Running With and Against the Wind

I love this drama for its storyline, its cast and the love story between the main leads. The script is well written and nothing is superfluous. The main leads have well-fleshed out characters and both have their flaws amidst their strong personalities. Elaine Zhong portrays a strong-minded, feisty rich girl, Jiang Hu who has to turn her family business around when she is met with tragedy and betrayal of family and friends. I think Elaine carried this character well and is able to portray the independent and self-confident woman who has smart ways of turning events to her advantage. To her, trust is the most valued aspect of relationships and she seemed to have lost her faith in trust when her family, friends and most of all, her lover seemed to have betrayed her. She grew up as a much-indulged daughter and to her, her father could do no wrong. Along the way in her quest to make sure that the family business stays relevant and thrives, she finds out truths about her father and realised that there are reasons behind the events that led to the business' downfall. Gong Jun did an excellent job as a super-confident investor, Xu Si whose beliefs in his investing profession are questioned when his action caused Jiang Hu to walk away from him. The chemistry between both leads is good and their relationship develops with the progress of the business. Like many other viewers, I feel that the ending is too abrupt and could have been fleshed out more. Nevertheless a great drama - I have already rewatched it.

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I have watched all 3 dramas on firefighters this year and I think that Bright Eyes in The Dark surpasses the other 2. Although I am a fan of Yang Yang, Fireworks of my Heart disappointed with its weak FL character, Bright Eyes in the Dark is more than a romance - it shows the dedication of a team of firefighters to their work and the conflicts it imposes on them and their families,. The camaraderie and support amongst the team members is always heart warming and the lighter moments allievate the tragic events that befall the team. But of course Bright Eyes in The Dark is also a love story - a story of a love that is selfless and not imposing. Lin Luxiao and Nanchu love with maturity, giving each other support and complete understanding. The ending is sad and not what I would have like to see but it is well executed with implied meaning instead of literal story telling. The cast performed well and Johnny Huang portrayed the role of Lin Luxiao with just the right touch, portraying a man who is knowing but who knows when to hold back. All in all - a great drama to watch but one that leaves you feeling pensive at the end.

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Some dramas have you hooked from the first episode and this is one of them. This is a drama where everything comes together. The storyline and setting are ambitious and brings one from the 1970s through some 30-40 years and along the way, we see the growth of the characters together with the growth of China. There is a place for each of the character in the story and each character is well developed. The directing and the filming portray what I imagined were the realistic settings in the 70s. Xiao Zhan plays the admirable Xiao Chunsheng who is generous and forgiving to those he considers his friends and family. Li Qin is Tong Xiaomei who is unselfish and gives love unconditionally. You can understand why these two are so suited for each other in the midst of people who get carried away by greed, selfishness and jealousy. Xiao Chunsheng and Tong Xiaomei do not give up hope even when they are betrayed and when misfortune strikes. I only wish that more of their love story was shown instead of the excessive screen time given to the second FL in the earlier episodes. This is truly a story that moves you but it would be difficult to rewatch as some of the stories are heartwrenching.

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A very watchable drama that combines stories of the tenacity of the heroine to achieve her dreams and the slow romance that builds between the leads. Tan Song Yun once again pulls off her role - this time as a dogged female pilot in the male-dominated world of pilots. She has to overcome many challenges along the way but each time keeps to her core values of what is right. Wang Kai is also excellent as a very strict and principled pilot and leader ; he is able to portray his feelings through minute facial expressions. Even though the romance was slow but the many events in the drama kept me glued and there was never a dull moment. Overall a great drama to watch and be entertained by. I highly recommend it!

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I started watching this because I was impressed with Tan SongYun's performances in Go Ahead and Road Home. She is able to portray such spunky characters that her natural personality must surely be similar. Likewise in Master of My Own, she moves from being a nerdy but spirited secretary to a confident and dedicated investor who is more interested in helping entrepreneurs achieve their dreams than the money that comes with success. This is yet another absorbing performance from Tan SongYun.
This was my first time watching Lin GengXin and I am also impressed with how he moved from portraying an arrogant and self-absorbed boss to one who becomes humbled by his experiences. However I do think that the later Lu JiMing should have maintained a bit of the swagger of his earlier self - the transformation was a bit drastic and unbelievable.
Despite the lack of romance described by many reviewers, the storyline was captivating enough to keep me watching. I will suggest you give this a go!

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This drama is a moving romance set against the backdrop of sweeping majestic landscapes with soulful and emotive music playing. You cannot help but be swept along with the love between Lu Chen and Gu Xiao through their years of separation and through the angst that both unavoidably created for the other. I have read criticisms that the drama is slow but to me, the pace of the show, the words that are unspoken but conveyed through expressions are a powerful way to convey the story. The final episode, although initially a bit of a let-down but on further reflection, is a different way of ending a story by letting the ML tell his part of the story. I am definitely going to rewatch to breakdown the nuances that I missed the first time round!

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I had read so much about this and was quite excited to watch it. I have to start by saying that although I have many criticisms about the drama, it managed to lure me to watching till the end. The main plot is interesting enough (girl from simple background meeting boys from another world) but the story gets so convoluted along the way. The leads went through one drama after another - from kidnapping, stabbing incident, lost in snowstorm, getting scammed, starvation antic etc etc - it is like the producers wanted to do multiple plots within one show. There was also an irrelevant side story (Terence and Caina) - what was that about? And the character of Dao Ming Si's mother - is it possible to have such a wicked mother who can turn around so abruptly at the end? I also didn't appreciate the dubbing - Dao Ming Si's voice sounded like a comic character. 50 episodes are too protracted and can be easily shortened as there were too many unnecessary scenes and flashbacks.

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Truly Heartwarming!

This is such a heartwarming story. I love the dynamic amongst the 3 main leads and the 2 fathers. They all portrayed their roles so well including the young actors who played the children version of the 3 leads.Tan Song Yun's acting as Li Jian Jian was brilliant; she truly depicted a character who is full of life and optimism and I couldn't help but laugh at her antics. The father, Li Hai Chao, is the parent every child aspires to have and every parent aspires to be. He has such an open and generous heart and the actor Tu Song Yan portrayal of a man who truly loves his children was so on-point. The love story between Li Jian Jian and Ling Xiao could be better developed but nevertheless it was enough to overcome my initial resistance to the idea that they are 'siblings' (they are not!).
It is a story where you wish you were part of their family and you wish that you could continue to see their story develop further but alas, all dramas must come to an end!

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I had put off watching this drama but decided to give it a go after reading the good reviews. Unfortunately I have to be a killjoy and say that I was disappointed by the drama. For me it did not live up to expectations . While the general premise of the show was good (female making it in the male-dominated gaming industry), the screenwriting was not on par and resulted in stilted dialogues. Many reviewers had also talked about the the chemistry between the leads but I did not feel that chemistry at all; I thought their interaction with each other was quite strained. I believe the show was dubbed and the synchronisation was off so this did not help to bring across any spontaneity in the dialogues. What kept me going with each episode though were the games as these were quite well portrayed (and I am not a gamer). The gaming competitions contributed to the tension that was otherwise lacking in the leads’ relationship. I also enjoyed the camaraderie amongst the team members with each member having their unique and quirky personality. I also appreciate the portrayal of the stress that the well-known gamers go through due to unreasonable expectations of fans and netizens. We have heard of too many real-life examples of these where celebrities are concerned.
To me, this drama cannot compare with other e-sports shows such as Go-go Squid or Gank Your Heart. However it is still a watchable drama if one does not have the same expectation from it.

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I am surprised to see the low ratings given to this drama. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it is comparable to Yanxi Palace. The story kept me captivated with the many going-ons and mysteries behind the characters in the Forbidden City. There is sufficient suspense and twists throughout the drama although I must admit that it was difficult at times to understand the motivation behind each character.
I like the way the stories behind the food are woven into the story and it is quite a visual feast looking at the depiction of the many dishes. In this respect, I think Royal Feast wins over Yanxi Palace as it has this added dimension.
Wu Jin Yan gives a spunky portrayal Yao Zi Jin; one would say that it is an almost similar character to Wei Ying Luo of Yanxi Palace. In Royal Feast, Xu Kai has a more substantial role compared to in Yanxi Palace and he pulls off his portrayal of the honorable prince and emperor Zhu Zhan Ji.
Overall an entertaining watch!

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I had read the reviews raving about this drama and was quite excited to follow it. However as I had just finished watching Lighter and Princess, Legally Romance did not work for me. The basic plot held a lot of promise but the execution fell flat. The first half of the series which had Qian Wei reliving her school days was quite draggy with side plots which were boring. I wanted to give up but preserved to see whether there was merit to be discovered. The series only got a bit interesting in the middle episodes but the ending episodes were rather melodramatic (with schemes to murder included) and seemed to be incongruous with the earlier part of the series and especially with a light romance. The story had little tension and I could not detect the CP between the leads. The best part of the series was Qian Wei's relationship with her father and how she came to terms with her father's death by returning to the past to bid farewell. Furthermore I just could not get past the ML's haircut. Now if only the ML had been played by Chen Feiyu or Wang Anyu.............

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The captivating script, the perfect cast, heart-stopping chemistry between the leads and the moving soundtrack make Lighter and Princess one of the top modern romance dramas. The storyline moves through several years and brings us into different phases of the leads' lives. The story is tight with enough tension, character development especially that of the main lead Li Xun and even that of the second lead Gao Jian Hong, enough heartbreak and of course, enough kisses between the leads that kept me hooked through the 36 episode. My only grouse is that the reconciliation only happened at the 2nd last episode - it would have been good to see the leads together for a longer time at the end. Chen Feiyu was perfectly cast as Li Xun, a character who is outwardly arrogant and blunt to the point of rudeness but deep down is a caring person who goes all out for the people he cares about. This care drives him to actions that seem incomprehensible and they are to his own detriment. Li Xun is an unyielding perfectionist and is very hard on himself. His love for Zhu Yun and the belief that she is better off without him drives him to break her heart and at the expense of his own heart. His words are often unbearably harsh but Zhu Yun continues to believe in him as she understands him well. Zhang Jing Yi too is correctly cast as Zhu Yun, someone who is optimistic and caring whilst also having the capacity to push herself to excellence. It was also very interesting to see Gao Jian Hong's development as a student who was initially like a 'puppy-dog' to Li Xun but ultimately, the darker side of him emerged after being unable to accept his inferiority to Li Xun.
There is never a dull moment through all the episodes and you finish the drama with a feeling of sadness that it is over. I enjoyed watching both leads and I will look out for more of their dramas.

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I watched 3 Wang Anyu's dramas consecutively - Forever Love, Falling into You and then To Fly With You. I could not believe that each could be better than the one before. Overall I would say that To Fly With You is the best of the 3 as the other two dramas were a bit 'rushed' during the last few episodes (they could have done with a few more episodes). To Fly With You was very good in terms of pacing and script development - the ending makes the viewer crave for more; however to do more would have downplayed the climax. I enjoyed watching both male and female leads as they portrayed their characters really well. Both lead characters are determined, confident and not at all defeatist; it is no wonder they fell for each other. The chemistry between them was lovely and captivating. The other characters in the drama also had their own story and whilst we get to understand more about each of them, their parts were not draggy and did not detract from the main leads' story. Most importantly the second couple was not irritating (which somehow appear to be the case in many dramas). The romance in the story is accompanied by the sports element. I enjoyed the stress portrayed by the competitions and find myself at the edge of my seat many times. This has been a great drama to watch and I am going to rewatch it again!

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Initially I wasn't sure about watching this drama as I did not like Gina Jin's character in You Are My Glory and was prejudiced against watching her again. However after watching Forever Love , I was convinced that I had to watch this for the sake of seeing Wang An Yu again. This show has changed my mind about Gina Jin as I enjoyed watching her portrayal of Luo Na. Another prejudice I had earlier was of the large age gap between the two mains but the chemistry between both leads blew away my doubts. The leads did not hold back on their intimate scenes and this is much welcomed after many dramas with stilted kisses. This drama has my favourite elements - a love relationship, a story abut striving for dreams and competition. All elements came together well. My only complaint is that the last 2 episodes were a bit rushed, as if the screenwriter ran out of steam. I think they could have stretched these 2 episodes to 4. Another factor that made me like this drama so much is that there wasn't any irritating second couple. Much of the drama focussed on the main couple with the other cast playing their supporting roles well. Altogether a wonderful drama, worthy of rewatching.

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