THE historical romance for 2021

A great drama from the start to the end. I'm not a big fan of historical dramas, but I'm not ready to forget these characters...

History may be fictionalized, but the reality (I should say "the cruelty") of the life of the king, of life at court, is so well described.
- Living in comfort, but with a lot of duties, conspiracies and court intrigues that the crown prince of Joseon has to face.
- Protocols and multiple games of influence, super well described.
- Point of view of a court lady (servant), the "little hands" of the palace, without rights, only duties!
- etc

The deep love between this king and this court lady is poignant, and even I, who don't get emotional easily, cried over the final episodes.

The actors are just wonderful. I understand that they received the MBC Drama Awards 2021 "Best Couple".

Multi-award-winning drama, rightly so:
-Best New Actor: Kang Hoon
- Best Scriptwriter: Jung Hae Ri
- Golden Acting Award: Lee Deok Hwa
- Top Excellence Actor Award (Mini-Series): Lee Junho
- Top Excellence Actress Award (Mini-Series): Lee Se Young
- Drama of the Year: 'The Red Sleeve Cuff'

Well, I'll make it simple: WATCH IT!!

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Little gem of romance, sport and team spirit ❤❤❤

It's a fairly classic rom-sport drama (progression, injury, coach, competitions, rivalries, team,...) but served by excellent actors. and an almost perfect realization.

The FL character is quite childish (but she's supposed to be 18 :) and the ML (❤❤❤ Wang An Yu ❤❤❤ ) is handsome and particularly talented. This couple is too too cute, and their chemistry is on the screen. I would love to see more dramas with this couple in the future. Maybe a season 2?

The secondary couple is also very endearing, and their progression is finely managed.

Not to spoil anything, all this is accompanied by excellent OST !!

Don't miss this cheerful little gem.

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Pleasant and realistic drama, brought to life by a very cute CL

I've watched first this drama for Johnny Huang!! I love this actor and once again, he gives here an exceptional performance with Wu Jin Yan.

But I quickly liked this drama.

It's a realistic, well-written series who describ the business of streaming e-commerce platforms.
It's not very focused on romance, the storyline is mainly based on the company, its difficulties, its challenges, the employees,...
This series is not addictive, with a good clifhanger at the end of each episode :) but we get attached to the characters (who are not black or white in a Manichean way).
Hard work and perseverance, often evoked in Asian dramas, are also strongly highlighted here.

To enhance this business storyline, there is the romance between Wu Jin Yan and Johnny Wang. It is natural, without twists or tricks. Their trust and support are rare and, above all, their chemistry is exceptional. Their moments of tenderness make sparks.
The secondary romance is also very well done, with believable interactions, and fantastic actors. The development of their relationship seems natural too, although the end is not as happy as in the lead couple.

The family ties are described with subtlety, even if two characters leave me perplexed:
- the father who returns 13 years later and expects his (abandoned) daughter to open her arms to him
- The mother, who out of guilt?, refuses the relationship between her son and the girl she loves as her daughter. What responsibility does she have in a car accident, one evening of drunkenness, when she is only a pedestrian and an attendant ?

Other than that, there aren't too many clichés, no coma, or amnesia, or a pure-innocent-naive girl. ;)

The production is great and the OSTs are really excellent.

I therefore recommend this drama to all those who are interested in trade, technological developments, with a little touch of romance to embellish the story.

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A good romantic drama

Watched for Lui Xue Yi ❤❤❤.

The storyline is simple ; a hate-love between a FL manager (who discovers that her fiancé is cheating on her) and a CEO cold-face investor. This (secret) romance encounters obstacles: economic rivalries between companies, attempts by the fiancé to recover "his property", tricks from rivals, etc.

We are witnessing for once a love between adults, responsibles, who trust each other and protect their love. This nicely changes from the usual clichés: breaking up to protect the other, separation under family pressure, etc.

On the other hand, the 2nd couple (which, I agree with the other comments, takes too much time on the screen) is really not very credible. The brother is so childish !! He's supposed to be 22 years old, but behaves like a schoolboy ...

OSTs are remarkable (Chinese series keep improving) ... So much that I downloaded them :)
The production is neat, rhythmic, the images are beautiful and the framing well done.

A good romantic drama, that you will enjoy spending time on.

Something allways shocked me : the anorexia (volountarily or not) chinese actresses. The thinness of their legs is alarming. It would be nice to see on screen people with more weight, more ordinary...

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Super weird: story about E.T. "rattan / ivy" with superpowers, humans and other clans who fight

I love the ML and the reviews were overwhelmingly good.

However, I watched the whole drama trying to find a meaning, a guideline, ... incomprehensible and incoherent (despite the superb work of the actors) until the end (no, until the 3 alternative endings, each more bizarre than the next).

The director undoubtedly wanted to play the strange card. He succeeded, even OSTs are weird!

Excellent casting, rhythmic and dynamic production, frames ++ with very beautiful images,
BUT
OST and storyline weird !! Still no sense after 25 ep.

Honestly, I was left puzzled, I wouldn't recommend it, but I'll let you make up your own mind.

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A good drama, different from 1st Prince coffee shop, with a cute romance

The start: gender drama version TW of 1st Prince Coffee shop:
- poor but hardworking and warm "tomboy" + rich rebel and playboy heir.
- everyone ends up working in a "Prince restaurant"
Eye-catching!

Notable differences, however:
- the rich family is dispossessed of all their property (or almost)
- love triangles are multiple and complex,
- everyone has a +/- dark past (which we will discover later),
- economic rivalries are strong.

There are a few lengths in the 2nd third of the drama where we get bogged down a bit in economic rivalries and the cooking part.

But the main couple is super cute, with excellent chemistry (even if it really lacks skinship). Congratulations to these two actors!
The side romances are also well developed, with complex characters, which evolve subtly.

The whole is quite credible although there are "dramaland" parts (coincidences, very small world, sometimes you need to be indulgent, ...).

The OST are appropriate, without being particularly memorable.

The images are of good quality, especially the kitchen images.

Overall, I really liked this drama.

=> If you don't expect a story like 1st Prince Coffee Shop
=> If you do not compare with the previous duets of the actor couple

You will have a great time!

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Version sympa et agréable à regarder malgré quelques défauts.

J'ai voulu regardé cette version chinoise de "1st Coffee Prince Shop" parce que j'ai adoré le drama d'origine.

J'ai eu du mal à m'habituer au ML (excellent acteur, d'ailleurs) parce c'est difficile d'avoir le charme de Gong Yoo :)
Mais après quelques épisodes, je me suis mise à apprécier ces personnages.

Quelques remarques troublantes, cependant :

- que se passe-t-il avec le 5e prince du café ? On ne voit l'acteur à l'écran que quelques minutes de temps en temps. Dans le drama original, le personnage avait une place importante, son histoire d'amour avec la mère célibataire japonaise aussi. Dans la version chinoise, il disparait complètement. Y-aurait-il eu un problème pendant le tournage avec l'acteur ??? Le réalisateur a-t-il utilisé un acteur virtuel ?

- cette version a voulu reproduire les ruptures (en nombre et en timing) entre le ML et la FL. Mais dans le contexte "tomboy" (et pas fille déguisée en garçon), certaines disputes n'ont AUCUN sens !!

- Cette version s'est approprié l'histoire originale et c'est amusant de constater que les couples qui se forment n'ont pas les mêmes partenaires que dans la version coréenne (mère et sœur).

J'ai regretté que les moments amusants de la romance au sein du CL dans les derniers épisodes, soient esquivés /éludés par rapport à la version coréenne. La lutte du ML contre ses désirs d'intimité, les moments de tendresse et de skinship, la scène du petit déjeuner sur la terrasse, etc. Pudeur chinoise ?

Les OST sont adaptés sans être particulièrement mémorables, cependant.

Ce drama reste sympa et agréable à regarder malgré quelques défauts.

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Mini drama très cute, avec une sweet sweet romance

Mini drama (24 X 30 min. sans les génériques) très cute, avec une sweet sweet romance entre 1nageur blessé et une étudiante en thérapie traumatique.

Les acteurs sont jeunes, mais tout à fait crédibles et ils incarnent les personnages avec un vrai talent. leur alchimie est palpable. Le ML est athlétique, handsome., tout à fait prometteur. J'espère le voir souvent dans des rôles principaux.

Le seul aspect inattendu dans ce drama universitaire/sportif, c'est le pouvoir électrique de la FL.
Les OST sont adaptées sans être mémorables.

Mais l'ensemble est bien ficelé, rythmé, donc pour les amateurs, vous passerez un très agréable moment.

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Description effryante du milieu Kpop, mais petit bijou

J'ai adoré ce drama (regardé d'une traite) qui décrit si bien l'univers impitoyable de l'industrie coréenne du divertissement (la face cachée de la Vague Coréenne).

L'histoire, assez sombre, est super bien construite, avec des moments d'humour, d'émotions, des performances superbes, heureusement agrémentée de très jolies romances.

Les artistes (idoles) nous font vivre un moment formidable et le message, humaniste et optimiste, sans compter ❤❤❤ Jun ❤❤❤, qui est absolument génial du début à la fin.

Bref, ne passez pas à côté de cette perle (à voir et certainement, à revoir) !

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Très fortement conseillé si vous aimez les Marriage Contract

Un drama très accrocheur dès le 1e épisode : 15ep. X 1h30.
Le casting est excellent et les acteurs (principaux et support) font un travail remarquable.

L'histoire est cohérente et réaliste (ML playboy fainéant / FL workwoman smart) et la réalisation est rythmée (même s'il y a beaucoup de ralentis et d'arrêts sur images à mon goût).

Le CL conclue un contrat de mariage un peu forcé, pour stabiliser le fils d'une part et sauver 1 entreprise rurale d'autre part. La relation sera bien sûr difficile, compliquée par une ex machiavélique + tenace et un contexte de corruption.
L'humour est souvent surjoué mais acceptable.

Cela permet aussi d'approfondir votre connaissance de la culture thaï (danse, croyances, relations familiales, etc.)
Mon seul regret : je vais peut-être choquer la pudeur asiatique, mais cela manque sérieusement de kiss et de skinship pour que les relations au sein des couples soient réalistes.

Je vous le conseille fortement, vous passerez un excellent moment !!

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An amazing KAME Drama

FIRST : It's a KAME DRAMA -
MORE : they are some Unforgettable dance scenes I could rewatch on repeat !!

7 intense episodes on the love between a dancer and a teacher. This love story, complicated because 2 lovers come from very different backgrounds, is moving, harsh and sad. The relationship is intense, realistic (including the sex scenes, very beautiful and elegant).
They love each other, but don't want to give up on their dreams.

The japanese society is very well described, in particular the condition of women, the family, the artistic milieu.
Rythm & romance ...

And a fantastic KAME ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (as usual).

In short, one of my all-time favorite JDramas.

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Youth drama Highly recommanded

I was reluctant to watch this drama, but I got hooked from the 1st episode and watched it all at once.
The story is super well constructed. It tackles the dark (even harsh), moving, funny, romantic aspects of a university year of a group of young people who seek each other, grow up, overcome their difficulties together.

The actors are just wonderful. We are moved by their rapprochement, we want to take them in our arms in hard times. In short, they embody these characters with crazy talent.

The friendship that is built step by step between the 2 ML, establishes a strong and comforting relationship. The main couple are just lovely.

I appreciated this vision of youth, which we look at with nostalgia when we have grown older, but which is most often a difficult and complex period, even painful.

In short, a drama that I highly recommend and that I will watch again with pleasure and emotion.

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