A Lenda de Shen Li (2024)

It's basically just better than average

I know that everyone is saying this is the best Xianxia we've had for a hot minute but I think this is the key element they're forgetting. There's been such a drought of good Xianxia (and particularly good Xianxia with female leads that don't act and speak like 6 year olds and actually have a personality outside of 'love interest') that we're holding this one to a higher standard than it deserves.

To start on a positive note, there are lots of great things about ShenLi. Although it is 40 episodes it's very easy to digest. Aside from an initially slow start which explores the 'mortal life' section of any Xianxia (albeit in an unexpected and quite witty way) once that awful cgi chicken disappears the show is very enjoyable. It's interesting especially to see the power dynamic shift when Xingzhi/Xingyun's true identity is revealed. The rest of the special effects are actually quite good, and the costumes - though not particularly innovative for the men - have a lot to boast for the women. Some of Shen Li and Demon Lord's outfits were stunning and the detail was apparent. The 'sky above heaven' was also an interesting addition to the show and the lore of the ancient gods.

Now onto the not so great things:
Firstly, this drama has serious pacing issues. The focus on the love story of the two leads was interesting, yes, but almost the entire plot was devoted to them with little time for side characters to develop. This almost led to an over saturation of their romance, particularly because the marriage arc was dragged out until episode 25. I also found that the apathy of the ML was at times taken too far. There is a difference between indifference and surpressed emotion which outwardly presents as indifference which was not always successfully conveyed.

Secondly, although some of the plot twists were genuinely surprising - there was no one single 'wow' factor moment within the show, and there was potential for several. Perhaps due to the halfhearted world building which failed to exhibit a real motivation for the villain beyond loyalty, the stakes never really seemed as high as they should have, and due to the overwhelming power of the 'divine god', even if he was injured or punished by the heavens for disobeying the enigmatic 'natural law' we were never led to believe that he wouldn't be able to overcome whatever was thrown at him. Such was the power of a true 'god' - the last god - compared to mere heavenly immortals.

An 8.8 rating is difficult to comprehend in my opinion. That places the Legend of Shen Li above dramas like: 'Who rules the world' and 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo', and at the same level as 'The Story of MingLan', 'Eternal Love/Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms', 'Love Between Fairy and Devil', 'Snow Sword Stride' (all far more interesting and developed dramas as far as I'm concerned). I don't like to throw 'overrated' around but I think that this drama may have been. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very enjoyable watch and I highly recommend it; it just seems important to keep in mind that ratings are inevitably relative, and Shen Li perhaps needs to be put into context rather than looked at independently.

Leia Mais

HOOKED FROM THE 1ST EPISODE

I usually read the romance tag and run away, but watched The Legend of Shenli's first episode and didn't stop after that. The actors, the story, "the fancy bird", they are all so good that even if you don't like romance genre, you will still find yourself watching all the episodes and complaining "Why didn't they drop 2 episodes today??"
This is my first time watching Lin Geng Xin and the way he flirts or interacts with the Zhao Li Ying is so sweet. I am also happy to see Xin Yun Lai after watching him in Dream Catcher; he is a really good actor. Must say Zhao Li Ying is so fun to watch. Please start this drama if you haven't already, because you'll love it.


Writing this after watching episode 18 and it is truly wonderful to see Shen Li's character. She doesn't repress her feelings for Xing Zhi and she acknowledges them. She doesn't lead Mofang on and makes it clear that she doesn't have any feelings for him, but she doesn't mistreat him as well. She is aware of her own emotions and feelings, and is a very strong character. All praise for her.

Leia Mais

"Captivating Romance: A Visual Feast with Genuine Affection and Compelling Storytelling"

"I am enthralled by the deliberate restraint in showcasing intimate moments, allowing the genuine affection between the male and female leads to shine through. Their love resonates with such sincerity and passion, captivating audiences and leaving a lasting impression. The cinematography beautifully captures the essence of their romance, adding depth to every scene and making it a visual feast. With such compelling storytelling and mesmerizing effects, this drama is truly worth watching. Here's hoping for a happy ending that will leave hearts warmed and spirits uplifted." Make a headline out of the above reviews.

Leia Mais

Stunning cinematography with senior actors

But with a familiar plot, this kind of genre is all about protecting their kingdom, a love dilemma, and always ends up sacrificing their life to protect the world and destroy the evil army, and in the final chapter, they will be reborn or not... I've read a lot of Xian Xia novels, even this novel, also saw a lot of this kind of plot so it's made me tired because it's so predictable.

The acting is quite delicate and good enough to make you blend in the chemistry between the two FL and ML, but I would love to see them in another genre than this kind of boring genre.

In the end, it is still a good-quality drama to watch compared to others that have been released this year and last year.

Leia Mais

Very funny and entertaining

I began watching this the day it was released and I could not get enough of it.Both leads where phenomenal.the acting was perfect and also the pace was normal .neither fast nor slow.Fu Rong and his sister were another grade addition to the story line.I lived Yu lan she was like and diene in the show watching the male and female leads live story .I did not like her at the beginning when she first came but as her character changed I began to really like her and even fu ring who also was like a cp to both of the leads.It felt like he was in love with Shen li closer to the ending tho I am not fully sure but that’s what it seems to me or her was just curious.I hope to know someday.

Leia Mais

A True Treasure for 2024 CDRAMALAND ✨

Well, well , well . I truly didn’t expect that I would actually finish watching a xianxia drama anytime soon , but here I am!
THE LEGEND OF SHENLI! Just as the title suggests, it was truly legendary.

This drama , to my surprise , actually had the best CGi , storyline and character development that I’ve seen in a while !
The relationship between the female lead (Shenli) and the male lead (Xingzhi) started in a very soft and amusing way and continued being a slow burn all throughout the episodes. I loved how Xingzhi, even though he knew Shenli’s real identity in the Mortal Realm , actually treated her with care letting her to show her vulnerable side and being the first who made her feel like a real Lady and not just a War Weapon.
The way they cared and helped each other was truly heartwarming to see .

The CGi and special effects really shocked me as well. All the realms were so well crafted. This has to be the best Heavenly Realm that I’ve seen before in other xianxia dramas . All the floating white clouds in the gardens and surrounding every place made it look really magical . The Gold and White pallete truly looks Heavenly . The flying scenes , the fighting scenes, the mystical creatures were all impressive as well and I truly appreciate the efforts they’ve put into it .

The storyline was mostly different than what we are used to see in xianxia , wasn’t it ?
For me it was really unpredictable and I couldn’t stop watching since I was dreadfully curious to see what will happen next .

The Characters were quite lovable and I really liked their development and their stories . Some worth mentioning ones are Furong ( who went from a careless playboy who only wanted to play and waste his time , to a true Diviner who saved people and fought in a war to defend the realms !) , Shenli’s Parents and their story which was very touching and emotional . Fenglai was absolutely adorable and naive , how could he play the part of King of the Chimeis? Even when he couldn’t really understand the meaning of ‘’daughter’’ he still rushed to save his daughter because his late wife cared about her..and that’s all he understood and wanted to protect. Him and Liyu’s love was pure and beautiful. So was his brief meeting with Shenli. I shed quite a few tears at that scene . Mofang is also worth mentioning. Even though he was forced into completing a mission by his evil ‘master’ he went against him all the time only to protect Shenli and never truly hurt her . I think we all felt pity for him in the end . Now I could go on about this all day since all the characters had something special which would make you get attached to them.

The OST was beautifully done too , I can’t go on without mentioning the opening track which was very unique but fit for Shenli’s fighter character. I got chills every time I heard it .

Beautiful Costumes , Hairstyles , Unique and creative Makeup and more importantly the happy ending that I’ve been craving for!
Get your phone’s storage ready because this drama has many aesthetic scenes !

10/10 From L.Alexandra !

Leia Mais

I can't believe their love story started with a chicken

Honestly this drama wasn't even on my radar until I saw so many people talk about it whenever a new episode is released. After seeing a few stills, I put it on my watchlist and still I kept putting it off until last week. Then I finally played the first episode and... well, I got a subscription and payed for the express episodes just so I can finish it today. Just a beautiuful love story between 2 heavily burdened people finding refuge in each other.

Gawd I can't even begin to put into words just how much I loved this drama. The music, the casting, the story, the cgi were all done so beautifully. With xianxia, I always expect a few (or several) loose ends and moments that didn't quite make sense (that is, moments that you would just attribute to magic to explain), but I don't think there were a lot of those for this one. We more or less got to see how everyone ended up (except for that one person whose love story is still vague, though that one was definitely on purpose no matter how much I wanted to know who his actual fated lover is), AND we got an ACTUAL happy ending!!!! Not the typical xianxia bs (open endings that show only a hope for future meetings or a revival that shows just the 2 leads making eye contact at the end and nothing else). No, we got a REAL happy ending!!! And an "epilogue" that lasts about 2 episodes' worth!!!! The drama could have ended at the middle of episode 38 and I would've already considered that an actual happy ending, but they gave us more than that!!!!

Just so many beautiful character stories all around. So many characters I found annoying or irrelevant that I ended up cheering for. Characters I hated but found myself relating to after a point (yes, I am talking about Goddess haha). Story was so good I was actually rooting for THREE couples other than the main couple, and all of them got decent screen time too!

The moments of humor that never left, making tense moments lighter and heartfelt moments even more heartbreaking. The love between Shen Li and Xing Zhi. The way they're both powerful individually and that never changed. The understanding between them, and the acceptance of each others' duties and responsibilities. The way they protect each other and support each other. Just... everything was so beautiful.

I can keep gushing about this drama for ages, but I'll stop here. If you're trying to decide of you should watch this drama, I highly suggest you give it a try. You might end up liking it as much as I do.

PS (and SPOILERS!!!!!): Don't you just love it when a stubborn/restrained man who suppresses his feelings almost loses the love of his life causing him to just snap and lose control? Followed of course by said man just holding on to that woman for dear life and never letting her go again. One of my fave tropes fr.

Leia Mais

This drama was a delight for the eyes and ears.

The FL, Shen Li, is a petite and ballsy character with a masculine "yang" mindset. The ML, Xingzhi, is an aloof and esoteric character who has refined his ability to not be affected by his emotions over 1,000's of years and in the ensuing relationship demonstrates a softer more "yin" aspect.

Both characters are wonderfully written and brought to life on the screen. They have a development arc and their bantering and affection is very endearing. Supporting actors are also 3 dimensional and given sufficient exposure to assist with the overall story line.

There all the successful Wuxia elements of beautiful costumes, terrific dream like sets, over the top CGI, gorgeous lighting and beautiful settings. Comedic actors and situations break up the grimmer battles and villain actions so that it has good flow of interest despite the length. I liked the ending it has a modern twist and wraps up their relationship nicely so don't skip this.

Leia Mais

Obrovské zklamání!

Je mně líto, ale všechno je tady špatně!
Mizerné a přehrávané herecké výkony (mimochodem - po vynikajícím Princes Agents jde doslova o totální ztrátu prestiže hlavních aktérů), nehodící se zvuková stránka, scénář naprosto amatérský, příběh tuctový, grafika na dnešní dobu a špičkové standardy velmi slabá ...
Očekávání bylo obrovské a bohužel výsledek je doslova tristní.
Jde podle mě o naprostý propadák, jehož sledování je v současné obrovské konkurenci jiných skutečně vynikajících čínských dramat naprostou ztrátou času.
Za mě musím bohužel říct, že jde o obrovské zklamání!
Natočení tohoto seriálu jsou vyhozené peníze a jeho výsledek je opravdu smutný!

Leia Mais

Unique Relationship Dynamics with Crazy Chemistry

Story
Thought it was well paced. Appropriate amount of time was spent on each arc and I didn't feel any of the arcs being drawn out. Especially appreciated the start - never thought I would enjoy the relationship building between a man and his chicken that much! Some portions of the plot were of course slightly cliche and obvious but in general, felt that the writer kept enough mysteries for me to want more. Also loved the extra episode at the end just for viewers to enjoy the couple more! Thought the character building was great too as we can see Shen Li slowly becoming like Xing Zhi...

Acting
Amazing amazing performance by ZLY. Her apathetic gaze was integral to the show and she just looks absolutely stunning in her armor. LGX did a decent enough job for me as a supposedly cold and aloof god. Kind of wanted to see more cool sides of him.

Music
Loved all the OSTs added to my Spotify list

Leia Mais