skizlock

Is it normal for Chinese dramas to have bad episode cuts? Do they even have quality check for editors? I mean who cuts an episode in the middle of a sentence? Its not the first time really, I have seen this with many Chinese shows.

Most episodes get cut in the most odd scenes. It feels like that the whole series was first assembled in full length, someone came and split it in episodes with an even timed axe. Later the editors added the needed delays and fade effects. So extremely odd...

It takes sometime to get used to watching shows with subtitles and making reference to the different cultural and emotive style.

I started from Korean, and its fortunate that I did it this way, cuz Korean dramas in my opinion are far far better than others. They have some mild inclinations towards some aspects but they know how to control them on screen and only rarely they become more than an annoyance. Only perhaps their work life and its politics is something I don't like at all.

I share your opinion on Japanese. They also have strong inclinations over some specific topics but in their case, most irk me the wrong way a lot. I usually can not wrap my head around anything and abandon any series in only 1-2 episodes.

Chinese on the other hand rarely produce exceptional content in my opinion. Most of their series are extremely long and filled with established troupes. They start strong, drag at the middle or late stage and finally the end is either a mess or underwhelming. I have seen so many promising series, only to get burnt in the last 10-15 episodes. And then there are the crowds chanting, how beautiful or handsome the leads are.... god I hate that troupe.

Taiwanese/Thai are satisfactory, haven't found good rated series that I disliked. Though blatant gay content makes me abandon many series. But that's a religious personal issue for me.

Overall it was a good ride. The last 2 episodes weren't as consistent with the first 4 but the quirks go away as they come in. The gangster world is also just thrown in for comic relief, or you can level it as PG rated stuff at best. The drama isn't rushed and all progression seems natural.

I think that is rather universal whether they are going to live with them or not. As that is a cultural trait. Asian societies demand marriage and children, its like something that has to happen and most see that as checkpoints in one's life.

Wow, the most important years of their lives are spent with their grandparents. Then indeed the drama correctly depicts the issues the parents face when they do get them back...

I guess the financial situations and their priorities justify this somehow. I can't imagine the mother leaving her children like that in my society.

Example:
In the beginning when the ML goes around chasing the Terrorist while destroying the city, nobody gets to know about his escapades... He comes to you bleeding out of his head and you don;t even consult the local authorities or map his movements... wow, the intelligence agencies should have committed seppoku out of shame!

The plot is so so bad that I had a hard time swallowing the first two episodes. Later shit just hits the fan. The writers really don't know how to make a plot with these themes except action so what they do is to bridge action scenes with weak plots. For the puppets (actors) that may seem plausible but I am left screaming silently...

So preemptively I dropped the series, fortunately I also found out that it has an open ending, a plot device I extremely hate.

I don't doubt their talents. Physical attraction is after all subjective. Just like how I found her friend to be much more beautiful than her.

For me talents and all are good but to actually start liking them enough to appreciate them requires me to first be attracted to them too. I did finish the drama, though reluctantly and did find it satisfactory.

One of the worst dramas I have seen.... The leads are good and their chemistry is also quite good. The plots and the main girl's alien identity is just such a cringe fest. It would have been rather better if the writer's had made her lose all her powers in the beginning and given her some intelligence.

Damn the fly in that scene in e11... Why did that had to sit on the girl's shoulder, why didn't they retake the scene without it!

Such an emotional scene and I couldn't take off my eyes from that miscreant...

Can't agree more, I just can't like Thai for some odd reason. I only came to like this one so much that I got a copy.

In comparison Chinese took some warming up and now I would say that out of 5 shows, I do come to like at least one but none have achieved the worthy to store grade yet.

Even though the show has awesome writing and the main couple does develop naturally, they do grow on you in time but the starting unfortunately in my narrow and subjective view is a hard sell.

I mean ML is not some handsome guy that I would consider as attractive enough to fall for at first sight; aloof, cold, stoic and arrogant, a typical shoujo protag (or perhaps that's why?). I have seen truly handsome actors in Chinese dramas. Even in this very drama, one can put Hu Yi Tian many levels higher than the ML, though unfortunately he does not have a similar mature aura.

The FL is also not in anyway beautiful, perhaps only a bit cute in some scenarios. And again in my own narrow subjective view, its common considering that I have seen few beautiful Chinese actresses in lead roles, instead support actresses often fare much better.

Really is it really that parents leave their young with their grandparents for years in Taiwan?

Its a good series, certainly does not deserve more than 8 as at first it was great but at the end it was dragging its feet. After the boy gets the girl, the arcs become bland, they are not boring in any case, but not very interesting either.

Still it was much better than all the Chinese series I have watched by now, I even wanted to keep this series at one point even.

Nothing happened.

Its not based on a book, its a real life story. One can get a gist on wikipedia.

Contrary to the leads, I am of the opinion that Bae Jong Ok, Lee Kyu Han and Kim Jon Soo were the stars of the show, even with less screen times.

I got very emotionally engrossed with LKH's plot. Same with KJS as he pulled off his very strange and inherently difficult role superbly. His emotional range and depth was on full display, he deserves lead roles in the future.

Im Soo Hyang was good in her strong girl act but still a bit lacking. I attribute that to her general aura and body stature instead. In comparison BJO was the real tiger in the room which does not need description, her act was magnificently crafted.

Lee Jang Woo was fine for his act, he did good but for me, he didn't really stand out. He was very interesting in the first half but then it cooled off when the three stars gained momentum.

So for me, it was very good but not great enough to make it to my collection.

There is no romance between the leading pair in the source material, the series is following. They are friends and remain friends till the end.

I indulged myself in the novel to maybe find them going the romance route and well it just went fully into the leagues aspect of the game which I don't like. Had to read over 1500 chapters of it to make sure that there is no romance nor will there be any.

Similarly I watched this series in the hopes that perhaps they will do something different but alas...

None, zero. Do not go with people saying there is subtle romance, you will be burned.

No romance plots here.