Barbara

It's feels like oasis on chinese long drama

I watched this solely because of Chen Jingke and Youth theme. I have no issue with Esther Yu but some of her dramas that i watched were not my cup of tea and her voiceover was quite okay though and she has clear pronunciation. If you are seeing sports theme drama with slice of mystery with sprinkle of Comedy , Road to Success is one of kind in long drama. If you have another same theme, let me know so i can watch. The chemistry between Lin Wangxing and her students were quite cute. I quite enjoy the romance even it was minimal but the dynamic between Wang Fa and Lin Wangxing are amusing.

The ending was quite perfect and i recommended this drama for J-Drama enjoyer who loves youth drama.

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My Summary

I watched this drama because of Tian Xiwei. She is one of underrated thing that happened in this drama. She is Fan Chang Yu and she was born to being Fan Chang Yu. Fan Chang Yu character was like breath in the air on C-drama world. She didn't need to be rescued by ML, she gained merit with her own. She is not the smartest Female Lead but i think her EQ was quite high.
The highlight things about her is about Song Yan. She never have scrutiny against Magistrate Daughter who become new Song Yan fiancée and wants to help her to free from scumbag—a truly women support women. No matter how Mrs Kang badmouthed her and her sister, she never having grudge against her-except the part when her grandson bullied Chang Ning.
I liked this drama since they rarely have FL focused driven and i don't think ML was quite as an wallflower.

Never fans of Zhang Linghe's previous works his drama didn't match my acting aesthetic. But this time i still giving him credit when it's due. His styling was perfect for him. I quite like his eye acting; not hollow and i think it was his best performance. For the chemistry, i can feel the tension between them, even some of their recent kissing scene were safe compare to secondary lead. Xie Zheng was indeed being toned down than in novel but i think it was perfect choice, if they follow the novel i would afraid it would be like another Chinese short drama cliché story where they Yandere ML was quite ...unacceptable and it feel more humane, so Chang Yu can loved him without scrutiny . Personally, rather than they focused on his Marquis identity, Xie Zheng gained his emotional growth since he was quite 'heartless' one. The solid proof he rescue Chang Ning and Bao Er.

Okay for Li Huai An, i could understand his anger when they win the war while General He passed away. He still has pride as his disciple and feeling hurt when Fan Chang Yu wins the war while he was knock out. That's why their loveline was impossible even he has not related to We-Li political stance or without Xie Zheng presence.

The one thing that found rare in Zhuyu. Everyone gets time to shine and this is not only the Main Leads spotlight. Secondary characters and even some villain have layered dimension of their backstory. I understand the director purpose want to make Lin'an Village arch for 18 episodes.

For Yu Qian Qian about her transmigrator identity, it's quite look not important but actually explain her behaviour with Qi Min. Usual normal maiden would like to be favored by him but she prefer her freedom and prioritize his son. She used modern words and do some innovative business (if you watch Chinese short drama, you will understand she is not usual business woman from the way she talked abour membership and brand logo). Snow Kong styling was quite like Snow White and i quite support her and her son freedom.

-Lin Muran as Su Yuanqing is perfect example how his acting method quite memorable with efficient screentime. He is one-of-next top actor. But his character is like cockroach, really hard to kill.

-I have watched few of Deng Kai works in mini-drama and he was born to be villainous character and Qi Min was perfect example of his notable work. His chemistry with Snow Kong was far better than few of Deng Kai's mini drama that i watched.

-I never forget to mention child actor who played Bao Er. His scene when he got trauma by watching his father tortured maid and imagine as her mother was breathtaking. The Autopilot defense when he eats ink was quite perfectly portrayed. I hope he could get therapy for this role.

-Fan Chang Ning was not annoying as the novel and rather she is quite like little Chang Yu. The particular note is when she told Su Yuanqing as Turtle (in chinese 王八 means loser). She perfectly told story about her kidnapping experience with simpler nickname; White Hair Villain, Young Villain, Fairy Lady and its very endearing.

-Mrs Kang is another example that human is not purely evil-she basically project her insecurities to Fan Chang Yu and Fang Chang Ning.

-I quite liked Gong Sung Yin and Princess Qi Shu story is so endearing and fluff.

-Tutor Tao and Gong Sun Yin are quite relief character that needed in serious war theme drama.

The weakness about this drama is they should have 10 episode to cover all the drama and i feel General He arc is just like flash (i don't read the novel so it was kind of unfortunate) and in the alternate version they still give Qi Min-Qian Qian moment while they barely show Chang Yu and Xie Zheng child. I still giving this drama 10 since i think i can rewatch despite the packed and rushed plot about political arc. My complain is they reduced the main CP scene and add more Qi Min -Qian Qian scene.

My personal score is actually 9,75/10 but MDL have no 0.25 score so i just make it 10.

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Another disappointment

I need to breathe properly since my review will be too honest and blunt. The plot is basically Wattpad with a lot of polished changes which didn’t work in the 2020's (If this drama appears in 2010’s it will be more booming than now). Don't get me wrong, I still watch these kind of dramas in duanjus. Jing Boran actually works well as CEO without any pretentious feeling but somehow his styling makes him shorter than Sun Qian. In my mind, only two long drama actors can pull a CEO without being pretentious or greasy. The basic jerk CEO who lusts over Shang Zhitao’s body nothing to praised about him.

This is my hardest take: first of all I love 2026 Sun Qian's performance before this drama (Love in 70’s and The Guilty) but in The Early Spring makes me ask, “is this the Sun Qian i know before?” somehow her acting is regressed from her previous drama, too stiff and no emotions show in her eye especially when the main character appears together, i feel the awkwardness between them. I feel the scriptwriter made Shang Zhitao character like NPC without any emotional conflict while Luke are getting more complex about him which made me quite dissatisfied with the way. The novel version show her complex of emotion when she know her friend suicide and her not getting promoted but this drama didn't give her as morally grey FL. I feel both scriptwriter and actress are not good in this drama.

The supporting casts actually nothing special in this drama just another workplace drama with unrealistic merits since they got promoted fast and unprofessional. It didn't give you any knowledge and giving unrealistic view about work in advertising company.

I don't talk about chemistry between her and Jing Boran since i don't feel anything about them (They are still awkward especially Sun Qian until the end of episode) even though it counts as daring for Chinese Long Drama but I still appreciated their professionalism and it was this drama best feature but i don't feel any sparks for this drama. The only interesting part when Sun Yuan Zhu got suicide and the plot was too predictable, another plot holes like usual c-drama formula and yeah they ending together without any redemption for Luan Nian (this is basic work for duanju with Jing Boran as male lead). Dissapointed and never want to rewatch this.

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It was quite good story about friendship and love

I was watching The Guilty because of the premises and Sun Qian. I don't like We Da Xun acting on his previous drama and the episode is not too long, so i want to watch this and i had a feeling it won't be Happy Ending. I like how natural Sun Qian looks in this drama, it feels not pretentious.

Pure friendship, pure love, and pure family affection can all be seen in this drama. The friendship between Lu Ming, Xia Xue, and Lin Hua truly moved me. There was no turning to the dark side, no betrayal, just pure consideration for the other two, and a constant "I'll do it!" Lu Ming would risk his life to become a water ghost to earn money and try to silence Li Dong in order to protect Xia Xue.

Xia Xue gave birth to the child she wanted to abort to save their lives. Lin Hua was willing to take all the blame for them, transfer evidence, and even think about helping Lu Ming pay off his loan sharks.
Ten years later, the trio's tacit understanding remains the same, just like before, with each person thinking of the other two. Having such friends in this life is truly worthwhile.

I think Lu Ming and Xia Xue's love has even surpassed romantic love. Their love is etched into their lives. During the ten years they were separated, all they said to each other were "thank you" and "I miss you." Their love was so deep, so intense, that they were even willing to die for each other. Lu Ming and Xia Xue love is proof sometimes it doesn't have to be together to show the love. The family relationships are somewhat fragmented. Lin Hua's complete outburst for her mother, Lu Ming's parents' willingness to help him with his high-interest loans and even their savings, shows some understanding of his difficulties. Xia Xue's parenting is truly positive; even though she is the child of a rapist, she doesn't mistreat her. Ma Derong's genuine love for his granddaughter is also a surprising point. Although it was clear ten years ago that he cared deeply for Xia Xue's unborn child, in the end, this man paid the price for his son's sins with his own death. It's somewhat touching, but he's still evil, and I still can't forgive his past crimes!

If he hadn't spoiled his son, the three of them wouldn't have ended up like this. Lu Ming and Xia Xue should have had bright futures; Lin Hua could have enjoyed driving Lu Ming in the beautiful car he bought after making money. Their lives were all ruined by Ma Derong's damned son.

Lu Ming's character was so good. His death wasn't entirely for Xia Xue, but also for Lin Hua, for the innocent victims of the bombing, and for the justice he pursued his whole life.

This drama deserves to be known by people. The quality, plot, and acting are all excellent. I hope everyone can give this good drama a chance; the hard work of the dedicated creative team deserves to be seen by the public!

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Treat this drama as Unscripted Documentary

I watched this drama because i know my friends have binge watching Ao Ruipeng since he is comedian in his social media and he is basically do nothing but being himself. Sun Zhenni and Aimi are doing fine for their roles.

The problem in this drama the plot is not plotting. The scriptwriting became less effective in the later episodes make this drama is hollow in the middle. The longevity plan was indeed meticulous, but the later parts were too chaotic. It felt like many details weren't shown in the drama, making it seem rushed. The timeline in the last few episodes is very confusing. After Ling E was swapped out by the substitution talisman, she copied the "Stability Sutra" five hundred times. I remember when she came to find Changshou, she was contemplating three thousand six hundred years in the future. Isn't everything in between just a fleeting moment? I've already lost track of the timeline since she showed Jin Chan the memories inside the bubbles.

Doubt there is no next season since the production house has disbanded.

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While Promising Plot become Bogus

I was expected to get Ju Jihoon and Ha Jiwon on one drama and ends up being disappointed. The acting were quite good i have no complaint but the sole problem is execution of the story. The plot was quite promising about political figure married actress only to ends up hiding actress past about sexuality preference and cover the dark side of politic world

I quite like chemistry between the girl, Nana always gorgeous but they quite messing with the pace and it completely make me lose the way of watching this drama only forced my self since i love both of the leads and Nana.

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They dragged the misunderstanding part for too long

I watched this drama because i just want to watch modern Drama and actually the premises was not something innovative (secret love and mutual pining). but i interested with plagiarism plot. Miles Wei not playing CEO persona (well-he is lawyer but his typecast was unfortunate). The thing that i hate for this drama is Mango TV mess subtitle. Zheng He Hui Zi was okay as Ruan Yu but actually there is nothing make me remember anything about her character. I love slow burn romance but this drama was dragged for too long and it feels like i am watching usual duanju about secret love (misunderstand after misunderstand) and i lost drama sparks after they got together on episode 23. I don't buy about second pair story, their story was too boring and i ended up fast forwarding their part.

For the chemistry between Miles Wei and Zheng He Hui Zi, i still enjoy their banter and personally both of them didn't suit the school uniform costume and they didn't give any change for hairstyle since they are obviously look mature.

Did i enjoy it? i still enjoy this drama and it could be my light drama list.

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Surprisingly , it was most decent for all the versions

I watched all the version and this is only the drama i can finish since they got 10 episode so it was more fast paced so you can watch with ease and the main cast was perfect Nakajima Kento is most perfect male lead for this. Koshiba Fuka's acting is quite natural and not wooden like chinese version or too loud like korean version. Akaso Eiji looks perfect compare to second lead from another version even though i never fond of his acting. This drama has less angst since they need to cramped the time and the ending was too rushed. The chemistry could be better but i can tolerate because lack of episode to make relationship development. Actually, i rewatched this drama 3 times this year.

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Good but too many thing are missing.

Actually Shop for Killers Season 2 was not bad and the fighting scene are more intense. Lee Dong Wook and Kim Hyejun are still do good job for their acting and action scene. Okada Masaki was only for less than 1 episode like flash. Hyunri cast was a mistake and her acting are too weak compare to other supporting actors. Pasin and Minha which is my favorite characters from season 2 didn't get the spotlight and they are also the key of the story.

They included too many new character and lost the core of season 1 and lost the suspense feeling of it. I feel they killed main enemies too fast and make me lost excitement. It feels too hollow since the plot is going nowhere.

Do I hate Season 2? No. I was hope they could built pace of plot more decent.

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Nice premises with bad execution

I watched this drama while it was released because i am big fans of Kimura Takuya and Ueto Aya. The story was quite promising and interesting but it started to lose the rhythm while they shows the "plot twist". Kimura Takuya is still serving in here but his emotion range was quite limited compared to his previous drama. While Ueto Aya was barely exist because she was wearing mask (and pregnant on that time her bulge was quite obvious). The chemistry is obviously limited since they are estranged couple. And I quite love their Opening song and Video, quite simple but memorable.

Character wise, Hisashi was obviously not good man and his amnesia trop is just facade for his previous memories and knows what he had really done to his previous family and his daughter while he using his current wife and neglected his son. I quite like how Megumi attitude toward Hisashi ex wife and knows her position. Ieji's first wife trop was quite sad and the ending was too bittersweet. I quite hate episode 7-8 that's why i rate this drama only 5.5 and that man character is pissing me. P

I quite like how they show the office trop while i was barely student so i got some big clue about how workplace world would be and the politics were quite dirty. But they rushed the trop into last episode is make this drama too messy.

Unfortunately this is not the best Ueto Aya and Kimura Takuya works.

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First couple shows solid dream team.

I watched How dare You via short drama first last year but i prefer the long drama more because the first couple shows gaps for their acting skills especially the lead team. Wang Churan did good job and i think she is quite underrated actress and i quite like her humor and with Cheng Lei the teammate looks very solid compare to duanju version. The character traits shows depth of FL scheme even the romance was quite low but i prefer this couple over duanju version. Cheng Lei is quite versatile actor and one of ML i could watch since his acting was quite my taste. Personally for romance pairing they have less chemistry but i dont mind since i quite like their banter.

The cons beside the pace is the SFL one even the friendship with FL was quite heartwarming and when she died, the sadness was more shown but for the acting i prefer the SFL from duanju drama. SML was quite did great job and his villain was more convinced compare to duanju version.

I recommended How Dare You long drama version even they are not face paced.

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Tragedy which everyone face their sins.

I actually watched at the time was released and rewatched more than 20 times until now. I even brought Minato Kanae book after watching this. The episode is only Five and it revolves around Emiri's friends who become witness of Emiri death and Emiri's mother Asako are do revenge to atone Emiri friends sins. Sae, Maki and Akiko are feeling guilty since Asako brought their mistakes but only Yuka is different she handled Asako with nonchalant since she is already damaged even before Emiri death. There is little plot twist that i really like since this drama handled it well without being forced and the ending was too perfect. All of the women who acting as main character are on point especially Ando Sakura and Ikewaki Chizuru. Koizumi Kyoko proves she is not just idol who cannot acts. Recommended to watch if you like Mystery and Thriller drama.

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Hidden Gem about Women struggles in long drama

Actually i watched this because of Wang Yinglu since i quite trust her choice of script. This drama is not like usual modern long drama focused on romance. For someone who craved for plot and character development this is my hottest recommendation since it's quite underrated. Even it's about promotion film for Guizhou city, Xiao Fang stills relies on strong plot and not being dragged for few episode. This drama got family feud, comedy, how society view of woman, and making a life choice.

The screenwriter put a lot of effort into it, especially the contrast between the eldest aunt and Xiao Fang, which depicted various types of marriages. The director and cameramen put the fresh scenery and bright cinematography for everyone who wants to relax watch light drama

Wang Yinglu acting are quite versatile for her generation and the chemistry between the lead was quite okay for me but hey in this drama i'm not into the romance part so i quite interested in this drama due the women struggles. Yeah, none of the female characters are portrayed as completely independent and clear-headed from the outset and it's was quite realistic.

Whether it's the lead or the supporting characters, their character development breaks free from traditional stereotypes. The eldest aunt, having experienced a failed marriage, still compromises when choosing a boyfriend for the second time, only realizing after repeated trials that one can live well alone. The second aunt, with more life experience, initially completely depends on her husband until she's in dire straits, fights desperately, and discovers she can live the life she wants on her own, even pulling her husband out of the mire in the process. Xiao Fang, on the other hand, is free and optimistic, yet she still experiences heartbreak and disappointment during her marriage discussions with Xiao Wei. Her growth doesn't automatically accelerate just because she always knows what she wants, but at a younger age, she has already begun to follow her heart much earlier than her older aunts. What impressed me most was Xiao Fang's family; they never harshly criticize any female character's mistakes, allowing for compromise in life. This kind of portrayal is so comforting. Even the wisest grandmother in the family never used her own experience to guide her daughters and granddaughters from different eras on what to do. She always encouraged her family to listen to their own hearts. Finally, a drama doesn't simply create a "traditional standard" strong female lead, doesn't "judge" the older generation or flawed supporting characters with contemporary independent standards, and doesn't demand that female characters meet various "perfect standards" from the very beginning! Girls' growth is allowed to have differences in speed and time. It no longer uses a uniform scale to measure the progress of girls' growth. Whether they mature early or slowly transform, every stage of growth belonging to "Xiao Fang" has its own value and deserves acceptance and affirmation. It's great! PS: Actually, another highlight of Xiao Fang's family is that they never engage in "involution" within the family, accepting everyone's differences. This core of women's stories is what truly deserves to be seen.

If you want to see women view and self growth, i suggest watching this drama wont waste your time.

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Successful Old Formula

Okay i was quite picky with K-drama and actually i make some draft of my review only to be deleted by system. So I made this review quite late. Personally I think Lim Jiyeon is sole key on this drama, her characters were quite remarkable for Shin Seori to Kang Dang Shim with completely different way of speaking and she always nailed since i watched her in High Society. The chemistry between Lim Jiyeon and Heo Namjun was quite okay for me even it not on the level with overload sparks and it feels minimal due the duration since they got 14 episodes. The emotion about Seori struggles are quite emotional.

Heo Namjun as Cha Segye are quite call for current Male Lead of k-drama. Yeah Segye was quite red-flag boss in real life (when he sad, employees need to suffer to) but somehow get interested with Seori. The Romantic Comedy in this drama was quite practical and some of his speech were quite witty. Cha Segye secretary were quite talented for making impromptu comedy and the banter were quite fun to watch.

My cons about this drama was the ending was quite rushed and feels anticlimax about Mundo action. Mo Tae Hui acting stills need to be refined since most of her part was quite stiff.

Still deserve to be rewatched.

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Simple Love and Struggles Story.

I watched this before watching Zhuyu back then and actually it was quite good for realistic love on 1970's

The plot was quite realistic for Fei Ni and the girls struggles on the 70's. This drama actually it's more heavy than Xiao Fang (both drama are great, i recommend to watch both drama). Fei Ni got rejected to her dream campus and started her business to survive.

Sun Qian has 'that' chemistry with Chen Feiyu and i love their healthy dynamic in this drama-resiliance and no power inbalance between them. Their marriage era was quite natural to watch. The family crisis part was quite hit and supporting casts doing a great job. The villains are not like general traditional drama, they have another reason to do that for surviving the era. Some characters has character development, but those who are purely evil has no redemption arc and they got their deserved ending.

The cons in this drama the middle of the drama starting to dragged at ep 17-23 but i can compromised if they can make satisfying ending and the ending in Love Story in 1970 was good. Actually Fang Muyang's character development beside with Fei Ni are not quite shown in the drama. Period drama are full of propaganda and personally i don't really mind (just incase if you don't like country propaganda; just friendly reminder)

If you look some sweet yet realistic romantic period drama, you can watch this.

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