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The Legend of Shen Li EP01

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the 'big surprise' cdrama for me in 2023 that clearly didn't hit for anyone else but strangely I was all about it: Love You Seven Times

"This way, in the next life, and the life after that, you'll be able to find me."

"I may forget who I am, but I will never forget you again."

tbh 80% of the times I enjoy myself a xanxia but by the end I don't ship it. The couples torment each other too much and I emotionally disinvest. I started out already prepared to not care too much about the Love You Seven Times relationship, before one of them starts stabbing the other in the heart while marrying someone else. And then these bastards kept... not doing that? They sucked me in!

(Spoiler-heavy review)

When we are introduced to the 2 leads, they seem like your prototypical xanxia main characters. She's a super young cloud spirit. He's a jaded, cold & arrogant god of war who is impatient and derisive towards her hapless accidents & naivete.

But what's eventually revealed is that you aren't seeing the beginning of their story. These are actually the second incarnations of the essential characters - an immortal couple who are absolutely ride & die for each other, come hell or high water - and who cannot be kept apart or made to betray each other, no matter what tribulation they transmigrate into or how their memories are restricted.

We get:

* their original rom com to tragedy story, where they are wronged by the villian but never wrong each other

* a god arc [the story's bookend] where they are both missing their memories but come together again

(reborn as baby animals 🐯)

* mortal arc where she is transmigrated into a story and he is trapped in-character

* mortal arc where he transmigrated into a story and she is trapped in-character

* body swap mortal arc where they are both aware transmigrators

* demon realm arc where they are deep undercover and lie to each other while trusting implicitly

* a secret 8th thing, cause their love never dies

Usually the 'love trial'  arcs get a heavy fast forward from me. But here you have to invest or not watch at all. And I got interested because while per usual the mortal personas are Not Them... They then carry the collection of personas with them. Those experiences change them and actively linger. And the way the couple occupies these stories is fun - playing it straight, playing along, role swapping, cat demon petting...

This xanxia's lore says that the person's essence, the heart of them, is present deep-down: regardless of the outline proscribed by the Fate Book. And these guys are so very extra that they skew every trial they participate in. I liked how near the end, FL says do you know who I am? and ML lists all of her different identities she's carried. In Eternal Love, I was super annoyed by Ye Hua telling Bai Qian that I know you, you're Su Su. Sorry but to me Su Su has nothing in common with Bai Qian. But here, by the end, I did feel like all of those people are a part of FL and she feels that too.

"Who are you this time?"

For these two, I can believe it doesn't matter.

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"Lu Changkong existed. As long as someone remembers him, he hasn't disappeared. Right?"

One of my favourite lines of this arc, and of this drama.

Look at that star, the brightest one. Do you know what star that is? What star is that? It’s a Star of War. It’s you.

LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES (2023)

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LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES 七时吉祥 (China, 2023) EPISODE 4 - Dir. Li Nan

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Can you promise me you'll be safe and happy? If you can, why are you crying?

LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES (2023) | Ep 12

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DING YUXI as CHU KONG LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES 七时吉祥 (2023) dir. Li Nan .

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THE LEGEND OF SHEN LI 与凤行 2024 ✧ dir. Deng Ke ✧ episode two

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You see, xianxia dramas look good when they're given enough time to showcase a decent epilogue.

The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) Dir. Deng Ke – Ep. 39

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DING YUXI as PRINCESS XIANGYUN as GENERAL CHU KONG LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES 七时吉祥 (2023)

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They then carry the collection of personas with them. Those experiences change them and actively linger.

This is why Lu Changkong and his regrets will always be one of the most painful thing of all, because in the end who will make up for Lu Changkong and his regrets?

the 'big surprise' cdrama for me in 2023 that clearly didn't hit for anyone else but strangely I was all about it: Love You Seven Times

"This way, in the next life, and the life after that, you'll be able to find me."

"I may forget who I am, but I will never forget you again."

tbh 80% of the times I enjoy myself a xanxia but by the end I don't ship it. The couples torment each other too much and I emotionally disinvest. I started out already prepared to not care too much about the Love You Seven Times relationship, before one of them starts stabbing the other in the heart while marrying someone else. And then these bastards kept... not doing that? They sucked me in!

(Spoiler-heavy review)

When we are introduced to the 2 leads, they seem like your prototypical xanxia main characters. She's a super young cloud spirit. He's a jaded, cold & arrogant god of war who is impatient and derisive towards her hapless accidents & naivete.

But what's eventually revealed is that you aren't seeing the beginning of their story. These are actually the second incarnations of the essential characters - an immortal couple who are absolutely ride & die for each other, come hell or high water - and who cannot be kept apart or made to betray each other, no matter what tribulation they transmigrate into or how their memories are restricted.

We get:

* their original rom com to tragedy story, where they are wronged by the villian but never wrong each other

* a god arc [the story's bookend] where they are both missing their memories but come together again

(reborn as baby animals 🐯)

* mortal arc where she is transmigrated into a story and he is trapped in-character

* mortal arc where he transmigrated into a story and she is trapped in-character

* body swap mortal arc where they are both aware transmigrators

* demon realm arc where they are deep undercover and lie to each other while trusting implicitly

* a secret 8th thing, cause their love never dies

Usually the 'love trial'  arcs get a heavy fast forward from me. But here you have to invest or not watch at all. And I got interested because while per usual the mortal personas are Not Them... They then carry the collection of personas with them. Those experiences change them and actively linger. And the way the couple occupies these stories is fun - playing it straight, playing along, role swapping, cat demon petting...

This xanxia's lore says that the person's essence, the heart of them, is present deep-down: regardless of the outline proscribed by the Fate Book. And these guys are so very extra that they skew every trial they participate in. I liked how near the end, FL says do you know who I am? and ML lists all of her different identities she's carried. In Eternal Love, I was super annoyed by Ye Hua telling Bai Qian that I know you, you're Su Su. Sorry but to me Su Su has nothing in common with Bai Qian. But here, by the end, I did feel like all of those people are a part of FL and she feels that too.

"Who are you this time?"

For these two, I can believe it doesn't matter.

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He's joking even as he's dying. My heart!!!

Oooooof!!!

I am not crying at how mundane both their dreams are...his cooking and her sunbathing...

And she sees him become energy in the cosmos, eternally supporting the world but what is it to her? All she can say, sobbing, is that she can never find him again. AAAAAAAAA

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He is still jealous of Lady Jin ahahahaa and also hilariously, harmlessly, schemingly selfish and I love that because he's finally allowed to be - no burdens, no universe-protecting, no bloodlessness, just an odd, amused dude giving in to his whims and desires without guilt. He is still him but without all that weight, almost boneless with relaxation and I love it.

And she loves that for him (and honestly glows a little every time she sees him be jealous or petty or anything else super human and super fixated on her.)

I mean, it's a theme:

PS But she is just as possessive of him - she won't let him play the fake suitor to Lady Jin out of jealousy ahahahah

She's having none of it, but he is STILL jealous even though she's doing the "suitor" thing out of her own jealousy, so as not to see him fake flirt with someone else ahahah it's like ouroboros of jealousy.

PPS I just love watching them be happy...

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the director said “take five” but xu haiqiao heard “change lives” and just went with it

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The Legend of Shen Li 与凤行 (2024) | Episode 38

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I love shameless Xing Zhi fr

the legend of shen li | so jealous.

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Honestly if they'll give us a 30-episode drama of them as old couple living their daily lives???

https://x.com/tiff_ilosophy/status/1777687715741597975?s=46&t=wrDJ_P2Tnlk_OaNoUoRakA

Ayieee! Summary of some of Lin Gengxin’s responses in his interview! He says he didn’t expect that he’d still be doing this kind of genre at his age (what??? Does he think he doesn’t look good enough for these roles anymore? Has he looked at himself in the mirror lately???). He also said he’d be willing to work with Zhao Liying again even if he’s already 45 by then.

Well, I would definitely watch them regardless of how old they are in their next collabs. I just love them together!

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THE LEGEND OF SHEN LI 与凤行 2024 ✧ dir. Deng Ke ✧ episode one