Slow like Tai Chi, but hits its mark.
As an older adult, I’m not much on rom-coms without a unique and interesting story. I came across this particular drama quite by accident, but as someone who studies Tai Chi, thought it might be interesting. The opening episode sets this story up well and captures your interest. Whether the following episodes hold your attention, depends on your own expectations. This is not an action drama. The key Tai Chi scenes while central to the drama, are far apart. this is very much a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet and the conflict between families and their members. The plot is well played, with a number of subplots that move the story along to the final conflict. The storyline, too, is well constructed. The themes are broad and many. Unfortunately, the scenes between the main leads tend to drag on far too long, and it’s easy to lose interest during them. The intention is to show the growing romance between Wei Chu and PiaoPiao, but Wei Chu’s character is a bit wooden and PiaoPiao a bit too cute. Not that the actors are at fault. The dialogue is just too thin to support long scenes. The backgrounds are gorgeous, the places for each scene perfectly chosen. Their environment makes clear that these are college students struggling to understand both themselves and adults. The group scenes often suffer in blocking though, with actors simply standing in place delivering lines like a rehearsal. It’s the strength of the acting that carries those scenes. As for the Tai Chi itself, the performances are uneven. It’s sometimes treated off-handedly and at other times is marvelous in its detail and precision. The final conflict does not disappoint. Overall, this drama holds together nicely and is a great watch for older teens and their families. There’s a “Harry Potter” fantasy vibe to it. It’s also a great light introduction to the essentials of Tai Chi. This drama is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but it's on its mark as far as a target audience.Was this review helpful to you?
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Cute, watchable youth drama with a hard edge
At its core, it was a youth drama, a college romance but it was also a modern take of a wuxia drama which got me interested.The core story charted the FL's growth in her tai chi skills and the romance between the FL and ML who was her college senior as well as tai chi teacher. Yes, that was an over simplification as a lot of it was tied up with the ML's plan to modernise the teaching of tai chi and the competition/bad blood between different Kung Fu styles/clans/sects. If you are thinking that tai chi is taught around the world right now so what's the big deal then you will have to watch this and see for yourself. ;)
The likes:
* The aesthetics was beautiful. One of the best looking c-drama I have seen. The cinematography and sceneries used were superb. No CGI required. There was an almost calming, ethereal quality to it with old architectures and lots of Chinese arts on display. The colour palette was warm and natural.
* The main cast were so good looking. The guys won, by the way. ;)
* Most of the fight scenes were expertly choreographed. Looks amazing and impactful.
* The story was not draggy (see discussion below).
* It was relatively angst light (see dislike below) and a lot of the misunderstandings were resolved fairly quickly with some straight talking.
The dislikes:
* While the aesthetics was beautiful, it did have its inconsistencies. The classic was the B-roll showing ancient tile roofs and in the background were high rise buildings shrouded in fog/pollution. Some scenes transition between rooms can feel weird. Like a really modern room (with digital wall switches) to a traditional Chinese sitting room that was suppose to be part of the same building. Not impossible but . . .
* I initially thought the production deliberately downplayed mod-cons like TV to keep that ethereal feel but then towards the end of the show, the OTP switched on the TV and started singing karaoke. Hmmm
* While the skinship was kept very much in the G rated realm, the fighting did get graphic and bloody (especially towards the end). Some themes were also very dark. It did felt odd that death and major crimes were ok but skinship was not.
* The romance was there and we even had 3 couples but they were all very restrained. There were chemistry (sort of) but there was little progress. A bit of hand holding, side eyes and a hug or two. We didn't even get a proper kiss for the whole show. The 2OTP is where the writer usually have more freedom to play with emotions and passion but we only got more angst and little passion. The word chaste came to mind.
* Costumes was a real mixed bag. The worse was probably the ML. His costumes went from standard sombre street wear to weird baggy Chinese trad/mod fusion. I won't call them stylish. For the OMG moment. Check out his costume for the final fight in the dying minute of the show. It is straight out of a video game.
Acting:
I thought the FL looked familiar and then it dawned on me that she was the FL in Dr Cutie. She did better in Dr Cutie but I think a lot of that was due to the script and the character had more freedom to express herself (and improvement in her acting abilities over time). She did a good job here as a young feisty college student.
The ML did ok for the most part. I believe he is an idol so we can't expect too much acting skills. As to be expected, he was supposed to be cool and aloof but at least he managed to appear more aloof due to his senior tai chi rank rather than just being a stuck-up. He was a bit out of his league with his wooden delivery during some big emotional scenes.
The rest of the support cast were mostly young and they did a decent job. Most have fairly straightforward roles.
I just realised I kept saying "towards the end". The reason is the last few episodes just felt odd. The directing, subplots and acting all felt misaligned. Episode 22 was the turning point for me. There were scenes and editing that didn't make sense. The tai chi dojo was supposed to be trashed but we saw none of that. A couple of girls got rescued but why? The cliché breakup that wasn't a breakup?
The National martial art competition was the main focus towards the end and it was done well. Lots of awesome fight scenes. There were also plot holes but you sort of just go along with it. It hit me later on that the competition was suppose to have lasted over 30 days?! That is ridiculously long. Even Wimbledon only lasted 2 weeks.
Episode 24 was mostly fan service but it felt underdone. We have the big dramatic scene (not spoiling) then relationship doubts then happy group scenes with cameo of the Japanese actor (for no reason). Final twist at the send-off was poorly handled and if it was meant to be a surprise then it landed with a thud. It just felt like a mishmash of scenes and messages. Something happened to the script writing for the last few episodes and it was not good.
Oddly enough, episode 1 was a bit like that. Things just happened that didn't felt connected. If I had only one word to describe it then it would be messy. Just as well things got a whole lot better for the next 20 episodes.
OST was quite good, especially when it matched well with the beautiful sceneries. Dubbing was a little patchy at times.
I would rewatch it for its aesthetics, the cute moments and the fight scenes but it is not a high priority.
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Good, but not great
(spoiler free for the most part)If long slow-mo romantic stills between two very different-yet-similar characters contrasted with fast-paced action shots in a beautiful setting are your thing, then you should definitely check the show out. Sadly, outside of the romantic scenes, which range from adorable to extremely campy and cheesy, there is a lot left to be desired.
There are SO MANY aspects of the story that could've been better, especially the way they fleshed out the characters. Their entire friend group, including Tan Lin, definitely deserved better plot nuance. A lot of the characters get development, but it's almost always in an unsatisfying way. Some characters do a complete flip in attitude. We all saw it coming too, but it was SOO predictable that the writers should have just gave us the necessary information to understand the change and use the time to build sympathy for the character. Other characters like the 4 Successors are supposed to have a lot of history, but their dynamic is non-existent and their relationships are undeveloped. Hai Yang is the worst offender and it makes me sad cause I liked his character.
The storyline itself is actually pretty cohesive. I almost always understood what was happening, although there were WAAY too many long sequences with a lack of dialogue or meaningful training. Strangely enough, all the pacing problems seem to come from the amount of romantic scenes they give to the Main Couple. While Piao Piao and Wei Chu are flirting during practice, a whole character is getting trampled on. We always see them together, and yes they are CUTE, but it kinda makes it hard for me to be invested in their romance when bigger things seem to be going on, especially in the later half of the show (it wasn't much of a problem in the first half, although some of that time definitely could've been made to develop other characters).
Personally, I really enjoyed the cast. Their acting wasn't terrible and I really felt that all the actors have a charm to then that makes them fun to watch. The music wasn't necessarily memorable, but I recall it being pretty pleasant. I haven't even finished the entire thing, but I was dying to let out my emotions about the show. I definitely won't rewatch it, but it was fun while it lasted.
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Very good ?? smooth going ?
This drama portrayed pure love at its finest. I especially love Wei chu’s character how he’s a ‘action is louder than words’. type of person. This is honestly the only drama which make me feel so satisfied with the ending. THEY LITERALLY GAVE US ALMOST AN EPISODE OF HAPPY ENDING HOW GENEROUS! <3 I also like how there’s no intimacy/kissing scenes because it kinda shows how much they respect each other and how love doesn’t have to be intimating to show that their bond is strong. The friendships and old generation reconciliation are just <3 I just love everything abt this drama and will definitely rewatch!!Was this review helpful to you?
Fun and fluffy sports rom com
Basic premise: Piao Piao starts college thinking she will be an arts and calligraphy major but then runs into Wei Chu, a senior who dreams of revitalizing tai chi as a martial art but is injured and can no longer fight. She shows incredible tai chi skills saving him from rivals in the boxing department and the story evolves from there.My take: Fun and fluffy rom com that also shows the female lead learning more about her family’s history and her own strengths and dreams. I liked that the female lead could do martial arts, and although she was portrayed as quite naive, at least she wasn’t helpless.
The main lead does a great job playing an aloof character who seems quite cold on the outside until he falls for the FL. There are a lot of training montages, fun secondary romances and characters (loved the couple from different tai chi sects that had been together since childhood!), and even a second FL and second ML. The pacing can be uneven at times (for example, the ending was rushed and I would have liked more time on martial arts and fewer shots of different couples gazing longingly at each other - but that’s what the skip 10 seconds button is for) and the show is very G rated (I’d buy the two leads care about each other but the actual interactions are very very G rated and the ML plays it almost too cool). However, while the drama wasn’t perfect I still really enjoyed it and wish there were more shows that mixed “sports/martial arts” and romance like this.
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A fun show to watch
This show has the right amount of drama and excitement. It features martial arts so the gravity-defying stunt work is very entertaining. It is a nice story with a fine cast of young actors. Sun Qian shines with her talent and loveliness as the spunky Feng Piao Piao. I am curious as to how many of the stunts that she did herself. If it wasn't her, the stunt double was very convincing. (The spinning flying full body throw in the last scene is one to remember.)The story moves along nicely and only seems to get bogged down on a few occasions. The only puzzling part was near the end. The last episode was about twice as long as the others and after what seemed to be a good place to end the story, the show continued with a series of scenes that didn't seem to connect to the main story. At the end of the show there is a comment from the crew stating their appreciation to those who work to continue and promote traditional Chinese culture. I couldn't agree more. Some of the final scenes may have been intended to further nightlight that point rather than the relationship between the two main characters.
Thanks to the translators for their hard work.
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must watch!!!
Everything about this drama is just mind blowing. I don't think I have felt such a connection with a drama before. A lot of people might say its boring, and I do agree the story kicked off slowly at first but I think the introduction of characters helped built up the plot more. Hats of to the director and editing team for choosing this place, the cinematography was just awesome. The cast was the most natural and perfect cast I have seen in a while. Not only just main leads but everyone's acting came off naturally. The best part though was ofc like others mentioned was the female lead. I think dramas in general make female lead very unrelatable (making them extra weak and kind or just very clumsy) but this lead is just relatable. She is clumsy too but in a very relatable manner. Sunqian (the female lead) definitely made this drama more interesting and lastly ofc, the male lead was just awesome too. He was very understanding and supportive unlike we generally see in dramas. A very refreshing drama that incorporated traditional values with modern world and makes us think more about the generation gap and how some changes and traditions are better abolished while some, must always be preserved. Plus the scenes about martial arts are just epic, You just cant help but fall in love with the sports of martial arts itself. It definitely sparked a lot of inspiration in me. But to warn you, the romance in drama is more pure and just cute, its not very intense but the chemistry of the leads is mind blowing.Was this review helpful to you?
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Could have been better in many aspects
I want to give this an 8 out of 10, but it was so hard to do, 7 is fitting.The acting was forced to act as students. You can see they have a talent and skills in acting, but it failed to show because they have to act like “kids”, it isn't their forte. They did not have to overdo it. In some behind-the-scene clips, those were perfect. They just have to be their normal selves, for example, in the BTS in the last episode where they were preparing the proposal, it was just them playing. It was like being in their natural habitats. We are all like that. But whenever the camera starts to roll, they become so focused on acting like a “teenager” that it turned out bad.
The kung fu fight scenes and the training scenes, no comments there.
Production. Seems to be a low budget show? It could have been better if they have a higher budget.
However, in the last few episodes, the editing started to go down. There were also scenes not needed at all. It's a rule in creative writing, a scene that doesn't add anything to the story should be deleted. And some of those only distracted from the objective of the scene.
Last episode. It's a typical wrap-up episode.
Overall, the series was like a school project. In the last episode, they even added an explanation of what happened to the gang. Was this not 100% fiction? Then that explanation is not needed at all, it is a given, they went to prison, end-of-story for them, we don't care about them. Unless this series was based on a true story? Because that's the only reason why that explanation was needed.
OST. Awesome!
Last but not the least, the story. That I love. The story's great. The plot, sub-plots, the different message the writer wants to send across.
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Definitely worth watching.
This drama is in itself a great screenplay portraying a great sense of blend of traditional chinese culture with modernity. I meant that the setting of surroundings are eye catching, also the plot expresses this idea of the presence of ancient martial arts in todays worlds, holding an importance.OUTLINE:
~ the female protagonist keeps a hidden identity at the university. She actually practises tai chi i.e a form of ancient chinese martial art. when it is actually prohibited for outsiders to learn.
~it was taught to her by her grandpa who betrayed the tai chi clan.The story moves forward when she meets the original heir to the tai chi clan, ( our male protagonist).
~He starts teaching her tai chi and gradually as excepted both grow fond of each other.
APPRAISAL:
Firstly, the story in itself is not a kind of story we would anticipate, like what is going to happen, or something that sort of type, but for me this is what kept me watching it.
A simple story , beautifully crafted in depicting pure innocent love, with no misunderstandings and all that we audiences need.
That includes a bit cold yet warm n understanding male lead with cherry and optimistic female lead. Also some butterfly loving moments that bring a smile on face with nice support leads. But this drama is too simple for having a skinship.
CONCLUDING....
one of my favourite chinese dramas,At first it may seem too simple or boring, but gradually we will the simple and satisfying essence. Please do watch it .
*It is my very first review so sorry for any error.
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Can there be a second season?
It ended perfectly but now I'm obsessed and can't get over the two. Originally, I wanted to watch this so bad but I kept skipping over it and now that I buckled down and did so, I was not disappointed at all. It was different then your average youth drama, it was a little more complex with action and it made it more exciting.For once, the synopsis really wasn't a spoiler. When you read about it, it kind of starts to sound a little like Romeo and Juliet but it's nothing like that. Wei Chu and Feng Piao Piao cross paths but it was bound to happen, everyone in this circle are all connected in one way or another and though not a lot of skinship or anything like that particular, the chemistry and main leads of this show were fantastic. They're new in this industry and I was not disappointed, they were so cute together and there was nothing toxic in the air between them. Just pure and sweet; all we need. Now the rest of the show is a little more predictable, same revenge, same mystery type stuff going on but after a bit, I was hooked and I was soon binging it.
Really loved all the acting but something about Bi Wen Jun and Sun Qian together was a wow factor for me, they were awesome and everyone else played amazing parts and it was all good for me.
The music was amazing and worth downloading.
I kind of want to rewatch it right now if I'm being totally honest lol so overall, worth it, a great show, great chemistry, interesting story.
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Surprisingly a good drama
I like to watch anything related to martial arts, if you are like me this drama is for you. Our ML and FL are really cute together. This story is modern coming of age but setting is oriental. One of the highlight was the dressing of FL - it was rea fashionably decent and she rocked it. Most C-drama tend to show female with shabby dressing sense, where pants are more like pajamas. Thankfully this one was an exception. You can see this was a high budget drama with lots of eye candy actors. ML is shown perfect 10 on 10. Story is predictable but it is still entertaining, moments between lead couples are sweet specially when they are bickering with each other. Our FL is not a helpless damsel in distress though ML is her knight in shining amour which is both refreshing. She is confident, keeps low profile, kind at heart and talented. For ML you can see he falls for her in the very beginning when the first time he smiles because she is threatening him to beat him up. LOL It was quite funny. FL may come across annoying in the beginning but she is consistent and she will grow on you. I found the drawback as it was not executed well, otherwise this would have made a big hit.Was this review helpful to you?
