Great Drama

I have never seen any of the actors in a drama before, so I'm not watching this as a fan.

I watched it because the FL character seemed cool.

The best thing about this drama is how the director made each shot look pretty. The fight scenes are like dancing. I've taken so many screenshots here, because it's just so pretty. The music goes with the scenes and I thought the production was the best thing about this drama.

The story was interesting. It slowed a bit between ep. 12-16 and I thought I saw a lot of plot holes but they might have been purposely placed there. lol.

The logic wasn't too hard to follow and I didn't have to wrack my brains to follow any of the intrigue.

I was most drawn to the Gong Shang Jue/Shanghuan Qian and Gong Yuan Zhi story.
I found them way more interesting than the main leads. The story tries to develop the other characters besides the main characters (which is great) and I just kept getting interested in Gong Shang Jue/Shanghuan Qian and Gong Yuan Zhi. Their story, I found was more touching/interesting.

I don't think the story was perfect but this drama kept getting me hooked.

The weakness is the romance. I just don't buy it, because it's all based on lies. However, I watch dramas for entertainment and not necessary the romance, and I thought this drama has a more interesting story than other dramas. The romance isn't the main feature of this drama, so it was ok. They didn't focus on it.

If you're looking for something interesting, check this out.

Read More

"Inside out" with a kdrama twist

I thought this was a refreshing kdrama. It reminds me a lot of the Disney/Pixar film, Inside out, where the inside of a character's mind is depicted by animated characters.

Casting:
Great acting. I really, really enjoyed watching the leads act. They conveyed their emotions perfectly. All the sadness, indecisiveness, the joy is conveyed well on the screen. Kim Go Eun was a real star in this, but so was Ahn Bo Hyun. I think this might be the first drama that I've seen Ahn Bo Hyun - and he really was great. Park Jin Young - if anyone that didn't look as handsome and sincere was cast as Yu Ba Bi I'd have really hated him. lol.


Plot (SPOILERS)

This drama is also different because it takes a different view on relationships. I haven't watched kdramas for years, but the one thing that bothered me is that they practically force the leads to be a couple at the end. And Yumi's Cell does not do this, which makes it very different.

It goes through the whole cycle of a relationship - the highs, the lows, the beginning and the end.

There are really two sets of worlds in this, and at first I thought the "cells" was a gimmick but I think it really enhanced the story telling and conveys how one feels internally.

I think the greatest character growth happened to Wung. He's really not good at conveying his emotions and really is bad at confrontation. Ironically with the last episode, I felt he finally grew. He knows what he wants and finally makes decisions. Before, I think he'd just go with the flow and would not confront the truth.

Yumi - I think she has shown her heart throughout (well probably because we are watching from her perspective) and I'm not sure what else she could have done "better". She has way more patience than I would have.

"Marriage" is one of those things that I think is important that a partner be on the exact same page. So I think it was the best decision.

Sae Yi - oh gosh she was annoying and felt like a virus lol. I was really glad when Yumi spoke up, and was so mad at Wung when he didn't say anything. He knows what's going on but yet lets it slide... for who knows what reasons.

Yu Ba Bi - gah - i wanted him to back off. lol. but he's played by Jinyoung, who just has enough handsomeness and sincerity to make me feel conflicted. I thought his ex was cool - how she ended it, but it sounded like their relationship was dead for a long time and they were dragging their feet

Anyways, I felt the ending was a good ending for this drama.

Production:
The cells were so cool. I really liked how they were integrated to enhance the story telling, and wasn't just a gimmick.

Personally - I sympathized a lot with these characters and I liked how the relationship was depicted. It let me reflect how I felt about my own personal relationship/break up.

Read More

Angst, and More Angst and Crazies

I had major second and third male lead syndrome.

I really hated the male lead character. He really does not deserve the female lead. I don't know why everyone loves this couple.

His actions were despicable. WHY doesn't he tell the emperor what he found, and instead hunted for the murderer on his own, when the emperor throughout this whole drama has been acting like a father to him?

I can see that he holds things in, if he does not trust the emperor. But after he found out who was behind it all and all the conspiracies, why does he take justice in his own hands and commits murder?

And....there really was no repercussions for his actions.

We had way too many episodes of the couple being angsty and honestly I think she can do much better. Fine if she doesn't like Yuan and also says she wants to live a fulfilling life and invent things, wtf doesn't she follow through and do that, instead of hiding herself in this "cold palace" - she's not even the empress' child?

The characters motivations don't even make sense.

Towards the end, I find myself glazing over the character's actions because I don't understand any of it. Also, the ML has a huge protagonist halo. It seems to be impossible to kill him. Also, just how many crazy people are on this show??

Anyways, I ship the FL with Yuan, A'yao or she can just remain solo, but I really don't think she should marry Zi Sheng, who acts deranged quite a few times in this drama.

As for the acting, Wu Lei needs to work on his "intimidating" facial expressions. I think he was overacting in those scenes. Everyone else was fine.

Read More

First half of the drama is great

I enjoyed this half of the story.
Finally a FL that I can support. She's not dumb, and has her own opinions. She has a bit of MC halo but it doesn't make her annoying. I like how she gets into trouble here.

This half focuses on her family, and I'm not a huge fan of how her mom tries to discipline Niao Niao.

Anyways, the first half of this drama is great, which is what this rating is based on. HOWEVER, I'm not a huge fan f the second part of the drama.

The acting is mostly great, except I'm not a huge fan of Wu Lei. Granted, this role is rather challenging, so I commend him for expanding his horizons. Most time it's fine, except when he is trying to be angry and intimating, he looks like he's "acting." Zhao Lu Si on the other hand was excellent. She is a great actress and all her emotions seem natural.

Read More

Cute Esports Drama

This is the first battle royale esports drama that I've seen.

I tried Fortnite for 10 secs so I don't really understand the game and can't vouch for its accuracy. However, it shows that this drama can appeal to non-gamer fans. I think one thing that the drama does well is actually showing the battles - with live action. It makes it fun to see the gamers pick up weapons (lol the cooking pan was really funny). It keeps the viewers engaged. It's not high budget but that doesn't stop it from being fun.

Another thing that felt different for me was the protagonist at the start of the drama, is on a decline. In the previous esports drama that I've seen, the protagonist is just on a break for some reason, but this protagonist is actually on a decline.

There's a bit of bromance and cute fluffy romance. I think for me the draw is the ML. His smirk, arrogance and insecurities were fun to watch. He is arrogant but he's not mean.

There are things that I found really unrealistic - uh the two black holes in the team. lol. How can there be a professional team with such lack of experience/talent? I don't think a team can function when they have to only rely on 2/4 members to fight against pros, no matter how good the other two are...

The drama lagged a bit for me between ep. 12-19. The ending tied all loose ends, a bit too neatly (lol I felt that the time skip should be 5 years, not 1 at the pace of the change).

All in all, it was fun, but I don't think it was too memorable, but it wasn't a waste of time - I actually finished this drama.

Read More

Great Acting. Just wish it wasn't as draggy

I watched this for Zhao Li Ying and I felt that she and the cast have delivered in terms of acting. The story was great at the beginning then slowly dragged on, as the story progressed, so I took me a while to finish it.

I love how each character is flawed and kudos for the acting crew - they are able to convey this quite well.

I was just disappointed it wasn't really a "mystery". The plot could have used a bit more of a punch to it, but they developed the characters well. I think it was more character driven than plot driven. I was hoping to watch a murder mystery - and it was one but it wasn't very... mysterious.

This is why I gave it a 7.5. The plot was draggy at the second half, but the acting was great.

Read More

Fun Conspiracies

I have watched this after watching other dramas by the same scriptwriter - Joy of LIfe (which is my favourite cdrama) and Douluo Continent.

I think this drama is somewhere in between those two dramas. Like Douluo Continent, the characters are a bunch of youth, and like Joy of Life, it's about intrigue.

It's lighter than Joy of Life and fairly fun. This drama made me tear up a few times (some of the arcs are very touching) however I think they over-explain everything and S1 was getting a bit long.

I thought one of the characters was quite useless for a spy school - she was so dumb and was more like a handicap for the group and I don't know what she brings to the table except being...dumb/naive.

I think if this show was 30 episodes instead of 42 episodes, it would have been better - because towards the end (maybe last 10 episodes) I found my attention waning as the twists were no longer surprising as each arc has a "twist" and it was overdone and explained.

The male lead has a bit of a protagonist halo and things just work out.

Anyways, it's a very fun drama and at times very touching but I think it was a bit long-winded at the end.

Read More

Cute Fluff, Angst, Mystery and Fantasy

What I liked about the show:

I really love the story. I watched this drama with the only expectation of fluff and a bit of mystery.
The best thing about this drama I think was the writing. I love the plot and I'm shocked that there is a fantasy element in a modern drama (wasn't it supposed to be banned?). Every episode got me hooked and wanting more. They pulled me into the mystery of the drama. I wasn't expecting something complicated and this suited my mood

Some things were quite obvious *cough the ML's Chinese name* but I love it. The ending was perfect for the drama, and that was how I envisioned it.

Another thing I really liked were the kissing scenes between Shen Yao and Yalkun Merxat. They were so hot. looooool.


The negatives:

Acting:
Some of the acting was a bit unnatural. The FL was on point most of the time - but sometimes her speech delivery felt unnatural (maybe it was dubbed?). Her expressions were fine. I felt that a few others were a bit unnatural for a few scenes - Qin Yue (played Shen Yao), Jin Xiao Rui (played by Zheng Fan Xing) and some of the minor roles.

Wei Xuan He
He's so toxic and I felt that Qin Yue really needed to get away from him. But he's so hottttt xD

Overall I would recommend this drama. It was addictive and not too complicated. The acting could have been better, but it was serviceable.

lol I probably enjoy it because I'm not a programmer - this drama might drive programmers nuts with drama magic. xD

Read More

Great Chemistry, Strange Couples, Boring office storylines

I watched this for the chemistry between the leads, of which they had ample of.
I found myself bored to tears with the office storylines. Some of the decisions that the characters make (not just the leads) got me scratching my head.

I could without ep. 31-35. It had SO much potential to make the SML storyline great and I found myself angry for him. Did they have to do that to make the ML the only viable choice? The character development for the SML was so great...until it wasn't.

Anyways here are my thoughts:

Positives
Chemistry
Cute moments

Negatives
You really have to turn off your brain on some of the logic.
Boring office storylines

I found myself watching the last 7 episodes in 2x speed, just to finish it.

Read More

Body Swapping High Jinx

This is the first time I've seen either main actors. I am quite impressed

Pros:
The plot - it keeps moving! None of the scenes were wasted
The acting - Both Steven Zhang and Liang Jie nailed their roles. I can readily tell when they were playing each other. Being a fan of idols - I kept seeing Steven Zhang - acting like one of my favourite idols. I am not familiar with his personality but he was really convincing as an idol. Liang Jie - was great acting like a guy. She was cute but not overly cute.
The chemistry! both leads had great chemistry with each other.
The family/friends - I liked how close they were with each other. He had a wonderful manager and group mates.

Cons
The beginning and end scene. What was that about? It lessened the show for me, made it seem less magical.

Overall, I recommend this drama. I don't typically watch modern cdramas - because I find them draggy. But I really enjoyed this one.

Read More

Cute Drama

This drama is based on the web novel "I Am This Type of Woman."

Pros:
Cute warm family
Light-hearted
Female lead doesn't care what others say (which is rare for that time)


Cons
It starts to drag around ep. 30
Second Lead syndrome

I enjoyed watching this drama. It is a fairly light-hearted, romantic comedy. It took me a while to warm up to the female lead, but once I did, I just wanted to see what she does.

The villainess was fleshed out so well. I felt sympathy for her. She wasn't given a lot of choices in life, trapped by expectations from her family. She did what she had to do at times, even though the choices sucked.

And I have major second lead syndrome - I'd have picked him over the ML. I felt so bad for him, and he's a great guy. I started watching this in 2x sometimes 3x speed around episode 30. That arc bored me...and then there was a last hurrah by the bad guys, but I didn't really care. lol.

The greatest thing about this drama is that the family is so adorable.

I enjoyed this drama, and I'd probably rank it as one of my favourite cdramas.

Read More

Bel Canto Style

I'm watching this after watching "Our Song". My favourites from "Our Song" are on this show (Zhou Shen, Ayanga and Zheng Yun Long). As a bonus, Henry's here too (I'm a super junior fan).

The talent blows me a way. I'm not familiar with the "Bel Canto" style and this is what they're trying to develop on this show. They have a lot of young singers competing to be "principals". There's no elimination rounds, but there will only be 6 principals that are guaranteed to perform on each episode and the final 6 will have an album and tour.

Being very... shallow, my first thought was "omg they're so good looking" when I saw the singers. My image of Bel Canto singers was shattered. I know Ayanga was good looking but he's not the only one. hahaha xD.

My favourite singers are are Ayanga, Zheng Yun Long, Wang Xi, Zhou Shen and Jia Fan. Some of the reasons is for talent. But it's partly because I like their personalities.

Ayanga shines in here. I think he's funny and he gets a lot of screen time. Ayanga and Zheng Yun Long are like older brothers to the new singers. I was so glad when they took them under their wing. They're also both really talented musical theatre singers. Zheng Yun Long's voice is like melted chocolates. I can listen to him all day. When they sing together it's like O_O

Wang Xi is also like an older brother to Zhou Shen , but I really love the richness of his voice. Honestly, it's also because he was so nice to Zhou Shen and kept encouraging and believing in him that made me like him. T_T.

Zhou Shen - haha he was already my favourite from "Our Song," so I was Zhou Shen biased. It says something about the level of talent when Zhou Shen is actually considered...weaker than the rest . However, what I learned is, he wasn't actually trained! That blows my mind. He said something like "I just sang at home." (without formal training). I still love his voice. It's just heartbreaking to see him not being picked, but there are better singers than him on this show.

Jai Fan - I really like how he sings. He does have his heartwarming moments, but I really like his singing. hhahah it was so cute when they showed him wearing his PJs.


My favourite performances (that I can remember): Beauty and the Beast (Zheng Yunlong and Zhang Chao). Phantom of the Opera (Zheng Yunlong and Ayanga, Ayanga's Mongolian song solo, Zhou Shen's Memory, Zhou Shen's Lonely Goatherd, Sound of Silence (Wang Xi, Li Qi, Ju Hongchuan), Hawthorn Tree (Wang Xi, Zhou Shen, Liu Binhao)


This is more serious than "Our Song" and the style is quite different. I like this though, as it introduces me to a different type of style of singing. The subs are YouTube are a bit messed up (timing is off) so I'm mostly watching it raw.

Also the uploads are YouTube (from China HunanTV Official Channel) are a bit weird. the sound mutes (it's not even a copyright issue because it mutes when they speak and it's not muted for a complete song). They also cut performances strangely for some reason (you see the intro then the end, but not the singing for some songs).

Read More

Fun but Predictable

I've watched this mostly for Xiao Zhan. I am a fan of his and the poster looked so pretty.

I also really like the screen writer, as he is the writer for my favourite cdrama, Joy of Life.

This drama is what I expected to be. It's fun, full of adventures. However, I find the plot very predictable. It's not terrible, just predictable. I'm a huge fan of fantasy novels and anime. Even though I have not read the novel or the donghua for this, I find that the plot twists aren't really twists for me.

It was great until around Ep. 30 ish? then I felt that it started to drag and then I started to watch this in speed around ep. 35 onwards.

I still find it very good, but I feel like it could have been better. I will probably check out the donghua and see what the difference is.

Read More

Celebration of Music

I love this show. I confess, as a Xiao Zhan fan, I've already seen all his performances before I started this show.

I started watching this show for Xiao Zhan, but immediately was blown away with Zhou Shen and Hacken Lee. I ended up cheering for them the most. Their vocals go so well together. My favourite performance of theirs is actually their blind duet (chase/zhui). They didn't practice together but was in sync right off the bat. Their vocals mesh so well.

I've basically liked all their performances and have been rewatching them, even after finishing the show.
I also love their chemistry. They're so fun and have great humor and makes the show fun.

Prior to this show, I liked Zhou Shen's track from the Untamed OST and have seen him perform it once but didn't really know much about him. I've heard a few of Hacken Lee's songs while growing up (I didn't know who he was but my parents listened to him). But this show made me a fan of both of them. I kinda wish Qing Shen Shen is a permanent duo xD. I'm just glad they performed together post show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHJYLiMZQ-w) and they have one track on Spotify (不見就散)

This show also introduced me to Ayanga. His vocals are amazing (and he's hot too xD). Na Ying is so funny and cute! She was a great mentor.

I really liked the positive vibes this show had and really enjoyed watching their performances.

Read More

Changed Format From S1

They changed the format from S1 and it's not for the better. I'm so confused with what they were trying to achieve with the changes. The changes didn't even make any sense and made the show messy.

They had an "X" group for some strange reason. Why couldn't they... just audition with everyone else? They also swapped out a few singers for some reason. This has happened in S1, but it was only a few episodes, because Na Ying was busy...but S2, they did that on purpose. I think they probably had too many "mentors" interested in the show...

Also, Group A is a lot weaker than Group B. Group A consists of younger, and less experienced singers. Group B, with the exception of Roy Wang, are in their 30s. However Roy Wang is part of the TFBoys, which are super popular.

I also didn't like how after a duo that gets the most points in a battle episode gets into the finals. They continue to do this until they have a final five. So basically, we end up with more episodes with the weaker singers, and the stronger group...sings less, which makes no sense to me.

My favourite performance: Coco Lee and Zheng Yunlong's A Million Dreams.

Zheng Yunlong is my favourite "new" singer. His vocals are solid. His performances are really good and I never felt like skipping them. He challenges himself and changes genres. Ballads are his forte.

Funniest Contestant: Taiyi. He's so shy that it's so funny watching him squirm. By the end of the show, I think he became a bit more outspoken. Even though he's so shy off stage, once he's on stage, he becomes a very different person.

I felt S1 focused more on vocals and S2 focused more on performance.

I've enjoyed S1 a lot more than S2 as I felt the groups were stronger vocally and more interesting. I think a few singers picked a partner that sounded too similar to themselves. I wish there was more contrast between the partners.

Read More