Hanah
This review may contain spoilers
TROTAR is like eating zucchini brownies - it has that additional health benefit but still tastes as good as a regular brownie. This drama manages to provide some 'food for thought' (cough) while staying as fluffy and sweet as typical romcom, if not more so.
Story/Acting: I really can't talk about the story or acting separately in this drama because both (with the production) have this nice synergistic effect that makes the drama extremely binge-worthy. At 24 episodes, the plot is not dragged out at all and story arcs finish relatively fast. It's genuinely really funny and the humor feels more original compared to other dramas. This is in part to both the well-done script writing and the actor's comedic timing and the sound effect choices. It's actually brilliant how they make serious plot points into complete jokes (in a good way). The romance was also so, so dreamy with the perfect combination of silly, sweet and serious. I particularly loved how the male lead could switch from a complete puppy to a tiger (err, the Xuanha definition of it) while remaining so devoted to the female lead. Of course, this wouldn't be possible without the actors' chemistry, which was on fire. Take out the good writing and the chemistry between these two already puts this drama on the better-than-average rating. The only points I would take off would be a somewhat weird tone shift in the last third and a little rushed pacing at the end.
Going back the the insightful commentary part, I agree what a lot of others have said about the gender equality themes. I also liked what the drama had to about character depth. What makes a strong character? One that can overcome obstacles. Are the characters we see in dramas given real obstacles or is it paper thin writing just there to make the main leads seem better? The main lead is the main lead because the story is written to make sure they come out on top. But what if is wasn't written that way? Makes me think of all the dramas I watched if those characters really strong enough to overcome their obstacles or if they even had obstacles in the first place.
Music: Loved the beginning and ending OSTs, definitely added to that fun, zippy feel
Rewatch value: Don't usually rewatch dramas but will most likely replay clips on YT
Overall: Recommend without hesitation!
Story/Acting: I really can't talk about the story or acting separately in this drama because both (with the production) have this nice synergistic effect that makes the drama extremely binge-worthy. At 24 episodes, the plot is not dragged out at all and story arcs finish relatively fast. It's genuinely really funny and the humor feels more original compared to other dramas. This is in part to both the well-done script writing and the actor's comedic timing and the sound effect choices. It's actually brilliant how they make serious plot points into complete jokes (in a good way). The romance was also so, so dreamy with the perfect combination of silly, sweet and serious. I particularly loved how the male lead could switch from a complete puppy to a tiger (err, the Xuanha definition of it) while remaining so devoted to the female lead. Of course, this wouldn't be possible without the actors' chemistry, which was on fire. Take out the good writing and the chemistry between these two already puts this drama on the better-than-average rating. The only points I would take off would be a somewhat weird tone shift in the last third and a little rushed pacing at the end.
Going back the the insightful commentary part, I agree what a lot of others have said about the gender equality themes. I also liked what the drama had to about character depth. What makes a strong character? One that can overcome obstacles. Are the characters we see in dramas given real obstacles or is it paper thin writing just there to make the main leads seem better? The main lead is the main lead because the story is written to make sure they come out on top. But what if is wasn't written that way? Makes me think of all the dramas I watched if those characters really strong enough to overcome their obstacles or if they even had obstacles in the first place.
Music: Loved the beginning and ending OSTs, definitely added to that fun, zippy feel
Rewatch value: Don't usually rewatch dramas but will most likely replay clips on YT
Overall: Recommend without hesitation!
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