Brilliant Class 8 (2022)

Brilliant Class 8 of Comedy & Youth

Was watching this drama for 3 people I follow; WRC, ZFX, and Zhang Li. Wanted to see all three in completely different characters then what I've seen from them before. And I have to say, all three gave me great performances. Let's get into it, shall we?

Pros: This was only the 2nd youth drama I've seen and the first one also had WRC in it. What stood out was the actual plot; it wasn't just the usual trials and tribulations of students but threw an idol and the entertainment world into the mix. I enjoyed all of the nuances of combining these two totally different worlds together.

By far my two favorite characters were Lin Sheng and Su Man played by WRC and Zhang Li respectively. They also were the perfect example of a work in progress couple; a nice and steady evolution of their relationship. Their moments together on screen were just too cute. They were literally the perfect match from day one. I actually preferred them over the main leads relationship (more on that one later). It was my first time seeing WRC in a role where his character wasn't in some shape or form arrogant. He needs more of these kick ass take names but do it with a genuine heart types of roles because I am fearful he'll get typecast. Zhang Li, I first saw in Luoyang and loved her sociopath serial killer character and when I saw she was going to be in this drama, I wanted to see more of her. She did great; Iron Lady with a soft interior and fiercely loyal and caring about those in her life.

ZFX played the adorable nerdy math teacher Chen Liu San and did it so well that you just wanted to hug him no matter how many math equations he spouted out in a fraction of a microsecond. I think this role was perfect for him considering his age. Whenever he was on screen, it made you smile.

Who could forget the kids? They were truly an amazing and hysterical bunch. This series wouldn't have the same charm if they weren't exactly who they were. Their antics and fierce protection of their teachers and each other was heartwarming. Everything was resolved no matter how large the problem was. That cast of kids was truly diverse in age as the youngest was 15 years old at the time of filming and the oldest was 30.

The comedy was spot on almost every time; I liked the slice of life aspects very much. From fighting over idols to learning about what mattered most and caring about family. The ML was like a piece of music himself; started off as an arrogant ass but then gradually evolved into a mature man who took responsibility for stuff. I think when it comes to real character development and evolvement, his did the most.

Cons: This series could have done with only 35 episodes. It had a lot of inconsistencies that were never quite explained including why on earth did the FL break up with the ML over some BS public opinion when she spent the first at least 10 episodes yelling and kicking his and anyone else's ass that pissed her off? It made no sense whatsoever.

I have to say this is the first drama where I had to ffw the FL because of her complete lack of communication and understanding; resorting to violence when she didn't get her way. They tried to make it come across as comedic but it was abusive. You don't just start beating on someone if you're upset with them. I legit laughed when in a later episode she mentioned she might be bipolar because that would definitely explain the extreme mood swings. They never followed up on that, but I wish they did because she needed anger management at least if not medication and therapy, pure and simple. Yet around her sister she acted meek and powerless; it made zilch sense.

The series started to drag in the breakup episodes and lost a lot of its cohesion which also knocked down my rating of it. Instead of creating angst with an in-cohesive break up, the plagiarism plot could have been introduced. It's such an important aspect and needed to be pursued and developed more instead in like literally the last 4 or 5 episodes. Mu Chen was literally a useless character until episode 36. And where did Wei Lei go? She's on a set somewhere and that's it? No rounding out her ending.

The ending could have been done better with XDN releasing his album and the students being proud of their special song; instead it just ends with Mu Chen leaving the industry to clean pianos somewhere and XDN's blurry figure returning the following year to teach the students again. It deserved a way better and more complete ending for all involved.

Would I recommend it? I actually would despite the many flaws. Especially if you're a fan of any of the actors. The plot, acting, comedy, friendships, and relationships (for some) were all great. Definitely give it a go.

Read More

Strength of the drama is the Youth Scenes & Stories

This is a lengthy review, so let me just summarize some important parts one usually would like to know in case you don't want to read the rest:
- There are no love triangles (though there is another girl who likes the ML, but she gets over her crush pretty soon and roots for the ML & FL characters). Only 2 couples officially, but you can see a 3rd couple within the deskmates even though it's never declared
- Focus more on the youth: The classmates were the interesting part of the drama for me. You may think 40 episodes is a lot (and it is in my opinion) but a good chunk focuses on the classmates.
- Typical bickering enemies to falling for each other main leads
- Misunderstandings/lack of communication
- Romance is mediocre: Though there are some sweet moments, it's not as satisfying as other dramas with the romance tag
- Unfortunately, this couldn't avoid the typical C-drama breakup.
- An unclear bad guy that doesn't become obvious until the end
- Ending is just okay, not bad but not an ending I would be completely satisfied with

Read Below For More Details

What I liked about this drama:
* The youth of this drama: Though this drama does have a set focus on a group of students, I really like how almost all of their classmates got to have a spotlight in a few episodes, so we got to see their side of their stories. I really appreciated this. Even though in my opinion this drama could've been shorten a bit, this is part of the reason that this drama has 40 episodes total.
* I like how the ML character Dong Nan has a liking to Spongebob. I feel like you see some sort of Spongebob often in this drama.
* The steady character development in Dong Nan, going from achildish celebrity to a caring music teacher
* The bonding of Dong Nan and his students
* The funny school security officers. Their scenes are always funny.
* Su Qi's parents being complete opposite of your typical C-drama parents (Examples: Trying to get rid of her to get more alone time with each other, her mom complaining that Su Qi cleans and cooks too much, LOL)
* The nerdy roommate/math teacher: I just find his interactions with the other characters funny.
* Sheng being the true MVP in this drama, taking care of everything for Dong Nan. Best overall character by far.
* Nice steady progress of our second couple relationship from start to finish
* Loved the music osts but it's pretty hard to find some to add to my playlist.

What I didn't liked about this drama:
* The writing for Su Qi isn't that great. She's a FL character so you expect more but the way she was presented was all over the place. Her character is such a roller coaster. In fact, sadly to say, she might be the make it or break it for you when it comes to continuing to watch or drop this drama. There's nothing wrong with a strong FL but what I hate about her character is her act of violence due to her short temper and when things don't go her way. The fact that they want to make it "comedic" when she beats up Dong Nan is not funny to me at all, as I stated in the comments previously, you wouldn't be laughing if the roles were reverse. She jumps to conclusions and forms misunderstandings with Dong Nan, always thinking the worst. I will say, this is the first half of the drama where she has this issue. The second half, she slowly starts to get better. Despite her moments where she does become likable a bit, her character doesn't develop as well as the ML. She pretty much remains the same with a few good changes here and there.
* Lots of misunderstandings and lack of communications
* Vice Principal Du Kai is hecka annoying. Seriously, his character serves no purpose other than to annoying the heck out of the viewers with his remarks on everything.
* No real punishment to that douchebag paparazzi or to the fake friend. They didn't get punish enough, if at all.
* Writers missed the opportunity on an actual villain in this drama. Seeing evil things happen in the last few episodes seemed very random, like there was nothing be built up to it.
* Dong Nan's initial conflict of plagiarism in the beginning never had an official conclusion
* Romance is a disappointment for the main couple: A lot of bickering for the first half of the drama, then you get some sudden flirts, and then enter drama cliches: accidental kiss, get together at Ep 28 only to break up at Ep 35 but get back together at the last episode.
* The make up from a break up is very weak. I expected an apology from Su Qi from the cruel words she said to Dong Nan from the break up but nope, nothing even close. Not even a confession to where she states she still likes him. Like there's not a bit of regret shown from Su Qi from what she did or that she really wants to be with him from the breakup (Ep 35) to the make up (Ep 40).
* Weak ending: It's not bad. How it ended kind of make sense for me but it's not satisfying for me. I felt like a lot was missing in this last episode.

Would I recommend you give it a try? Despite a lot of things I didn't like, I say yes. Like I said, the youth part is the best part of this drama and it's what kept me going. You just gotta overcome the temper of Su Qi in the beginning. Pass that part and I think you may enjoy it if you like dramas with a school setting. I think I would rewatch it but only the youth scenes.

Read More

Interesting premise but...

There are a lot of dramas that focused on the lives of students but this was one of my first c-drama that focused on the teachers, which was such an interesting premise! However the execution could be better.

The first 10 episodes was a pain to get through, I had no connection with the the main leads one bit, the only thing that was powering me through was lin sheng (sml). However, after the 10 episodes, the main leads start growing, I could understand their thoughts and actions more and at episode 20 ish, I see the development of the female lead.

The chemistry between male lead and sml was fun to see, but it bugs me that we were not given backstory on why sml was so devoted to male lead. The only leads we have is that they are cousins, they always depend on each other and sml calls ml father yi fu (which means godfather - you don't call your cousin father yi fu). I wish their relationship could have been more fleshed out.

Also, I mentioned earlier that sml is one of my favourite characters in the show, but until the last episode, I still don't have a clue what he works as. It seems that he plays the role of ml assistant (but since ml has left the industry, what's the need for him to play ml assistant which does not really make sense) and the drama really made it seem that sml is just for driving people around. Apart from these holes that were not filled by the scriptwriter, I feel that they had written sml to be a very intelligent and meticulous in planning character which I enjoy watching him flaunt his knowledge.

Another issue I had with this drama was the background music. They play it too abruptly and it really ruins the moment. And also, not too sure if its my country, but teachers don't get too close to students where students would go to where the teachers are staying. A little weird to me...

Despite binge watching all the episodes in 2 days, tbvh, I skip alot of scenes especially Mu Chen. You can understand the story even without him on screen. I felt no sympathy for him to the last bit.

Lastly, the last 6 episodes was also a struggle to watch. The proposal came out of nowhere and the breakup was so hard to watch (i honestly skip straight to the last episode at this point). This drama took 20+ episodes for the main leads to get together and after a few days they were official, they had to break up... The last episode didn't even feel satisfying. For one, I was waiting for ml to write a song since episode 1 since he gained so much inspiration from his students and love, but he only wrote one love song and thats it. It would great if he could end it with a bang, as well as clear the ghost writer issue which made him exit the entertainment business in the first place. The ending was honestly underwhelming.

But aside from all these negatives, there were some aspects of the drama I did enjoy.

The drama is hilarious, some jokes can be cringey and try hard but there are some which are pretty funny too that I laugh out loud.

All the characters seem to have great chemistry with each other too even the security guards. Initially I personally like the friendship between gezi and the smart guy, but soon fell in love with the entire group and class. The problems they face are relatable for teens.

The women in the drama are very strong and capable women, who have their own ideals and not serve as accessories beside man. I really came to like Wei Lai who at first seems she would be an obstacle to the main lead romance and a spoilt rich brat. However she really prove me wrong that she was anything but that. Her attitude towards relationship and frienship was very realistic in that she gave up loosing a once in a lifetime friend over a one-sided love. She also very supportive of her ex-crush and guides them as well. Her friendship with main lead was very sibling like and its entertaining to watch them bicker or joke around. She is also not written as an empty headed rich celebrity, although she might be slow but she works hard and I relate to this a lot, so Wei Lai is really my comfort person.

I really do like how the drama addresses topics such as how sometimes students do not really see the effort teachers put in for them and judge them for that (so guilty of this), discussing about the discrimination of music and academic classes and also how we should act now than wait for the worst to come and worrying would be too late (they won't have a future then).

Overall, a decent drama despite its flaws, but I don't think it will be a memorable drama. I don't think I will ever watch this drama again due to its length (they could shorten it to 30 ep honestly). If you are considering whether to watch or not, I think its a drama to past time or if you like any of those actors/ actresses and I recommend to watch it at 2x the speed, but even if you don't watch, you won't miss out anything either.

Sorry for this long review, hope it benefited some way or another.

ps: gezi voice is really pure, cute and very unique to listen to.

Read More

A decent and wholesome rom-com that was 20 episodes too long

The premise of the Show was interesting, a mix of “To Sir with Love” and “Schoolhouse Rock!” done Chinese style. It worked in parts, but not as a whole. The Show was hamstringed by a messy script with obvious plot holes, one dimensional characters and too many episodes.

Right from the start, the show is asking us to suspense our disbelieves in a big way as a troubled/aging idol is parachuted into a music teacher’s job at a high school. We are told that the idol has all the formal qualifications, but he was also shown to be a man-child and hopeless with life skills. I can understand if he was from an uber rich family and then transitioned into a pampered idol, but his father was a schoolteacher, and he has teaching qualifications so how can he be totally detached from the mortal realm? Needless to say, the show spends a lot of time in transforming him into a good, responsible and respectable teacher. How much time? Basically the first 10 episodes (and counting). It then used the next 20 episodes to play through all the push-pull shenanigans of the two sets of OTP’s. It wasn’t a total waste of time as there are nice, cute moments but it was a long time to watch the same teasing, misunderstandings and will-they-won’t-they tropes. BTW, the 2OTP was cute but it was a marathon as well.

It was a moment of relief when the 1OTP finally have their first kiss at ep.29 but the good time never last. The Show then proceeded to create all kinds of angst and then a breakup that was, frankly, nonsensical. Up to that point, the CP has the support of all their friends, family and students but the FL didn’t want to go public and she couldn't handle the attention from the media and nasty comments from the netizens. Yes, that’s a very tropey plotline but in this case, it made little sense when she was resolute up to that point and her decision was baffling. What added salt to injury was just before the breakup, the ML proposed to her and she accepted. You’d think that meant something solid but it was all forgotten in a flash. The ring was never seen again and there was no mention of a fiancé. There was only one reference to that scene in a flashback and then a throw away line from the ML near the end of the show. That key plot development just went puff?! I have seen shows that would have ended on such a high note. On top of that, they continued to live under the same roof and taught the same class. It served to generated a lot of awkward moments; both leads are pining for each other (too many flashbacks of their sweet moments) and the ML spent an episode behaving like a lovelorn puppy (with silly, upbeat soundtracks). It really made the breakup look comical rather than sad.

At the end of the day, a HEA ending was never in doubt, so we just ended up spending the last few episodes watching the CP picking up the pieces and start the whole push-pull trope again. Seriously, if they cut that whole plot out, it would have made no difference.

This brings us to 2 important issues with this show. Firstly, it was too long. 20 episodes would be optimal with the material at hand. 25-30 would be acceptable if they deep dive into some of the subplots that were MIA or lightly treated. But 40 episodes were a bridge too far and the show moved ponderously (and in circles at times) and there were many filler scenes/plots.

Secondly, there are 4 credited writers including the director for a fairly simple story. I don’t know if they worked on different parts or were brought in as script doctor(s) but the end result was a hodgepodge of ideas and plots that weaved in and out of the central theme. Sometimes, the subplots add to the storytelling but a lot of the time they were inconsequential. Some even illogical or hit a dead end and forgotten. The collateral damage of this is character development. The ML had a lot of growth to his character and his backstory is the most elaborate but the FL was like a weathervane. Her behaviour and moods swung all over the place. Sometimes she is strong and stubborn, other times she is weak and indecisive. You can’t predict where she is heading. Most of the other characters are one dimensional. The SFL was not a horrible person which is a blessing but the SML was weirdly constructed. He is the only antagonist, but he was a grey character for the bulk of the Show and then he was suddenly IT. Why? Is he bad, sad or mad? Was it jealousy of the ML? Unrequited love of the SFL? There are vague hints about his behaviour but it is not very convincing nor coherent.

One good thing about the show is the setting of the school and the students of class 8. They are a lively bunch and provided many distractions from the otherwise sparse central plot. However, where other school dramas might address some serious societal issues and teenage angsts, this Show kept a fairly low profile. Sure, there are some angsty moments, but everything will always come up roses. There are more than one budding young love but there were no confessions, just feels and wistful looks.

OST started off nice and effective. I especially like the jazzed up classical pieces. However, the later episodes really overworked the love songs as they are almost playing non-stop anytime the leads are pining for each other.

As a show to watch in between big ticket items, it is fine but it is way too long to sit through again as a rewatch.

Read More

Ignore the bad reviews and give this drama a try!!!

First of all, I feel like I need to give this drama some justice. Overall, I really really like this drama. There are some parts that are so touching especially the relationship between the main leads vs their students. I like the family support in this drama as well. I see some comments about the FL being mean and how she keeps hitting the ML. To be honest, because of those comments, I said no to this drama to many times. I am glad I picked it up though. To me, the hitting wasn't dramatic or continuous, for me, it wasn't that bad like others said. I never said hitting others is right, but to me, this kind of made their relationship and encounters funny and cute. We definitely see the main lead change for the better and their love is so sweet. The whole break up thing is not even annoying because it wasn't because of anything stupid misunderstandings like we usually see in other dramas. I feel like the main leads' love grows even stronger after that. Overall, I really really enjoyed watching this drama. I seriously laughed a lot while I watched this. So give it a try, 40 eps is not a lot when the drama is so good.

Read More

Fun, vif, animations cool et OST au top

Un ML (super handsome) Star avec scandale devient prof de musique dans 1 lycée. Il va devoir affronter les réalités de la vie dans un lycée, l'hostilité des collègues, la complexité des relations avec les élèves.
Pour pimenter tout cela, il partage un appartement avec 2 collègues (pour la saveur du classique Hate-Love :).

Cette partie est particulièrement réussie et accrocheuse : interactions fun, réalisation vive, animations cool et OST au top !! ML super handsome.
A mesure que les interactions se stabilisent au sein du CL, les obstacles s'accumulent ; contraintes au lycée, mais aussi rivalités dûes au showbiz.
Deux jolie(s) romance(s) car le CL2 est bien développé aussi, mais la série reste très axée sur la classe et l'amitié.

Le CL très attachant (se font confiance, attentifs, attentionnés etc.) mais on aura quand même droit à la (trop classique) rupture en raison de circonstances assez crédibles.
Cela reste un très bon drama même si la partie Painfull est un peu longue.

Read More