Call Me Chihiro portrays the lonely life of a woman named Chihiro. She used to work as a sex-worker, but quit and is now working at a Bento Shop.

Chihiro character is really complex and have many layers. Her character can be interpreted in many different ways, since the movie does not explicitly specify what her character is. However, still, her character is very relatable for a loner like myself.

She's portrayed as a warm-hearted and cheerful woman, who doesn't cover her past as a sex-worker. Though that reason is what makes her look so distant and empty - as people who knows her, don't actually know her nor her real backstory.

As a loner myself, I relate to her very much, as my close friend often describe my character as similar to Chihiro.

Overall, it was a great movie. Ngl, I would like the writers to elaborate more on Chihiro's backstory.

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A breath of fresh air

Aside from being streamed on Netflix (yay) - which is so convenient, this drama is very enjoyable to watch. The story is just right, very relaxing and easy to watch, yet it draws you back every episode.

I gotta praise all the actors who play magnificent jobs at portraying their characters, especially Ra Mi-Ran and Lee Do-Hyun. While Ra Mi-Ran's acting is not surprising to be that excellent, Le Do-Hyun micro-expressions are so superb as he's able to convey the emotions down to the last bits of details.

However, aside from all the greatness of the drama, the production and directions still a tad lacking in a way - as there were some off-key cut scenes that kind of feel awkward in a way, which affects the scene's entire flow. Maybe it's just me being overly fuzzy, nevertheless, the drama was a great watch and very worth-it.

As titled, it really was a breath of fresh air in terms of k-drama in 2023.

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Might change later depending on ending

Considering that the Dr Romantic series had an immense success in both seasons 1&2, I had high expectations for season 3. There were only a few K-dramas that I heavily invested in - and Dr. Romantic is one of them. At the end of season 2, the ending was satisfactory, in which KSB (Dr Kim) got what he wanted, which was to build a trauma centre for those in need. I also loved the fact that he worked with his enemy-turned-bestie building their dreams together. Plus the romance between Cha Eun Jae and Seo Woo Jin bloomed at the end - though it was a bit vague.

So when they announced season 3, I was excited, mainly because the heavy dramas were finished; the main antagonist from seasons 1 and 2 was finished, so I thought the drama will be focused more on the daily lives of doctors and their occupational values. However, once I watched season 3, not only the father-in-law card was played, it seems like the reason why the antagonist was that way was the same as previous seasons - only more "makjang".

This review might change, but tbh was a bit disappointed.

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as usual in rom-com - main lead's chemistry saves the show

The "Love Scenery" story concept feels familiar with existing dramas, whereas a celebrity female lead and genius male lead who great at playing video game. Ring a bell? Yes, it was "You Are My Glory". While "You Are My Glory" is a rom-com drama standard for me, this drama feels a tad lacking, thus I gave it a 8/10. I'm going to share my final thoughts of the drama overall.

Negatives:
- The online pen-pal thing was initially a smart move from the writers. It can bring a yo-yo effect to the viewers - push&pull in terms of encounters. There are many scenarios where FL and ML could've met, but because of certain circumstances, they failed at encountering. However, the virtual meeting between the leads started to become draggy - where it took 10 episodes to be MUTUALLY aware of each other's appearance in real life - approx. 8 hours combined! and it took them extra 4 episodes for them to actually know each other personally (like having conversations on a deeper level). It was honestly frustrating to watch and took me a while to finish this drama - as I often lost interest while watching.

- The gaming scenes take too much space in the drama. Love Scenery has 31 episodes with 40 minutes each. It could’ve been easily squished into 20 episodes focusing on the main leads "real life" interactions. In result, the drama feels more like a plain recorded game live-streaming rather than a romantic drama. It feels too IT/tech/action drama to me.

- I also don’t get why FL kept concealing her identity. Clearly, she is comfortable conversing with ML and according to her, he has a good first impression as he has a nice voice. Moreover, it’s not like she has a complex from her looks, after all, she’s a well-known celebrity and very good-looking. Thus, that part is the most confusing to me..

- Moreover, I don’t entirely dislike FL character but I’m not too fond of her either. The FL is somewhat a pushover, who basically can’t say no to everyone. Clearly, she knows SML likes her, why not make a clear line in the relationship, at least to make SML back the F off.

- The Second Male Lead character is too hard to digest. While age-gap dramas become immensely popular in Asian dramas these days, it can be quite sensitive to work with - especially when the age-gap is above 15-20 years. In this case, the FL and SML have a 24 years gap. Don't get me wrong, some age-gap dramas can be enjoyable to watch, but it becomes distasteful if one party is creating unwanted force in the relationship - it went terribly wrong and icky (to be blunt). The SML could’ve been just a sweet good-looking older character who sincerely takes care of FL (become a safe-space older brother), but his opportunist, possessive and manipulative character makes him look creepy and shameless - and gave me the “creepy stalker-ish preverted-uncle vibes”. (ok, i mean I kept thinking about how this guy could've been her father). If they're going to do a wide age-gap, why not do something sweet and not toxic? In addition, one of the most ickiest things was when ML quickly shuts down any male interactions with FL. Not only this “shut-down potential competition” thing kind-of turns me off no matter how good looking the ML is, when the male is 24 years older? Too much. Furthermore, he kept trying despite knowing FL attracted other man.
Not to be harsh, but if they decided to write SML like this, at least find an actor that is the same age - if not, slightly older (like 3-5 years) than FL - to make SML character less creepy.

- This is a plus, but I laughed my ass off how how ridiculous this scene is : when FL had a vocal polyps and needed surgery, she came to ML for comfort. SML found out her condition as went straight to her in case she needs comforting. SML asked her if she was okay, which, she said she's okay (because she has all the comfort she needed from ML). and you know what SML replied, he said, "how can you be okay when you can potentially lose your voice". I mean, thanks for the reminder? It's so PATHETIC, like she does not need any comfort, and yet, this creep is intentionally creating stress for her to come to him..

- The genre of gaming romance is overused in Chinese dramas.

- To be overly fuzzy, the drama poster is kind of misleading, yes the ML can play violin really well, but it is not the main characterization in the ML’s character. Before watching the drama, I thought the ML was a violinist with a side-hobby as a computer geek - and both FL and ML work in a classical music industry.

Positives:
- Though the leads has an age-gap (5 years), which is not much to begin with - but still they managed to act with overflowing chemistry. In reference to "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", the chemistry in this drama is on the same level - which I appreciate very much.

- I love how Lin Yi played a completely different character than other characters he had previously worked.

- ML isn't portrayed as your typical ice-god character - instead, ML is playful and sneaky.

- The story concept is warm and easy to digest. Though the plot-writing isn't perfect, the overall story itself is great. I gotta admit, the story concept feels a tad basic rom-com to me, but it is enjoyable to watch nevertheless.

- Bonus: ML is extremely good looking - especially in the scene where he overheard FL’s conversation in the changing room.

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A makjang hidden in "life-genre" clothing

The beginning plot seems very promising. However, it was starting to shift from mid to end episodes. The overall plot's premise is to portray the difficulty of a woman surrounding a male-dominated job. Not only FL experienced bias and discrimination because of her gender, she also has to face her mother, who disapproves her career choice. In short, it is a story of a modern-time female warrior against prejudice and insane challenges throughout her career.

Starting off by the main characters:
The FL who is hard-working and strives to be the best at her job. She doesn't take any bullshit from anyone and extremely confident - as it shows in her sassiness.
The ML is your typical icy-god male lead, who seems perfect on the outside, but also have flaws (as seen in his mental trauma regarding his ex-girlfriend's death).

What I dislike about the drama in general:
- As I said, the plot seems very promising in the beginning, but the writers started to drift the drama genre to melodrama. The melodrama genre is a double-edged sword, while it's fine for a drama to have melodramatic moments for a touch of thrill, it can also create a draggy plot line - especially where the drama contains 39 episodes and slow-paced.
- The romantic story is minimal and not in a pleasant way. It felt somehow lacking in chemistry and the relationship felt forced and rushed. Sure, there are some "eyes flirting" or sparks along the way, but the couple somehow fit more as co-workers/mentor-student.
- I also don't appreciate how draggy this mother-daughter conflict with dead-ends. After all the drama writers bring to us, the best excuse they can come out with was "your mother was afraid of losing you". Excuse me? This is the mother who sided with her own daughter's harasser. Not only that, when her superior decided to drop the blame on FL, FL's mother decided to work against her daughter. It's very contradicting to the excuse. She could've gone to jail if something went wrong, or she could've spent her life blamed for someone's death. It's basically the same - if not - worse than losing her daughter. FL's mom is either written badly by the writers, or just plain dumb for a lawyer/mother.
- The ending is too rushed as it felt like the writers gave what the viewers wanted on the last bits of episodes. It felt ingenuine, unconnected, and unrealistic. Even in the last episode, the writers chose to put conflict between the two main leads, which somehow felt like the writers are trying too hard to grab opportunity till the last bits.
- I think it's happening too often, where the writers put the most important plot at the end of the drama, and they rushed it till the end. Yes, this could've been prevented if they follow the basic "beginning, climax, ending" rule. But this drama is more beginning-------dragy---------climaxend.

What I like about the drama:
- The FL's character is refreshing, always love actress' works as she's excellent at portraying her characters. I've been a fan of her since "Go Ahead".
- ML is charming and good looking, and I also love how he implicitly turned explicitly cares about FL. Too bad his character is not written in the best way.

In conclusion, the drama could've been better if they focus more on FL's inspiring journey as a pilot. Instead, they chose to focus on creating a makjang out of a drama that is supposed to be empowering.

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a journey of independent woman's success

This review is directed towards drama watchers who get paranoid about betrayals (like me), so I'm saving you time and mentality by breaking down the characters in the drama.

*BEGINNINGS*

Ning Meng (FL) is an intelligent and hard-working worker who dreams of becoming an investor. However, because of HR's urgency to find a secretary, she was given false promises to work temporarily as a secretary. Not knowing that it's been three years since she became a secretary, she decided to change her career path since being a secretary leads to nowhere in her career planning.

Lu Ji Ming (ML) is a successful investor and FL's boss. He's arrogant and selfish - it shows how he treats the people around him. He's very dependent on FL with his daily tasks and gave FL not only work-related stuff but also his personal stuff. As FL stated, she became more of a nanny than a secretary.

I hate comparing dramas, but I feel like it is necessary to point out a few details: (yup, this is a rant)
*take "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (WWWSK)" for example:

- ML in MOMO is very unbearable to watch. Don't get me wrong, the actor is exceptionally charming and attractive, but his actions angered me throughout the drama. The writer chose a storyline where ML shows childish behaviour when falling in love. MOMO and WWWSK are similar in terms of a boss, who's very dependent on a capable secretary, and tries to convince the secretary to stay. But WWWSK is an excellent example of ML doing childish behaviour that is acceptable in some ways.

- However, MOMO's ML is very different, as they show the worst ML I have watched in drama history - even worse than Dao Ming Si. Sure, deep deep deep down, ML cares about FL in a way, but that does not excuse his toxic behaviour. Not only did he put FL in her place, aka downplayed her, but he also took the secretary job for granted.

- ML is also very misogynistic. I don't care about his upcoming character development, but his comments should not be taken lightly. This drama is the first series where I want FL not to be associated with ML anymore. I feel bad for FL becoming a doormat to her boss.

- Also, as I saw comments on VIKI, I realized many people still defend this behaviour - saying that deep down he cares for her. I don't care if he cares for her; if anyone were put in FL's position, it would scar them for life. Don't people know that, or just because he's hot, his toxicity is downplayed? My question is, what if a less-attractive male is the one who did all of that? Would people still go to defend him?

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*MID DRAMA*

As I reached half of the drama (Episode 16), ML got a slight character development, where he slowly learned how to soften his arrogant attitude. As shown in the previous episode, we got a back story of ML's traumatic childhood experience, where his dad behaves exactly like ML. It explains how ML got his toxic behaviours but doesn't excuse his current actions. The writer is trying to gain sympathy towards ML's actions; however, they still don't gain mine.

As for the side characters:
- I love ML's friend, who is the polar opposite of ML. He respects FL and also treats people nicely. I admire him for his level of patience in dealing with ML.
- I also love how Xu Si Tian got her character development. Though it doesn't show in her work ethic, at least not explicitly, I love that she befriended FL and knows how to give up her one-sided love. Unlike other annoying SFLs who dwell on a man that treats her harshly, she knows her limit and decides not to pursue it as it's not worth it. My favourite scene would be when Xu Si Tian, ML's friend, and FL go RV camping and ignore ML's calls.
- I admire FL's current boss/mentor, Shi Ying. She trains FL in a way that she hoped someone would teach her in the past. She's also empowered and changed FL's self-perception by constructing her self-confidence. Unlike FL's old boss, Shi Ying recognized FL's talents and helped her nurture those talents.
- As for right now, I am still determining the true nature of SML, but it smells fishy to me. There are no sparks in his eye, which led me to question his real intentions in approaching FL. I hope FL doesn't do anything stupid, believing in delusions that could've hurt her.

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*END/CONCLUSION*

FINAL CHARACTERS:
- We finally get to see ML's character development. Both ML and SML have character improvements. Though their personalities are somewhat intentionally polished, the memories of their past toxicity still linger in my mind.

- In the last four episodes, we can see ML was struggling, and not to be harsh, he deserves that. Humbling experience may bring a good change in his character, and I was right - through his struggles and people looking down on him, I can see that his rude and arrogant personality turned 180º.

- FL is still admirable as ever; not only is her character so inspiring, but she has also improved over time. Her struggles and challenges helped her become more mature professionally.

- However, I still had mixed feelings when FL chose to leave the company as soon as she got a promotion. On the bright side, I appreciate her loyalty and striving to be independent by starting a start-up business. At the same time, I question her real intention for leaving the company. Is it for the man she loves or her ambition to become successful on her own?

- Though SML actions are unforgivable, it's still understandable. As he got trauma from his ex-girlfriend because of betrayal, he seems to have difficulty letting go of that incident. His ending, however, seems too rushed and polished but somewhat decent.

- FL's best friend's EX-boyfriend was such trash. I changed my mind about ML becoming the worst character as he got the worst character award throughout the show. He does illegal stuff and is also a serial cheater who got his mistress pregnant. Honestly, seeing him makes me sick to my stomach and also traumatizing. I wish the director had elaborated more on his suffering and consequences. Putting him in jail is not cutting it for me.

- The most admirable character in the show is FL's boss/mentor. Seeing her supporting women is inspiring. Tbh, I wish that I had a mentor/friend like her, who I could depend on.

- Bonus: ML's ex-one-sided-love, Han Yi Meng, is also very mature. Usually, in this situation, where a person just broke up, they choose to find a rebound. I'm glad she didn't use ML as her rebound or take advantage of the situation. Once she realized ML had feelings for FL, she chose to leave and advised ML - which is such a mature move.

STORY:
- I gave it a 9/10 because of some issues. Too bad I could've given this drama a 10/10 if they had better story-writing. This drama is very slow-paced. Sure, many good dramas are slow-paced, but I feel like the climax of this drama happened in the end, especially in the last five episodes. Thus, the ending feels too rushed for me.

- As for the whole drama, I find it easy to understand, despite my inferiority with numbers and stocks.

I will end this review by mentioning the best quote in the drama:

"Whether you succeed or not is what others think of you.
Whether or not you are happy is decided by your own self."

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A drama full of unbearable characters

I don't know what the writers are thinking while making this drama. The only likeable and logical character in this drama is the Female Lead. Let me start off by breaking the characters:

- Male Lead is very unlikeable in the beginning, instead, the Female Lead is the only one that makes sense to me. And yet the writers tried hard to make him appeared as a "saint" too. In the corporate world, especially in the industry where making sales are significant, every employees must be diligent and focused on reaching the target sales in order for the firm to operate. And yet, as the branch manager, ML chose to not lead the employees and chose the line "most important thing is people" bullshit. Yes, in property business, all of the elements need to be considered, including the providing the clients' needs and wants. However, most clients that they faced are too severe, to the point where the firm became the client's personal problem solver.
- Male lead also takes business too personal, which can be very unprofessional at times. For example, when one of the client decided to buy a house for his mistress. This situation led for the firm becoming a punching bag for both the husband, the wife, and the cheater. ML doesn't want to sell the house, but FL is different. She sold the house to the husband&mistress, which led her being slapped by the wife. In the end, ML said the slap is worth it. I have mix feelings about this situation. True, the situation sucks, but property agents are NOT marriage counsellor, nor private investigator. At this point, rather than not liking ML in this situation, I blame more on the writer, who prolong this situation just to make more episodes. Rather than showing us a good drama with the agents buying houses of their dreams, the writers chose to show makjang of a client's family situations, in which the scenes are very off-topic and unrelated to the entire plot line.
- As for other characters in the drama (the FL's mom) - I don't know if these situations are realistically happen in real life, but most of them are pretty relatable for my family sadly. I especially empathized with the FL family situation since my dad is in the similar situation as her. Yes, as much as unrealistic it seems, my dad too, also becomes the black sheep in the family, where he becomes the punching bag to everyone. I especially empathized where FL's mom extort all of her money for the siblings.
- The clients are very unbearable to watch, hence I skipped most of the scenes. I grew up in a Chinese family and surrounding, so it seems pretty realistic to me too. I don't want to judge, but yes, these clients actions happen in real life.

Overall, the drama is decent, but not to the point where it deserves the title "underrated drama". It's just that I don't understand why the writers purposely prolong these unnecessary plot line, are they trying too hard to reach 53 episodes? I feel like this should've been an office setting drama, but it somehow became a makjang (family themed drama, where the melodrama plot is often exaggerated). I just wished that they removed those unrelated scenes, instead, they could've focused more on the important events, such as the relationship between the Leads. Too bad, if this drama has 32 episodes, focusing on the daily life of a property agents and became a feel good drama, this drama could've been easily became a hit, or at least get higher ratings.

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A collection of stereotypes combined into one drama

Firstly, I wanted to explain why I titled the review as such. After watching the entire series, I felt that the writers wrote the characters based off of gender stereotypes. Female characters portrayed as somebody who acts based on emotions, and Male characters who uses brain. Generally, I do not think much watching dramas like this, but it just came across that way to me, and I can't un-think it.

To explain, most of the female characters were portrayed as weak individuals, who do whatever emotions tell them to do no matter the stake. A great example of this scenario is how they portrayed Gao Zi Tong. I know that she's supposed to be an evil character, but her actions does not make any sense - which brings me to think that the only possible explanation is because of her emotions. Another example is how Zhou Su Ying (ML's sister) chose to act immaturely when she found out FL dates her brother - and have a scandal with her idol.

While all the ladies portrayed that way, the males were portrayed logically. ML has good character, very put together, and smart. The drama writer chose a classic "god-like" ML, where he's an introvert, who acts cold, and all the females are drooling over him.

*To break down the characters throughout the drama:
- My first impression of the FL was rather distasteful. At the beginning of the drama, the FL seems to act bratty and spoiled, despite her age, which is 27 years old. The scene where she asks her manager to fetch her best clothes to seduce ML leaves a bad taste. More example of this behaviour is how FL woke up from anaesthesia, and the first thing she said was if she injured her face. She should've asked if there were people who got hurt by accident, but instead, her narcissistic behaviour popped out. Thus to conclude this FL's behaviour in the beginning of the drama, her character would fit more into the annoying 2nd FL in a love triangle.
Moreover, many tend to downplay how severe careless driving is. Based on the drama, FL drove carelessly, which caused an accident. Many tend to overlook that incident, and the drama turned me off at the beginning. Thus I skipped the accident scene right away.
However, after progressing through the drama, I saw character development thankfully. She became a nice person and also well composed, unlike her character before she met ML. Too bad that the writers made her too forgiving for her own good.

- The first impression of the ML, too, was not good. What irks me is when ML tried to ask FL to leave right after a sasaeng attacked FL. I understand his intention to discharge FL because FL is too immature and disturbs ML's work; however, I feel like ML has no sympathy. It's unmannered to evict someone who was just attacked and not ask them if they were okay first.
After watching the drama, he too had a major character development. I'm not sure if it's a character development or it's his true nature all along, but I'm happy with his character at the mid-to-end episodes when he gets warmer.

The side characters:
- I feel like it's necessary to discuss the CEO, who I think is the biggest villain in the story. I don't get why such CEO still stands and not getting canceled after doing such inexcusable and unprofessional business strategy. Clearly, after Xu Jia Wei confessed his side of the story during his Live, he mentioned that the entire scandal was set up by the CEO, and yet we didn't see the ugly ass in jail.
- As for the second villain in the story, Gao Zi Tong, she's badly written as her entire evil purpose does not make any sense. Sure, her complex and jealousy gets to her, but is it enough to do such stupid things on the internet that could potentially ruin her career altogether?

For the entire story:
I think the story is nothing new or refreshing. It's basically a carbon copy of dramas that existed. I can't say that this drama is a copy of " You Are My Glory" since this novel came out a year before, however, as much as I hate to compare, "You Are My Glory" is the perfect example of "nothing new" drama that have an excellent story writing. However, I am not saying that this drama is the worst of the worst, just average. If you love dramas that feels familiar, maybe this might be enjoyable for you.

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This is totally my opinion and preference as a drama watcher

I gave this drama two chances and I still have a hard time finishing the drama for some reason. For the first time that I jumped to this drama, I couldn't bear FL's acting, thus I dropped it as I reached episode 3. Maybe some people enjoyed her acting, but not for me - it's just a personal preference I guess. However, the second time that I tried watching the drama, the story too is just unbearable to watch. I tried, I really tried to hold in and watch the drama. I usually gave up early once I found out that the drama is not to my liking, but since Moonlight has relatively high ratings, I thought maybe I should give it a try and hopefully the drama will progress. But after watching half of the drama, I couldn't bear it anymore.

Firstly, the ML is somewhat "okay". His beginnings are pretty annoying in many ways. I don't like how he take the FL's job for granted. Although I am not a writer, I work as a graphic designer specializes in publishing, so I can empathize how writers carefully selected their editors to publish their work, especially if the writer is well-known in the industry - the pressure might double than the less-known/beginners. However, it doesn't excuse his behaviour of slaving the FL doing housework and stuff just so the FL can edit his work. FL had no choice but to comply - as her job depends on it. After progressing from his "unacceptable" behaviours, he kind of had a slight character development, but that's just as far as he went. Before reaching episode 20, he obviously fell for the FL, and the writers chose to went with the "one-sided love by bullying the female target" - which obviously get very old and overused in every drama.

Now, let's jump to the FL, which I think is one of the biggest reasons why I dropped the drama. This is just totally my preference and my taste as a viewer, but I prefer Female Leads that are eloquent and mature in terms of how they speak. They don't have to be a girl crush or savage, but I would appreciate Female Leads that acts their age. Moreover, I find it kind of creepy for a mid-20s grown-women or older who do baby talks, or acts like a 5 year old girl having an episode in front of grown men. I don't see any good purpose of women doing that nor do I see any bright side from those actions.
Now, you might be wondering, it's just Yu Shu Xin's natural voice, what can she do about it? and the answer is, no, she intentionally made it like that in this drama. I've seen her other work, "A Romance of the Little Forest", where she got serious and confront the bullies, and I live for her doing that.
Now the baby-like actions that annoyed and cringed the heck out of me so much that I can't get it out of my head - is the scene where FL and ML doing what seem like editing ML's new book in ML's office, and ML somehow got annoyed at FL, so FL got scared and immediately faced towards a wall and acts like a 5 year old girl who wants to buy a barbie doll but rejected by her mom. --> if you're still confused to what scene this is, it's the scene where FL walked barefoot accidentally in the house, and ML reached her sandals and gave it to her.

I've seen the ending, since I wanted to see the ending before completely dropping the drama. The ending honestly seems rather great. I think FL got a huge character development, and so does the ML. I love that both FL and ML got the happy ending, I think the viewers who watched all episodes deserve that. In conclusion, I think the drama's original plot seems interesting, but it's just how the actress/director/writer portray the FL, which honestly irks me. Too bad that I dropped this drama, I really want to like it.

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A warm and fuzzy rom-com drama with a touch of thrill

Before this drama finished airing on Netflix, I avoided the drama for some reason. I eventually came to watch the drama because it is convenient as I am a Netflix subscriber and as it turns out, it is available within the Canada region. The plot is very easy to watch, but not boring - as they have melodramatic plots as well.

A little overview of the drama:
Choi Chi Yeol (ML) is a well known and successful private instructor who is also known as one trillion won man. Nam Haeng Seon (FL) is an early-retired athlete who owns a small side-dishes business. FL has a teenage kid who excels in her studies, a brother who has Asperger's Syndrome, and a best friend who helped her with her business.

The drama could be just like any other rom-com drama, however, they have a good script writing, which led this drama getting a high-rating. What I love about this drama is how they portray each individual's flaws - as dramas who has "rich man poor woman" theme often portray the man as a perfect all rounder and untouchable. In fact, the ML has many flaws, and he succeeded by his own effort, which I appreciate very much. On the other hand, FL is okay in her economic perspective, not too poor and not rich either. However, she got a full loving family that stands by her side.

What I admired very much is how FL is very kind-hearted, to the point where she quit her future athlete career to take care of her abandoned niece (now as her daughter). She is very selfless and always want to help people in need, just like her mother.

The story tells how ML has many mental health issues due to stress primarily, which causes him to become malnourished most of the time. However, after he came across FL's side dishes coincidentally, he was reminded of the time where he had no money but was taken care of by an Ajumma. He immediately felt warm after tasting the food, which led him to the FL.

I also love FL's daughter because she's very mature for her age. Despite being only in high-school, her behaviour seems very put-together and this can be seen as how she is beloved by her friends- plus she has brains too!

As for the sides characters, the drama portrays how rich families has many problems, especially when it comes to how they raise their children. For instance, Cho Soo Hee chose to become a dotting mom and her daughter has mental health issues that resulted from her being a perfectionist. Meanwhile, Jang Seo Jin, who's also a well respected lawyer, chose to become an extreme tiger mom, where she pushed her sons to become "perfect" in her eyes no matter the cost. In fact, one of her sons became a "Hikikomori" where he locked himself in a room without any life, purpose and motivation because of her.

In the end, though Cho Soo Hee became somewhat a changed woman, Jang Seo Jin is the one who has the most character development, which I love. She has peace with her husband, and her sons, where she took her Hikkomori son on a trip together. And we can see that in the end, her son surprised her in her office in the middle of his military break and shared a warm hug.

All in all, the drama was very enjoyable to watch. I'd say, if I have one thing to complain, the chemistry between the 2 leads are not the best as I don't see any sparks between them. Usually it is harder to make a chemistry work in the public eye, since the leads has an age gap, but to take "Romance as a Bonus Book" for an example of an age-gap drama that can show a very good chemistry between the lead. However, aside from the chemistry issue, I think the drama is worth the watch.

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A classic 15 year old teenage cliche drama

I watch this drama because of Wei Zhe Ming and stayed because of him too. Too bad that the script writing is not great, despite having a potential to be a unique rom-com drama.

The story:
I feel like the story lacks so many things. Aside from bad character writing, which I am going to discuss later in the review, the story is just too cheesy where it starts to feel unrealistic. For instance, where there are too many "show-off" confrontations where the character defends the loved ones in the "high-school" drama manner. For example, FL's sister has been a hot-topic gossip in her office, claiming that she became the youngest director and have a celebrity love interest because of her cunning behaviour. The FL's sister love interest quickly confront the gossip ladies, but what should have been a romantic-hero moment, the scene felt somewhat cheesy and goosebumps-worthy.
I also don't love the plot, which is very overused in every romantic-comedy drama - rich man poor woman, cold man warm woman, love triangles, misunderstandings, and contract relationship. I'm not trying to compare Chinese and Korean drama (don't get me wrong, both countries dramas has their own goods and bads) but, based on the similar drama about contract marriages - "Because this is my first life", is a good example of classic romantic-comedy with good story-writing. Though the concept of contract-marriages like both BTIMFL and PAC are not very relevant anymore in the real world, BTIMFL still has realistic touches that can be shown in the characters relationships. Meanwhile, PAC had the potential to become like that, but wasted in the end.

The characters:
- I don't like how the FL character's portrayed in this drama. Sure, she's a very nice person, but too nice to the point where she's too dumb. Yes, she was conned not once, but twice by people using the same tactic. Sure, the drama should only be entertainment purposes, but it's just dumb if you look at it. And the way she backed out when the con-man (her cousin) had the potential to put in jail for 10 years. In the end, she didn't even ask for her money back, and it was almost $400k, which is a huge amount of money. Furthermore, it's the compensation money from her dad too, which plus the consideration of her dad's dream to buy a house, that money should've been somewhat special to her. But yeah, I just don't understand the forgiveness when her cousin literally bled her dry.
- The worst character in the drama has to be FL's best friend Gao Zhi Yi (GZY). I thought drama besties are supposed to be lit, but in this case, she doesn't pass the vibe check. The level of her toxicity, I don't even know where to begin. I just felt bad watching FL's other best friend, Lin Nuo (LN), who's also GZY's ex-boyfriend. In the story, Gao Zhi Yi had a string of failed relationships, where she got problematic men only. The sole reason why GZY and LN broke up is because the bitch got bored. Yes, you heard me right, because she was bored. And at the end, she still has the audacity to beg LN back together, aka hellhole. Sure, I can understand people who cannot get out of toxic relationship, I know how hard it is. But in this case, GZY is just too immature, where she CHOSE to enter toxic relationships because it was rather fun - until she realized LN is good to her and for her.
- And Lawyer Meng Ran too, he clearly knows the FL is married, yet he still pursues her. His reasonings are not sincere too - as it's just plain reasoning: because she's kind, cute, hard-working. I'm sorry, but this is coming from a man who literally said FL's not that pretty in the beginning.

The acting:
- Though I admit, I like Wei Zhe Ming because of his acting and looks from "Unforgettable Love", I feel like the characters he portrayed between "Unforgettable Love" and "Perfect and Casual" are far too similar. I should probably critic on his acting in Unforgettable Love instead because that drama came out later than this drama. But all in all, he did a decent job I'd say.
- I feel like Xu Ruo Han still have to work on her acting skills, but considering this is her television drama debut, I'd say she did a pretty decent job. But to critic her acting skills, her expressions can come out as somewhat awkward and flat in certain situations, mostly when she did a "thinking" , or "talking to yourself" scenes.

To conclude, this drama isn't something new. I have to say, this drama is way too similar to "Because This is My First Life" where they had a contract marriage based out of certain circumstances, and also the love triangle with a married woman. However, considering how the drama is how it is, it can be a decent refresher to watchers who are looking for a break from watching some heavy melodrama. I don't recommend it for watchers who got goosebumps on cheesy cliches though.

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Not excellent, but certainly not bad either

I feel like this drama is very in-line with Sung Hoon's 2 dramas, which are "My Secret Romance" and "Noble My Love". It feels very 2015 romance cliche to me. Maybe because the three of them involves rich CEO male lead, and poor woman, with ML being playfully teasing FL because he wants to pursue FL?

I don't think this drama is revolutionary and memorable, as I watched this in 2021, and came back watching it in 2023 with forgetting most of the plot. However, aside from not being the best script, Zhao Lu Si's acting skills still as excellent as ever. People kept saying that she acts like that in every drama - but what is wrong with that as long as it fits the character in the drama. I also love Liu Te's appearance in the drama as well.

As for the love story, It can be considered rather a mixture between romantic-comedy and melodrama, as it involves some heavy family & business dramas.
The ending feels unsettling for me. For personal taste, I'd like to see some karma for the bad characters, it's just how I am, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But they don't show Gu An Xin's step sister, stepmom, dad's endings that I'd prefer. Instead, they only show how the sister is living a somewhat decent life, stepmother woken up from bed in a hospital, or the dad who has dementia and didn't appear in the show's ending. For me, I'd like for the dad to admit to his mistakes and apologize heavily for his terrible actions toward his own daughter AND her mom. After all, her mom's death is totally her dad's and stepmom's fault. But no, they get a somewhat decent ending for cornering someone until she's dead. But that's my issue.

Aside from all, this drama feels very hallmark-y to me. But if it's your drama taste, you might enjoy this drama.

Ps. Is it just me or the main leads can pass as a sibling? they both really look alike. Probably because they have similar face and nose structure? and their eyes shape are kinda similar too!

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a rom-com drama that follows every asian drama rom-com traditions

(I haven't finished the drama yet, and will watch the rest to complete this review, but this is what I have so far)

Why I titled my review that way, I'll explain all that in this review:
- The most important thing is how ML and FL have that "accident", I'm sure you all know how all rom-coms have an accident where ML saves FL from falling, or they both have accidental fall which results in an act of affection; which in this case, a kiss.
- They have a helicopter mom who is very close minded and have an obsessive disorder (Yu Yan's mom)
- Multiple love triangle. In this case, the drama has too many love triangles, rectangles, or even more, that I lost count. If you put it on a pin-board, it's going to look like a spider's web ngl.
- Childhood friend and coincidentally reunited cliche (as if they're meant for each other or may even call it destiny)
- Enemies to lovers

As for the characters, as much as I wanted to like them, almost none of them are likeable. I think I only like Tang Xue (FL) and Yu Yan (2nd ML) so far. But to explain the rest of the main characters:

- Li Yu Bing (ML): I don't hate him, but I don't love his character either. From the beginning, he bullied FL because he had a traumatic past which led him to bully FL. I understand the reasoning behind his actions, but still, his bullying got too far. I'd say if he bully FL in acts of revenge like this, doesn't it make him the same person he hate? After he's done with the bullying, he suddenly have attraction to the FL? I find the character a little inconsistent, but totally not impossible, just a tad confusing.

- Biang Cheng: I have no words. He's just too impossible for me to like his character, or even understand him. I get it if he's feeling guilty over FL's sports accident, but if he were to pursue FL again, he might bring the incident all over again. Plus, I hate the way he treats FL as if he's pursuing a business deal. Pursuing love should not be forced nor be political. Making evil schemes and plans should only get her further away from him. He's either so dumb, or totally have narcissistic god-complex, where he thinks all girls are drooling over him.

- Zhou Ran (FL's cousin): I don't like her attitude, I don't like her style choices, I don't like her voice, just everything. Nothing to do with the actress, which I actually find her pretty, but I can't stand her voice. Her voice sounds like there's a rock that's stuck in her throat for real. I'm from a Chinese descendant, and I still have problems where I find it uncomfortable with people speaking like that intentionally. Do people really dig that kind of stuff? I don't cringe towards people who has natural voice like that, but in this case, you can obviously tell the voice was intentional. Moreover, I can't stand people who are pretentious like that.

- BONUS: Yu Yan's mom: I feel like it's necessary to talk about her as a rant. She might be given as the worst mother in Chinese drama history, maybe more than Dao Ming Si's mom from Meteor Garden lol. I can't even explain her character, just pure evil. I don't usually laugh at serious matters, but when she called out FL to talk, I actually laughed at the whole conversation because it's soo absurd. She told FL that FL has a sharp tongue, when she herself has trash in her mouth (when she brought up FL parents in the conversation saying that they didn't educate her well).

As for the drama entirely, I don't think it is something memorable nor something new, at least not yet (because I haven't finished the drama), but it was somewhat enjoyable. I don't know why, but this drama didn't hook me completely, since I ended up skipping a lot of parts and lost-focus sometimes. Moreover, the lip-syncing is seriously giving me too much cringe, especially where they had the school festival thing where students get to perform, in which, I totally blame the director. Is it hard to film a video where the lips match the song? If they were to do a lip-syncing scene, just play the damn song while shooting the scene and make the actors sing accordingly like when they do in music videos - and when they edit, just match the song to the person's mouth. What is so hard about that? Even me as a 13 years old back then - had to make a music video as part of a computer course assignment - can edit wayy better than this lip syncing. Do better! seriously

However, if you love romcom drama who follows cliches by the book, this drama might be for you.

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It's not my cup of tea, but somehow enjoyed it

I had a very high expectation of this drama for many reasons. Almost everyone gave it a 10/10 reviews and says this drama is very addictive to watch. Plus the plot seems interesting, 2 mature successful individuals who are very hard-working, which they happened to be childhood friends at the same time. The only thing that stopped me from starting this drama is how the Male Lead is Fu Pei from PYHOMS. I'm a big fan of PYHOMS but they portrayed Fu Pei as a toxic person who played FL's heart.

Again, I had a very high expectation of this drama, but left with disappointment. I feel like some parts of the drama don't make any sense. Some of the examples I'm talking about are:
- How the FL did not recognize her own childhood friend. At first I thought she had a memory loss or something happened to her head - because there is no way she did not remember. As they stated, they are childhood friends from grade school, which moments like this are not easy to forget. Plus, as I remembered, the FL remembers every detail of the conversations she had with her childhood friend. Idk if she's stereotyping by thinking her childhood friends used to be on the chubby side, he needs to grow up like that too. Furthermore, unless someone had multiple plastic surgeries, at least, someone can recognize their own childhood friends no? Or if the ML has the same name as her childhood friend, shouldn't the name ring a bell or at least giving a benefit of the doubt? This is the part I don't understand.
- I also don't understand how the ML doesn't give the medical summary of a patient to FL in the beginning. Why chose to hide it? Isn't her work supposed to be protecting hospital's peace and image? or make the ML's life easier by preventing ML's from possible lawsuits in the future? Sure, I know too well, doctor's role and responsibility are very important. I come from a family of doctors, I know that too well. But the FL's role is equally important too as she prevents any future chaos that will happen in the hospital if things are not taken care of immediately. But no, the ML's chose to play around FL to get her attention, which I think is very unprofessional and immature. According to the entire plot/summary, the ML is supposed to be composed, professional, smart neurosurgeon that achieved success from his young age.
- I also don't understand the FL's naivety - where she chose to follow the con-man inner circle to investigate by herself. Especially the part where she went outside the hospital to investigate the conman. Did she not see the security? or why didn't she report to the police about this matter?
- As for Qin Chu too. She liked ML for the longest time, 12 years - that is 4380 days! They met everyday from her school days, basically almost everyday for 12 years long! Didn't she have any bravery to confess? Or if 12 years is not working out for her, shouldn't she take the hint by knowing that the ML considers the relationship completely platonic? As far as I know, having an unrequited love is quite a harsh reality, it completely drains your mentality, but 12 years without a confession? It may happened to someone as I am not saying it is completely impossible, but I've never heard something like that happened where one having an unrequited love for more than 10 years without any confession or bravery involved.
- Xiong Jing Jing (FL's annoying colleague) too - I don't understand why someone like her is hired in the law firm anyway. I understand the concept of Nepo baby, it realistically happens in real life too - where someone got in because of nepotism. Her dad is a very successful lawyer so I guess she got in because of connections too. The part I don't understand is where she tried multiple times to bribe the co-workers/her superiors, and it's the HR representative at that. Law companies are dealing with laws mainly, and they should've known far too well that the act of bribery is something not to be taken lightly. So, as for someone who's still an intern at that who keep attempting to bribe the higher-ups with gifts, and she kept hired and not fired yet? Does the HR not know if Xiong Jing Jing already bribe her way through in the early stages of her career, she might do something like that too in the future?
- (this is totally my taste so) not to mention, Zhou Cheng Cheng's poor choice of clothing 😂

Aside from all that, the chemistry between the 2 leads are too good to the point where I thought they are dating in real life. I also love the story as it portrays 2 successful individuals who climb through success by their own efforts. Also, I love FL's cousin, he may be my bias in the drama and one of the reasons why I kept going. He's too cute and funny.

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Definitely a wasted potential but, it was okay-ish

Before I dive into why I wrote a headline that way, I'd like to share the positives of this drama:
- The intro to mid plot are awesome. Both leads are tangled in an unfortunate, yet strange relationship where one is the family of the donor, and one is the family of the donor receiver.
- The entire genre and story summary is very promising - as it is supposed to be a love story between 2 successful, smart individuals from teen years.
- The friendship story is always my go-to, and love a strong and solid friendship moments.
- The chemistry between the 2 leads are very cute and refreshing.
- Almost all the characters are likeable, which is rare in the drama world.
- As an additional, the leads are very good looking people. :)

Now let's go for the negatives: (entirely based on my opinion and taste as a watcher)
- The mid-to-last episodes are totally different as it felt like a different drama compared to the first episodes. What I mean especially is how the female lead is breaking her own character. She felt like a stranger when I watched her in mid-to-end episodes.
- Female lead character is poorly developed. Every drama leads needs to have a character development. Especially in this genre where the entire story is about journey to adulthood. Yet, it felt like the female lead character became worse each episode. For instance, where the female lead misunderstood the situation and acted immaturely.
- For the side characters too. Male lead parents are supposed to be open-minded and kind. But for some reason, the writer decided to turn the father into someone very petty and low, where he manipulated female lead to convince male lead going to different university of dad's choice. It's totally out of character and doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
- The side couple story is not very interesting enough to watch. I can't comment on that one since I skipped almost all of the side couple's scenes, but it isn't convincing enough for me to actually watch the side character's story.
- Would like to see more on how smart the female lead is. Here is my issue, female leads are sometimes or often portrayed as weaker than men, and this is a great example of that. The entirety of this story is supposed to be how female lead is smart and hard-working enough to become a doctor in the future, and yet, all I see is a female who likes to play around and let the emotions come to her.
- I feel like the plot twist is very unrealistic too. What I mean is when the female lead's parents were attacked, which happened to be at the same time when the female lead was about to take national examination. Thus she had no choice but to retreat the test. I know dramas can be unrealistic for entertainment purposes, but it just left a bad taste as a viewer.

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