finally some good food!!

Nothing major that other reviews haven't said, so reviewing just for the vibes and putting my rambling (as usual) thoughts out there:

i would give it a 9/10 but it took me a while to get into the groove of the show (i had to skip straight to ep 4 to get the pace up) the premise and building was taking too long and i kept getting bored (li lianhua/cheng yi in the beginning didn’t excite me that much as a character bc we didnt see how op he is at crime busting, and fang duobing/zeng shunxi was too young and inexperienced at case cracking for me to feel satisfied when watching).
it was only until di feisheng (xiao shunyao) appeared when i was like FINALLY SOME GOOD FOOD (it was like ep 6 or 8 iirc) bc his visuals, the characterization,,,,, ugh
ah fei is like a sports-type male lead who is wholly focused on just being the best at martial arts but he slowly learns to trust the leads and we can tell that from the beginning he’s always had righteous and good intentions (if not good, def he has his own moral code that he sticks by, no exception).

i really enjoyed it when it was the 3 of them trusting each other (mostly) and solving cases (around when fang duobing didn’t know about di feisheng and when di feisheng forgot his memories) they make an incredible team and whenever ah fei wasnt there i got sad bc whenever ah fei is there its like lu lingfeng.. like i just know that no one can get hurt bc hes just that strong + that much 安全感

li lianhua vs nirvana in fire’s mei changsu/lin shu is really interesting and the discussion of mortality, what it means to live, and philosophical life outlooks is def something i didnt expect going into this show.

the martial arts fight scenes are super fun to watch. everyone could fight and they filmed the fight moves really well (the weiya and no stunt doubles was super impressive)

really enjoyed the costume, makeup, set design. esp the costume like not a single flop outfit the entire time for all the leads…. they always look so good (this drama made me understand cheng yi’s appeal and also to look up xiao shunyao….)

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peering through the illusion

back to watching dramas after a drought in recent months since everyone loves me + fortune writer! first drama to get me to watch and actually hold my attention.

Regeneration starts with a very strong first 6 episodes as we slowly get Fei Ke's (Jing Boran) backstory through the 4 people who knew him. Each story is riveting with unexpected twists and paints a complex portrait of our main character. Through these four stories, we see how Fei Ke interacts differently with each of them, all of the stories smearing him as a liar and a fraud. All of the cast hold their roles well, bringing an almost a Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower energy to the drama.

**Spoiler-free, non-plot-related thoughts before the spoilers:**
Lovely cinematography and pacing!! The camerawork pulls you in, matching the tone of the drama. Romantic when it needs to be with Su Qian, serious and not beating around the bush when it comes to Xuan Er's story, and showing all of the characters and their motivations with the camera. The costuming is chic and realistic, from Chen Jiajia's dressy formal wear to Fei Ke's casual sweatshirts. Jing Boran does great in these kinds of nice but sly roles, being able to take on different vibes for Fei Ke's different "personas": swanky college student, eager and ambitious college grad, charming husband. Towards the end though, when there is a need for more emotion and impact, Jing Boran's performance falls short and leaves more to be desired. My only other gripe with the acting is sometimes the way Zhou Yiran delivers her lines feels like she's struggling with enunciating the words properly (like she's specifically speaking slower in order to enunciate words well), which isn't a major issue as she's super natural in her role, but it just sometimes irks me in later eps (8-10) when her slower speech stands out more compared to everyone else's.

**SPOILERS, but nothing major**
It was around episode 8 that things started to spiral for me. Though not super crazy, it seemed like some of the explanations given to explain Fei Ke and to point out the holes in the people's stories felt a little like the writers trying to backtrack everything they told the audience in the first 6 episodes. Although the explanations are logical on the surface, The discrepancies in the portrayals of Fei Ke in them feel like the writers were trying to push all of the blame onto the four other characters for "corrupting" this pure, innocent, hardworking boy. Fei Ke had his own twisted charm in the first 6 episodes, and there were other ways to reason his character without making the audience feel like it was a "haha gotcha!" moment from the writers. It seemed like the writers wanted the charm of a morally gray character without having the consequences of writing a morally gray protagonist.

**MAJOR SPOILERS**
The first seven episodes ending with the father being called out as being manipulative would've been a great twist, maybe incorporating how ambitious and desperate Fei Ke/Li Zerui was for success into a "both were using each other" moment would've been amazing. It would've relieved Fei Ke's character of Chen Jiajia's suicide while preserving his character when interacting with Cheng Hao, Xuan Er, and Su Qian. The motivation that after being wronged in his youth during the gaokao and then coming out of jail a changed man would've been a great Count of Monte Cristo revenge plot. Instead, Fei Ke gets made into a "misunderstood anti-hero" which feels like it comes out of nowhere when the audience has spent 6-7/10 episodes of the drama thinking Fei Ke was a morally gray protagonist or a straight-up villain.

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rambly thoughts + such a dark horse drama!

Serious review: man... this is honestly my favorite drama that's come out in the past three-four years. I really didn't expect it because it wasn't pushed by IQIYI as a big IP/hot drama, but picking this up was honestly one of the best choices I've made when watching cdramas! As someone who LOVES mystery dramas with a large cast, this really hits the mark with its tight storytelling, great pacing, and lovable characters. The cases take around 3-4 episodes each, giving the writers enough time to not only flesh out the case but also how our Scooby-doo gang is connected or affected by each case. You learn more and more about each character through the cases, which is a rare thing to have BOTH character development and a great mystery in dramas these days. The production, costume and set design, the dialogue, all of it is soo beautiful and easy on the eyes, making for a comfortable but gripping watch. Since I'm updating my MDL a year and a half later, psst, I'm on my third rewatch. The hold this show has on me is no joke.

Rambling (unserious) thoughts:
LU LINGFENG…….. MY HUSBAND (jk) but he’s so…. argh he’s literally so hot the way he’s literally hotter than most leads in a ROMANCE drama like my guy is in a mystery/suspense drama and lu lingfeng has more rizz than someone who is supposed to be hot. but lu lingfeng on the other hand.. he fits the role so well. he has that kind of 英俊 appearance fitting of a young, upstanding general and he has a little bit of cuteness about him heehee

the cases are fun (watched most episodes all the way through without skipping and its not too scary and i really enjoy the vibe the show has.

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slow start but deep and meaningful at the end!

Context for my review: coming from a long time watcher of Who's the Murderer (since 2019) and other mystery variety shows from MGTV and c-ent, I'm bound to make comparisons to other shows when watching. I really enjoy shows like WTM where mystery is at the forefront or Great Escape where the story/plot holds my attention. With all of that said, SHErlock does a great job of presenting interesting and impactful cases and plays its all-female cast characteristic well, showcasing all different kinds of femininity and women can be both empathetic, strong, courageous, kind, and brave, all at the same time.

the beginning is really slow. i didnt start this show initially because the posters and the concept just looked kind of low budget but now 真香了.

starting at ep 1-2 and skipping the 先导片 was really smart of me and put me in media res so i was instantly hooked by the plot, and i really really liked how the events unfurled while the people were in the middle of it, so it felt more real than whos the murderer. tho sometimes i cringe at the mc’s having to deal with npcs to initiate the next plot, the mc’s are all so charismatic (even zhang yuqi!!) that i dont even mind that much
the cases within the big case are well told, there were still a little bit of a let down in the build up with the reveal of the final boss, but it was still so fun
its so good that i fell in love with npc’s that aren’t played by celebrities (like 安全 and 刘迎迎)
its so girls help girls and heartwarming~ 女孩真是世界上最可爱的生物!!!
it does better than whos the murderer in the 沉浸式vibe and better than great escape because its not always dark + scaring the mc’s, but more like s1 and s2 of great escape where it's less jumpscares and more mystery cracking. its not as good as whos the murderer because the cases just arent that complicated so there arent any like “wow that guy is so smart” moments but the group spirit is sooooooo fun to watch and it's so good that i dont want to leave the show behind,,,, seriously one of the best 1st seasons a show could have and i hope s2 is most of the same people and just as good!

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worth the watch, but beware of the 2nd couple

Before reading, the reason why I dropped the drama: the 2nd cp started to take up too much time and the plot kinda spiraled from there. I was also studying for exams at the time so I decided to drop because it wasn't keeping that grip on me anymore. That being said, the following are my rambly thoughts (90% positive) while I was actively watching!

its a VERY serviceable romance drama (really reminds me of it happened one summer with piper and brendan).
i think its actually sooooo good for multiple reasons
esther is sooo cute as yu meiren <3 she’s so adorable and not annoying.. she walks the thin wire between over the top dramatic and so true and genuine in her character !! like i LOVE her character cause she’s so pretty and can be a little airheaded and dumb BUT she also has a phd in ornithology and she’s a woman in stem!! and knows she can be smart and dumb !! someone who can do both i love her

you dont think esther and zbb can have any chemistry but you would be dead wrong.. the way they shot this drama and the details they show the ML and FL falling for each other (the FL getting slow-mos of the ML being attractive and hot, and the ML reaching out instinctively when he thought the FL fell.. and trying to play that off… man and then him waking up earlier than her and still holding her hand in the cave… and pretending to be asleep and continuing to hold her hand) THE DETAILS ARE WHAT GETS TO ME and like when meiren was pretending to be someone else with the bucket on her head and zbb’s like…. shy (?) smiles where hes like just SOOOOO in love with her quirkyness and even tho shes not wearing make up (one of her insecurities) he doesnt mind and his gaze is so 宠溺 its making me melt like his smiles are so…

zbb’s voice is so good. like its so deep and has the right amount of grain + rasp without it sounding like he needs to drink some water and it feels so comfortingly deep + cozy + safe -> 安全感max like

like its such a serviceable drama and i think its on par with you are my hero (for me its better but idt mom would like it) because i just love how yu meiren is smart but unapologetically dumb and a little brainless (exactly how i want to be) and is also at the same time so charming without being annoying !!!!!! so good

also looking at some of the kisses and behind the scenes videos…. about to be in for a spicy ride (also the kiss poses are so awkward poor zbb lmao)

but yeah you never wouldve thought that i would like a esther yu drama and with zbb like (i think wang hedi and ysx have more chemistry irl but zbb as zhuang yu is soooo charismatic and fits with yu meiren so well)

the actors make their characters feel real and the plot + writing makes the characters come alive and it feels so real…..

cons: there is a little bullying in the beginning (the guy thinking she’s stupid, standing her up, being a dick) but i think the redemption in the latter half is gonna make up for it so i think its okay rn (but that is also why i like it… but some ppl might not like the uh. asshole ML).

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