Reviews

A Palate Cleanser of a Show.

I just wasn't overwhelmed with this show. Should you watch it? Sure! If you need a simple story with a variety of characters, this will do.

Was every episode good? No. Did I hate it? Not really. Will I rewatch? Only certain portions and there weren't a lot.

I have complaints but I would have to go full Story-Theory-Mode and analyze the dickens out of this. And this show isn't worth that.

I watched for Tian Xi Wei. She personifies the girl who doesn't care about society's expectations. She fit this role very well. This was my first exposure to Bai Jing Ting and I look forward to seeing him in other things. I wished the show focused more on them and less on the gaggle of girls who wanted to start a restaurant. That was interesting to a point, then it just felt preachy.

I think the script had a hard time focusing on the 'newness' in this 'new life beginning.' A script should provide our characters with some break from a constant supply of new circumstances. I understand, it's in the title, but why couldn't some characters grow out from a 'newness' hurdle before another 'newness' hurdle begins? Why couldn't the wind settle before it picked up again?

The show was not dramatic. It was lighthearted and fun. I would label this as a palate cleanser show. Watch it between other shows to recalibrate your mind.

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I don't usually write reviews, but I genuinely felt the need to write one for this drama because I cannot believe I spent 36 episodes watching it.

If you're watching for romance, lower your expectations immediately. The main couple does not get together until the last few minutes of Episode 36. Not the last episode in general—the last few minutes. After spending the entire drama apart, they don't date, don't get any meaningful couple moments, and don't get any real development as an actual relationship. The drama skips straight to their engagement and marriage, and then it ends. That's it. After 36 episodes, the payoff is practically nonexistent.

What makes this even more frustrating is that the female lead spends over half of the drama chasing the male lead's best friend. Instead of building up the actual romance, the story focuses on a one-sided pursuit that goes nowhere. Most of the interactions between the leads consist of the male lead liking her while she sees him as a brother. It became increasingly difficult to stay invested when the drama seemed more interested in delaying the inevitable than developing the relationship people were actually watching for.

The side couples aren't any better. The female lead's best friend spends most of the drama with her boyfriend, only for them to break up and for her to end up marrying a completely random man. The male lead's best friend also had a romantic storyline that didn't end with the couple staying together. So if you become attached to any of the side relationships, don't expect satisfying conclusions there either.

To make matters worse, one member of the friend group literally leaves early in the drama and is never seen again. He gets on a train and essentially disappears from the story. It felt like the writers simply forgot he existed, which honestly reflects the overall quality of the writing.

By the end, the entire drama felt like it was rushing toward the finish line while somehow also dragging itself out. Storylines went nowhere, relationships lacked payoff, and almost every ending felt unsatisfying. I genuinely don't understand how this drama has such a high rating. People can enjoy what they enjoy, but for me, this was a frustrating experience from beginning to end.

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Exclusive fairytale is one of my first Cdramas, its defintley a fluffy comfort watch for when life gets rough.
It's pretty much your average childhood sweethearts, Chinese youth drama; despite the cliché storyline, they were able to deliver a total masterpiece that carries the air of youth and young love perfectly; even the slight details were done and written perfectly.

As much as I don't like the overused Fl personality, I've got to admit that Zhang Miao yi perfected the role of Xaoi Tu without making her an overbearing pick me.

I would've hoped that Wenjun gave us a bit more in terms of acting. I can't blame him too much because his personality is quiet and carefree.

Their college days were probably my favorite, it had the perfect mix of young-adult life, roommate bonding, and romance.

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A Chill kind of a Drama

I’m rating this drama strictly based on comparisons to other Japanese dramas. If you come expecting a strong in your face FL, you will rarely find them in J-drama's. Modest, passive females are part of the Japanese culture, politeness and courtesy is heavily influenced in the dramas. I do not see these J-drama's as less then any other types of drama's, but I respect and come to expect it as part of the charm of J-drama's. It's an enjoyable show if you are just looking for something light and easy to watch. This is the kind of 'no-brainer' show to me that you can enjoy when the day was tough and just want something easy to watch after work that will not require tears or tension on my part.

I enjoyed this Japanese drama because it features adult behavior with no silly, immature, child-like FL's. It has a solid plot, good acting, characters that support each other and grow with each other, plus it’s not dragged out with unnecessary filler scenes. I recommend it if you are looking for a sweet love story you can finish in three hours, with a predictable happy ending , that will leave you with a sense of calm and no tension.

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Please note that this is my personal view and opinion, and I do not mean to insult anyone with a varying judgment

Falling into your smile was my first c-drama, giving it a very valuable place in my heart. I have rewatched this drama countless times, and it has been my comfort drama for years. That said, I won't be biased with my review.

As sweet and funny as this drama is, it is still extremely cringe. When I first watched it in 2023, I thought it was a masterpiece, but looking back, it's pretty corny. They made Tong Yao's entire personality revolve around the fact that she's short, petite, and childish, sure she got a few moments when she was seen as hardworking, willful, and caring, but its not comparable since Lu Si Cheng was painted as a responsible, cold-hearted, and nonchalant guy who doesn't soften on anyone, giving them a "father and daughter" type of relationship. Also, the power difference between them isn't slim; they weren't fair with the personalities at all. The actors' chemistry is nonexistent; Xu Kai had better chemistry with wang yi jun.

The plot was written really nicely, just not executed in the best way. They shouldn't have written her as the first female esports player or a girl living alone with a bunch of guys; it was honestly straight out of Wattpad. The empowerment of females in male-dominated fields was refreshing to see.

The soundtrack honestly wasn't Spotify-worthy, but it went with the fluffy theme of the show.

One thing i really liked was the relationship and dynamic of the ZGDX team, everyone's reaction to Ming's retirement, them welcoming Lu Yue back, them celebrating, helping K with his family drama, singing and drinking together, and noticing the small things about each other, which honestly gave them all a sibling-like relationship.

The cinematics here didn't even try; it felt more like we were watching a short drama, still, it was a smart choice to cast Xu Kai as Lu Sicheng and Zhou Ri Yan as Ai Jia.

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Start Out So Brightly and Just Faded

From the first episode, my thoughts were, “What a beautiful drama this is going to be.” Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful. It dealt with what we all like…young love. Yes, those days in school with the boy you like and hoping one day that you will marry him. This drama led us down those wonderful days of senior year in high school. Getting ready for exams that will eventually get you into the college of your choice and then out into the real world. Yes, this is that story. A hidden gem of sorts that started off so well in those high school years but flounder when going to the adult years with a too swift wrap up. But don’t let me get ahead of myself.

The drama revolves around Qing Ye (Guan Xiao Tong) who was pulled out of high school during her senior year due to a family emergency, so she was taken back to her hometown. Talk about a change. This girl was used to the bustling city, her usual hangouts and friends, but when she found out she was leaving her thoughts were you’re taking me where? To a seaside town? To be with who? My aunt? To say she wasn’t shell shocked was putting it mildly after coming from her pampered lifestyle. She was devastated.

The room was not to her liking, no air conditioning, no decent bathroom, where was she to wash her clothes, the food needed to have less calories, I mean she was a hot mess! She knew she was not going to have the lifestyle she had back home, so she knew either deal with it or leave. So, she opted to leave and go to the hotel. Well, that didn’t go any better either. No air conditioning, the guy next door was always doing “live streams” so, she couldn’t sleep so she had no choice but to go back. After getting over her “prima donna” act, she realized she needed to make adjustments to this new way of life. Starting with trying to fit in.

After Qing Ye’s brief meeting with Xing Wu, she was realizing that she needed to get along with him because he was the glue that held everything together, from his mother to his grandmother, friends and the community, she saw he was the person everyone turned too.

Xing Wu was very likable and always did not “want to owe” anyone anything, especially money. He wanted to pay his own way no matter what. After a school altercation, not wanting to speak up for himself, he let the school expel him. Xing Wu had his own reasons for doing that, it was his father’s gambling debts and paying back all the money that was owed. His friend Shu Han (Jenny Zeng) knew of his situation and provided him with the necessary work to help him and his family. Qing Ye eventually learned about this and much more.

As Qing Ye became more immersed in the day-to-day with her aunt, grandmother, Xing Wu and friends she was realizing what a family was and true friends. She was growing to like Xing Wu. She saw how he had done so much to make her feel welcome knowing how her life was before she came there. He tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Fixing the bathroom, her room with air conditioning she saw the soft side of Xing Wu, her attitude began to change—they became closer.

Xing Wu found himself changing as well. He wanted to be better to be good enough to be with Qing Ye knowing her family background and her life. She was the influence that got him to go back to school. Opening up his trunk of hidden dreams and to once again make them a reality. Friendships grew. Old rivalries ended. New begins. Flourishing joys and love their senior year.

Yet, like all good things, they must come to an end. This was brought about by Qing Ye’s father. He had cleared up his situation, and he wanted to take her back. Qing Ye now had a mind of her own and was defensive against her father wishes of returning. Everything was said and done. She left the seaside town and all the friends, her aunt, grandmother but especially Xing Wu.

There was a lot of devastations that happen to the family with the burning down of the salon but, the death of the grandmother. She passed while Qing Ye had already left and Xing Wu did not tell her due to him wanting her not to feel obligated to come back. That was very sad. Xing Wu did not pass his exams either. Leading him to take them again, and he eventually pass.

Fast forward, to being adults. Yes, we skipped over those college years and went directly to working. Qing Ye was now working for a company outside of her father’s. She wanted to make her own way. This led her back to the seaside town she loved. But going back was not only for her company but for the two friends from school that were going to get married.

We, of course knew that they would miss each other due to Qing Ye needing to go back to her company to handle another project she had been working on. Xing Wu arrived late due to a flight delay. We see both her and Xing Wu as they pass each other in taxis. Hence let the "near misses" begin until we could not keep doing that, so it was now time to get these two to meet.

Xing Wu’s colleague wants him to meet his sister only to find out that Qing Ye would be there. At last. But it was a very lame first meeting after all those years apart. No excitement. No recognition of knowing each other. Just awkwardness for not only them but for the brother and sister who had to watch it.

They do finally become a couple. Qing Ye father was still in disagreement with them becoming a couple, but Xing Wu did pay him back and with interest for the money he gave them after Qing Ye left. I think he respected Xing Wu and he would eventually come around.

The sad part for me, we did not see them get married. Just Xing Wu giving a speech to a new class on behest of one of his teachers that helped him and asking him to do the same for his class. Too many repetitive flashbacks in the ending episodes.

For something that started out so strong and so well, while enjoyable in the beginning. overall, to me it was not dazzling but more of a shimmer….

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