Reviews

An improved chinese youth romance

Although it reminds me of the usual Chinese youth dramas since it has the same plots as others, this is more like an improved version of them. The characters are more mature, and the choice of songs is definitely a chef's kiss. It has such comforting vibes that it made me cry three times, although I usually don't in this type of genre.

My favorite couple is probably the second one. I like them just being supportive and constantly teasing each other. The first couple is the real definition of cuteness. They're just too sweet.

Oh, and I want to highlight how they are so good with their choice of words, especially the female lead. She really knows how to throw the right words at the right person. She's the real definition of being cute while knowing how to stand up for herself and others. This is so refreshing to see in Chinese dramas, as they usually show that cute girls can't be too strong or brave girls can't be too cute.

If you are tired of heavy dramas and want a cute and sweet one, you should check this out. The cinematography and osts are great, and the concept of filming yourself every day is very nostalgic. The friendship is also wholesome, as they also have their own stories.

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Awe-inspiring and mind-blowing series of 2021! Definitely a must-watch!!

To begin my review, just so you all know, after I finished watching "The Rebel Princess", I was definitely lost for words. I gotta say, I love everything about this fantastic series, from the epic glorious; breathtaking battle, the tender romance of the main characters, the never ending villains, and most of all, the character of General Yuzhang (Xiao Qi). Perhaps the only thing I can complain about is the tittle. For me, personally, the most suitable title for this series is "Princess and General" or "The Rebel General". If any of you have watched it, I believe you all agree with me here. I honestly think, this series is by far has the best cinematography (fantastic angle for capturing the battle of thousands of soldiers and the wonderful view of the empires/palaces).

With the total of 68 episodes, I must give myself a big round of applause for finishing "The Rebel Princess" in less than a week without skipping any scenes. Just like that, when I'm in love with a drama or series, I will give it all out. I'm addicted as well as determined to enjoy and finish it as quickly as possible. As I mentioned in the beginning, one of the reasons I enjoyed "The Rebel Princess" was General Yuzhang who played by the one and only incredible actor, Zhou Yi Wei. His character was undeniably the scene stealer of the series and he set the bar so high as a male lead in any other Chinese series I have watched so far. My first time watching him and I was completely struck by his stunning act. I guess, I will need time to move on from his character as he was undoubtedly so amazing as General Yuzhang and I must say I have the greatest respect for him. Bravo!!

I think we all know Zhang Zi Yi and I don't think I need to talk about her further. She is a very well-known actress in China and knowing "The Rebel Princess" was her first television series, I have to say, she's still without a doubt, one of the most beautiful leading ladies in the television series. Although, in the beginning I was a bit skeptical when she played the younger version of her character, Awu, but in the long run, I started to like her character as the older version.

On the whole, "The Rebel Princess" was awe-inspiring as well as mind-blowing series that I recommend you all to watch it right away. I can assure you all will love it from the very first start. Impressive!! Magnificent!! First-class!!

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Great start till it takes a turn to the snooz fest

This was just soooo good until they started healing and then it just became a never ending flow of tears (not mine) and slow mo conversations to the sound of emotional music that did not seem to end...

But to the good stuff!

The leads, all three are fun to watch and have great dynamics.. did a good jobb portraying the different emotions and types of relationships. I especially loved the long lost brother sister bickering, fun, playfulness. But also the friendships,

The parents here are awful, in an entertaining love to hate type of way, the onely remotely competent parent figure in this whole drama are those not connected by DNA. No Wait there is a single mother here who is deffinetly motherhood goes too but she does not really have much to do with the leads and has way to title screen time.

The way the story unfolds is really good, it delivers some pretty decent twists, and show the whole human behind the suicide. A complex web of emotions, circumstances and of course pain, done right. I could relate to many of the characters on many levels. And would say this is one of the better portrayals of the subject even though it does have some iffy parts as well. However seeing it is a delicate subject that is to be expected.

I also love the way the past relationships unfold with all the complexity they give...

So the first 9 episodes or so would have easily gotten 9,5 stars, if only it did not turn awkward and then all healing on me... taking away all the fun, bitterness, intrigues and suspense I was enjoing so much... making me want to forward scenes and wondering if it will ever end...

There are no less than 2 really cute dogs, nice cinematography from time to time too. A bunch of plot holes and situations that make no sence att all too...

So episode 1-9 9,5stars
episodes 10-13- 6 stars..
= 8 stars. but If you love healing then you are sure to love this, if you don't I suggest you just watch the first 9 episodes and skim the rest or ask someone about those last 4 episodes...

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This series was absolutely amazing to watch. The characters were all very interesting and each episode just makes you want to find out more. The story itself carried meaning and was a great insight to what the life of a college kid may be like. The fact that there were a lot of characters but they were all very easy to follow is amazing in itself. I thought that it'd be difficult to keep up but the editors did a fantastic job keeping the audience entertained and intrigued. I found that with this series, there was not a boring episode. Usually, filler episodes are easy to pinpoint and brush off but it was less evident with this series, which I liked a lot. I enjoyed the finding out the relationships between the characters and how their lives didn't move at an extremely quick pace. Everything was planned and timed out nicely.

Surprisingly, the cast were all fantastic actors. I was expecting the odd one or two 'unable to expression emotions properly' characters, but they didn't come out! For that I am so thankful. The whole process of watching was a roller coaster of emotions and I'm genuinely a 100% satisfied watcher of the series.

Since I've watched it a lot later than the initial release, I don't know whether this series received the limelight it deserved but know that this series deserves so much love, the actors and actresses too!

The cinematography was great, the sound quality was practically 10/10 and the soundtrack was beautiful to listen to.

Overall, I think this series is definitely worth the watch. For me, it was superb. 10/10 ????

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Nice beginning but later got annoying

I loved this drama at the beginning. It was really nice and I loved the love story between the younger sister and her love interest.
I also love how the drama depicts the hardships of the entertainment industry.
Also that actress deserves an award. She plays the roles of the two sisters perfectly well, it feels like it's not the same person. And the fact that she acted as one sister pretending to be the other is just incredible. And she was also able to act movie scenes inside a drama, that girl is talented.

But, here comes the but.
I got really frustrated as I continued watching, why were there so many quarrels between the couples.
Also her elder sister is just evil and the fact that she keeps taking her sister as someone she should be close to is just...
I mean it's not complusory to be so close to her sis especially when her sis is such a dangerous person... could never be me.
I feel really sorry for the person that is dating her elder sis in the drama, her character is just terrible. But then again, he likes her for who she is and probably knows how to tolerate her.

Overall the drama is okay but I would not be rewatching it, except for a few of my favorite scenes.

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Should've spent more time in the drafts

I know this was adapted from a manga and a Japanese drama but I haven't read or seen either of those so my review isn't comparing the originals & is only based on what I thought watching this version. I'm a fan of Sejeong, slice of life, & webtoons so this drama was catering to my likes. From the start, this wasn't a great drama but it was tolerable enough - until it kind of wasn't & I was just finishing it because of how close to the end it was.

What I liked about the drama was seeing the issues webtoons & their artists faced. As a webtoon fan, I've seen artists talk about some of the problems presented in the drama (deadlines, unhappy fans/comments, rivalries, health concerns, etc.) so I think it's a good thing to show viewers who didn't consider those things. Maybe the problems may have come off over the top for some but, though dramatized for entertainment purposes, they do exist.

For me, I really didn't find any of the characters likeable (in terms of saying I connected with them or was attached to them) but they weren't dislikeable either - except for Director Heo (the loser antagonist), PD Kwon (who wasn't a good co-worker), Hanseul (who wasn't a supportive gf to artist Na), & Ma Eum's sister (who I found annoying). I will say that I actually found the supporting characters & their stories to be more interesting than those of the leads. (For example, I actually enjoyed Donghee & Daeryuk's storyline of jealousy & coming to terms with their own futures probably the most.)

What stopped this from being a good drama was the directing & having too many episodes. At times, the drama felt all over the place as if they didn't know who or what to focus on. There were 5 artists, & 2 rookie ones, who we were introduced to & we saw through the show but their storylines weren't balanced well. What I mean by that is they weren't really interconnected, which I had no problem with, but they'd focus on an artist only for the story to then focus on something else, & the artist would disappear for episodes before returning. Because of that, this drama could've been less episodes, like 12, especially with the main issues basically being resolved around then. (Ep 15 was when they were resolved & it felt anticlimactic the way that they were resolved & being before the final ep. At the end of ep 15, they were creating new issues to drag out something for the final ep.)

But, the main reasons why I can't say this was a good drama is because of the way toxic work culture was lowkey romanticized & how they dealt with Daeryuk's arc. From the start, for the most part, the PDs showed lack of concern for their artists as human beings. They were more concerned with making sure the artists made their deadlines than anything else. In PD Kwon's case, they tried to justify it by sharing how he used to care too much but then their previous company failed so that's why he doesn't show as much care now. (He caused a rookie artist to fall sick & kind of give up on their dream of being an artist yet he never asked her how she was doing.) A lot of the times they were trying to deliver a message & make it heartwarming, or whatever, but failed to do that because of the way they tried getting it across. As for Daeryuk's arc, I never have high expectations for dramas when it comes to dealing with mental health but this surprised me & not in a good way. They gaslight his abuse by playing it off as his mother caring for him (because handcuffing your child & leaving them home alone while a fire broke out is a way to protect them apparently) & having her have dementia so he feels sorry for her. It left me disturbed & made my rating for this drama go down.

I don't remember any of the songs used & I'm not really interested in going back to listen to them so that's why I gave music a 1 star rating. This is one of those dramas that I finished, was happy it was over, & won't remember (at least not for the good things). So, I won't rewatch again but had to give a 1 star rating. I still wouldn't consider it one of the worst I've watched but I wouldn't jump to recommend it.

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A Really Slow Paced Drama...But Chen Zhe Yuan Is Worth The Watch

As a head-start, for those who are curious about this drama, the appeal will be to those who enjoy watching high school dramas and also welcome dizzying feeling of first love and all the challenges that comes with it. I actually fall into this category and wasted no time to watch, with all the high ratings given by other viewers.

However, as I dived into this drama, I suddenly realized it is one of the slowest paced drama I have ever watched. The story line was predictable, the plots pretty flat, the conversations pretty monotonous, background music was not appealing and yet I completed 24 episodes without fast forwarding.

After completion, I thought back to what held the show together, and needless to say, it was the main lead Chen Zhe Yuan. It was his portrayal of Si Yue that kept the show interesting. His attitude, his persona and the way he transitioned from his young confident self during high school, to his un-certainty during his University days and to his maturity when clarity comes to him in life and love. He commits, he is loyal, he is protective and fearless when it comes to love. So, this was what kept me watching. The portrayal of this character alone is enough to keep the ladies swooning.

I won't be watching this drama again, and only recommend to those who are interested get to know Chen Zhe Yuan. I will definitely be looking out for his other dramas.

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If PARASITE was a drama

This is not an easy watch by any means. I urge you to not watch this if you`re not open minded, if you`re immature or moot to the brutal realism of the capitalism run world. If the movie "Parasite" was a show, this is a whole circus.

The acting is immaculate. I actually have no complaints whatsoever about any actor. They all did their jobs brilliantly. Kim Hee-Ae and Yoo Ah-In`s chemistry is palpable, raw, it morphes from something animalistic into something frail and true. In fact, the scene where she reads his diary while he plays the piano for her gave me the feeling of being around my long-time crush and steadily spending time, all the while these butterflies kept flying around freely in my stomach. Even my fingers got tingly every time these two were on screen. I have never felt that in a drama and the feeling never went away. At times I was uncomfortable because the things the characters were dealing with hit too close to home as I live in a corrupt country where these situations are all too common.

As I`ve mentioned before, the topics discussed in this drama, which aren`t clear and you have to search for answers yourself, won`t appeal to someone whose biggest problem is what they`re going to wear for the day. I`ve recently had a short discussion about this drama and more importantly, about Hye Won as a character, with someone who sees drama characters as blueprints of how we should live or wish to, so he thought that Hye Won was a pathetic older woman who put herself in this situation and can get out of it any time she wishes to. He blamed her for ruining Sun Jae, pegging him for a victim and saying how she used the Chairman as much as he used her. So I very well understand the polarizing consensus. It doesn`t matter how well acted or written something is, if you aren`t able to place a mirror to yourself and the world and see that people aren`t morally positive or negative, good or evil. Hye Won is a case of a character caught in a monetary trap out of which she cannot escape as a consequence of her co-dependency on money and stability. There is a big difference between born and raised parasites, such as her snobby husband, who acts as a morality gatekeeper when he is nothing more but a puppet, or her anger management issues struck boss Young Woo, who can only live with someone else`s help. Hye Won has to solve their issues and pretend to be a parasite for survival. Nothing she has truly belongs to her. No one recognizes her as an equal even after decades of hard work. So of course she`s going to be drawn to something warm and welcoming, someone who worships her, like Sun Jae.

Some may say that the writing is convoluted, and I think I could see it from their perspective. Little is ever explained and what is, isn`t typical for a drama. It`s ugly, unfair, ruthless and disgusting. And it exists. Right now, someone may be living like this and it`s a sad, sad life. Does that mean that you should justify her behaviour?No, as she herself fed into this carnivorous world. But one should try to understand her because that is the only way to understand the statement behind this drama. Life is messy, sad, pathetic. You have to deal with bullies and corrupt individuals, but there is no happy ending at the end of the tunnel. We all live to survive. But you still root for Hye Won and Sun Jae, because you either understand them, or find redeeming qualities about their characters. Or both.

Whatever the case may be, this is a masterfully acted drama talking about themes that are too uncomfortable for most. But not in the graphic, over the top, violent way. Just in an unfiltered way.

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Bodyguard vs heiress vs evil characters= 'steamy' romance?!

The main premise of this 30 episode short series is that a rich temporarily blinded heiress is being aided by a new bodyguard. The bodyguard conveniently happens to be extremely good looking, and takes off his shirt every chance he gets (to be fair, he's got one of the nicest bodies in chinese dramas!). The heiress, however, has a fiance ... who is quickly revealed to have a secret.
Of course the heiress and the bodyguard fall in love, but there's more to come, as there as well there are some secrets!

The story had an average plot with enough details for the 30 10-minute episodes. I was not bored and I could follow the story's pace. The show did contain a LOT of tropes: pushing each other away in order to help the other, the walking in the rain umbrella thing, the wounded warrior who needs his chest wound tended, etc.

There was some overacting from all actors eventually, even though they also had a chance to show they could act well. I think in some of the buildings they were rushed through the filming, maybe due to time constraints, as the same background usually comes with a bit of overacting.

As usual, these short dramas don't have enough character depth (usually, good remains good and evil remains evil with little change), but there is some shifting of roles throughout, keeping me entertained.

It's also more than enough to show that this main couple deserves their own full-length series.

Although some of the lines made me cringe and others made me laugh out loud due to the ridiculousness, I was hooked until the end.

Watch this if you don't mind an average plot if the chemistry between the lead couple is AMAZING, and they kiss a lot and deeply (albeit still chaste enough to be for teens). They both seem like good kissers, basically, but especially HE knows what he's doing. He reminds me of a mixture of Kim Seon Ho and Ji ChangWook.

They must have had an intimacy consultant on set, as both of them seemed very comfortable with each other during intimate scenes, and I noticed there was a pillow or blanket between their groin areas when he was lying on top of her and kissing her at length. That's a sign of good actor guidance to me, and respect for each other's bodies.

Lastly, I'll follow both these young actors as they both have the physical attributes and the acting skills to make it big if given the chance. I'm personally rooting for them, separate or together.

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I love this show a lot lol

This is one of the few BL series that show nothing but a healthy relationship from both the mains and the side relationship. Tsuge was a bit dramatic but in a good way(?) His character is literally how some people react when they like someone and do not know what to do-- same with Adachi. I loved how the love in the show felt real (if that makes sense). Nobody was forcing anybody to do anything, they fell in love on their own. Kurosawa had wild thoughts-- keyword thoughts but never forced Adachi to do anything he was not comfortable doing. Also this show made my teeth rot because how sweet it was.

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A complete waste of time.

Totally no essence in the story. It's like the production team had a big chunk of money but no story to convey, so they decided the filming location to be abroad as the solution to spend at least 80% of the budget, which would show the result of efficiency in budget management. But by utterly having no idea about what story they should weave, they just threw a very unlikely scene of a catastrophic incident into one point in time during the 90-minute timespan WITHOUT. A. CAUSE. It's like they also knew how their story had nothing at all, so that 'one point in time' they put the incident into was the opening scene to arouse people's curiosity. Though with this trick, the circumstances during the 90 minutes that followed were still very boring and not interesting at all cost. From beginning to end, there's absolutely no meaning in any moment - nothing in or behind the catastrophic incident - so as the whole story.

Therefore, let me be rude here -- to hell with the movie title! How is this "A Passage Of My Youth" (--I watched this movie with this as the official movie's title on IQIYI website)?? They didn't have any message to tell the viewers, and they knew it, the hecking incident being used as the bait is the evidence of how obvious this fact also bore in their mind.

Just let me rant a bit more about the acting here -- the acting is so bad. Song Wei Long is so amateur in this film. He looks super young in here, though, so maybe they filmed this when he had less experience before his popularity exploded after all his series that broadcasted in 2020. Jiang Chao's acting is as unimpressive as Song Wei Long's. I don't feel anything along with him. Zhang Zi Feng's is so-so. Her role is super boring and uninteresting. It's a role that has nothing to show, naturally the actor who plays it wouldn't have anything to deliver to the audience.

The cinematography is also very amateur.

I totally don't understand how the producer was willing to invest his money in this self-destroying project.

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P.S.1 Just noticed that this film is adapted from a novel. I don't know if the novel is any good, but this film already destroyed the reputation of the novel.

P.S.2 Just saw the information that this film was shot in 2016 on Baidu. So my speculation about the acting experience of Song Wei Long is right - so is my speculation about the fact that it bears in the producer/production team's minds how bad this film is. It's the fact that made them put this film on the shelf for a total of 5 years. I think this film would be on the shelf forever if not for Song Wei Long's popularity to skyrocket in 2020. Right after that year, they just grasped this last opportunity to make this film any use by finally releasing it.

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Feels Like a Story Meant For Teenage Boys...

Here's the thing. The characters are fairly interesting. I loved the twins and their rocky relationship. They were the only good thing about this drama. Always bickering. One has a deep seated resentment for the other. But they still have a deep love for each other (just don't you dare mention it to them). The dynamics between all 4 cousins were fun to watch from time to time as well. I just about died when they were all slapping each other to stay awake.

But Frong (or Frank, according to the WeTV official subs) is terribly inconsistent as a character, besides a deep love for desserts. And Kade was giving off major red flags to me as a woman. His behavior towards the FL was unacceptable. And this was even before the twins drew me in. If it wasn't for how short the series was, I would have dropped it because of him alone. As it was, I kept this on 2.0x speed the entire time.

Because it wasn't just the characters. It was also the premise itself. Four (supposedly adult) men see a woman and make a plan to take turns trying to woo her. At first I was thinking the story was going to address how bad of an idea it was, and have the FL freak out when she finds out. Nope. The FL is an awful person. That's all there is to it.

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It's not really fair to call this an affair.

This film is special, and special in a way not many non-Filipinos will really grasp, and that’s okay. The film brings us along a journey of love, hiding, and communism, if you would believe, that spans decades. Through these decades, we are given an insight on the politics and events that shape the Philippines from the late 60s to the dawn of the new millennia.

Jun (Lucero) is a budding idealist who strives for change in the time the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines was about to really go South. We see him struggle to fight for his political beliefs while going through the struggles of being gay in late 60s Philippines. We see him start an affair, though I’d prefer to call it a relationship, that lasts decades. In a way, Errol (Domingo) is his soulmate, and because of society being the way it was back then, the two go down a spiraling path that is wrought with a lot of pain and hiding; them hiding their love for each other. Errol gets himself married with kids to a girl who actually loves him more than he ever does her. Jun, on the other hand, goes through a plethora of relationships that don’t really ever go well, because deep down he knows that his heart only ever really belonged to Errol.

The main take, for me, is this. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us; those who had to hide or get persecuted for just loving. No words can really describe how lucky we are, the younger generation, that we live in such a different era of acceptance compared to then. Though the fight for our rights are still going on in different levels around the world, we can never deny the difference a few decades has brought; what the hardships of generations past has brought for us.

In the end of everything, through that spiraling path they went through, life found them a way. In the end, love still won. Though time has robbed them of many years together, Jun and Errol are allowed to be together for the rest of their days.

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Now, you might wonder if this drama is your cup of tea so let me tell you what you might like, dislike and think that could be better.

The first thing we should talk about is the characters; from the main characters to the side ones they were all very likable and the couples had very good chemistry. This is the first time seeing such, to be honest. The actors made the story very likable and if we think about even the villains did a good job. The good choice of actors made the story much more intriguing and made sure that the story wouldn't fall downhill even if this title has 35 episodes. If you watched many Chinese dramas then you know what I'm talking about. Although the amazing actors did a good job I won't say that the story is fantastic.

The story started out well with a lot of mystery and action, however, that didn't last long before it turned to be the usual romance drama. We see some action at the start and at the end of the drama but yea.. the romance outweighs the whole fantasy and action part of the story. However, as said the couples had good chemistry so it was cute to watch, especially the funny and light scenes that they put in made the 35 episodes easier to bear. Another thing that I would like to warn you - I mean not really but yea - I found it sad that the production team didn't try to tell a bit more of the history behind some of the characters like for example the story behind A Li and Bai Qi.
Hei Qi (Spirit Bai Qi) was nice, however, I would have liked to see more of a bad character because it was kind of flat. We are told that bad spirits are dangerous because of their obsessions, however, it didn't seem so. I was a bit disappointed there.

All in all, the story it's nice, there are some short backs here and there but nothing too bad. The actors are good at their job and have good chemistry. There are some parts where it's hard to follow - it might just be me though but then again it won't ruin the drama. So should you watch it? Yup. Trust me, it's not a waste of time.

ps. If you start this drama with the idea that you'll see a lot of action then you'll be a bit disappointed. If you start this for the romance then you won't regret it.

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