Tanky Toon

that is also what I noticed, that it somehow the negative reviews are not in sync with the people who rated the drama high. But it is like anywhere else, people tend to leave more complaints than compliments. Like if you go to a restaurant and thinks the place is great and you keep going back, you may not leave a review on google but your repeat visit is a testament to how good that place is; but on the other hand, people go to that same restaurant and thinks the place is horrendous, very easily they go and lambast the establishment on google, And sometimes, I feel that some people are more anti-hype than anything. I usually take the reviews with a grain of salt, or at least combine them with the ratings. But it generally boils down to preference.

After a slow and sluggish start, this drama gets better after a few episodes in (you just have to be patient or skip the side/artsy-fartsy parts). The dynamic between the two best friends are great, played naturally by Ariel and Bolin who have great on-screen chemistry. I finally came to like Ariel Lin in this drama and Bolin Chen is suitable to play the love-lorn guy who secretly loves his bestfriend about to be married. Can't get enough of this couple whose characters have so much history together. I know it might not be the best T-drama out there, but it is one closest to my heart.

Your point is valid as I apply the same principle when buying a product on Amazon or any other similar website. A rating of 4 out 5 across 10,000 buyers is more believable than a rating of 5 across 100 raters. I think that's why MDL recalibrated their system. Not sure what their formula is but it certainly isn't a formula of averages. They may have taken out the highest and lowest ratings and used some form of median combination to come up with the rating.

IMO, I think Viki ratings are over inflated. And so is MDL when it comes to BL shows. The ratings seem to be higher than what it needs to be so I usually deduct half a point from the rating to know where I think my rating will be. Only a few times do I rank a BL drama higher than the rating posted. But it all depends on preference as well.
And also the year that was released/watched I think has an influence as well. For example, I find that I rated older dramas higher than what I would have rated now if I wathed them now and I think it's because at that time of viewing, I may think it was really good by the standards of that time, but as more years passed and newer productions come out, the standards kept getting higher (as in quality kept improving), and therefore the ratings tend to be "harsher" as there's more dramas compete and be compared to each other.

I also find a lot of highly rated dramas here that I don't enjoy (again in boils down to preference) but anything lower 7.5 here I don't bother to watch because I tend to end up hating having wasted my time on them. (Unless they're short like under 2 hrs long investment or I'm up for torture).

IMDB on the other hand I think is too harsh and so is Douban. Also ratings for TV shows here (not dramas but concerts etc) for me are unreliable because people rating them are mostly fans so there's always bias.

Ratings tend to reflect the views of the majority and are meant as a guide so viewers can decide whether to consider watching a show or not. I usually combine the rating on MDL plus the reviews on the comment page to make my decision.

Only watched because of Mike He but he couldn't act to save the life of this lifeless drama. Secondary characters are annoying as hell. I tried to watch for the Mike He/Cindy Wang love scenes (even then no chemistry at all), but fast forwarded most of the drama not involving the lead couple, but gave up halfway because of incredulous plot involving bringing back to life after death (twice, once by pounding on the chest - really???????).

super draggy and very repetitive. The lead female keeps making the same mistakes over and over again (choosing money over love). Fast forward most of the drama and even then, could not get past the halfway mark. Read that the ending was that the whole thing was just a test by some old rich guy. WTF? Pls. don't waste your time with this crap.

The story is draggy and even Wu Chun and Rainie could not save this drama. Super annoying secondary characters, especially the parents who always squander their daughter's hard-earned money, and also the spoilt brat who always try to manipulate everybody around her, even her own mother! Super goody two shoes daughter is overly naïve.

Would have been better except for the last two episodes (flashbacking the previous 14 eps). Couple pairing seems odd and did not like the fact that the entitled and spoiled brat best friend steals the guy and gets away with it. Cake baking redeemed the story but not by much.

This is a very good remake. They stuck to what works best with the Korean version, condensed it and did not try to be creative like other remakes which ended up flopping.. Points for this version: Legit kissing scenes vs. Korean hugging; Jiro who is hot here (looks very different from his dorky ISWAK days)

The Lead Pairing have pretty good chemistry + Aaron Yan is decent here and good acting coming from him. Story is pretty cute as long as it involves the couple. Otherwise, the drama is like a big match making event again in the office where everybody needs to be paired with somebody no matter how awkward and unnecessary. Secondary characters too many and underdeveloped, rendering cheesy and convenient plotlines. Second lead female pretty annoying as usual.

I enjoyed this drama despite having to suspend my disbelief. The 2nd lead, Chris Wu carried this drama weight on his shoulders overthrowing the main leads with his acting abilities. The chemistry between him and the female lead is more palpable than between the main leads.

The premise started promising of an ordinary girl capturing the attention of the CEO of a very large corporation. However, the story arcs became repetitive, the damsel in distress became less endearing and the expressionless CEO became less attractive. As the story wore on, it reminded me of "It Started With A Kiss," a story which I find very annoying: a seemingly useless girl and an all-talented boy. The leads from this drama also looks and feels eerily similar to the leads in ISWAK. The conflicts in the drama also come across as lackluster. I find the side characters, such as the friends of the main couple, more endearing.

I would have given it a 💯 if it were not for the lackluster 2nd pairing. There is no chemistry between Bii and Katie Chen despite being easy on the eyes. The story is not as airtight as other melodramas but this is meant to be romantic fluff and we should treat it as such. Having said that, I cannot get enough of the lead characters and they served up quite a good amount of skinship, some are uber hot and some ultra sweet that you would need to have a quick shower before going to the dentist. Megan Lai, who I found annoying in other older dramas, convincingly plays a pretty man. Baron Chen's hair meanwhile becomes a third wheel. This drama turned on my fangirling mode I have thought long dormant.

You know how sometimes people say, "It's so bad that it's good"? Well, they maybe talking about this drama. Despite being low-budget, this is by far the funniest Chinese drama I have ever watched. It's super campy and fun and downright hilarious. This is one drama were bad acting is sometimes welcome.

A good who-done-it drama. The cat and mouse chase between the criminal profiler and his stalker was intriguing. The only drawback is that the show was too clever for its own good that sometimes you have to try and keep up. The romance between the socially-awkward professor and his assistant was endearing. The Professor's bestfriend is also a lovable character, but others not so much. Bad acting from the non-Chinese actors and the end seemed rushed with loose ends untied, and spent on unnecessary pairings.

Shortly coming on the heels of watching Killer and Healer, this drama probably did not meet my expectations. If I had watched this first, since it was released prior K&H, it could be a different story, but I did not. For this drama, the eye-candy did help, because it is probably the main reason why I finished this show the other being curiosity. The drama tried to pass off as an intricate who-done-it, but it ended up convoluting the story. There are glaring plot holes and illogical set-ups (not sure if the drama's fault or the way the book was written). The show tried to also incorporate some romance but fails due to the stalky FML.

Haha. I unmarked it now.

I love the juxtaposition of the real world and game world and how the characters act in either of them. Yang Yang is a dreamboat and the other characters are mostly easy on the eyes. I also love the brewing bromance between KO and Hao Mei. Watch it for all the elements: plot, characters, costumes, scenery, pacing, romance...and it will not disappoint. Only downside is the lackluster kissing skills of female lead but Yang Yang could kiss a tree and it will still look hot.

This sprawling historical saga spanning thousands of years, is rich and luscious in its story-telling. The war, the love, the tribulations among the immortals and mortals are depicted with detail. Characters and plot are not one-dimensional. Most of them are easy on the eyes, even the villains. It would have been a 10 for me if it weren't for the female characters in the story, being given less redeeming qualities than their male counterparts. The female characters (even the good ones) are shown as duplicitous at worst, and unreasonably obstinate at best. While the male characters come across as the more forgiving, and more understanding partners. It was nice to see role reversals even at that time - the man cooking for the woman even if he was the crown prince, but this does not negate the fact that the women were given a harsher brush stroke. Bonus: if you don't even like the story, Mark Chao's acting is worth the 58 episode watch.

The characters are fun and loveable, especially the female lead. The story is a reverse ugly duckling where a beautiful and rich girl pretends to be an ugly and poor one who manages to capture the heart of the prince with her disguise. Overall a light and fun romcom that is enjoyable to watch., except for the annoying girl who doesn't know when to quit and then gets on my nerves.