Worth watching
Well this was CUTE! Beside that "ending" this drama doesn't have many flaws.Love the leads in this, their chemistry is amazing, the acting is wonderful and the affection is lovely.
Still wonder how this passed all that China banning but I'm glad that it did.
This is such a lovely drama that ends without an ending. But that doesn't mean that you should give up on this.
Would like to recommend this to those who like: easy, light hearted and romantic drama, with gorgeous leads and without unnecessary drama from the other characters. The second couple is amazing and it's nice to see their progress as a couple from enemies to lovers. That can also be said for the lead couple.
Definitely recommend this !!!!
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Yuan Zong is like a mama bird, and Xia Yao & Yuan Ru his chicks. He obviously has a soft spot for spoiled selfish bratty type. He has sis-complex for Yuan Ru who's much younger, spoiled and kinda clueless with worst taste in man. Approaches Xia Yao, another spoiled and narcissistic rich boy at his sister's request, and ends up taking him under his wings. Xia Yao has his moments, but he's a easily likable with full blown charms and so very pretty. ^^ Hard to imagine him as kickboxing champion. Some of the plot holes include Xia Yao's buddy Xuan Dayu with questionable mentality. One miniute he's desperately seeking Xia Yao's attention, jealous of everyone around him; next minute, he practically becomes a sugar daddy to an orphan thief with tragic story. Third coupling of an ass of another buddy and his androgynous 'friend' is even more uncertain. I even liked Xia Yao's mom, who has taste for good food, good looking man, and flattery from talking bird. Yuan Ru also has her charms: determination and easy going attitude. With interesting story, fair action, and charming characters, I bet this drama would've been a mega hit if they left it at BL. Why couldn't Taiwan produced this drama? ^^;
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The kind of bromance we love.
YouTube just randomly recommended this show to me and I'm not mad about it.I never heard of it before, neither did I know what it was about.
Due to the chinese ban we didn't see those intimate moments (like in the novel) and I saw many comments criticizing that. It didn't bother be at all tbh. The main leads did an exellent job of showing the emotions and feelings through their eyes and they way they acted around each other. You could feel how much they cared about each other. The chemistry was top tier.
The only thing that bothered me was the ending....it felt more rushed than anything. Thats why I rated it 9 stars.
The story of the side couple was kinda weird to me. What was that scene with that chicken, and how did everybody else laugh about it in the comments? Did I miss something? He legit murdered that animal wth.
In general I really liked the story itself. I dig the Ifellinlovewithmysisterscrush - trope.
Cute show, without a heavy storyline. :) Would watch again.
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This is one of the first Chinese BL's I've watched, and as we know due to China's censorship I wasn't even expecting there to be spicy scenes. But even tho this was more like a bromance it was really good in my opinion, the actors understood their roles pretty good and carried on like that until the end.
Oh and, since y'all saw that there's a a bodyguard training company I can mention it, and I won't spoil anything, I just wangted to say that since I used to train kickboxing for around 5 years, bodyguard training center was one of the things that made me wanna watch this drama even more lol
I hope you find my review kinds helpful and not so boring
For me there were lots of funny and cute scenes! So I really loved this drama. I'm a sensitive. All in all this drama is interesting and worth watching :D
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This review may contain spoilers
At first, while watching the first episode I thought that i wouldn't stick to this Bl and thunk that I would give up on in about the 3rd our 4th episode but I sticked around and ended watching the entire thing in one day. I must say the story over all is amazing and the characters had great chemistry and especially love the way Yao acted with Yuan and how the went back and fourth teasing each other. They have sort of a hate relationship at first but that eventually changed to the point were they slept together multiple times (as in sleeping on the same bed together) I especially like the development on both the main characters especially Yao and there are some bl were that one female is just so annoying, but yuan's sister wasn't that bad And I like the fact that it had other characters dealing with relationships tooEverything's great and all especially the opening until the last few episode. Am pretty sure every one was hoping for either Yuan or Yao to confess there love or even kiss but that wasn't the case it didn't have a bad ending just not a satisfying ending. like this was one of the first bl drama I ever watched besides Guardian were they didn't confess and have a satisfying ending. Its definitely worth watching thoe and I would most definitely re-watch it just for Yuan and Yao chemistry. The only thing That was not great about this bl was the ending
again not a bad ending just not a satisfying one
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(sorry if my english is shit xd)
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Advance Bravely
As someone who read the book right before I watched the show, I was quite pleased with the way it was executed. Sure the book was a total romance while this was a total bromance (though it gets quite obvious that they're in a relationship), but most of the dialogues and the story stayed true to the novel and I'm so glad that they made it work despite the censor board blocking their path.Now I must say, this show is VERY flawed. The acting was average, at times the storyline got boring, and the editing could have been better. But what won me over is that they used the exact same dialogues from the novel most of the time and I was so glad. I went in to watch the show with absolutely no expectations, and I was left satisfied.
As a fan of the book, I think they did a very decent job. The casting was great! And there was a lot of fluff XD so that's a plus.
It is worth a watch if you are bored and need some slice of life.
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A perfection, if it's not restricted
Trust me, the original story is so remarkable and excellent. I've read the novel fully after watching this and if this eventually not restricted, perfection. I adore Ms. Chai right after reading a quarter of this novel. So, watch this first then read the novel, you won't disappoint much.The story itself is novel based, it is has a strong base and variety of scenes. For the production, it is good, but some parts are in an awkward angle and I don't really like their color palette, also their clothes pick. Some scenes look somewhat stiff, but it's still enjoyable. There are some plot holes too. And instead of saying it as bromance, it's actually a really smear BL (like when they're not having enough episode to confess). The cast, I am shaking. Especially, Yuan Zong, Jason definitely born to play this role. Their acting, it's a big applaud to both of them, especially the cringy bird conversation. Some support cast a bit bland and bizarre also some scenes.
The music itself sounds good, unique, and helps the scene as to how it supposed to work. But not at the rate of I'll shove it to my playlist. Lastly, am I going to re-watch it? Yes, I've re-watched it over 100 times already, even yesterday. Just because somewhat the live-action is more interesting than just words.
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This review may contain spoilers
what the heck??
I understand the “No BL” issue in China but what I don’t understand is the absolute failure to have a decent plot and ending. There were too many characters and they didn’t develop them thoroughly. I was ok with the two main characters. I thought they had great chemistry but the sister and the best friend were annoying. The worst part was the ending. Why did they feel like they had to have another life or death scenario that required saving from. and this one was stupid, helping someone who fell down a well! But for it to end so abruptly I thought maybe I missed something. i feel like I wasted 3 days watching this drama and now I know… No more Chinese “BL” dramas. it’s not worth it!!Was this review helpful to you?
A Masterpiece that is a Master Class in Subverting Censorship
Despite its flaws, I consider Advance Bravely to be part of the BL canon. That is, it has an esteemed place among the collection of BL dramas considered representative of the genre.Moreover, it is highly canonical, closely following well-established yaoi principles. I would even say that Xia Yao and Yuan Zong are uke and seme archetypes and that they are the quintessential BL couple. Gong Jun and Jason Xu play these roles to the hilt. Their acting is pitch-perfect. Whoever cast these two knew exactly what they were doing.
As the seme, Jason Xu’s Yuan Zong depicts restrain, physical prowess, power, and shows a protective nature like few other characters I have seen in BLs. As the uke, Gong Jun’s Xia Yao is a bit androgynous, has a smaller build, and although a champion kick-boxer, is presented as being physically weaker than Jason Xu’s character. Also, Gong Jun’s portrayal of Xia Yao even contains traits that are usually associated with bishonen (although Li Zhen Zhen is the fully realized bishonen character).
This BL is a master class in using subtlety, innuendo, double-entendres, subtext, and even certain visuals to get around the loathsome, infamous Chinese censorship that is the ruin and devastation of many a Chinese BL. The director knew exactly how to take the platonic and obvious chemistry between the main leads and give us an intoxicating, addicting series using yaoi basics, all the while skirting and subverting heavy censorship.
Yes, I know, there is no kiss. But there is plenty of subtext and homoeroticism (unless you watch the “cut version). For example, in episode 10, Xia Yao, with a wide grin on his face, watches Yuan Zong collect lotus roots – which are oblong, tubular, huge, fat, and thick in shape. Another example is in episode 28, where Xia Yao and Yuan Zong play a video game in bed, with lots of touching and teasing and skin ship.
Speaking of subtext, the OST is full of it. My favorite is Jing's Love Sick.
The series has too many crazy sub-plots for my taste, and it suffers from poor continuity, under-developed supporting characters, and some truly awful editing. But these are mere quibbles, because, all in all, the world is a better place with a censored, somewhat haphazardly edited Gong Jun and Jason Xu BL than a world without one at all.
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Overall it wad generally a good boys love drama, although they do not officially start to date, there journey to their love was fantastic. The 2 main actors were soooo handsome (the main reason I decided to watch it :) ).
I would definitely recommend this because no only was it romantic, it was funny as well. The only bad thing is that the ending was rubbish. I mean it left me questioning so many things. But hopefully they will do a second season.
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