O Retorno do Abismo (2023)

One of the best dramas this year

This is my first time writing a review for a drama in MDL. I am not really much into xianxia but this drama became one of my favorites. So let me tell give a review and my opinions. I have already read the novel so I can say that there are a lot of changes made to the novel in the drama adaptation. A lot of characters were added and even the main villain is different, but I still feel like they all add up smoothly to give a conclusion.

Also this drama is for those people who like a light-hearted plot (there was angst and some sad parts too but it's still light-hearted considering that it's xianxia), a healthy relationship between the leads with fewer misunderstandings, a warm and naive male lead who turned cold after getting betrayed, a strong and sassy female lead, character development of the leads. Some may say that it was a bit fast-paced but for me it was perfect.
It will let you experience everything- comedy, romance, friendship, costume, fantasy, cute moments, grief and suspense. Give it a shot, trust me you won't be disappointed.

SPOILER AHEAD:
So the our male lead (Tian Yao ) is an all powerful dragon demon. He was initially innocent, naive and a warm person but turns cold and is full of hatred after he gets betrayed, used and badly wounded by his first love and that too on his wedding day. His ex dismembered him and sealed his body parts into different places. So his soul escapes one day and finds a mortal body. 10 years later he meets our female lead (Yan Hui). YH is a weak disciple (by weak I don't mean physically or emotionally, it's just that she had a seal placed in her body by her master which prevented her from using her magical powers to the fullest) at chenxing mountain who got kicked out because she defended spirits (taoists and spirits are generally at feud in there). She is a free-spirited, lazy, straightforward person who loves eating and wants to lead a lavish lifestyle. She was initially reluctant but after listening to TY's story started to sympathise with him and decided to help him find his body. In the beginning, TY was wary of her because she was also a Taoist just like his ex who betrayed him and only wanted to use her for finding his body. But after she saves his life, he begins to slowly warm up to her and trust her. They started to help and protect each other and facing all the difficulties together, thus forming a stong bond of mutual love, trust and understanding.
Now let me tell you in the novel, TY is the one who fell for YH first but in the drama, it was YH who fell first and confessed first. This makes sense because YH is a free spirted person who won't back down while TY is someone who has been hurt badly before and find it difficult to love again.
Our second male lead Bai Xiao Sheng was added in the drama. Now for future viewers this is a piece of advice:
In the beginning he is really funny and supports our main couple but then he falls in love with our female lead. At first he really doesn't plan on doing anything but then comes the only misunderstanding arc between our main couple. Both BXS and our female lead misunderstands the male lead and that's when he tries to create a rift between the two of them because he thinks that the male lead doesn't deserve her. So I saw a lot of people complaining about this arc and dropping the show there. For them, please have some patience. Many of you may find it annoying but once the misunderstanding gets cleared he backs off and gives his blessings to them. He even saves them twice. So yea, the misunderstanding arc will last from episode 17-24 but it will get better. Also, this arc, even though was not there in the novel but still important because this is where our male lead realizes how much our FL's trust and love meant to him. It was a moment of character development for him because he learns the need to explain himself and communicate well with FL.

Next, I would like to say that if you have seen or read somewhere about our female lead being a damsel in distress and always needing a male lead to save her, then that's not true. I saw these comments somewhere but I never understood. Yes, she was a bit weak in the beginning but there are times also when she saved our male lead and fought bravely. Her character development happens mainly in the second half of the drama where desperate situations force her to become a stronger version of herself. From someone who just wanted to lead a carefree life and eat baozi to being a strong, responsible, and protective person who is ready to burn down the world to protect her loved ones and eventually saving the day in the end. I feel like this is the best part of the drama adaptation. TY also got his own character growth, from being naive and innocent who got betrayed and became full of hatred but never changed his true nature, from initially planning to use the FL to selflessly loving her.
I know a lot of changes were made in the drama but I feel it was for the best outcome.

Ok, there are a lot of cute moments but the kiss scenes are not great. (I heard that the director instructed them to kiss like kissing a wall, so not the actor's fault).
Plus the OST's are perfect.
Also all the characters got their own time to shine, no one was extra and unnecessary. Everyone had their own role to play.
CGI was not that good but its not that bad either given the fact that it's not a high-budget drama.
But still kudos to the director, scriptwriter and actors for all the effort they put into making this a better version of the novel.

Overall this was undoubtedly one of the best xianxia dramas this year.

Regarding the ending, let me spoil it, it's a HE so watch it without worry. And the ending is quite satisfactory(at least for me)

Leia Mais

A fresh and very amusing love story

Back From the Brink is a true gem among historical c-dramas, charming with its compelling narrative of love, betrayal, and vengeance. It truly sets itself apart from other dramas with a delicate balance between lightheartedness and seriousness, often injecting moments of delightful humor.

Tian Yao and Yan Hui not only make a remarkable couple but also stand as enchanting characters in their own right. Yan Hui, in particular, breaks the mold of the typical female lead. Her unwavering determination, when added to her feelings for Tian Yao make for a refreshing change, deviating from the common trope of pining for love. Furthermore, her fear of death (although it may seem like something basic and obvious) adds a nuanced layer to her character in many moments, distinguishing her from other FLs in the genre.

At first glance, Tian Yao may appear as the archetypal male lead, but as the story unfolds, we witness the unveiling of a pure-hearted individual with a touch of innocence and youthful charm.

While the story may have a slightly slow start in the initial episodes, it quickly gains momentum and it becomes quite interesting moving forward. However, there are some plot points in the middle, particularly the love triangle involving Bai Xiaosheng, that feel underdeveloped and lack proper buildout. Another issue lies with the main antagonist, Fu Yin. His origins and true desires remain unclear, leaving his motivations seemingly rooted in baseless anger towards the world. This shallow portrayal fails to elevate him to the status of a formidable major villain. In contrast, Suying proved herself as a stronger antagonist with a comprehensible motive. Her obsession with Lu Musheng, which she misconstrues as love, drives her to take extreme measures to save him and get him to love her again.

Despite these flaws, the drama's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. The romance, in particular, is expertly executed, eschewing the tiresome cycle of on-again-off-again relationships. Once Yan Hui and Tian Yao come together, they remain steadfast, a welcome departure from the endless obstacles that often plague main couples. However, more passionate and intimate moments between them would have further enriched their connection (and the few kiss scenes felt somewhat lacking passion).

Zhou Ye once again delivers a stellar performance, portraying an immensely funny and charming female lead. Her ability to convey emotions and provide comedic relief is commendable. Hou Minghao also impresses as Tian Yao, showcasing remarkable facial expressions that effectively convey his character's emotions (the reactions when Yan Hui unloads his own trauma onto others are especially noteworthy for their hilarity.).

Regarding the OST, there is little to critique. It is good overall, with a great opening theme, but it fails to leave a lasting impression or emerge as a standout aspect of the drama.

In conclusion, while Back From the Brink may not be a drama I would rewatch in its entirety (although certain parts, such as the Dragon Valley arc, Tian Yao baby arc, and the episodes surrounding the wedding, are worth revisiting), it is definetly a drama I recommend to anyone who enjoys xianxias. This drama does particularly well what it sells and brings a fresh perspective to the genre, offering something new and captivating to watch.

Leia Mais

Love this so, so much

This is possibly my favourite drama of all time.

Luckily I had a Mandarin speaker in my house to translate the final part to better understand the ending— this is a drama that will take weeks to recover from.

There was no filler; no weak, self conscious acting; and I even loved the effects as they seemed like children’s book illustrations and fit the mood. In short, for me there were none of the usual interruptions that push you out of the world that has been created. If you want to make me cry, just play me the opening song and watch me melt into a snotty mess on the floor.

For the ultimate, unequivocal show down between good and evil; for the most worthy couple; for side characters that get enough vibrancy to live on in your mind, rather than just existing to move the plot; this drama is the one.

Leia Mais

Just cause Neo Hou & Zhou Ye

Another drama that make me hang till the end cause of the actor & actress, this time of course Neo Hou & Zhou Ye, they are also the reason I'm watching in the first place.

So long not watch a drama that I don't care about the story of the drama, but hang till the end. Truth to be told, I don't too understand the story in the first place. Don't know the story just make me uninterested to follow or just to care. But they just pick the right actor/ess so for me seeing them still make me interesting to keep watching, at least to see them in my screen.

This drama open with stupid woman [Su Ying (SY)] that willing to do anything in the name of love, in this case killing Tian Yao. Stupid why...? Cause later on we learn the man that she love not even love her. Even after knowing that, SY still do anything just for hang him around her.

As usual with XianXia world we always deal between dark/evil & good force. As the story goes we learn that evil already infiltrate from long long ago. And as usual too always interesting to see how they try to combat their inner evil force, especially this time for Yan Hui

Even though the story not very interested to follow, but every time I start get bored they give us cute scene or story to attract us again. Like with the story of Tian Yao become pure like baby again, really cute to see Neo Hou act baby like.

Overall this just another XianXia story that ever exist....

Leia Mais

ngl they had me going in the first half

for some years now i've been feeling quite burnt out from modern xianxia/wuxia (not enough to stop watching lol), one of the main reasons being that so many shows seemed to be following a set of exhausting tropes. main character has mysterious origins and tuns out to be reincarnated/reborn/memory sealed ultimate goddess/princess/savior/demon/apocalypse bringer, her love interest is a super powered ultimate high god/war god/crown prince/demon lord. if the stakes are not high from the outset, they become THE HIGHEST WORLD IS ENDING STAKES EVER, the ultimate battle of good and evil, dark and light (which is also a concerningly judeo-christian western value found in western fantasy (lotr, harry potter, star wars) but maybe there is chinese precedent for this and i just dont know enough but idk), the entire world Will Be Destroyed unless one of the main characters sacrifices their life!!!! sometimes they even go back and forth sacrificing their lives for each other/the world REPEATEDLY!!!!! then one character dies and the other waits for them to come back/regenerate/reincarnate and then they DO for one last brief appearance/reunion in the last two minutes!!! because no one dies and actually suffers the consequences of self sacrifice!!! nothing matters!! what is the meaning of self sacrifice when they are gods and deities and will just come back???? the stakes are so high and yet there are no real stakes!!!! instead everyone is just rewarded over and over with a happy ending for sacrificing themselves!!! its EXHAUSTING!!!!!!! it's like writers don't know how to get people invested and care about stories anymore unless the stake is their LIFE or the WORLD!!! and more often than not the 'world' is such an abstract concept where they don't even truly express why this world is precious, valuable or worth saving. i've been calling this the the marvel cinematic hell zone because the stakes are SO high that the story loses humanity, relatability and empathy from the audience (me at least) and just becomes meaningless.

what made huxin so special in the beginning was that it was very clearly NOT this. it was SO refreshing, a true breath of fresh air that felt nostalgic of older wuxia in so many ways. the stakes were simple and lower, it was about adventures and fights and collecting all the body parts and gaining powers! fighting injustice! the main characters were special not because of their birthright or their destiny, but because they were just skilled fighters or spirits. yanhui is a normal girl part of a normal sect and even though tianyao is powerful, he's also just a yao dragon. like thank you for giving us HUMANITY!! RELATABILITY!!!! charm and sweetness they had it all!!!!! i truly LOVED this show in the beginning and binged it so quickly, it felt like i was watching my fav childhood wuxias, but still new and fresh! zhou ye and hou minghao are perfect as the main leads, they're both so cute and have great chemistry and charisma! the villains were hateable and HUMAN! the taoists and suying were lead by human constructs and emotions- racism and prejudice, obsession, desire for power and control! NOT an indescribable incomprehensible innate EVIL. the lower stakes adventures, the themes of oppression and inequality, the relatable heroes and villains, and the character and relationship development too all made this show an amazing standout that allowed me to truly care about the story and characters.

sadly, and inevitably, this did not last, and the show eventually became everything it wasn't, everything that i hate abt modern xianxias and wuxias. it lost everything that set it apart from the others. listen, unlike many other viewers, i was okay w many things, i was ok w tianyao stabbing yanhui, i was ok w them having communication issues, i was ok w their relationship being set back and tested, and them having to work and expend time and energy to gain yanhui's trust again. that was all fine and i thought it made sense for both of their characters and i don't think it was terrible writing. what i am NOT okay with was the new ULTIMATE EVIL DARK LORD with the WORST NOSE CONTOUR I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!! why the terrible drag make up???? WHY???? why did he have to show up and ruin literally everything??? why can't the villains just be the taoists?? why can't the stakes just be that tianyao needs to retrieve his body parts and get revenge and yanhui wants to survive?? that was a wonderful story i was enjoying that story!!!!! now it's no longer a fight against systemic oppression, a battle to settle personal vengeances!! now it's saving the world from apocalypse... AGAIN....!!! the taoists aren't just shitty actually they are being POSSESSED and MANIPULATED by the evil dark lord!!!!!! actually every single thing that has happened from the beginning wasn't driven by human motivations, greed and cruelty, but by the EVIL INCOMPREHENSIBLE DARK THING!! pulling the strings from the beginning for the big dark master plan of apocalypse!!!!!!!!!!!!! like come on!!!!!! can we not?????? can we please not do this it is literally ruining all of the villains and shifu!!!!!!! shifu whips and tortures yanhui not because he is a shitty but complex man who values adherance to taoist sect traditions and orthodoxy over his own daughter, but because he's a goddamn idiot who got TRICKED by the evil darkness into thinking it was yanhui's life or the WORLD. like this kind of writing RUINS characters! they damn near got suying too by saying the idea to manipulate and kill tianyao was evil dark lords idea instead of her own. at least she stayed terrible and obsessed w lu musheng till the end but still!!! don't even get me started on lingfei!!! truly abysmal writing for the story and characters, a great way to get me to stop caring because nothing matters anymore, everything is about the great evil big bad who also has no character writing and is just a psycho and manifestation of everything bad in the world. i didn't even care about yanhui and tianyao and their relationship anymore and i had loved them so much in the beginning. everything and everyone just loses their charm, bai xiaosheng is destroyed once they turn him into a love rival, and then the show just completely forgets about his existence for the latter half. i never cared for the side characters but they get even more grating. at a certain point i was just finishing it to finish it.

all too often we have main characters in cdrama who give up EVERYTHING and sacrifice themselves for the greater good, for the world, for their lover, etc. etc. and for once we got a main character who didn't do that. who believed in self preservation, and was still a good person. yanhui was a normal human being who valued her life like normal humans, who wanted to live and wasn't willing to give up EVERYTHING for other people. that isn't a bad thing lmao, human beings should not be taught self sacrifice as the ultimate marker for goodness and moral purity. in fact it's really unhealthy to live your life for other people. so it was extremely disappointing to have her character go down that road like all the rest... like does anyone have anything new to say???

all in all.... the beginning was a 10/10 and the ending was a 0/10 generic boring meaningless pointless garbage.... final score
5/10.

Leia Mais

" I live so I can meet you. "

If I was to compare BFTB with the other xianxia I've watched this year, I enjoyed this more than The Starry Love but slightly less than TTEOFTM. My actual rating : 8.7/10.

The plot : A story of a human girl and a broken dragon who went on an adventure, healing each other along the way, facing challenges together and later fall in love with each other. I think the plot was excellent . One of the best I've seen. It was neat and detailed. I liked that everything happens for a reason .Most of the times the plot will left you confused at first but later will give answer to all your questions when the time comes. You just need to be patient.

The acting: This was my second time of watching Neo Hou after AGLM which I did'nt finished .Visually, ML is as pretty as FL and it was distracting lol. His acting was good and I enjoyed watching our Pretty Dragon in action ( Here is what I could'nt understand and find it annoying when everyone - village people,taoist people- called him Evil Dragon everytime they saw him. What evil thing he did that they saw I really wanna know. Like come ooon he had done nothing bad and never harming anyone how could they be so blind and keep believing on hearsay. Stupid people...) . This was my first time watching Zhou Ye as FL and I enjoyed her acting too. I think she did great at every emotional scene she was in. Acting of the other cast also not disappointing. My favourite was Riley Wang as Bai Xiao Sheng , our michievious third-wheel/ matchmaker. His character provide comic relief in this drama and his synergy with FL and ML never failed to entertain me while watching.

Romance : To describe the romance here, it was sweet with little angst. Both leads had good chemistry with each other. I liked the fact that our couple except for that one time always practice healthy communication with each other. There's nothing better than watching a couple being honest to each other about their feelings like what shown in this drama. Any conflict they had usually get solved right away and not predictably dragged to 5 till 10 episodes like in most drama. We did have 2nd and 3rd couple here but I skipped most of their scenes as I'm not deeply invested in their stories.

Cinematography & CGI: I have no complaints and thought it was great.

Music /OST: It was just okay. None made me eager to download it and put it on my spotify playlist.

Overall, BFTB was one of the best xianxia I've watched this year. If you like dragon, kind male lead, headstrong and kickass female lead, adventurous plot, romance with healthy communication & little angst in your story , watch this & you might enjoy it as I did.

Leia Mais

Du rire et une jolie romance, un été qui s'annonce sous de beau auspice !

Il pleut. Si pour certains vacanciers, c'est une plaie durant la période estivale, c'est une aubaine pour le nord de la France. Avouons que pouvoir rire de bon coeur sous son plaid, alors que l'orage gronde est plutôt plaisant.

L'intrigue nous amène cette fois dans le royaume des mortels où se côtoient taoist et démon. La sémillante Yan Hui expulsée de son clan y rencontre l'esprit millénaire dragon, Tian Yao. Ce dernier à la recherche de certaines parties de son corps, éparpillés à travers les 4 coins du monde après une trahison de sa fiancée Su Ying, comprend rapidement que Yan Hui possède une partie de ce qui lui appartient. Et voilà notre duo de choc, envers et contre tous, sur les routes afin de reconstituer notre dragon millénaire.

Envers et contre tous. C'est un peu le thème de notre drama. Derrière le ton léger et drôle, du moins durant la première partie, se cache le problème de cette normalité que l'humanité a imposé depuis des siècles. A travers l'histoire de Yan Hui et de Tian Yao, c'est l'universalité de la différence qui nous est montrés. Qui est le monstre? Qui est l'humain? Cette peur de l'inconnu, cette idée de ce qui est différent est obligatoirement mal. J'ai vraiment apprécié la morale de l'histoire et c'est joliment mis en scène à travers les différents couples humain/démon mais aussi ce rejet que chaque protagoniste rencontre au sein même de son clan.
J'aime que rien ne soit blanc ou noir, la nuance se glisse partout que cela soit chez les humains ou les démons.

L'humour omniprésent allège considérablement l'atmosphère et on se surprend à rire de bon coeur, du moins dans la première partie. La seconde partie devient plus dramatique et perd un peu ce côté étonnant et loufoque mais n'en reste pas moins agréable à suivre.

Les personnages? c'est le point fort et une belle réussite dans ce drama.
Yan Hui est le personnage central de ce drama. C'est un personnage féminin pétillant de vie dont la joie et la bonne humeur ont illuminé le petit écran de ses répliques détonnantes d'intelligences et de drôleries! J'ai totalement craqué pour ses actions inattendues et ses mimiques ultra "cutes"! J'ai adoré sa force et sa féminité, c'est un personnage superbement interprété par Zhou Ye! Je découvre cette actrice et j'avoue que j'ai été bluffée par son jeu. Je pense que Yan Hui fut le pilier de ce drama.
Tian Yao, moins exubérant, apporte ce contraste nécessaire dans notre duo, rendant le côté loufoque de Yan Hui encore plus évident. Leur couple fut adorable malgré je l'avoue une petite perte d'intensité pendant une partie du drama (je vous laisse deviner à quel moment....).
Les personnages secondaires ont été soignés, et nous prenons beaucoup de plaisir à suivre chacune de leur histoires.

C'est donc un drama extrêmement agréable à suivre avec une sacrée bonne dose de bonne humeur!

Leia Mais

great chemistry between the main leads

I started this drama not having any expectations mostly because I was not particularly interested in Zhou Ye and did not even know who Hou Ming Hao was.

The first 8 episodes were slow, story was average and relationship between the two main leads was very typical of c-drama couples who first met: bickering like enemies.

I watched on, however and was gradually drawn into the story and drawn into the developing camaraderie of the two main leads, from getting used to each other to falling in love and even dying for each other.

Basically, the entire story was simple, about the male lead finding the decapitated parts of his body after being harmed by Su Ying and the female lead helping him albeit initially unwilling. Lots of adventures along the way as they tried to find the parts together and lots of things happened which also tested the strength of their love for each other.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama more than I expected and was glad that I started and continued with it because it became one of those dramas I waited for episodes to drop and couldn’t bear for it to end. I was touched by the love they had for each other, something which was not sudden or out of the blue but developed as they went through each adventure. This was largely because of the strong chemistry between the main leads - Zhou Ye and Hou Ming Hao - a winning factor in any xianxia and they look good together in the drama, like a real couple.

There were some comedic parts in the show, you know it when the music changed, I was perfectly fine with them. It gave the show a lighter feel and I did find some humour in some of those parts.

There were no illogical moments or irritating characters in the drama, at least nothing that I want to make a hoo-ha of. The only negative thing would be the amateur acting of some of the cast. Though they were not important figures in the story, when you could see the flaws, your emotions would somehow be affected.

So, yes, all in all, this was a good watch, I would recommend this to anyone who likes to watch xianxias with adventure and a strong chemistry between the main leads.

And yes, Hou Ming Hao did look rather charming in the drama.

Leia Mais

A hot mess of finding my dragon body parts!

DON'T TRUST THE OTHER PEOPLE WHEN THEY SAY THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA OF 2023. THIS DRAMA IS FAR FROM IT... Had high expectations due to reading the reviews from others. This drama started good but lost me during half of it.

Like the storyline was for the male lead to find his missing body parts that the cruel ex lover scattered all over the world. The female lead got the protection scale which became her heart. She and male lead are destiny to be together. They go on a journey to find the remain parts of the male lead dragon body.

If they just focused on that part it might of been interesting , but adding too much on the sidelines really confused me. Like the male lead took his revenge pretty early on in the drama. i watched to 29 ep and still they only have found his leg, and his teeth aka sword? too slow...

Plus the leads get together really late. The male lead is just too afraid of getting hurt again... Poor female lead.

The female lead is pretty hilarious in the fact that she is really bold and not afraid of others.She stands up for the truth and for people/demons who are weaker than her. She also loves punching people.

Leia Mais

A PERFECT DRAMA ???

I just can't believe it has ended. It 's the best drama for me. It was full of sweetness, comic, angsty, sad, happy mix together. I fully enjoyed every bit of it.


They are best couple gor me. The leads here support each other, solve things together and go through every hardships together.


The supporting characters are are also good here. They are funny and supportive of the leads and help them fullfill their goals.



After this i hope that they work together in another drama. I will rewatch it after sometimes. For future viewers, don't hesitate, don't confuse just start watching this.

Leia Mais