Let's go on holidays !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVAqlybDwc&t=287s (episode 1) 19.50 minutes full screen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU3e6PssdY4 (episode 2) 19.08 minutes, mobile phone screen format in the beginning, to get in the mood of the mobility
both subtitled or double subtitled Hanzi + English.

It feels like a while now since episode 1 was out, I was almost despairing to get to see episode 2. At last, it dropped on screen today :-)

I love this feeling of traveling by proxy with a smiling and humorous travel companion ! Islands, markets, volcanoes, and now underwater : exhilarating! I too used to collect postcards to send souvenirs including to self, and visited some unusual post offices, that had unusual stamps, but did not know about this one which makes the trip particularly interesting.

And a beautiful sunrise on June 29 (2023, presumably), after the time stamp 5 am on the phone's screen,, so we know when that was filmed : did "post production" take that long that we only got to see it now?

That episode 2 outing to discover another island in the archipelago felt like best of holiday making : dream like accommodation with a pier, dancing on old music, night sky illuminated by fire eaters to remind us of the previous episode where the Earth itself blew fire.

Wu Lei stated in another video (the one about Xiamen in the Marvelous City series), that he had a fear of the sea ; yet, he pushed his limits and overcame it, even diving under potentially dangerous rocks or hard coral : he admitted he was a little scared, but curiosity drove him to do it anyway. He got a reward from the lofty sky down to azure stellar life of those clear waters.

Short episodes but so nice to share his view of the world he travels to!
"best supporting actor goes to the mouse" :-D

There was not much music there. Since this is French speaking islands, I would have suggested Polnareff's "Holidays" song, an oldie but goldie : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oTIf6AvsaY (especially the hook and riff with the last chorus)

That will be my review, then, in waiting for further micro adventures.

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Highly recommended adaptation of essays with ethnic scope

I loved watching this miniseries, that features some well known actors and actresses (Ma Yili, Zhou Yiran, Yu Shi) together with a cast that skillfully portrays the balance between ethnic minorities in the remote northwestern corner of Xinjiang where vanishing lifestyle competes with the hopes and toils of younger generations.

Rather than repeating myself, I will just refer to my Notes about the miniseries, that illustrate many of the thoughts that can be triggered by watching the series. The story can be watched with no prior knowledge, but raises questions that push to dig deeper. There are many nice touches and details, and the director herself did state that although humorous elements were added to the play, they were kept within a moderate range to prompt the audience to reflect. The balance is kept to avoid too much heaviness, and the pace is brisk, while the cinematography enhances the loveliness of nature, despite its sometimes harshness. Horse lovers will be drawn in by the horse raising culture of the herders, who also use camels, and breed fat sheep that can be milked and used to make medicinal soap! The togetherness and mutual support even by those who have a beef to chew against people who shoot their mouth too quickly, and offend them, introduces hope in human relations. Of course they are shielded by the remoteness, but Hotan jade is known, so poachers do come to threaten the peace.

The miniseries grows on the audience, while details raise questions. Love, pain, discoveries and healing are there. The impressive Douban rating of 8.5 (then, now risen to 9.4!) is totally justified.

More in my Notes : https://mydramalist.com/discussions/my-aletai/125351-to-the-wonder-notes-about-the-slice-of-life-tv-series

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Some nice songs of the time, but not by Z.Tao - where was he ?

The drama was an average rom com about a hard working Cinderella from a township in the backwards interior country, gone to earn money in a Qingdao convenience store. Her purpose in giving up her freedom as a sort of indentured worker was to support her brother's studies. We barely see the brother in the beginning and he does not reappear, but she falls in love with a handsome customer who came back to hand over the excess change he had got on a purchase. It turns out that this "shuai gege" was a famous photographer on the brink of separating from a long time lover who never acknowledged publicly their ties, because of her contracts prohibiting relationships... Could little "leaf" (Ye Zi) grow to stand beside her crush, who was more overshadowing her, than letting her break free and grow from her family's expectations?

Joe Cheng played quite well in my opinion, Li Fei'er and PeiPei (Ye Zi and Flora) were projecting the expected contrast of the poor (but not destitute) girl and the glam starlet. Some half annoying accompanying characters made up most of the rest of cast, : Ye Zi's childhood friend, her mother, her nosy colleague and her over-enthusiastic clownish boss, with exception for a shortly seen adorable old couple whose dearest wish is easy to fulfill : a wedding picture! That's perhaps the first time Z.Tao appeared in the background (ep.7), for his "silent cameo" : otherwise, perhaps a glimpse in ep11 too, although the Ke Chuan name of his character eluded me. Baidu only listed Z.Tao as 客串 (cameo), with a further note (歌手，演员) : singer, actor, but he does not appear to be singing in the drama, be it in front of camera or as bgm.

The theme song is played over and over again : Qin Ai Mo Sheng Ren (亲爱陌生人) Beloved Stranger by Della Ding (丁当). This was at the time a hit song, produced by Mayday's Ashin and was the latest creation of MP Magic Power lead singer Tingting (廷廷) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhFBCtysub4

The ending song was also a hit one, title song of Yen-J ( 严爵 ) Taiwanese lyrics and tune composer and singer's first album : Thanks for Your Beautifulness (謝謝你的美好) released 2010-04 (and also used as end theme for another TW drama that did not make much waves and is not included on MDL) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LioVy6CQfxc (with lyrics)

Some other songs are strewn in, including two Rene Liu ones : Chang Yi (长椅) Bench and Zhi Jie (直接) Straightforward

I was looking for Z.Tao, since the drama was listed in his filmography as first appearance in such type of work, but came away frustrated, unsure I recognized him ; unless he disguised as singer Yen-J lookalike then... (That singer is not supposed to be included in cast, except for OST).

As a drama, this one is marred by repetitiousness, overuse of flashbacks, and sudden cuts (perhaps for inserting ads). Also, by a terribly low picture quality, border to blurry, in the only accessible online version; it may be better on other type of recording, but it is not really going to appeal to present day audiences, because much there is so outdated now (use of cash in stores...), and the story was already too cliché unrealistic. It is not unwatchable, but requires patience and interest in the past, although a past not far enough in time to make it into a document.

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Nine tailed demon king falls for a complicated heroine

Nice spontaneous play by the FL Li Lulu (Hua Ling) who flashes lovely smiles. Lots of fluff.
The story is somewhat convoluted with the off voice of an "NPC" that is supposed to help the heroine unravel the intricacies of a "predestined fate" that turns out to be anything but. Like the tangled red thread of the matchmaking god. The Demon king has a cute and spectacular nine fox-tails that flash out on occasion. The "senior brother Shen Yan" leader of a demon hunting sect, turns out to be different from expected - he is played by Richar Li (Li Fei) who also appears as "Fang Wu Yue" in black and red at the brothel, as is shown in promo clip 2, available on dailymotion.
The bullet-time drama (2'+ episodes) glued together in 30' episodes x2 is not available any longer on Youtube, but original episodes can be watched on dailymotion or on myasiantv.

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Food for thought, Dear spiky mommy, darling daughter who doesn't lose her aims in life

As most audience noticing in headlines Yang Zi and Xu Kai, I had got sold on an office romance when indeed it is a family drama about, at center, the conflicted relationship between a mom and daughter. But there's more than just that, it's a dark cuisine take on sustenance and food for thought

That mom was to start with extremely grating on the nerves : a character one loves to hate ? As episodes went by, it looked like it, but of course, lack of reason and shrewish behavior had to run their course until spent.

From the moment the mom realized how important it was for all to be more appeased, she became what everyone hopes for, a caring and doting person, who wraps the worst heartaches in warmth and nourishment. Could she get the same when she needed it? It was not easy: she did not wish to have roles reversed. What she was faced with is ultimately what many women fear, not divorce, not sudden death...

Redemption does not always bring sweet rewards as we also saw. Although it was rather expected, it was very well performed and logical.

It was a roller coaster of an emotional journey. "Liu Wan Yu", the alley queen mom, will certainly be a memorable role for He Saifei, who showed so many sides of what moms can be. She indeed should have been billed among the main roles.

Yang Zi and Xu Kai were, as expected, good leads, in an almost too reasonable adult relationship (so those who crave hot fire will be disappointed, but those who like it more down to earth will feel the warmth of realistic human touch). Their Huan Huan and Ming Ming were sometimes very funny, scaling walls and catching all sorts of fish although the returnee initially preferred raw sashimi (and raw treatment of peccadilloes) and the "alley princess" looked less for pearls and fairy tale frogs, more to the fabled crucian carp white soup with tofu. One image of simply, lovingly held in hand, half peeled soft skinned immaculate hard boiled egg struck me. Breakfasts should never be skipped...

Most of the other actors and actresses are good in their supporting roles. The father, who can shout but prefers to play the role of peace maker. The son, who looks to find his own way with the best friend, helping her and himself ultimately. The ironic but faithful male secretary. The insufferable in law hicks with their fat bully offspring. The scheming colleagues and bosses, those who care more for money than for honesty. The queen bee grandmother who provided the fairy honeyed glue to bind the leads. The repentant father who strayed like a cat craving for a family. They formed a rich dark cuisine of varied tastes, some disgusting, some wholesome, and some surprising in their changeability.

The music score and songs was very appropriate, especially the episode end song sung by the two stars, Yang Zi and He Saifei: "It’s mother, it’s daughter" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcljQOCYmg4 with translation and pinyin). This is a simple, but gripping song that resonates for all who are or have been mothers... It also embodies well the struggles of the generational gap the characters faced.

The last handful episodes were very good and healing --ok, I know : as expected, but so well performed, with beautiful cinematography, and a snippet of performance of a favorite Huangmei opera (The Female Consort), that Zhou Shen a few years back included in one of his endearing songs titled Huangmei Opera, where he weaves in his song the nostalgy of attending those performances and a short snippet, that is easy to recognize for those who reach episode 37 of BCE, warts and all. Here is the link to the Zhou Shen song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z325SnsDIU

By the way, the dishes featured in BCE are not bad either, I was relishing the gamut from raw fish sashimi to crucian carp white soup with tofu, and of course that mandarin fish dish which gave me a literal craving to up and storm the stores to get ingredients and start cooking!! These were some of my best take away from the roller coaster of emotions that audience were subjected to, in the mother-daughter relentless sparring. Now why do I come back to that... Just finished it, so digesting.

Don't look down on that drama because of its tepid Douban opening rating; it is worth much more, in the end.

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Three minutes travelogue for Wu Lei fans - not a drama

I had watched this before, but not noticed until now that it was included on MDL as if it was a full movie or drama.

It is not uncommon for actors to do travelogues or vlogs of their trips, even modeling abroad, videos that can be shot quite professionally, like the most recent fours short videos linked under the title "On The Road" that Chen Zheyuan shot in Dubai in mid April 2024. Such pieces are usually watched mainly on the original social media of their idols by fans of the actors or of the fashion they showcase in foreign settings, or discovered by the fandom explorers.

This video, If I'm Not Wu Lei, shot in Sri Lanka, dates back to the times when tourism boomed in Asia before covid. It comes with a message : "Don't Wait For Life, Live It". Wu Lei has lived it up to do road trip vlogs of his bike travels in the Xinjiang, and an introduction to the coastal city of Xiamen, as brand ambassador. If the latter featured well known highlights of the "must see" circuit, it also included experiences that felt more personal, like this little video , where Wu Lei watches the country fly by from the train window, or briefly encounters curious youngsters of a different culture, in a kaleidoscope of pictures that make those in front of the screen feel the rush and impermanence of traveling.

But traveling abroad can also be romantic, and this was incorporated later in his full drama Amidst a Snowstorm of Love, set for a good third in Helsinki, Finland, with a small trip, not unlike this Sri Lanka one, to Annecy in France, before the evening out stargazing on top of a mountain.

For the rookie fans of Wu Lei (in addition to trawling his Weibo pages and other social media), I recommend the pages of the blog and YouTube channel of " Wu Lei Galaxy ", which is very comprehensive and up to date.

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A modern day romance inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe

“I cannot, for my soul, remember how, when, or even precisely where, I first became acquainted with the lady Ligeia.”

But 白晓宇 Bái Xiǎo Yǔ, the Edgar Allan Poe fan and graphic designer, certainly could remember the day and date (2010, June 8) he knocked over 王斤斤 Wáng Jīn Jīn ’s desk. Her face and name stuck in his memory, not only because of the strange meaning of her name (a “catty”, 斤, is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries) but also because of her unusual Gothic hairpin.

Bai Xiao Yu (his own name meaning “white”, “dawn” and “universe”), having failed to follow her all the way home on his bicycle when she took a taxi, immediately drew a portrait of her.

He came across her again after college and following her, overheard her mentioning Poe in a Beijing bar on Liangmahe bar street (an area which existed, north of Sanlitun, but which has undergone lots of changes and demolitions in the early 2020s ; the Seven bar looks fictional - I know none of that name thereabouts). When Xiao Yu ordered two newly invented cocktails (I liked the recipes!) with titles from Poe’s stories, JinJin turned to face him, and they went home together after a long night's intellectual communing reintroducing themselves at dawn, and next, traveling on a dare, all the way to their hometown, hooking up and living as a married couple for a year.

But Jin Jin feared routine and the “mundane” life. She was insecure about her talent as a writer, despite Xiao Yu’s comforting words. She drifted from tourism to script assistant, with her job taking her away for months on film sets.
Xiao Yu had also experienced setbacks at work, and changed his job to set up a business of escape rooms and refurbishing the hometown horror theme park. His eyesight worsened and he was wistful when he described to a fellow sufferer the beauty of the sunset seen from the hospital window.

It was thrilling to hear the budding couple, at the dawn of their relationship, excitedly recite the excerpt “I mean to say that, subsequently to the period when Ligeia's beauty passed into my spirit, there dwelling as in a shrine, I derived, from many existences in the material world, a sentiment such as I felt always aroused within me by her large and luminous orbs.” Although Wang Jin Jin was not like the fictional heroine, from a “decaying city on the Rhine in Germany”, sporting dark curly tresses, she was in a way like Ligeia, fascinated by literature and yearning for more learning. But unlike Ligeia, she did not die and come back taking possession of a corpse. The last images of the movie, where the horror theme park was revamped with a secret room designed specially for Xiao Yu, provided an esthetic and welcome surprise.
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The movie is adapted from the novel 《被我弄丢的你》 ("You Whom I Lost") by Zheng Zhi (郑执) also screenwriter for it ; the director was Han Yan (韩琰). Filmed between February and May 2023, it was announced to be airing for the anniversary of filming wrap, on Women’s Day March 8, 2024.

On February 20, the film released a trailer with the theme song “You Whom I Lost” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQG-t0nmFiU ; MV with pinyin & English translation here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u4Zm9S5MkM), composed by Jia Wang & Chen Wenhua, lyrics by Guo Dongnan, sung by Chinese diva Karen Mok (Mok Wenwei).

The movie was widely anticipated with over 20 million pre-sale tickets and breaking 100 million at the box office on March 11.

Zhang Jingyi played the free spirited but finally regretful JinJin, who missed her love repeatedly, figuratively, and physically when the train and the truck went in opposing directions. Some will be shocked by the fringe and hair style JinJin kept (although attenuated in the end): whatever, nothing can really make her ugly.

Tan Jianci played the young man cursed by upcoming blindness, with delicate movements of his eyes and posture as the lights dimmed for him. Xiao Yu wanted to treasure his happy past and the moments with JinJin whom he could never totally read the mind of, but whom he never totally lost the memory of, despite she had broken up with him.
The mention on screen in the end of the movie is 你就是我的想要生活 (you are my life’s yearning).

For those who would like to read “Ligeia” or more of Poe’s work, here is a link : https://poestories.com/read/ligeia

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A good start and hot scenes, but a disappointing end

Although I liked the drama until ep.19-20 or so, and especially the very hot office kissing scene, I grew very disappointed and bored in the last third of the drama, when the conundrums took over with the SFL psycho step sister (daughter of ML's adoptive father) and the "best friend" of FL (step brother of SFL with same father, still wanting to possess FL when she had made clear she loved ML only). ML "CEO", who lacked acumen to see through the jealousy of his "secretary" cum "amnesic hidden sister", became increasingly boring, despite a few randomly thrown in kissing scenes, break ups and make ups.

The over repeated "I can do everything for you" bgm song grew on my nerves, so I almost slammed computer shut. But being a completionist, I stayed to watch the drag and chore of last episodes. They were not worth purchasing into express package : it was a tedium for me to stay until the "happy ending" with SFL standing in a field of flowers facing the ex hostile scion of the antagonist family, to accept his proposal! while a drone brought a white head veil to be plucked from the sky by ML to accompany his proposal, said drone operated by "best friend" who had taken over the role of CEO at ML's company, to push it into merging with the once hostile competitor.

This "business romance" drama, which was filmed last year, April 1 to May 28, 2023. had won attention to be in the top 10 web dramas previous week, and was still #5 in the top ten ratings for last week ending 2024.04.14. But I doubt it will get a high Douban rating, now. The unraveling of the unnecessarily convoluted knots of the story ended up voiding it of any meaning, so, I can't leave a high rating.

The ML Zhao Zhiwei and FL Lu Yangyang had good chemistry, and SML Brian Chang, looked good, that's all. I hope the leads will get better roles in the future

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Gods and the Natural Law

I enjoyed this xianxia very much, thrilled to see that it got over 100 million views lately, to share in the excitement.

There was a sprawling cast, with over 70 characters that played a large or tiny but always significant role. Realms and Beasts composed a variegated tapestry that the ancient god, left lonely after the departure of his former many friends, still added to with his magic brush. The core was important, but not so much that it couldn't be lived without. Finally, the time of the gods ended but not our favorites', to enjoy peace and love, and mischief, that added spice, after the worlds shattering events they'd gone through.

The division of that world in Three Realms was explained in a fun "puppet theater" moment, to the Mortal assembly at the marketplace.

There were a lot of endearing and funny moments, some amusing birds, a Cluck Cluck (Kekeda) ; a mischievous Shush (Xuxu) parrot; grand phoenixes ; some fearful monsters ; an awful wizard and his ghostly but murderous ilk. There was banter and wars. Correcting a school of shape shifting Koi fry. Taming a lion. Playing leaf music.

That piece had many look for it : it was the tune, played on the Chinese flute "dizi",of one of the main songs: 不知返 (Bu Zhi Fan, No Turning Back) sung by Wang Heye ; the music, main songs and background music, was beautiful, composed by Yang Bingyin for whom this drama will become a signature work. The opening theme : 碧苍战歌 (Bi Cang Battle song) even got played on a televised full orchestra concert. Among the most remarked pieces of instrumental bgm were : See Vastness (见苍茫) , Invoke the River of Oblivion (引忘川) , and the clucking and mischievous Person Selling Three Things (卖叁之人) that accompanied Furong Jun's pranks.

Almost never a dull moment, despite the flashbacks to remind of key points or offer revelations.

The main cast was excellent:
Lin Gengxin at his best as full and manly, but considerate, God Xing Zhi,
Zhao Liying as an almost Goddess Athena-like immortal wielding her spear,
Xin Yunlai as Mo Fang, the ambiguous subordinate of Shen Li with a hidden past,
He Yu, as the ebullient "playboy" Furong Jun who grew out of his youthful pranks such as hiding a full armory in a Qiankun bag.
Zeng Li as Shen Muyue, the Master of the Immortal tribe and surrogate mother of Shen Li,
Liu Guanlin as the comically feckless Emperor of the Divine Realm, whose indecision triggered the events,
Li Jiaqi as the "Goddess of the highest Daoist Heaven" (Luotian) leader of the fangirls of Xing Zhi in Divine Realm, with blunt methods to get info, was grown enough to consider his personal as well as the Three Realms best interests.

I was puzzled that Huang ChengCheng was included in main cast, although his role as Wang Bao was the least significant.
Qiu Xinzhi as Liu Ming was also less impressive than his main cast status announced, and did not get much screen time.
Wei Zixin as Fu Sheng was not included in main cast, although his fear-inducing scenes were essential in many episodes.
Others not in main cast were remarkable :
Xuan Lu as Liu Yu, and Xu Haiqiao as Fenglai , played as secondary but essential couple,
Wang Yiyao and Zhou Junwei, as the Golden Lady and "cultivator", played another type of couple.
Dong Jie and Song Ningfeng, as Yun Niang and Zhou San Liang, announced one painful way to ascend to immortality,
Li Zifeng, Hu Dandan and Huang Yi played the recurring love triangle that was a cursed cycle, yearning for a choice and end.
Zhou Xiaochuan as Shun Bei ; Chen Zhen as Zhu Fei ; Yang He as Chi Rong ; Liu Yu as Qing Yan were some of the generals that served as necessary personnel for the military parts
Chen Lu as Rou Ya, Shen Li's maid, was lively and fun to watch.

Sometimes, deep reflections and thoughts were proffered : are gods still needed in our new age ? Do they need to be violently killed or cremated, or can they just retire and live for themselves ? Can those who have been put into power and accepted the duties, always be up to their tasks ?

I liked that the drama was a soft romance too, satisfying if not of the steamy sort, and that the marriage question was shown as not that necessary, as a political or society requirement, but just as a cherry on top of the cake, sealing the union in less flamboyant way as sealing an Abyss, but leaving room for sparks and continued slow burn but long lasting fire. This viral message to those who still see marriage as needed at a certain age, with desirable or not age gap, and body appearance in terms of height, roundness of face or filling the clothes as well as the shoes.

The God walking bare feet on the shards was one striking moment to show how despair and depression can hit even those that are relied on, taking them for granted, watching their moves and judging behaviors from below.

This drama actually went further than only pure entertainment.

I added as a companion piece a series of interlinked posts, that offer information about the drama, thoughts about xianxia realms and the abyss, an illustrated and complete characters' gallery with an alphabetical key to the 63+ portrayed.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/yu-feng-xing/124265-notes-about-the-legend-of-shen-li-xianxia-drama?pid=3002697&page=1#p3002697

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Chinese family feud to kill time on a rainy day

This is a chaotic story, less comedy than caricature of the survival into modern days of outdated customs and the clash of greed and family.

An awful looking fortune teller, who of course had a hidden backer, instructed a gullible middle aged woman (Chen Guihua) to get her son (Gu Jiahui) and daughter in law (Yu Jing) to "make a descendant", less for her own desire than for getting back a dowry she was cheated out of when she agreed to divorce her son's dad (Gu Dequan). She suddenly arrived at her son's apartment, in company of her "step daughter" (Yu Chun).

The daughter in law was busy setting up a company with a best friend (Xiao Shan), so making babies was not her primary goal ; Xiao Shan, feeling the threat if Yu Jing changed her mind, with all the baby care products she sold online, took a drastic step to force a divorce between her friend and her wimpy husband.

The old man was quite the fiend, aided and abetted by his second wife cum free caretaker (Li Xiao), who was not even pitiable.
The couple found out about the conspiracies and tried to confront the ones who were behind them. Even those who seemed close to Chen Guihua and Yu Jing were double faced.

Fights, abduction, slanders, embezzlement, wife beating, mistreatment.... That family, the couple is saddled with, is as dysfunctional as can be. Will the old fiend, at the brink of death, get a redemption and escape punishment for his decades of wrongdoings ? He does get a slap in the face when he is confronted with the truth about his younger son. If tradition requires descendants, he has in fact no choice. He is afraid to die alone and get to afterlife with no proper mourning in his luxurious mansion in cherry growing countryside, despite his ill gotten wealth.

The drama is fast paced, sometimes jumpily so, and there is a happy end of sorts.
Can be watched for a few hours on a rainy day, amused by the wives epic hair pulling, like hens flying into each other's feathers ; a fat rabbit once steals the show.

The full cast was not disclosed on Baidu, despite there are only 7 who drive that mini drama. Here they are, from end credits :
Chen Guihua 陈桂花, is played by Shen Chang 沈畅
Yu Jing 于静 is played by Li Yizhen 李奕臻
Gu Jiahui 顾家辉 is played by Danson Tang /Tang Yuzhe 唐禹哲
Xiao Shan 肖珊, played by Pang Yixin "Scarlett" 庞奕欣
Yu Chun 俞春 is played by Chen Zhiqiao 陈芷翘
Gu Dequan 顾徳全 is played by Li Ou 李欧
Li Xiao 李晓 is played by Suxiu 苏绣

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Everyone Loves Me - Not

The end was mawkish and crap.
The turtle bit was not even half checked with Google and veterinary advise: anyway, the stray dog "shelter" bit, too, was half baked stupid. What sort of audience was targeted there
The love and hate in first episodes was best part, before it went dragging.

The script was not good and I can't stand Zhou Ye's nods in many episodes. as if she wanted to imitate old fashioned bobble-head staring dog dolls glued on car dashboards Her pouting and eating like she can't put food into her mouth without half of it popping out, and then adding mewling sounds in lieu of answers to table companions (such as in ep6 22:02). Can't she shake out of those nasty habits, which mar much of her "romantic" acting parts?

Lin Yi was average here: must have grown tired by the repetitiousness and drag. His best looks : in black and leather in episode 9, and in the FPS combat gaming parts.
I think all "chemistry" was on him, not on Zhou Ye who did her parts as if they were a chore.

Kissing and sweet scenes : forget it! Even the silk nightgown moment was quickly "covered" and put away. When "Gu Xun" wanted to explain his mistake while cornering "Qianling" against a wall in the office -!!!- (same ep.9), she looked mildly puzzled (when she should have been reacting with a slap and a sharp lash of outspokenness). That scene was quickly toned down by "Jiang Junnan" dismissing it all with the technical Japanese term : "kabedon" (sighing) as if that was just goofy and acceptable behavior on the office floor...

Anyway this is a forgettable item; nothing to learn from it, except patience faced with lackluster script, subpar acting, and time loss.
7 from me, because I still like Lin Yi and thought Melody Tang was cute and playing well in character for her part, and I don't like to rate below 5.

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7 couples and phones, but still sweet

I came for Bai Lu, and despite the sometimes infuriating story with constant phone interruptions leading progression back to square one, and the plethora of couples to keep track of (almost like south American latin soap operas!) there were many nice moments, and a very sweet ending to this drama, especially for those who got to 36.5 to have the leads wedding ceremony and not only one of less colorful couples' one.

The story has no less than 7 couples :
1/ Shi Yan and Shuyi, of course (Wang Hedi and Bai Lu manage to make their contradictory characters keep interesting, even though detractors will have a ball that a successful capitalist is so little outspoken, and the successful reporter is so flirty, childish, and unable to escape the snares of her own deceptions. Before the satisfying owning up and getting to last episodes, with hearts, flowers, and everything romance audience wish for.) ;
2/ Yu You and Qin Shiyue (Miles Wei Zheming and Shen Yu Jie, very young woman and an older university professor, reluctant to accept her forthright requests);
3/ Guan Ji and Bi Ruoshan (Liu Dongqin and Jiang Peiyao ; one of the "three musketeers" of the company, wealthy heir, but profligate, and seemingly butterflying best friend of Shuyi despite working in a different news agency) ;
4/ Yue Xingzhou and Qin Lezhi (from the start, they are despicable and represent the worst of yuppies who rely on schemes and corruption to hide their lack of trustworthiness, of filial attitude, and of work ethics.)
5/ Guan XiangCheng and Tang Yi (Nie Yuan and Zeng Li, the father of Guan Ji and the editor of the financial news company, who have a hidden affair) ;
6/ Chen Sheng and "Nan Nan" Kong Nan (Liu Ming Hao and Vian Wang; Shi Yi's assistant and Shuyi's tablemate in the office, who strike up a sweet acquaintance in the first half of the drama, but don't hog much time) ;
7/ Shi Wenguang and "Song Le Lan" (Kou Zhenhai and Zhou Xuan who has sung a couple of well-received songs in the past, but is not really that well known a pop singer, more known as actress in support roles ; they play Shi Yan's dad and his idol singer mother, who are so discreet that Shuyi does not get to,know their identity until last episodes.)
To these 7 couples, we might add the mother of Shuyi who wants her to get married asap, perhaps wanting more security for her daughter Shuyi, who also has a stepdad (played by Shi Yu) This couple is not much shown together.
Yu You's dad and mom are also not much shown.

Some third wheels, either over confident or straight antagonists are :
Xu Yuling (played by An YueXi) who is the jealous colleague of Shuyi ;
Fiona (played by Tu Zhiying) a young student returnee who thought her familiarity with Shi Yi would help her romantically and professionally, but had to realize it was her wish thinking ;
Yi Yang (played by Daniel Zhou) a "dark horse" indeed who set his aim too high and ended up, as expected, beaten into toeing the line set by Shi Yi in love and business;
and the relentless phones!

The story was adapted from Qiao Yao 's novel " Wrong Flirting ", supposedly rather true to original. Despite a good start (albeit rather expected story line there in those beginning episodes) it became rather chaotic, even frustrating at times. But it also had some beautiful, cute, exciting, or fun moments : the visit to the temple, the quote of a line of poetry (Du Fu's famous poem 客至 ké zhì, that is attached to the landmark Du Fu thatched cottage in Chengdu, Sichuan), the climbing tree and fairy coaxing, the standing together for inspection of factory; the comforting Shi Yi in his "darkest moment" when Yi Yang snatched the lead in the tech companies ; the last episodes of Shi Yi and Shuyi's relationship, the "Call Me Uncle" quip (that embodied the complicated Chinese family ties hidden in the drama)..... These ending episodes made up for some frustration that could have accumulated on the way. I even found myself going back re-watching some of the cute and sweet moments, looking at the Beijing cityscape of the high tech district, the pictures of the temple (perhaps Zhizhe temple in Jinhua, Zhejiang) and other cityscapes : "jiang Cheng" city could be in Zhejiang, there is a brief glimpse of the Zhejiang water city of Wuzhen, and perhaps another city. Filming took place in Zhejiang according to Baidu, between November 22, 2022, and March 20, 2023, so it was remarkable that it took so little time to air 2023-Nov-03 to 2023-Nov-22, with the 36 episodes scheduled + the 36.5 additional one that shows the wedding of the leads.

The 11 song OST with theme song Passer by (sung by Zhou Shen) and episodes' ending theme song Lemon Soda (cute song, sung by Lai Meiyun) was quite nice. Full OST can be listened to on YouTube, and translation MVs of Only for Love songs lyrics have been posted there by Peachey Blossom. But I am not sure what were the titles of the snippets of songs Dong Xuan sang nicely, when she acted the singer on stage, in episode 10.

In a year when three dramas featuring Bai Lu were aired (Till The End of The Moon earlier, and Story of Kunning Palace, almost simultaneously to Only For Love) this drama of course elicited heated comparisons and even some controversies. To my mind, it is not really fair to compare such very different dramas. In my personal scale of Bai Lu dramas, it may remain among the "lesser ones", because TTEOTM and One and Only, even Arsenal Military Academy and SOKP are going to rank first in costume categories (ancient or Republican era) and OFL will also rank behind Love is Sweet in the modern office drama category, where Luo Yunxi proved a more versatile actor than Dylan Wang Hedi in this one. Nevertheless, although I had a bias about his acting too much with same expressions as his former Daoming Si (MG) and Devil (LBFAD) characters, I still think Wang Hedi did honorably well as Shi Yi in this drama enough that this drama will not be dismissed in his growing filmography.

Do I recommend Only For Love ? Yes, this drama is, despite its quirks and flaws, quite watchable for those who have time, don't mind the quirks mentioned, like either or both leads, and don't go fast forwarding at each secondary couple or phone alarm. But maybe it is not for everybody if the frustration level outweighs the rest. But it does not deserve the venom of a certain Youtuber lady (who never watches till end what she guns down, and is proud to spew what she read elsewhere after having "watched" trailers, or a couple episodes). Since I liked Only For Love nonetheless, I will not be stingy with rating, but it is my own rating for my own list. I totally understand others could disagree, or even rate it higher.

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Pets are a life long responsibiliy, and a lesson for life

I watched this drama slowly, on the one hand because of interruptions by other activities, on the other because of more interest in another small drama. I never skip but it is true that there was much repetition and that the "secret" was out of the bag too early to be really thrilled by the second half development.

The purpose of raising awareness about responsibility for adopted pets was worthy. It was developed into "case studies" that really showcased the chosen pets.

The drama could perhaps have been more realistic about some vet care, but on the whole, it pinpointed some facts. For instance, the relatively small number of guide dogs in China, but also a warning against seeing those as "workers" that could be used for years in demanding jobs such as guiding paralympic runners. Some care that actually amounts to mistreatment...

For those who want to know more about the "guest star animals", I have added a list of them, with episode number, and pictures, in the Discussion section, with an appendix listing the pets of some chosen Chinese celebs.

https://mydramalist.com/discussions/loving-you/120713-pets-my-precious-ones-and-those-of-c-drama-actors-actresses

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For the newbies and some hailang, on the eve of Singles day 11.11
here is an introduction to Z.Tao's music and a first Profile of the ML of "My Precious " (who played a role he is familiar with in real life!), illustrated, with links to more music and some fashion, luxury (incl. explanation of what some saw as a cryptic line in the song "Promise").

These are parked in the (always hidden, newbies have to be curious to find it, although it is not that difficult) Discussion section of "My Precious" drama. (Since MDL provides the introductions to dramas and shows, I have not (yet) added descriptions and links to those in this Profile, but you might nevertheless find it more useful than the ultra short bio and list of screen appearances on Z.Tao's page). I may expand on that in the future, and move the resulting Profile somewhere else later.
Direct link to these two other "companion pieces" :

https://mydramalist.com/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in

Enjoy!

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Cinderella/Mary Sue, but watchable business romance to watch Chengdu

This drama, despite its annoying Mary Sue trope, was enjoyable, especially the light-hearted part until it got "serious" between Lou Yuan and Dong DongEn, and the antagonists appeared, first the reluctant "cousin" of the malicious business competitor Su Qi, who is the instrument of the crisis in the four last episodes, and next the jealous "childhood neighbor" who is the cause of much grief. We knew of course, as soon as she appeared, stalking into the company on her high heels, that she was up to no good, so we were concerned as audience about En's naiveté to work with her... The cousin was also a case where En was too trustful, but she couldn't see what we saw of her link to Su Qi, and she did own up to her misdeed when the crisis broke for the 82 company she was a part of.

But that gives a balance to the light hearted part, introducing more serious concerns about how ordinary people still might be targeted by cyberbullying, the dangers it brings and how to react. Interesting also to see that perhaps offices ought to be routinely security checked for spying devices, that many can buy easily and conceal, also in homes! My surprise was that we almost saw no police involvement, except in the field where En was assaulted by club wielding thugs (even then, the mere mention of them and sound of police car alarm was enough to send the thugs packing). There are some very lawfully reprehensible acts in these last episodes, so, shall we see all these rotten turtle eggs get slapped with sentences? To be continued...

About cast and crew, I looked into the Baidu page to check about dubbing, but no voice actor is listed for any in the cast, despite there is a mention of dubbing directors (Li Jiasi, Yu Mengci) ; this could indicate that actors and actresses dubbed themselves, as is more and more the case. A commenter noted an unusual accent for one of the members of 82 company. I rather liked Xu Lu even when she was using the coaxing voice in the beginning.

Where and when was this filmed : Baidu informed that it started shooting on October 20, 2021, and was completed January 5, 2022. I will add that this was in Chengdu, as many stills in the drama show, and the episode 17 stroll in the old quarter there. I had received a small Mid autumn festival greeting in the form of a short video of the drones show celebration there on Sept.29 evening, and I appended a small GIF of it to the songs (OST and Hero song) pinned with links to listen in the Discussion section (above Comments). You will recognize the twin towers that often appear over the crossroad views in the drama. Enjoy!

Now for the review with minor spoilers of the end episodes and my thoughts about what the drama aimed at.

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In my opinion, the end episodes were logical. They show how the need for revenge by calling for the police can sometimes be detrimental to reputation and happiness. So, sometimes, without letting go like in just naive forgiveness, it is indeed better to turn former enemies into allies if not real friends. We knew the "cousin" betrayer had qualms, and now that she had seen the light and regretted, she would be a wholehearted addition to the team, especially after the « test » prepared for her by 82.

Su Qi was a scorpion who lost his stinger, so he couldn’t do damage but indeed help trap the real puppetmaster; Lou Yuan was astute in realizing that the tables could be turned against that shadow figure. Su Qi’s plans to convert through launching a new, cleaner business, was in line with the idea that wrongdoers must, if possible, reform through useful work. It would not have been better if he ended up in prison. He knew his faults and as the scorpion who lost his stinger, would now work as an ordinary dung carrying beetle, useful for gardens, Voluntarily better than fruitless coerced punishment.

The annoying "other woman" leech chose to expatriate: good riddance. In ancient times, that was how some condemned officials were treated : exile to distant countries. She acts like she has other prospects, but we know how much of a liar and a braggart she was. Marry someone else in another country ? How? Online dating? Good luck for her. I think she only said that to piss off her mom, who was appalled at the shamelessness of that offspring. That old biddy had abetted her daughter's schemes, but probably not realized how stupid it was, since in the end, it meant she was punished too through the loss of her old friendship with Lou mom and perhaps even her own subservient position in the company too.

The actress friend of DongEn had already realized that she couldn't go on with her guy : it was reasonable for them to break off early after they knew they were really physically incompatible, even though they liked each other. Mutual agreement divorce can be a solution to keep good opinions about each other when the way ahead is blocked.

The solving of the cyberharassment case contributed to the return of young Han, with his father realizing that the investment could be good for his company and train his son in another way to, in distant future if the old man could stay at the helm long enough, inherit Han group, with 82 as a de facto (but nominally independent) subsidiary. Like Taiwan to China perhaps ?

I was less taken by the endless lovey dovey Cinderella and Mary Sue tropes, and expectation of weddings etc. But the romance was aware of these pitfalls and aimed at adult and reasonable: the gap in social position and earnings was indeed a concern that the two had to find a way to circumvent. I am satisfied that Lou Yuan was true to his pledge to face the difficulties with his chosen soulmate, Miles Wei and Xu Lu were an unlikely pair, but they pulled off their role adequately, if not overwhelmingly oozing with sugar syrup. The renewed proposal was, by the exchange it staged, witnessed by "found family" rather in line with the expected marriage.
The old lady Lou and her laughters provided much light-heartedness, so even if she appeared as a blundering, even though well-meaning, elder past her edge, she added the necessary sauce at times. We could have expected another match with her former sweet love, but the story is enough as it stands. The ending did not feel rushed: it was only logical and fitting the last twists.

So were any wrongdoers dragged to prison? Yes, and it was on the televised news that old Mrs Lou was so happy to watch. A slew of bad citizens got caught : the rotten competitor, and the cyberbullying ringmaster. It solved the defamation case of the Lou's products, while emphasizing the importance that the Chinese now put on food products quality control. Frozen meat can indeed be as toxic as milk laced with melamine, and the authorities are not going to let go of crimes of that sort. That does not mean the other crimes and wrongdoings would not be punished if they were brought clearly to justice attention (several actors and actresses have won cases against their cyberbullies or stalkers). But when the wrongdoers agree to punish themselves and reform, it saves time and resources for authorities, so pragmatically, this is better. Chinese dramas have an explicit agenda to further a public conception of "morality" and set a compass for solving problems through voluntary reform action and-self criticism (not necessarily broadcasting a public apology nor groveling like the mole did, which Lou Yuan rightfully realized was not natural, but could be further attempt at entrapment).

As for personal and sentimental interaction, they mostly stay quite conventional. Couples have to get committed and marry on sound basis of values that can be estimated by price (house, car, salary, jewelry...) and there is indeed an expectation that if the social status is different, the difference in balance should be compensated somehow : either through education, or through successful position in a company or line of work. Cinderella stories are therefore not realistic. This one was teetering between full fairy tale and down to earth depiction. Not totally successful perhaps.

I was more interested in the business parts promised by the title, although the « service angle » was a bit clumsily depicted. Watching it from the point of view of an illustration of what were the underlying values, and the indirect demonstration that individual worth cannot be separated from societal one. It is another concept of civilization that is the backbone of such stories, which are in line with "capitalism with socialist characteristics" : the policy which has helped the country navigate the U turn from poverty to increasing comfort, making it into a global powerhouse, world player in the emergent BRICS. China has over a few decades become a place to build ever higher and ambitious buildings (as we see from the Chengdu cityscapes glimpsed now and then, and the layout of offices and homes; the products placement were less obvious, probably built in pauses on public television) . Building ever higher dreams, not giving up in case of business wars. It was also a topic that was present in the news at the time of filming.

We can see how this illustrates in some way what was on their mind : the reaction of Chinese citizens and Huawei company to the return of Ms Meng to China as a hero in December 2021, after having been slandered and bullied into house arrest in a country she thought was friendly, and the subsequent turn to domestic resources to rebuild Huawei as again a leader in its group, surprising all those who thought that company dead. This is the Hero song's real meaning: it can translate into a lot, and is the symbol of the "Hao Han" in every business domain now, striving for excellence and justice without relying on Court's orders first, but striving also to stay in line with the country's goals.

Hello, I am At Your Service is an Ok business & romance C-drama in my opinion, although many things in the story could be foreseen too easily. So, it is not a masterpiece but, quite watchable. Many spoilers were given in comments, and the clues and previews were probably too revealing to properly keep the suspense elements intact. I watched it disregarding the comments section until I had watched it all, in 3 sittings. The light-hearted first half part was often fun, while the more serious one after the couple formed and problems cropped up, was mixing the expected hope, disappointment, disgust and despair, on the background of the commercial war that had some mildly thrilling twists.

Because of those, I'd rate the drama as for general public over 14, but more for mature audience that isn't looking for just another love story first. Of course, it will appeal to those who like Miles Wei and/or Xu Lu, despite it is not their best drama.

There are a few sweet songs (links in Discussion), and the one Hero song (original by Liu Han for a 1998 drama version of “The Water Margin” epic classic) which got a fun twist in the end episode, in line with the way songs can be used in such setting.

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What are dreams and what is reality ?

I binge watched the 20 short episodes series, and came back to watch the movie edition of this nice story about the possible interaction of a real life gamer and an AI character she feels more than protective of.

The story is very logical, should appeal to those who like science fiction and thinking, beyond looking only for love and kisses romance (not that this one does not have any: it does) and "hunting for plot holes" to kill it (not that you'll find so many in this one.)
It has not got high traffic cast and went relatively unnoticed when it aired, most c-drama watchers being more interested in more hyped ones, following their own fandom favorites, so it did not benefit from a Bai Jinting who drew many to watch the excellent Reset, back in beginning 2022. As a "new story", Reset stays as the most remarkable science fiction c-drama recently, with the exception of The Three Body Problem in 2023 (which was long anticipated after the success of the Liu Cixin novel). Other ones were less successful although not bad : the Chinese remake of a Korean time-loop story, 2022 Love In Time, or a comedic and somewhat mock syrupy time loop like Secretary Ba wants to Resign every single day, both a nice watch.
There are not many science fiction C-dramas now: many are closer to "fantasy" than to speculative fiction and often presented only as fantasy even when there are "aliens" in them : 2022 My Girlfriend is an Alien series, Thousand years For You, 2023 The Parallel World... Or they just are drawing on "dreams" after an accident like in Legally Romance, dreams also being the beginning of full fledged fantasy c-dramas like Eternal Love 1-2-3 and Oh!My Emperor! or of the stories where authors find themselves part of their own novels. But some new and upcoming ones look more related to science fiction genre : 2023 I am Nobody (still trending) and upcoming Bionic (12 episodes about a murder investigation with robots in 2035!).

Metaverse here is available as 《跨越世界来见你 Falling to Your World》 on the YoYo channel of YouTube, which has both the 20 episodes and the "movie edition" that glues them together, without repeating the beginning and end credits.
It is called Metaverse on the original platform We Tv which broadcast it in August 2023, and it is included in the binge watch challenge of September on the platform until Sept.29 to try to win VIP access for a year or 3 months on the app.
Original title 跨越世界来见你 [Kua Yue Shi Jie Lai Jian Ni] Across The World To See You.
From a story titled 《元宇宙·恋语》/Yuan Universe Love Language, by Yang Zitong 杨紫彤 , who was also screenwriter here.
The drama is directed by Peng Ke 彭柯 (no further information available on Baidu).

The characters are:
- An Mei 安美 (gamer and art designer in a game company),
- Lu Ting 陆汀, an NPC (non playing character) who is deemed not popular enough to be kept in the game.
- Director Fang (played by Chang Haoyuan) is an ambitious decision maker who hates employees to challenge her authority.
- Director Zhu Zhenjun (played by Daniel Zhu XinZong 朱信宗, 34 years old Taiwanese model and sometime actor) is the company leader, who tries to balance company interests, employees well being, and his own interests in AI development.
- A private assistant to Lu Ting, called NaiNai, in the game (played by Na FeiSha 娜菲莎),
- Huang Baoqiang coder friend of An Mei who follows instructions,
- and a meddling but well meaning younger brother of An Mei are the main other supporting cast.
An Mei is played by Guan Xin 关芯 who, at 28, has been playing in 16 other dramas, mostly in supporting roles including in big productions such as Love O2O and Legend of Fuyao), but also as main in lesser remarked dramas. Lu Ting is played by Yang Hao Ming 杨昊铭, who, at 23 years old, has already played in 7 other dramas since 2018) .

The opening sequence shows a character in the game who is being shot. That would not raise the eyebrows of the RPG First Shooter gamers, who are used to see characters offed casually, winning points with each kill. But this game is different, since it is supposed to be a dating one, where gamers fulfill their unrealized yearnings for perfect love or at least friendship with characters who look almost real. Lu Ting is among those, and the twist is, that he has been both designed and cared for as almost brain child of game art designer An Mei, who can't bear to see him eliminated because of a drop in popularity. As both a designer with a dream and a sadness that has been alleviated by her co-creation, and a fan, she will try her utmost to keep him in the game, although she has little power, being neither a coder nor a decision maker in the company.

This is a story of an AI and a real world person who fixates her love on a character, but it can also have us think about the destiny of entertainment stars and their anonymous fans. Some great actors fall from grace spectacularly because of personal mistakes.But many, especially lesser known ones, fade away and see their posters disappear and at best, serve as table cloth to janitors, while their fans are left out cold, the entertainment companies having only interest in what drives in revenue.

At personal level some of the questions raised are: can beautiful dreams of other worlds help or not to better adjust to reality? Will AI characters replace real actors to serve as magnet for real world audiences likes and yearnings? Are dreams necessary to keep up hope for a better future or just a sign of an addiction? Is love really "all we need", as a Madonna song claimed ("Nothing Really Matters")?

The production was low budget, so there are not many remarkable features, and the OST is pleasant and not to obtrusive, but not very memorable. Nevertheless, it was an interesting, quick watch (about 2hrs in the "movie edition".) It deserves more watches, so I deliberately gave it a higher rating, since 7.5 is too low in my opinion. In its modest category, it is not bad at all.

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