In truth I was not expecting much but this series was surprisingly good and I feel that anyone would enjoy watching it.
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This review may contain spoilers
If you are looking for a longer, family oriented, love story this would fit the bill
8/10 is my rating. This is a 2012/2013 Taiwanese romantic drama with 72, 47 minute episodes.First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review.
Synopsis
Yang Yi Ru’s (Annie Chen) family convinces her she has terminal cancer to get her to take a break from work. Their plan to notify her that she is not really dying fails when she doesn’t check in to her pre assigned hotel room. As fate would have it, she runs across a former college class mate who fell in love, almost at first sight, with her. Lan Shi di (George Hu) lost track of the girl of his dreams before he could pursue his interest. On the island, Yi Ru accepts Shidi’s proposal and they get married but do not register so the marriage is not official. He is happy to have the chance with the girl he could not forget and she thinks she is fulfilling her dream of being married before she dies. When Yi Ru’s family is finally able to get in touch with her to tell her the truth, her and Shidi have already spent a night together. Yiru rushes back home to Taiwan without a word thinking they will never see each other again so she will never have to tell Shidi about the deception, Their fates are even more twisted when the company Yiru co-found lands a contract with Shidi’s company. At first Shidi is happy to see the wife that ran off without a word but happiness quickly turns to anger when Shidi believes Yiru tricked him to get him to drop a lawsuit against her company. Will they be able to sort out their misunderstandings and realize a lasting love with each other?
Review
If you take this for exactly what it is, a romance with all the social norms that are a decade and counting aged, you would like it. It’s very predictable but that can be a good thing if you want something that proceeds as expected. It ends happy with most major plot points resolved. I would recommend it to anyone who is fans of either of these actors. As a straight forward love story, slice of family life, love triangle romance it is a solid addition to all those types of series. It is on the longer side and there are some slow parts and even parts where the characters are shown from many angles just thinking about something. So watch it when you are in the mood for something you want to be engaged with for some time. Sort of like you might watch a daily soap opera. It was good for one watch to me. With so many option s out there, I do not think I will rewatch it. I would recommend it for those looking for a longer, family centered, romantic drama.
Spoilers
I thought the beginning, where they both thought she was terminally ill and he married her as a last wish, would carry and they would be in a contract type relationship. But that really only lasted through a few episodes then she found out she had been lied to about her illness and he was angry with her for deceiving him. I found his anger at her over all that really annoying. She was his dream girl, the one he wanted to find so bad he kept her picture around and then he is just going to act like that over what was obviously a misunderstanding? I was annoyed enough by that I almost quit watching. He was really being unkind to her and I thought it was a bit excessive.
Shi de’s grandmother (Shen Hai jung) was almost creepy in her desire to have him get married and start making babies. It seemed like she just saw him and his partners strictly as a baby conduit. I felt irritated by her over the top attitude on him getting married and having children. I know that was probably something that older women did back in the day but I have never seen anything where it was that extreme. And Shi de’s mother, Fang Xiu qing (Yang Chieh mei) spent her time only pleasing her mother in law. I know it wasn’t the way back in the older days but I wanted to see her assert herself at least a little. Part of the grandmother’s behavior was fed, unintentionally by Xiu qing. I loved her character she was so sweet and positive and just such a great support for her family. But I thought she had her hands to full with a mother in law that behaved like a grown child. The grandmother did change a little after Yi Ru moved in and she got close to her, but I still felt like she was overbearing. I thought one of the most abuse of power things the grandmother did was have the young couple get married in the jail just so she could have the date and time that made her comfortable. If it was really important to marry on an auspicious day, they could have delayed it for another time. It was her stubbornness that had them getting married in such a rush in such a horrible location.
I really liked the bromance between Shi de and Qi ming and wish they would have shown that more. They were very good for each other and their interactions made for a lot of humorous scenes. They could have filled some of those dragged out scenes of this one or that one just remembering or gazing around sadly, and filled that with more of the friendship between the two men
Yi Ru’s father, Yang Hao (Shen Meng sheng) was one of my favorite characters in the way he took Sun Qi Ming (Bobby Dou) in as a son even though he and his daughter were exes. It was very heart warming that he saw that need in a young man and was willing to take on that role of father. I was disappointed in him later on though when he continued the ice wall against Shi de’s aunt, Lan Yi ping (Yen Chia le) because she was so sweet to him all the time and they would have made a good couple. I felt they let that story line drop without good reason.
Yang Hao played a character that was like everyone’s favorite aunt. She was bubbly and always there for her family and friends.
I thought Shi de’s sister, Lan Shi yun (Vivi Lee) was a bit full of herself in the beginning for only having a semi successful self help author type career. As a person that wrote about relationships, she did not seem uniquely qualified to offer such advice. There was never an explanation of how she came to pick that topic. Had she been a successful psychologist or therapist who did that on the side it would have made more sense. Her wardrobe choice with the really long skirts was confusing and I wish they would have explained why she wore a fashion more fitting for a much older person.
He Tsai jung (Mandy wei) was a favorite character early on when she was a play no games hottie on the scene. She was even sweet when she decided she liked Qi ming. But she went through this period where she wanted to punish him and I thought she was just being mean spirited. Qi ming was still recovering from some major heart break with Yu ri and had all the emotional damage, which she was well aware, from his mom. Stringing him along and playing cat and mouse with him I thought was unjust as I thought she was a more understanding person.
I thought the cancer trope and the accident that leads to coma tropes were both unnecessary. It felt like that was added to appease those that don’t think you can have a slice of life, or family centered drama, without sad moments. I watch dramas to escape the sadness of modern life so I am never a fan of the sad story lines. It was tricky too because I look up how things end because I will skip a drama if it has a sad ending but this was buried in the middle and toward the end. I thought the family was very unfair to Yu ri expecting her to abort her baby to get treatment. Even Shi de was being harsh to her. Many women would understand how it would feel to end your babies’ life just to give yourself a better chance. Most mother’s would put themselves in front of a bullet for their child. Just because the child is not yet born doesn’t mean a woman does not feel responsible for the precious fragile life she has developing in her womb. I was glad Shi de finally came around. If the show had followed the trajectory of either her aborting or being seriously ill or dying for her choice to protect her baby, I would have been likely to have quit watching. The “live comments” were super surprising to me. A lot of the commenters were saying how selfish she was not to get the abortion because it delayed her treatment. They said how selfish of her to make her family worry. I guess, having had children myself, I understand how she felt about that little life she was carrying. To me her decision to delay was the opposite of selfish. I have read where a baby has actually cured a mother or improved conditions because of the presence of all the T cells in fetal development. And, even in the show they indicated the cancer had not spread. She actually learned of the cancer at such an early stage because she was pregnant. As that child grows I would think everyone would feel a little guilt for trying to pressure Yu ri to give up the baby.
The music became really annoying. It just wasn’t my favorite song and had a very repetitive beat.
#LoveNow #AnnieChen #GeorgeHu #BobbieDou #Harry Chang #ViviLee #EstherYang #ShenMengSheng #YenChiaLe #ShenHaiJung #YangChiehMei #MandyWei #KaoChengPeng #LiuHsiangChun #TieKe #HankWu #HuangChienHao #AlbeeLiu #WuRuiZhen #ShaunChen#HongChenYing #KellyKo
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The story:
It’s basically the story about a young man who lost his father when he was graduating college. He’s suddenly thrown into the corporate world running his fathers large and successful business. He was lied to and cheated by those closest to his family so he starts having trust issues. He then meets the female lead who is super sweet and is devastated to find out she’s dying. They have a whirlwind romance while they are both on vacation. But when he returns home and finds out that the female leads story about dying of cancer was a lie and that everything that happened to them on the island where they met was a lie, he’s furious. To make matters worse, they end up having to work together and he repeatedly takes revenge on her. After a lot of misunderstandings the truth comes out that the female lead was such a workaholic that her family lied to her about her dying just to get her to take a break and go on vacation. He feels terrible about his behavior and becomes this sweet charming guy that’s impossible to resist. I love how dedicated and loyal he is to her throughout the drama. He never waivers in his support of her.
The romance:
The romance in this drama is pretty spicy. The shower scene between the main leads was the steamiest scene I’ve ever watched in an Asian drama. I’ve seen individual shower scenes but never one with two people together making out in a shower. And the way the male lead likes to bite and tug at the female leads lips while he kisses her is just so sexy. I also like that we get to see the main leads beyond just getting together and dating. We see them in their married life and beyond which is nice.
The acting:
There’s some really good acting in this drama. I loved everyone. They all had me into their characters and their storylines. The side characters were so charming, especially the sweet little grandma. I also loved the the female leads father that was so loving and supportive of her. But the female leads relationship with her little sister was just so touching and gave me all types of feels. There are also multiple couples that each have their own interesting storylines so the drama never gets draggy. The male leads sister and her romance woes was so realistic and relatable too.
If I had a complaint it would be that it gets a little melodramatic and cheesy sometimes but since this is a melodrama that’s to be expected. And the length is way longer than anything I’ve ever watched but honestly, it was so good I’ve rewatched it. The romance of the main leads is just so amazing that I can’t help but go back and relive it. I would say if you’re sitting on the fence with this one then just take a leap and watch it. You won’t regrets it.
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There's a reason why it's this long but despite of the reason, It's still too long
I watched the first 20+ episodes of this few years ago and then dropped it because it was being tooo draaaaggggyyyyy. I just resumed watching this because I stumbled upon inborn pair (that show was kinda draggy as well), I finished and liked it.The reason why this drama is long is because It's like a story with other stories related (or maybe not?) to the main story. Aside from the main story, there's the story of the ML and FL's sisters (Yi Qing and Shi Yun), the ML's aunt (Yi Ping), and the story of the FL's ex lover (Qi Ming). Their stories have little to nothing to do with the main leads', so it's okay to skip parts and still understand it. The writers included too many characters and elaborated on each one of their stories.
But I have to say I did enjoy some of the side stories as well. I loved Mandy Wei's character especially.
Aside from the characters making the series long, I think there are too many scenes that aren't necessary, it became draggy and some were just added for comedic value and the worst part is they aren't even that funny. In some scenes, they try too hard to be funny that it becomes annoying. But in spite of it being very long, I still enjoyed the plot (especially the beginning and end).
When it comes to the acting and cast, The leads definitely have my vote. They are both great at acting, they are perfect for their roles and, as most of the reviews and comments say, they have the perfect chemistry. I liked and disliked their characters at the same time. They are likable but have some annoying characteristics. This also applies to the rest.
Music was okay, not that great but not bad either. I wish there was more variety in the songs given that this was a very long drama and there are different characters and emotions in different scenes.
Overall, I would say that it is worth watching this drama if you are patient and likes dramas that revolves around family. I would watch it again but definitely would skip a lot of scenes or even episodes.
Enjoy watching!
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This review may contain spoilers
A lovely story almost done in reverse.
A very long but lovely unique story. There's love at first sight. Married even before they were bf/gf. Pregnant even before getting married again.Watched this series maybe at least once a year or whenever I feel like it. But my rewatching technique's like watch the first five or six episodes, then skipped to episode 15, then another skip at episode 18. Resumed at episode 25. Then skipped some more episode just because there's too many.
Some parts of the story was really almost magical and some parts were really mundane. Imagine ML was looking for his dream girl for a long time and met her accidentally during one of his business trips. FL was a workaholic tricked by her family to have a well rested vacation. They've met by accident, sort of fall in love and married the next.
They went back home, and reality happens. The lies, the confusions, the insecurities and all the mundane stuff intrudes. With ML perseverance, they managed to be friends and eventually fall in love again.
If you have patience for a very long story like this one, I'll say it's worth it because everybody has their own happiness in the end.
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I'd say around halfway through the drama, things kinda started to settle down. I don't want to use the word boring, but it kinda got a little bit boring. It was almost like watching reality TV. The characters were living their lives and I was kinda just... watching.
Towards the end, things kicked up a little bit and I got interested all over again. I finished the last ten episodes a few days ago and I've been meaning to write a review.
I think the drama could have actually ended in like 30-40 episodes. The rest kinda felt... extra. Don't get me wrong, though, I LOVED the beginning, but I just can't see myself rewatching all 72 episodes again.
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it was exicting in the beginning
The story was good at first like when they meet and how he was happy to see her,but it got worst i think the writer shouldn't have let her found out about her so easily and fast.she should have found out probaly when she went back home.The show had a good plot but it just wasn't that goodYang Yi-ru, as a workaholic never had time for a holiday. After Yang Yi-ru was conned by her family and friends that she had been diagnosed with cancer and had only six months to live, she was sent aboard for a holiday to help her take a break from her job, before she even had time to respond to the shocking news she had just discovered. Still a state of shock from discovering she only had six months left, Yi-ru met Lan Shi-de, who was on a business trip. When Yi-ru told Shi-de that she only has six months left to live and that one of her dream was to get married and have kids, Shi-de proposed to Yi-ru. Not knowing that Shi-de actually had met her years ago and had fallen in love with her since that time, Yi-ru accepted his proposal. Under the blue skies and on the white sandy beach with a red carpet covered in rose petals, Shi-de helped Yi-ru fulfilled her dream of getting married and also given her the dream wedding that she would want if she got married. From there on, Shi-de decided to accompany Yi-ru for the number of days she had left and when Yi-ru disappeared, Shi-de swore to find Yi-ru no matter what, because this time, he doesn't want to miss this chance like he did years ago when he met Yi-ru, not knowing the fact that Yi-ru had only six months to live was a lie that Yi-ru herself did not even know at first.
the story might drawn you into it but it was just a mess has you go on and on .His sister was more like his younger sister not that mature.They were four girls in the house his sister,his mom,grandmother,and aunt he was the only boy
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Sem clichê
A história é de pegar qualquer coração desprevenido com um mega susto!So o primeiro episodio ja daria um belo filme de amor e fim, porem a produção de 72 episódios de 60 mínimos cada que achei excecivo. O casal protagonista tem uma química incrivelmente sincronizada que ate parece real. Tudo no casal é mutito emocionante.
Nunca imaginei ou ja tinha visto história assim e um personagem masculino tao bem desenhado e que não perdeu a personalidade ate o final. Um homem tão apaixonado que nutriu os sentimentos por tanto tempo até enfim realiza lo.
Sobre a doença citada, foi bem trabalhada no drama porem deixou a desejar, porque poderia ser melhor, ate porque é uma doença que esta sempre aterrorizando familias no mundo todo.
Os casais secundário tem estorias bem criativas.
Mas o casal principal esse sim deu um show de atuação e representatividade.
Estou apaixonada os atores Taiwaneses são lindos e muito talentosos!
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