Details

  • Last Online: 12 hours ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location:
  • Contribution Points: 0 LV0
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: March 24, 2024

Friends

Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain chinese drama review
Completed
Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain
0 people found this review helpful
by Uma_shakti
Apr 2, 2024
37 of 37 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 10.0
This review may contain spoilers

Hilarious Jokes and Cute Cast (with a slight BL touch)

I started watching this cdrama with the lowest expectations ever (after Snow Eagle Lord I decided not to expect much from the plot). And boy, was I surprised! It was like watching anime - so light-hearted, funny, and with jokes that are sometimes so saucy that I was surprised they actually let it air like that (all those instances when the characters joked about 'paying with the body' were just too hilarious). Not to mention the low-key boys' love theme that was added just for the fun of it (but it was sooo delightful nonetheless.

☼Characters☼

All of them were seriously gorgeous, cute, and funny. From the main leads to the supporting cast, everyone did their best.
- Wang Lu - a daring, over-confident, and smart young man with rare magic abilities that have been lost for ages, so no one can really teach him anything, apart from one Shifu, who's not afraid of a little challenge. Xu Kai portrayed a deliciously saucy character who's both charming and sharp-tongued. All of his facial expressions are just too funny.
- Wang Wu - Wang Lu's teacher. A lady with close to no principles and moral code. She acts as if she doesn't care (or cares only about money), but most of that is just a mask. Still, all her interactions with other characters (especially men) are hilarious - she would say whatever's on her mind and would sell anything to anyone to get what she wants. She's definitely one of the good guys, but she's not loved by anyone - apart from Wan Lu, who becomes her apprentice. The pair matches incredibly well in terms of character and humor. I actually loved Sandrine Pinna in this role, I think it suits her incredibly well. Wang Wu and Wan Lu aren't a conventional couple and their relationship develops differently compared to traditional love stories.
- Hai Yunfan - Wang Lu's bestie from another clan, who ran away when his family was killed, supposedly by his own brother. He's charming, calm, and not too powerful in terms of strength, but he is always there to help the main lead while trying to get stronger to avenge his family.
- Liu Lixian - has the mind of a 6-year-old and can only think about food. She loves hanging out with friends and fighting. She's strong and has a few secrets of her own as to her second identity.

I wouldn't want to write about other characters not to spoil the plot, which is pretty cool in my opinion. It's more cohesive and logical than many of cdramas I've watched. Given that it's a comedy, things don't really have to make much sense, but in the end, they kind of did still, so for me, there were no loose ends, it was just a fun and a little bit messy fighting/fantasy plotline with good guys, bad guys, a few intrigues, backstabbing, and character growth. I enjoyed it greatly! And laughed too much, seriously, the jokes were too good the way the cast portrayed all of them:)

☼Romance☼

For almost 30 episodes the only romance you'll get is between the two main male leads XD Which may seem like a dream come true, but really isn't. The series uses BL trope extensively, playing off all the cliche scenes you could think of - so there are some touching scenes, standing-in-the-rain scenes, and even an episode when they took a bath together. I had so much fun watching this, it was unbearable))) It was clearly not an actual BL plot, but it used all the yummy elements to cater to the audience. Still, Wang Lu and Hai Yunfan had a very endearing friendship and brotherhood, and with all the blow-the-belt jokes of Wang Lu throughout the series, he could at least turn out to be bi (it wouldn't really be surprising). The teacher-apprentice couple starts to recognize each other in the second half of the series closer to the end and it seemed quite organic to me as they've spent so much time together, taking care of each other, and really helped each other through some tough times.

☼Final Thoughts☼
In the end, I fell in love with the series. It's definitely rewatch-worthy because of all the humor and funny scenes. The acting is great in this one, Xu Kai and Sandrine Pinna have amazing comedic chemistry both on and off set. The whole cast did a great job and all of the character's stories are kind of cool. Don't expect much and just have fun watching!
Was this review helpful to you?