A mix of fantasy and romance that actually worked!
Story: It's complicated but it's also quite straightforward. In a nutshell, this is a fantasy story about a guy who could travel between "dimensions" - which were essentially stories from many different novels. His mission when travelling to the different stories was to collect "spiritual energy" by completing missions given to him by the "system". Once he had collected enough "spiritual energy", he would be able to return to his own world. The female lead was a college student who may seemed at first, un-connected to whatever the male lead's doing - but by accident, found herself in a story where the male lead had just completed. In order to bring her back to her own world, the male lead decided to enter the story again to help her complete her mission. Hence, begun a fantasy joyride of jumping from one story to another - from sci-fi to ancient to modern. The romance between the male lead and female lead developed as they completed missions together. My personal favourite was the ancient story part. :) There was also the underlying sarcasm about how many of these stories featured predictable romance between a female lead (who's always given the character of a victim and requiring help) and despicable male characters who took advantage of the female lead. There were also scenes and things the book characters did that were "standard" that provided some comedic relief.Acting/Cast: Mostly new actors. The female lead acted well. The male lead's a bit stiff but his character will slowly grow on you. Side characters all acted well.
Music: Standard music.
Re-watch value: With only 12 episodes and with each episode adding to the progression of the story with no boring bits, it has excellent re-watch value for when you run out of good dramas to watch. You can very easily marathon this in one day.
Overall: If you want to be really picky and question things like, "What was the identity of the male lead and why could he travel between dimensions? The Book Spirit merely mentioned that "Master is different"- what did that mean? Was he even human? Which world did he came from? What was the logic of collecting "spiritual energy" to send the male lead home? How did that work? Which world did the female lead belong to? Was "the real world" where she came from actually part of a story as well? etc etc etc - then you will struggle to understand and enjoy this drama. Personally, I think the answers to these questions are not important for the enjoyment of this drama. The fantasy bits were merely settings. What this drama did really well was merging the idea of a fantasy story with a smooth progression of romance. It's really a weirdly successful formula despite the many potholes in story and acting. Overall, this was a worthy watch -much to my dumbfounded surprise!
Was this review helpful to you?
Good mix of Romance, Fantasy, Adventure - but could be confusing
9/18/2021I was attracted to the unique plot of this drama, even though I haven't read or heard much about "Serendipity". This short drama doesn't really have a big budget, nor does it have a superstar cast. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was concerned when I saw the MDL rating of it at 7.8. This drama is by no means a high quality, big production. But for my personal enjoyment, I quite like it. It has a good mix of romance, fantasy, comedy and adventure.
This 12-episode drama tells the story of 3 different worlds. The first one is a little confusing to start and the acting wasn't at its best. It might take 1-3 episodes to get you interested. The second world (historical) is my favorite out of the three. I am less confused and there are quite a few funny moments. Romance is also more developed here with some cute moments. The last arc is the most confusing to me, and it's the most serious world. I still don't quite understand the general story of how this all started and ended. How did Yan Sui and Wan Wan get into this situation? What really need to happen to get everything back to normal? I am still not sure. Hence, I only gave this a 8.0 instead of 8.5.
I wish China would produce more short dramas, as the pacing is perfect and the story is tight. There is no unnecessary filler or misunderstandings over and over again. This is a good quick, light break from watching a serious drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Adventure filled with romance!
"Humans are strange, No matter how terrible the world is, so long as you know there is someone fighting along side you, you would stop being afraid" - Mu Xiao RuThis quote represents the relationship between the leads. As you follow the leads as they complete their tasks throughout the 3 worlds and realities, their relationship grows and goes beyond the single reality. Experiencing different challenges and understanding the stories of each unique character the leads were transported to, built the trust and love to their relationship. They faced through so much but the journey was treasured. This short 12 episode cdrama is filled with adventure and romance. Its underrated and deserves more viewers.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
into the book and find romance!
This drama is only 12 ep but it definitely did not disappoint! More people should watch this! I like this genre/concept.The male lead is storybook traveler. The female lead encounter the male lead when she was young and was gifted a jade bracelet. This jade bracelet helps her to travel between stories. Inside the story the female lead takes on the role of the female lead and try to complete a task. There is one that is set in the future, one where the male lead is a ceo. The stories are interesting and the romance is good! there is quite a few kisses.
However they didnt really explain the background of the male lead.. so hoping there is a season two. Also not explained well was the evil spirit that took over his friend. ( he was guarding the book while the leads where inside the story)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Three micro dramas wrapped in a forth
A mix of romance, fantasy, adventure and chinese short dramas, Serendipity is a quick and fun watch. The story follows a student who accidentally touches a spiritual lamp and finds herself going from one book to another and finishing quests in order to earn more spiritual energy to get out of the book. She is accompanied by a history professor travelling through books. They go through three books, each adventure taking about three and a half episodes (the length of those micro c dramas!).This drama is seriously woke feminist: each task the girl is given is about women empowerment be it a housewife, a princess or a businesswoman. The FL is a smart strong kind and beautiful, she has everything going for her. Kudos for the production team: they managed to keep everything streamlined, especially the plot. They did not have much choice, this having only 12 episodes. The pacing was perfect, the cases were fun and watching the romance evolve before our eyes was sweet and cute. The actors had good chemistry. The music was excellent and I loved the final credits song. Apparently this drama had a limited low budget: well it does not show it! The cinematography and the special effects are top notch.
Now for the negative parts: the plot was a bit messy. The explanation of the spiritual book travelling quests were unclear: why was it there? What is the professor doing and why? Wan Wan the book spirit and his role in everything. And of course; that ending. Where were they and what were they doing for two months? No answers whatsoever! And do not start me on those dead fish frozen kisses! Last but not least, why is the ML speaking as if he out of breath, soundlessly. I do not get this need to whisper loudly!
If you overlook these little details, this is a really fun watch! People say c dramas are full of silly damsels in distress. I have yet to watch a c drama to find one. I haven't seen that many, it's true, but damsel in distress? ....well it is not the case here.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
a c-drama that ticks all the boxes
I recently rewatched this drama after a year or so and unexpectedly, I still feel the same way about it. I am not gonna bore you with a lengthy essay -here are the things I liked and disliked:
What I liked
→ they changed the setting quite a few times for such a short drama (I mean all the different storybook worlds)
→ it had the right amount of nearly everything : romance, fantasy, a bit of action, comedy, and mystery+ drama
→the fast pacing of the story i.e. the story was not dragging
→ likeable main leads- believe it or not the FL wasn't treated like a rag doll
→ I appreciated that the story revolved around the main couple alone and there were no side characters that stole the spotlight
→ the ending was satisfying (though still predictable)
→ they did not rely on CGI much and that way prevented the drama from looking too cheap
What I didn't like that much
→ maybe too few episodes
→ it was perhaps too simple of a storyline for my taste (no actual development in any sense )
→ it had one of the most annoying tropes (you' ll get what I mean when you watch it- let's just say I am not a fan of " fate brought us together...")
→ the insta love or should I say " from not so friedly strangers to lovers in a couple of days" trope
Overall, this drama definitelly deserves more hype. The production quality was surprisingly good- with so few views on yt, I originally thought this was gonna be one of those "strikingly low budget" dramas that look like the cameramen would get a better shot using an iphone camera. Yes, it is not super complex(because it has 12 ep),however, is one of the few dramas that do not have scenes that make you cringe, feature a relatively healthy relationship, have a bit of every genre, and have you eagerly waiting for what is going to happen in the next episode- it was a pleasant surprise . Give it a try!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet, nice with a little twist of confusing
A time traveling series, though not a long winded one (thankfully). I find the story very interesting, amusing at parts, and sometimes slightly confusing. The first reason why the series caught my eye was that it was only 12 episodes long. Barely found any few episodes long series that is really good, so I am actually quite surprised that this one turned out quite good. With a little touch of fairy tale here and there, it makes the series even more fascinating. I enjoy watching the male and female lead, actually my 2nd series of the male lead, and I find that they are quite good together. Their acting together is not that stiff. It would be a series for someone who likes to have a little romance and loves time traveling.Was this review helpful to you?
A good mix of fantasy, romance, adventure, well done.
The storyline is quite weird, but the tone is fast, intriguing, and makes the drama addictive.Sure, there are a lot of story holes, a lot of unanswered questions, but that's the game in this type of series.
The actors are awesome (I really like Sky Li in everything he plays) and the (essential) special effects are neat and convincing.
The OSTs are excellent and effectively accompany the different atmospheres.
I won't talk about the story (everyone has read the synopsys), I'll just strongly recommend this drama (short - only 12 episodes of 35 minutes) and exciting!
Was this review helpful to you?
