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A new kind of Cantabile!
If you are expecting that it factor from the original Nodame Cantabile (japanese drama) or the craziness that was Tomorrow’s Cantabile (korean version), this isn’t it. This drama is not a remake but an adaptation. There are elements from the original story that are waaaay tone down and this makes Symphony’s Romance break away, distinguish itself, and become a drama on its own but still be that familiar tale you know so well. As a result I could enjoy the drama without constantly comparing it to the other versions.The relationship between Xiao Wo and Zhen Yan develops naturally, from a mutual admiration of the talent each holds to a professional and personal partnership among equals. This makes the romance feel more grounded and mature. A welcome change since it makes leading man more affectionate and open to the leading lady’s proactive and flirty ways and, in return, he becomes the person she can rely on when her genius overwhelms her. They support each other’s dreams and ambitions, based on the knowledge not only of themselves as individuals but as a couple. They keep choosing each other through hardships and insecurities. Xiao Wo and Zhen Yan work out things together like the dream team they choose to be.
The same can be said about the secondary characters. For once we see what happens when some of them make it in the world of classical music and others don’t. What happens among friends, lovers and rivals, whom so far have been following the same path, when they go out into the stage of the world. Do they follow their vocation? Was music just daydreaming? Do they decide to follow society’s expectations of what kind of job they should have?
I appreciate this more realistic take on the story. It’s not a youth drama, it’s a drama about young adults trying to find their place in the world and that’s definitely Symphony’s Romance strongest point.
The only weak point, for me, it’s the musical performances. In a drama about musicians and the need to stand on the stage as the best version of yourself, the performances were lacking for my taste. I am not sure if it was the music selection or the editing but, at times, it felt like there was no emotion behind the music that was playing. It should have been since it was supposed to be the culmination of trials the characters had gone through. In very few performances I can truly say that it felt like these passionate musicians left everything on the stage. However, this does not take away from the drama or the character development.
Overall, I had a really great time with this drama and enjoyed every episode. I have no complains about this drama, it gave me exactly what I wanted and needed from it. Symphony’s Romance is the perfect drama to relax and enjoy as the story evolves and its characters grow. With a super cute romance on top. I recommend it!
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The Chemistry? chemistrying and Censorship? Bet
The MLs dynamic is a kidnapped forced marriage lol, then enemies to "bromance" even when they're enemies they stand up and protect each other they have their own moments. Despite being short it's detailed and done well like any full length drama, even side characters have a nicely detailed style, acting and cast stands out the most they are brilliant and carried well.Plot is very serious a seek for revenge and the events are portrayed in a nice pace, there's a couple funny moments but most of it is angsty and the focus is the male leads, the side female character is a sister figure she's not portrayed terribly thankfully but rather a kind person who supports the people around, so if you're seeking a bromance focus it's doing that.
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If you´re only in it for the romance, than skip that one. This KDrama is actually so much more.
This is a family saga in cross-section. Typically, the list of the main actors only contains Lee Seo-jin, Kim Hee-sun and Ok Taecyeon. However, I think the whole family belongs here because family is the issue. Of course there is a romance (and not just one). However, sooner or later is always about family. And so "Wonderful Days" is the perfect KDrama to study family structures, dynamics and values as well as its impact on every day life in South Korean culture and tradition.Family hierarchies, manners, customs and traditions are presented in detail. The setting for this is fittingly the traditional hanok, in this case a giwajib, a dwelling for a middle-class family. In "Wonderful Days" you experience family as it would like to be and family as it really is, behind the facade - with all its taboos and lies and secrets and flaws. The issues of disability, adultery and flaws of single parents are dealt with. The questions of who is allowed to marry whom and what that means for family life are worked through. Finally, it is also about pride, guilt, shame, reconciliation, forgiveness and emancipation.
I think actress Youn Yuh-jung rocks the entire show. The processes she goes through again and again are numerous and moving. In some places, where she seems very traditional and her decisions seem virtuous in the service of the family, she also turns out to be truly modern. She always makes up for her lack of education with a lot of heart and common sense. She is already a strong mother model. But at the same time she shows herself vulnerable and conveys very vividly that this mother role demanded by society is practically superhumanly difficult and actually impossible to achieve.
With the action location of Gyeongju, you also get a tiny glimpse of the historic Silla city in south-east South Korea. The grave-mounds of the Silla Kings provide a scenic background more than once. The specific, comparatively melodic Busan dialect that is spoken in this region is also acoustically striking in the dialogues.
This family drama, in which everyone works through their own inner and outer struggles within themselves and the family, is told in a compassionate, vivid and multi-layered manner along numerous storylines through the entire family. Accordingly, this 50-episode KDrama has more episodes than usual. You can indeed learn to understand how the individual in South Korea holds back for the family, or what strength one has to muster in order to protect one's self-interest against the (supposed) well-being of the family, especially the elderly. Self-sacrifice and the ability to suffer are a given - as if it were the most natural thing in the world. However, they are sometimes subtly and sometimes openly questioned. The quarrel is conducted within the drama-family, but inevitably continues in OUR heads, hearts and personal worlds, too. Thus, it is a sensitive socio-critcal study and a sophisticated scenario, for confronting South Korean audience with traditional values facing modern life in 2014. Perhaps it is also interesting to know for non-Koreans (in order to understand some other dynamic of the story): adultery has only been unpunished in South Korea since 2015, abortion since 2017. Before that, it was a crime.
Sometimes the family dynamics are almost unbearable from a western point of view. They may also seem exaggerated as far as our (I am here refering to ´my´ western, german) reality is concerned. The decisions of the protagonists sometimes seem to be incomprehensible. But then again - as far as South Korea is concerned - this is not exaggerated at all. These dynamics are real (but in good makjang fashion, they also add a bit more drama for good catharsis effect). In any case, for Western viewers those dynamics are instructive for studying the culture-specific value systems and, last but not least: occasionally also thought-provoking, too.
Ah. Don´t let me forget to mention... it is about a love story, too. Not only one actually. But if you´re in it for only this romance, than skip that one. You will be busy fast-forwarding most of the time - because this KDrama is actually so much more...
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The complexity of the plot coupled with the controversial themes set against a backdrop of historic events made it a compelling film to behold. The beauty of this film lies in its hauntingly terrifying realism that most people don't usually think about, the thought of cultures evolving in such a brutally fast way while we all struggle to keep our problems under control not noticing how the rest of the world changes so drastically around us, makes this movie one of the best social commentaries ever filmed.
Created in 1993 it might appear old-fashioned in form for those who are used to today's blockbuster films but it is certainly modern in psychological dynamics, it’s a film that you can lose yourself in, one that washes over you like a pleasant nostalgic memory.
Its beautiful cinematography combined with powerful symbolism certainly deserves all of the awards it earned, masterfully crafted each scene is so poignant and engaging you don't even realize you're holding your breath while watching it. And despite the film’s length reaching almost three hours, Chen Kaige (director) certainly cannot be accused of it being draggy or slow-moving. The pace snowballs towards the last hour, with 30 years of history compacted into its final sixty minutes.
A few words must be spent on the quality of the acting, for both the adult and child cast, which was immaculate. Leslie Cheung once again showing us how versatile he truly was.
Our protagonist Dieyi is easily one of the most relatable characters, going through endless tragedy our little concubine delivers an iconic show for everybody to see. Witnessing the dark behavior of human nature through this film can only make you empathize with the people who suffered from countless hardships and misfortune.
The political dimension of the film, its social commentary and its relevance for today, where questions of how can one still put on makeup and play-act when war was breaking out the following day, gives us pause to reflect.
Despite (ironically) being initially banned in China but shown to international acclaim such as' Cannes & The New York Film Festival, Farewell My Concubine is a motion picture experience that only a few will soon forget after giving it a try.
For me, this film represents beauty in its purest form, a masterpiece that stands the test of time.
I will give this movie a full 10/10 .
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The winds of change.
This slow paced suspense thriller by the director of The Bad Kids is told with such dry humor and irony that it initially conceals the story's intense, almost unbearable pathos. It is about how the irresistible force of the winds of change profoundly affects the lives of two generations of Hualin. Hualin is a fictional Northeastern town where the entire economy was built around a state owned enterprise, Huagang Steel, which is said to be modelled on either Angang Steel or Benxi Steel. The mill employs most of the town in some capacity and runs everything from its schools to its hospitals. This economic model collapsed in the late 1990s, displacing hundreds of thousands of workers across China. Towns like Hualin, where one enterprise comprised practically the entire economy were particularly hard hit.The drama opens in 2016, where the main protagonist Wang Xiang, an irascible old taxi driver helps his brother-in-law Gong Biao hunt down scammers who tried to knock off his taxi medallion. They rope in Ma Desheng, a retired disillusioned cop turned ballroom dancer to aid them. Their determined, bungling poking around results in a murder that Wang Xiang insists must be linked to a cold dismemberment case at the mill that they had investigated almost two decades ago. This takes them back to 1997/1998, which was a turning point in all three lives that they survived but never quite recovered from.
Fan Wei's portrayal of the older Wang Xiang's grief frozen expression and his glittering angry sad gaze is brilliant and evocative. I almost couldn't see Qin Hao in middle-aged Gong Biao, who still somehow manages to hang on to that optimism and naivete of youth. And Chen Minghao never fails to impress with his ability to combine comedy with tragedy - his ballroom dancing left me speechless! I enjoyed the chemistry and rapport of the older cast immensely. Only veteran actors of this caliber are able to stay in character and wear the passage of time and hardship through multi-decade transformations so effortlessly. In the present, they are shadows of their former selves, displaced by the reform and changes that swept across China as it opened up to change. I am surprised by how candid this drama is about how these economic reforms did not benefit everybody.
Back in 1997, the three friends are in their prime. Wang Xiang is the important train driver that transports raw materials to the mill; Gong Biao is a rare young college graduate groomed to advance in the mill's senior management; and Ma Desheng is a hot shot detective in charge of shocking murders that shook the town. The young Wang Yang sees the writing on the wall with respect to the mill's future and resists his father's efforts to help him secure a position there, seeking employment in the nascent and seedier private sector instead. There he becomes fast friends with Shen Mo and Fu Weijun. Unlike the older generation who are still in denial, this youthful trio are quicker to accept and adapt to the rapidly changing environment. The bond of their friendship is just as strong and as real as that of their elders. The younger cast impressively hold their own well up against the veterans. This has to be Li Gengxi's best, least petulant portrayal but I still find her to be the weakest link in the cast overall. While her performance was quite good, I did not like or empathise with her Shen Mo the way I felt compelled by and rooted for both Wang Yang (lLiu Yitei) and Fu Weijun (Jiang Qiming).
In terms of the mystery plot, it is very well designed with a few good twists but is overall straightforward and easy to understand. The clues are intriguing and well planted early on and an outline of what happened emerges at a slow but riveting pace. When all is revealed, everything fits together and makes sense. It is true that this drama is a much bigger story than the mystery itself but the unravelling of the case is the centrepiece that pulls the sub-plots and narrative that spans two decades together. It is a very dark story that unfolds during a time of inescapable change that everyone is helpless up against. At the same time, they go through some utterly devastating events. The passage of time doesn't dull anything; in fact to them decades later it is still as if it all happened just yesterday. Poor Wang Xiang and to a lesser extent, his buddies are in limbo, suspended in this dreadful, long autumn. The drama tries to end with closure followed by a positive epiphany; to move forward and not look back 往前走/wǎng qián zǒu. Yet I can't shake the overwhelming sense of how beautiful but quietly helpless and tragic this story is. Not everyone will be able to understand or relate to the late 1990s backdrop or enjoy the slow pace but for me this is the best drama I have watched this year (as of May 2023). I rate it 9.5/10:0.
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Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
At twenty-three, Lin Zhaoxi lives a life of quiet desperation. She grows up in the shadow of two natural math geniuses - her father Lin Zhaosheng and his mentee and love of her life, Pei Zhi. Despite her passion, her aptitude for math is not intuitive and falls short of true genius. Discouraged, she majors in philosophy and is resigned to a mundane existence. She also loses touch with Pei Zhi after he leaves to further his studies in Germany. Her world unravels further when she discovers her father Old Lin has early onset Alzheimer's. Then out of the blue, she is whisked away to cheese world, a parallel world with a childhood classmate Ji Jiang. In order to return to their world or strawberry world, they must win Math Olympics. This was a challenge she failed as a child. It was arguably the great inflection point that put her on a less satisfactory life path, one that is lacking passion.Don't be put off by the math aspects of this drama; the writer does a good job making abstruse concepts and theorems quite approachable and avoids getting bogged down into the weeds. The storytelling indulges in almost ten episodes of sheer childhood delight as the young Lin Zhaoxi, Ji Jiang and Pei Zhi try out for Math Olympics. The child actors led by Wang Shengdi, Fu Bohan and Lin Zeyi blew me away with their natural and uninhibited articulation of joie de vivre that conquers all. The young cast steals the show with their empowering message that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. The Harry Potter allusions were brilliant - it just cracked me up that no one wanted to be Harry! It also pays proper homage to Snape, one of the most complex, fascinating and moving fictional characters ever written. This is indisputably the strongest, best arc of the drama.
The middling arc is a struggle by comparison as both Zhang Xincheng and Zhang Zifeng take time to get in character and are not that convincing as lovers. It is not a bad arc at all, in fact the father daughter dynamics are very enjoyable and touching. It is just that the first arc is just too good. Initially, Zhang Zifeng seems mis-cast because unlike Ji Jiang and Pei Zhi, I could barely see any vestiges of the child that was Lin Zhaoxi. But upon reflection, it is intended that all of that youthful optimism and sense of invincibility is extinguished. The actress really redeems herself in the latter episodes, especially in her chilling encounter with her doppelganger. Oddly it is Zhang Xincheng's performance that doesn't hit all the right notes in this. I think he is much less comfortable taking on grey or flawed roles. I didn't like Pei Zhi for most of the drama and only empathised with him after his heart to heart with his father Pei Donglai in cheese world. Both the young and grown Ji Jiang is far more charismatic and is seamless portrayed by both actors. As always the veteran actors Lei Jiayin, Wang Xiao (Zhang Shuping) and Geng Le (Pei Donglai) are the ones that save the day by extracting the best performances from the younger actors. In this one, even they are outclassed by the amazing kids. Ni Ni's brief stint as an omnipresent and unforgettable character is both delightful and heartbreaking. The drama picks up pace and comes together in the final act. It finishes strongly with a few good mind blowing twists and reveals to end in a good way. Some may not like how it was all wrapped up but I did and I explain why in a spoiler in the comment section of this review.
The Heart of Genius is a well-crafted and intriguing story about life, love and friendship that is comical, inspiring and heartbreaking. Everyone makes mistakes and has regrets; Lin Zhaoxi didn't try hard enough, Pei Zhi lost his father too soon; Lin Zhaosheng didn't fight to clear his name; Zhang Shuping did the wrong thing... This drama tantalises with the impossible fantasy of re-writing history, to have a chance at a do-over of the big what-if moments in life. It proves that even though assholes are still assholes in each world, the grass is not necessarily greener in cheese world; that there are always consequences and trade-offs that are of unknown, unknowable value. Thus we must be consoled by the wisdom that life is not a fairy tale and who we are and who we love are the sum total of our shared experiences good and bad. To live in the moment and to accept what we can't change. It is a very engaging and thought provoking drama that does not seem to get the appreciation it deserves. It is one of the most enjoyable dramas I watched recently and am happy to rate this an 8.5 overall.
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Romantic and Inspirational
Story:It's nothing new, but it's told in a way that feels so fresh! It deals with the relatable struggles of work life, going with the flow vs. challenging yourself and following your dreams. It seems obvious, but it's actually really hard to take the first step into living a life for yourself instead of living it to fulfill other's expectations.
At the starting point, Umi is overworked and unhappy and doesn't like the person she's become. After meeting Kazao by chance, she begins to want to change herself, and she starts a journey into becoming a person she loves, growing up in the process. There's actually real growth for all characters involved. The story and the dialogues are so well written that the drama progresses very naturally. And, even though the theme may be serious, it has a lot of funny and warm moments.
A few of the most memorable scenes for me were the reccurent after work ramen, gyoza and beer scenes, that created an intimate environment where the main characters were allowed to unwind - these scenes were truly precious and cathartic (and the ramen shop owner was sublime even with almost zero lines haha).
Side note: Don't be fooled by the drama poster into thinking this is another superficial and silly sexyromcom, this is a drama about adults being adults, it has a meaningful message and is filled with the nutritious kind of sweetness. The poster is actually the only thing I didn't like about the drama, because it doesn't fit at all.
Acting/Cast:
This is my first time seeing Suzuki Airi and Honda Kyoya and I loved them as Umi and Kazao, they really became their characters. Suzuki Airi's range was particularly impressive, acing the comedy and making us feel the pain along with her. Honda Kyoya is incredibly charming in a nonchalant way and made me fall head over heels in love with Kazao, breaking all ML stereotypes out there.
I also need to mention Shirasu Jin and Izuka Kenta and their entertaining and heartwarming bromance, as Keisuke and Satoru. I hadn't seen them in this kind of role before and they delivered. Kudos to them.
Music:
There is silence when there needs to be, and there's also music beautifully woven into the scenes, making them even more impactful and emotional. It's really done right.
I have "Gloomy Day" by Lozareena playing on a loop for weeks, now. It's a really great song, and it really fits with the drama.
"Just face forward, run, run until I can run
That's what I thought I should do
I kept fooling myself and losing my confidence
Even though I'm the hero of my own story
I got my mind made up
Run, run and run"
Rewatch Value:
I've already rewatched it, so... ^^
Definitely a drama to (re)watch when you're losing confidence in yourself, when you're feeling hopeless or when you just want to watch the sweetest romance. It will lift your spirits, give you courage and warm your heart.
Overall:
10/10 for me.
On a very personal note, this drama came just at the right time! I finally mustered up the courage to leave my job of 11 years... Oof. On the morning I finally made the decision, I was walking to work screaming inside my head the lyrics to "Gloomy Day" ("HASHIRE HASHIRE HASHIRE!").
I don't know what the future holds, but you only live once, and only you have the power to try to change yourself and chase after your dreams. Ganbatte!
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They tried to make a new kind of drama, where women have power, where they cand dress how they want, put makeup, accessories and date whoever they want in whatever manner they desire. I really liked that. It had a F*ing strong start.
The first few episodes are my favs and I would rewatch those but not the full drama. Ok so onto what bothers me:
The love story: Starts in a refreshing way for a kdrama, I mean, it s not the usual korean drama couple. But as you go into the story, her not wanting to get married, him wanting to, the endless and pointless drama between them bored me very much. The ending was as boring as their couple story. I must say that his acting and way of being (the resting bitch face and voice and everything) was more suited for Kill It (where I really liked him) or the other drama with the serial killer (come and hug me- I think). Not here.
What kept me going? SCARLETT. GODDAM Scarlett was everything, I swear. She ended up being the only one I cared about, her style, personality, everything.
***IMPORTANT: if this was a drama focused on Cha Hyun(scarlett) I would have given it a 10 (so you can watch it based on this little detail)
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Really cool Gender swap Romantic thriller!
I heard Kim Jieun (FL) saying that this show is a Romantic thriller in a radio interview and that's what it is exactly! A really interesting one at that! It has short 24 episodes of almost 22-25 mins each. Easy to watch, mostly light-hearted and quite well acted. Picks up pace after Ep 4.HIGHLIGHTS :
1) ACTING: Actually I have become a fan of both FL and ML (Lomon) and went back and watched most of their old shows because of how good they are here! When they gender swap the change is so smooth it's like they actually swapped! They both have done a really great coordinated job here! 👏👏
2) CHEMISTRY : It's simply Fire! Both the leads look so hot together! 🤩 And I am sure many of you are here because of those kiss scenes YT shorts! 😁 But mind you, the actual romance part is really subtle, don't expect fireworks romance and sweeping declarations, you just have to imagine those things yourself! 😭 LOL (EDIT: Now that I have completed it, I can say that romance gets more visible towards the end and for that I am infinitely happy :D)
3) STYLISH SHOW: When you watch it you will realise they have added all elements to both aesthetics and the plot to make it modern and stylish. All the Marketing ideas they come up with in each episode is so new and cool and overall very interesting and I really enjoyed those scenes in each episode!
4) I personally like a no nonsense strong headed FL and here she is perfect as one! she's no saint and don't go expecting her to be one either you will be disappointed! She's superbly grey! (EDIT: For people looking for character growth, let's just say they all become better versions of themselves in the end.)
Mild spoiler :
5) It's a thriller so be ready for huge plot twists! Things may not be as they seem in the first 3/4th half of the show! 😉 But they are totally worth it! Accept things as they come, it gets better and better! (EDIT : It's certainly all worth it in the end! *HEA* <3 )
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The good story with weird ending
It was a very refreshing drama, kind of sweet, I love the way of execution of the story and the character development. Even though there is 8 years difference between the main lead but their screen chemistry was very good. but it was very good until the 14 episodes they messed up the ending...I mean they really messed up, It was the weirdest and worst ending ever. It didn't explain anything. So it was 8.5 for me until 14 ep but it's all messed up now ...like all people got a happy ending except the main lead (or they got writer knows it's like an open ending) I am very confused.I will surely recommend this drama but the last 2 episodes are a huge disappointment!
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Story: Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. Some parts are just horrible, I would have cried (if I were to ever cry while watching a movie). The story was very good.
Acting/Cast: Fantastic. I'm glad they had at least one actor from the original Boys Love. All of the actors portrayed their characters well.
Music: I only can't really remember it... >_> But, they had the quotes like they did in Boys Love, which was awesome and kinda served the same purpose as music would have.
Rewatch Value: I've already seen it twice in less than a week. Point made.
I would highly recommend this movie.
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The main focus is not primarily on the action but the intervals. Intimate play. Highly committed.
The story is told quite sensitively, calmly, just a few dialogues. It is almost studio theatre that relies on the two main protagonists and thus on the haunting performance of Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin.´He' is typical male, who feels like he owns the world - and now being confronted with his pride being hurt , whereas 'she' represents everything that makes a "good" wife: devoted, caring and - in case of doubt - convinced that she herself is to blame. However, for both of them as their former worlds fall apart their encounter sets processes in motion. They start questioning their lives. Quietly the chance for new orientation, for a new self-image and changed standards when it comes to relationships open up.
The title "April Snow" refers to the fact that the two protagonists love different seasons: he loves winter and she loves spring. Snow in April thus symbolizes a bridge that leads the two together. In the original, however, the title reads something like "Excursion" and refers to 'his' wife and 'her' husband who, as part of their affair, go on a secret trip on which their serious car accident brings everything to light...
(At first the story somehow reminded me a bit of the US movie "Random Hearts" from 1999. The KMovie "April Snow" from 2005, however, is not a remake, just a similar story.)
Yes, it is not a funny movie. Yes, it is intimate play on high studio theatre level. No effects. Just intense play. The main focus is not primarily on the action but the intervals in between. It´s different. Highly committed. Intense.
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The Sweetest Couple!
Because the plot on MyDramaList was a little confusing at first, I constantly ignored this drama and put it aside. The female lead Mi Jiu Er is known as Superflash, and is a poor heroine who protects and takes care of refugees in the city. She ends up swapping places with her doppelgänger, who is the manager of the male lead's clothing workshop. Honestly, this drama is an underrated gem, and generally is very solid with one of the happiest and most well-written endings that I've seen recently in Chinese dramas. If you go into this for sparkly and passionate romance, a really cute main couple, and don't except an intense story too much, I definitely encourage you to watch this!I'd highly recommend having a watch if you like these tropes:
♡ Enemies to Lovers: Luo Yin Ran and Mi Jiu Er are constantly bickering in the beginning. While Yin Ran is a cold, reserved male lead who hates uncleanliness and is devoted to his work, he never hurts the female lead. Over time, he grows to protect her, and even puts down his own feelings and his wellbeing for Mi Jiu Er's happiness. The relationship between these two is incredibly healthy, and Luo Yin Ran never crosses boundaries that could hurt the female lead. This trope is also repeated with the second couple in this drama, who are also very loveable and also have a very sweet relationship as well.
♡ So Many Kisses: The amount of passion and sweetness in all the kisses made my heart flutter! Both the main actor Kris Sun and actress Jin Wen Xin are adorable, and their kisses are so well shot. There are sweet and lovely kisses, but also romantic ones, and even some that show tinges of bittersweetness. The actors did a great job in showing the emotion of their characters through all of the kiss scenes, and many of the kisses were lengthy and passionate (instead of being frozen or stiff).
♡ Gorgeous Production Value: All of the clothes (especially as this is a drama which focuses on the clothing industry) are beautiful. The scenes are so wonderfully shot, and the buildings and sets are gorgeous. I believe that this is a Republican era drama (it isn't exactly clear in the series because the show doesn't really focus on the political context) and so you will see an interesting mix of Western clothing on Pei Zhuo and Chinese clothing on Luo Yin Ran.
♡ Generally Drama and Angst Lite: There are moments where the drama ventures into more sad scenes. Our main couple does experience some periods of sadness, but they also communicate and try to work out their problems. This is therefore great to pick up if you just want something to relax to and something where you don't have to think too much.
♡ Solid Storyline and Very Watchable: There are enemies and problems in this drama, but because it's only 24 episodes, there is little to no filler, and you have a great beginning, an interesting setup, and one of my all time favourite endings. If you want a whole story that's completed, instead of finding out that there's a cliffhanger or a "Season 2" after finishing, I highly recommend that you watch this. You will be completely satisfied by the progression of the story.
♡ My Boy Fan Xiao Dong: If you've watched the Chinese drama the Rules of Love, Fan Xiao Dong is the actor who plays the second male lead. If your heart was crushed by second lead syndrome in that drama, it'll (unfortunately) also be crushed here too as Fan Xiao Dong plays the lonely second love interest Pei Zhuo. I think that out of all the actors, Fan Xiao Dong did the best job, because he was simultaneously a character that you could be deeply sympathetic with at one second, and then hateful towards during the next. In any case, I think his character had one of the biggest changes to his personality and mindset, and that this drama is an opportunity to see another side of his acting.
However, there are also some things you might not like about the drama:
♥ Chemistry: It took some time for me to get used to Kris Sun and Jin Wen Xin. They do have a large age gap, and I felt very lukewarm about their chemistry during the first couple episodes. In addition, I feel that some of the earlier episodes create more sparks between Mi Jiu Er and the second male lead Pei Zhuo, and have more scenes with them clearly showing some affection towards each other. However, once you keep watching, especially when Luo Yin Ran begins to fall for Mi Jiu Er, you start to warm up to them and the kisses definitely are exploding with chemistry.
♥ Somewhat Rocky Acting: There are some scenes where I as not really convinced of the main actors and actress. Jin Wen Xin's interpretation of Mi Jiu Er definitely can come off as very childish (especially as she is so petite). This also gets me on to the dubbing, where Jin Wen Xin's absolutely lovely husky voice in real life is changed into a very childish-sounding, high pitched one, which some viewers may not like. However, over time her brash and straightforward personality becomes very endearing. Sometimes I also felt Kris Sun struggled with the more emotionally demanding scenes, especially ones that involved crying or anger. However, I think both still did a solid job, but whether it was their acting or the story itself, I do think that there are some scenes in which the acting is a little stiff and/or unnatural.
♥ Some Parts Can be Boring, Especially the First Stretch: I did skip some times during the drama, and do find that the beginning is probably the hardest to get through, because the setup is done in a way where you don't feel like it's high stakes or are drawn in to the story. I did drop it several times initially, before I started getting through the more expository episodes, and started really seeing the romance develop.
♥ Not a Huge Focus on Succeeding in the Clothing Industry: The background plot does involve the vying for power in the clothing industry amongst different businesses that are in the industry. I do think that this was a great idea to tie in the overall story and to give some urgency to the plot. However, note that this is not a story of how Mi Jiu Er overcomes obstacles and becomes a wonderful and capable manager, or that she grows to become skilled in the industry. While part of the story does involve how Luo Yin Ran acquires greater fame in the industry, the main focus is really on our main couple. So you will not really be seeing the characters improve per se, but instead a greater emphasis on the romance that develops between them (and then some scheming that occurs from other companies.)
I'd recommend you watch this if you liked dramas that have lots of fluffy romance, are beautifully filmed, and also love a lot of romantic tropes. I do think you need to have your expectations set - this is no groundbreaking Chinese drama where you may feel the need to binge watch - but is a very solid and well done show overall. If you're looking for something that's sweet and light, then this is for you!
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