Back from the Brink

After a lover's betrayal, the ancient dragon Tian Yao found himself badly wounded and heartbroken. The woman he loved betrayed him by dismembering him and stripping him of his dragon scales and then sealing his body parts in five places. Only by luck did his soul escape. Now reborn, he encounters Yan Hui, who vows to protect him as he retrieves his missing bones.

Tian Yao, the ancient spirit dragon, falls victim to betrayal by the deceitful Su Ying, who steals his heart and scales. Dismembered and dispersed, he encounters the dauntless Yan Hui, forming an uneasy alliance where he becomes her demon familiar, a dragon koi. Yan Hui pledges to help him recover his body parts, discovering the challenges of training the dangerous Tian Yao.

A mysterious cupid named Bai Xiaosheng comically influences their romance, eventually becoming an obstacle. Together, they embark on adventures, gaining lifelong friends along the way. Despite some typical xianxia tropes and one-dimensional villains, the friendships and adventures shine as the drama's highlights.

Zhou Ye once again showcases her talent as one of the most promising young actors in the industry. Her portrayal of Yan Hui is truly enchanting, radiating the effervescent enthusiasm and passionate idealism of youth that often eludes more seasoned actors. Her on-screen chemistry with Hou Minghao is undeniable, even though his acting is a work in progress. Hou Minghao's remarkable good looks occasionally distract from his performance, as he sometimes appears a bit stiff in inappropriate moments.

Interestingly, Hou Minghao's casting works well for his role, portraying an uncomplicated character who experiences love and hate with equal intensity. While his character may make some less-than-smart decisions, his pure-hearted nature makes it difficult to fault him. Despite occasional rough patches in their acting, this on-screen duo captivates viewers and had me wholeheartedly cheering for them throughout the series.

I want to conclude by mentioning that I approached this drama with no prior knowledge of the actors or the novel, making this review as unbiased as possible. However, the cast won me over completely. The remarkable chemistry between the two leads was not only convincing but also exceeded my expectations. The acting was top-notch, and I couldn't believe that Hou Minghao, who played the majestic dragon king and the milky dragon simultaneously, could deliver such a stellar performance. Zhou Ye's versatility as an actress truly shone, and she had me shedding tears along with her character on numerous occasions.

Furthermore, the entire cast demonstrated a deep commitment to and genuine connection with the viewers. They tirelessly engaged with fans, answering questions on Weibo and hosting live sessions. Their dedication and hard work deserve all the praise in the world, not just for their exceptional performances but also for their unwavering commitment to their audience.

Highly recommended. Definitely worth watching.

What can I say about this??? This is SO GOOD!!! It has become in my favorite Wuxia so quickly and undoubtedly!!! Ashes of love have been always at the top ( Deng Lun may have or have not A LOT to do with that) and I still love it but after watching this I am just OBSESSED.

My absolute favorite thing about this drama is the female lead, her character is SUCH A BADASS. And I think thats why this has taken the crown as my new favorite against many other Wuxias. Usually female leads are written as such useless characters, waiting for the rescue of the male leads, this one is not waiting for the rescue of ANYONE!!! She is strong and so ready to fight everyone to save everyone she loves!!! She has ideas and is smart and witty!!

Also! She is so brave and feisty!!! Love her so much.

I never watched the actress (Zhou Ye) playing Yanhui before but I am a fan! She is absolutely killing the role! And she has so much chemistry with Neo Hou as the Dragon King I have been following him for a while and watched him already in a few dramas ( my faves when we where Young, and a Girl Like Me)

My least favorite thing has to be the dead fish kisses, but im so used to about them in asian dramas, I don't have tears to cry anymore.....

Everything has just so much quality, but specially the story. Is so original, fresh and absent of clichés.

Filled with multiple characters with different personalities which gives to the story a lot of angles and flavors. There's a lot of comic moments and lighthearted scenes between the drama so it doesn't get too heavy.

Also, there's not just one plot, there are so many different ones, and when one finishes another one starts and there's subplots and backstories as well. Nothing repetitive at all. Is just so entertaining. Not like other dramas dragging the same plot over and over.

Effects and CGI are awesome too and main leads have loads of changes of clothes and costumes which are beautiful, you can tell is not a low budget production.

No rushed ending and no cliché either!

Watch it! You won't regret it.

It's refreshing to watch a drama where the main leads actually work together as partners to overcome their adversaries instead of killing or betraying the other for the sake of fate or destiny, or some mission they have to do.

I love how open and honest the female lead is with her feelings. I love that she's not this fearful and coy female that needs to be rescued or to be protected all the time. There are times when she even does the saving or rescuing.

The side characters and second leads are likeable as well. The main leads have great chemistry and all in all, a very good looking cast.

I just found the series a little bit too long though. Otherwise, it's a really good show.

Before I start my review, allow me to show my biggest admiration for all the great music themes of 'Back From The Brink' has. The opening song of this series is one of the reasons I like watching the series from the beginning till the end, and knowing that the male main lead, Hou Ming Hao/Neo Hou also sings one of the tracks from the ost gives me more excitement to watch it and let me tell you, his song really fits the moments between the two main characters (Tian Yao and Yan Hui). Every time his song is played during their moments I cannot help myself from not falling for his soothing voice.

Honestly, I have never seen the works of these two main leads (Hou Ming Hao and Zhou Ye) before and I must say that pairing them up together in this series is an undeniably great choice. They look cute as well as sweet together and both obviously have amazing visuals. They are still young and I believe with their hard work they will become megastars in the future.

I hope people will stop comparing 'Back From The Brink' to other series as we all know each series has their own plus and minus. For me, personally, there are some scenes or moments I think that's really unnecessary in 'Back From The Brink', but they don't stop me from watching this series, and for the record, I just finished watching it last night. I think the ending is a bit satisfying although I hope there's more explanation to some things that I find them odd to figure. In spite of that, I'm quite contented with the whole thing.

Summary: If you're looking for a quality fantasy series, skip this one and watch 'Love between fairy and devil' instead.

This show started off excellent and it was interesting till' around episode 26-27. After that, it just got completely ridiculous. The biggest disappointment was the evolution of the main leads, especially Tianyao, which was completely nerfed and they made him into a joke all the time starting from the episode 27-28 and till the end, which made me lose all the interest in the show.

Also, they added a lot of unnecessary scenes and even recycled many of them, which made the show boring and repetitive. Starting from the episode 28 and so on, I skipped a lot till the end and watched the 40 min episodes in just 5 and I didn't feel I missed anything :)

Such a huge disappointment, just like 'Till the end of the moon'.

Finally, the romance/love story is dull and pretty messed up, not emotional at all.

Definitely not recommend this one.