Ashes of Love (TV series)
Ashes of Love is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost by Dian Xian. It stars Yang Zi and Deng Lun in the lead roles. The series premiered on Jiangsu TV starting August 2, 2018.
As of January 2019, the series has reached 15 billion views.
Synopsis
The Flower Deity dies after giving birth to a daughter, Jin Mi. She saw a prophecy that her daughter will suffer a great love trial within the first thousand year of her life, thus before dying, she gave her a magical pill that prevents her from feeling and expressing romantic love. This caused Jin Mi to become the brunt of many jokes when she gets tangled in a love triangle with the haughty Fire God Xufeng and the ambitious Night God Runyu.Jin Mi is tricked into thinking her father died in the hands of Xufeng and kills him, coughing up the magic pill in the process. Xufeng is revived a decade later in the realm of the Demons as the Demon Lord, and wages war against Runyu, who has now ascended the throne as Heavenly Emperor. Jin Mi is caught in between and doesn't know what to do, ultimately sacrificing herself to end the war and return peace to the world.
Cast
Main
- Yang Zi as Jin Mi
- * A grape spirit, whose real identity is a six-petal frost flower fairy. Daughter of the Flower Goddess and Water God. She is naive and altruistic, but does not understand the true meaning of "love" due to the magical pill she was given at birth. She later becomes the Water Goddess following her father's death.
- Deng Lun as Xufeng
- * Second prince of the Heaven realm; the Fire God and God of War. He becomes the Demon King after his revival from death.
- Luo Yunxi as Runyu
- * Eldest prince of the Heaven realm; the Night God. A gentle and calm person. Due to his lowly birth, he has never truly gained respect in the Heaven realm since young. He later becomes embroiled in a political battle for the throne after his mother's death, and ascends the throne to become the Heavenly Emperor.
- Wang Yifei as Suihe
- * Princess of the Bird Tribe; the Peacock immortal. Proud and arrogant, she wields great responsibility in securing power within the Bird tribe. She becomes crazed due to her unrequited love for Xufeng, which caused her to commit many cruel deeds.
- Chen Yuqi as Liuying
- * Demon Princess. A cheerful and forthright girl, and a heroic warrior. She has a tragic romantic relationship with her bodyguard, Muci.
- Zou Tingwei as Qiyuan, Muci
- * A reaper who has double identities. He was forced to commit evil deeds for the Heavenly empress due to her control and manipulation, but remains kind at heart. He has a tragic romantic relationship with Liuying.
Supporting
Heaven realm
- He Zhonghua as Taiwei
- * Heavenly emperor. Ruler of the Heaven realm. A selfish and possessive man who is adept at making use of other people to achieve his goals.
- Kathy Chow as Tuyao
- * Heavenly empress. Ruler of the Bird tribe. A scheming and cruel woman who caused the death of the Flower deity, and schemes to get rid of Jin Mi and Runyu.
- Xia Zhiyuan as Dan Zhu, Match Maker
- * The Moon Immortal Yuexia. Taiwei's younger brother; Xufeng and Runyu's uncle. Known for his mischievous personality and youthful looks, he is in charge of love and marriage of all mortal beings. He is earnest in bringing Xufeng and Jin Mi together as a couple.
- Wang Renjun as Luolin
- * Water immortal. Jin Mi's father and Zifen's lover. An elegant and refined man who keeps himself out of worldly affairs, but is loyal and helpful to those in need.
- Wang Yuanke as Lin Xiu
- * Wind immortal. Luo Lin's betrothed wife. A kind and gentle woman who is a good friend of Zifen and treats Jin Mi as her own.
- Fan Mianlin as Suli
- * Dragon Fish Princess. Lord of Dongting lake. Runyu's birth mother, who gave birth to him after being impregnated by the Heavenly Emperor due to her resemblance with Zifen. She schemed for years to seek revenge on the Heavenly Empress for killing her tribe.
- Liao Jingfeng as Lord Puchi, Yanyou
- * Snake immortal. After getting banished from the Heaven realm, he was adopted by Suli and became one of her god-sons. He befriended Jin Mi after saving her from the attacks of Qiongqi thousand of years ago.
- Du Yuchen as Kuang Lu
- * Daughter of Immortal Taiji. She voluntary becomes Runyu's subordinate due to her admiration for him, and remains loyal to him through thick and thin.
- Sa Dingding as Immortal Yuanji
- * An immortal who is in charge of the fate and destiny of human beings.
- Zhang Junran as Lord Liaoyuan, Qin Tong
- * Xufeng's personal guard.
- Li Yixuan as Lord Doumu
- * Luolin, Lin Xiu and Zifen's teacher.
- Li Yongtian as Taishang Laojun
- Zhang Shihong as Immortal Taiji
- He Junlin as Thunder God Yunxiang
- Liu Siying as Lightning Goddess, Shengguang
- Li Xuefeng as Rat Immortal
- * Leader of the Zodiac immortals. Suli's subordinate, who helps her collect information in the Heaven realm.
- Zhang Xiaoyang as Liao Ting
- * Xufeng's subordinate.
- Cui Binbin as Fei Xu
- * Xufeng's subordinate.
- Zheng Ge as Po Jun
- * A heavenly soldier recruited by Xufeng.
- Fu Hongsheng as Yinque
- * Elder of Bird tribe.
- Dong Xiaobai as Queling
- * Suihe's subordinate.
- Liu Haochen as Lianchao
- * Brother of Taiwei, Tuyao's first love.
- Liu Xiangping as Earth deity
- Zhong Sutong as Little fairy
Flower realm
- Zhang Yanyan as Zifen
- * Floral Goddess. Ruler of the Floral Realm. Jin Mi's mother. She died after her spirit dissolved due to the fire attacks launched at her by the Heavenly Empress.
- Peng Yang as Chief Peony
- * Head of the Pavilion chiefs.
- Ma Jing as Chief Begonia
- Wen Luhan as Chief Magnolia
- Furou Meiqi as Rourou, Qianghuo
- * A succulent plant sprite. Jin Mi's close friend, who died saving Jin Mi from Qiongqi's attacks, but later revives and accompanies Jin Mi in her mortal trial.
- Ning Wentong as Lao Hu
- * Carrot sprite. An elder of the Flower realm.
- Xia Yiyao as Lianqiao
- * A flower sprite.
- Wu Wenxuan as Pavilion Chief
- Duan Yu as Pavilion Chief
Demon realm
- Lu Yong as King Yancheng
- * Ruler of the Demon realm.
- Yao Qingren as King Biancheng
- * Liuying's father.
- Song Yunhao as King Gucheng
- * Am ambitious man who aims to usurp the throne.
- Wang Siyu as Chishou
- * Son of King Yancheng.
- Li Silang as Xuanshou
- * Son of King Yancheng.
- Hu Mianyang as Qiongqi
- * A ferocious and legendary beast.
Mortal realm
- Sun Ning as Lord Nanping
- * A royal of Huaiwu Kingdom. Suihe's father in the human realm. He aims to kill Xufeng during his mortal trial and usurp the throne.
- Zhou Yihua as Chancellor Fu
- * Chancellor of the Huaiwu Kingdom.
- Tuo Gufeng as General Ji Chong
- * Lord Nanping's subordinate.
- Wen Jing as Jingjie
- * Elder of the Healer tribe. She adopted Jin Mi as a child during her mortal trial.
Production
Soundtrack
Ratings
- Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue
Reception
It also received positive reviews, scoring a 7.7 on Douban. The drama was praised for its light-hearted yet grounded storyline, high production quality of beautiful cinematography and exquisite costumes; as well as the tight pacing of the plot and excellent performance of the actors.
The series, however, also garnered some criticism and controversy surrounding the production company's decision to use a combination of two scripts, which complicated the writing credits. Rumors about extra screentime added for the second male lead character were later refuted by producer Liu Ning, who stated that a good drama should not simply revolve around the male lead and female lead.
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
- - 8TV
- - E-Le
- - tvN Asia
- and
- on Ctv8 hd
- Latin America on Netflix
- United States on Netflix
- India on Netflix
- Thailand on Netflix
- Germany on Netflix
- on Netflix