The Longest Promise

I recently completed watching 12 episodes of "The Longest Promise," and I must say, this fantasy drama is absolutely breathtaking. Xiaozhan's acting prowess is truly remarkable. His profound understanding of the characters shines through, enabling him to flawlessly portray their essence.

Furthermore, the scenery throughout the drama is truly amazing, immersing the viewer in a visually captivating universe. The scenic vistas and finely created sets lend depth and charm to the overall look. Furthermore, the action sequences are extremely powerful, demonstrating the production team's passion and skill.

The producer and the entire crew clearly put their heart and soul into creating this outstanding series. The attention to detail and obvious hard effort make "The Longest Promise" a remarkable watching experience.

I have waited to see half of all episodes before writing a review, but now I can confidently say that this is a great drama series! It shines in may aspects:

• Storyline

While it takes an episode or two to fully understand the setting, from then on it's a captivating story with good setups and payoffs, never letting plotlines drag on for too long but also not cutting interesting story elements short.

• Characters & casting

The stars of the show, Xiao Zhan as Shi Ying and Ren Min as Zhu Yan, are the heart of the show. Shi Ying is the tragic center of the story, while the character of Zhu Yan adds the necessary sweetness and a bit of lightheartedness to the story. Especially Xiao Zhan's performance of Shi Ying brings a lot of nuance and heart to the character.

The supporting cast is also very strong: they are well acted and all have their own motivations, ambitions and struggles. They are all written 3-dimensional and make the world and its inhabitans seem more alive (with the only exception so far being the Ice Clan).

• Visuals & CGI

This series is simply beautiful to watch. Sets, costumes, lightning, fight choreography, "magic", CGI background and creatures - they are all masterfully done and really work well with each other. For that alone it's a great watch.

• Music

I often don't notice music, even when it's well done. In this drama however I often notice music in a positive way, consciously realising that it imroves the scene I'm watching even further and motivating me to go back and watch the scene again.

All in all a great drama to watch for any fantasy fan, and definetly a must-watch for any xianxia drama fan.

The longest Promise is a love story recently broadcasting in China. The male character, a prince who was framed and had to exile since he was a teenage, then grew up becoming the most charming, skilled chivalrous was portrayed by Xiao Zhan. He is absolutely stunning in this C-drama. I hardly can move my eyes away from him while watching this drama. His elegant physique, empathic acting and handsome face are irresistible. The story line is very exciting and the special effects are absolutely wonderful. I've never seen any C-drama having such a grand, awesome scenes along the show. I guarantee anyone who starts watching this show will fall in love with Shiying, the main male character.

I was really hooked around episode 8

I'm a Wuxia fan but I always enjoy a great Xianxia, and this happens to be one of them. Xiao Zhan is an incredible talent. Xiao Zhan is a consummate actor, able to play any role and become that character. I had just finished his beautiful & latest drama The Youth Memories 2023 not too long ago, where he played the confident, assertive, and gregarious Xiao Chun Sheng. That drama was a slice of life/coming of age. In The Long Promise, he played Shi Ying, a loner, calm, quiet, and introspective with a tragic past. Very few artists can reach that depth of acting in two totally different types of characters as successfully as Xiao Zhan has.

The overall story is solid and the chemistry between all characters is excellent, it's not just 2D between ML and FL so that's another really strong point about this drama that many other dramas lack... The different relationships between all the characters and their character growth. I loved Gen Qing & Yuan. Chong Ming kept me smiling though.

I wanted to add that at first, I was skeptical about the FL because she's not a big-name star but she stepped up to the plate and played Zhu Yan wonderfully. A young, strong girl, who stands up to bullies even if she has to face adversity, and isn't afraid to show her true emotions. I always found little games like playing hard to get so annoying in other dramas (pet peeve) but that isn't the case in this drama. There is angst though, that's Xianxia for you, but the silly games that are annoying are not present in this drama.

Finally, the CGI, cinematography, and fighting scenes are so well done. The usage of natural geological landscapes is stunning. Scenes have a Zen-like quality. My favorite parts are usually the marital arts scenes since as I said, I favor the Wuxia genre. They were seamless and fluid, with great choreography. The color, the lighting, and the movement were done very well. It's just a stunning visual treat from beginning to end.

Highly recommended., especially if you love Xianxia.

Beautifully made drama with eye stopping main character acted by Xiao Zhan and jaw dropping special effects for a TV drama. The calm, gentle, albeit reserved but fun character ShiYing is superbly acted by Xiao Zhan! Just can't move my eyes away from him. He is the essence of xianxia Chinese dramas with his impeccable physique, and empathic acting; he is simply irresistable. He really took the Shakespearean tragedy of the exiled prince to the next level. Unlike those similar charcaters before him, Xiao Zhan's ShiYing is kind and calming to all those around him even though he is strong willed and extremely powerful. He just pulls the audience into the character through the windows of the spike of the characters.

The story of ShiYing is a story of the exiled prince who should have came back for revenge to those who cause the death of his mother and his own exile. But he in turn became the savior, rather than the avenger. To do this, he has to go against his love, a student of his, who is destined to end his life as told by prophesy. The drama is well made with beautiful scenery and wonderful costume design. The resistable Xiao Zhan will be the epiphany of xianxia charcater for many years to come. It's the Chinese drama to watch this summer!