This drama accomplishes what others have been unable to do
This drama does something that I’ve never seen another drama do. And I’ve watched hundreds of Asian dramas of all types from all over Asia. This drama puts the main leads together fairly early on (by episode 10). But believe it or not, there are no messy breakups, no noble idiocy, no mean in-laws, and no love triangles. Yet it’s not boring at all! In fact, it’s one of the highest rated Chinese romcoms of all time. That’s because the whole cast are exceptionally good actors with great characters to portray and a fun story to tell. This drama proves that you don’t have to throw in a bunch of overused cliche drama tropes or make the main leads breakup or misunderstand each other to make a drama interesting. You really have to just watch this drama to truly appreciate what it has accomplished.
The story:
This drama doesn’t use the typical cliche drama tropes like love triangles or misunderstandings to move its storyline along. It uses real life situations that we all encounter and can relate to to move the story along and make it more interesting. Many important issues are tackled amongst the main characters and their friends such as bullying, judging someone based on appearance, using social media to attack people, jealousy, etc. It also delves into the online gaming world which is pretty interesting. Seeing the leads and their friends in the game in their online personas was a nice refreshing touch not often seen in dramas. Then the business world and all of its pitfalls was explored. Seeing it all through the college students eyes made it more interesting. They face sabotage, a hacker, a spy, and impossible deadlines. There’s quite a bit of interesting twists going on to make the plot move along and keep things interesting. All of the characters are multi dimensional and have lots of character growth which adds to the richness of the story.
The acting:
The acting is exceptional here. I know it’s rare, but I really can’t fault anyone’s acting, they’re all really good. Some may mistakenly criticize the female leads woodenness in her first few kisses, but that’s how her character was written. She’s supposed to be extremely shy and inexperienced in romantic settings. And as the drama progresses, so do her kissing scenes which I think is more realistic. No one that’s never kissed before is super comfortable with it or good at it in the beginning. And the main leads chemistry is just phenomenal. Every time they kiss (which is a lot) you can’t help but be touched. I like how they take things slow and the romance develops at a normal pace so you can see why they feel about each other the way they do. The romance is done perfectly. It’s neither too slow nor too fast. As for the side characters, they are some of the best I’ve seen in a drama. From the adorable little nerd Erxi to the judgmental language genius Cao Guang, I wouldn’t change a thing. There’s some great sismance and amazing bromance going on that’s so endearing and one of the highlights of this drama. And the parents are just too cute.
Cinematography & Set Design:
The cinematography was perfect. There’s no choppy editing or confusing scenes. Everything flows seamlessly and smoothly. The set design was quite elaborate for the work scenes. And the costumes and fight scenes for the online gaming world were superb. Overall I would say this drama had a high budget and lots of time was put into making sure everything was perfect.
If you like slice of life dramas that teach a lesson and are light and fluffy with little angst then you’ll love this one. Many of us will readily identify with the bullying and jealousy the characters encounter. But it’s the close knit friendship with everyone having each other’s backs that makes this drama so endearing. If you prefer fast paced dramas with lots of action with twists and turns at every corner, then this is not the drama for you. As far as I’m concerned, this drama is about as close to perfect as you can get. It’s one of the few dramas that I’ve watched numerous times. I especially like to watch it when I’m feeling anxious or down. It’s such a fun, upbeat, uplifting drama. You can’t help but smile when watching it. I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone that’s looking for a light sweet romcom.
The story:
This drama doesn’t use the typical cliche drama tropes like love triangles or misunderstandings to move its storyline along. It uses real life situations that we all encounter and can relate to to move the story along and make it more interesting. Many important issues are tackled amongst the main characters and their friends such as bullying, judging someone based on appearance, using social media to attack people, jealousy, etc. It also delves into the online gaming world which is pretty interesting. Seeing the leads and their friends in the game in their online personas was a nice refreshing touch not often seen in dramas. Then the business world and all of its pitfalls was explored. Seeing it all through the college students eyes made it more interesting. They face sabotage, a hacker, a spy, and impossible deadlines. There’s quite a bit of interesting twists going on to make the plot move along and keep things interesting. All of the characters are multi dimensional and have lots of character growth which adds to the richness of the story.
The acting:
The acting is exceptional here. I know it’s rare, but I really can’t fault anyone’s acting, they’re all really good. Some may mistakenly criticize the female leads woodenness in her first few kisses, but that’s how her character was written. She’s supposed to be extremely shy and inexperienced in romantic settings. And as the drama progresses, so do her kissing scenes which I think is more realistic. No one that’s never kissed before is super comfortable with it or good at it in the beginning. And the main leads chemistry is just phenomenal. Every time they kiss (which is a lot) you can’t help but be touched. I like how they take things slow and the romance develops at a normal pace so you can see why they feel about each other the way they do. The romance is done perfectly. It’s neither too slow nor too fast. As for the side characters, they are some of the best I’ve seen in a drama. From the adorable little nerd Erxi to the judgmental language genius Cao Guang, I wouldn’t change a thing. There’s some great sismance and amazing bromance going on that’s so endearing and one of the highlights of this drama. And the parents are just too cute.
Cinematography & Set Design:
The cinematography was perfect. There’s no choppy editing or confusing scenes. Everything flows seamlessly and smoothly. The set design was quite elaborate for the work scenes. And the costumes and fight scenes for the online gaming world were superb. Overall I would say this drama had a high budget and lots of time was put into making sure everything was perfect.
If you like slice of life dramas that teach a lesson and are light and fluffy with little angst then you’ll love this one. Many of us will readily identify with the bullying and jealousy the characters encounter. But it’s the close knit friendship with everyone having each other’s backs that makes this drama so endearing. If you prefer fast paced dramas with lots of action with twists and turns at every corner, then this is not the drama for you. As far as I’m concerned, this drama is about as close to perfect as you can get. It’s one of the few dramas that I’ve watched numerous times. I especially like to watch it when I’m feeling anxious or down. It’s such a fun, upbeat, uplifting drama. You can’t help but smile when watching it. I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone that’s looking for a light sweet romcom.
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