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Jina

United States

Jina

United States
A Familiar Stranger chinese drama review
Completed
A Familiar Stranger
0 people found this review helpful
by Jina
Nov 6, 2022
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

This drama proves how much mini cdramas are improving

I have so much to say but don't know if I'll be coherent enough. If you've been keeping an eye on the Chinese drama entertainment world, you'll know that they've been venturing a lot into the short series world. Just in the past couple of years, the short series have grown tremendously and have ranged from being 2min-14min long and varied in production quality.

Usually, the 2min-per-episode kind of dramas are low in plot and acting, but hit all the fun clichés and tropes. The dramas that are longer in length are typically better in all areas: soundtrack, acting, characters, plot, and production. I put the dramas "Queen of Attack," "The Killer is also Romantic," and "Night of Love with You" on the list of better short cdramas. Now, I am also adding this drama to the list.

This drama is directed by the same person who did "The Killer is also Romantic" and that can already tell you a lot about the cinematography and quality of directing and editing. This person does a fantastic job and I trust them wholeheartedly. They understand how to tell the story VISUALLY and there are many memorable moments in this drama that I adore. (Fireflies! Scene!)

I love the soundtrack and listen to it weekly.

The acting for these fairly unknown actors are prett good, but I especially have to applaud Cheng Lei. I was one of his first fans since his first drama in "Queen of Attack" and he also did great in this drama. I suspect that he'll make it big in the future. He has the charisma for these kind of roles: the stoic or cold male leads who have a vulnerability to him. But overall, I think all the actors did a good job. Their characters, too, were intriguing and there was nobody that I found annoying or unnecessary. (It's a short drama so the plot is tightly woven throughout.) Best of all, the main couple was SO good. (The tension!? The kisses!?) The male lead was such a good kind of male lead where he was trusting despite otherwise and was protective and loving. The female lead was smart and always tried to do the right thing by the male lead. I loved her.

The only reason why I didn't give it a full 10 was because of 1 plot choice that was done near the end of the drama. I thought it was a strange decision, but it didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the show.

If you're looking for a good short Chinese drama, this is it. Tip: watch it on Viki. The channel mgtv on youtube generally sucks with subtitles so I wouldn't trust that. Happy watching!
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