Six Flying Dragons (2015)

My gosh, this historical drama is fantastic!!

I can't believe I happily sat through 50 episodes of this drama, it made me fall even more in love with Korean Sageuk/historical dramas.

OST
First and foremost, that OST!! I have never, I repeated NEVER bothered to download a Drama's soundtrack just because I enjoyed it while it played during the drama. But with this soundtrack, it made me search every corner of the internet universe just to get every version of every song, even the instrumental/acoustic tracks.
The OST blew me away and is like nothing I have ever heard, it almost became a character of its own throughout this drama.

Cast
The cast has acting skills to write home about. Everyone from the leads, to the supporting and the extras who played their part by really adding to the historical element of this drama whether they ere crying or dancing in the streets through the roller coaster of events. The male leads are striking both in looks and performances. Although many have been criticising the female lead for her single-expression performance, I thought she did a good job of just performing a headstrong no-nonsense character?

Writing/Story
The heroes of this show are the writers!! From the witty one-liners to the captivating monologues delivered by the cast, the writing will totally impress you. The writers especially did a good job of great character development throughout all 50 episodes. The same leads that you meet in episode one change and mature and develop in the most realistic but surprising way.

All in all this drama gets 10's all round, I can find nothing wrong with it. If you're not used to watching 50-episode dramas, no worries! You wont even notice the time go with this drama, before you know it, you're at episode 50 and balling your eyes out over how amazing it was and the withdrawal symptoms will immediately set in LOL ;)

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Heavy is The Head That Wears The Crown.

It turns out that "Six Flying Dragons" is the story of the founding of the Joseon dynasty, and especially of Yi Bang Won who will be the third king but also the one who will participate in the establishment of this new country.

Now, coincidentally, I saw just before "My Country : New Age" which is based on the same historical period, with the same characters, except that it is centered around two warriors, their friendship and their vision for the country, so one of them, Hwi, will end up alongside Yi Bang Won, who is not the central character there, in his conquest of power.
In "Six Flying Dragons" however, the series focuses entirely on Yi Bang Won, his childhood, how he helped his father the most among his brothers to obtain the throne, the decisions he made that changed the course of history, his ambitions and his vision for his country.
Especially since the series is spread over 50 episodes, and although it remains fiction, nevertheless, a lot of historical events are discussed and historical figures are represented.

Now, this series was made in 2015, so I remain indulgent, I pass on the more than modest OST, on certain average special effects, on certain cheesy shots, and few scenes and plots which were not necessary.

Well, the first three or four episodes are a bit all over the place, and by that I mean, we're let loose in what seems like a major moment that will define the destinies and paths of our characters, and yet, the dramatic moments left me unmoved, plots and strategies are a bit easy ?
The only thing that I can treasure is a certain realism about human nature that is addressed even during these first episodes, such as war, good and evil, justice, power, dignity and shame. I like that our characters don't naively tell us "I'm a good person", but that there are many layers to the human nature, and that our young character understands that being "good" sometimes requires letting the evil thrive while justice sometimes requires being evil to do good.

So these first episodes, which were essentially a flashback in time, were really to lay the foundations of the story - a little awkwardly - which explains why certain characters will become what they become.

I have to say that although unlike "My Country : New Age" I didn't get attached to the characters, they were all enjoyable in their own way, even the antagonists but they didn't get much out of me except few laughs.

The portrayal of some characters rubs me the wrong way, like Boon Yi who in the very first episodes come across as a strong and passionate young woman, only after a while she spent more than half of the series with tears in the eyes in each scene that is annoying. Whether it was in moments of intensity, joy or whatever, she always had tears in her eye.
Yi Seong Gye, too, who still has that somewhat silly and bewildered expression, as if he were a simpleton. And honestly, the reality of his character is unenviable, he was only decisive with a bow in his hand, the rest of the time he spent avoiding any sort of responsibility, hesitating at crucial moments and begging for political strategies because he didn't understand anything, honestly the writers didn't do him any favors by writing him like that.
So, besides those two, I have to say the acting is good overall, but not outstanding.

As for Yi Bang Won, unfortunately, I expected more from his character because the actor has potential. Throughout the series, there were moments when it looked like a child throwing a tantrum, and then the actor's acting was predictable, his delivery of his lines repetitive, his expressions limited to angry tears or a serious and intimidating face. But honestly, the fact that he plays Yi Bang Won, such an important character who is decisive, hides his lack of overall skills, and honestly he is the one I enjoyed the most. Yi Bang Won remain the highlight of the show because of his apparent intensity and complexity.

Also, the character strategies weren't the best, but enough to keep us interested. I would have liked better sets on the other hand, I don't know anything about the budget of the series, but the king's room was a room so small that six people were the maximum, and the more the throne room where they met also seemed small and not really the image of a palace. The sets were very limited, and the costumes although beautiful, they were very basic.

Now, I don't want to say just the negative, so I would say the story is actually the most interesting part of the show, to follow a historical figure as he grows and goes on, as he becomes who he must be, it was really thrilling.

Now, I know this series is probably one of the most popular for a Korean historical drama, and that's kind of disappointing, because I'm like, that's the best South Korea can do when they excel everywhere elsewhere, but nevertheless, as I said, we have to remember that it was done in 2015.
Today, if this series was produced, it would surely have more sets and costumes, violence and fight scenes, more developed plots and more complex characters.

In the end, I'm not going to lie, I fully enjoyed this series despite its shortcomings, so I recommend, on the other hand, this kind of series does not compete with "Nirvana in Fire" or "Rise of the Phoenixes" which are two superb Chinese series.

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This is not about never-ending battle with evil army
It is about dream and ideas, and about faith and companionship, about sacrificing those dearly for greater good, about ambitions and loneliness, about giving up, and getting stronger with it.

There is no good and bad in this show. Of course, we would meet some people naturally bad for the show to be interesting. But, most of the time, we were left with deep thought and meticulous action. We totally understand every judgement made by our hero, even though we clearly saw it as a wrong doing. Indeed, reasoning made juicy story and deliver a contented acceptance. And Six Flying Dragons did a hell good job in that area.

It is true that every historical drama has unchanging fact. Major spoiler we anticipated from the very first episode. But still, six flying dragons could manage gave us little surprise here and there. Gave much laugh and let us shed tears in disbelieve. It was a good ride. It really was. Everything was so perfect. Every little thing count into account, and every character, no matter how small and unimportant, giving it best to deliver the painful story between teacher and student.

Six Flying Dragons in Haedong (* the east of the Sea = Korea)
Everything they did was blessed by Heaven
Their pasts coincide with ancient sages.
-Canto I Yong-Bi-Eo-Cheon-Ga, The epic poem written in 1445, origin of the show-

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This is certainly one of my favourite historical dramas that I have watched so far.

50 episodes might sound tiring to you, as it did to me at first, but after watching even the first few episodes of this drama, I found myself glued to the seat, wanting more, and now I can't even wait for the new episodes. Every episode is so intense and full of emotions (though sometimes I do feel the shouts are a bit annoying). I also have to say the background music and songs just add more to the feelings.

Great cast, great acting, great music and overall, a well-written drama (at least, so far).
Highly recommend this to those who love Korean Historical Drama. It will never bore you.

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Firstly, it’s been a while since i feel like i want to write a review here but i almost skipped this drama because of 50 eps but i decide to watch it at the end and complete it within 4 days. I would say from the 1st episode until the end i didn’t skip any dialogue or any scene while i was watching this drama. My heart beat really fast with the plot and the story.
I know nothing about Korea history at all but i think, everyone could related with this drama at some point or with some characters here. I don’t see any useless or lame characters at all. They have their own roles in this drama which really give this drama a massive impact to my emotion.

Give it a try, i’m sure you will learn something that could apply with your life or what you see at the present. After finish this drama i feel like we are lucky enough that we live during this period of time. I think the world still rotten but at some point we can choose to walk away or leave at some point but back in the history i think i would probably do something just like those main lead characters done. I’m pretty sure it would be pretty tough for them but thank to them that create a world we live in today.

Give it a try and experience this drama by yourself, you won’t regret i could guarantee that.

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I love how complex and developed both the characters and plot were. I hated the characters, yet loved them all the same. It was happy, but it was sad. The characters were terrible, but they were wonderful. The acting was fantastic, especially Yoo Ah-In's. The actors were able to express such complicated character that I can't help but applaud them. The first few episodes provide backstory, but after that the show pics up a lot (actually the first few episodes themselves were pretty fast-paced). The ending was appropriate and realistic. The writer did a really good job showing the different sides of each of the characters. This is one of the few dramas I actually cried while watching. However, don't be afraid there is enough humorous and happy moments to balance the sad moments.
   Originally I was skeptical I would be able to make it through all 50 episodes, but once I started watching I never looked back.  Since this show is based on actual history, most of the major events were real. Even for those who do know the history that happened behind it, the show does a good job building suspense and garnering a reaction out of the audience. The OST (was spot on and truly fit each of the characters.
   The show was epic and humanistic. I assure you, you won't regret it.

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Truly epic

I am a sucker for historical dramas and this one is by far my favorite. It's the first time I have tried to watch a long drama and I'm glad I did.
Firstly, it was a lesson in Korean history, with real historical characters and events (romanticized for sure).
Secondly the cast was well-chosen, especially the 2 main characters, Yi Bang Won and Sambong, what great performances.
I like the rest of the dragons, minus one (Lee Bang Ji, poor acting in my opinion).
I am also happy that 2 of my favorite Korean beauties play in this :-) (Se Kyung and Yoo Mi).
Beautiful costumes, cool fighting scenes, great soundtrack, all in all an absolute masterpiece, which makes it my all-time favorite drama.
Congratulations to everyone involved .

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Six Flying Dragons, is an absolute must for historical drama fans.
The acting is superb.The cinematography gorgeous. The script very well written.The musical store thrilling. The story so well told. The beginnings and the times when the young children grow up,seamlessly done.
I can't say enough good things about it.
It will earn a five star rating to be sure!
The star is truly all star!!!
Just watch,even though 50 episodes might sound daunting,the first five you would want to watch in one sitting!
Look up some of the background
history if you are not familiar with Korean history,it will make watching that much more enjoyable.

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This is my most favorite korean drama ever. This can beat even Hollywood movies. It is that good . They all are very good actors no doubt. I loved the young bang won he is a brilliant actor. I hope 50 episodes wont get in a way to watch this beautiful drama bcz its nothing once you watch this.
I have seen many dramas but this one is brilliant in every way. It was so inspirarional. I hope everyone watches this drama .
Each n every character played an interesting role n have their importance.
There s a little romance, which wasnt needed though.
If u want to see how good koreans are at producing dramas, i would recommend this show its great.

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This drama actually manages to capture you until the very end, which is about 50 episodes later, no small feat.

I love history, I love historical politics, I love martial arts and sword fights, I love clever, tactical plot twists and to that, a tiny bit of romance. I got served so well....

And I started watching this before knowing that it depicted real-life events and persons, that, of course, made it even better for me.

It is rare to see a true-to-history-drama successfully deliver a good portion of tension and other emotions throughout the whole series, and they managed to do this here. Because of the length and real-time that passes, you grow attached to the characters, and thus when some of them start to change and/or meet their fate, you are right in the middle of it, or at least it feels that way.
Who are the good guys and who the bad, becomes an increasingly blurred line here, and it throws ethical questions right back at you.

I never even once got bored by this drama and never skipped scenes.

And: This drama produced one of my favourite female supporting characters of all time - master of swords, beautiful face (perfect choice of actress), humble demeanor, tragic story.... sigh (more would spoiler it).

If you love historical-political-action - you GOTTA watch this.

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Six Flying Dragons is one of the dramas that if you like historical dramas you just have to watch it.

The length of this one is kind of a disadnantage as you have to be really dedicated in order to watch it. Though, the story does help to keep the interest high. However, there were some moments when the story got boring and tiring. But the acting was really good and the love stories were interesting and spiced up the story, as they were realistic and they mixed with the story well. The fighting scenes as well as the action scenes were really good and well filmed.

So, overall six out of ten.

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This drama is ELITE

Powerful, stirring, brilliant—you name it, Six Flying Dragons is it.

JUST WATCH is the only justice I can give a show of such brilliance.

"It explores the tensions between pragmatism and idealism, caution and action, ruthlessness and moral rectitude" with great story telling and screen play greatly depicting the urgency of the times .

It truly is an EPIC that astounds in cinematography , cast , screenplay and production.One would find the most geneorous character portraits and most delicate writing treated with reverence and imbued with deep reflection.

I personally loved the insights and moral instruction offered in SFD. Every great thing requiring a certain sacrifice was a trope spun on its head . What is victory ? What is a loss ? Were also deeply explored. It also pondered the mechanics of villainy in great art . That , perhaps , the most noble people with zero greed in their hearts are the most dangerous because they cannot compromise for a greater principle and lack empathy and pity for the common man as their views are rooted in elitist sense of self ? Or maybe its the ones with the most persuasive tongues that are the violent ones? Or that people with darkness and resentment in their hearts have a much needed push and pull to be moral characters with great empathy. What ever insights you pick up on ,what is for sure is that there is no endorsement of path .What is right is history .

JUST WATCH . Epic sword fights and epic relationships ensue.

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