Princess Agents

The main reason this show got me hooked within the first couple of episodes. The storytelling is atypical and the visuals unusually brutal for a Chinese TV show. It dives deeply into a world of politics, intrigue, diplomacy and murder, with the main character caught in between with no proper understanding why with, the reason for which being rather uncreative though. Not that it bothers much - the personalities of the Chang'an nobility, their superficial relations and their struggle for power and influence behind the curtain is entertaining enough to spark interest where this is going. The choreography of the fight scenes looks pretty good, which is a quality that remains strong throughout the first season. Unfortunately the storytelling fails to keep its initial depth, though. The strong female lead does her best to carry the tale, but is for the most part only able to retain her standing and importance due to the fact that every noble male of note that she meets immediately and immortally falls in love with her, leaving her in the middle of the romantic hexagon (?) of their power struggle. Animations and CGI appear pretty cheap and outdated, which is unfortunately a common flaw amongst the majority of Chinese TV shows (with a few notable exceptions), but not to an extent that it hurts the numerous martial art scenes too much.

The last and final point I need to mention is the way the creators decided to close the first (and, as the time of this review: only) season. This show is drawn after the story of a book, and in order to avoid spoilers I only can say that the point to end the season was probably the most horrible decision of the entire show. Rumours have it that a second season can possibly be expected - four years after the first season's release this is more than unlikely. While the show itself was, despite its obvious flaws, quite enjoyable for me: prepare for a very unsatisfying conclusion of the season.

Love how the story started. Really did not like the ending. There were no season closure to it at all. It just ended in the middle of a climatic scene. And who knows when season 2 is coming out.....

The first few episodes were exciting and lured me in. Watched it every chance I could. Then I started falling asleep bc the story dragged on and on and on. At episode 39 now and I am wondering whether to continue. Praised the main female heroine initially, but now I wonder how 3 strong men can fall head over heels in love with an arrogant, rude, constipated brat at times. One time she's breaking metal chains in an impossible situation, beating up a muscular man 3 times her size, and when it suits the story...she can't break away from skinny dudes who are not good in martial arts. Can she smile a bit and make me at least see the lure of her? They stare at each other... The guy falls in love. She berates them, and they fall in love. She gets injured, and leans her head on their shoulder, and they fall in love. Don't take me wrong, I love strong heroines... But this constipation doesn't cut it.

Thank goodness for some happy smiling and smart people at least.

From swashbuckling to romance, this series has me anxiously waiting for the next installment. The largest impediment to my enjoyment are the dubious attempts at English translation. One episode will be translated, while the next is not. Is is so frustrating to miss an entire piece of the complicated plot and try to put it together by guessing. PLEASE help those of us who do not speak mandarin!

You will fall in-love with the heroine of the story literally in the first five-minutes. Zhao Liying, aka Zanilia Zhao, is is arguably one of China's most promising, up-and-coming actresses. With this show, it seems, if she hadn't already, she has for sure now arrived!

With sweeping vistas, breathtaking Chinese locations, wonderful costumes, a huge cast of top talent and one over-the-top scene of martial arts after another, the prior reviewer hit the nail on the head, this series has it all! Don't be put-off by the prior review, this is now available on Youtube, in full HD, with consistent, proper English sub-titles. If you ever thought you might like to try something from this genre, please, please, please give it a shot!

This is strictly adults-only; you've been warned.