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The perfect refresher of mind and mentality
This has to be another best work of Screenwriter Wang Xiong Cheng other than "Go Ahead". I love everything about it, out of all the drama that is made in 2023 so far (as of now: February 2023), this is the best one out of all in my opinion. The acting, story, cinematography - everything juts works in the best way possible.Let me start off by the cast/acting:
- They did such a great job at casting the perfect Male and Female Leads. I have been a fan of Crystal Liu since Mulan came out in 2020. I did not know much about Li Xian who played the Male Lead, except I knew him from Go Go Squid, where I had bad experience watching. But aside from all, they both (Crystal Liu and Li Xian) did such a great job portraying each of their own characters. I don't think there are other actors who can pull off their characters so well, so I think they are truly the best actors to represent the lead characters.
- I love that the Female Lead is very mature, no acting cutesy or cringey either - very normal, put together, and eloquent. She also has mature ways of dealing with many types of people, which I admire very much.
- The Male Lead character is a little more on the child-like personality type, and not in a bad way - very playful, but at the same time, very mature when needed.
As for the story:
- I love the story very much. It truly represents their own genre, which is "Life". There are a lot of good message to reflect my own life. I especially like the saying; as I summarize "you can't judge people based on your own standard, or what the society thinks. You can think someone is having a rough time, but to that person, it may be a blessing to them already" It really brings me to reflect myself as a person who always think that I, myself is not enough to please the society and what matters most is what I think I am as an individual.
- The love story is portrayed beautifully. I know that the main problem between the 2 leads are distance. They met in an awkward timing and undesired location where they need to do long distance relationship to make things work. I am so glad the writer doesn't make one person sacrifice for another. I especially love the Male Lead's quote, "why do people always assume that women need to make the sacrifice, male has to be responsible to provide housing for women". It can be considered as revolutionary thinking in Asian drama history.
- I also love that both male and female lead have a mutual understanding where they both prioritize themselves first, rather than sacrificing everything for love. (for example: Female Lead moves back to the village because she genuinely loves the village and its people, also she wants to open her own business because she saw a potential. But she also take ML as the consideration too) - which I think is such a mature move.
- The story has no creepy/annoying love triangle, no toxic relationship, no annoying characters. It's a simple, yet interesting story that is very relaxing to watch. I seriously hurt my face watching it because I couldn't stop smiling.
All in all, if you love a therapeutic drama with no complicated and annoying story, this is the drama for you. Very light-hearted, entertaining, plus there are a lot of meaningful messages that can be learned.
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A makjang hidden in "life-genre" clothing
The beginning plot seems very promising. However, it was starting to shift from mid to end episodes. The overall plot's premise is to portray the difficulty of a woman surrounding a male-dominated job. Not only FL experienced bias and discrimination because of her gender, she also has to face her mother, who disapproves her career choice. In short, it is a story of a modern-time female warrior against prejudice and insane challenges throughout her career.Starting off by the main characters:
The FL who is hard-working and strives to be the best at her job. She doesn't take any bullshit from anyone and extremely confident - as it shows in her sassiness.
The ML is your typical icy-god male lead, who seems perfect on the outside, but also have flaws (as seen in his mental trauma regarding his ex-girlfriend's death).
What I dislike about the drama in general:
- As I said, the plot seems very promising in the beginning, but the writers started to drift the drama genre to melodrama. The melodrama genre is a double-edged sword, while it's fine for a drama to have melodramatic moments for a touch of thrill, it can also create a draggy plot line - especially where the drama contains 39 episodes and slow-paced.
- The romantic story is minimal and not in a pleasant way. It felt somehow lacking in chemistry and the relationship felt forced and rushed. Sure, there are some "eyes flirting" or sparks along the way, but the couple somehow fit more as co-workers/mentor-student.
- I also don't appreciate how draggy this mother-daughter conflict with dead-ends. After all the drama writers bring to us, the best excuse they can come out with was "your mother was afraid of losing you". Excuse me? This is the mother who sided with her own daughter's harasser. Not only that, when her superior decided to drop the blame on FL, FL's mother decided to work against her daughter. It's very contradicting to the excuse. She could've gone to jail if something went wrong, or she could've spent her life blamed for someone's death. It's basically the same - if not - worse than losing her daughter. FL's mom is either written badly by the writers, or just plain dumb for a lawyer/mother.
- The ending is too rushed as it felt like the writers gave what the viewers wanted on the last bits of episodes. It felt ingenuine, unconnected, and unrealistic. Even in the last episode, the writers chose to put conflict between the two main leads, which somehow felt like the writers are trying too hard to grab opportunity till the last bits.
- I think it's happening too often, where the writers put the most important plot at the end of the drama, and they rushed it till the end. Yes, this could've been prevented if they follow the basic "beginning, climax, ending" rule. But this drama is more beginning-------dragy---------climaxend.
What I like about the drama:
- The FL's character is refreshing, always love actress' works as she's excellent at portraying her characters. I've been a fan of her since "Go Ahead".
- ML is charming and good looking, and I also love how he implicitly turned explicitly cares about FL. Too bad his character is not written in the best way.
In conclusion, the drama could've been better if they focus more on FL's inspiring journey as a pilot. Instead, they chose to focus on creating a makjang out of a drama that is supposed to be empowering.
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Love Like the Galaxy: Part 2
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in my opinion - The BEST historical drama I have ever watched (and it isn't exaggerated)
I admit I came to this drama because I have nothing else to watch over the holidays. I finished most of the Korean and Chinese dramas. My go-to dramas are usually heavily comedic that don't have complicated storyline nor melodramatic elements. However, for the rarest time, I went out of my comfort zone and actually tried watching this drama.I came for nothing but I was actually surprised of how good this drama is. If I could give this drama a 12, I would.
A little introduction on the FL and ML:
- Cheng Shao Shang (Nai Nai) was abandoned by her parents from an infant. Her parents fought in the war leaving Nai Nai alone and she was (technically) raised by her evil grandmother and aunt where she was sent to a village faraway alone and often starved.
- Ling Bu Yi (Zi Sheng) was raised by an emperor. His only reason of living was revenge and hatred. When he was a child, he saw his clan got massacred - including his uncle. He swore by living alone and remained unwed - until he came across Nai Nai coincidentally.
What I like about this drama is how intelligent FL is and able to stand by herself without expecting help from anyone. When she got bullied by people who has higher status than her, she always have ways to bring revenge, whether it's little tricks or straight up shamming them.
I also love how ML always comes to rescue to help and support FL. In the story, FL was illiterate and doesn't know manners because she grew up by herself over the past 15 years. Everyone looks down on her including her own mother, but I love how ML loves her for who she is and how she is.
The scene-stealer for this drama is the royal trio (which are: Emperor, Empress, and Imperial Consort). I love how the emperor is very comedic and wise at the same time. He genuinely cares for ML, maybe more than his own children. I also love the empress, who I think is the kindest character throughout the drama. Apart from all, I think my favourite character in the drama is the imperial consort. Her badass character is actually one of the best supporting character I've seen so far in dramas.
I used to think that Mr.Queen was the best historical drama I've ever watched, however, my opinion changed after watching this drama. I usually dislike dramas that have more than 35 episodes because I thought dramas that comes with that many episodes usually have many unnecessary plots. However, this drama is worth all the 56 episodes (and I actually watch all of them without skipping).
For the rewatch value, I watch this drama 2 times non-stop (I finished all 56 episode and rewatch it again the next day because I couldn't find any decent drama after watching this). Thus, I give this drama a 10 for rewatch value.
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People might hate me, but it has to be said
For people who read Semantic Error webtoon might have a high expectation for this drama. I waited months for this drama to air. First thing I saw this drama in Mydramalist upcoming, the lead actors detail had not even come out yet. But once it airs, the story is just too different from the original and not in a good way. A lot of people said this is the best BL drama, but clearly there are other BL dramas that are far better than this, like - Light on Me, or other Thai, Taiwanese, Chinese BL dramas.The acting in this drama is not too good too. Jang Jae Young expressions are awkward, and Chu Sang Woo is literally flat af. I know that Chu Sang Woo personality is supposed to be boring and blah, but even webtoon version can express Chu Sang Woo better than the drama.
No hate, just my opinion, probably one of the worst BL drama I've seen so far, and not even going to talk about Cherry Blossoms After Winter, because I read the webtoon too, and had high expectation, but left with a disappointment. so both of these dramas are just not it. If y'all enjoy and love this drama, I'd recommend reading the webtoon version of both Semantic Error and Cherry Blossoms After Winter, you'll be surprised of how good the webtoon version of them.
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A Unique Korean Musical Drama
The cinematography in this drama is excellent, the storyline is good too. However, what stood out for me is the actors' skills in terms of acting. All the leads did a great job at portraying each of their characters, especially Choi Sung Eun. She expressed a vulnerable teenager who was forced to become an adult, and she did a great job at portraying it.The story is new and fresh, however, there are some confusion whether Ri Eul really can do magic or if he's a scam, but I think it's the point of the story, whether we really believe in magic or not, the writers purposely put a confusion for the viewers to choose their thoughts.
The story is about two different students who are the opposite of each other. FL is struggling financially, but though she lacks money, she did great academically but it is not her priority. ML has a rich parents, but from the outside, he seems like an all rounder, but in fact, he's struggling too because his parents have an impossibly and ridiculously enormous amount of expectation of him. Thus both FL and ML were forced to grow up so fast by their environment. So what I can get in this story is Ri Eul tries to make ML and FL think their purpose in life, whether they are happy with current choices they made. The quote that stuck to me was "you should do whatever it is you want to do just as much as the things you don't want to do". I think the quote really becomes a comfort to me as a person who stressed over everything.
I think overall the movie is great, not my cup of tea, but I enjoy it. It is worth watching, and it's a short drama only 6 episodes without waiting every week to come. Plus I'm surprised of how the leads can sing! I watched all of their previous dramas - never thought of them singing this great.
p.s. idk why but this drama reminds me of Peter Pan, maybe because it's about "never growing up" kind of genre, child-like ML and has magic in it
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A breath of fresh air
Aside from being streamed on Netflix (yay) - which is so convenient, this drama is very enjoyable to watch. The story is just right, very relaxing and easy to watch, yet it draws you back every episode.I gotta praise all the actors who play magnificent jobs at portraying their characters, especially Ra Mi-Ran and Lee Do-Hyun. While Ra Mi-Ran's acting is not surprising to be that excellent, Le Do-Hyun micro-expressions are so superb as he's able to convey the emotions down to the last bits of details.
However, aside from all the greatness of the drama, the production and directions still a tad lacking in a way - as there were some off-key cut scenes that kind of feel awkward in a way, which affects the scene's entire flow. Maybe it's just me being overly fuzzy, nevertheless, the drama was a great watch and very worth-it.
As titled, it really was a breath of fresh air in terms of k-drama in 2023.
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A warm and fuzzy rom-com drama with a touch of thrill
Before this drama finished airing on Netflix, I avoided the drama for some reason. I eventually came to watch the drama because it is convenient as I am a Netflix subscriber and as it turns out, it is available within the Canada region. The plot is very easy to watch, but not boring - as they have melodramatic plots as well.A little overview of the drama:
Choi Chi Yeol (ML) is a well known and successful private instructor who is also known as one trillion won man. Nam Haeng Seon (FL) is an early-retired athlete who owns a small side-dishes business. FL has a teenage kid who excels in her studies, a brother who has Asperger's Syndrome, and a best friend who helped her with her business.
The drama could be just like any other rom-com drama, however, they have a good script writing, which led this drama getting a high-rating. What I love about this drama is how they portray each individual's flaws - as dramas who has "rich man poor woman" theme often portray the man as a perfect all rounder and untouchable. In fact, the ML has many flaws, and he succeeded by his own effort, which I appreciate very much. On the other hand, FL is okay in her economic perspective, not too poor and not rich either. However, she got a full loving family that stands by her side.
What I admired very much is how FL is very kind-hearted, to the point where she quit her future athlete career to take care of her abandoned niece (now as her daughter). She is very selfless and always want to help people in need, just like her mother.
The story tells how ML has many mental health issues due to stress primarily, which causes him to become malnourished most of the time. However, after he came across FL's side dishes coincidentally, he was reminded of the time where he had no money but was taken care of by an Ajumma. He immediately felt warm after tasting the food, which led him to the FL.
I also love FL's daughter because she's very mature for her age. Despite being only in high-school, her behaviour seems very put-together and this can be seen as how she is beloved by her friends- plus she has brains too!
As for the sides characters, the drama portrays how rich families has many problems, especially when it comes to how they raise their children. For instance, Cho Soo Hee chose to become a dotting mom and her daughter has mental health issues that resulted from her being a perfectionist. Meanwhile, Jang Seo Jin, who's also a well respected lawyer, chose to become an extreme tiger mom, where she pushed her sons to become "perfect" in her eyes no matter the cost. In fact, one of her sons became a "Hikikomori" where he locked himself in a room without any life, purpose and motivation because of her.
In the end, though Cho Soo Hee became somewhat a changed woman, Jang Seo Jin is the one who has the most character development, which I love. She has peace with her husband, and her sons, where she took her Hikkomori son on a trip together. And we can see that in the end, her son surprised her in her office in the middle of his military break and shared a warm hug.
All in all, the drama was very enjoyable to watch. I'd say, if I have one thing to complain, the chemistry between the 2 leads are not the best as I don't see any sparks between them. Usually it is harder to make a chemistry work in the public eye, since the leads has an age gap, but to take "Romance as a Bonus Book" for an example of an age-gap drama that can show a very good chemistry between the lead. However, aside from the chemistry issue, I think the drama is worth the watch.
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This has to be one of the best Chinese Rom-Com "modern day" drama that ever existed
I've been a fan of Yang Yang since the Love O2O airs and finally he's doing RomCom drama. I too am a fan of Dilraba herself, so this drama is the perfect combination of the 2 actors I admire.Firstly when I came to this drama, the synopsis turned me off a little bit since it's a gaming drama. For me personally, I grew up not knowing how to play electronic/computer games - as it is banned within the family, thus watching dramas that have game-themed story can be really challenging for me to understand. But this drama proves me wrong, I was able to follow along the drama and enjoyed watching it too.
Let me start by breaking down the characters:
- The characters are seriously one of the best Chinese television has portrayed. Not to be harsh nor judgemental, but coming from my years of watching dramas experience, female leads are sometimes, if not, often portrayed as weaker than men or as the drama often specify it as "rich man poor woman" --> and there is in fact a drama that is titled that way too! I always strive for equality between FL and ML character.
Hence this drama is the combination I was looking for - a well balanced 2 leads. Both Male and Female are good in their own ways. Though the male lead isn't necessarily rich, but he's very smart - might even call him genius. The female lead is successful, famous and makes a lot of money.
- I also love how the female lead is very mature in my opinion. She may not be mature all the time based on her actions, but what I mean is the female lead isn't portrayed as "the-girl-who-tries-too-hard-to-be-cutesy" type by making baby noises - as many Chinese dramas female leads/actresses use baby noises to the point where it is nauseating.
- The lead actors (Yang Yang and Dilraba Dilmurat) are soooo pleasant to look at, I mean, what more can I say, they basically have museum statues visuals.
As for the story:
- I love the love story between the 2. I admit, this drama isn't something revolutionary in terms of originality - which is a typical love story between 2 leads who met by coincidence after many years, one being the other's first love. But because of good script and story writing, this drama deserves all the hype and success they have.
- The story doesn't have heavy melodramatic moments, which I love. Very light-hearted and easy to watch.
- As for the love story between the 2, it's enough to make me feel lonely because of how jealous-worthy they are.
- The duration of this drama is considered a mini-series in Chinese dramas, only 32 episodes - 30 mins each. Thus, this drama can be considered binge-worthy for all of you binge-watchers. Very brief and not too exaggerated.
For the rewatch value, I give it a 10, boy you don't even want to know how many times I've watched this drama. I seriously have a problem.
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Put Your Head on My Shoulder
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Si Tu Mo's mom is the level of parenthood I strive for ;)
First of all, the situation FL and ML are in is very unrealistic, but I love it. And how a Chinese mom forced her daughter to live with a man - I just don't even know lol. I grow up with Chinese parents and they're screaming with judgements, it's actually entertaining seeing them like that lol.But aside from all the unrealisticness, this drama is actually very good and relaxing to watch. Some people choose to watch heavy melodrama dramas to relieve their stress, but not me. Thus if you want to watch a light-hearted drama that isn't boring, this drama should entertain you. I love how ML is introverted but very warm hearted and very much in love with FL. FL too has a very likeable character, not too loud and not too cringey-aegyo-cutesy either.
If I have one thing to complain about this drama is how toxic Fu Pei is, and he still gets his happy ending. But I don't really get bothered by it because his character isn't necessarily important in the series. Oh and he too gets a character development, so I guess it's just me being overly fuzzy.
Oh and that ML's cunning senior too and how she tries to put FL in her place is just unbearable to watch.
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It's not something new, at the same time, it's sophisticated
I came to this drama because of Seo Ji Hye, and I made the right choice. This drama is something I need to refresh my mind in the midst of stress.I've watched almost all Korean RomCom dramas from 2014-present, and let me tell you, the story itself is not something new. There is a sense of familiarity between Dinner Mate and dramas like Another Miss Oh, or other dramas that involves shameless exes trying to get back together. However, at the same time, this drama has a fresh feeling to it. It's the perfect drama for people who loves watching typical RomCom without feeling bored.
As for the actors/actresses performances, they did a great job. I particularly enjoyed the 2 ML's acting. Song Seung-Heon's acting is as detailed as expected. Usually when doing an act of uneasy feeling, actors can come off as flat, or even awkward, however, Song Seung-Heon did a great job portraying it. Lee Ji-Hoon too, he did an excellent job portraying a man with obsession disorder who has a painful and pitiful backstory. I just wish he got offered more interesting roles as a main male lead.
I rarely state anything about music in drama reviews, however, one of the most impressive element on this drama is its soundtracks. This drama has one of the best soundtracks in my opinion and I've saved multiple of their songs on my playlist.
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Shi Guang Yu Ta, Qia Shi Zheng Hao
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Definitely a wasted potential but, it was okay-ish
Before I dive into why I wrote a headline that way, I'd like to share the positives of this drama:- The intro to mid plot are awesome. Both leads are tangled in an unfortunate, yet strange relationship where one is the family of the donor, and one is the family of the donor receiver.
- The entire genre and story summary is very promising - as it is supposed to be a love story between 2 successful, smart individuals from teen years.
- The friendship story is always my go-to, and love a strong and solid friendship moments.
- The chemistry between the 2 leads are very cute and refreshing.
- Almost all the characters are likeable, which is rare in the drama world.
- As an additional, the leads are very good looking people. :)
Now let's go for the negatives: (entirely based on my opinion and taste as a watcher)
- The mid-to-last episodes are totally different as it felt like a different drama compared to the first episodes. What I mean especially is how the female lead is breaking her own character. She felt like a stranger when I watched her in mid-to-end episodes.
- Female lead character is poorly developed. Every drama leads needs to have a character development. Especially in this genre where the entire story is about journey to adulthood. Yet, it felt like the female lead character became worse each episode. For instance, where the female lead misunderstood the situation and acted immaturely.
- For the side characters too. Male lead parents are supposed to be open-minded and kind. But for some reason, the writer decided to turn the father into someone very petty and low, where he manipulated female lead to convince male lead going to different university of dad's choice. It's totally out of character and doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
- The side couple story is not very interesting enough to watch. I can't comment on that one since I skipped almost all of the side couple's scenes, but it isn't convincing enough for me to actually watch the side character's story.
- Would like to see more on how smart the female lead is. Here is my issue, female leads are sometimes or often portrayed as weaker than men, and this is a great example of that. The entirety of this story is supposed to be how female lead is smart and hard-working enough to become a doctor in the future, and yet, all I see is a female who likes to play around and let the emotions come to her.
- I feel like the plot twist is very unrealistic too. What I mean is when the female lead's parents were attacked, which happened to be at the same time when the female lead was about to take national examination. Thus she had no choice but to retreat the test. I know dramas can be unrealistic for entertainment purposes, but it just left a bad taste as a viewer.
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as usual in rom-com - main lead's chemistry saves the show
The "Love Scenery" story concept feels familiar with existing dramas, whereas a celebrity female lead and genius male lead who great at playing video game. Ring a bell? Yes, it was "You Are My Glory". While "You Are My Glory" is a rom-com drama standard for me, this drama feels a tad lacking, thus I gave it a 8/10. I'm going to share my final thoughts of the drama overall.Negatives:
- The online pen-pal thing was initially a smart move from the writers. It can bring a yo-yo effect to the viewers - push&pull in terms of encounters. There are many scenarios where FL and ML could've met, but because of certain circumstances, they failed at encountering. However, the virtual meeting between the leads started to become draggy - where it took 10 episodes to be MUTUALLY aware of each other's appearance in real life - approx. 8 hours combined! and it took them extra 4 episodes for them to actually know each other personally (like having conversations on a deeper level). It was honestly frustrating to watch and took me a while to finish this drama - as I often lost interest while watching.
- The gaming scenes take too much space in the drama. Love Scenery has 31 episodes with 40 minutes each. It could’ve been easily squished into 20 episodes focusing on the main leads "real life" interactions. In result, the drama feels more like a plain recorded game live-streaming rather than a romantic drama. It feels too IT/tech/action drama to me.
- I also don’t get why FL kept concealing her identity. Clearly, she is comfortable conversing with ML and according to her, he has a good first impression as he has a nice voice. Moreover, it’s not like she has a complex from her looks, after all, she’s a well-known celebrity and very good-looking. Thus, that part is the most confusing to me..
- Moreover, I don’t entirely dislike FL character but I’m not too fond of her either. The FL is somewhat a pushover, who basically can’t say no to everyone. Clearly, she knows SML likes her, why not make a clear line in the relationship, at least to make SML back the F off.
- The Second Male Lead character is too hard to digest. While age-gap dramas become immensely popular in Asian dramas these days, it can be quite sensitive to work with - especially when the age-gap is above 15-20 years. In this case, the FL and SML have a 24 years gap. Don't get me wrong, some age-gap dramas can be enjoyable to watch, but it becomes distasteful if one party is creating unwanted force in the relationship - it went terribly wrong and icky (to be blunt). The SML could’ve been just a sweet good-looking older character who sincerely takes care of FL (become a safe-space older brother), but his opportunist, possessive and manipulative character makes him look creepy and shameless - and gave me the “creepy stalker-ish preverted-uncle vibes”. (ok, i mean I kept thinking about how this guy could've been her father). If they're going to do a wide age-gap, why not do something sweet and not toxic? In addition, one of the most ickiest things was when ML quickly shuts down any male interactions with FL. Not only this “shut-down potential competition” thing kind-of turns me off no matter how good looking the ML is, when the male is 24 years older? Too much. Furthermore, he kept trying despite knowing FL attracted other man.
Not to be harsh, but if they decided to write SML like this, at least find an actor that is the same age - if not, slightly older (like 3-5 years) than FL - to make SML character less creepy.
- This is a plus, but I laughed my ass off how how ridiculous this scene is : when FL had a vocal polyps and needed surgery, she came to ML for comfort. SML found out her condition as went straight to her in case she needs comforting. SML asked her if she was okay, which, she said she's okay (because she has all the comfort she needed from ML). and you know what SML replied, he said, "how can you be okay when you can potentially lose your voice". I mean, thanks for the reminder? It's so PATHETIC, like she does not need any comfort, and yet, this creep is intentionally creating stress for her to come to him..
- The genre of gaming romance is overused in Chinese dramas.
- To be overly fuzzy, the drama poster is kind of misleading, yes the ML can play violin really well, but it is not the main characterization in the ML’s character. Before watching the drama, I thought the ML was a violinist with a side-hobby as a computer geek - and both FL and ML work in a classical music industry.
Positives:
- Though the leads has an age-gap (5 years), which is not much to begin with - but still they managed to act with overflowing chemistry. In reference to "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", the chemistry in this drama is on the same level - which I appreciate very much.
- I love how Lin Yi played a completely different character than other characters he had previously worked.
- ML isn't portrayed as your typical ice-god character - instead, ML is playful and sneaky.
- The story concept is warm and easy to digest. Though the plot-writing isn't perfect, the overall story itself is great. I gotta admit, the story concept feels a tad basic rom-com to me, but it is enjoyable to watch nevertheless.
- Bonus: ML is extremely good looking - especially in the scene where he overheard FL’s conversation in the changing room.
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a journey of independent woman's success
This review is directed towards drama watchers who get paranoid about betrayals (like me), so I'm saving you time and mentality by breaking down the characters in the drama.*BEGINNINGS*
Ning Meng (FL) is an intelligent and hard-working worker who dreams of becoming an investor. However, because of HR's urgency to find a secretary, she was given false promises to work temporarily as a secretary. Not knowing that it's been three years since she became a secretary, she decided to change her career path since being a secretary leads to nowhere in her career planning.
Lu Ji Ming (ML) is a successful investor and FL's boss. He's arrogant and selfish - it shows how he treats the people around him. He's very dependent on FL with his daily tasks and gave FL not only work-related stuff but also his personal stuff. As FL stated, she became more of a nanny than a secretary.
I hate comparing dramas, but I feel like it is necessary to point out a few details: (yup, this is a rant)
*take "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (WWWSK)" for example:
- ML in MOMO is very unbearable to watch. Don't get me wrong, the actor is exceptionally charming and attractive, but his actions angered me throughout the drama. The writer chose a storyline where ML shows childish behaviour when falling in love. MOMO and WWWSK are similar in terms of a boss, who's very dependent on a capable secretary, and tries to convince the secretary to stay. But WWWSK is an excellent example of ML doing childish behaviour that is acceptable in some ways.
- However, MOMO's ML is very different, as they show the worst ML I have watched in drama history - even worse than Dao Ming Si. Sure, deep deep deep down, ML cares about FL in a way, but that does not excuse his toxic behaviour. Not only did he put FL in her place, aka downplayed her, but he also took the secretary job for granted.
- ML is also very misogynistic. I don't care about his upcoming character development, but his comments should not be taken lightly. This drama is the first series where I want FL not to be associated with ML anymore. I feel bad for FL becoming a doormat to her boss.
- Also, as I saw comments on VIKI, I realized many people still defend this behaviour - saying that deep down he cares for her. I don't care if he cares for her; if anyone were put in FL's position, it would scar them for life. Don't people know that, or just because he's hot, his toxicity is downplayed? My question is, what if a less-attractive male is the one who did all of that? Would people still go to defend him?
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*MID DRAMA*
As I reached half of the drama (Episode 16), ML got a slight character development, where he slowly learned how to soften his arrogant attitude. As shown in the previous episode, we got a back story of ML's traumatic childhood experience, where his dad behaves exactly like ML. It explains how ML got his toxic behaviours but doesn't excuse his current actions. The writer is trying to gain sympathy towards ML's actions; however, they still don't gain mine.
As for the side characters:
- I love ML's friend, who is the polar opposite of ML. He respects FL and also treats people nicely. I admire him for his level of patience in dealing with ML.
- I also love how Xu Si Tian got her character development. Though it doesn't show in her work ethic, at least not explicitly, I love that she befriended FL and knows how to give up her one-sided love. Unlike other annoying SFLs who dwell on a man that treats her harshly, she knows her limit and decides not to pursue it as it's not worth it. My favourite scene would be when Xu Si Tian, ML's friend, and FL go RV camping and ignore ML's calls.
- I admire FL's current boss/mentor, Shi Ying. She trains FL in a way that she hoped someone would teach her in the past. She's also empowered and changed FL's self-perception by constructing her self-confidence. Unlike FL's old boss, Shi Ying recognized FL's talents and helped her nurture those talents.
- As for right now, I am still determining the true nature of SML, but it smells fishy to me. There are no sparks in his eye, which led me to question his real intentions in approaching FL. I hope FL doesn't do anything stupid, believing in delusions that could've hurt her.
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*END/CONCLUSION*
FINAL CHARACTERS:
- We finally get to see ML's character development. Both ML and SML have character improvements. Though their personalities are somewhat intentionally polished, the memories of their past toxicity still linger in my mind.
- In the last four episodes, we can see ML was struggling, and not to be harsh, he deserves that. Humbling experience may bring a good change in his character, and I was right - through his struggles and people looking down on him, I can see that his rude and arrogant personality turned 180º.
- FL is still admirable as ever; not only is her character so inspiring, but she has also improved over time. Her struggles and challenges helped her become more mature professionally.
- However, I still had mixed feelings when FL chose to leave the company as soon as she got a promotion. On the bright side, I appreciate her loyalty and striving to be independent by starting a start-up business. At the same time, I question her real intention for leaving the company. Is it for the man she loves or her ambition to become successful on her own?
- Though SML actions are unforgivable, it's still understandable. As he got trauma from his ex-girlfriend because of betrayal, he seems to have difficulty letting go of that incident. His ending, however, seems too rushed and polished but somewhat decent.
- FL's best friend's EX-boyfriend was such trash. I changed my mind about ML becoming the worst character as he got the worst character award throughout the show. He does illegal stuff and is also a serial cheater who got his mistress pregnant. Honestly, seeing him makes me sick to my stomach and also traumatizing. I wish the director had elaborated more on his suffering and consequences. Putting him in jail is not cutting it for me.
- The most admirable character in the show is FL's boss/mentor. Seeing her supporting women is inspiring. Tbh, I wish that I had a mentor/friend like her, who I could depend on.
- Bonus: ML's ex-one-sided-love, Han Yi Meng, is also very mature. Usually, in this situation, where a person just broke up, they choose to find a rebound. I'm glad she didn't use ML as her rebound or take advantage of the situation. Once she realized ML had feelings for FL, she chose to leave and advised ML - which is such a mature move.
STORY:
- I gave it a 9/10 because of some issues. Too bad I could've given this drama a 10/10 if they had better story-writing. This drama is very slow-paced. Sure, many good dramas are slow-paced, but I feel like the climax of this drama happened in the end, especially in the last five episodes. Thus, the ending feels too rushed for me.
- As for the whole drama, I find it easy to understand, despite my inferiority with numbers and stocks.
I will end this review by mentioning the best quote in the drama:
"Whether you succeed or not is what others think of you.
Whether or not you are happy is decided by your own self."
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Feminism done in the right way
I came to watch this drama because I crave dramas that have touching story about friendship. I usually don't watch historical romantic-comedies drama because they tend to be more melodramatic, however, I underestimated this drama before watching it. It has a lot of elements that I love, which are comedy, pure friendship, and admirable love story.Firstly, this drama has a lot of feminism touch which I love. Not going to lie, a lot of Asian dramas tend to portray female characters as a weak individuals, at least to my knowledge. However, this drama portrays women as strong individuals who's equal to men.
The drama tells a story about Xin Chuan state bringing young women from the 9 states and forced them to become princes' concubines. The Female Lead, Li Wei did not want to become a concubine and forced to become one with the 6th prince who everyone thought is the weakest and invincible prince among all the princes in the palace. Meanwhile, Hao Jia is a concubine's child who were forced to climb the ladder by seducing the crown prince due to her situation and greediness. However, along the way, Li Wei got the most sincere and kindest prince among all of them, meanwhile, Hao Jia, who has the most ambition, got the worst, sick and cold-blooded prince who abuse women.
What I love the most in this drama is how the writers did not turn Hao Jia's character to become evil. What I noticed every time I watch Korean&Chinese dramas, when side-female characters got into hardship, they tend to become jealous and evil, so they betrayed their friends or the loved-ones.
What I dislike about this drama is how netizen views this drama. (Please keep in mind, NOT all viewers think this way) I watched this drama on VIKI, and they have a time comments section where viewers can comment while watching this drama. Honestly, it scares me how they always blames female characters no matter what. For example, Yin-An, the 3rd Prince has a legal wife, and 16 unregistered concubines. He lures the 16 concubines by helping them in their lowest moments in exchange for them to become his concubine. However, not only he did not remember their names, he abused them mentally (and kind of physically) by starving them if they gained weight. He's also forcing them to have sexual intercourse and get them pregnant. Then, when the time comes, the 16 concubines and his wife turns their back on him and leave him because they had enough of him.
I thought the viewers would be happy for the concubines because they finally got their freedom, but no, some viewers thought the concubines were ungrateful towards the 3rd Prince - who abuse them.
Moreover, there were a lot of comments who thought the female lead, Li Wei, was ungrateful towards the male lead, YinZheng. They were saying that Li Wei is ungrateful and annoying by denying 6th prince as she wants to leave the palace to reunite with her family. I find the comments who find Li Wei annoying is very shallow and unjustified. I understand her position a lot because she was forced to become someone's concubine/side wife and not a wife to a complete stranger from a young age. Though her life may be grand in economic perspective, there were a lot of strict rules in Xin Chuan, who are unfavored towards women. If she has to choose between life in Xin Chuan and her family, of course she would choose a life with her family.
However, despite all the comments, this drama is worth the watch. I'll probably will watch this drama many times as I love how the writers portray each character.
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Youth Over Flowers: Iceland
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Unexpected - Charming Combination
I came to watch Youth Over Flowers series after I fell in love with the Reply series. At first I watched the Youth Over Flowers: Africa and enjoyed it so much. Then, I came across Youth Over Flowers: Iceland. At first, I only watch the Iceland show because of Jo Jung-Suk, Jung Woo, and Kang Ha-neul, but mostly because I'd prefer countries with cold weather rather than the warm ones like the other Youth Over Flower series. At first, I didn't expect much since I thought most of them would be awkward and shy. Based on the interviews and variety shows I watched, Jo Jung-Suk and Kang Ha-Neul seem like introverts. However, they prove me wrong.The chemistry are super, they're so fun to watch. They did a lot of crazy things and I love watching them bonding and travel together. The cinematography of the view is magnificent too. I never expect all of them to have similar personality, I thought Jung Woo was going to be the only one who is crazy, turns out all of them including Jung Sang-Hoon are funny in their own way.
This variety show is the perfect variety show to watch for those who loves watching travel shows and healing type of genre. I find most of the Healing genre shows a bit boring, however, I think this travel series is healing, at the same time, refreshing and fun.
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