Michelle Topham

Direction was superb, with the director bringing out performances that were so incredible from the leads, they are probably the best I've ever seen from Japanese actors.

So annoying. Especially when the break is the first half of a story that we then have to wait 5 days to get its conclusion.

Ooh thanks. Always looking for something that's well-produced/directed/acted without requiring me sign up the next 2 years of my life :) Will check them out.

I wouldn't advise anyone start with a Season 4 of any drama or series, but especially this one, as you would miss so much of the backstory of each of the main characters you wouldn't understand a huge part of the story. Especially when it comes to the Emperor and the Princess, and the various main characters relationships with them. All of that is vital to the plot.

That being said, I agree with you on enjoying short dramas, and especially this one. I'm incredibly busy and, some days, even though I write about Chinese dramas, the thought of starting yet another 40-episode series of 45 minutes per episode that's going to take up the better part of my week makes me head to either a short drama or an anime where I can watch a 20-minute episode in a 12-episode series and be done with it :)

Have so many long dramas on my 'Too Watch' list but the way my life never seems to slow down, I doubt I'll ever get to most of them :(

Also recommend the ongoing The Miracles -- 18 mins per episode, 2 episodes per standalone story, featuring some of C-dramas top actors, and every story ends with such a feelgood feeling. Haven't loved a multi-storied drama this much in a long time.

It's a long, long, long time since I've watched a drama from ANY country that comprises many different stories and that I have loved EVERY single episode.

This is wonderful. And so many absolutely brilliant actors.

Don't understand why this is rated so low? It's just as good as the preceding three seasons and, for anyone incredibly busy (ie: me, right now), it's nice to have shorter episodes for a change.

Performances are just as solid as previous seasons, Guo Shi Min has done an excellent job directing and, to me at least, the cinematography is even prettier. Both cases are interesting too. Enjoyed this immensely,

In fact, I'd say I like this even more than I enjoyed Season 3.

EDIT: Currently also enjoying another short drama, The Miracles -- 18 mins per episode, brilliant stories that are completed in just 2 episodes, and such a feelgood drama with such satisfying endings to every story.

After getting a bit draggy with a few unnecessary episodes, the last six or seven episodes are excellent, with the writer doing a superb job wrapping everything up.

Happy to also see Su Beilu finally getting some character growth from about Ep 24 onwards. Would have loved it far more if it had been earlier on in the series, but better late than never. Even BiZhi has more of a personality in the last few episodes.

Overall, I'm giving it a 9 out of 10.

It has faults, the main one, IMO, being Su Beilu who I would have loved to see be less immature but... the positives far outweigh the negatives, and what the writer, director and cast (all of them) were able to pull off is very well worth a watch.

Hoping for a Season 2, as would love to see even more growth from Su Beilu (again, Leon Leong did a brilliant job in the role and I'll be looking for more of his dramas. I just wasn't a particular fan of the character for the first 23 episodes or so).

Mine too. Always liked him, but loved him so much in Why Is He Still Single? (and loved the rest of the cast too :), that I now plan to watch his new dramas as soon as they drop!

Finally finished this one (too many dramas on my plate -- nothing wrong with STOTD itself :).

Season 3 started out pretty weak with its first case, IMO, but improved very very quickly with its second one. Performances also greatly improved after the first handful of episodes (nowhere near as amateurishly dramatic from about Ep 5 onwards) and, overall, the new director did a spectacular job taking the series over.

As you'll see from my earlier comments, I was dubious about this one at first, but am now thrilled to say it turned out to be just as good as Season 1, and almost as good as Season 2 (the best season so far). Definitely recommend if you're not enjoying the first three or four episodes as much as I didn't, as it turned out to be one of the best dramas of the year. Again. :)

Tomorrow.

8 character visuals also dropped today and, man, after Wallace Huo's Why Is He Still Single? surprisingly ended up being in my Top 3 dramas of the year (LOVED that drama so much!), I'm really looking forward to this one. Aren't you? :) Especially as the plot sounds amazing.

https://baozibuns.com/wallace-huos-forever-young-drops-8-character-visuals-as-c-drama-premieres-tomorrow/

If you go back and edit your comment you can hit 'Spoiler' and then it will be hidden from anyone else who doesn't want to know what happens :) It's a good rule of thumb to have -- if anything might give away the plot, just hide it with the 'Spoiler' button under the post :)

Please put your comments in a Spoiler. You've just spoilt the ending for anyone who hasn't watched it. I haven't. So thanks for that.

Because the best bits are better than its worst. Besides, why do YOU care? :)

(Never understand that. People who think they know "better" than other people watching a drama, so spend time criticizing those who refuse to overlook its flaws). Bizarre. And kind of immature).

No believable bromance as there's zero chemistry between the two, and Gao Wei Guang as Bi Zhi is as bland as Su Bei Lu is annoying.

Ends about 10 minutes into Episode 18 from what I can remember? It runs for 2 1/2 episodes and, yep, it doesn't make any sense even having it in there as it has no connection to the drama's actual story so doesn't do anything to move the plot forward, it just delays it while we waste time on a story that takes place in a dream.

I managed to watch all 2 1/2 episodes in about 20 minutes though as I watched it on such a high speed, ROTFL. You might want to do the same.

Yep. I'm absolutely loving this and I'm not usually a fan of dramas with many stand-alone stories as I generally prefer longer narratives.

I think this works especially well, though, because each story (at least so far) is 2 episodes long, so there's more time to develop the plot and the characters. And yep, the casts are amazing, aren't they? Perfectly cast.

The writing and directing too, also by numerous screenwriters and directors, is superb. Such a lovely little gem that, unfortunately, most international C-drama viewers seem to be skipping. (It's performing very well in China, and is likely to earn a high Douban score as the comments so far are overwhelmingly positive. So Yay!!! :).

This is excellent.

Sure, it's a drama that was made to show how developed and economically successful Shenzhen has become, but the stories don't hit you over the head with that 'pro-Shenzhen, pro-China' narrative. (Not that there's anything wrong with being pro-Shenzhen or pro-China, they both have a lot to be proud of).

Instead, they're just quiet, interesting and often funny stories about ordinary people trying to better their lives.

On Episode 9, and have loved every story so far, and the casts are superb. ❤️

Always interesting to see A-list actors in these more realistic dramas without all the heavy make-up they usually wear as well, as you quickly realize they're really just average looking Chinese guys. People you wouldn't look twice at if they weren't famous.😀

I watched all 2 1/2 episodes on 3 x speed :) Completely unnecessary, zero relevance to the main plot, and a waste of time. Wouldn't have minded it if it was just a few minutes, but it went on and on and on :)

The whole thing is superficial when it comes to their relationship with Bi Zhi an incredibly bland character (he's not in the donghua) and Su Bei Lu immature and annoying. They're so mismatched it doesn't work for me.

In the donghua, the two are on a more or less equal footing both intelligence-wise and emotional intelligence-wise. In this, Bi Zhi is a bland, personality-less uncle-like character while Su Bei Li is a toddler on steroids - in intelligence and emotions.

So yep, I agree with you the bromance isn't working in this. Casting has something to do with it, but so does the writing. A shame, as the donghua is excellent, so I was really hoping for a solid drama, but it's been disappointing. Not the worst thing I've ever watched by far as the cinematography, sets, costumes etc are nice, and the plot is relatively interesting (some stories more so than others) but nowhere near what it could have been. And especially not when it comes to the bromance.

Wow, this devolved. We've now got some random boring game plot starring Su Bei Lu's uninteresting friend and the employees of the pet clinic for 2 1/2 episodes just so we can stretch the story out further. Yawn.