Birdie

Wow, the first six episodes flew by. I really like it, and this might be Zhou Ye's best role yet.

This is a FUN drama. An actual freaking romcom with good pacing. It's like a unicorn these days! I watched the first five episodes with some non-K-drama viewers, and we had a great time. I was baffled by Mi-rae and the whole AI boyfriend thing, but I was also rooting for her to sort herself out lol

Zhou Yiran and Bao Shangen have potential. They both emote well and have good line delivery. I know traffic is king or whatever, but these kinds of actors deserve good projects. It really is an unfair, unforgiving business, but a single hit is enough to change the trajectory of your career.

That said, the acting is pretty much the only thing I can really compliment this drama on. The overall pacing, directing, and storytelling leave a lot to be desired. It’s a strong plot with messy execution. It feels like they’re trying to rush everything, never letting a scene linger long enough to make a real impression. Directing and pacing are 100% the most important things in a costume drama!

The 1970s setting makes some of the romcom beats and tropes used in this drama feel very fresh. I'm impressed by how the production team managed to balance the sheer sweetness with the very real struggles of that time period. Doesn't feel constricted.

I absolutely love this drama. Period setting + romance + slice of life is my kryptonite.

The Chinese title, which translates to something like "Love in the Age of Innocence", is very fitting. You can't help but smile watching Fei Ni and Fang Muyang. I love it when I can easily imagine a couple growing old together. They are suitable precisely because they accept each other as they are. So heartwarming and so very sweet.

I really like Fang Mujing and Qu Hua as well. They provide a great contrast to our leads. Never a dull moment.

Yay!

They tend to have chemistry with pretty much everyone they pair up with, so I think they could make it work!

I’m watching both Unveil: Jadewind and How Dare You, and it just dawned on me that Bai Lu and Cheng Lei have an upcoming drama together. It could be a fun game to try to connect all these big platform C-drama actors. For starters: Bai Lu worked with Zhang Linghe, who worked with Wang Churan, who worked with Cheng Lei, who worked with Bai Lu… Wang Xingyue worked with Lu Yuxiao, who worked with Cheng Lei, who worked with Bai Lu, who worked with Wang Xingyue…! I think he's filming a modern drama with Deng Enxi, who worked with Ding Yuxi, who worked with Yu Shuxin, who worked with Zhang Linghe, who worked with Xu Ruohan, who worked with Cheng Lei... It’s almost too easy.

Can’t wait! There have been a lot of high-profile releases early this year, but this is the one I’ve been most excited about. Sun Qian is like a burst of sunshine, and Chen Feiyu always manages to charm me somehow. Guo Xiaoting and Wang Tianchen are also great.

Do you have any particular recommendations?

Watching this drama, aside from some subpar acting, the complete lack of chemistry between the main leads (which is of utmost importance in a romance-focused drama! A lot of bad shows are regarded positively because of good chemistry), and those excessive light leak overlay effects, I came to realize that I just don’t like the story of Strobe Edge at all.

At some point (about halfway through the first season) it got so tiring and repetitive. It’s just Ninako constantly thinking to herself about how much she likes Ren… but she’s fine with just being friends with him! It’s enough! But maybe she won’t be able to hold in her feelings after all… but she will! She won’t! Now he’s single, so she can admit she wants to be his girlfriend, yadda yadda yadda. That, and Ren being generally stone-faced and emotionless (and not in the charming way some characters do manage to pull off), to the point where you start questioning why FL even likes him so much in the first place.

I didn’t like Ninako, I didn’t like Ren, and I didn’t care about the other characters enough to justify my watching. Still, it's short, so I finished it. It was filmed nicely too. The 2015 movie isn’t great, but it’s better than this drama.

Yeah, it's tough to find. I only managed to watch it in Portuguese thanks to the work of a local fansub.

Anpan is the first asadora I’ve watched from start to finish in the last ten years or so, and in many ways it felt like a new experience. There’s something bittersweet about it, as you grow quite attached to the characters. I watched Amachan and Mare when I was at most 12 or 13 years old... it’s been so long and I've changed so much that I feel I should pick them up again sometime. Especially the former.

I’m currently watching Asa ga Kita (going into week 9 now), and I really like it as well.

Anata no Ban Desu is not a perfect drama by any means, but it possesses a very important quality for a mystery (and perhaps the most important of them all): it’s extremely addictive. The premise is interesting, which keeps you seated even when it doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s stylistically straightforward with some kind of strangeness lurking underneath. There are some standout performances (Nao plays the creepy Ono to perfection), and some bad ones, but it doesn’t affect the viewing experience. Oh, and the OP is great!

It made me want to finish it, turn off the television and find a good mystery book to read. I’m glad I watched this.

First episode impressions: I went in with no expectations, but I have to admit that I loved it. The main leads are really charming, and the actors suit their characters well. Very fast paced. With the story spanning multiple destinations, I’m especially excited about the beautiful backdrops. Enoshima was breathtaking.

Still, I'm afraid that this might turn into yet another case of a strong start losing momentum into a draggy middle and a meh ending (which, in my opinion, it's not only a K-drama issue... many C-dramas fall into the same pattern. I guess opinions naturally differ when it comes to that because Chinese (idol) dramas have only become exponentially more popular with international audiences relatively recently, like I would say... 2020? 2022? Which is a very short time when compared to how long K-dramas have had the upper hand in terms of global exposure). I like this story, so fingers crossed.

I also wish Netflix would release their original shows weekly. It's better for the viewers and for the production itself, as it allows for momentum and engagement to build over time. Even disappointment feels more meaningful when you’ve invested weeks into a story, allowing it space to linger in your heart.

Hu Xiu is such a likable lead.

Lovely first episode.

I didn’t expect to end up loving this so much. Ie Uru Onna has easily become one of my favorite workplace dramas. Never a boring moment with Sanchi!

I really loved the second lead couple. I was overjoyed to see them again in the special episode.

I wasn’t planning to watch this, but it’s been really good so far. It does an excellent job of portraying the characters’ contradictions.