What is so appealing about this?

So let me get this straight:
A supremely good-looking dude who’s also smart and brilliant at video games happens to spot a girl in an Internet cafe who’s also beautiful, smart, and good at video-games.
Without ever having had a conversation with her before, he goes about wooing her(by marrying her in the video game) and actually succeeds because he’s the most popular dude on campus.
I’m sorry, what? Do people just like this because they like the idea of getting into a relationship with minimal effort?
Both leads were supremely bland and boring individuals. They’re super alike in all aforementioned ways and when they get together, it’s supposed to be this power couple vibe, but it’s just not. There’s no substance to the relationship and he goes about initiating literally all of it. The kiss scenes are entirely one-sided and it just felt like she went along with the whole thing because of his status as the campus 男神。
There were some bright spots here and there, but they were few and far between. Either way, I don’t get the hype. The actors were pretty enough, but I’d kinda like some meat with my fluff

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Mature and beautiful and so very relaxing

My favorite dramas are the ones I can watch with minimal eye-rolling and this one definitely fit the bill. Here’s why:

—I think this is one of the few dramas I’ve watched where the characters feel real and the adults behave like they’re actual adults.
—The drama tropes are kept to a minimum and the interpersonal drama is realistic and never lasts more than an episode.
—A’Yao and Hongdou are such beautiful people with their respective struggles and strengths and their journey of coming together is so fun to watch. The attraction, the teasing, the PINING. The complete comfort these two have around each other really sells the relationship and the slightest expression had me grinning like a fool. Definitely a solid slow-burn
—The villagers could very easily get lost in the shuffle of side characters. But the aunties and the grannies and uncles and kids were so memorable and though there were moments I would get confused, it was pretty easy to keep them straight. A’Yao’s A’Nai was my favorite and a particular scene with her towards the end made me laugh so very hard.
—Yunnan province’s scenery is so beautiful. The “product” placement definitely did its job. Every scene was gorgeous to watch and the cinematography that made Yunnan look so bright and calming and gentle was such a perfect contrast to Beijing’s dim lighting and dark shadows.
—THE MUSIC oh my gosh. Most, if not all, of the OST immediately joined my spotify playlists and i’ve been listening to 日日 on repeat.

To recap. This is a great palate cleanser drama, a relaxer drama, a drama to watch with a cup of tea and a blanket, a break from the excessive tropes and over the top acting that gets old after a few episodes. I’ve never watched a drama like this before, but I hope more are made like it. This one shot to my favorites list and I hope to rewatch it again in the future.

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A tad strange, but in a good(ish) way

Really enjoyed this one! Wasn’t fond of everything and there were some developments, both plot and character, that I thought a bit strange or rushed, but it was still a really good one.
Obviously dramas that are based on an identity illness makes for an interesting plot, but also gives the possibility of things getting weird and/or dramatic later on. Which is what happens. There’s also the issue of confusing guilt and the desire to compensate with love and affection and trying to figure out where the line is drawn between the two.
Either way, this is the sort of drama you kind of have to turn your brain off so you don’t get too bogged down with the details. It’s definitely fun for the most part and the acting is pretty on point.

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Surprisingly good!

This one was popular before it even came out, mostly due to the cast. I’d only seen Yang Yang in Love O2O(which i didn’t enjoy) and Dilraba in The Long Ballad, which I really liked. The premise sounded typical, but I wanted to watch something with Yang Yang that I enjoyed so I was hopeful.
And it actually didn’t disappoint. Our leads are supposed to be older and they actually act like it. With the exception of the occasional dumb idea, they’re both adults and as such have adult struggles and there’s a maturity that surrounds them. The relationship follows suit (once they actually get together) and it’s such a joy to watch them carry through their respective hardships together, supporting each other with understanding and affection.
This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was certainly mine and it made up for the travesty that was Love O2O, so I’m content

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A must-watch

There’s likely nothing I can say in this review that others haven’t already written.

My thoughts are fairly straightforward concerning this drama. It’s the sort of drama where the people are people. They don’t make all the right decisions, they make wrong decisions for good reasons, they regret and try to make amends, they try to please everyone, etc. If this drama has anything at the heart, it’s family with all the messiness and confusion and love that comes with that. Even more so when you consider that this family comes in the form of these broken people who’ve come together to form their own family out of necessity. Everyone has their own baggage and that manifests as the drama goes one.
This is a heavier drama, the type that might leave you feeling more than you expect, the kind that reflects more realistic feelings than most dramas tend to show. It might not be the type of drama you watch on repeat, but it’s the drama you should watch at least once and think about for a very long time.

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Followed the hype and BOY WAS IT WORTH IT

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of costume dramas, whether historical/period, xianxia, even republic dramas I find difficult. I could probably count on one hand the number of costume dramas I’ve actually finished. For a time, I really wanted to like them because they were so aesthetically pleasing, but after dropping bunches of dramas because of silly FLs or concubine drama or impossible MLS or boring stories, I gave up and focused more on modern dramas to save myself time.
When I saw different posts on tumblr singing the praises of this one, I was hesitant, but interested. And since I’d never finished a drama with Wang He Di, I thought I’d give it a go.

There’s likely nothing I could write that hasn’t been written already, but this truly is a rare gem in costume dramas. The story moves quickly and the characters are dynamite. You get a bunch of tropes done in a way that’s familiar and refreshing all at once and some scenes just sort of steal you away to Shui Yun Tian or Si Ming Hall or Cang Yan Hai.

Honestly there’s a lot of joy and a lot of pain with only the tiniest bit of frustration towards the end because it seems the universe is conspiring against them, but even among the frustration the story is absolutely breathtaking and the themes are absolutely worth it. Love is sacrifice, love heals, love is strong. This story isn’t anything super new, per se, but it takes what it’s given and executes it perfectly. Highly recommend.

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Started watching for Bi Wenjun, stayed for everything else

Honestly, I was super excited when I saw that Bi Wenjun was getting into acting and I wanted to watch this, his first drama as the ML.
So, yes, silly as it sounds, I started watching this for the visuals.
BUT. There’s a lot more depth to this drama and there’s a lot more to enjoy than just Bi Wenjun.
The set and the characters are on par with each other as far as beauty goes and the blend of traditional Chinese culture and modern culture was something super fascinating to watch.
Tai Chi is also something beautiful to watch and the match scenes were fun
Nothing too serious, but something enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing, so honestly, what else can I ask for?

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Best. Drama. Ever.

This drama swept me away rather quickly and I ended up unable to move on for about a week.
Admittedly, the format is a little confusing because the story takes place at three different times, but it is fairly easy to keep up and anyone who watches this will quickly get invested in the relationship of Yan Mo and Qiao Yi.
This is a very slow-burn sort of drama and there’s a lot of pining and longing and the main couple have quite the history, but their relationship feels real. The relationship is very special and chemistry-charged and the developments feel hard-won, but thankfully there are other relationship to enjoy. The familial relationship between Qiao Yi and her brother, between both of them and their step-father, between the step-father and their mother, between Qiao Yi and her best friend, etc. Really, it’s the relationships and the realistic nature of them that really make the entire show. The characters feel like human beings with complex emotions that run beneath the surface, not the typical over-exaggerated actions and reactions like other dramas tend towards,
When I found out that this was based off a true story, it made me love it even more and I think this is one of those classic dramas that won’t easily be forgotten under the multitudes of new dramas being released every year.

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Takes a bit to get going, but goes great from there

Let me be sentimental for a sec: This was my first Chinese drama, y’all! It’s been over two years and at long last, I’m getting around to reviewing it. Oops.
I remember enough though, sp here goes.
Like the headline says, it takes several episodes to really find it’s groove. The first seven-ish feel more like set up, which does feel kind of necessary with the title being what it is and so heartbreak is a must for the beginning. Our leads don’t really get to shine together until later, but when they do it’s pretty great.
I will also admit to being a little blindsided because during the setup of the series, the vibe between Xing Yun and Xia Ke was very different than what it was after. Maybe I’m remembering incorrectly, but there was a definite shift in attitude.
But, I loved the office dynamic, loved the Xing Yun’s work bestie (work bestie’s outfits are literal goals. For me anyway.) There’s the stupid misunderstandings and the typical breakup around ep. 19 or so, but thankfully it doesn’t last too long.
This drama will always be nostalgic for me and I hope to watch it again soon. Maybe when my watchlist is a little smaller. Either way, a good fluffy sort of watch with angst sprinkled in for funzies.

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Emo with a fluffy exterior

Honestly, this was among the first dramas I watched during summer of 2020. From the description, you’d expect something like any other romcom drama until you notice that it’s 41 episodes long and you start to wonder, “Gosh, what else did they put into this?”
Well, it’s the characters lives on display. We delve into Tong Nian and Han Shangyan’s lives. We see what they want and how they go about getting it. We see their problems, both internal and external as they navigate a relationship between a pair who’s 10 years apart in addition to pursuing their own ambitions. But it’s not just our main leads who shine. We have the entire K&K team and Han Shangyan’s former teammates and the drama that drove them apart in prior years. Tong Nian’s friends and roommates and family get their own lives outside the main leads and altogether it makes the cast and characters so much richer and it really adds to the world building.
There’s obviously more to say. There’s the token “let’s break up” that happens once or twice in a drama of this length, the reasons for which I didn’t like in the slightest. There are parts where the main leads are (gasp) unlikeable and do stupid things but it makes you love them for their mistakes and their struggle to push forward.
A good drama that I look back on quite fondly for both the stark presentation of humanity, the chemistry between the leads, and the acting of Yang Zi and Li Xian.

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Pretty awesome relationship

I’ve watched a fair amount of Chinese dramas over the last couple years and I can count on my hands the amount of relationships that make sense to me. There are so many tropes and so many rehashing of tropes, but most dramas have very pretty people falling in love with pretty people and that’s the basis of the relationship.
But this drama actually did something you don’t see very often: The main leads were friends before they were a couple and it wasn’t just that the show SAID they were friends. You could feel the relationship. They had common interests, both loved to read, they could hold a conversation, they could play the little word game when they were on the bus. Yes, both the leads were pretty people, but the relationship felt very organic and natural and it made the watching experience altogether more enjoyable. The tropes are definitely still present, and the editing is just like any other rom-com, all the light and slow-mo and whatnot, but there was substance to the main couple and for that alone, I’d watch this again and again.

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Typical, yet not at all

I’d recently discovered how much I like Chinese murder mysteries, and I’d heard good things about this one, so I decided to give it a go last Thanksgiving.
I appreciated the fact that there’s constant twists and turns and one of the bigger ones was pretty much undetectable (to me at least).
The one pitfall that I can think of is one that many mystery dramas have in common and that’s the “waiting till the last moment to find the perfect evidence.” In this drama it kind of makes sense because there’s a point in time where you can’t really tell who’s telling the truth and so you’re not really sold on anyone as the culprit. By the last episode, you think you know who did it and the detectives know who did it, but the evidence points to something else and you feel a little annoyed because it’s the only possible answer, but then out of nowhere, a random person has evidence! And the detectives convince them to give it over and in the last, like, ten minutes, the criminal is convicted.
So in that respect it was sort of irritating, but the rest was really good. Very suspenseful, very heartbreaking. Lots of difficult moments regarding the abuse of several characters. Lots of discussion on difficult topics, but all in all a very interesting drama.

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