Well...I liked Jerry Yan...

Late to the game here in 2024. Was going to write a long diatribe, but if you read Manivnajfan's review, she pretty much nailed it. So I'll be brief
ML actor gets an 8 for acting, along with 3ML. went down to a 5 because I thought FL acting was really bad. Not believably hysterical. I agree one would be hysterical if a man succeeded in taking full custody of your kid and treating you like crap, but she was terrible conveying anything.

ML, yeah. total douche and treated women like dirt. But given what a psycho his mother was and how she treated him, and his father abandoning him, you can see why. I can actually see why he fell for FL. He is fascinated by how she mothers their son. That's how he falls for her. I get that he doesn't know what love is, so seeing it for the first time he is understandably drawn to it. The way he treats his kid is lovely, but handing her over to his horrible mother and letting her treat the son like sh*t is inexcusable. Also, the guilt the FL puts on him to forgive all these a*holes? First, NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! The mom guilting him into giving his liver?? "He's your father!" She's unbelievable. I won't go into his forgiving his half brother for drugging and possible raping ML's wife to make ML leave her. Others have commented.

2ML: not only won't take no for an answer but predator. stalker, harasser, sexual abuser, emotional abuser and gas lighter. You get the idea. Disgusting piece of scum. Already discussed the drugging and sexual abuse. The fact that FL lies to ML CONSTANTLY saying she wasn't with 2ML when she was. Let's him paw all over her, but still doesn't learn her lesson and stay away from him. Hurts the ML over and over and makes him cry even, after he begs her to stop hurting him.

Mother: come on. Is there really a mother who would treat a child like that? I mean, I know there are. But I don't see her motivation. She is enraged with the man who impregnated her then left her, and spends her time pushing her kid to take revenge but then when he does she slaps him? She said, "Are you seriously hurting him because you were upset about being called an illegitimate child all your life? " Um. Yeah, lady. that's what he's upset about. Then she tells him, "He hurt me, but I'm over it. Now do your duty and give him your liver." The level of manipulation by EVERYONE in this story against the ML is inexcusable.

And her grandson....um, "Give me my grandson! Leave him here! His mom doesn't get to see him anymore! We'll enroll him in a school and beat the snot out of him until he's excellent!" Why the heck does he live with the grandmother? She hates him. She doesn't know how to take care of him. Does no one see this? And the FL sees the abuse of her son by this woman and tells the son, "Tongtong, your grandmother loves you. Obey her. " This is after she yells at him and breaks his toys. I can't even with this. The son, Tongtong, is the only honest person in the show. Except....

3ML, the hero of the show.!!!!! The only one who really shows true kindness to the ML and care about the him. is honest with the FL, tells it like it is to 3FL. He watches over both the FL and the 3FL. I loved him.

Overall:
Liked:
*3ML
*ML actor. I show how shallow I am here, but I loved watching Jerry Yan. He does a fabulous job in this role. His acting was really natural. He displays a realm of emotions. His annoyance, heartbreak and tears, jealousy, love for his son, playfulness and attraction to and chemistry with the FL -- even attraction to and chemistry with his ex , all very believable and natural. . Also, he's nice to watch. Does that make me shallow? Yes. Definitely. Am I ashamed?. Yeah. A little bit. But I stand by my statement.

Hated:
*Others have said this is dubbed. All I know is that using a grown female to imitate a child like they did with Tongtong is creepy and went out of fashion in the US in the late 70s.
*everything else.

I guess that wasn't very brief after all.

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Will be rewatching it at least once a year

WOW!!!!!
I've dropped every "i became a character in a novel" rom com because they were so stupid. This one is crazy good. If you only work and sleep, and ignore your family for a few days, you can get it done in 2 days. I did it in 3, because I'm not completely irresponsible.

I stumbled into this one while waiting anxiously for the next weekly installment of "Wedding Impossible." By the second episode, I'd forgotten all about WI and really couldn't care less about it anymore. I'll probably just watch this one over again.

What I LOVED:
FL - every adjective would not do her justice., but to name a few: spunky, entertaining, delightful, able to convey silly, adorable, funny as heck and heartbreak. Actress hit it out of the park. Her comedic timing is amazing.
ML - I want to be as respectful as I can about Marcus Chung and not treat him like an object here. He's probably one of the most handsome men I've ever seen. And he is soo good in this role. ML he plays is standoffish but with an electric gaze and sensual vibes sparking off his skin. But he conveys loneliness, heart break and fear beautifully.
ML/FL chemistry: off the charts. Real love scenes here. Not pecks on the cheek and lip kisses the don't even move after they've made contact. In the one scene I felt like I was intruding and should quit being a voyeur. It's that steamy.
Story: Refreshing, well done, beautiful. For the most part GREAT story. and bonus, we get two chances to see them meet and fall hard for each other - once in the novel and once in real life. It doesn't feel repetitive.
2M: I rooted for him and adored him. The twist in the middle was out of the blue.
2FL: gooooood. She made for some amazing jealous scenes.
The pacing: 20 episodes was perfect, and the story moved along nicely.

What I didn't like:
agree with everyone who said the "real life" parts involving the family characters are out and out boring and tedious. I got the gist of things by episode 3 and started fast forwarding about half the scenes they were in. I liked every one of the other side characters.

The villains were way too cookie cutter and one dimensional. And, dang! the evil things they did were brutal. I guess I've seen that in other dramas too, pretty graphically, and these aren't graphic. But the hatred they exude requires a little more basis for me. As in, (you find this out in the first episode) my dad cheated on my mom with your mom and now I want to kill you. Really? This happens to plenty of people and they don't resort to attempted murder. The sister has so much hate. The mother is so terrible to her daughter. Why? Just not believable. Really lazy writing. That said the actors and actresses playing those roles did very well given the one-dimensional characters they had to work with. The actress playing the sister was great. Again, the character, not believable.

I took off 1 1/2 stars for these reasons, but the fact that it still got an 8.5 shows you how much I loved the story and the fl/ml together.

OST, good songs, but two played constantly. It got boring. Some really good ones only played once. A variety and more even play time among the songs would have been better.. Also didn't know ML Actor Marcus Chang sang and wrote the theme song. Dang. I just can't with this guy. Is he even human?

Watch it.

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I'll be brief.

Wasn't going to review this but doing it in response to some other reviews that I totally disagree with.
1) Agree this is not a rom com. But it is not a tragedy either (for those of you who hate crying bitterly at the end, like me, don't worry, you won't.)
2) I didn't watch the Manga beforehand, and so I will take others' word for it that f you read it you'll be disappointed in this version.
3) saw that a reviewer wrote that Shin se kyung can't act. This floors me. I think she's one of the most amazing Korean actors I've ever seen. (See Run On.) The woman kills it in every roll! Her silliness is beautiful. But more importantly, she can express raw heartbreak better than almost anyone I've seen. as well as holding emotion in and it dripping off her eyelashes.
4) agree the ost is gorgeous.
5) Had no problem with ML coming off as arrogant and narcissistic. He's a god.
6) Agree that it's slow. But I've seen far worse.
7) 2ML actor is wonderful.
8) no opinion as to whether ML actor would have been better played by someone else. I think they had chemistry. He acts cold and distant, and at first acts like the FL/"god servant" is beneath him, and falls despite his will power.
9) Agree that some aspects were slow to take shape, and agree wholeheartedly that they should have had more scenes of the god world. That was a disappointment.

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Wait....what?

OK, so. I'm not a rocket surgeon or anything but I'm pretty intelligent, and I had to watch it twice to figure out that no, I didn't miss anything. Let me assist so you don't have to waste time figuring it out (maybe this is a spoiler, but trust me, it will help you) : it was three separate stories with the ML and FL playing each character, and the three stories smashed together.. Oops, that's not right -- within one of those stories there is a time travel element (oops, spoiler), with two sets of ML and FL -- played by the same characters. So, in all four sets of FL and ML, and they all look identical. Look for a change in hair styles and dress to tell which characters you're looking at.

Storyline? Pay a kid down the street to make up a story. it will be better than this convoluted mess. The story just sucks. The ML tells these two stories to the FL. I am reminded maybe of tales of the Arabian Nights (where a virgin bride tells the king a story every night and successfully distracts him from executing her the next day after the wedding. Sounds awesome, right? Go read that. Cuz this isn't anything like that.) At first, I thought the point of the first stories was linked with the main couple. Maybe a reason for his curse and his dying everyday at 2pm or his bracelet? Maybe the stories are his earlier lives? Reincarnation? But no? I think it's not related at all? Or maybe it is. Maybe the talking cats know. (No, I'm not joking.) But they aren't telling. If you figure it out, PLEASE let me know!

Cute FL? check. as always. I've begrudgingly come to adore the actress playing the FL
because she's in three Luo Zheng movies. She grew on me. I know she does C-movies (as opposed to B and A, not C meaning "Chinese"), but this low budget mess is more of a D movie. she's adorable, and acted her part well, as she always does.

ML? Meh. Considering what the actor had to work with I will make no judgments on him.

Romance? Hmmm. let me think. They hug at the end. If you're looking for romance, skip it.

Fantasy? Fantasy buffs should run from this story.

Disclaimer: This isn't the worst story I've ever seen. Taken separately, the short stories that he tells are kind of sweet, but the main one -- with the curses, cats, glowy-wrist things, is all pretty dumb. In comparison with the reviews that I gave "1s" to -- that I detested with every fiber of my being -- this one isn't offensive or horrifying.... so that's something. It's just not good.

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I will even watch a BAD drama if Luo Zheng is in it

He was (in it). and this was (BAD.)
Where to start:

The story I guess....bottom line and you don't find this out until later: FL is not very bright because she had a high fever when she was a child, so she forgets things, acts like a child and is easily manipulated. This explains a lot about why she is the way she is.
ML recognizes her as a girl he met as a child and never forgot. Why does he like her now? If you can explain this to me, I'd appreciate it.
Enter twin-in-coma-in- hospital-and-other- twin-has-to-act-like- her- to- save-a-contract plot device, and let the antics ensue.
Every single moment he is with her, he is manipulating her. Cuz he likes her, apparently.... Could he have done this entire thing differently and wooed her without manipulating every situation? Sure. But would the writers have been paid? No. This is supposed to be a comedy. Is it funny? Is it gross? I don't know. I mean, obviously it's gross. But there are funny elements to it. Harmless because she loves him? I dunno. He doesn't actually HARM her. Unless you think manipulation is inherently harmful. But that's more philosophy and I don't have time to ponder that.

Bottom line, If you leave your brain and sense of judgment at the door, if you're looking for a very fluffy romance that is somewhat amusing, and you're wondering if you can find another Luo Zheng drama that has twins in it, (or really anything with Luo Zheng) watch it.

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TIan Xi Wei CRUSHES this

Watched this as one of my first forays into Chinese rom coms. I was at first annoyed because I thought they were making another actress look like a little adorable Yue Shen. Then I quickly forgot about the similarities and enjoyed the show. After having watched a crap load of Asian rom coms since, I've realized that the actress playing the female lead is brilliant! She's HILARIOUS. Her comedic timing and physical comedy is beautiful. If she's ad libbing some of these scenes, she's a natural genius. If she was directed, she nailed it. Watching the standoffish ML melt into a puddle pretty quickly without her being aware of it is pretty cute. A couple scenes are cringeworthy cute. The reviewer who said the ML could have been replaced by a Japanese robot is fairly accurate. But he does have some cute moments, playing off the FL. Not having watched the actor in anything else, I can't tell if it's his acting or the direction. Edit: now that I think about it, some of the best lines are when he realizes he likes her but is feeling insecure. He had me busting out laughing in some parts (esp swimming pool scenes) and it's hard to make me laugh. So, maybe he's just being directed to be stiff.

Yes, it has all the places you can fast forward if you don't enjoy the silly background filler plots. Watch it for the FL.

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Adorable! Sweet, but not too sweet.

Very refreshing rom com. Different from the normal tropey plot. Well acted. Loved the ML and FL, and grandpa. Janice Wu is, as usual, terrific. And I'm becoming a fan of the actor that plays the ML. As others have said, it's quite long. Could cut out at least 5 episodes. Long wait for FL and ML getting together, but it makes for a slow burn and sizzling romance. The side characters are dull, as others have said, and drag things down. Music is wonderful. Refreshing female lead. Intelligent, doesn't back down. ML is not abusive at all -- kind to FL.
Yes, I see that reviewers found the patriotism a little too much. For me, it was expected. It's a Chinese show. It's natural that they would include patriotism in it, especially about the pride of space exploration. It's far less than in "You Are My Glory".

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I came her to vent - major spoiler below

It was a 7.5 for me up until ep 31. cute time filler. At Episode 30 it was a nice ending, and very cute wrap up, even the ML and rival 3(ML?) resolved their issues and got together to resolve the big trauma filled issue. . The main couple's chemistry was good and really sweet. The way ML looks at FL is the best part of the chemistry. ML and FL actors are very good. I keep reading about the kissing.. I mean, I guess, compared to the other chinese dramas where they touch lips and do nothing, these are real, and not bad. But if you've ever kissed anyone, or seen a regular kiss onscreen, I mean, don't just tune in for that. You'll be disappointed.

And then episode 31 - 36 happened. Wait, what are we doing here....didn't this thing just end? sadly, it did not. Because here, I guess because the network wanted 36 episodes, they made up an enemy. ML's rival (3ML?) for 30 episodes was a conscientious, caring man terribly abused by his adoptive family who sets out to right a grievous wrong done to someone 5 years ago, does a complete 180 and becomes evil? No character building. No reasoning. just "two years later". It's completely and utterly inconsistent with his character from when we saw him as a child to age 30. What's his motivation for changing so drastically? Nothing. Calling complete bull**t on that.. For that reason, it gets a 5.5. Really disgusted with what the writers did to that character. They didn't have to find a cute girl for him and wrap it up with a bow, but dang,, make him act a in a way that is remotely similar to his character.,

If you watch it, stop at the first happy ending, episode 30.

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DRAAAAAGGGGS but I still enjoyed it

I'm late to the game on this, by 17 years. But in case anyone else is ready to watch this in 2023 here are my thoughts.

First off, the movie poster makes it look like a light-hearted comedy. It is not. FL actress is loveable in her portrayal of a charming lively girl pressed down by what she believes to be a loveless arranged marriage. It will make you think of Princess Diana a lot. Ther are many references and comparisons to Camilla and Prince Charles. 2ML actor does an excellent job portraying his heartbreak and longing. I could feel his pain and anguish in every scene. Even though many of the scenes were excessively repetitive and I fast forward some of them, I watched every single scene of 2ML's -- sometimes twice. He was riveting. The ML's mother is very well done, as a strict seemingly heartless queen, who is carrying pain and loss but trying to hold it all in.

I felt the heartbreak and hope of all the characters. I felt empathy for even the "villains". They are fleshed out and you can see the motivation for their feelings and actions. No one is all good or all bad.

the music is absolutely gorgeous. Perfect. I could listen to it every day.

Parts I hated:
Completely and utterly repetitive. Completely and utterly repetitive. Completely and utterly repetitive. You get where I'm going with this....Maybe even 4, 5, or 6 of the same scene would work. But there were dozens of repetitive scenes. We get the point. Move on, already. Could have cut at least 3 hours out of it by an editor tightening up the script.

The ML. I know it's from 2006, and the stiff, unfeeling, cold and heartless prince was probably in fashion at the time. Does he like her? Doesn't he? I totally get why he likes her. But not why she likes him. Since this is what they were going for, ML actor does a wonderful job. But back to the perplexity of why she likes him. Yes, he's attractive. She says grows to love him because she watches him and starts to understand him, and it makes her love him more. But so far (on episode 20) there is little character growth from him. You can see he cares about her, but mostly while she's sleeping. So, very little basis for her growing to care about him. And the FL reaction to his many insults: holding her tongue and taking it. Late into episode 18, 19 and 20, they could have cut 3 episodes out just by her telling him what he did to upset her. And why is he meeting with the 2FL ALL the time if he doesn't like her anymore and cares for his wife? And it doesn't make sense that he is so giddy happy with his sister, but does not let his affection show with his wife, who he has clearly grown to care for. EDIT: ML was rigid, cold and lifeless, but when his emotions finally broke free near the end, I could see how well the actor did in his portrayal. It was writing I had disliked, and not the actor's portrayal.

TINY SPOILER: and you don't have to give your old photos of your EX back to them! You can just toss them! That's another hour and misunderstanding that we didn't need. We get the idea. END SPOILER.

Overall, I'm glad I watched it. But be prepared to fast forward after the 8th time the scene repeats.

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Romance writers should be good at writing romances

still in the middle of it so I'll just lay out a few points. and they all come down to this:

Writing is important.

First: It's one thing to draw out the chemistry of the main characters before they get together. Tried and true development in all romance novels, tv shows and movies. It's quite another to drag it out and string the viewer on until so long until they no longer give a crap if they ever get together. Yeah, the phone ringing the first time right before the kiss is cute. But after the 6th time, the audience feels ripped off. Because they're here for a romance. This is the contract that you've made with them. You make the romance show, They pay to watch it and expect to get to see the romance develop between them. It doesn't happen here. And not in a refreshing way either. It's just odd. This one It reminds me of a riding in a car on a smooth street, then hitting a pothole. Then another. and another. After a while you just want to get off the road.

The cast/characters: Love the FL actress. ML actor was fantastic in Love Between Fairy and Devil. Here he plays the role of a men's starched white dress shirt. Attractive. Stiff. . He gives long stern looks. Lots of them. As a writer, you need to give the character a personality., especially one of the leads. The second couple is just sick mentally and she is desperate for trauma therapy. They only get together when they're drunk, and the third. Ugh. The third....young 3rd FL, stalking isn't ok because you're adorable. Stop throwing yourself at guys that you saw ONE TIME at a conference, showing up wherever they go, calling asking them out and buying things. It's so beneath you. Look around. You're a badass, smart, and charming.. Use your skills to go get a life. 3ML who is being pursued by this young woman, your buddy told you to tell her you aren't interested if you aren't, cuz what you're doing now is just toying with her. Instead, 3ML (who's 30) never says "Hey, young lady. I'm not interested.". He just sort of watches, confused.

The chemistry: there was some in the first few episodes. The pauses and long looks between the ML and FL. But his long looks wear thin. She's pursuing him but is getting nothing back. As in. no response whatsoever. He ignores her texts. Like the "shunning" that some religious sects do to punish someone. The fact that she keeps writing him and pursuing him when he doesn't respond, then when he is with her responds like an inanimate object, is extremely...curious.... and not at all realistic.

The romance: Are they or aren't they? Heck. the writers don't even know, much less the characters. And by episode 20 I don't' know or care either and am ready to drop it. In the middle episodes (12 - 17?) We think we're FINALLY getting somewhere.. But then we have sort of the micro-memory- loss portion of the story. Example, If I've held hands with someone, I'm thinking we've at least got something going on. But the characters, ergo the writers, seem to have the memory of a fruit fly,. Between one day and the next they seem to have no recollection of how much their relationship has developed the previous day. Example: in 20, he grabs her hand and holds it. She's stunned and doesn't know what to do.. Because they've never held hands before? Oh, no. They have. Several times. Very awkwardly, but they did. Apparently don't remember. Kisses: you know the kisses that were interrupted seven times up to now by a phone ring? She kissed him early on. Like, episode 10? (Oops, sorry, spoiler.) But every time he tries to kiss her now, she panics and runs away. Wait, are you twelve?? What are you running away for?

I might watch it till the end. Should you? If you have absolutely nothing to do, (fridge clean, garage tidied, sock drawer in order) then yeah. go for it. Would love to know what you think.

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agree badly done ending, not BAD ending, just badly filmed

I'll post when the spoiler is about to happen. It's barely anything, unless you're wondering if they get together in the end, and if you've read the other reviews you probably already know. If not, don't read after that part.

It was like being on a smooth cross country flight and then a bad landing. Or, no, wait! Eating a lovely dinner (not the most expensive kind, just a lovely tasting dinner), then being handed a bad piece of fruit at the end. You don't hate the whole meal, but you're left thinking, "what? Could they not have at least checked that last strawberry?" I'm talking about the last 3 minutes. I think I get it was meant to be artistic. Instead it just....ended. Like the author wrote a beautiful story (not the best ever but still heartfelt emotional entertainment), then forgot to save the update, and instead just sent the draft that says "put ending here."

SPOILER HERE - . What others have said -- give the ending at least three minutes of them coming back together. We've waited for this moment for 15 episodes, and they're like, "Oh, hey." As in, look like you're ENJOYING coming back together. The last three minutes loses an entire point for me. In fact until I read another review here, I didn't realize that I'd stopped the show early (it looked like it was rolling credits to me), and there was a 2 minute ending scene that I missed entirely. After watching it, meh. It didn't add anything to take the taste away from the bad strawberry.

SPOILER OVER: Also, dang people! When you are reviewing the show and checking the box that says "this review may contain spoilers", you are still allowed to write a little before you spill what the spoiler is. As in, not have the first words of your review be "I can't believe the villain turned out to be X!!!!" And yet, even though I knew that "X" was the villain, ARGH!, I don't think that deterred from my enjoyment. And really, there's more than a few villains to go around in this one.

I had no issue with her ease of entry into new Josean. It's been done before and I didn't need to see more than was shown.. She was a trailblazer in old Josean. She didn't shock easily. It showed her adaptivity.

SPOILER: The old Josean husband storyline. Yes, that was sad. But, just as they weren't meant to be the first time around, they weren't mean to be the second. Or rather, neither made the choice to make it happen. He'd always had a heart condition. He always followed her around and loved her from afar. All those years living in the same town, watching her and painting her, he could have approached her again but he didn't. The fact that she refuses to show romantic love for him in his last days the second time they meet, is consistent with faithfulness of her character in other situations. Even if she never sees him again, she's going to be faithful to the husband she chose with her heart. She did, however, make his last days easier by being his faithful friend. (On their first wedding night, she did like him and she did want him, but he died, she mourned him, and that relationship ended. Once she fell in love with his future self, she sees that they are not interchangeable.)

The plot hole that did bug me (SPOILER) - was the new husband had heart damage, it got way worse after he met her and fell in love, and was completely gone the minute she left. Uh...did I miss something? And when she came back why was it still fine?

Overall I enjoyed it. Just don't eat that last strawberry, ie. stop it 15 seconds ahead of the ending and make up your own reunion. it will be better than theirs. . then fast forward to the very very very end.

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Loved

First review here. The love story here is extraordinary. People keep referring to it as fluffy and cute. I think it is more very sweet at the beginning. I liked the ending too. Tied everything up nicely. The middle, I suppose, is fluffy -- if your definition of fluffy means tear your heart out of your chest, slam it against the wall, put it through a meat grinder and throw the pieces on the street for the wild dogs to eat. I had to fast forward to the ending to reassure myself that it would get less painful as I sobbed into my pillow. But man, it strung me along for a while.

The ML's conveying of a huge range of emotions is extraordinary. The actor is brilliant in this role. The FL plays a robot throughout a lot of the show, so has to remain emotionless. Her human versus robot emotions are beautifully done.

The rest of the cast did a great job. I'm not usually a fan of the silly comic relief characters, but they were cute and funny and I didn't want to fast forward through them like i do in other dramas.

Highly recommend it. Haven't seen any of the ML and FL's other works, but hope they both got roles worthy of their acting after this.

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