Today’s review is about Chinese Drama called Joy of Life starring Li Qin (my fav) and Zhang Rou Yun, not to forget Xiao Zhan with few appearances. I still can’t believe I finally took time to watch Joy of Life. Normally I just hand pick dramas but this time I watched a recommendation video on YouTube and I came across Joy of Life. Yes, I knew about the drama but I didn’t have the motivation to watch it, until I saw a clip of a kid slapping an old man and I was like ‘Wow, which drama is it? I got to watch that’… all in all, you can say I watched Joy of life because of the slap.
First Impressions.
Expectations? I had zero expectations because my focus was on that hot slap… I wanted to see nothing but the slap. When I watched the first episode I got confused, I didn’t read the synopsis of the drama so I thought it was just a normal historical drama but then I see people in the modern world and I was like ‘Wait… did I click on the correct video?’ I got to understand the story and also got to see the slap… kept rewinding the clip. Jokes aside, I know a lot of faces, some were not popular that time but they are currently the biggest names this year, let’s go straight to the review.
The Good.
Chemistry.
The brotherhood between Fan Xian and Tang Zhishi is so deep. It may have started as a guard and boss relationship but the way their bond grew was incredible, they were on fire. Secondly, the chemistry between Fan Xian and his sister RuoRuo was on another level, they understood each other better than anyone else. They the brother- sister relationship that most people wish to have. Fan Xian and Wan’er’s chemistry was ok, but that was until Fan Xian met the Saintess. I’m not shipping Fan Xian and the Saintess but I felt the connection with them compared to Wan’,er and fan Xian. I feel like the Saintess had more effect on Fan Xian than Wan’er… I’m not against Fan Xian marrying Wan’er. They did click as a couple in the beginning but then they stopped building their bond.
Storyline.
Although it’s a bit complicated story, it wasn’t bad. I think the idea of Fan Xian being born with memories from his real era plus his mother’s life being a mystery boosted the story. I can talk about the politics but we always see that, this was something rare. If you look at the storyline, it revolves around Fan Xian who is also curious about his identity and how he survives challenges that come in front of him. There were times where they flopped with their plots and executions but it’s a no brainer.
Lot’s of Scheming.
I don’t know about you but I prefer dramas where they take everything as if they’re playing chess. One person is plotting against the other and then you get an unexpected result. All those plots and schemes are like fuel poured on fire.
Fan Xian’s attitude.
The character of Fan Xian played by Zhang Rouyun is fantastic. Zhang Rouyun should’ve been casted as the only lead because he is always on screen each and every episode unlike Li Qin. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Li Qin but she was just doing guest roles. Anyways, back to Fan Xian’s attitude… He just wants a normal life with no power struggles but then people keep on forcing things on him. One is pulling him towards politics, the other one is pulling him towards business and the other is trying to make him the leader of the overwatch court and he doesn’t want that. He usually takes things lightly, doesn’t care whether you’re a Prince or Emperor, he won’t kneel when he sees you… That’s something different!
Good twist.
When I started reaching the end of the drama, I thought I knew where the story will go but I was lying to myself. The writers played a good trick on us, the way they twisted Fan Xian’s identity is memorable.
The Bad.
What an ending, Yey!
I’m just being sarcastic. There’s obviously going to be second season of Joy of Life and I won’t complain about that because they indeed mention it on the last episode. The main problem with the ending was it’s pacing and delivery. They kept dragging the last ten episodes with unnecessary fights with Shen Zheng. The whole Shen Zheng saga should’ve lasted at least 3-5 episodes not more than 6. Maybe they were trying to increase the number episodes so that they can reach their 46 episodes target.
Why pretend as if the Emperor didn’t cross-dress?
First of all, compliments to the team for dressing up the Emperor of Qing/Qi (confusing). I thought Dance of sky empire had the best crossdresser until I saw the young Emperor. He was…no… She was dressed like a real man. The real problem is that they didn’t even give us a hint that He is actually a She, I mean…they should’ve hinted us so that we can anticipate the second season. Her attire also made her chest a bit bigger, which was making the whole scene look like they shot the scene while in a rush.
Why make every girl fall in love with him?
It’s no secret that Fan Xian was already engaged Wan’er and it was also unavoidable for Lili to fall in love with him, even though he’s in love with Wan’er… we all saw it coming. While you’re getting used to Fan Xian hanging out with Lili then here comes another woman who gets too close with Fan Xian. This will cause lot’s of wars on social media because we will be shipping different actors.
Conclusion.
It was actually fun watching this drama, it has comedic scenes and sometimes it even teaches you something about life. The ending is incomplete and it wasn’t good but the last 4 minutes were a shocker. I’m also part of the team that’s waiting for the second season because I want to know where will Fan Xian end up.
Ratings.
8/10
