Ashes of Love

My initial thoughts when I saw this on Netflix I wasn't too sure if I'd like it. After the first few episodes I still wasn't hooked, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It has twists and turns I never expected and it got serious later on (I don't want to spoil it). The love triangles are excellently played, the acting is incredible. I'm so in love with this drama! Hands down the best Chinese drama I've ever seen and the best drama I've seen so far. I finished 63 one hour episodes in 4 days and left me wanting, yearning for more. I looked up the songs after and found out they were sang by the lead actor and actress. Not only can they sing beautifully, their on screen romance is heart breaking but so heartfelt. I couldn't believe the details they added to the story and how it was all tied up at the end (I wish I saw the marriage fox god in the last episode but hoping he will be in the second season. I ended up rewatching the last 2 episodes 3 times! Please give it a go if you aren't sure, you won't regret it. The 40-63 episodes were so heart/tear jerking. Looking forward to another season even though the leads are just guests in it.

I rarely submit reviews, but I could not ignore this outstanding film series.

The story line was as exotic and wonderfully unexpected as the set environments and costuming. The casting was truly perfect! The humor, joy and tragedy kept it's magnetic hold on the audience.

Though I've worked in the TV Broadcast & post-production for many years, being a westerner (Texan), I am fully aware I lost a good deal of understanding and depth in translation as well as through my gross lack of knowledge of the Chinese history, culture, and beliefs.

However it did not hinder me from being enthralled with this saga and being enamored with the richness of story, acting, costuming, set design and SFX.

My hats off to everyone involved in this grand and glorious Chinese fantasy romance epic with great lively humor. And the music was amazing!

It indeed compels one to learn more about the history and culture of China and it's regions.

Thank you again for this awe inspiring work. I sincerely hope you make another series of episodes with the same cast, or at least as many of these most talented actors and actresses as possible.

I wasn't sure that I would like this drama, but after committing myself to seriously sitting down and watching it, I was hooked. I love Deng Lun and Yang Zi, what chemistry! Their steadfast love for each other stood the test of time, death, interference and love triangles. The lead actors were the best and the supporting actors were impressive too. This series is addictive; you will watch it again and again. Kudos to everyone associated with production. What a super wonderful series!

I enjoyed the series much more then expected to. And I am not a fan of soap operas. Seriously, the first thing that really caught my eyes were the costumes and sets. All wooden items were carved, all calligraphy hand made, all clothing beautifully stitched. There is a palpable tactile sense to the created universe. That in turns allowed camera to get us traveling from the panoramic vistas (CG) to close-ups with quite high quality. I applaud the casting decisions as well. Main characters were progressing along the series with some burden of experiences, and it showed. The story had a nice arch, well explored without rushing, but also without being lost. This really beats a trivel of 600 channels of the "couple friends and a couch" or "tired rushed drama" concepts, and competes well with Hollywood TV studio productions, (which should take a notice, btw.) I am getting really frustrated with TV shows cancellations before we have any closure (Timeless, Lucifer) and here we can see an emerging market production, not only well executed (which means: expensively) but also NOT cancelled due to economic reasons. Bear in mind: this is a fantasy series, so some elements might be a bit naive, and some back story a little borrowed from at least 3 cultures, but the effect is still endearing, not cynical. In terms of emotional connection with the viewer: It stuck landing, to the last scene.

Well, i just completed watching this series, and to be honest, I liked it. It was not bad. This was my first time watching a series where i didn't know anything about the cast or the story. My way to watch a drama is to first research the story then find out about the actors who are working in the project. if nothing seems off then start the first episode. I picked this drama up randomly because I was bored and had nothing to watch. I didn't do any research on it but it came as a surprise to me. I am used to drop long dramas where story take turns and fumbles from its original route but to my amaze I watched it all in a week. The story moved a little slow at first but it picked speed in the middle and towards the end it became addictive. Every actor did their parts fabulously but the one to shine the most in this series was the Jin Mi character. It was portrayed beautifully by Yang Zi. I have become a fan of her after watching her performance in this series. Overall the summary of this long review is if you give this series a little bit of time towards the first phase of this drama, you will enjoy watching this series.