Shall We Fall in Love (2018)

Yes, I watched this show because I'm a huge Nichkhun fan and I was extremely excited that he's in a full blown show especially because I saw him recently in a Thai movie that was very popular; but I'll be honest and say that this show did not blow my mind exactly. It's a good show, good story line, cute characters and there was absolutely a lot going on, but the side characters like most shows, got wayyy too much time on screen; the two main characters were absolutely adorable when they were on screen but they were fighting half the time because the female lead was so high strung most of the time and Nichkhun just tried to attempt to be his good 'ol cute self. I did not care for Wang Zi Rui one bit, I'll be honest; it was like he was put into this show for no absolute apparent reason and Miss A, did her thing which was fine. I just felt like the story fell a little short; a lot of things in the show were excessive; like the little sister and best friend. Li Yu Jie is definitely not a bad actress but she's not the best, all of these people are completely amateurs so that's okay but so much happened and I found myself skipping through a lot of the show unfortunately. Honestly, the music was like the best part to me. This show isn't terrible; by all means, but it was completely hyped up just to let me down. I finished it though, I really did push through it, for the most part I liked it because of the chemistry between the characters and etc. But the story was meh. The show overall was worth trying out; but not mind blowing.

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a cut above the og

The original series, Super Rookie, is horrible. The love story is negligible and the lead actress was not likeable at all - she's always threatening to kill herself while the lead actor is a pratt.

With that said, this drama is a much better rendition and I believe they did the most they could with what framework they've had. Both the ML and FL have better character developments. Each episode contains two to three interactions between the two leads where you can actually see the progression of their relationship throughout the series. I wouldn't mind trimming down the series to just these scenes and making one long movie clip. The couples are extremely cute when together and I find myself re-watching these scenes over and over again just to harken that familiar feeling of courting my wife =P.

Nichkhun definitely nail his part as an optimistic goofball - much more preferable than the og series personality. Li Yu Jie did an outstanding job as well. Her comedic timing is okay, but she's much better than Nickhun in the dramatic/tender moments. There are lots of nuances, gestures, and eye/facial expressions that brings the character to life or show what she's thinking.

The FL keeps suffering major setbacks one after another before she even has a chance to adapt to the previous one and eventually breaks down mid series. This is a low point in the story arc as it gets depressing and frustrating - a lot of people won't understand the choices made, but they would if they attempt to analyze her psyche. A second watch through may be needed if all the clues weren't caught the first time around, a word here and there.

I do agree with other reviewers that the support cast gets too much screen time. This series would have been perfect at half the length.

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It's definitely lighthearted in tone with the male character often being the most optimistic of the bunch. There's a mix of everything involved from toxic working place atmospheres to love squares to even long-ago flashbacks. The acting is good and the soundtrack definitely catches on throughout. You start feeling like you can connect with these characters as they go through everyday life, full of hope and nervousness and sometimes failure all of which resonates through the entire series.

The only true drawback is that aside from the story alone which is a throwback to an earlier k-drama back in the 2000's-- it's not really memorable. It's been two weeks since I've completed viewing and I'm drawing a blank as to what scenes stood out. Maybe the kiss scenes or the confession scenes but nothing truly memorable and in no way is that a detriment to the drama itself. I would rather a drama have a compelling story to keep me hooked all the way to the end rather than one that falls apart at the seams making me not want to continue further.

Hopefully this drama like it's main character is a sign of more hopeful and progressive things to come for Chinese drama.

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