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Frost_edelweiss
The c-drama cure for haphephobia!
This short-episodes drama is quite enjoyable, although for the impatient international audience of WeTV who rely on subtitles, there’s already a 3-hours+ "movie" edition, compilation of all episodes, paring away episode intro and end credits. On the minus side, this "movie" edition suffers like many such ones of sound trouble on the YouTube post where I watched it: dialogues sound tinny, while some of the music and even speech gets muted away. If it was not for subtitles, and expressive acting, it could be very annoying to be thus interrupted in the flow.
The original short 8 minutes episode series is still airing on WeTV international app with English subtitles, so I was re-watching parts there for a more comfortable sound experience. It's the type of drama one can enjoy while snacking or breakfasting, or at pauses on a commute.
The story of Promise in The Summer (初夏的甜蜜约定 / Chu Xia De Tian Mi Yue Ding) is rather simple, and not too choppy, despite the use of some flashbacks to highlight some past events and more recent ones in order to underline the lead characters' actions. Generally, it develops pleasingly, if not unexpectedly, since this is a variation on well-known stories, going back to the HanaYoriDango/ Meteor Garden/ Boys Over Flowers phenomena. Nevertheless, the expected tropes are not too many: accidental kiss, color spills, spoon-feeding, visit to the amusement park (on double date). Product placement is refreshingly almost absent.
It is a new variation on the story derived from the web novel "Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me" (恶魔少爷别吻我) by Jin Xia Mo (锦夏末), that already spawned a successful 2 seasons drama adaptation under that title in 2017, featuring at the time Xing Fei (An Chuxia) and Li Hongyi (HanQiLu), in 46x25’ episodes, and another take in 2018, titled “The Demon Master”, featuring Yu Xintian (An Chuxia) and Jia Zhengyu (Han Qilu), in a 3seasons, 46x22’episodes Tencent/MangoTV series. But the latter drama script is closer to the MG/BOF drama model.
Despite several points in common (including some that are more pleasing here than in MDDNKM, such as the waltz scene) "Promise in the Summer” stands alone quite well on its own. Some of the story takes place in a fictitious private college, where the protagonists attend a class in Finance, but apart from desk, classroom, and a Theater side activity, we don't get much information about the college. Just enough to justify categorizing the drama as a youth-university romance, with a mystery to be solved, although the mystery is not a big surprise.
FL has endearing eyes and good chemistry with the ML, through touches more than kisses (very few and not the ravenous kind). Han Qilu (韩七录) seems cold, tsundere, "wooden" and overbearing, sometimes almost autistic-behaving, even clueless about how to behave as a boyfriend, needing help from a classmate to express repressed sentiments. But he does thaw up pleasingly (such as in the waltz teaching scene).
An Chuxia (安初夏), the “Cinderella” sudden housemate, has been expressly commissioned by QiLu's mom to conduct desensitizing of the young man for his haphephobia, that causes him to react with skin allergy to the touch of women, except from FL of course. Having discovered this, the mom and therapist of ML have decided on "exposure therapy: In this form of treatment, you’re slowly exposed to the feared situation [in this case, touch]. With a trained therapist, you can create a safe environment in which you can slowly allow yourself to become more comfortable with your fears. Repeated positive experiences through exposure may slowly change your negative emotions toward touch."
This type of phobia and cure is not exactly new in C-dramas. You can find it in the first series of “About Is Love”, among other ones. It was also briefly implied in the first episode of “Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me”, but strangely, not really used then as a lever to develop that story (and the mom of that Han QiLu did not seem to be aware of her son’s condition).
The young actors are very handsome.
• FL is played by 22 years-old actress-singer Liu Nian (刘念). When she was 17-year-old in 2018, she joined the Japanese idol girl group called AKB48 (formed in 2005, with teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members; their highest selling single, "Teacher Teacher", sold over 3 million in 2018). Simultaneously, she tried her luck in v 101 China (rather than in the South Korean television competition Produce 48 of 2018 where 39 members of AKB48 took part) and later again, in Produce Camp (2020) Chinese competition where she 'made it to the final broadcast finishing with the rank of #12". This is Liu Nian's first experience as c-drama FL actress, and we shall perhaps see later how well she did in her previous support role in Destiny of Love (a costume drama starring Darren Chen and Huang RiYing, that wrapped filming 2 years ago already, but still is awaiting release).
• ML, 24-year-old Ma HaoDong (马浩东) had five previous lead roles in c-dramas, while still ' currently studying at the Beijing Film Academy majoring in performance art".
Supporting actors, apart from the as usual, doting mom (uncredited), are:
• Huang YunYun (黄云云) who plays Mo XinWei (莫昕薇), a classmate who is at first infatuated with the ML (but does not stay so for long, becoming a friend instead),
• Jian ZeZheng (建泽正), playing An Chenchuan (安辰川), a young bakery owner classmate who doesn’t have a crush on FL but is a good friend of both ML and FL characters).
• Zhang Xintong (张新童) who plays Xiang ManKui (向蔓葵), a heiress who appears in the last part of the drama, as the fiancée suddenly chosen for him by QiLu’s father, for business alliance.
The names of these characters will sound very familiar to those who watched “Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me”, and/or “The Demon Master”, but these are mostly just namesakes. This pared-down cast, and story, not using gossip mongering, painful breakups, vicious bullying and scandals, has in fact a better flow and leaves audience with a nice sense of completion, differently from the half-baked end in the 2017 drama.
The music is well-timed, songs don’t clash with dialogues, and the waltz is simpler than the expected Strauss numbers. They are sung by singers who are already known to perform drama OST, such as Zhong ShuTong (钟抒瞳) who sings the end theme “The Sleepless Night” (睡不着的夜晚) and Wang Ziyu (王梓钰 aka LIAN) who sings Dawn Of Dreams (梦的曙光).
Baidu informs that the Directors are Dai Xifan (戴希帆) and Sheng Han (晟菡); screenwriter is Sheng Han (晟菡); Producers are Huang Jianan, Wang Fuping, Li Qiyi (黄嘉楠、王付平、李骐屹); and chief producer is Ke Jiasheng (柯家生). These are not well-known names. The drama started filming in September 2022 in Qingdao.
“The Promise in The Summer” is not an unforgettable masterpiece, but it is a well-made variation on the old story, with no over-ambitious message, and it can even be re-watched with enjoyment for the light fluff and humor.
The original short 8 minutes episode series is still airing on WeTV international app with English subtitles, so I was re-watching parts there for a more comfortable sound experience. It's the type of drama one can enjoy while snacking or breakfasting, or at pauses on a commute.
The story of Promise in The Summer (初夏的甜蜜约定 / Chu Xia De Tian Mi Yue Ding) is rather simple, and not too choppy, despite the use of some flashbacks to highlight some past events and more recent ones in order to underline the lead characters' actions. Generally, it develops pleasingly, if not unexpectedly, since this is a variation on well-known stories, going back to the HanaYoriDango/ Meteor Garden/ Boys Over Flowers phenomena. Nevertheless, the expected tropes are not too many: accidental kiss, color spills, spoon-feeding, visit to the amusement park (on double date). Product placement is refreshingly almost absent.
It is a new variation on the story derived from the web novel "Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me" (恶魔少爷别吻我) by Jin Xia Mo (锦夏末), that already spawned a successful 2 seasons drama adaptation under that title in 2017, featuring at the time Xing Fei (An Chuxia) and Li Hongyi (HanQiLu), in 46x25’ episodes, and another take in 2018, titled “The Demon Master”, featuring Yu Xintian (An Chuxia) and Jia Zhengyu (Han Qilu), in a 3seasons, 46x22’episodes Tencent/MangoTV series. But the latter drama script is closer to the MG/BOF drama model.
Despite several points in common (including some that are more pleasing here than in MDDNKM, such as the waltz scene) "Promise in the Summer” stands alone quite well on its own. Some of the story takes place in a fictitious private college, where the protagonists attend a class in Finance, but apart from desk, classroom, and a Theater side activity, we don't get much information about the college. Just enough to justify categorizing the drama as a youth-university romance, with a mystery to be solved, although the mystery is not a big surprise.
FL has endearing eyes and good chemistry with the ML, through touches more than kisses (very few and not the ravenous kind). Han Qilu (韩七录) seems cold, tsundere, "wooden" and overbearing, sometimes almost autistic-behaving, even clueless about how to behave as a boyfriend, needing help from a classmate to express repressed sentiments. But he does thaw up pleasingly (such as in the waltz teaching scene).
An Chuxia (安初夏), the “Cinderella” sudden housemate, has been expressly commissioned by QiLu's mom to conduct desensitizing of the young man for his haphephobia, that causes him to react with skin allergy to the touch of women, except from FL of course. Having discovered this, the mom and therapist of ML have decided on "exposure therapy: In this form of treatment, you’re slowly exposed to the feared situation [in this case, touch]. With a trained therapist, you can create a safe environment in which you can slowly allow yourself to become more comfortable with your fears. Repeated positive experiences through exposure may slowly change your negative emotions toward touch."
This type of phobia and cure is not exactly new in C-dramas. You can find it in the first series of “About Is Love”, among other ones. It was also briefly implied in the first episode of “Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me”, but strangely, not really used then as a lever to develop that story (and the mom of that Han QiLu did not seem to be aware of her son’s condition).
The young actors are very handsome.
• FL is played by 22 years-old actress-singer Liu Nian (刘念). When she was 17-year-old in 2018, she joined the Japanese idol girl group called AKB48 (formed in 2005, with teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members; their highest selling single, "Teacher Teacher", sold over 3 million in 2018). Simultaneously, she tried her luck in v 101 China (rather than in the South Korean television competition Produce 48 of 2018 where 39 members of AKB48 took part) and later again, in Produce Camp (2020) Chinese competition where she 'made it to the final broadcast finishing with the rank of #12". This is Liu Nian's first experience as c-drama FL actress, and we shall perhaps see later how well she did in her previous support role in Destiny of Love (a costume drama starring Darren Chen and Huang RiYing, that wrapped filming 2 years ago already, but still is awaiting release).
• ML, 24-year-old Ma HaoDong (马浩东) had five previous lead roles in c-dramas, while still ' currently studying at the Beijing Film Academy majoring in performance art".
Supporting actors, apart from the as usual, doting mom (uncredited), are:
• Huang YunYun (黄云云) who plays Mo XinWei (莫昕薇), a classmate who is at first infatuated with the ML (but does not stay so for long, becoming a friend instead),
• Jian ZeZheng (建泽正), playing An Chenchuan (安辰川), a young bakery owner classmate who doesn’t have a crush on FL but is a good friend of both ML and FL characters).
• Zhang Xintong (张新童) who plays Xiang ManKui (向蔓葵), a heiress who appears in the last part of the drama, as the fiancée suddenly chosen for him by QiLu’s father, for business alliance.
The names of these characters will sound very familiar to those who watched “Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me”, and/or “The Demon Master”, but these are mostly just namesakes. This pared-down cast, and story, not using gossip mongering, painful breakups, vicious bullying and scandals, has in fact a better flow and leaves audience with a nice sense of completion, differently from the half-baked end in the 2017 drama.
The music is well-timed, songs don’t clash with dialogues, and the waltz is simpler than the expected Strauss numbers. They are sung by singers who are already known to perform drama OST, such as Zhong ShuTong (钟抒瞳) who sings the end theme “The Sleepless Night” (睡不着的夜晚) and Wang Ziyu (王梓钰 aka LIAN) who sings Dawn Of Dreams (梦的曙光).
Baidu informs that the Directors are Dai Xifan (戴希帆) and Sheng Han (晟菡); screenwriter is Sheng Han (晟菡); Producers are Huang Jianan, Wang Fuping, Li Qiyi (黄嘉楠、王付平、李骐屹); and chief producer is Ke Jiasheng (柯家生). These are not well-known names. The drama started filming in September 2022 in Qingdao.
“The Promise in The Summer” is not an unforgettable masterpiece, but it is a well-made variation on the old story, with no over-ambitious message, and it can even be re-watched with enjoyment for the light fluff and humor.
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