors still did a great job, especially Ding Yuxi in the emotional scenes. The music and post-production were good too. While the cinematography and effects sometimes looked cheap, they got better as the series went on.

I liked how the modern world and the game world were connected. However, some things were unclear, like when Miao Miao is under the bracelet’s spell. The system didn’t seem to interact with her, even though she’s a player, not an NPC. That was a little confusing. Despite these small issues, the show is definitely worth watching again!

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Applaud to the Structure of the drama and how it ties into its Core message

I finished the last 3 episodes yesterday and I admit I cried a little and a lot of wows and surprises. There were something’s that were a little rushed (ex. Retrying the ending fight scene with the demon queen) but it’s not bad at all. It’s still fine the way it was executed and the message they are trying to convey to us. I think they wanted to focus on using one full episode to explain how the whole drama happened, the backstory that ties everything together. The techniques they used to tell the story is interesting and creative (even if it’s not new). They applied a frame story narrative structure on top of using metatheatre. I don’t know about you but that’s some sick techniques to use. It’s paying homage to literary writing (one of the oldest forms of narrative/literary techniques) and it’s intertwine very nicely to the core message of the story: who said things that happened in a story are illusions/fake. Reality mirrors tales and vise versa. It tells a tale of a person’s journey of learning to love himself first before he knows how to love someone else. Even if the journey might be questionable to you the audience it was real on every level to them. Who said stories are fake? (The literary part of me is screaming at how amazing this drama tied up. I screamed and wowed at everything else of course). Don’t get me wrong the message and techniques they used in the story isn’t new but because I made so many guesses in my head what they had in store was not what I expecting. That’s why this worked. It’s definitely a story better watching for yourself without spoilers (man I tried so hard dodging spoilers). My sister didn’t watch it and I would summarize the drama to her all the time. I was disappointed when she said it was cliched. Honestly you need to watch this drama without spoilers 🙂‍↕️The way the events unfold and the watching experience is what made this one special.

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Big love for my bamboo sprouts!!

What a wonderful show this was🥹💗 I had such a good time watching this drama over the last couple of weeks. Visually, it was incredible, and I just loved the styling and little details here and there. Such as when Zi Qi was invisible, and we could see Miao Miao’s hair ribbon being played with; or when they were sitting on the stairs, and all we could see were the marks their butts had left🤭🤣

I just loved Esther and Yu Xi together, I cannot believe their chemistry was even better than in “Moonlight” (which says a lot because I LOVED them in “Moonlight”). They were both so fun on screen, and I loved seeing Zi Qi yearn and long for Miao Miao throughout the show😭💞 I also loved our little Bamboo gang in general, and the friendship that they had! 🎍🎋

Acting wise, this was great! Yu Xi has such great expressions, and his eyes can convey so much; truly, such a good actor!! And Esther was wonderful as well, she can act cute so naturally I love it so much! I also enjoyed the rest of the cast, I just wish the second male lead could have had more room to show his talents, I feel like he was a little underutilized to be honest. Regardless, I loved the cast, everyone had great chemistry and worked well with each other!🌟

The OST, cinematography and visual effects were also so, so good – this drama was such a feast for my eyes and ears, I loved it!! Although I have to say that it lost me a little bit after episode 23/24, but episode 28-32 were great again, so it’s fine. I will miss this drama now that I’m done with it … 🥹💞

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Cute and interesting storyline .

I was not planning to watch this drama but since I didn’t have anything to watch and i had already caught up on my already on going dramas , i decided to give it a go and to my surprise, i ended up loving it so much that i binge watched all the 9 episodes today .
The storyline is so cute and funny yet so interesting.
Esther yu is killing this role . I love her character so much . Ryan is doing so well too as always .
I hope they show us the modern world too after she completes the ancient game . And i‘m guessing mu sheng is the author of this poorly written story .

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Esther Yu

The series is very well-known. It's a game of going back to the past and changing things. But I didn't understand this in the first three episodes I watched. I didn't understand the plot. I didn't understand what was being said. I didn't understand what the actors were doing either. It seemed to me like Esther Yu's game of doing some funny things with her eyebrows down or drooping as if she was sad. She's being funny. Does it suit her? It's debatable. Childish things. It's not a style that appeals to every viewer. It seemed very unbecoming to me. I didn't like it. This understanding of the game also affected ML. It didn't suit her either. It dragged that actor down. The actors are good, talented actors. I was surprised how they got a role in such a scenario, in such a child's play. It's unbelievable that Esther Lu could play those roles with her face shape and eyebrows. I think she should stop being comedic. She should be more solid. She should do more dramatic roles. I don't have any objections to her acting, but it doesn't suit her. Sorry. I haven't mentioned the voices yet. It didn't work. I barely watched the three episodes. I couldn't bear it.

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The Moonlight Trio reunite!

This has been one of the series I was dying for since more than half a year, and I have to say my waiting period was really worth it. I watched Moonlight for this show, and since I loved Moonlight, I knew I was gonna love this one as much!

Moreover, I really loved the storyline, and the kind of video game theme it has with the pixelated illustrations and really colorful and vibrant costumes for the characters. Yellow and black really suits Mu Sheng, Ding Yuxi rocked him exactly like in the manhua! Like always, anything cute suits Esther and especially the fact she could play her role as Lin Yu totally opposite to her original evil character as in the novel was really amazing! I was also looking forward to Yang Shize’s role here because I really loved his relationship with Ding Yuxi in Moonlight, and his role and character as Liu Fuyi is just as great!

The OST here was really one of my favorites. The song by the main casts, Esther Yu, Ding Yuxi, Yang Shize, Zhu Xudan, Fei Qiming, Li Yizhen and Lu Yuhao was really a great OST by the casts I’d heard in while. The MV: https://youtu.be/4w0JbGUNg8w
The cast SLAYED the dance and they were even better than the original girl group who did this song before!

Overall, the cast, the layout, Special FXS, the colors and the natural acting makes this drama one of the greatest fantasy dramas I’ve watched in a while. Totally recommendable to people who loved Moonlight and those who like a good novel+video-game theme！

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