A Refreshing dive into 2023
HALF WAY REVIEW+ FINAL REVIEWYou're probably wondering if you should check
out this drama. My suggestion is a solid Yes ? And here are my reasons.
[Gonna be a midway review since I'm following This ongoing gem haha. I'm reviewing this so anyone hesitant about this drama will give it a go, Will drop a final review]
This drama seems pretty much underrated, Obviously for the reason of not having Top ranking cast. Only.
But from eps I've seen so far, it's absolutely more dept and solid than Most 2022 Cdrama out there. Trust me when I say, More Solid!
Plot.
Plot might seem like your usual high school blah blah blah, But oh, I was in for a little surprise. although not the most solid plot out there, but Oh dear, it was Something relatable lovely to view. A sweet highschool love story with a pinch of intriguing twist. curious? Check it out then?
Leads,
Of course they got that bubbly chemistry you see in most High school drama and that's what makes it Lovely to see two cuties cutely fall in love hehehe.
ML was basically a heartthrob to go for, His acting is surprisingly good for a first official drama from him! ( I think it's his first drama) He got the looks, refreshing and natural acting, and the pretty eyes and stare! what's there to not love.
FL? She gives off that normal highschool girl energy you always see. (Don't be fooled by synopsis tho. she's smart but not as described by synopsis lol) she's basically your normal highschool girl in Cdrama.
SL (Second lead) Ay, I had a soft spot for him Lol and still do. That's my undying support for Most SL lol. He was a pretty much loveable , playful character that gives you that bad student vibes. A perfect lover for a girl ( Omg I need him in a drama ASAP ?) but overall his acting is AMAZING like ML and he's too good to be a rookie actor.
support roles are just okay. Doing their Jobs and supporting leads. And I love how the script doesn't make these support roles overshadow the leads storyline.. pretty decent writing I see here.
Acting, Hmm. the acting in this drama got me thinking.. Wait omg are these rookie and underrated cast I see? Because hell they embodied that Highschool role so well that I'm already in love.
But there are certain downside to this nice dramas I think would need some touching.
Classic Cliche?
lol, what's a Highschool drama without these cliches. And it's obviously found in this drama too. but what I appreciate here is the fact that MOST of these cliche were handled nicely. But doesn't mean all. Because some scenes will obviously get you cringing haha.
which brings me to my pleading! Cdrama please shorten or remove these cliche and cringe ? We've had enough?
Music? Well music in this drama wasn't ok to me. It's cringe af tho. Maybe not my taste? Because I don't even remember any of it and oops, I skip the opening theme so. Not so good music choice
Overall
Like I Said, It's indeed a fresh dive into 2023 and a worthy refreshing, cute, bubby, funny, youthful drama you should check out while you're beginning your 2023, Because this drama is indeed a Underrated Gem That's amazing.
Not the best of it's genre but amazing.
so why are you still reading??? Go and click on ep1
FINALLY DONE AND HERE'S FINAL THOUGHT
? A FRESH AND FLUFFY DIVE INTO 2023?
Finally finished this drama and have no words to expressed other than, Nostalgic, Cute, sweet, Lovely and did I forget to say NOSTALGIC AND CUTE!
The journey of watching group of friends go through their bubbly and harsh days in highschool while ending up in wedding gowns, chasing dreams and love. That's the feeling I got.
This drama wasn't all that exceptional and didn't have the most outstanding plot, with Twist and such.No, it was Just genuine and sincere.
What was really fluttering here is basically the casting. wow, The casting was one to dig for. And to make me believe they're rookies? Omg they're pretty much natural with their acting! Pulling off the Highschool to adult trope, I was impressed!
The plot, like I Said isn't something exceptional. but it was indeed a highschool to adult trope worth the watch
The leads were compatible and good, second lead guy..omg I think I had a heartache ahha. And the support characters were simply solid. I loved each characters stories which was presented to us..the break-up and makeup 2nd couple, was just heartwarming.
And Can we just take a minute to appreciate the buddy bromance we got unexpectedly?? I loved how this drama somewhat proved that long gotten friendship is often superior than Love. [we lost our 3rd CP because I guess the guy picked friendship, his childhood buddy. Now that's something you don't see everyday! Amazing ?]
Overall, this is simply a refreshing watch worth your time. Although the synopsis is a little bit deceiving... because I think it wasn't properly generated. But anyways it was better than I expected.
Finished my 1st cdrama of 2023? and it was indeed a cute Gem. I'll indeed miss this squad and their tale. One of my favorites of 2023 anyways.
Title: TIME AND HIM ARE JUST RIGHT 2023
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Just feels right
Everyone is cute, (almost) everyone is nice, no horrible horrible angst, just a bunch of lovely and brave kids growing up and turning into adults. It's relaxing, the friendship is solid even when there is obvious romantic feelings budding and there is no awkward second hand embarrasment for us viewers. The acting feels natural, nothing over the top, and the main couple is just adorable. ML and SML have this weirdly nice husky voices that I enjoy a lot. The FML makes sense most of the time. The only thing I find annoying is when they switch Bull's Nikon camera to Canon.Was this review helpful to you?
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Enjoyable watch
So far this is very enjoyable to watch. There isn't a "Bad Boy" demeaning young ladies nor is there mindless ladies. I can wait to watch the rest of the Series. Everyone know the high school years were something else. Accounting to Episode 1, it explains a lot of what is going on. You must watch it or you may not understand the rest.This will be an ongoing comment until I finish the series. I really hope other are enjoying it the way I am. Everyone who went to High School can relate to the one that got away. Episodes 1-5 were great! Lin sure knows how to get underneath his skin.?
9 Episodes in and it keeps getting better. You can see each person going through their own problems while maintaining a positive image on life. I can relate to semi-finals and finals nail biting time?. The eraser part was so funny?. The antics we use to pull in High School?. I remember the crushes I had on two girls in High School?. This series remind of those days.
Ep 19 is hilarious. What they do to Pen is great. I can see myself doing that to a scumbag. The lecture part was a great prank. It remember my school days. Plenty of laughs to go around. It is hard confessing to a girl that doesn't feel the same way you do. Been there, done that in school.
I am so glad that the Producers and Writers didn't have the typical "Bad Boy" pouting and demeaning girls in this series nor do they have the weak minded, jerk me around girls. Thank You. It is going to be sad when this series ends. I wonder if they'll do a part 2, like what happened after College, besides getting married.
I finished it. I will recommend folks put this on their watch list.
Maybe some of you don't get it. Here it is: It's not a "Bad Boy" demeans girl and say sorry at the end, to get with her series. It's not a low esteem, mindless girl letting a Bad Boy jerk her around series. It's an enjoyable coming of age Romantic Drama between a boy and girl with it ups and downs. Their friends truly friends with the ups and downs their friendship brings. I will watch it again.
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Really Good Underrated Drama
I came into this drama not expecting much but was very pleasantly surprised with how good this drama was and really loved the FL and ML and will look forward too these two actor/actress appearing in more dramas :). for people who are unsure of watching this then I would say give it a try as its a hidden gem.also this is my first review been on this site for a years but have been hesitant with the review section
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He is indeed just right, but I am not sure abut the time
This drama starts off giving some kind of A Love So Beautiful vibes, with a slightly clingy athlete second male lead, a very clingy female lead and a cold and reserved male lead, plus a bunch of friends in high school. However it has a slightly odd twist on the one hand the female lead here is actually portrayed as both bubbly and smart, a rare combination in c-drmaland but they had to add a heart transplant plot line that made 0 sense other than for the plot, so if you have no clue what so ever about heart transplants it might just work for you. But for me who has had a heart condition that resulted in a heart transplant that whole plot line just felt completely off.Luckily the heart transplant plot line does not get to much screen time to take away from all the good this drama has to offer. An actual smart female lead, a bit naive and a bit to easy to manipulate at times but straight forward a great communicator with everyone but the male lead that is... She is resourceful and very much lovable.
The male lead is the perfect combination of reserved and cold in the beginning and calm and loyal by the end. He is a supportive, kind, smart. Making it hard to find flaws in him. That said he is not always great at conveying his feelings and making sure the y reach the female lead. He is also playful, and though may seem a bit passive compared to many other male leads in dramalandI find his approach refreshing, but it does seem to leave our naive female lead a bit insecure.
The second couple takes bickering to another level and not in a good way, I loved those two characters in the beginning for their friendship and cool way of using coca cola product placement but they got more and more annoying as the episodes passed by.
The third couple had a lovely gay story in c-disguise and though they had little screen time the little we got conveyed a deep connection of love and longing.
The second male lead offered a few moments of fun and helps bring out different sides of the female lead but he got on my nerves and was definitely not SLS material.
There are a lot of C-drama cliches here some doe right, some with a twist... some done a bit meeh... However the romantic/friendship gestures made here are different level, focusing on quality over quantity.
So to sum it up this is a sweet and fluffy romance, enemies to lovers with a whole lot of play and fluff and without a lot of angst, it has some annoying element and draggy parts but both leads are great most of the time which pretty much makes up for the flaws. Making this a drama worth watching for those who appreciate a hate to love, misunderstandings youth type of romance. It is in no way a must watch but a pretty ok drama.
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A simple and fluffy story to de-stress
This drama is about two students that are linked together in the most unexpected way. We follow their journey through love, friendship and school/university years.In short, the first half of the drama was enjoyable but the second half disappointed me. Second male lead was a much more interesting character to watch than the male lead. In the end, this drama felt sweet but didn't stand out to me. Their university years start from episode 17.
POSITIVE:
- Cute teasing/light bickering between the main leads.
- Fluffy/innocent romance.
- Second male lead stole the spotlight for me. I instantly liked him from the very first scene he showed up. The whole time I kept thinking why the heck the writers created such a compelling second lead, he really could have been the main guy. His chemistry with the female lead was so good. I almost wish the female lead had a twin sister so he could have a happy love story too. I loved that he had a lot of screen time in the first half.
- First half of the drama had the best fluffiness and heartwarming vibes.
- Meaningful story about love, life, dream goals and friendship.
- No outside forces (like family and other love interests) trying to actively break up the main leads.
- Very satisfying wrap up of the main lead’s story + (SPOILER cute wedding scene).
NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama felt bland and I started ff/skipping lots. The plot at times felt very boring and draggy.
- Sad moments between the second couple at the final episode that had no business being there. The scene did deliver emotionally but it should have happened earlier. How they handled the second couple’ story wasn’t satisfying.
- Second male lead syndrome was TOO strong. It’s not to say that I didn’t like the male lead but the second male lead had so much more going on. Male lead’s story was too simple, he was just a reserved guy. Whereas the second male lead went through many challenges, he was the bad boy with a good heart that I love to see. In general his chemistry and personality was more compelling to watch and I feel a big part of why the second half of the drama failed for me was that he didn’t have enough screen time there.
- Not enough cute, romantic scenes between the leads as adults in the second half. I just really needed more.
OVERALL:
This is a simple and fluffy drama suitable for people who are going through a stressful period and just need something sweet and easy to watch.
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my #1 modern romance cdrama from here on out <3
Context: I had a good feeling about this drama from the very first episode. From that very first hug I was hooked, and after finishing it, I've gotta tell you guys: for very good reason.I tend to lean more toward liking historical dramas as I find many modern ones to be cheesy (in a bad way) and full of overused tropes. However, that's just not the case with this one. The premise of Time and Him Are Just Right is just so fun and fresh. I love the cast, which is mostly newer (but insanely skilled) actors! It makes the drama all the more curious, which I think is good, when executed well. This drama was so relatable and just realistic enough to be a good watch, but also crazy cute and romantic!! There was just the right amount of everything: the sweet cast, fantastic acting & chemistry between actors, perfect OSTs, enjoyable & well-paced storyline, and THE CUTEST TROPES. Not the cheesy ones, the SUPER GOOD ONES with SUPER GOOD development. Everything you could want or need in a coming of age romance.
I don't want to say too much or else I might start spoiling things, but all in all, this has become my #1 modern romance drama and is totally worth the watch, rewatch, second rewatch, and onward.
P.S. I've only written one other review on MDL before this (2 years ago...), so this 10/10 definitely means something!
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Romance, friendships, and growing up, together
This surpassed my expectations in every way and it's definitely become one of my all-time favorites. As a light-hearted coming-of-age youth romance...it's pretty much perfect.The dialogue and plot progression is one of the most natural I've seen in ANY Chinese drama. There were no conflicts that were overdramatized; misunderstandings were extremely understandable, realistic, and were solved quickly and with the best thing of all: communication.
This brings me to my favorite part of the entire drama — the two main leads. The chemistry was top notch and I absolutely loved both their personalities. They were independent and true to themselves throughout the entire drama, both were intelligent and yet fun and chaotic at the same time, and both stood up for their own beliefs and supported each other through things. And yet, they each had flaws and struggles — they were just both very three-dimensional and well-rounded. They went through character development both individually and together and the relationship was really healthy and still gave me so many butterflies. They're now one of my favorite couples EVER.
I honestly just love the entire cast; there was definitely less time spent on their subplots (which is to be expected) but the other side characters in their friend group really grew on me as well. I know I'll miss that entire group now that this drama is over. Best of all, there's no evil second lead, disapproving parent, mean teacher...there's just no villain or annoying characters at all and any interpersonal conflicts they ran into really felt realistic.
Overall, I'd really highly recommend this drama. I'm not one for rewatching things but this is one that I would 100% revisit from beginning to end. And I'd love it all over again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Refreshing School Romcom but with some unbearable immature female characters
Story: I enjoyed the plot line because it was super cute! It was super cute how the FL was trying to be the ML’s bff because of her brother. Honestly, I wish her brother was in the drama because he seemed like such a great character! And I love how the ML slowly started to open up to her. It was nice how they were able to get over the misunderstanding so fast. However as the drama progressed I felt like it just started getting bad lol the plot line became predictable and lame. I honestly thought it was so stupid how she couldn’t get into college with them- idk maybe it’s just an overseas thing but that was depressing tbh…all the miscommunication and that’s when I started to dislike the FL, she was really immature. I did love the end though because they gave us a major happy ending- but I wasn’t that excited about this couple so it wasn’t that happy to me LOL if it was my other favorite couples, I would of been fangirling hard.Acting/Cast: Honestly, I am so tired of shitty female characters. The side female character was so ASS; she was so selfish and so annoying and my least favorite character. All the other characters were alright- sad that they actually didn’t focus on them.
Rewatch Value: It was a cute first watch but probably will not watch again due to the bad characters.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad watch just couldn’t stand the female characters at some points.
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cute main couple and good visuals
I'll keep this brief.Overall at first glance this feels like a typical highschool-college young love drama which I kept comparing to our secret or a love so beautiful at first, but I think the visuals for the main couple are great.
The premise is slightly different than they usually are in these dramas and it was pretty refreshing.. for the MOST part..
of course even this drama can't escape some of the usual side plots and side characters. the second couple were okay to watch but still complicated..
this is mostly a friendship drama till about ep 18 or 19 I think when they get into college and I gotta admit that I was getting a little tired of waiting for them to get together around ep 15,so the pacing felt a bit slow at times, but overall I think the pacing was good.
there's some conflicts between our main couple, but at least they don't last long.
I felt kinda bad the sml even though I didn't ship him with lin xi..
acting wise I think the acting was good enough and I did feel the actors had chemistry together. I look forward to seeing the ML actor again.
the music was okay. but nothing I'd listen to on repeat so just average for this drama, but it fits.
the best part of this drama is a HAPPY ENDING!!
apart from some scenes I didn't care too much about i really like this couple!! they're so cute together!!
*the parents in this drama are so nice (compared to zhu yuns mom in lighter and princess sheesh)
(also i some how managed to cry during this drama)
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Finally we have two adorable and sweet teenagers who are BOTH smart and hard-working
Subjective Gut Rating - 8.25China churns out these high school dramas so often each year that it is really hard to be different from others. “Time and Him Are Just Right” is almost there, but not quite. There are so many things to like yet also some to complain about especially in the second half. This is a very lighthearted teen drama. You can go into it without worrying about any serious issues, such bullying or annoying and evil parents. The focus is solely on the students without wasting too much time on the parents or teachers.
What I Like:
1. Main Characters - Finally we don’t see a cool/mean, genius male lead who has to help the bubbly, naive female lead with her homework or studies. We have two equally smart and hard-working students. They help each other out with their studies just like any normal student. They are both very likable and adorable. It did take me a little while to get used to FL’s over-assertiveness in trying to be ML’s friend. I understand why, but still a little stalkerish. However, once we get past that, both the leads are caring, smart, has a sense of justice and just really good people.
2. Wu Jun Ting/Ji Jun Xing (ML)- This is my first introduction to Wu Jun Ting (ML). He has such an adorable face and the way he looks at FL melts my heart. He reminded me a little bit of Wang An Yu in “Forever Love”. Not the character, but the loving gazes and how much affection is in his eyes. On another note, Wu Jun Ting has such a deep voice. His voice is not matching his young and adorable face. Each time he speaks, I am taken by surprise that it’s really his voice. For the first drama, he did a pretty good job. On another note, his character, Ji Jun Xing, is one of the nicest, sweetest and most patient boyfriends out there. He doesn’t react irrationally or get mad even when he is being misunderstood or is not at fault.
3. Young Cast - All the actors in this drama are quite green without too many dramas or movies under their belt. I believe the two female leads are the most experienced ones. The acting is actually not too bad, and they are able to make me believe they’re high schoolers and college students. I also appreciate them all using their own voices.
4. Simple high school life - This is one of the few high school dramas that really showcases the simple life of a high schooler. The drama did not tackle any serious issues, but just regular everyday life. Almost every teen drama talks about the stress of the gaokao aka college entrance exam. This drama has that too, but no drama has ever (that I’ve seen or known) talks about the time limitation of taking showers when your schedule is packed with studying. This drama only has one overbearing parent and it’s only a very small side character. We don’t really see much parental pressure on the students regarding the gaokao, and I am so glad.
What I Don’t Like or have Mixed Feelings:
1. Misunderstanding - The drama was going so well and they have to throw in the misunderstanding trope Why?? Do all long distance relationships need to do this? The leads have such open and honest communication when they were in high school, so why wouldn’t they talk to each other?? Argh….
2. College days - Not that I don’t like the college portion of the drama, but comparatively, the high school parts are much more interesting. The characters really didn’t do much until the last part of the drama when they entered into the competition. Even that competition is kind of boring and predictable.
3. Time Skips - There are so many time skips in the second half of the drama. A few are fine, but once you have so many, the editing becomes weird and it seems the writers are rushing to finish the drama.
I had an enjoyable time watching this drama. There aren't any annoying or irritating characters. It’s a very easy and chill watch to see a bunch of friends going through high school, college and adult life together. It is nice to see how their friendship remains strong. I love the male lead and the female lead is not too bad either. But if you want something exciting, this is not it. Lastly, I wonder if the writers were trying to sneak in a BL couple in this wholesome drama.
Completed: 2/17/2023
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