3
16
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Unique & Funny to start, but gets more Emotional
Completed - 11/17/2021 - rounding up to 8.0
Surprisingly, I enjoy "Dear Diary" a lot more than I initially thought. I was expecting a fairly low quality and low budget drama, but was pleasantly surprised that the production quality is not good and they filmed at different real locations. Before I watched this drama, I thought this would be a silly, over-the-top drama and I am prepared for it. But after the first episode, it's obvious that there's a more tragic undertone to all of this silliness. It is quite an emotional drama, and might be a tad melo towards the end.
What I Enjoy:
1) A unique story started by a 12-year old when she was day dreaming about a grand love story. I was a hopeless romantic myself when I was young (maybe still am.. LOL), so I can totally understand the obsession of wanting to have an amazing star-crossed love story. Instead of saying she's writing a diary, it's more like writing a romance novel. I love how this all started, and how a tragic event changes the FL's life and her view of the world. I enjoy the character growth and how she comes to accept herself and that she deserves to be loved.
2) Hot guys in Hot outfits. I have never seen our male lead, Rhydian Vaughan in any drama or movie. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he's a good-looking guy, with sexy eyes and a hot body. I apologize if I sound like a cougar. But he's one of the main reasons for me to watch this drama. He looks incredible in everything he wears (or not wear), whether it's in his Babylonian armor or his modern casual looks and suits. I never find Wang Rui Chang to be particularly attractive, but he does look really cool in this drama. He is so tall and lean that he makes all the outrageous and over-the-top suits look stylish.
3) Sismance. Our two female leads have very different personalities, but have been supportive of each other since they're 12 years old. I love scenes when they were young and writing the diary. It's so cute to see the young ZhenZhen dancing around and reading the romantic parts of the diary. Their friendship remains strong through all the ups and downs in this drama. There's no jealousy between the two.
What I don't enjoy:
1. The pacing of the first half of the drama is pretty good. But towards the last 1/3 of the drama when it becomes more serious and emotional, the scenes become very repetitive with too many flashbacks.
2. Cheesy love lines. I know it's the writing of a 12-year old, but I can't help but feel that once the three couples got together, they forgot how to talk like normal people. Their lines to each other become too cheesy for my taste. It's really like they are straight from a young adult romance novels.
3. Underdeveloped romance. This is a pretty short 24-episode drama. But if you take away the beginning and ending credits, the recap of the previous episode, then you are only left with about 30 mins per episode. I feel that there isn't enough time to properly develop 3 main romance storylines. The romance of Jiang Hui Zhen and Ou Yang Wen Shan is the weakest of the three. They started out as such a cool couple, but there isn't enough time to tell their story properly.
Other observations:
1. Fan service - there are many shirtless scenes of Rydian Vaughan, and I am not complaining
2. Acting is pretty decent all around, esp. Bu Guan Jin. I would say the weakest of the bunch is Rydian Vaughan.
3. Why are they fixing a broken mirror? How Ou Yang Wen Shan knows so much more about the modern world than Mu Rong Jie Lun and the Dragon Lady?
4. Dubbing is inconsistent and sometimes totally out of sync.
5. I didn't expect to cry so much!!
Surprisingly, I enjoy "Dear Diary" a lot more than I initially thought. I was expecting a fairly low quality and low budget drama, but was pleasantly surprised that the production quality is not good and they filmed at different real locations. Before I watched this drama, I thought this would be a silly, over-the-top drama and I am prepared for it. But after the first episode, it's obvious that there's a more tragic undertone to all of this silliness. It is quite an emotional drama, and might be a tad melo towards the end.
What I Enjoy:
1) A unique story started by a 12-year old when she was day dreaming about a grand love story. I was a hopeless romantic myself when I was young (maybe still am.. LOL), so I can totally understand the obsession of wanting to have an amazing star-crossed love story. Instead of saying she's writing a diary, it's more like writing a romance novel. I love how this all started, and how a tragic event changes the FL's life and her view of the world. I enjoy the character growth and how she comes to accept herself and that she deserves to be loved.
2) Hot guys in Hot outfits. I have never seen our male lead, Rhydian Vaughan in any drama or movie. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he's a good-looking guy, with sexy eyes and a hot body. I apologize if I sound like a cougar. But he's one of the main reasons for me to watch this drama. He looks incredible in everything he wears (or not wear), whether it's in his Babylonian armor or his modern casual looks and suits. I never find Wang Rui Chang to be particularly attractive, but he does look really cool in this drama. He is so tall and lean that he makes all the outrageous and over-the-top suits look stylish.
3) Sismance. Our two female leads have very different personalities, but have been supportive of each other since they're 12 years old. I love scenes when they were young and writing the diary. It's so cute to see the young ZhenZhen dancing around and reading the romantic parts of the diary. Their friendship remains strong through all the ups and downs in this drama. There's no jealousy between the two.
What I don't enjoy:
1. The pacing of the first half of the drama is pretty good. But towards the last 1/3 of the drama when it becomes more serious and emotional, the scenes become very repetitive with too many flashbacks.
2. Cheesy love lines. I know it's the writing of a 12-year old, but I can't help but feel that once the three couples got together, they forgot how to talk like normal people. Their lines to each other become too cheesy for my taste. It's really like they are straight from a young adult romance novels.
3. Underdeveloped romance. This is a pretty short 24-episode drama. But if you take away the beginning and ending credits, the recap of the previous episode, then you are only left with about 30 mins per episode. I feel that there isn't enough time to properly develop 3 main romance storylines. The romance of Jiang Hui Zhen and Ou Yang Wen Shan is the weakest of the three. They started out as such a cool couple, but there isn't enough time to tell their story properly.
Other observations:
1. Fan service - there are many shirtless scenes of Rydian Vaughan, and I am not complaining
2. Acting is pretty decent all around, esp. Bu Guan Jin. I would say the weakest of the bunch is Rydian Vaughan.
3. Why are they fixing a broken mirror? How Ou Yang Wen Shan knows so much more about the modern world than Mu Rong Jie Lun and the Dragon Lady?
4. Dubbing is inconsistent and sometimes totally out of sync.
5. I didn't expect to cry so much!!
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