cnguyen1031
This review may contain spoilers
Here comes another long review. Sorry guys hahah. Also clearly lots of comparison to the original TW drama.
If anyone wasn't sure, this drama is a remake of the original Taiwanese drama "Prince Turns to Frog," which is definitely a classic drama that I highly recommend. There was also a remake in 2009 (I think?) with Tiffany Tang and Roy Chiu. I'm honestly kind of a fan of Xing Fei. I think she's super cute and adorable. Definitely more on the "Idol Actor" side, but I think she is actually pretty good in these types of roles.
Also as a side note, I love PTTF, but couldn't stomach the Tiffany Tang and Roy Chiu remake. I watched maybe 3 episodes and gave up (and I usually like Tiffany Tang as an actress, but something about that drama was meh.)
STORY:
The story has clearly been done before. (1 Taiwanese, 2 mainland China, and also a Korean version - idk if there was a Japanese version). They definitely made some changes to this story for the remake.
*******SPOILERS******
*******SPOILERS******
STORY CHANGES
Xu Ze Qian - Specifically splitting the story of the SML (Xu Ze Qian) and actually breaking him up into two characters - XZQ and Tai Chu. Originally, the relationship with Tai Chu and Ye Qian Yu was actually between YQY and XZQ (though not as developed because he was still in love with the SFL). I think that this had some good and bad change to it.
Good - You could tell that TC actually really liked YQY, which created a legitimate love triangle.
Bad - It made XZQ a bit -too- crazy about Fan Yun Yi. His whole story arc and character was built around her one person, whereas in the original, he had a few moments of being able to break away from that. Idk.
Shan Jun Hao's father - This was probably the biggest change that I think affected the story. In the original, SJH's father actually WAS the reason why XZQ's family was broken. So it was completely legitimate for XZQ to hold this huge grudge against the Shan family. In this version, they change it to where it was all manipulated by some former board of directors at Senwell. Personally, I think this change pushed the story into ridiculous Idol Drama world. This was a crucial story line for the original drama that really gave it some depth and some challenge, but here, they turned it into a "the ML's family was actually perfectly good in every way." It just felt like a cop-out to me.
Fan Yun Yi - In the original, she actually has a lot more dramatic things happen to her. Her skin is damaged from a broken glass window; she and SJH actually get married and then she goes a little crazy when she learns that she offered to get a divorce, etc. In this version, they definitely made it much more tame. She falls down some stairs, hits her head, and goes blind for a while, but obviously heals. It just makes the character arc less 3-D. But overall, FYY was a more reasonable character than the original version.
MINOR CHANGES (didn't affect the story as a whole, but things that I think could have been included)
The Piano- in the original drama, the two leads go to this small house that has a piano and a pool in the backyard. These two things I think really helped develop the relationship between the two leads. In PTTF, YQY actually really tried to learn how to play the piano (to honor her deceased mother) and there was more focus on this part of the story, with SJH helping her to learn how to play and them bonding over this. In this version, SJH does help her buy her mother's old piano, but other than that, this storyline just kind of ends.
The Pool - One of the times when YQY really tests SJH's love for her is when she purposely falls into the pool and waits for SJH to save her. This caused a really heart-wrenching moment because he doesn't go to save her. Just another small moment that I think really developed their relationship. In this version, SJH wasn't as cold-hearted in his actions, but more in words. So eh.
CHARACTERS:
Xing Fei's Ye Qian Yu - I think personally that I somewhat liked this version better. YQY actually wasn't as annoying as Chen Qiao En's version was in the beginning. Yes she cared about money, but she actually never did anything too over the top because of it. I think Xing Fei also just shines at these bubbly, cute type of characters. I haven't seen her do much outside of this range, but she's still a new actress.
Jin Ze's Shan Jun Hao - I think honestly SJH was the shining point for me. Not only is the actor very tall and attractive haha, but his acting was actually pretty decent. His acting as SJH and as Tong Hao really showed a versatile performance from him. He was able to really show off the cold-blooded CEO role as well as the naive, bubbly Tong Hao. Hopefully there's more coming from this actor as he's super new as well.
Others - Tai Chu I think was a big fan favorite. He was an all around good guy, rich, beautiful, and really cared for YQY even after he knew he didn't have a shot with her. But in the same thing, there was -nothing- wrong with him, which I think made the story too easy.
None of the other characters -super- stood out for me, personally.
FINAL THOUGHTS - I think it's hard to compete with a classic that has kept its place in so many people's hearts (looking at you Meteor Garden). This version wasn't bad, but it definitely doesn't have the same staying power as the original in my opinion. I think this was a decent remake, but it took the "idol drama" idea and went into overdrive. Everything was just too easy. The characters shined in one aspect, but didn't have enough dimension for me. I've rewatched the original TW version a handful of times just because of how nostalgic it felt and the chemistry between the leads. I can't imagine myself watching this version again because it was just another cutesy idol drama. However, I do think it was good enough for at least one run-through.
If anyone wasn't sure, this drama is a remake of the original Taiwanese drama "Prince Turns to Frog," which is definitely a classic drama that I highly recommend. There was also a remake in 2009 (I think?) with Tiffany Tang and Roy Chiu. I'm honestly kind of a fan of Xing Fei. I think she's super cute and adorable. Definitely more on the "Idol Actor" side, but I think she is actually pretty good in these types of roles.
Also as a side note, I love PTTF, but couldn't stomach the Tiffany Tang and Roy Chiu remake. I watched maybe 3 episodes and gave up (and I usually like Tiffany Tang as an actress, but something about that drama was meh.)
STORY:
The story has clearly been done before. (1 Taiwanese, 2 mainland China, and also a Korean version - idk if there was a Japanese version). They definitely made some changes to this story for the remake.
*******SPOILERS******
*******SPOILERS******
STORY CHANGES
Xu Ze Qian - Specifically splitting the story of the SML (Xu Ze Qian) and actually breaking him up into two characters - XZQ and Tai Chu. Originally, the relationship with Tai Chu and Ye Qian Yu was actually between YQY and XZQ (though not as developed because he was still in love with the SFL). I think that this had some good and bad change to it.
Good - You could tell that TC actually really liked YQY, which created a legitimate love triangle.
Bad - It made XZQ a bit -too- crazy about Fan Yun Yi. His whole story arc and character was built around her one person, whereas in the original, he had a few moments of being able to break away from that. Idk.
Shan Jun Hao's father - This was probably the biggest change that I think affected the story. In the original, SJH's father actually WAS the reason why XZQ's family was broken. So it was completely legitimate for XZQ to hold this huge grudge against the Shan family. In this version, they change it to where it was all manipulated by some former board of directors at Senwell. Personally, I think this change pushed the story into ridiculous Idol Drama world. This was a crucial story line for the original drama that really gave it some depth and some challenge, but here, they turned it into a "the ML's family was actually perfectly good in every way." It just felt like a cop-out to me.
Fan Yun Yi - In the original, she actually has a lot more dramatic things happen to her. Her skin is damaged from a broken glass window; she and SJH actually get married and then she goes a little crazy when she learns that she offered to get a divorce, etc. In this version, they definitely made it much more tame. She falls down some stairs, hits her head, and goes blind for a while, but obviously heals. It just makes the character arc less 3-D. But overall, FYY was a more reasonable character than the original version.
MINOR CHANGES (didn't affect the story as a whole, but things that I think could have been included)
The Piano- in the original drama, the two leads go to this small house that has a piano and a pool in the backyard. These two things I think really helped develop the relationship between the two leads. In PTTF, YQY actually really tried to learn how to play the piano (to honor her deceased mother) and there was more focus on this part of the story, with SJH helping her to learn how to play and them bonding over this. In this version, SJH does help her buy her mother's old piano, but other than that, this storyline just kind of ends.
The Pool - One of the times when YQY really tests SJH's love for her is when she purposely falls into the pool and waits for SJH to save her. This caused a really heart-wrenching moment because he doesn't go to save her. Just another small moment that I think really developed their relationship. In this version, SJH wasn't as cold-hearted in his actions, but more in words. So eh.
CHARACTERS:
Xing Fei's Ye Qian Yu - I think personally that I somewhat liked this version better. YQY actually wasn't as annoying as Chen Qiao En's version was in the beginning. Yes she cared about money, but she actually never did anything too over the top because of it. I think Xing Fei also just shines at these bubbly, cute type of characters. I haven't seen her do much outside of this range, but she's still a new actress.
Jin Ze's Shan Jun Hao - I think honestly SJH was the shining point for me. Not only is the actor very tall and attractive haha, but his acting was actually pretty decent. His acting as SJH and as Tong Hao really showed a versatile performance from him. He was able to really show off the cold-blooded CEO role as well as the naive, bubbly Tong Hao. Hopefully there's more coming from this actor as he's super new as well.
Others - Tai Chu I think was a big fan favorite. He was an all around good guy, rich, beautiful, and really cared for YQY even after he knew he didn't have a shot with her. But in the same thing, there was -nothing- wrong with him, which I think made the story too easy.
None of the other characters -super- stood out for me, personally.
FINAL THOUGHTS - I think it's hard to compete with a classic that has kept its place in so many people's hearts (looking at you Meteor Garden). This version wasn't bad, but it definitely doesn't have the same staying power as the original in my opinion. I think this was a decent remake, but it took the "idol drama" idea and went into overdrive. Everything was just too easy. The characters shined in one aspect, but didn't have enough dimension for me. I've rewatched the original TW version a handful of times just because of how nostalgic it felt and the chemistry between the leads. I can't imagine myself watching this version again because it was just another cutesy idol drama. However, I do think it was good enough for at least one run-through.
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