Honestly... I went back and forth about whether or not I should actually watch this drama but I kept seeing it's name mentioned in articles related to Asian dramas or list of dramas to watch or something near to that, so I thought... let's give it a shot and see what happens.
Let me tell you, this show had me on the edge of my seat for the two days I took to watch it, Now I'm sorry I didn't watch it months ago when I first saw it. The plot, the actors, the settings, the music... everything was on point. I started crying and laughing from as early as episode one. That right there is a good indication of whether or not a drama will be good. If it can have you in tears within the first hour that more than says something.
I see and hear people complaining about the age gap between the male and female leads and I really don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe it's because I live in the west where most persons are considered to be adults by age 18. At the start of the series the female lead is 19 and in my country I had friends who were married at that age. In the drama nothing serious happened until the female lead was 20, which is the age of an adult in South Korea and the kisses didn't get steamy and heavy until she was a lot older.
All in all this drama is a must watch. You won't regret it.
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Drama Special Series Season 3: Sirius
15 people found this review helpful
I don't usually watch melodramas, but this was only four episodes long so I could consume it in one sitting and now looking about at yesterday maybe I shouldn't have. I'm convinced I cried in my sleep my eyes felt heavy and my soul sad this morning.
There was a plot device revolving around drugs trafficking but the real story was about twin brothers Do Eun Chang and Do Shin Wu and how through one bad decision both of their lives are changed. I wanted to hug them both and tell them that it was going to be alright. This is the first time a drama has made me want to comfort the characters. It's a must watch for everyone.
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Love makes us do crazy things but without it we are nothing
In the beginning we are introduced to a male lead that isn’t very likable. He harshly criticizes every mistake the people around him makes. He’s always pushing his employees really hard then yelling and losing his temper when they don’t live up to his expectations. But upon finding out about his upbringing and what transpired later when he was an adult we begin to understand him a little better. When he was a toddler his parents died in a tragic accident and his grandmother raised him by herself. Then she died when he was in grade school making him an orphan. Since he was orphaned at a young age, he lived in poverty and had to make his own way by himself living a very harsh life. But he’s a mathematical genius and his talents take him from being a janitor to being the CEO of his own huge company. But along the way he’s badly hurt again when his girlfriend abandons him and marries another man. Having been abandoned by every person he’s ever loved, he shuts down all emotions and becomes very cold and unfeeling. When the people around him fail to meet his expectations he immediately cuts them from his life. There is never any kindness or forgiveness , just harsh consequences.Fortunately, when circumstances force him and the female lead to be together all the time, he slowly begins to be touched by her kindness. Going to her hometown reminds him of his home growing up. Simple things like being offered a freshly peeled apple or potato straight from the garden brought back warm childhood memories of his beloved grandmother. The female leads family are very warm and loving people that genuinely like him and welcome him. He slowly starts to regain his humanity and genuinely care about people and show kindness.
The character growth of the male lead was done wonderfully and is some of the best I’ve seen. There’s lots of character growth all around for the entire cast which makes it a really enjoyable drama. And the acting is way above average too. I’m not one to notice music in a drama and rarely address it. But the music in this drama was very good and fit every mood perfectly.
The female lead is a very likable character. She’s kind, forgiving, and an overall very sweet person. She’s strong minded, confident, and hardworking too. Her biggest flaw though, is her mindset regarding work. She puts up with a lot of harassment and mistreatment at work believing that if she just perseveres things will get better. Her father raised her to believe that you have to endure a lot of hardship in order to further your career. But what she goes through at work is awful and hard to watch. She’s mistreated badly. Fortunately it doesn’t last long and she finally stands up for herself and gets some backbone. Seeing her learn to navigate the workplace and excel in her career was fun to watch. She had great character growth too.
The storyline was a bit cliché but the acting was flawless. This drama balanced the mystery, romance, and melodrama quite well. Usually a drama will fixate on the romance so much that the mystery and workplace drama suffers. Or it will focus so much on the mystery and workplace stuff that the romance is lacking. This drama balanced it all very well. I liked that all of the characters were well developed and the storyline had a lot of depth and was very interesting. But the romance was really sweet too.
So why didn’t I give it a perfect 10? This is billed as a romcom but I was a bit disappointed with the romance aspect of it. Its not that it didn’t have romance in it, it had a sweet romance along with some great comedy. There were several nice kisses, lots of back hugs, and cuddles too. But the romance gave off the sweet cute vibes of a youthful couple rather than the more passionate vibes of a mature couple. For a number of years now asian dramas with mature couples have been showing a lot more passion, skinship and steamy kisses. So I felt letdown. I’m not against sweet cute fluffy romcoms by any means. I’ve watched lots of them and I really enjoyed them too. But in the past few years we’ve been seeing that the sweet cute romances are usually in college or school dramas with young actors. But in the mature dramas with older actors (that are experienced in dating) the trend has been to show a more realistic relationship that is more passionate and intimate. And I’ve really embraced this trend because it’s much more true to life and realistic. So there’s sort of an expectation nowadays in regards to the more mature dramas that the romance will be more appropriate to their age. So when this drama had the fluffy sweet youthful romance I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Seeing mature actors acting all sweet, innocent and shy around one another felt very unrealistic, (especially since they had previously dated other people and weren’t innocent in the dating arena). It just didn’t reflect the progress asian dramas have made in the last few years in terms of physical affection.
Overall I’d say this is a really good drama that I’ll probably rewatch at some point. The comedy is very good, the acting is superb, the mystery is fun to figure out, and the actors have a sweet romance. If you go into it not minding that some of the storyline is cliche and that even though the actors are mature the romance is a bit young sweet and fluffy, you’ll love it. It wasn’t perfect but it was one of those rare dramas I didn’t fast forward through and instead binge watched. I liked the message it’s trying to get across and how it makes us analyze love. Every person in the drama did crazy things for love. Some did it for romantic love, some did it for sibling love, some did it for parental love but they all did crazy things for love. Love makes us so crazy we might want to give up on it and all other emotions like the male lead did. But without love are we really even human? Is there even any quality to life without it? I love the wonderful journey this drama takes us on to answer these questions.
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What makes this 1986 version so good? Character portrayal. Out of all the versions that I have looked over, none have captured the essence of the series like this one has. The story basically revolves around three disciples; Sun Wukong - Hailed the monkey king who wrecked heaven and the possessor of 72 mystical powers. Zhu Bajie - A half human, half pig immortal who was punished for trying to harass the goddess of the moon (haha) he possessed 36 mystical powers. Lastly we have Sh? Wùjìng - who was originally an immortal but was punished by heaven and reincarnated into a demon, he possesses 18 mystical powers. Their duty is to protect a mortal monk named Xuanzang from demons who wish to devour him in order to gain immortality because he is mortal, demons trick him in various ways and thus misunderstandings arises between the disciples Xuangzang. The portrayal of the characters are very believable and fun to watch due to the excellent acting.
Another thing that differentiates this version from the others is the costume. This may not seem like a big deal but having to look at a third rate costume that barely resembles the characters and bad makeup is very unappealing to watch and this is the main reason why many other versions are not very good. Another thing I will mention is that the actor who plays the monk switches up as the series go on, and this is done with a pool of actors back and forth and it's entertaining seeing different but similar versions of the monk ^.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this series if you are interested or is a fan of the novel but have yet to see this version. I will note that the editing of the magic etc is not that great because it was made in 1986 but that is nothing to be put off by. I hope this review has helped you a bit, this is one series that I can call a childhood favourite so I'm a little bias haha ^^
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This review may contain spoilers
Side Story: Super Girl Contest
Ever wonder what happened to Chen Xiao Xi in the Super Girl Contest?Don't remember when they mentioned this? This was the song that Jiang Chen was playing on the piano for Chen Xiao Xi when he was trying to win back her affection. This is the background story to the song - how the competition came about, Chen Xiao Xi's crazy antics, and the aftermath of Jiang Chen saving her again. This short story is about half the length of an episode (25 mins). I probably wouldn't watch this again unless I am bored. It's not essential to the main story line, but I do remember seeing some clips from this short story in the drama.
Story (Spoilers):
Chen Xiao Xi heard Jiang Chen listening about the Super Girl Contest, so she decides to take part in it (obviously, making a song about Jiang Chen and dedicating it to him). Problems arise in her family, them blaming her for taking a coupon and her grades. Chen Xiao Xi goes to the contest, and her parents think she ran away because of the fight. They couldn't find her and her phone was off because it ran out of battery. They ask Jiang Chen for help, and he finds her at the contest crying because she failed. They spend some time together until her parents pick them up, then she reconciles with her parents.
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This review may contain spoilers
What in the tarnation did I just watch?
**Lots of spoilers**Of the 427 dramas I've watched before I started this show I can easily say this was the worst. It was the crap icing on a poop cake. It starts off as a trainwreck and quickly spirals into insanity. The plot was so choppy and disjointed that I literally asked myself if I was high while I was watching it. Alas, I was not, but the sensation of "WTF am I watching? I must be high" persisted for all 20 episodes. There are bad guys, bad guys with bats, bad guys with knives, stabbings, jealous friends, jealous siblings, jealous classmates, plots to drug and rape someone, plots to kill someone, plots to overthrow a company chairman, plots to overthrow a grandpa, plots to overthrow a father, plots to overthrow a brother, plots to overthrow a sister, slaps, more slaps, even more slaps, fake disability, literal insanity, pregnancy, and bombs. All within 20 episodes clocking in at less than 10 minutes each.
The Acting: TERRIBLE
The Plot: RIDICULOUS
The Ending: THE WORST I'VE EVER SEEN
Do yourself a favour and give this one a skip. I suffered so that you don't have to. Trust me. That's time I'll never get back... but yet I finished it.
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This review may contain spoilers
A most compelling story on coming-of-age and overcoming-almost-insurmountable struggles...
This is just the third time that I got to fully finish a full-length Chinese TV Drama where I eagerly looked forward to watching the next episodes not only because of the generally well-written plot and storylines, but also because of the excellent acting and portrayal of characters by the main leads.Xu Tan, angst and expectations-driven, initially evokes a cerebrally calculating but physically weak youth with a generous-to-a fault wholesome, almost naive, personality in the beginning, but then evolves into this emotionally strong, mentally focused, and physically tough athlete who emerges as a champion in his own right. Bai Jing Ting exceptionally and convincingly plays Xu Tan whose remarkable physical transformation and emotional maturity over the years was matched in real life by Bai Jing Ting's physique-change and character portrayal. Xu Tan withstands and emerges triumphant over multiple adversities that life hurls at him: struggles and challenges in his family life, love-life, career, and more importantly, in his relationship with his main rival/friend, Yu Ke Nan. (Bai Jing Ting, also excellently portrays the lead, Xing Ke Lei in "You Are My Hero")
Yu Ke Nan, sternly brought up by his Pingpong-crazed father through rigid training and selfless discipline is a naturally-gifted pingpong athlete whose initial persona is that of a self-assured, arrogant and selfish individual single-mindedly devoted to winning at any cost. Eventually, his personal friendship and professional relationship with the amiable and selfless Xu Tan transforms him. In a sense, while coming from the opposite ends of the personality spectrum that makes them clash often, the differences between the two, their almost parallel career tracks, and their apparent love and respect for each other are what will eventually forge their deep and lifelong friendship. Timmy Xu Wei Zhou perfectly captures the wide-range of emotions that run through the tough but broken and temperamental yet sensitive Yu Ke Nan. Of note, especially, is his charged performance in Episode 43 where he visits and reconciles with his estranged father. (Timmy Xu Wei Zhou was likewise outstanding when he portrayed the challenging role of the pensive and emotionally-conflicted Bai LuoYin in "Addicted").
Over-all, the plot is great, with the scriptwriters carefully establishing the pains, struggles, growth, and maturity of our main protagonists as they journey through their lives. The writer(s) carefully interwove the positive influence of the main supporting characters, especially the masterful approach with which they molded the sagacious, staunch & steady father-figure types of the personal coaches, Lei Cheng (Liu Zhi Bing) and Teng Biao (Wang Jian Xin), respectively for Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. Another notable figure is that of delightful romantic, Liu Shi (aptly played by Wan Guo Peng) , best friend / teammate / roommate of both Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. Of last important note is the antagonist character of Coach Zheng Hao (Gao Dong Ping) that superbly stitched and strikingly prototyped the seemingly hopeless and endless struggles of both Xu Tan and Yu Ke Nan. On the other hand, the storyline could have been tightened a little by doing away with some unnecessary sub-plots like the post-pingpong career and mischief of Jia Yu, or in tempering some of the overly-written romantic twists.
While primarily a sports drama, the storyline touches deeply to the core of human desires---sentimental reminders about our own hopes and dreams, of our failures and triumphs, of our loves--lost and found, of our disappointments and betrayals, but more importantly of our constant and unquenchable quest for meaning and self-actualization. The more than few superbly written phrases and one-liners about living a more meaningful life makes this series worthy of multiple re-runs.
For even non-sports enthusiasts, the brilliant demonstration of the beautiful game of Pingpong inspires awe, and the most exciting exchange of volleys in many tournament scenes warrant deep admiration for these exceptional table tennis athletes at the peak of their game. An added bonus are the enlightening technical narratives of the game, or mini-glossaries that follow at the end of every episode.
Cinematography is tastefully and greatly done especially showcasing the economic, scientific, and cultural achievements of Modern China as gleaned from depictions of ordinary Chinese life and of China's magnificent cities. Finally, the whole story fully succeeds in the triumphal portrayal of the Chinese Sports programs---the science & rigor involved, and the human & material resources allotted to their perfection, as exemplified by Pingpong, its national sport---particularly timely for the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
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Lots of cute animation screen time - you either love it or hate it.
Completed - 6/15/2022 - 8.25I hesitated to watch "Yumi's Cells" when this drama first aired in 2021, as I wasn't sure if I would like all the animation. After finished watching the drama, I can say that I found them cute, but they took up a lot of screen time. I do understand that this drama is called "Yumi's Cells" and not "Yumi", but still.....
I find the animation cute and I love all the cells. I like their different personalities and they bring a lot of laughter to this drama, e.g. Naughty cell, Housekeeping cell and Hunger cell. However, it took me a while to get used to the back-and-forth transitions and the large amount of screen time. The frequent transitions to the animation disrupts the flow of the story and slows down the pacing, especially in the last few episodes. I got a little bored when the plot is not moving along and we got stuck in the same situation.
The acting is great. It's a fun character for Kim Go Eun to play and she was able to display a variety of emotions as Yumi. Ahn Bo Hyun finally gets a main role where he gets the girl. I also like his portrayal of Gu Woong. The rest of the cast is fine. Park Jin Young has a small role in season 1 and I don't think I see him enough to say that he's done a great job. He's pretty to look at but Ahn Bo Hyun has a hot body! (LOL) Ruby is a controversial character for me. I find her SUPER annoying 90% of the time but when she was teaching Yumi how to do 'aegyo', that was hilarious. I wish to see her more in season 2 but in a less annoying fashion.
The romance between Yumi and Woong was really cute in the beginning. Their personalities match and they do silly and adorkable things. Woong cares about Yumi and shows his affections through actions instead of empty words. The birthday episode really did show his affections, thus, prompted Yumi to ask that question. However, pride and the lack of communication get in the way. The damage is already done when Woong priorities changed. As much as I like Woong in the beginning episodes, I am very annoyed with his repeated lack of communication. You can still communicate with someone you care about without hurting your pride.
Since season 2 is currently airing, most people already know by now who Yumi ends up or not end up with. I would be very disappointed if I didn't know season 2 is coming, because season 1 did not end with Yumi feeling empowered and strong. I wish for her to realize that she could be happy without being in a relationship. She does not need to work like a dog to fill her life, like after her previous breakup. As the manager of the bulletin board said, there is no male lead and we don't need one.
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If you enjoyed Fated to Love You or Master's Sun (2 of my favorite dramas), I think you will enjoy this show also. Dok Go Jin reminded me of both Lee Gun and Joo Joong Won - like he was a mashup of both these characters. He starts off as arrogant and self-centered and he can't imagine why he's having feelings for Gu Ae Jung who is not on his "level". And he can also be childish and petty. A character that I was not remotely interested in at ALL became a very beloved character to me throughout this show. And Ae Jung is a sympathetic character - the one who gives and gives.
I would have given this a perfect 10, but the story was really just a simple fluffy romance. But it was a romance story that warmed my heart anyway. It had some flaws in the story, but they did not take away from my enjoyment in any major way. Dok Go Jin's love for Gu Ae Jung was unstoppable. There were cute moments, funny moments, teary moments, frustrating moments...The Hong Sisters really know how to illicit emotion. It may not have been a groundbreaking story, but it was enjoyable and full of heart and I know that I will watch this again. I thought the chemistry between the leads was good, and I enjoyed the secondary characters for the most part. I especially loved "Ding Dong".
I may be over-rating this for some, but I truly enjoyed it despite its flaws. And ratings are entirely subjective. ;) I also loved the way the ending was done. I'm a fan of epilogue moments, and I feel like this story was wrapped up very well with a very satisfying ending.
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gotta aura maxxin
its rare to find ths typa story in cbl, im glad they can portrayed it so good for thoose who dk wht abo is. the discrimination, humiliation, struggles r realits j tht the reaction to pheromones is somewhat different from wht i expected
theres no desire at all even tho it says in the title. i need more DESIRE!!! i need them to go crazy!! nasty!! like real animals!! the tension is good, but not fire. fortunately the chemistry saved them.
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Short and Sweet BL Series
Overall: though I disliked both of their "plans", this was pretty well done for a high school setting BL. Watched on YouTube.Content Warning: stalking, punches, manipulation, sexism, homophobia
What I Liked
- funny and cute moments
- great to see how Uncle Man was an actual character and not a stereotype
- supportive family and friend group
- good production value
- the self promotion with the location of the audition
Room For Improvement
- what stupid "plans"
- the interaction with Uncle Man and X was a bit odd in episode 3
- bored by the two side plots, with the short run time I think they should have had only 1 side plot
- ending was a bit abrupt and I wish we would have seen and not just heard the final line
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This review may contain spoilers
Story 6/10PROs
I love Gao Xing. Her cheerful personality makes everyone smile. Her bluntness about her emotions is something enviable. She isn't afraid to tell everyone upfront how much she likes them. Qin Zhe Mo, Jiang Shang Wu's cousin, is also a beautifully woven character, initially Gao Xing's crush. Gao Xing and Qin Zhe Mo's friendship is honestly so cool. They tell each other about their love lives over dinner and they both know how much the other loves their significant other. Whenever Han Xiao misunderstands Gao Xing's and Qin Zhe Mo's relationship, Gao Xing would always meet up with Han Xiao to tell her that Qin Zhe Mo really loves her. I loved the ending of this drama, especially the trip Gao Xing and Jiang Shang Wu takes to find a certain type of coffee bean. The drama really describes, in much detail, how to make coffee.
CONs
Jiang Shang Wu's personality is terrible. He's yes and then he's no. They were in the boss and worker zone, then friend zone, then family zone. His sole reason for not being in a relationship with her is his dislike for her tomboy nature, which does not make sense because he keeps on thinking about her. In the Korean drama it made sense because Han Gyul had to reconsider his sexual identity, which is not a simple understanding. In this Chinese remake, Jiang Shang Wu clearly knows she's a woman, so he's not facing a sexual identity crisis like the show suggests. I disliked how Gao Xing had to apologize to Jiang Shang Wu all the time for hiding the fact that she's friends with his cousin, which is a ridiculous reason to break up with her.
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A Wuxia Rom-Com That Starts with a Bang and Ends with a Fizzle
This short C-drama was a surprisingly entertaining watch—at least for the first two-thirds. Blending wuxia, romantic comedy, and slapstick, it kicks off with a fresh and humorous tone. The female lead, a smart and sassy young princess (played by Bao Shang En), literally falls into a storybook world and crosses paths with the resident villain (played by Zhang Jun Ning), a brooding martial artist burdened with emotional baggage.The FL’s modern way of thinking and casual speech contrast comically with the costume drama setting. She brings a self-aware tone to the show that keeps things light. The ML is more reserved, though his abs get more screentime than his inner world—which, to be fair, fits the drama's wink-wink approach to genre tropes.
While the chemistry between the leads is nothing to write home about, it doesn’t hurt the overall experience too much, since romance takes a backseat to comedy. There’s a constant stream of familiar tropes and occasionally predictable dialogue, but somehow it stays fun rather than stale. The supporting cast does a lot of heavy lifting here—especially Cui Shao Yang as Baili Xingchen, who steals scenes with a mix of hilarity and heart.
The production value is quite solid for what seems to be a low-budget drama. Costumes are sometimes a bit off but the cinematography is visually pleasing, and the BGM is excellent—alternating between traditional Chinese melodies and more modern, playful sounds. The OST matches the genre-blending tone, further elevating the experience.
For the first 14 episodes, I was mostly laughing and thoroughly enjoying myself. But then... the story lost its footing.
The final stretch shifts from playful parody to melodramatic slog. The plot goes in circles, with the ML repeatedly deceiving and abandoning the FL, dragging us through long, overwrought monologues and emotional back-and-forths. Flashbacks take over. The once-sharp humor fades, and a weird ending wraps things up with little satisfaction.
In short: This drama starts with charm, creativity, and comedy—but stumbles hard near the end. Still, it’s worth a watch for the early episodes and supporting cast. Just don’t expect a strong emotional payoff.
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If you love the Nie Brothers or want a great take on the side characters of CQL, this film is for you! The conflict between the Nie brothers will give you a lot of feelings and how they will resolve it through loyalty, trust and outright love for one another is a tier of its own.
The production did an amazing job too. It really has the feel of the hardy QingheNie that they are. The actors did so well giving to life the characters that they played. Mad respect to Ji Li and Wang Yizhou. Their chemistry as siblings is very enjoyable. Plus, the disciples and that one new character? Must protect haha. Overall great film.
CQL pulled off everything for this last bow. 10/10!
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a different subber used
This review is especially for 'Shadnasty' who dropped this drama after finding that the subber did a disasterous job in subtitling it to the english language. i have watched this drama from a different subber who least knows the language, heh heh... 😊 The subber is Fresh Drama. In Google, type Fresh Drama You Tube and it will take you to the site. Once you are in Fresh Drama on you tube, choose the drama name and all the episodes will be available to watch online. Unfortunately you don't have the option to download from 'Fresh Drama, but you can download using a you tube downloader. I used Ssyoutube Downloader.( Fresh Drama subtitles their own dramas of choice). Enjoy!! 💕Was this review helpful to you?
