2
13
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Amazing Leads Chemistry & Friends-to-Lovers, but disappointing formulaic ending
Subjective Rating - 8.75 rounding up to 9.0 because I love the leads so much.
Objective Rating - 8.0-8.5
It’s really unfortunate that “My Calorie Boy” does not have a better title, otherwise, it would be a lot more popular. I actually hesitated to watch it due to the title, but decided to check it out because of Zhai Zi Lu, who plays the main lead. This drama has the best friends-to-lovers plotline I’ve seen in a teen drama, or any drama.
What I Like:
1. Friends-to-Lovers: This is a very common and popular trope in high school dramas. What’s different in “My Calorie Boy” is that we have two main characters with very similar personalities and you can totally see them as best friends. They are both helpful, friendly, cheerful, sarcastic and funny. Oftentimes, in high school dramas, you would get a cold, genius lead matched with an overly positive and optimistic lead, or a tomboy. Kang Jia Wei (ML) and Xu Jing Jing (FL) might have started their friendship due to a misfortunate event, but we do not have dragged out misunderstanding. They actually become fast friends and help each other out. Their feelings developed slowly and realistically.
2. Main leads chemistry: They are just so fun to watch and I love every scene they are in. Zhai Zi Lu and Dai Lu Wa are so well casted in this drama. I love their bickering but also how honest they are with each other. They might not always agree with each other, and might say some hurtful words when angry. However, they are not afraid to apologize. They really have a very healthy relationship for 99% of the drama. I love the little things that they do for each other, with feelings that couldn’t be verbalized. I love some of the jealous moments, too. They are cute and not over-the-top.
3. Zhai Zi Lu/Kang Jia Wei - I finished watching Zhai Zi Lu in the historical drama “Lost Track of Time” not too long, and was really not very impressed with his acting. His character in that drama is a walking green flag, but his acting was too subdued. I am glad to see him in this drama. His acting is so much better. He is more animated in many of the fun scenes, yet he also did extremely well in the emotional scenes in the last third of the drama. His loving gazes and knowing smiles at FL melt my heart. His character, Kang Jia Wei, is almost a 100% walking green flag except for the last few episodes. What a shame. I love that though he is overweight, he does not have low self-esteem, and has such a friendly and outgoing personality.
4. Dai Lu Wa/Xu Jing Jing - Dai Lu Wa is fun to watch. Her character, Xu Jing Jing, is easy to root for. She’s friendly, helpful and caring. She is smart and independent, and honest with her feelings. She is so adorable! Her Taekwondo moves might not be very convincing, but I appreciate seeing an actress who plays an athlete that is not so skinny. DLW’s acting has come a long way since I first saw her in “Cross Fire”. Her character reminds me of her other role in “Love Crossed”.
5. Acting - The acting overall in this drama is pretty good. There are a couple weak links, e.g. the PE teacher. But overall, the main supporting cast remind me of high school students, and not adults pretending to be students.
6. Supporting Cast - We have a very lovable supporting cast with great friendship. There might be a third wheel here and there, but no one is annoying. The second male lead is awkwardly cute. I am glad he is not the usual cold/arrogant 2ML. He’s just…mm.. Not good with anything other than his studies and his interests. But when he finally recognizes his feelings, he becomes really adorkable. 2FL might have a storyline that’s quite typical and predictable in a way. But I am glad she’s not an evil, jealous, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer 2FL. The other minor supporting characters have their own small plotlines but do not take away too much time from the main leads.
7. FL’s parents and ML’s father - Love them!!!! So great to see supportive parents. FL’s parents are hilarious. We can see where FL gets her personality. ML’s father is less crazy but still very understanding and supportive. I enjoy watching him give advice to ML, especially the cryptic conversation they have about love
8. Actors own voices - I believe everyone was using their own voices in this drama. I also enjoy hearing a lot of live recording, instead of post production dubbing. This is especially true for many of the main lead’s scenes, especially the emotional ones.
What I have Mixed Feelings and Don’t Like:
1. Last 5 episodes of the drama - When FL was asked to keep a certain secret, I knew where this was going and was dreading it. The uniqueness of this drama goes down the drain when I could see from a mile away how and when the leads might get together in the last episodes. It’s very unfortunate that the ending is so formulaic, just like many other high school dramas. The editing also seems off. The transition from scene to scene was rough, and it seems like some scenes were cut out. Is it due to censorship or budget constraints? I am not sure.
2. Always that one parent - You know, the one that forces their dreams on their children? Yes, we have one of those parents here. The one that complains about how much they sacrifice for their children’s education/future and won’t let their children follow their dreams? Yes, we have one of those parents here.
3. Lack of fluffiness - Well, as much as I love the leads and their chemistry, from a romance standpoint, “My Calorie Boy” is lacking romance and fluffiness. I wish the ending episode was not so rushed and gives us more romantic scenes. Unfortunately, this follows the script of many other similar dramas. These dramas only give us a few minutes of happiness in the end.
Overall, if you are interested in a high school drama with good acting and amazing leads chemistry, I strongly recommend this. The first ⅔ of the drama is excellent. I do wish there are more teen dramas that are not so focused on exams (aside from “Summer Again” which I strongly recommend).
Other Random Observations:
1. No Taekwondo gear and protection when FL and 2ML are fighting??
2. Best product placement - Integrated frozen meals into the plot lines of FL’s mom bad cooking and ML’s need for food.
3. The fat suit is quite believable
4. Weight Loss is a difficult plot to please watchers. I think it did OK here.
Completed: 1/4/2023
Objective Rating - 8.0-8.5
It’s really unfortunate that “My Calorie Boy” does not have a better title, otherwise, it would be a lot more popular. I actually hesitated to watch it due to the title, but decided to check it out because of Zhai Zi Lu, who plays the main lead. This drama has the best friends-to-lovers plotline I’ve seen in a teen drama, or any drama.
What I Like:
1. Friends-to-Lovers: This is a very common and popular trope in high school dramas. What’s different in “My Calorie Boy” is that we have two main characters with very similar personalities and you can totally see them as best friends. They are both helpful, friendly, cheerful, sarcastic and funny. Oftentimes, in high school dramas, you would get a cold, genius lead matched with an overly positive and optimistic lead, or a tomboy. Kang Jia Wei (ML) and Xu Jing Jing (FL) might have started their friendship due to a misfortunate event, but we do not have dragged out misunderstanding. They actually become fast friends and help each other out. Their feelings developed slowly and realistically.
2. Main leads chemistry: They are just so fun to watch and I love every scene they are in. Zhai Zi Lu and Dai Lu Wa are so well casted in this drama. I love their bickering but also how honest they are with each other. They might not always agree with each other, and might say some hurtful words when angry. However, they are not afraid to apologize. They really have a very healthy relationship for 99% of the drama. I love the little things that they do for each other, with feelings that couldn’t be verbalized. I love some of the jealous moments, too. They are cute and not over-the-top.
3. Zhai Zi Lu/Kang Jia Wei - I finished watching Zhai Zi Lu in the historical drama “Lost Track of Time” not too long, and was really not very impressed with his acting. His character in that drama is a walking green flag, but his acting was too subdued. I am glad to see him in this drama. His acting is so much better. He is more animated in many of the fun scenes, yet he also did extremely well in the emotional scenes in the last third of the drama. His loving gazes and knowing smiles at FL melt my heart. His character, Kang Jia Wei, is almost a 100% walking green flag except for the last few episodes. What a shame. I love that though he is overweight, he does not have low self-esteem, and has such a friendly and outgoing personality.
4. Dai Lu Wa/Xu Jing Jing - Dai Lu Wa is fun to watch. Her character, Xu Jing Jing, is easy to root for. She’s friendly, helpful and caring. She is smart and independent, and honest with her feelings. She is so adorable! Her Taekwondo moves might not be very convincing, but I appreciate seeing an actress who plays an athlete that is not so skinny. DLW’s acting has come a long way since I first saw her in “Cross Fire”. Her character reminds me of her other role in “Love Crossed”.
5. Acting - The acting overall in this drama is pretty good. There are a couple weak links, e.g. the PE teacher. But overall, the main supporting cast remind me of high school students, and not adults pretending to be students.
6. Supporting Cast - We have a very lovable supporting cast with great friendship. There might be a third wheel here and there, but no one is annoying. The second male lead is awkwardly cute. I am glad he is not the usual cold/arrogant 2ML. He’s just…mm.. Not good with anything other than his studies and his interests. But when he finally recognizes his feelings, he becomes really adorkable. 2FL might have a storyline that’s quite typical and predictable in a way. But I am glad she’s not an evil, jealous, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer 2FL. The other minor supporting characters have their own small plotlines but do not take away too much time from the main leads.
7. FL’s parents and ML’s father - Love them!!!! So great to see supportive parents. FL’s parents are hilarious. We can see where FL gets her personality. ML’s father is less crazy but still very understanding and supportive. I enjoy watching him give advice to ML, especially the cryptic conversation they have about love
8. Actors own voices - I believe everyone was using their own voices in this drama. I also enjoy hearing a lot of live recording, instead of post production dubbing. This is especially true for many of the main lead’s scenes, especially the emotional ones.
What I have Mixed Feelings and Don’t Like:
1. Last 5 episodes of the drama - When FL was asked to keep a certain secret, I knew where this was going and was dreading it. The uniqueness of this drama goes down the drain when I could see from a mile away how and when the leads might get together in the last episodes. It’s very unfortunate that the ending is so formulaic, just like many other high school dramas. The editing also seems off. The transition from scene to scene was rough, and it seems like some scenes were cut out. Is it due to censorship or budget constraints? I am not sure.
2. Always that one parent - You know, the one that forces their dreams on their children? Yes, we have one of those parents here. The one that complains about how much they sacrifice for their children’s education/future and won’t let their children follow their dreams? Yes, we have one of those parents here.
3. Lack of fluffiness - Well, as much as I love the leads and their chemistry, from a romance standpoint, “My Calorie Boy” is lacking romance and fluffiness. I wish the ending episode was not so rushed and gives us more romantic scenes. Unfortunately, this follows the script of many other similar dramas. These dramas only give us a few minutes of happiness in the end.
Overall, if you are interested in a high school drama with good acting and amazing leads chemistry, I strongly recommend this. The first ⅔ of the drama is excellent. I do wish there are more teen dramas that are not so focused on exams (aside from “Summer Again” which I strongly recommend).
Other Random Observations:
1. No Taekwondo gear and protection when FL and 2ML are fighting??
2. Best product placement - Integrated frozen meals into the plot lines of FL’s mom bad cooking and ML’s need for food.
3. The fat suit is quite believable
4. Weight Loss is a difficult plot to please watchers. I think it did OK here.
Completed: 1/4/2023
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