While Master Devil uses many familiar romcom tropes reminiscent of Itazura na Kiss and Hana Yori Dango (amongst others), the show stands out well in being a GOOD well-written romcom WITHOUT all the unnecessary angst, frustration over stupid/extreme characters or developments, and exaggerated/pointless drama.
The plot is well-balanced and well-written in being reasonable in its developments, while staying true to the classic tropes of romcoms. There is not only a good balance of romantic development between the leads, but also ample time given for the female lead Chu Xia to independently develop her own story arcs and interactions with other characters without the male lead.
The plot is written in a more realistic way for instance, such that it is NOT a girl-against-the-whole-world trope like the desperation felt in Hana Yori Dango. Similarly, the characters are also written quite distinctively and developed in a reasonable way. Contrary to the title, male lead Qi Lu really isn't an ass at all, even if he may be unfriendly. Many of the supporting characters are really nice, and even the antagonists themselves aren't completely irrational or hateful in their behaviour.
Admittedly still, there is still about ~10% of plot development that doesn't quite make a lot of sense and requires suspension of disbelief, e.g. the first episode lol. (But all will be well once you get over that bridge.) However, I feel like the amazingly funny/cute character interactions would completely make up for this~ (especially interactions with the male lead ;))
It was really a breeze completing this show, helped by its short 20-minute episode length and addictive previews. Forgiving the laughable CG (from the first ep) and not-that-great OST due to its lower web-cdrama budget, the young actors and plot still held the show up well and hit all the right notes for me in delivering almost everything I'd have wanted to see in a classic romcom, without the frustration.
That being said, it's EXTREMELY important to leave a disclaimer that these 23 episodes is NOT a completed story and will be directly continued in the upcoming Season 2 (which I'm still dying in anticipation for). Hence, with the HUGE POTENTIAL for romantic development being left in the air for Season 2 to pick up from, I have been left in a state of withdrawal, which also makes for the high rewatch value of the show, simply from being classic, light and cute.
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The acting with good and the story too .
Dislike:
The production wasn't good enough ..like what is wrong with them and the ?SOUNDTRACKS??
does they hate it or something ??? Soundtracks Job -For me at least- is to Make the scene shine, it is very supportive tool to help the audience now how they supposed to feel and it make the series alive ,helps you to involve with story to feel happy and sad .
Ps: just watch Boys over flowers and you will understand what I mean
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Pros:
-The Leads: I really enjoyed the two lead characters. I liked that they aren't consistently interacting and have their own little arcs. An Chu Xia is a strong and likable female lead.
-Short Episodes. With these kind of shows, the shorter episodes are much more suited rather than the longer 45-90 minute episodes that many Asian drama have.
Cons:
-Dubbing. I originally thought that the streams I watched were out of sync but after reading some comments, I realised the voices were dubbed over, although I'm not sure why. It does obviously mess with the scenes in relation to emotions, etc but you can get over it pretty quickly.
-Meng Xiao Nan. Her dubbed voice is really annoying and she isn't a very helpful character or friend. She just pouts and whines a lot.
Overall, the show is light-hearted and humorous and definitely worth a watch if you aren't looking for something too serious.
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The story can be compared to boys over flowers, with the poor girl joining an elite school and being bullied by its prince. And even though the idea of it sounds entertaining, the drama managed to be silly and boring. There were many events and tropes that were repeated, like when the leading lady kept being accused of something that she hasn't committed by her teachers, being punished harshly in order to ask for forgiveness, but she does not, leading to her fainting and being rushed to the nearest infirmary. And that happened three times in the drama! The ex's story was underdeveloped as well and it wasn't easy, thus, to understand the male lead's character.
Nevertheless, there were some fun moments in this drama, even though the couple didn't have much romantic chemistry. Maybe they get better in the second season though. Finally, although the performances from the leads were decent, some side characters were not as good.
So, overall, three out of ten.
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The two main characters were pretty likeable and had good chemistry, so the romance didn't flop. The plot was a bit of nothing, more go-with-the-flow than stick-to-the-script, but then again, it was still pretty entertaining.
Overall, I think it's great way to waste your time, because it really doesn't take much to finish an episode. Really, each is just like, 20 minutes anyway. There are definitely worse, less entertaining, things to watch.
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The episodes are short (25 mins) and fast paced and addictive. It's very entertaining and the script is interesting with unexpected twists. I am fluent in Chinese so I understand the opening song (it is very cute).... and all the other sound tracks. All the other songs used have lyrics that describe the emotions of the scenes.
I think the Producers/Director had intentionally styled it like Anime, acting wise and also with sound effects and cartoon effects. The cast acting is fantastic and the main leads are good looking.
Some parts appear strange and disconnected....I think it may be due to the editing.
This is still one of my recent favorites and a rare find.
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A HOT, TERRIBLE MESS, but a fun one ;)
Having finished this show, I'm honestly not sure...why I even started it? It must have been desperation, but this entire show is honestly just one, chaotic, hot, mess.But it's a fun, wacky hot mess, that you totally shouldn't take seriously.
And oh, im pretty sure the show took itself seriously, but I didn't. Why?
1. Those fight scenes had me cracking up each time because of how dumb the actors looked, how poorly coordinated it all was, and how tacky the entire performance panned out in general.
2. the plot is almost ripped straight from Itzura na Kiss, which is one of the OG rich boy poor girl kinda high school love stories, except the main guy is filthy stinking rich, and suddenly they're in high society. there are some creative spins, but all that we've seen before.
3. the acting was....definitely not the best ^^" Fair Xing certainly tried her best, and I think she did a pretty good job. She's only gotten better (based on her performance in PYHOMS), and she's def one of the only reasons I kept watching.
4. the entire production quality leaves to be desired.
Overall, this show is pretty bad, but it's bad in a way that's strangely addicting. I kept watching just to see how badly things would go, to see if the overbearing Han Qi Lu would swallow his pride and admit he has feelings for Chu Xia, and if they'd get that happily ever after.
Unfortunately, the show ended in the most fucking anti-climatic way possible, for some "season 2" bullshit but there was never an ending??? Idk chinese dramas seem to like to do season 2 stuns for a drama whose first season ended like it was the end of episode 1. No thematic change? You could have slapped the season 2 divider literally anywhere else, and it would make NO DIFFERENCE, because season 2 was just their way of saying:
Director/Investor: "ah so, we wanna make like, 2 seasons of this"
Writer: "what- the story is literally not built for that-"
Investor: "Did I stutter."
And we get this. Anyways, if u even made it this far, SAY YOU FOUND MY REVIEW HELPFUL U GREMLIN haha. Im losing my mind over this in case you can't tell im super pissed about that "to be continued in season 2" bullshit. Anyways, thnx for reading! ^^
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Honestly, it reminded me a lot of Accidentally in Love where we have a girl who is different from everyone else, and refuses to change to fit this new world. I do enjoy Chu Xia's character - she seems to be this bright star in the sky who in a way makes whoever she crosses paths with, a better person. People are also drawn to her energy and her spunkiness that ultimately makes every guy kid of fall in love with her. After watching season 1, I am not going to lie, I am not a fan of Qi Lu. Even though Chu Xia doesn't "know" that she likes him yet, all she wants is him to treat her with some kind of respect, and he does, but it is very off and on. Already, their relationship seems very unhealthy. He doesn't know how to act (even though in flashbacks, he clearly knows how to be in a relationship and treat a girl) and when he becomes flustered, he channels it out as anger towards only Chu Xia. I don't blame her for being confused whenever he confesses to her. I would also think he was playing a joke on me. He needs to check himself because as of right now, I am not sold. To be honest, I have no idea what is with me lately, but I have been falling for all the second lead love interests who I know will not get the girl. If I were in Chu Xia's place, I would date the heck out of Ling Han Yu. Right from the beginning, he is this bubbly guy who has no ill feelings towards anyone, and from the moment he met her, he protected her. Plus, I think he has genuine feelings towards her and isn't afraid to tell anyone because she knows there is nothing wrong with her and he always builds her up and always there when she needs someone emotionally. Even when his friendship is on the line, he still chooses to protect Chu Xia. After that, my second pick would be Feng Shao, her best friend/brother form her past life. Like Ling Han Yu, Feng Shao was her protector, but also her equal. He knows how strong she is and knows that she can handle herself, but is always there if she needs a little help. He always knows how to cheer her up, and will always defender her honor. But I do understand that he does represent her past life. Now that she is living in the Han household, he is realizing that she isn't just Chu Xia, gangster milk-deliver-er from the streets. She is so much more, and Feng Shao can and does fit in her life, but not in the way he used to. Honestly, when he decided to move on, it broke my heart. I think he knew that she was a different person and was given more opportunity and that he might pull her back into their "gangster" life if he tried to pursue her. If he wanted to, I think he could succeed. My third...which is wild, would be late entry Jiang Chen Chuan. He was just introduced, and they started with a hate relationship, but ultimately he fell in love with her tenacity. She refused to back down from what she believed, and she always found a way to succeed. Don't get me wrong, he is a wild character who does wild stuff, but at least he treats her a way a woman should be treated. I was debating who third place should be, between Han Qi Lu and Jiang Chen Chuan and ultimately made my decision due to the fact that at least Jiang tries to make an effort.
I am excited to see what they do in season. The things I didn't like about this drama though were now choppy some scenes were as well as how much filler. I get annoyed with Qi Lu because there is some development with him, but he just needs to get over himself. I mean yes, I would act not super nice towards people after I had a significant other who always talked about marriage after college, but then literally bounced and said nothing one day. But I am also not a person who agrees with projecting you anger on other people who were not involved. Plus, he said something about always liking her, which I find to be complete bull. PLUS PLUS, I am not sure (1) if he only likes her because she is so similar to his ex or (2) the reason why he was so cold towards her is because of that reason. Either way, he needs to show some kind of signal that he likes her because she is her own unique person. She is already struggling with her feelings because Han Qi is so hot and cold. Like I said, toxic relationship.
This is a simple drama, but I hope we get a better story line in the second season with a better plot and maybe Han Qi actually being nice to Chi Xia.
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