Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost (2018)

Was I supposed to root for the protagonists?

Started watching this because it appeared on Netflix, and the first episodes were an easy watch. I didn't have many expectations of the drama, since I hadn't watched the drama this one is being compared to, either. Suffice to say, I hated it.

-JINMI: Although I do understand that Jinmi was meant to be innocent and unable to love, I think there's a thin line in these dramas between being innocent and being stupid or lacking in any kind of reaction. I don't know if it's the script or the actress, but there were moments where characters were discussing something important, and Jinmi had little to no reaction to what was being said. It would make sense if she didn't understand shit, but even in situations where she understood the context, there was no reaction. It felt mostly like monologues designed as dialogues, and it made me feel like the protagonist didn't have much protagonism, especially in the first 20 chapters. When she is goes to the Mortal Realm, we're not privy to her real difficulties, and, with that, we, the viewers, cannot see her development, both emotionally and in skills, which left me, personally, unsatisfied. In the last stretch, it's just fabricated drama of why she can't be with Xufeng, to the agonize over him in repetitive scenes that add nothing. In short, she was a boring female lead. There is nothing wrong with innocent protagonists who develop over time, but Jinmi was not it.

- XUFENG: I disliked this character quite a lot. Not only was he extremely privileged, he seemed uncapable of seeing it. Acting like a boy with a crush, he didn't seem to care nor understand that Jinmi was uncapable of loving or that she was unaware of gender differences due to the way she had been isolated. The drama tries to paint him as this heroic, romantic lead, but many of his choices are... well, not heroic. When he goes to the Mortal Realm, and decides to die to be with Jinmi, did he ever think of all the people he was damning by dying? No, because him (or the writer) do not care about anyone other than our protagonists. Everyone else's suffering is secondary to them. He expected people to forgive his parents when they had been extremely vile, and he always acted holier-than-thou. He didn't have an interesting background or story, and he was quite boring, though less boring than Jinmi.

-RUNYU: I liked him a lot more on the principle of developing sympathy over what he had gone through. His character development was far more interesting, even when he became obssessive and resentful. I could see where this came from, and as he did stupid shit, you could understand why he did what he did, and it made him far more compelling of a character. In general, I felt more for him because of the obvious bias everyone had, not just for our protagonists, but for the Emperor and Empress as well. Nobody cared that the Emperor and Empress had done extremely vile things. Instead, almost all our secondary characters blamed Runyu for trying to find justice for his mother and for his family. This is why I felt that the writers themselves only cared about our protagonists suffering, regardless of any other person that suffered, which made me dislike the drama more and more.

In terms of plot the plot was absolutely vapid. You could tell were the plot was going, and it was nothing of innovation. There were stupid conveniences that saved our protagonists from having them go through actually interesting happenings. For example, Jinmi (in the Mortal Realm) had to choose between saving her family and serving the King. It was something hard and impactful, and it made me feel for her because it's a lose-lose situation no matter what. But then, the choice she makes doesn't even matter, because magically her family was already protected and she could do what she wanted to do. It made the drama of Jinmi finding it hard to choose asinine, because the plot resolved everything for her anyway. There were many, many scenes that could have been cut because they added nothing to the story. I spent hours with characters I didn't give a shit about because they weren't even relevant to the plot for 2/3 of the drama (like the Demon Realm Princess) or just in general were barely relevant. This drama could have been cut down to 20 episodes, and it would have been able to have tighter storytelling and less meandering around in order to fill time.

However, if there is anything I did like, it was the drama with the protagonists parents. In fact that was the most interesting subplot I saw. I was actually interest in their past, and especially when everyone discovered the truth, how would that affect the present. However, the plot ended quickly, and it almost affected nothing, because at the end of the day nobody did anything regarding what had happened with Jinmi's mom.

The costumes and sets were beautiful, and a pleasure to watch. The CGI is bad, but when you compare to other Chinese dramas, this one's okay. I liked the opening theme.

In terms of acting, I honestly didn't feel the main actress all that much. She did best in her crying scenes, but everything else was dull. The actress for Xufeng's mom used exaggerated gestures that seemed more theatrical than anything else. It would have made more sense if everyone had that direction, but it was obvious it was only her that overacted (it was funny sometimes, though). Everyone else was in various shades of okay.

Overall, if you're bored and want to watch something without thinking too much, this is it. If you're looking for a tighter plot or more interesting characters, watch something else.

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I hate to compare any drama to 10 miles of Peach Blossoms but it is inevitable because the quality of the cinematography was just breathtaking and strangely addictive. The story is a beautiful romance that does not deviate from the writers' intentions of giving the viewer an opportunity to feel mixed emotions along with the story that is being told. There are moments in every drama that make you reconsider your rating - but in the end, I realized that overall this drama was a 10 for me. I loved the story, the music, the actors, the direction and the pace of telling the story. The chemistry is amazing because the acting was amazing. The lead actress had to define herself in a way that would be contradictory to normal and she did an amazing job. Some might find her annoying but I found it to be an artistic achievement to maintain the role's intention. Although there were several characters, the depth of character development for each one was enough for the viewer not to be overwhelmed by so many roles and faces. The best find for this year - enjoyed more than Legend of Fuyao and most definitely I rank it with Eternal Love (10 miles) with the splendid cinematography and camera work. A must see.

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Visually Beautiful with Decent Storyline

I really can't say this enters into any of my top drama lists, but was it enjoyable to watch? Most definitely. For cdramas, and well, often with dramas of a certain length, it takes a while for it to pick up but I was hooked from the start. The humour, acting, and premise of the show had me equal parts genuinely laughing out loud and cringing from second-hand embarrassment.

However, after the first half of the show (I would say maybe after they left the mortal realm), things kind of fell flat for me and the storyline kind of lost direction. It lost most of its humour, which was one of the aspects of the show I enjoyed the most. Jin Mi, though weak, I had found charming before, but throughout the second half, I was frustrated with her helplessness and character. I think I lost amount of times I rolled my eyes when she kept yelling "stop fighting!" into the void during the last few episodes with her wide-eyed, helpless flailing.

Run Yu was the one that truly stole the show for me, and also was the character that I felt was the most fleshed out. I felt his happiness and his pain, and truly dreaded when he made those bad decisions because I sympathized and pitied his character (also, major kudos to the actor that plays him). Despite his tragic past and upbringing, he still never achieved happiness - he was the one I rooted for throughout the whole show (though through his obsession with Jin Mi, he definitely made a lot of very dubious, shady choices), and while I guess I'm glad he managed to survive, his ending was disappointing.

The reveal of who killed the Water Deity and the reveal of Sui He's true character was one of the things that just felt anticlimactic for me - I felt Jin Mi would have had a stronger say in reaction to what happened to Sui He, considering how she literally killed the only remaining member of her family, and made her mistakenly kill Xu Feng. The ending of the war also felt anticlimactic and a bit of a copout to me, and just felt like a very typical sacrificial drama trope to solve all problems.

One of the things that truly kept my watching was the aesthetics and visual effects of the show. Definitely one of the best I've seen!

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If you are looking for the same old formulaic television show that holds no surprises, no conflict, and a nice tame romantic relationship, this show is NOT for you. Ashes of Love engenders such emotions in me that I had to write two very long articles to exercise those ghosts left behind after I completed the show. Those contain spoilers and can be reviewed if you want to get more detail. For this review, I’ll be brief.

STORYLINE: Jin Mi is a grape fairy that saves Xu Feng (well not so much saves as doesn’t eat him like she plans) then he takes her where he lives to experience real life. Wow. Does she experience real life in spades. Lots of funny scenes, sad scenes, frustrating scenes, cool scenes…..lather, rinse, repeat. Jin Mi already has friends in Rou Rou (who is dead…sort of) and Mr. Puchi (not dead) then meets more with her trip to the heavenly realm like Moon Immortal, Run Yu (Night Immortal), and Liu Ying who fill her life with all kinds of adventures.

Jin Mi is a bit emotionally handicapped due to some unfortunate medication given to her at birth by her mother. Xu Feng is a bit in love with Jin Mi almost from the beginning and sadly, so is Run Yu. I’m not sure if Mr. Puchi is in love with her, but he’s a fun character just the same.

CHARACTERS: As I wrote in my article, these characters from top to bottom are fun, entertaining, sad, depressing, frustrating, and annoying. In short, you won’t be bored with a single one of them, even the wacky Moon Immortal and his strange red strings.

MUSIC: The music was nice and I do enjoy the YouTube videos online using those same songs. The battle scene could have had more ominous music, but that was spoiled again by YouTube as a fan of the show posted a much better version musically.

I still like Eternal Love more than this show, mainly because of Mark Chao (sigh…..) but this C-drama had to be the most incredible experience as I watched every character just sparkle on the screen. I found every single performance stellar. Leo Luo as Run Yu, INSANELY GOOD (could talk about his performance for hours) and Yang Zi and Deng Lun, I give them a standing ovation for portraying such an epic love story.

If you have a heart condition, I don’t recommend binge watching this show. I did for the last 10 episodes and it took 24 hours to calm down.

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A Classic Fairly Tale Drama, best ever

Ashes of love is my no 1 Top Fairy Tales drama Ever so far. It is long, could be shorter but everything else is perfect. Somehow it manages to blend the Casting, the emotional Story, CGI, the funny and the heart breaking elements seamlessly that makes AOL Classic and unforgettable drama ever. At the end of 2021 haven’t seen anything else that tops AOL.

OST is so good, amazing. Still listen to them 2 years later.

Acting: No one, absolutely no one has awkward acting here, this is so rare. YZ, DL and LYX are all first rate. But especially Lou Yunxi, how as a villain, millions of watcher rotted for him. Only exceptional character interpretation with out of the box acting can achieve this rare phenomenon.

Runyu is the best character written I’ve seen in C Dramaland. Leo Luo delivered Runyu beyond everyone expectation. No wonder the C official newspaper stamps Runyu as top 10 CLASSIC character in last DECADE. Usually after watching a good drama, I would forget about these characters, but Runyu is different, I remember him years later. I don’t forget his voice, his classic phrases his smooth flight scene, his elegant walk, his tears and pain, his madness and redemption at the end. Perhaps if Runyu is not made in China, LYX would have won an award for his performance.

I have yet to see another character as memorable as Runyu, but perhaps when Immortality airs, LYX cold but super complex "Shizun" might have a fighting chance to top Runyu.

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The angst of love!

That was a long ride. My first Chinese Drama and first Xianxia one too.
And I loved the main leads.
The story is good with many layers, and plot twists.
But there are issues in this story.

I did get surpised in one scene of betrayal.
The story may break your heart many times, and this drama has those misunderstandings and angst.
I Loved the fantasy elements displayed and the CGI was good for what it was.

The ML and FL, had so much passion and the love was displayed really well by them.
I Liked the side characters too, the brother was very good in his role.
He really made me irritated with him!
All the main characters had depth and nice charcter arcs.
Especially the female lead.

The music was great, definitely loved it and it's really fitting.
Will rewatch this, once I have the time to. 63 episodes is long.
I was really invested in the story and characters.
I recommend this one to everyone, who can handle a love triangle and misunderstandings!
The love trangle was not to my liking though.
And the ending could have been much more satisfying.

So over all a very good Xianxia drama, wonderfully directed and acted this one.
With many sweet/bitter moments, a couple of things would have made it better !

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A nice gem especially if you are new to CDramas.

I almost gave up on this story. I initially only watched a couple of episodes and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it in the direction it was going, but I decided to come back to it. I’m so glad that I did as this was a very well told story between the FL and two brothers.

I watched this show when I was just getting into CDramas so I wasn’t familiar with the pacing and story arcs of Xanxias. As I’ve watched more, I can definitely see similar themes across Xanxias and this does follow that typical path that Xanxias go.

All of the actors did a really good job and were very well fit for the characters they were given. I also really enjoyed the OST as I’ve added a couple of songs to my playlist. I’ve definitely become a fan of all of the main actors.

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Unforgettable drama

So where do i start - there are so many detailed reviews that do a better job of breaking down the plot, acting, production, etc. so I'll just summarize why I liked it so much.
1) Deng lun was a treat to watch.
2) FL was NOT perfect, did not remain childish, did something unforgivable but tried her best to make up for it
3) The dubbing - the actual actors dubbed it themselves (at least the main trio) - it was just so satisfying not to hear voice actors trying to emulate feelings that they have not actually acted out. Plus, the MLs voice perfectly matches Phoenix's personality!
4) MLs love never wavered, not even for a second (yes, even in the last story arc where he thought he'd been betrayed he still loved her)
5) The story had so much going on and all in a good way. There is love, betrayal, familial ties, politics, revenge, obsession - just a nice round of emotional ride I would say.
6) The FL made me love her, then hate her, then love her again. Second ML was just so tormented throughout that I had the perfect love/hate relationship going on with him as intended.
7) The drama differs from the novel in terms of characterization in my opinion. I did NOT like the MLs portrayal in the novel (I admit I've only skimmed through the chapters since I just wanted to read my fav parts, but from the gist of it, Phoenix in the novel seems to be much more dark(?), unbalanced(?))
8) Pretty much everyone got what was coming to them except a few minor characters.
I mean this drama gave me so many feels that I felt compelled to write this review after re-watching my fav scenes again and again. Also, I first watched AoL about a month ago and I'm still listening to the OST so yeah.
The only thing I would change is the ending - not change so much as EXTEND it. I wanted a heck lot more of the ML and the FL.

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One of the most classic romantic dramas

It's classic romantic historical drama that i loved. I really like the story with gods and demons and also the love betwern these of two ptotagonists. I ship a lot the main actors and i loved Luo Yunxi. I LOVE YOU LUO YUNXI!!❤️The reason that i wanted to see it it was because of him and only. But i didn't believe that i could finish this drama because has a lot of episodes. The plot was well schemed so i didnt get bored or something like that. I loved acting and the music was perfect. The special effects could be better but were quite good. I recommend it as drama because of the plot and the acting. For sure you will love it.
I

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I've never written a review before but i felt urged to write one for this drama because.it.is.just.so.beautiful.

I've never watched such a beautifully captivating and aesthetic drama before that had everything you need.

The story is well executed, the cast is very memorable and their acting is A+++ especially the three main leads.

What this story really revolves around is the love triangle between two male leads and the female lead which has been shown really well and the love they have for her really gets to you. I wont spoil much but i want to say this, if you have decided to watch this drama, no matter what...do not drop this...just don't drop it AT ALL. Watch it till the end and trust me, you wont regret it. I don't get how some people can review the drama after watching just two episodes. This drama is gonna affect and you must watch it by all means. Ok enough of that.

As for the music, this is one the dramas that has the best osts ever. Especially the ending theme song, everyone should listen to it. Such an enchanting song. No matter how many times I listen to it, i still keep coming back to listen to it again and again. That song perfectly suits and describes the drama.

The romance is the best part of the drama. Very well done. The CGI and the sets are amazing.

Oh and the leads have the cutest behind the scenes ever. If you can't get over the drama, watch those to heal your withdrawal syndrome.

Rewatch value is 10/10. I'll never get tired of this drama. Love it so much...

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You might think 10 on all points is too much and I would say, I'd give it more points if I could. The story is comparable to TTMOPB but with it's own flair. It has all the elements of a great story and the ending will not leave you disappointed. The special effects/CGI are done extremely well that it is worth mentioning. The cast? Ah, Phoenix, my Phoenix! They will make you laugh, bring you to tears, make you mad - all the good stuff which will leave you satiated but wishing for more. Salute to the writers, directors, staff, anyone and everyone who made this phenomenal story.

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This is a wonderful adaptation from the super famous novel called heavenly sweetness ash like frost. I love the chemistry between the main leads and in my humble opinion the actors and actresses involved in this series have all shown remarkable acting skills. Feng Huang was saved by the fruit fairy Jin mi when he was attacked and badly hurt. Jin mi asked him to help her to leave the mirror world she has been living in. At first they were bickering a lot but love started to grow. However , Feng Huang was not the only one who is in love with Jin mi, his older brother also feel in love with Jin mi. After series of accident . Jin mi real identity was revealed. It turns out that she is the daughter of Flower Goddess and Water God. This is a life -changing moment for Jin mi. She was turned overnight from a grape fruit fairy into a high God. This fact complicates her started building love story with Feng Huang because ah is actually his older brother fiancé. What started as a funny loving story then turned into a dramatic story and I love how the writers dig deep into each of the characters’s Past life and love story . The only complaint I have is the filler story ranging from the demon princess love arc and night’s female guardian . I wish they will delete these parts and concentrate more in the main lead (Jin mi and Feng Huang story).

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