Chinese Hero Zhao Zi Long Episode 1-4 First Impression

Drama: Chinese Hero Zhao Zi Long (?????)

Episodes: 60

Synopsis: It must be pretty obvious from the show's name that this drama is all about our hero Zhao Zi Long. The story will follow Zi Long's life from when he loses his parents to his raise to become one of the famous war generals...with lots of fictional romance to make this whole thing interesting of course. This is also one of those C-dramas that prove world peace could be possible if we just let the drama gods have their say since most of veteran drama watchers will see plenty of familiar faces from Korea and Taiwan in this one.  

Ninja's First Impression:

Hiding to safe guard the famous Qing Gang sword that the deceased emperor has entrusted them with, Zhao Zi Long's (hero) parents commits suicide and forces their son to run away with the sword when the new emperor's army tracks them down. Determined to carryout his father's dying charge of finding his uncle who guards the other famous sword that is Qing Gang's pair, Zi Long begins his new life as a fugitive.. 

Tracking his uncle to a town but without any way of finding a man he've never met before, Zi Long has no choice but to settle down temporarily even while the emperor's men has intensified their search for him. Knowing full well that he should lay low but unable to stand by while the mountain robbers runs rampant, Zi Long finally becomes Zorro!! Ha, just kidding. Nope, our hero is no Zorro because he wears all white! 

During a confrontation with mountain robbers to save a young woman, Zi Long gains another formidable enemy when he kills one of the robber leaders. Needless to say, Zi Long's situation goes from bad to worse as he becomes a wanted man by both the emperor and the mountain robbers. 
There are a lot of famous people during this period of history...both fictional and nonfictional so of course this show feels no qualm in throwing ALL of them in. While I know just barely enough Chinese history to figure out I know nothing, it was still kinda cool to see so many famous names being brandied about. 

Taiwanese actor Godfrey Gao plays Lu Bu, a well known villains during this time period that fell for the extremely famous Chinese beauty Diao Chan (There are four Chinese beauties of the ancient time and Diao Chan is one of them. Gu Li Na Zha is the Chinese actress that plays this character.).  
At 60 episodes, this show's pacing is kinda on the slow side especially during the fighting scenes for some strange reason but the plot does pick up somewhat once the heroine starts to interact with the hero. 

By the way, I am completely ashamed to admit that when Kim Jeong Hoon (he plays the second male lead who works for the emperor and is the heroine's fiancee) showed up I totally yelled "OPPA!" 

Possibly because I tend to fall for bad boys...at least in dramas, I found the hero's 100% righteous personality almost annoying. The heroine was really no better with her know it all attitude. Thankfully, the semi annoying traits in both of the leads disappear the moment they interact with one another. The hero shows his childish side as he picks on the heroine while she is humanized at the same time. The heroine's character is played by Korean actress Im Yoon Ah.

All in all, despite some minor issues I find Chinese Hero Zhao Zi Long to be an easy drama to watch one episode after another. The writer has done a great job in balancing just enough historical background with plenty of action and romance to make sure that the story remains interesting even for those who are not history buffs. However, for those who ARE history buffs...but not too worried about historical inaccuracies then this one should be a whole lot of fun. 

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