sulkytofu

Some random points:

Ren Min and Winwin have actually known each other since they were children; they both apparently attended the Bejing Dance Academy Secondary School together. It's really sweet as most of the dance challenge promotions for this drama come from them; Ren Min also recently sent a milk tea truck to support Winwin on his new filming set.

Ci Sha is well known as an excellent equestrian in real life; he's very, very good at riding horses, extremely active, and generally does most of his own stunts. His company is quite small (it's apparently affiliated with major companies in Hong Kong like Emperor Entertainment), but I'm glad he's finally receiving a lot more attention and even romance-heavy roles (since he's usually typecast as a villain). He chose to play Yanyun because of the character's devotion to the one he loves, and also how he's very strategic yet calm behind-the-scenes. Both Ren Min and Ci Sha were in The Longest Promise (2023) and The Rise of Ning (2024) together before this drama.

Ci Sha and Ren Min will also be on Hi6 later this week! The promo clip is here, this will be Ci Sha's first variety show appearance in his decade-long experience as an actor! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdX1B016vng

I agree with other excellent comments that outline how the plot, pacing, and narrative structure and changes of certain novel elements are quite weak and understandably criticized. It's also a shame that the OST and selection of bgm is lacking compared to other series (e.g. I'd love an OST with Ci Sha and Ren Min together, or even one with Winwin), as well as the rushed ending (which to be fair many period dramas this year have also struggled with).

But if you can get through and accept these flaws, the love story between Jinzhao and Yanyun is so beautiful to watch; where you can really see how both of them started with a mutual respect and trust in each other before turning into an all-encompassing form of lifelong devotion. They're both so equally matched in their strengths and weaknesses, two people who sincerely complement each other because of how they are both similarly competent and responsible in character. From the beginning, Yanyun who rarely trusts others and has to constantly fend off a variety of schemes and think several steps ahead for every action he takes, admires Jinzhao for her cleverness and wit; qualities that her father has always reprimanded her for instead. And for Jinzhao, Yanyun's refusal to confine or restrict her personality, and instead his combined protectiveness over her but also his willingness to support all of her goals and decisions, should be the gold standard when it comes to any leading man in a drama series.

They're by far my absolute favourite drama couple this year, and nothing else I've watched can come close to them/relieve the utter loss I feel having finished this series and knowing that I won't see another episode with them together again. I'm so glad and thankful Ci Sha and Ren Min were paired together again after their explosive chemistry (but tragic fate) in The Rise of Ning. I honestly hope everyone who is reading the reviews can go in with the knowledge of these flaws, because their chemistry and their relationship is absolutely well-worth and deserving of the praise despite some of the broader writing issues with this series.

EDIT: I also just noticed that since The Rise of Ning in 2024, Ci Sha didn't have another drama released for two years until this one (likely because he was also working on movies). He absolutely deserves more projects as a leading man and I really, really hope he and Ren Min can work together for a third collaboration in the future as I feel they have such strong romantic chemistry.

[Note: Minor spoilers in this comment!]

There were so many things I absolutely loved about this season, but also so many issues around plot, characterization, and throwing out of logic everywhere. I still absolutely enjoyed every single minute of it, but the contrast between how excellently and precise all of the fight choreography was in contrast with the incredibly lazy police procedural writing was a really stark contrast.

On the good side, the fights were SO, SO beautifully shot & filmed, with so many unique camera angles, settings, and lighting across numerous fight choreographies. This literally looked like the entire production team was absolutely showing off what they could do visually; even though the fights were absolutely beautiful to see in Season 1, they completely elevated the settings and the stakes in this season. I think it's also important that the fights themselves are deliberately filmed in ways that show character motivations and contrasts, so a huge kudos to both the cinematographers for way the camera captured everything while making sure that movements weren't repetitive/didn't feel like you were watching the same moves repeatedly, and also for the actors as they all did their stunts directly (I remember WDH + LSY joking before that some actors had a hard time memorizing all of the more complex movements).

Rain was also in a way a perfect choice to pick as a villain; partly because he already has a strong dance background + most of his top roles are action-heavy, and he's also well-known for doing his stunts. The only thing was I felt like the casting of the rest of villains was so hilarious that I just could not take them seriously every time I saw them on screen. Lee Siom and Chansung are entirely associated with comedy to me that I sometimes found it kind of odd whenever I saw them on screen (even though their performances were great as well).

But there were also major plot problems, with the issue being that even basic details and forensic skills were completely ignored. Without giving too many spoilers, there were so many precautions during the "gathering intelligence about the villains" scenes or protecting important witnesses/people involved with the villains that weren't taken. Even though Woojin and Geonwoo are not strategizers, I really felt like the team kind of needed a super analytical, complex, scheming character to balance off that dynamic (besides Min Kangyong) because otherwise it really felt like the strategizing of the villains was off-balance compared to their team instead.

Some of the details, like the whole "dark web" explainers (and the crappy graphic design of the websites), and then the "these villains are going global so we're just gonna have a man speaking English on webcam" etc. just didn't work for me. I think the focus on an underground boxing ring was awesome, but I wish rather than doing the whole "transnational illegal boxing" etc. I think I just found the details, ideas, motivations of Myeong Gil in Season 1 much more interesting imo. There was so much they could have also expanded on (e.g. Tae Gyeom's experience in the military, but maybe this might be for Season 3?) that again would have been I think a better plotline to follow, but I guess they decided they wanted to go hard on the "scary overseas worldwide illegal boxing" thing instead.

I still had an AMAZING time watching, absolutely incredible performances to all of the actors, directors and producers for creating this work. But at the same time I did have some issues with some of the plot/I think these could be improved (that won't stop me though from begging for a Season 3!)

For those who are curious, Jin Seyeon and Park Kiwoong actually worked together in Bridal Mask (2012) nearly 14 years ago with Joo Won (who played the male lead). They had amazing chemistry there even though Park Kiwoong's character transitioned from a kind-hearted second lead love interest to a very complex, despicable villain.

I'm so happy that they're paired together again and will finally get a sweet love story together. Really, really looking forward to the next couple of episodes coming soon!

I will fully admit, I'm going into this one with really reserved expectations but am hoping that it's really good. Both Hyeyoon and Lomon are fantastic actors and can easily work in a variety of different genres and scripts, and given how it's Lomon's first romantic comedy I'm curious about what his performance will be like. The trailers are already great when it comes to chemistry and the concept is fantastic — as a Hyeyoon fan, I feel like she definitely chose the script specifically because of Eunho as a character (and I feel like she's a great casting for a gumiho who is contradictorily obsessed with worldly things).

That being said, I am really nervous about the scriptwriters. Kim Jung Kwon directed Love to Hate You (2023) which is fantastic at the enemies-to-lovers trope, but to put it bluntly the screenwriters' previous work The Best Chicken (2024) was honestly an undercooked chicken with some major writing issues around characterization and pacing. That being said, the humour was quite funny, so I think we will get a lot of hilarious scenes and I'm excited for that one.

Also, as others mentioned — the posters are especially bad. I have no idea who decided to approve of them because the colours are clashing and the poses are not great. There's so much more they could have done with them, but I'll reserve judgement until the final drama is released.

Adding a new link here because that one no longer works. The new version stars He Jianqi and Wei Fanshu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLMByYJfL2g

There is another version called The Rules of Rough Love (no MDL page currently).

Honestly, I loved this. I'm not really picky about production values for verticals given the limited budget, but the sets, clothes, and cinematography for this was really, really good.

I also loved how at first it was Bai Zhi teasing Zhou Congye and trying to make him fall for her, with all sorts of hilarious shenanigans arising from her attempts to seduce him out of revenge. What made it even sweeter was that Wang Chengpeng did an amazing job starting off as an extremely cold and reserved character, into one that was crying and begging for the woman he loved to stay by his side. Zhai Yiying also effortlessly handles emotional scenes with ease, and I loved how she played a manipulative, intelligent, and scheming heroine who was absolutely willing to give the same kind of punishment that she received from those that wronged her and her family.

The chemistry is amazing in this one and the kiss scenes are so well-done (the one arm grab!). Although romance does take a backseat for revenge, I thoroughly enjoyed it and added it to my favourites list!

EDIT: I spoke too soon. The drama is still great and very well-acted, and I think definitely deserving of its high rating. However, within the 1.5 hour mark it has one of my least favourite tropes in romance media, and I think executing this section would have been better done in another way instead.

Really, really well-done, with a witty, funny, and endearing script, multifaceted characters, and an extremely believable romance that always takes centre stage. So many of the newer vertical dramas are showcasing just how versatile and flexible the genre is. What I appreciate the most is that being able to see so many new faces and different images illustrates just how much talent there is in the acting industry that hasn't had the opportunity or right script yet.

Zhao Zhendong is an interesting actor because of how he's both a newcomer in the scene but also relatively older compared to others in the vertical industry, and made a name for himself by playing extremely possessive, toxic, overbearing, and dominant characters. As others have already mentioned, this is a huge image shift for him, and I'm glad that he's selecting more roles and receiving more scripts that show how much more range he has (to be fair, I also love his red flag dramas). He has a lighter and more quieter voice, and the way that he is able to vocalize so many different ways through this script (I laughed when he yelled at Xu Xing to stop crying at the start of the drama) is absolutely lethal when combined with his expertise of using his microexpressions and gaze to show love and affection.

Zhai Yiying also completely nailed her role; this isn't exactly her first time playing a younger/cute heroine chasing after an older/uncle-like character (such as in Balloon Flower), but she really stood out in this series. I loved her styling, the way she was able to express her emotions through both sign language and her expressions, and I honestly couldn't recognize her from some of her previous roles. I'm glad she finally has a script that shows how naturally she can act, and how she can make characters that are more introverted and reserved extremely convincing by using body language and other expressions instead of dialogue.

Hi everyone ~ Guo Chengyu is my favourite character in the series, especially because of his character development, growth, and (even if it may be shown in manipulative or devious ways) his love for his friends and the people around him. I've watched over Zhan Xuan for a long time in shorter-form dramas and his older projects, and he's done an incredible job at portraying the character!

We noticed that he doesn't have an official global/international fansite for updates about his work, profile, and his projects, so we decided to create one for our favourite 190 cm, "uncle-like," yapper! Please feel free to follow us and support us here: https://x.com/zhanxuanfans

We'll be reposting his promotional photos and Weibo pictures for Revenged Love, providing other cast updates, and also circulating fan videos and other content! Thank you so much!

Oops you are totally right -- I meant to say there are good subs up until Episode 8, but starting from Episode 9 they aren't good (because that was the point when the original halting of the drama occurred on Youku). Thanks for making sure to clarify that, just made some changes and edits.

I had no idea that the WOWOW version also has cut scenes -- that's quite unfortunate, because Episodes 1 to 8 were very loyal and consistent to the novel (although I have heard some fans have some bones to pick with the adaptation for a variety of different reasons).

I totally feel the same about how important good subs are to this drama -- Priest has a way of making all of the cases wrap up and draw upon each other, so missing certain hints and things I think do impact your enjoyment (it's also fun to rewatch to catch things viewers may have not have seen earlier). Really hoping that we get good English subs in the future!

So to summarize the issues around the fansubs below -- I've been very confused over the situation, and hope it's okay to do a general overview of the situation:

1. There are no official English subtitles right now, only official Japanese subtitles because the drama is only aired on WOWOW on Demand. There's a lot of hope that a platform like Viki will potentially get the license, but this is all speculation right now and unknown.

2. There are fan translators who are translating and sharing clips via other platforms (will not be named out of concerns of causing issues), however they have effectively stopped and restricted access because WOWOW issued a copyright notice a while ago/indicated the possibility of curbing the episode release if this continues. Whether or not that's a serious threat, fan translators have essentially "shut down" the public sharing of their translations until everything airs. They have also asked that people do not share these translations on sites like MyDramaList or on other platforms. There is a possibility that the fan group may release them after all episodes are uploaded, but this is uncertain.

3. Good English subtitles are important because the cases are complex and the original author, Priest, actually incorporates a lot of different hints and nuances in her work that will be frustrated/flattened through bad subtitling. Right now there are NO good subtitles after Episode 8(when the drama was pulled from its original broadcasting platform over content regulations), regardless of whichever platform this show is being illegally broadcast on.

So, for those who want to watch the drama right now, there are several options:

1. Wait until all the episodes are released and we potentially have the ability to access the fan translations (note that fan translators are doing this unpaid, without any remuneration, and really out of their own free time and passion).

2. Hope to the BL gods that we get a licensing of the drama through another platform.

3. Try to watch with machine translated subtitles (from my understand, the quality seems very mixed and not great right now, but others can comment if the quality is readable).

If there are any corrections required, please feel free to let me know -- I hope this however answers some confusion and the (extremely difficult to navigate) information about translations and translation quality through this thread. I definitely had to search back through a lot of comments to understand what was going on, so hopefully this is a useful resource. Please also let me know if I need to edit anything out of risk of a copyright strike or violation as well.

Sounds good! I would say Xichi's first major plot point (the one upcoming after the episodes you're watching) was quite predictable for me as someone who is a long-time drama watcher, but Zhai Xiaowen's acting was so well done it was still enjoyable for me to watch. On the other hand, Song Cong's (10, 11, 12) was personally quite difficult for me to sit through because of the fantastic performances and the difficult subject matter. If after these episodes you're still not convinced, I don't think this will be the show for you because the general direction of the show takes this format (fluff, then something difficult/challenging comes up, fluff again, then again another challenge).

I also agree with others who mention that the university arc (around Episode 18 and after) is less interesting compared to the high school one, but the themes and issues also are extremely emotional, so I feel like this is very much a drama that relies on how much you like and enjoy the characters.

I was also the same, I struggled so much to watch this for the first 8 episodes because of just how frustrating a lot of the characters were, especially the constantly assumptions over who liked who and the prioritization of crushes over friendships. However, what kept me watching was actually some of Huaner's inner monologues — they're certain sentences within the novel that are very reflective and speak as an "observer" reflecting on the challenges that they face, and usually come up during important scenes.

This ended up paying off, because I will say from around Episode 7, 8, and 9 when you get to one of the major issues Xichi faces, that's when the show really reveals its true face. From that point on, you have fluffy moments, then extremely traumatic scenes, and then fluff again, and then trauma again. In some ways, the first stretch of the drama fools you into thinking this is a sweet and wholesome show, when some of the problems the leads encounter are actually quite dark. I actually became quite nervous and anxious because of how realistic these issues were, and Always Home also doesn't really conclude them in a "happy" manner — instead, there's a lot of nuance and complexity to the characters.

If after seeing the first major plot point (I would say watch for 7, 8, 9 for Xichi, then 10, 11, 12 for Song Cong), you're still not feeling it, then I think it may be time to drop the series. There is a kind of tone shift through those episodes that pave the way for the rest of the show, but I do feel like you have to enjoy the characters in order to really like the series.

I'm on Episode 7 right now, and to be honest one of the things I'm really struggling with the drama is that I hadn't expected an entire complicated love pentagon (which even includes side characters). I'm actually kind of missing scenes where it's just Huan Er, Song Cong, and Xichi just hanging around, being worried about each other's family lives and hardships, and taking care of and protecting each other. Instead, from Episode 2 we've already jumped into a bunch of different versions of everyone assuming someone likes somebody else, which has been frustrating to watch.

On the flip side, Huan Er and Du Man are truly the best girls of the show. Du Man is strictly able to set boundaries with other people, has her own goals, minds her own business, yet at the same time treats others who care for her extremely kindly despite her sharp and harsh tongue. Huan Er has such a healthy way of becoming friends and caring about other people — I find it interesting that she chose the science stream when the inner monologues/sentences that she has made me think she was going to choose arts since she's so poetic and good at understanding people.

One of the best things about shorter dramas is that they often feature newer/lesser-known actors and actresses who are really, really good at their performances. This dropped with absolutely minimal fanfare and promo, and despite obviously being a lower-budget production, the script was excellent, the characters were likeable, and it has a really refreshing trajectory. It's so fun to see two characters who essentially start off as the villain x villainess trope, and then grow together and end up completely falling for each other. Although the ending is short, it's still an extremely good one (in some ways better than some of the half-finished or incomplete endings that we see from longer shows).

Cai Zhengjie does an amazing job pretend to be a weak and powerless Crown Prince who in fact is a strategist that simultaneously plans against his brothers AND also protects his woman, while Chen Siche does an amazing job as the Crown Princess who initially sets out for revenge but eventually works together with Yunsheng to achieve their shared goals. The transition of their relationship from enemies to lovers to a power couple is so beautifully done, while you can really see how much chemistry and mutual respect they have together. There's also very little filler given the short drama length, and after having watched multiple different series, I think this one is just as good as Money is Coming, except that it's the darker, less fluffier version of the series.

Friends, for those who are interested in long-form live discussions, we have weekly discussion posts on the CDrama subreddit! Please come join us to chat about Sang Yan and Yifan together!

Thank you, this is perfect to know! I was going to watch it while turning my brain off, but given what you mentioned I think I may wait a bit. I did enjoy Tale of Love and Loyalty but wasn't quite satisfied with the ending!

This drama was so, so good until around the midway mark. Others were correct that the drama brought forth by the SML wasn't worth the time, especially when I wanted more of what made the first stretch excellent (the longing, yearning, pining, and the subversion of a cold CEO to a puppy-like one) rather than wasting time on other characters.

That being said, the cinematography is gorgeous (it's like each episode is filmed as if it were a short film or music video), and the drama really brings intimacy to life — you feel as if you're genuinely watching two people fall in love with each other, and their day-to-day gestures are so realistic and affectionate.

Okay, I'm planning to go into this with extremely low expectations, but can anyone give a quick rundown of who WOULD enjoy this drama, and what to expect when going into it? Thank you so much!