Was this review helpful to you?
Okay, so this is one of those drama which could be thoroughly enjoyed when you're binge watching it. As it was aired only once a week, the story may seem a little dragy if you were following it from start. But as a binge watcher I immensely enjoyed the straight 15 hours of this little slow placed but a fairly written drama. The setting was lovable, story was good enough to keep the interest on, character developments were good and man do i love the inner monologue of the main female protagonist? The way she expressed the growth of her first love through her thoughts with such subtlety was nicely written. The story may seem to go around the circle when it comes to male protagonist, but you would forgive the writers by the end for it. Over all i think it was surprisingly well written drama, given I was not planning to watch it at all in the beginning.
Acting/Cast:
I personally think that all the main characters except for few minor ones did a very good job with their roles. Kudos to Joanne Tang and Prince Chiu for amazing performance. I really enjoyed Shao Xi's character. She calmed down alot in the later part of the drama, her expressions were on point, initially I thought that I would be annoyed by her but then I really ended up rooting for her love for Yen Li Zheng. Li Zheng on the other hand killed it at his role. His trauma, insecurity, confusion, jealousy and acceptance- everything was portrayed well by Prince Chiu. One could really see his struggle for the quest of love and the pain of not being able to accept his own feelings. He also turned into Yoo Jung from 'Cheese in thr Trap" from time to time. I swear he gives me such chilly Yoo Jung vibes. The second leads were really nice too. I found the second lead guy very annoying at first but the curse got me at the end and i even shed a tear or two for him. On the other habd Angelina or the second lead girl was a gem. She might annoy the hell out of you at first but then you would grow to love her character. She was the real QUEEN!
Music:
I loved the music. All the songs were really really nice specially the intro and the ending themes. And ofcourse the special mention goes to the song "Close to you". It was soo catchy and pleasing to hear.
Re-watch value:
I would really like to see it again in future when i am bored or if i am missing few characters. This drama was really the character's show.
Ovwrall:
Overall I think it was a really nice drama. I never expected to watch it. I only started watching it because there was nothing else to watch and soon I was on episode 10. It literally took me only one and a half day to fish it. Go watch it guys, you won't regret it!
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot is very simple, as in, it's only just a bunch of misunderstandings between the leads and a male lead who refuses to confess. Two people are destined together at birth because their grandfather wanted them to be together and this makes them engaged to each other. Li Zheng lost his parents early on and he goes to live with Shao Xi and her parents. Technically, this is supposed to be a story about how opposites attract because Shao Xi and Li Zheng are so different, but I never felt that aspect of their relationship was interesting because it doesn't take long, not even a whole two full episodes before they both get along and understand each other. As I've wrote before, since this drama is only about their romance, it doesn't have much substance in plot. And since it doesn't have much substance at times, especially in the middle, we are going at a snail's pace. The relationship between the two leads refuse to progress and the situations around them that happen (plot?) are not interesting because they've all been done before in better dramas. Dramas can have plots without substance and still be good, but this is not one of them.
The cast all did an okay job with the exception of Joanne who did the best. She was the only one who felt like she gave a different element to her character besides what was written for her. Prince only seemed like a pretty face to me. I wouldn't have mind it, if his character wasn't the "sullen cold brooding" type. Though that type of character seems easy they're the most hardest to do. He couldn't add anything to the role and at times when he was supposed to seem thoughtful, he just seemed lost and boring.
The problem with these characters is that they lack depth and progression. They refuse to grow. Shao Xi is in love at first sight and remains in love with tunnel vision only looking at Li Zheng. Li Zheng refuses to acknowledge his feelings and we have to watch unnecessary problems stop them from confessing. Luckily, we have two second leads who are fun. The rest of the characters are throwaways.
The one good thing I took from this drama was the song Close to You (They Long To Be). I never heard of it before, but they played it so many times that it got stuck in my head.
As for rewatch value, I'll give it a zero. There is nothing in this drama that stuck out to me. Most of their cute moments together are done better in other dramas.
I recommend this to people who like watching romance filled with cutesy moments. Though I did not like the drama or relationship, I can see why other people would find it enjoyable. I will say get ready to press the skip button because there is a lot of nothing happening in this drama and 15 episodes will feel like 50.
Was this review helpful to you?
But after the first episode, and after the male lead appeared, that practically disappeared, and the "tomboyishness" of the FL was completely dimmed down again. Her clothes became pretty "cutesy," and worst of all, the plot hit her with ALL—and I mean ALL—the damsel-in-distress cliches, from "girl with a hurt ankle needs guy to carry her" to "girl is about to get bullied and guy saves her." I just...the main lead started off so strong. What happened?
To add to that, I was never a fan of insta-love in the first place, and this just confirmed my disdain for it. The main character's personality completely did a 180 the second she laid eyes on the ML, and the amount of whining and crying she did afterwards pissed me off. I didn't see ANYTHING attractive at all about the male lead, and to be honest, the second lead was much more fun and caring.
Lastly, the plot was just...bad. I'm okay with a drama that revolves around the romance plotline, but it has to be good. The story for this entire drama was predicated on one misunderstanding after another, because the main characters refused to communicate at all.
The only characters that I really liked was Angelina, who started off annoying but quickly became the badass that I thought the main character would be. Honestly, the second pairing was so refreshing because she was so upfront and straightforward about her feelings.
Was this review helpful to you?
I love how the story gradually picks up the pace and the acting is very natural and so is the development of the characters. It's a good watch.
The best thing is that the female lead is a strong character and all the male characters in this drama listen to the female characters and respect the female characters and their decisions.
Was this review helpful to you?
Attention! You will need patents... also like love shapes
This is one of those hard to rate dramas, while it has a whole lot of pros it does have some cons too. But if I where to describe it I would say it is a cross between A Love so Beautiful, with a dash of Playful Kiss.The female lead here is strong, fun cool and in need of direction. She is in touch with her emotions without coming off as pathetic but has trouble understanding her worth and seemes unable too see the male leads shows of affection by deeds instead of words.
The male lead is a bit a psycho, though he takes waaaaaay to much time to admit to his feelings as well as trus his self worth. He does actually use words to talk with the female lead. Not always the words she needs to hear but still they do use words and that is not bad, not bad at all!
The second male lead is the perfect mixer to spice things up and keep the story interesting instead of just frustrating (at times).
And then there is Angelina, a girl I wanted to choke in the beginning of the show but had this amazing energy making me completely fall in love with her by the end of this show wishing for a spin off or gust a series of Angelina's takes on life... or I do not know Attention sisterhood of for the girls in this drama.
Greg Hsu character was however so extremely not worthy of Greg Hsu, Greg did of course do a great job but I do not know what the people who casted him as a looser here where thinking.
There are several other interesting issues that get some (very little) space as well as complex and interesting characters done right.
It was also nice to see so many familiar faces from great dramas as Someday Or One day and Rainless Love in A Godless Land... in small roles, again done well.
The plot is not really mind blowing and some twists are more fun then others, some twists even seem boring and unnecessary but it is still worth a watch. To be honest I would probably have appreciated it more if I had seen it earlier in my drama career since the first time you see a trope often means more then the tenth... However it is well done and a lot of fun!
Was this review helpful to you?
The actors were good , I quit like the Female Lead Character she is awesome ! but for the Male Lead Character was so annoying always beat around the bush .
The music reminds me of the Korean Drama " She Was Pretty " I think it is the same song am not sure .
About the story , as I mentioned it is very similar to " itazura na kisu " ... at first I enjoyed the drama but half way through it got me so annoyed because they dragged the story so much !! like the drama have only 15 Episodes it does not need to be draggy !! it took them more than 10 Episode to make them self clear !!!!!!!!!!!!! .
So only the first few Episode & the last few Episode were cute , other than that I did not like it ! .
Still it is watchable ...
Was this review helpful to you?
they got about the chemistry
i just watch this drama today (0n Going), on going make me "argh" cz just wait one episode for next week.
but every episode i cant suggest it, n every episode i love every moment. i always per episode 2 times. cz my english very terrible .
I like about story make me smile, cry etc,
i realy like Tseng Joanne as Zhong Shao Xi acting really stunning,
you must watch this drama ^^,
Was this review helpful to you?
"So, why did you continue watching it?"
The answer is simple, I just couldn't let my eyes out from the curiosity and waiting for some development, and it was worth.
ALSO, ANGELINA WILL SAVE THIS SHOW AND YOUR HEART, she's so freaking cute, and awesome , the perfect bae, would watch it again just because of her!
Overall saying, watch it, you'll like it even tho it will probably get on your nerves too.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Watch it for Riley Wang's character
15 episodes that felt so much longer than that. The only reason I stuck with it was because I was able to binge watch it. If I was watching it an episode at a time, I would have given up and moved on. The concept was good, but the execution left something to be desired. Li Zheng and Shao Xi were children whose parents decided before they were born that they should marry when they grew up. That fact was mentioned numerous times, but was not explored at all. The female lead character of Shao Xi was good - she was rough around the edges, good at sports, and very loyal to her friends. I liked the fact that she was upfront early on about her feelings for Li Zheng. The character of Li Zheng is where I had the problem - every episode was him looking at her longingly and not telling her how he felt. I never understood why it took him so long. The trauma in his past affected him, but I didn't think it was enough to warrant him being so emotionless toward her. They were cute when they finally got together, other than the fake-looking kisses, plus the writers made us wait until too late in the show to bring them together. The ending of the show was a happy, though lackluster, one.The saving grace of this show was the second male lead, played by Riley Wang. When we were first introduced to him, he appeared to be a player, so I was slow to warm up to him. He was always around, and just never "got" her rejections. As the show went along, he definitely matured. Granted, there was a progression of years from the beginning to the end of the show, but let's be honest, some people never grow up! He appeared to watch out more for Shao Xi's physical and emotional safety than Li Zheng did. Even though he cared deeply for her, he was able to put that aside for her happiness. He was a wonderful character to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Never thought the 3 words "We are Friends" can be this annoying ...
Completed - 12/22/2021 - 7.5 (subjective); 8.0 (objective)The general plot is nothing extraordinary. It's a typical teen first love drama started from 2nd year of high school to 1st of college. I was looking for a cute and fluffy drama, but I ended up being very emotional and cried more than I expect to (I am a crybaby). If this drama is a like a typical J-drama that is about 10 episodes long (60 minutes each), the pacing would have been a lot better. I would also give it a higher rating.
I was initially annoyed with the over-the-top acting in the first episode. It's really not my cup of tea, but after a couple episodes, I got used to it and was able to enjoy the drama better. I like that we are introduced to a strong and independent FL. She stands up to bullies and defends her friends. She is honest with her feelings and not afraid to be vulnerable and expresses them. I also like our ML initially and understand his background story that affected him tremendously. I really quite like this drama in the first 5 episodes. I would have given it a solid 8.0-8.25.
However, in the middle of the drama between ep 6-10, I became annoyed. Our FL suddenly cries all the time because of a boy. I understand her sadness, but this lasted way too long. I initially like the reasons why ML turned down FL's affection. After all that he went through, being cautious and serious about his feelings is very admirable and understandable. But his wishy-washy behavior becomes annoying and it drags on forever. This is when I thought, if the drama is shorter, we might not have this problem. I really like ML in the beginning as he's my favorite type of ML - quiet, caring and shows affection through actions without much fanfare. But towards the middle of the drama, I wish our FL would just go out with 2ML. Our 2ML is just as good a catch - outgoing, adorable and caring. Oh and Riley Wang (2ML) has a cute dimple! :) I love that 2ML uses the caricature drawing to comfort FL. That was a great scene.
The supporting cast also took me a little while to like them. 2FL is cute as a button and has decent character growth throughout the drama. FL's parents are over-the-top hilarious, but I needed their absurdity to lighten the mood. Same goes to the 3 color-coordinated high school girls. Basically, everyone except our ML and FL are funny and provide colorful humor throughout the drama. Though there are minor annoying characters, there isn't anyone that I hate.
I don't mean to sound like I hate the drama or ML. I do enjoy the drama's unique way of demonstrating ML's inner thoughts and inner world by using the black and white room. It comes full circle when ML and FL both leave this room together at the end. The leads got together pretty late in the drama. I would have loved to see more cutesy scenes between them to compensate for my patience.
Other observations:
1. Too many flashbacks
2. They overplayed the theme song - though it's a lovely song
3. Love the weird "Negative Energy" teacher
4. "We are Friends" means I like you but I can't tell you right now until I am 10000% sure I really like you, or 10000% sure I can stop liking you secretly and forget about you
5. Same writer for "Someday or One Day" and "Rainless Love in Godless Land" - no wonder we see so many guest starring roles in all 3 dramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
