The King Of Blaze 2 (2018)

The modern installment of The King of Blaze is here!! The original cast comprised of Chen Bolin, Jing Tian, Zhang Yijie, Lai Yumeng, Sun Shaolong, Du Junze, Liu Hailan, Zhang Weina, Zhang Junhan, Fan Yixuan, Wang Qianhang and Zhu Yuxin. Considering that the continuation of the story was pre-planned and filming took place consecutively, all return for The King of Blaze 2 火王之千里同风 which will be 33 episodes long.  

Unlike the first series, The King of Blaze 2 takes place in the present instead of the past.  The story follows a bright young scientist who brings together a group of people in the hopes of finding alternative and renewable clean energy sources while also trying to safeguard the planet from pollution and disasters.  He meets a female reporter in one of his interviews and despite their differences, they somehow manage to hit it off.  The plot thickens when the scientist's research is stolen and they get into all sorts of trouble trying to take it back. 

Release Date: December 18, 2018 (two episodes every Monday-Thursday at 10pm) 

Vote for your favorite Chinese dramas in 2018. 

Source:  1 

The Legends

Based on the novel by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang 九鹭非香, The Legends 招摇 is a fantasy romance drama that tells the story of Lu Zhaoyao, the leader of the demonic Wan Lu sect. It spans 40 episodes and features a cast led by Bai Lu, Xu Kai, Dai Xu and Shane Xiao Yan.    

Synopsis from chinesedrama.info

Lu Zhaoyao is the fearless leader of Wan Lu Men.  She falls into a dangerous situation while she was attempting to claim the sword that the old Demon King left behind. She mistakenly assumes Mo Qing to be the culprit who betrayed her.

Five years later, Lu Zhaoyao manages to establish a connection with Qin Zhiyan of the Immortal Sect. She also returns to Wan Lu Man, hoping to reclaim her position as leader. Howere, Mo Qing has already taken back his identity as Li Chenlan, the son of the Demon KIng, and currently sits in the center of power.  Lu Zhaoyao entices him to steal another sword for her sake while she colludes with Jiang Wu with a scheme of her own.

Contrary to expectations, Lu Zhaoyao gets kidnapped by Jiang Wu instead. Secrets for the past are revealed and Lu Zhaoyao realizes who her enemies are and who has stayed by her side all along.

Bai Lu plays Lu Zhaoyao, the fearless leader of the Wan Lu sect. While attempting to recover the former Demon King's sword, she is ambushed by the ten immortal sects.

Xu Kai is cast in the role of Mo Qing, a disfigured guard who is in fact, Li Chenlan, the son of the former Demon King.  

Dai Xu plays the character Jiang Wu who seems to be the main antagonist in the series.

Shane Xiao Yan plays Qin Zhiyan who belongs to one of the immortal sects. She and Lu Zhaoyao establish a connection with each other.

I think that this series is going to be fun to watch. It only has 40 episodes and also has Xu Kai playing the male lead.  He has risen in popularity after Story of Yanxi Palace, and this will no doubt bring a positive influence for The Legends.

Release Date: TBD

Vote for your favorite Chinese dramas in 2018. 

Source: 1

First Impressions: Memories of the Alhambra

One of the most anticipated fantasy series of the year finally premieres! It's all about teleported magic, virtual reality, and love in Granada, Spain.

Yoo Jin-Woo (Hyun Bin) is the CEO of a highly successful investment company with a doctorate in engineering, and interest in game development. While on a business trip to Barcelona, he receives a mysterious call from a programmer who asks to meet in Granada. Their meeting point is Hostel Bonita run by Jung Hee-Joo (Park Shin-Hye) who starts off on the wrong foot during her first encounter with Jin-Woo. Disregarding Hee-Joo and her lack of financial sense, Jin-Woo becomes enthralled when he experiences the magic of a virtual reality game created by the elusive programmer who never shows up.

Taken back to 1492, the game brings the events of the Reconquista to life using state of the art technology. Seeing the potential of the game which is worth trillions of won, Jin-Woo discovers that the genius game creator he wishes to sign a deal with is 17 year-old Jung Se-Joo (Park Chan-Yeol) who is none other than Hee-Joo's younger brother. Flabbergasted, Jin-Woo has to convince the clueless Hostel praton to be the signing guardian of a gaming deal that will go down in history and alter the game developing world.

What a fantastic premiere and great way to end a drama slump that has been formed over the past two months! Ever since casting news was announced, I've been keeping my eyes peeled and watching this like a hawk, and my hopes were not misplaced! This delivered on a scale I didn't anticipate and met all my expectations. So long wishy-washy shows and feelings of disappointment!

Written by the Writer of W: Two Worlds Collide and directed by the highly praised Ahn Gil-Ho who was behind Forest of Secrets, they're creative processes and capabilities combine nicely to give us Memories of the Alhambra. The idea of turning AR (augmented reality) into a genre would make sense coming from the mind of the Scriptwriter who wrote W: Two Worlds Collide since that took the drama world by storm with its comic-world meets reality subject matter. Yet unlike the former, Memories of the Alhambra isn't heavily focused on fated love that turns overly cringy and a plot that became messy in the second half (or at least that's what I can hope for and pray the Writer has read everyone's commentary on it) since the storyline seems highly detailed and hyper-fixated on aspects regarding the drama's AR elements.

I'm glad this was placed in TvN's hands, because it's nice to see two big names like Hyun Bin and Park Shin-Hye in a cable network series instead of being typecast in a generic drama produced by one of the larger broadcasting networks. The high production quality is reminiscent of Goblin but because this show is reliant on special effects, it goes beyond what we've seen in dramas prior to it. As far as their interactions go, I have no qualms with the acting since the first episode is mainly focused on Jin-Woo's discovery of the incredible game and I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing of the show as it never slows down or lags, giving us a tightly executed premiere.

Unlike the few negative comments that have been sacking the series along with other dramas and calling it another 'generic' and 'boring' show, I have to disagree even with my own bias opinions aside. I've never come across a K-drama like this in all the years I've been watching Korean dramas and have to admit that this is one show that will set itself apart with its' integration of genres and distinct tone and setting. 

Granada historically, is a hybrid of cultures and styles, creating a unique backdrop for such a series to base its foundations and game elements on. Considering the Writer, it'll be exciting to see how the lines of a medieval virtual reality blur with the present to illustrate a fresh story that we've all been thirsting for. Gaming as a main genre or even as a subsect has never been portrayed in a K-drama before, so we can all expect this to be quite the thrilling ride with plenty of potential and curiosity to peak anyone's interest.

If you haven't noticed already, I have nothing but praise for what the drama has accomplished and delivered thus far and can only hope that it maintains its momentum, unique style, and intriguing story to never stagnant and to leave a lasting impression as the year draws to an end. So here's to wishing that Alhambra is more than a magical place to visit, but becomes the milieu of a drama we can all positively love. 

Release Date: December 1, 2018 (Eng Sub available on Netflix)