Today I review a classic in Taiwanese drama, Devil Beside You.
A story that has paved the way for some of the biggest cliches in modern Taiwanse dramas. Meet Jiang Meng a.k.a Ahmon(Mike He), the biggest douchbag in Taiwanse drama history that has a nice side... because that is not cliche. Seriously even back then I would think that is a cliche idea. He falls for Qi Yue(Rainie Yang)the poster girl for plain women everywhere. In order to make their otherwise BORING relationship interesting the two are to become step siblings! Wow that twist seems incestuous... but who cares? Really no one in this drama cares as if there relationship is not odd even by a little bit.
But if that wasn't enough the two and by two I mean Qi Yue must face the most VIOLENT, MANIPULATIVE second leads ever. While Ahmon gets the laid back ones. Probably thanks to money.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy a romance satisfy all romance needs unless your into Twilight. Then nothing else can please you.
Starring
Plain ol' Rain( Rainie Yang)
Abs(Mike He)
Nice Guy finish last(Kingone Wang)
Ms. Steal Ya Man(Qing Zi)
Emo girl(Li Xiang)
Devil Beside you...wait what happened to Qi Yue's other friend. Not Qing Zi, the other girl. She disappeared towards the end. Oh well. She wasn't that important. But seriously am I the only one who noticed every time Kingone is in a drama with Rainie Yang he is ALWAYS the second lead. Just me? OKay now I'm done.
Cliche Counter
1. Male lead is rich.
2. Male lead is a douchebag, but is nice to the girl he loves.
3. Female lead social status is noticeably different from the male lead.
4. Female lead friend hooks up with one of female leads love interest.
5. Female lead gets physically bullied...wait this is actual rare in Taiwanese dramas.
6. Male lead and second male lead dual via basketball game or something similar. This happens twice.
7. Male lead's grandma tries to to set him up with a girl of her choosing.
In case you guys are unaware this review have a lot of sarcasm based off the Honest Reviews and Everything Wrong With videos about movies. You should check them out on youtube under the usernames Screenjunkies and Cinemasins. If I missed any sins let me know.
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Story: The story deals with more than the synopsis lets on. It's not just about love and the problems the man characters face in their love lives, it's about family and healing old scars. True, the plot it a bit slow at times, but each episode teaches the main character, Qi Yue, a little bit about love. The pacing in this drama was fabulous, because the writers let the relationship develop just like a real one and covered each and every facet of Qi Yue and Jiang Meng's relationship. We saw them go through rough spots together and come out victorious.
Acting: There's a reason Rainie Yang and Mike He are A-list actors right now. They were really good in this drama. Mike He had an awesome smirk and Rainie Yang was really good at playing the more comedic scenes. Not to mention the fact that they had sizzling chemistry. Kingone Wang was pretty good too, but he wasn't as great as he could have been (on a side note, it was impressive watching his acting improve in his later dramas.) Qi Yue's mom was a really good actress too and was great as far as comic relief went.
Music: I absolutely adored the theme song in this drama. All the other music was great too, though. The OST here is one of the better ones in dramaland.
Rewatch Value: For me, yes. It was the first drama I actually *liked*, and that's a pretty big achievement.
Overall: Of course, this is hardly perfect. It's a bit slow, and more than a little frustrating, but it's realistic and told with a lot of heart.
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If you ask me for classics I'll tell you about this one
Ah nostalgia ... this is the first drama I've ever watched. Is this drama cliché ? the answer is no, yes you may have watched those thropes a hundred times but it is simply because it is the blueprint, this little jewel was broadcast in the early 2000 it is not cliché it is what invented the clichés, simple.The craze around this one was so strong as well because of the wonderful cast, the multitalented Rainie who sings a lot of this drama's OST and the most handsome face you will ever cross Mike, the chemistry of those two was so strong that everyone thought for years that they were dating, everyone wanted to see them together again and that led them to film another drama called Why Why Love starring the amazing Kingone Wang ( we don't change a winning team ).
Conclusion : it would be unfair to to judge this one by today's standard, for the early 2000's standard this is undoubtly a 10.
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there are always the one perfect role for an actor and for mike, it was definitely this role. rainie and kingone did a really great job too and since this drama i loved seeing them together in a drama.
the drama is lacking things (like some scenes are not flowing smoothly), i agree, but this drama is quite old already and for that time it was a very good drama.
the drama is tense, heartbreaking, heartskip-making and lovable. this drama is also funny too. and ioved how the drama didn't just tell the story between rainie and mike but also from their friends.
for me, a good romance drama must make me believe in their love. and this drama made it. i can still remember the tense and strong love between this couple while going through hardships.
the last episode made me tear up because it was ending and the story was great.
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Acting - Great! Nothing to complain about with any of the characters.
The music was good, I found myself downloading some of the music from the show (:
I have too many shows I wanna watch to rewatch, so i dunno if I will or not.
Overall- I think this show was worth watching (: If you're a fan of Taiwan dramas, and have not seen this one yet, I highly recommend it! It definitely has quite a few romantic scenes, and you'll find yourself rooting for the 2 to be together in the end (:
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i gave story 8 because it was an interesting one
i didnt like the music at all
the acting was oo but at times i seriously felt like they were OVER reacting .
i gave rewatch value a 2 cuz well i didnt watch it to the end so theres not even the point of rewatching ...
overall it was an interesting one so 7..
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XiangPing forever
A bad boy and a good girl? CheckSports? Check
A tight-knit friend group? Check
So much drama it makes me nervous? CHECK
However, the last 3 episodes made me feel like I was watching an entirely different drama and was to be frank very unsatisfying. I feel like the ending was rushed and they simply had to find a new conflict which did not make sense and irritated me...
Plus, why go on a basketball team retreat and not bring all of your players? Please hire some background actors
Also, Li Xiang and Yang Ping will forever be my OTP, too bad they did not get enough screen time. Li Xiang is a queen.
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This was all about falling in love with someone that you're not supposed to love but they some how made it funny and sad at the same time. I loved their goofy moments and of course the supporting acts were amazing to bringing them together. But don't let the idea of them being step-siblings throw you off watching this. It's really a fun series to watch.
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