Hot and sexy kiss scenes! These lovebirds are not afraid to touch. It's so natural and boy do they have chemistry. Some of the best drama kisses I've seen. That alone is huge points for this. Not to mention it is a guilty pleasure gender bender. One of the better ones out there.
Another thing I have to warn about is the audio. I bet the sound team was never allowed to do another project again. The background noise. If you listen with head phones you're gonna be shocked by what you pick up. From trains, cars, to full blown arguments by bystanders. The audio drops in volume, then booms up.
Other than that Bromance is pretty well made. A fantastic soundtrack! Trust me the songs will hit you when you're having a great mood. Wonderful cinematography. Though someone was getting a little showy with the lighting shots. Sometimes I felt like I was watching the new Star Treck movies.
Story wise Bromance tried something different, yet managed to still check up drama tropes one by one. It ended up being both refreshing and annoying. The strongest aspect of Bromance is that Zi Feng doesn't know Ya Nuo is a girl. As usual the story of why she has to pretend to be a girl is on the hilarious side, but it works. This drama is campy fun, it knows its audience and totally panders to it. I like the struggle Zi Feng feels for falling for a boy, but totally embraces love. It's beautiful and something I wish more gender benders did. It's always the story of a side character in love with the female lead, but the male lead always figures it out quickly. Zi Feng also doesn't need her to be feminine, he likes her being strong and if it's manly it's how she is. He doesn't need her to be some fragile woman.
Bromance has a fantastic cast and I loved the side stories and characters. The other main couple Na Na and Qing Yang have such a sweet romance and I loved it just as much as Zi Feng and Ya Nuo's. Though be prepared to get cuteness and not the hot passion of Zi Feng and Ya Nuo.
This also features some of the best male characters ever. Zi Feng is such an amazing male lead, so is Quing Yang. Zi Feng is fiery, but he thinks and cares. He respects people and I love how he acts. I'm so tired of rude/jerk/asshole leads. Qing Yang may be the quiet male figure, but his facial features tell so much. You quickly get enough depth to understand him. I like that he was more than the quiet dreamy male lead.
That said the endless drama tropes and clichés they have to pack in gets tiring. Not to mention that towards the ending the pacing lags and the writers get lazy. Side characters are stories are totally abandoned for a while. Yes they're picked up and given closure at the end. However, I think there were a lot of better ways to take things. Some totally awesome characters were completely abandoned! Why! Why! (Ya Nuo's cousin was one!)
That said I appreciate the message. This is light fluff considering that Zi Feng is the head of a gang. A gang that is really PG, heck most of the time G. I'm a bit confused about how they all make there money now, such as drugs trafficking is now bad. Many of the men spent time in jail. Maybe they're recovering bad guys? That aspect was a bit cloudy. Yet, it worked well. The show highlights the importance of family, forgiveness, love, unconditional love and friendship, and hope. Not to mention redemption.
A very solid gender bender. If you have a weakness for them—like me—this one is a do not miss. I won't claim it's brilliant or anything, but I enjoyed most of the show smiling and laughing. There's so much great writing, jokes, and humor. Some scenes demeaning towards women, but you got the humor backing it. ^_- The characters were all wonderful and I loved how lively Bromance stayed. While the latter episodes to get draggy, they still deliver in character story and give fans what we want! The actors are all great and I loved the chemistry the entire cast had. Not to mention Zi Feng and Ya Nuo's chemistry! I love how comfortable they are with each other. I do appreciate the sexy kissing, but sometimes real intimacy holds an even more potent punch. I'm positive you'll now right away whether this drama is for you, especially after 4. You'll either think it's cheesy and run, or be totally compelled. There are brilliant aspects to the story, but sadly brought down by cliches. I will be rewatching many short scenes—yes, the kiss scenes—for sure, but won't be in a rush to do a true rewatch.
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