With usual tropes but done right

Wow. I think I'll add Lu Zhao Hua (FL) to the actors I'm looking out for. She keeps on making dramas that are easy to like. I have already seen Zhang Yu Jian (ML) in other dramas, but this is the first time that I really loved his character.

The main premise of the story is that the ML time travelled to the first time they meet up, when the FL was being interviewed for his company, each time he goes through a vortex created by the comet.

The storytelling was nicely paced and even though the drama used a lot tropey scenarios such as ankle twists, these were done right. It is self-aware enough to call itself out when the lines were getting cheesy.

I really liked that the FL can fight back and knows how to handle the ML. Quarrels were easily but realistically resolved. The ML's change from a cold president to a hopelessly in love puppy felt gradual. During the first interview, he reluctantly hired her. In the second, he would have done everything NOT to hire her. In the third, he would have done everything JUST to hire her. Their chemistry actually surprised me because of the obvious age difference. I expected only a few kisses but drama proved me wrong. When the ML had accepted his feelings, he really went all out in his pursuit of the FL, kissing her when possible. When the FL accepted him, she did not shy away from initiating kisses. This resulted to a lot of kisses.

This is definitely rewatchable, maybe after a year or so.

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The shadows of the mains are the best characters in this drama

It was boring, then interesting, then boring again. Noble sacrifices were staples and ran rampant in this drama.

That I really hated the main villain of this drama and I loved the CP and their allies makes me feel that the actors were really good. Aside from the CP, I especially loved TianQi, Yuemi, FengRan, JingJian and YuanQi.

There are like 3 parts in the story:
Episode 1-mid16 ->The sacrifice of Sanggu and fall of the God realm
Episode mid16-42-> The new 3 realms and the story of QuingMu and Houchi
Episode 43-49-> The reign of BaiJue and the return of God realm

Part 1 started with an undisciplined Sanggu meeting her cold teacher BaiJue who can train her to become the chief god chaos. They fell in love not knowing that Sanggu needs to sacrifice herself to save the 3 realms. Before the sacrifice, they have spent a bittersweet day with each and so if not for wanting justice for Yuemi, I would have been content with just part 1. With Sanggu's death, it already gave that noble sacrifice but still with hope for the future feels. Part 2 with the QuingMu and Houchi love story who were in a way reincarnations of BaiJue and Sanggu was actually the only part I liked. They are so tragic that towards Episode 41, I was ugly crying. Part 3 wrapped up everything. It explained the motivations of BaiJue but I still think that he should have explained it to Houchi/Sanggu himself. I was also quite happy with his father and son outing with YanQi.

Zhou Dong Yu as Sanggu/Houchi was such as revelation. I wouldn't exactly call her beautiful, maybe just cute and pretty, but her microexpressions can really get you. Though having the same spirit, she was able to portray the differences between the two. Sanggu was born with a status as a chief god since she was destined to become the god of chaos. She was spoilt, entertainment-loving girl who needed some strict guidance. Her growth to becoming a noble god who can sacrifice was wonderful to see. Houchi was a girl nominally called a goddess but had weak power. She was often left by her father and was denied/unloved by her mother. She was somewhat insecure but still maintains an indomitable spirit. Her stand to be accepted as who she is and not as substitute to Sanggu really made my heart ache for her.

Xu Kai as BaiJue/Boxuan/QuingMu was also great. I was really amazed at how quickly he can change his expressions, a heartless bastard one second then a longing lover the next. His eyes speaks. There were too few scenes of him as Boxuan, but I have no doubt that given the same situation BaiJue would do the same things as QuingMu for the woman he loves, seeing how much he was willing to sacrifice for Sanggu and basically he's same person. Maybe I just found the things he did as QuingMu to be more sweet. He even had a puppy dog expression when he was begging GuJun to let him marry Houchi. But it was QuingMu's expression as he was getting integrated to BaiJue that struck me. It was full of pleading and pathos as he accepted his fate.

So I guess even if it's a happy ending for Sanggu and BaiJue and in essence they are QuingMu and Houchi, I am still sad that QuingMu and Houchi did not disappear together.

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Gender reversed childhood friends turned lovers story

If you exchange the genders of the leads, this is the typical childhood friends turned into lovers trope.

Their parents were best friends and neighbors. They promised each other that if their children had the same sex they'll be sworn siblings and if different let them marry. The catch? FL was born seven years before the ML. So by now you can guess that the main conflict in the drama is a society that looked down on older female-much younger male relationships.

I really liked that drama showed us flashbacks of the leads' childhood. The FL took care of the ML when their parents were busy, saved him when she thought he was bullied, basically treating him as just a younger brother. The ML on the other hand, worshipped the FL, obeyed her in everything and considered all her words to know how to please her.

The FL kept failing in relationships while the ML just looked on waiting until she finally notices him but she never did. He then went on to study abroad to become more competent and attractive. When he returned the virginal ML kept seducing the FL until she finally gave in. I really can imagine this as if their roles were reversed. A big brother taking care of his so-called sister who in turn is very obedient and tried to become attractive, then because she had a crush on him, pretended to be helpless and seduced him. See? Typical.

The real conflict in this drama is that the FL felt like she was a cradle snatcher if she will have a relationship with the ML. Once she got over this thinking, their relationship stayed strong amidst worried. I was satisfied to see that the main CP has enough people who are close to them supportive of their relationship. The people who matters.

I could not give this a perfect rating because I would have liked to see more growth in the leads, more reasons to see that they are an OTP but overall this is a fun watch which though typical was not that cliched.

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Anyone can give up immortality for a love like this

If you like antiheroes, you are gonna love this. I have watched 40 episodes and I want to watch it again. 'Gege' has definitely replaced 'oppa' in my vocabulary.

I have seen other works of both Zhao Lusi and Li Hongyi but I felt like they really showed their emotions in this one than in their other works. Their chemistry in this was combustible (yep, I now ship them because of this). Li Hongyi was just so beautiful and sexy as the unpredictable antihero QY. His mesmerizing eyes gave off a dangerous, tempting vibe. He was so manipulative but I couldn't hate him. His love for ChunHua was worth giving immortality up. Zhao Lusi showed Chunhua's growth from a naughty and innocent girl to a slightly skeptical one, but through it all you can see that she was really just searching for that one true love. She kept denying to herself that she was already falling for QY because she though he was not her Mr Right.

June Wu as XiaoBai as the SML was also a great. He was able to portray a handsome, nice, respectful unromantic guy who was slowly falling for Chunhua's flirting. In the end you can see that he truly loved ChunHua, it just wasn't meant to be.

The time travel element is unimportant, it is better to just treat it as a xanxia. The ending actually felt kinda rushed. Events like what happened after QY and XB made their difficult decision were told by another character instead of actually being shown. I also wanted some scenes showing how the leads lived after their reunion. This does not mean I want a season 2, because I already love this drama as it is, but I would definitely look out for another collaboration of the two lead actors.

I don't usually care about OSTs but I really liked Zhao Lusi's campy opening song and Li Hongyi's emotional ending song. That they used Li Hongyi's song in the most romantic scenes gave it that oomph factor that melts you into a puddle.

Would definitely rewatch especially the sweet scenes between CH and QY.

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Amazing. Certainly worth a rewatch.

Funny, romantic and has a satisfying ending too. Watch this if you want a self-aware drama that makes fun of itself and have a fresh take on romance tropes. Other popular dramas especially kdramas were referenced and spoofed a lot too. The kiss scenes and level of skinship were the stuff of fantasies.

Episode 1 was just a background setup to show how impossible it is for the leads to meet in the real world. It was only in Episode 2 that the fun really started, when XiaoEn meets Situ Aoran in the novel world.

Not to be too spoilery, the story started like this: XiaoEn, a romance novel editor dreams to have her own romance and secretly admires He Tianxing, an inspiring CEO from a neighboring office. One day after waking up from a fever, she ran into HT, who now seems to be more overbearing and was told his name was Situ Aoran. Realizing that she was in the novel that she was editing, and that she was a bad character who bullies Chuchu, the FL in the novel, she decided to change her fate and instead become the novel's FL by preventing situations that can develop the Chuchu-SA relationship.

The storytelling goes back and forth between the real world where both HT and XE were in coma and the novel world where SA and XE were falling in love. I liked that the novel world have that reddish, vibrant hue (maybe to tell us us that fantasies are usually seen through rose colored glasses, hahaha) and the real world had grayish tones (does this mean reality sucks?). Things that are happening to HT became SA's dreams. Though I didn't really like that there are many scenes on power struggle for the Tiangling Group, it showed how toxic the real world was for HT. I particularly did not like it when when a sweet love scene in the novel is immediately followed by a suspense scene in the real world.

The pacing of the series was just right at 20 episodes, half of which were devoted to XE and SA falling in love, 1/4 growing their relationship, 1/4 being in the real world.

Actually, I was quite concerned that this would be messy like other parallel world dramas but it wasn't. Though 5 characters (SA, Chuchu, Moran, Susan and Quitian) in the novel world are played by the same actor in the real world, their personalities and backgrounds were different, so they may be treated as distinct from their counterparts. Characters did not go back and forth again and again from one world to another which might have resulted to story inconsistencies. Instead, there was a clear timeline, both leads are in the real world, then they both fell into comas and XE went in the novel, then they both woke up.

Some are questioning XE's hesitancy in the last quarter episodes to start a relationship with HT, but it is quite understandable because in her mind SA is another person, whom she was forcefully separated from. She also did not want to be disrespectful to HT by treating him as substitute. The resolution between SA and HT was logical and reasonable.

One scene mentioned that a wedding ending is irresponsible so this drama ending in a honeymoon felt intentional and satisfying.

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Interesting but hard to watch

This intrigued me when I read the plot description, 5 women received an invitation to live in the house of an unsuccessful novelist. He did not issue the invitation, he could not ask them questions and he could not go to their rooms. And each would pay him a monthly rent of a million yen.

I really wanted to know the reasons why the women agreed to do it and why the MC does not kill people in his novels. The MC at first glance is not handsome, he's awkward and has low self esteem. But as each episode passes and the mysteries about the women were unravelled, I can see that each seems to have feelings for the MC.

It was kind of hard to watch when we see the MC struggling because of guilt for something he did not do and for someone to actually play with that guilt.

Anyways, this drama gave me satisfying answers and he actually ended up with the girl I was rooting for. So all's well that ends well. But I would probably not rewatch this again since the mystery has been solved.

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Cheesy but steamy

If you experienced Second Lead Syndrome in 'Good Morning Call' this might be the cure that you need. Be warned though because Sakurada Dori's character in this one is more possessive. But, he's still sweet and way hotter in this than in GMC. If you want character growth, you might want to watch another drama because there was hardly any.

Their relationship progressed so fast you won't have time to breathe, their lines were so cheesy that you know it's all a fantasy. The FL is so submissive that she's always apologizing even for something that is not her fault. The ML always try to reassure her and says that nothing can change his love. She thinks he's too wonderful. He thinks she's too cute and he can't help but kiss, hug and make love with her. In short, this is a tropey drama that does not require any brainpower. The title 'coffee and vanilla' suits this perfectly because it invokes the thought of affogato which was also shown in the drama, a decadent sweet dessert made of espresso coffee and vanilla ice cream. It's not nutritious nor can it fill you but it's still a treat.

Only watch if all you are interested in is romance fluff.

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Love is sweet and slightly naughty

This has been in my watchlist for so long. Now that I've finally finished it I can say that it might have been slightly overrated but I'd still recommend it for the steamy kiss scenes, strong FL, dreamy ML, and a fluffy story of success in both love and career.

The ML bullies the FL to make her mentally strong, so she will not cry easily in the future and trigger her tear allergies, this is his way of protecting her. He has been crushing on her for 10 years but she was oblivious and thinks he was just mean. After seeing that he is not a 'bad wolf' in the investment industry, she began to have feelings for him. When they got together, their love is truly sweet with lots and lots of kisses, and naughty times (especially in the office 😉).

Another thing that I liked was that the SFL was very relatable. She can be jealous but she was not evil. One of my favorite scenes was when she caught the main CP in one of their moments and they had to pretend to be cleaning.

Just for the SFL and chemistry of the main CP, I really wanted to give this a perfect score but sadly I can't because the tropes used felt contrived and manipulative. Maybe I am just not a fan of the idea that when you like someone, you can make decisions for their life for 'their own good' without their consent and characters in this drama does this a lot. There was also forced cohabitation and while this definitely drew the leads closer, drama conveniently forgot that the ML rented an apartment that he just kept empty. Also, when the issue about the FL's father's death was resolved, the vibe in the series changed and the next few episodes felt like fillers, an afterthought arc for the SML and mostly PDAs of the main CP. Frankly, I was like 'i know your relationship is good, get married already!'.

I actually felt kind of bad for the actor who played the SML because his character was just there for convenience. Need to increase the tension of the main CP through jealousy? Enter the hottie but bad SML. Need a villain who will sabotage the main CP's jobs? Enter the bad and sneaky SML. Need a helpmate for a ML to resolve the FL's trauma? Enter the reformed SML. Need to prove the relationship strength of the main CP for the filler episodes? Enter the jealous SML who became bad again! He reformed again but his ending felt lackluster. He was really not developed properly and there's no real development with his loveline with FL either. It was quite hard for me to accept that he loved the FL so much because their interactions were so few and not really that meaningful. His angst was not fully explored. It would have been much better if there were tropey scenes like the FL and the SML going to important places in the SML's childhood, or just anything that actually showed the FL helping the SML with his resentments.

The second CP also did not help this series as their interactions were boring and had no chemistry. You have to believe they're in love just because of some lighting changes and because they said so. Again I felt like the girl was forcing the guy to like her by doing all kinds of nice bordering on masochistic things for him. If I will rewatch this, I'll skip their scenes and just focus on the main CP.

Overall, this is a good watch if you have time to spare and want to see an adult relationship realistically portrayed.

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Typical romcom

This drama is a typical high school/college drama with the leads crushing on each other while overcoming setbacks.

What I really did not like were the scheming females who liked the guys that like the FL. They were too heartless for me, one used the death of FL's mom to hurt the FL while the other nearly killed the FL. I know that the makers only want everyone to have a happy ending but I wasn't satisfied with their arc resolutions and their change of hearts did not seem believable. The FL's diary was a major plot device and I was cringing every time characters used it to embarrass and hurt the FL.

The main leads were also too perfect and ideal. They are both loyal and can be good in everything if they decided to do it. The ML is smart, the FL is pure-hearted and courageous. I would have liked the ML to be more active in pursuing what he actually wants and the FL to think on what she actually wants and not base her decisions on the ML's preferences. There were wuxia parts that served as comedic breaks to the story.

Overall it is a nice and tropey drama but it can give you flutters and fun if you give it a chance.

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Have serious 'Gone with the wind' vibes

This is a series where you just can't seem to understand the FL nor sympathize with her but can't help but root for the ML.

If you don't like contemplative dialogues, you might find this boring but the details in the scenes and costumes were top class and immersed me in this drama world. Set in a time of war, this drama gives you a visual of the struggles people experienced and a love story that was full of misunderstandings. Expect a lot of deaths, some of which can really make you reach out for tissues.

There's mutual attraction the first time the leads set their eyes on each other and when they accidentally kissed but lack of communication and misunderstandings led to a toxic relationship. The FL was too headstrong and blind to the love the ML gave her, she also frequently blamed the ML for things he didn't do. She also said that she did not love him and thought of him as her brother when he confessed his feelings, when in truth, she was just unsure of her feelings. She also never explicitly said that she loved him. No wonder the ML was so insecure and thought she was hung up on the SML. The ML tried to make the relationship work but he was not perfect, he did some things I did not like, like the frequent shoulder grabs and smashing things during arguments. It was like he was forcing the FL to love him back. The SML was a pitiful character that imagined that the FL loved him and could not let go of his grudge against the ML, even going so far as betraying his own principles. The SFL was a typical scheming villain who thought she can have the ML if she can only get rid of the FL. The last few episodes showed how the leads finally resolved their issues and calmly TALKED about their past and realize that they care for each other and just wants the safety of their partner. Since this is a period piece, there were a lot of side characters but my favorite were the male friends of the ML. They were smart, loyal and brave. As for the ending, I liked that it was realistic but hopeful at the same time.

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Sizzling kiss scenes but storyline could have been better

If the supernatural elements were explored better, the story could have been more interesting. As such, we don't even really know the extent of the FL's abilities or the dynamics between espers, healers and guardians. Yes we know that espers have powers that takes a toll on their bodies so they need healers to heal them, but healers gets exhausted after they heal espers so healers in turn need guardians to protect them, but that's it. How the guardians protect the healers was vague, was it physical protection, or preventing them from using their power, or reviving them using a ring after a healing session? How the healers heal was also unclear, was it automatic or were certain conditions needed? The dad of SS (a healer and our FL) was the most hateful character in this series for me. He was too unreasonable and selfish as well. His treatment of SS in her childhood was child abuse. He basically took her freedom away and even made her feel guilty for fighting against it, calling her 'naughty'. All for his so called 'protection'. And even when she became an adult and he kind of promised to let her be free, he still continued to take away her freedom of choice like when he texted QX (an esper who can teleport and our ML) pretending to be SS then deleted it! I was thinking that QT (QX's sister) could have been saved if KL (a guardian and our SML) was with SS as they tried to revive QT, like they did near the pool area, but again dad interfered and told off QX, saying the price for healing QT was the life of SS. If this was true how come a lot of people was healed by XX (mom of SS)? And I felt like dad hid that encounter with QX from SS. This led to QX dilemma of choosing between his love and his sister and led to his and SS being apart for 2 years during which KL and SL (QX's best friend and QT's admirer) hid the fact that QT had already died by saying QT was only travelling. I felt really sad when QX cried when he received the postcards of QT seemingly on travel but was photoshopped by SL. Some may think that QX believes that his sister is living well through the doctored postcards but I think differently because he can teleport to a place even by only looking at a photograph and he did not even try. I felt like he knew at that point that his sister had already died and so he returned to SS because now he doesn't have to choose.

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Better than I expected

My hopes were pretty low before watching the movie since I really doubted that Ronnie as James can deliver as a main lead. In fairness to him, he was able to portray the insecurity of not being the 'chosen guy' in the prequel 'Vince, Kath and James'. However, it went kind of overboard that the character felt so different. In essence, he became the 'Vince' in this story. Loisa as Pat was also able to deliver her lines well and made me cry in some scenes. Donnie as Dave felt kind of stiff in most of his scenes and I didn't really connect with him as a character. Overall, the movie is pretty decent, some jokes were overused (especially the petchay joke) and some of the characters' actions were unrealistic. Give it a try if you just feel the need for a happy ending since all of them had or was hinted to have it.

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A gender bender that's so cheesy it's good

It's the kind of drama that you would like to hate but can't stop watching just because. Many lines made me cringe. The logic behind why the FL must be a man was loony. Situations for love development were engineered tropes. I did not particularly like the two CPs other than main one as I find the second FL to be too needy, the second ML too emotionless, the third FL too bossy and the third ML too comedic bordering on parody. But man, the chemistry of the main CP is just through the roof that I can't believe it was only acting. Their romantic and kiss scenes have pure electricity. Their story was not love at first sight but was built because of experiences together. I like the fact that the FL was not just pretending to be a man but IS a man that's actually a woman. She can also stand on her own in a fight. As for the ML, he was really a good, reasonable and kind person. No wonder the FL can't help but fall for him. Even when I thought he would be angry, he wasn't, he always try to understand the other person. And he loved the FL as a person not because of her gender.

So if you are not averse to cheesy romances, give this a try.

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Excellent first half, but 2nd half, not so much

I can't believe that this was the ML's first drama, he was really good in portraying a blind person. I have seen the FL in other dramas and I think she's an actress that's able to have chemistry no matter who her partner is. The focus of the series is not just romance but also the needs of differently abled persons.

The first half is a sweet, slow burn romance that makes you want to believe in the love conquers all kind of love. I wish they did not have that violin player who was practicing by the lake when the FL just put on her earphones and sang out of tune during their meet cute, it made her look kinda rude, unless the violin player was supposed to be imaginary (I choose to believe he's imaginary haha). FL is a girl who just go all out for love and ML is a reticent guy whose coldness is melted by the FL's love. I could not help my silly smile because of their interactions during the FL's graduation.

Then the second half happened and they both seemed to have undergone personality surgeries. ML became unreasonable then guilty, FL became unforgiving then cowardly. I really don't understand the separation trope because IRL, if reconciliation takes a long time, feelings change and another romance may slip in. Maybe I am just not a fan of any kind of stalkery behavior in the name of romance, so I felt uncomfortable that the ML kept tabs on the FL. I also only like stolen kisses when both are being playful and both are conscious. It was a good thing that the ML has a boyish charm, otherwise when they met again he would have been was too overbearing while the FL was too submissive. I also felt that the resolution of the plot twist with the FL's friend was too rushed and the future of the boy with autism had no resolution at all. BUT since it's a happy ending, I would still recommend this series.

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A relaxing and healing drama

This is a very well written drama. Some scenes visualize a GO battle as a martial arts battle, which made them more interesting to noobs like me.

I liked all the CPs, especially that of the main CP and the love triangle of yuda, cheng yi and xu chi. I liked that the series reinforced but also broke away from the childhood friend=destiny trope, to simply say that there's no rule, you love who you love.

I also liked that the story did not stop when the main CP got together but continued on to show how they continued to support each other, their families and friends, leaving you with the feeling that whatever challenges they may face in the future, they would be able to pull through it together.

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