Recommendations

Sad and depressing movies from the 2000s about young people facing life's worst challenges. The characters seek to find a place of belonging but everything comes crashing down on them sooner or later.

Both movie follow students navigating life's horrors, struggling with exclusion, bullying, mental illness, death etc. Both films employ unique artistic direction.

Both employ a partially non-linear story line and are visually aesthetic. Theyre coming of age stories that explore dark themes and tackle topics such as mental health, death, su*ci*e etc. The characters only find solace in imagined places. These movies are sad and depressing.

A series that has marked the history of JDramas: an incredible star-studded cast that put together five of the most famous young actors of that time; an emotional and enthralling plot; bonds that matter: friends, lovers, families.

Plot: a once-promising violinist becomes deaf, a young boy tries to help her during everyday life, they fall in love... but there are ups&downs and obstacles.

A must-watch for any drama lover.

Cross dressing fl, play boy mc, female general / military, martial arts, enemies to lovers second ml, same open ending, comedy

Both have :
- FL with a wealthy background & protective families
- ML with a poor/troubled background who work hard to pay off their (inherited) debts
- FL is very supportive of ML; ML does anything to prove he's "worthy"
- they first connect when ML tutors the FL in high school
- FL gives up and pushes ML away until ML starts chasing FL
- they reconnect in college
- FL likes ML first
- she fell first; he fell harder

- gangsters expertly preparing fish
^ said gangster has an intense and fundamental history with fishing
- an inescapable city
- hand injuries (by blade) (as payment)

The time travel aspect of both series makes them very interesting. While one onky travel 4 minutes in time and the other for weeks at a time, the aspect of time traveling is very intriguing

Na Dinastia Shang, o Rei Zhou, o governante cruel, foi substituído por Ji Wu. Durante a investidura dos Deuses, Jiang Ziya desistiu de seu trono divino. Ele estava disposto a ser o marquês no reino humano para garantir que sua afilhada, Duanmu Cui, pudesse se tornar imortal. Milhares de anos depois, na Dinastia Song, ele se tornou Bao Qingtian.

Both shows have Yoo Jitae in them, got the same vibe and very similiar main characters (vigilante lead, journalist helping him, antagonist trying to stop him etc.)

They are both fun to watch, Shen Li is focused on one romance, Starry Love has multiple romances but the main focus is Empyrean Xuan Shang and Ye Tan's story. All of them are cuties. Both ML's fall hard once they accept that they can forgo the weird teachings and are allowed to fall in love.

Both dramas have leads the initially test each other's patience but then later go all out for each other. There is no use of the silly misunderstandings as a plot device. In both the ML are played by terrific actors. The FL in Royal Rumours is not as famous as Shen Li's FL but she is a hidden gem.

One is Xianxia, the other focused on revenge but both are solid in terms of leads, they are all beautifully written and enacted. Shen Li & Jiang Li both have a strong will, whereas Xing Zhi and Xiao Heng both treasured their lovers.

Both dramas were gold with leads that care for each other more and were willing to deal with their problems together. Even when they were being crazy, there were no silly misunderstandings but genuine care for each other.

Warning though: One and Only has a brutal ending, watch it at your own peril.

What I think is similar in both is the maturity between the couples. They understood each other so well.

While Shen Li & Xing Zhi bickered a lot, they still respected each other. Zhou Sheng Chen respected and treated Cui Shi Yi with a lot of care. They get their happy ending in the modern times (in the sequel Forever and Ever).