Worth a watch
The chemistry between Male Lead and Female Lead is perfect as well as Second Leads. It is long and I even stopped it for a few days before I started watching it again, and there are episodes that will bore you (TikTok will be handy while you are bored and still want to continue). But after that, it gets better. There are few loopholes here and there but the show is so long that you will probably forget by the end. And I really like the relationship between the Male Lead and his sister. For me it was a good watch.Was this review helpful to you?
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Maybe I deserve an award for finishing this one.
The protagonists had chemistry. Let's just get that out of the way.Beyond that, this drama was so problematic for me on so many levels. It all started out cute, I suppose. Then somewhere down the semi-middle, I started getting meh with the whole thing. I mean, while both FL and ML faced challenges, I can't help but feel that each one was more ridiculous than the one before! It's like the writers wanted this to draaaaaag. That creepy dude was also like WTF for me. I dunno why his role was like that.
And OMG the product placements. I stopped counting.
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Thankfully that didn't happen here. Once they got on board with each other, they stuck together and I enjoyed the show a lot better. And definitely they were the best thing about this drama. They had incredibly GREAT chemistry (a few decent kiss scenes & some sweet, cuddly moments, though not enough for my tastes) and played massively well off each other. They seemed very convincing as a couple. I think these two genuinely enjoyed each other's company as they were filming because it came through very well on screen.
And can I just say, the ML is sooo hot. I dunno if his voice was dubbed or not, but I loved listening to him speak. His bad boy swagger will have you drooling all over your computer. Can't believe the actor was only 27/28 at the time of filming; he had a more solid, big man vibe to him. I really loved their interactions & dynamic as a couple. This was a mature and strong couple who communicated well and worked out their problems like grown adults. The ML more so than the FL.
ML was the perfect modern gentleman. He was a protector, he doted on the FL (I love how playful & teasing he was toward her), gave her a lot of space & leeway to be herself and do her own thing. Sometimes the FL didn't seem to appreciate how much he cared for her, which was a bit off-putting when considering how chivalrous he was. At times she was a bit on the immature side, a little too self-absorbed and entitled as many modern women are. There were moments that felt like she took the ML for granted, acting in inconsiderate ways without thought or consequence for his feelings. Or putting other people before him. Perhaps there were some cultural codes at play that I didn't fully grasp (guanxi), but I didn't like how she handled certain things. Loyalty is super important in a relationship and at certain times she didn't appear very loyal at all to me.
Her good points were that she was ambitious and capable, but not as obnoxious as some FLs are in western shows. This definitely was a drama geared toward women with a clear feminist undertone, but it wasn't man-bashing and I certainly hope Asian shows never go that route because I really hate how woke culture has destroyed western entertainment. Most western shows have basically become totally unwatchable for me. Overall, FL was a good heroine and I guess both of them can't be perfect.
I wasn't a major fan of the 2nd lead couple. They both seemed too immature to really know what they were getting themselves into. I think both their parents were right to be concerned. The 2ML was particularly earnest, but I just couldn't warm to them as a couple. Qin Qing seemed too spoiled and self-centred to care about anyone but herself in the long term. And maybe because I much prefer alpha male leads than sweet cuddly ones? That's definitely a part of it, but not entirely. I would have much preferred to see more scenes with ML's rival and his wife than these two.
Some of the negative comments against this drama are a bit frivilous (typical on MDL :/). People down voting the drama for product placement and a ring tone ... ::eyeroll::
Sure, the product placement was quite obvious in this drama. You really couldn't miss it, but that's kind of the point, isn't it? And at least they incorporated it well into the story, rather than just randomly placing it in scenes where they don't belong. I've seen worse product placement attempts in K-dramas. As for the ringtone, yes, it was a bit repetitive and quite odd that everyone had the same one, but it wasn't a big deal. Certainly nothing to give this show a bad rating for. Those first 2 reviews on the drama's front page are totally out of line, imo.
Anyway, it's been a minute since I watched a K-drama, but overall, this drama to me is a lot better than half the K-romcoms I've watched over the years and somewhat of a huge improvement on other C-dramas I've seen. While there's a lot of censorship in both C-dramas & K-dramas, I like how C-dramas deal with love, romance and familial matters better. Sometimes K-dramas are just way too conservative and cringey in their portrayal of modern day romance. Moreover, I couldn't imagine a lot of the stuff going down in this drama happening in a K-drama (ie. cohabitation b4 marriage & 2ML telling off his interfering mom & not groveling to her later on). On that alone, Love Designer scores major points.
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Business versus personal issues
I rated this drama 8 because overall the story was overboard, a beautiful independent amateur designer fallen in love with a high level e-commerce businessman that they met incidentally before they even got tangle with business dispute. I don't know why Chinese drama is so often portraying over the top personas with abundance wealth as the characteristic in so many dramas. The chemistry between Dilraba and Johnny Huang was so hot, they made out way better than other typical peck on the lips or cheeks. The struggle of being in the business was relatable, it isn't easy to own and manage business, I got it. Up and down in relationship happened in many ways, weather they're going to give time to the other party to reconcile true feeling and where they wanted to take the relationship further exploration. Although Johnny Huang character was pretty obvious, took him all effort to win her back. Struggling between business and personal issues, I can say Song Lin (Johnny Huang) was the real winner, because whatever hard reality hit him - he came out big and better. One thing I learn from this drama is their fashion statement, men wore something feminine/layers as so called fashion forward, I don't get it. Men being men..don't need to show off their manly beauty with something girls wear. Standard shoes/snicker, coat/suit, shirt/T-shirt, dress pant/jeans I think we girls dig in. That's probably I love Li YiFeng or Xiao Zhan so much...they don't over dress themselves. Johnny Huang is a handsome down-to-earth kind of guy...with that he won himself adoration from girls.Was this review helpful to you?
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Could have been better.
First of all I will start of with a positive. I have never seen Johnny Huang (if that's how you spell his name) in anything before and I was very pleasantly surprised. He is a good actor and I will watch more of his drama's. The way he plays the cocky, self assured CEO character but still brings a bit of cheekiness and playfulness into it isn't something just anyone can do.The two main characters where good together simply because the actors where so good at playing them. The chemistry they had onscreen was electric and really carried the show for me. There were times in the show I actually rewound a scene simply to see those two together. However the way both characters where written left plenty to be desired. Zhou Feng had lots of ambition but very little actual talent, and she kept falling into the same hole every time. I mean the woman is supposed to be smart so how many times does she have to fall for the same trick before she learns? It did get a bit tedious after a while. It was the same for Song Lin, a CEO who has raised his company from nothing and yet doesn't seem to see all the attacks coming, or really care when they arrive. He's too busy playing with his bikes or drinking with his friends. It just didn't work.
One thing I did enjoy was the interplay between the two leads and their respective teenage relations, Luo Luo and Xiao Di. Those teenagers did brilliantly and seeing the two adults slowly bought together and trying to work out how to deal with the troublesome teenagers, mostly Luo Luo could be hilarious.
On the downside the character of Qing Qing, I started to skip over her by about episode 10. She had gone from being the supportive and nice best friend to just being sarcastic and annoying. Between Qing Qing and her mother I'm surprised Zhuo Feng stayed sane. The other characters just where not interesting at all as they little or no character development through the whole show which was such a waster as the actors where good. Even the villain of the piece was made out to be bad without any clear reason. He wanted the business because of a line of clothing but why he wanted THAT line so bad was as clear as mud.
The music wasn't to bad but the fact everyone had the same ring tone, and a ring tone that was so annoying in the first place, just made my teeth grate. I know its a show about people achieving their dreams but I'm sure they could have found different ways of doing it that shoving that noise down our throats multiple times an episode.
All in all it was an OK show. But it was heavily carried by the two main leads. It defiantly had the potential to be much better.
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The story development between both main characters were well done., the areas of improvement was the whole Company v Company war that was on and off. The friends/side character romance was abit annoying to watch, mainly because of their immaturity/behavior.
Dilraba & Johnny does shine in this drama, having seen Dilraba's work out of order from You are my Glory to Hot Girls to Sweet Dreams to Pretty Li Hua Zhen definitely shows her range of acting prowess, as well as ability to captivate the audience's attention. I would rank her performance here 2nd behind You are my Glory.
The one area they could've gone into more about was how the two companies got into competing, other than the fact one guy wanted to get revenge for Si uei, the daughter of one of their teachers that passed tragically. That story was brushed over, even though that's the main reason those two companies got into fighting one another to start with. Otherwise their feud is very pointless, as Bai Sai's chairperson eventually just gives up because (1) his competitor helped save his butt (2) his wife was about to divorce him. So the reason for all this feuding has to be significant like Bai Sai wasn't favored by So Yue, or they were ex lovers and she passed, so he was bent on revenge or something.
Regarding with the conclusion, it ended where it started which was perfectly fine, not everyone will find love & happiness, some are destined to keep searching. I did like how they kept to the title of the show, which was Love Designer, which could have several meanings ofc.
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HOT SIZZLING Chemistry
The chemistry between Reba & Johnny is Craaaazy good, lots of pda and skinship. Yes 45 episodes are too long and too many gimmicks but I don't really care, seeing them acting together is just 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. It's been a while since I watch something with this kind of chemistry.Product placement a lot but doesn't bother me. You can just skip ahead right?
I like how FL and ML interact and their work ethic in this drama is 👍🏻 so bang.
Some tacky scenes here and there, but the again, I can just skip.
Great production with huge budget.
Can anyone recommend me another good c drama with great chemistry and great story line?
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Good cast but stretched story
I thought Dilana looked really beautiful in this. Johnny was well matched. The story was too stretched it could have been finished in 16 episodes like the Korean series. Too much business talk and indirect ads.More of a Chinese business agenda than a proper story. Think it went on and on.
Though I liked watching Dilraba on screen i just could not bare the story.
I thought it would end by the 40 episode but 48 episodes was just unnecessary.
If u like Dilraba then this watchable just to see her for longer on screen. Johnny and her expressions were what got me through the series
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Good enough
This drama surely had me on my toes sometimes but I can’t get enough of the chemistry between the actors and how the story flows with them. I started watching this thinking there would not be enough drama to keep me watching but I have to say I was wrong. It was good enough and again chemistry!!. There were a lot of cute scenes that I would rewatch any minute I could and even though there were times when I wanted to turn off the drama I still finished it so that’s enough to say that it is not too bad and the OST is so great as well!Was this review helpful to you?
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The Best Chemistry Cdramaland Ever!!!
Love the humor, the storyline (except it could have been shorter) and most of all, the male and female lead. Their chemistry is just out of this world!!! This is the second drama I’ve watched starring Johnny. I just love love this guy. For someone who has no formal acting training, he is up there with the trained ones in terms of his acting skills. He is no ‘Xiao xian Rou’, and to add to that, masculine, charming and sexy.I just love how the story ends with the motorbike scene, the story came to a full circle, tying things up very nicely. It has one of the best happy endings in dramaland. Personally, I mostly watch dramas to enjoy, to relax and escape from daily grind, so endings like this one is just perfect.
I guess the only negative is as mentioned above, could have definitely done with less episodes or have those episodes explore/expand Su Yunsan’s background and history with Song Lin.
I have since watched it again .
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Disappointing by the end
That was a weird drama. They lost half of the characters in the middle and even the direction of the plot. While Song Lin becomes more and more warm and generous, Zhou Feng gets to be self-centred to the point where she chooses to turn a blind eye to the fact that Su keeps using her to get at Song and stays loyal to Su even when Song needs her, and even when her own career would benefit from helping Song. The only moment she thinks of going back to working with her boyfriend is when she's jealous of another woman helping him. If the genders were reversed viewers would never let the character get away with it. That totally put me off from the main couple and I just skipped the last episode, not caring for the ending anymore. 6/10Was this review helpful to you?
Too little depth, too much background noise
There is a lot of detail in the story, but it doesn't make for a lot of depth. Crucial parts are missing and the relationship between Qin Qing and Zu Yuolin is all background noise and an extremely distracting cacophony towards the end. Part of it is the acting of Yi Daqian - he's not up for a main lead yet and somewhere after a few episodes I suspect the writers tailored more to his style as it became a bit less annoying, but still he can't carry the role. And it makes the depth of the relationship unfounded and unbelievable. I think he can improve, he's just not there yet - he's still at the level he played in Eternal Love of Dream.Who is ready for a lead role and I would've loved to see more of is Song Luo. I missed the arch in the U.S. and would've loved to see how she adjusted and if something would come of the friendship turning romance or not. Overall the females were more expressive, more vibrant and better in their acting. Dilireba, Zheng Shuijing and Zhu Yin are a pleasure to watch. The elder generation is just oozing acting experience, show for example by the way Zhou Younian supports his wife and also handles her stubbornness with flair and subtlety. It really feels like they've known each other for decades and even when mother Ruhui knows she's being handled by "Old Zhou", she can't help but let a smile of endearment escape her.
Don't kid yourself though. The mothers in this series are extremely overbearing and manipulative. Acted brilliantly, but still getting under your skin, making you bite your fingernails, plead at the screen and beg for them to gain some restriction.
But in the end it is the writing that lacks here. The main story arches could've been done in 24 episodes, maybe less. How it ended up at 51 (45 on DVD and streaming) is mainly because they started to write it as a soap opera. Which is all well and good, but then make a soap opera and don't postpone the ending of a finite series that everyone is waiting for. Writing fillers and product placements that are just far too obvious is not entertainment and I skipped over most of the issues that Qing Qin faces in episodes 38 and beyond cause it was just too hard to bear.
The animosity between Su Yushan and Song Lin is also underdeveloped. Sure - they are competitors, but the hate that Su Yushan displays is truly villain worthy, yet we don't have this big thing that happened between them. Maybe he overplayed his role or the writing just give him too many tools to be evil, but with very little response and background to be justified.
However, the parts that are good, are excellent and that's why it still ends up at a 5.5. Just be ready to skip entire arches if you don't find them interesting.
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