Reviews

My dear, I don't give a damn.

Gone with the Rain is one of the few Chinese dramas out there that has a very apt English title. It is also set in a time of civil war and the design of the four main characters are unmistakably inspired by Margaret Mitchell's epic classic novel Gone with the Wind. It is very much a character drama that is at surface a romance, but the true love story is the one between two women who are almost diametric opposites of one another.

This story takes place in a fictional Jing state but the costumes and background suggests this loosely is late Tang dynasty when the powerful local military governors rebelled. Vast swarths of the country was thrown into civil war during which the central government had little knowledge or control over what was happening. The drama's greatest failing is that it is very sloppy in terms of clearly explain who the different factions and what their agendas are. Events unfold conveniently and not always logically simply to enable character conflict and development.

The story is told largely from seventeen year old Tang Moxi's perspective. She breaks the fourth wall in the beginning and continues to share her thoughts via very vivid, at times funny and at times silly daydreams. Moxi is illegtimate and orphaned at an early age, she grows up on sufference in the household of her uncle Bai Wentao a scheming mid-level official. Her first cousin Bai Fengyao its the only one that cares for her. The drama opens with the country on the verge of civil unrest. The cousins are colluding to evade their family's efforts to marry them off for advancement. Moxi rescues a dashing wounded soldier Wan Jiagui and falls for him. She also encounters an infuriating general Chen Wende. Through a series of misunderstandings, some self inflicted Moxi finds herself caught between both men while Wan Jiagui finds himself engaged to both women. A tortuous romantic quadrangle between the four plays out as the country slides into chaos. The romances are secondary to how the relationship between the women navigates civil war and a messy love rivalry.

Despite their different personalities and perspectives, Moxi and Fengyao share a touching and unbreakable bond. Moxi is fiesty, selfish, cynical, manipulative and tough as nails beneath her lovely exterior. She is above all a survivor; she has to be as there is only the rather helpless Fengyao in her corner. Fengyao is pretty much everything Moxi is not - selfless, well educated, gentle, sentimental, idealistic,and impractical; in other words quite useless. Their strengths and weaknesess complement and together, they are able to acutally fend quite well for each other. Unfortunately they both fall for the gallant, noble hero in heroes clothing Wan Jiagui who when tested is actually a weak character. Moxi spends most of the drama fighting her devastating attraction to Chen Wende, a rough, uncouth warrior who is more than what he appears to be. He is the only character that remains charismatic and likable throughout the drama. After awhile, it is quite obvious where these four main character blueprints are from.

The first half of the drama is quite enjoyable as Moxi and Fengyao find their strengths and struggle with their flaws in trying times. However, Moxi's wilful blindness and her obstinate pinning for her first love went on for so long it became tedious. I wanted to hurl my remote at her and yell "My dear, I don't give a damn!" Even though all the portrayals are well done and the characters are multi-dimensional, this drama spends too much time rehashing character flaws without a well fleshed out plot to keep things engaging. The conflict and attraction between Chen Wende and Moxi is the only highlight of the second half of the drama which made it less of a struggle. I also enjoyed the casting of an actress in the role of Wu Yin. The second relationship however is not sufficiently developed because all of the men can only have eyes for Moxi. The final arc is rushed and Moxi's ability to transform herself is not well explained and frankly impossible. The story does come to a satisfying ending with the final episodes making up for the sag in the latter half. This is different enough from the usual run-of-the-mill historical Chinese drama that I enjoyed many aspects of it. It is quite well acted and had it been shorter and more tightly written, I'd probably rate it better than 7/10.

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my new comfort drama

i love how this drama had no toxicity whatsoever which made it so heartwarming and easy to watch, cattree really did so well directing this drama and you can see how detailed he is with the moves in the bts clips being so specific how. he wants that scene to feel.

we got to see a little background from all the characters and what type of life they lived after school, and their pasts, knowing them a bit better. zaizai and rangrang had the cutest relationship, it was basically love at first sight from both ends but we only got to see progress from zaizais end. the playlist for this drama is also soso good i listen to it when i study nowadays.

i honestly don't think i'll ever get over this drama really, i watched it while it was ongoing everyday i looked forwards to a new ep or two to come out, and when i was waiting i would go to the actors profiles to see if they've updated their profile with anything. my fav part of this drama would have to be when rangrang proposed to zaizai, the video he made. using clips filmed off of zaizais computer really got to me, and you could really tell whenever he was with her he'd. always have the biggest dimple smile on his face.

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This was more of A Telenovela or Soap Opera than usual BL drama.

So I'm a pretty big OhmFluke Fan. I've seen all of their main content together, this was the only remaining project of theirs I had yet to watch. I finally got around to checking it and saw how poorly reviewed it was, way more than positive reviews. However that's never stopped me from checking things out on my own, opinions exist for a reason anyway. You should always form your own.

After the first like 3 Episodes I kind of figured that this was more of a Soap Opera style Formula, not the usual BL drama series that most of us are used to. Figuring that out is why I was way more understanding and lenient than I normal would be when something is So LONG and drawn out. I gave it a chance for the obvious reason. I love OhmFluke. And while yes it was slow and clunky and at times had me giving bombastic side eye, I let most of those moments slide. If you're someone who grew up watching Spanish Telenovelas like I did, you would know those shows are always chaotic and ridiculous and melodramatic, they don't always make sense and that's okay. It's meant to be silly and over the top most of the time.

Basically the good relies on OhmFluke being good at what they do, some of the other actors as well being likeable and eye candy, such as the ones who play Payoo and Rain.
If you can be open minded, patient and lenient for certain things then this is actually not a bad watch. It can be at times.
I don't think you should let other peoples drastic reviews completely deter you. I saw people complaining about there being too many Plastic Plants, and Apples and other ridiculous reasons like that for hating on it, Feel free to try it yourself. I enjoyed it a pretty decent amount.
This is Still better than some other overrated ones that I shall not name for obvious reasons.

Enjoy!

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Sweet and Innocent Romance - Beautiful Siblings Bond - A Journey to Find Your Own Path

Subjective Rating - 8.25

I am a little surprised that “Otonari ni Ginga” aka “A Galaxy Next Door” has quite a low rating (7.6). Granted, Jdoramas usually score lower on MDL than K-Dramas or C-Dramas. I wonder if viewers are a little put off in the first few episodes due to its typical manga-like over-the-top acting.

If you are not familiar with Japanese manga/anime adaptations, you will find the acting in this drama could be a little much. But once you get past it, there are many heartwarming stories of family, love and finding yourself. I binged all 32 episodes (15 mins each) and if I had to wait for weekly episodes, that would be torture!

Romance - A sweet, innocent and cute romance developed between our leads. An interesting way of telling the story of a contract marriage, our leads have to endure quite a bit of challenges during the initial episodes. The chemistry is good and I especially enjoy the quiet moments and heart-to-heart conversations that they had. One thing great about Japanese dramas is that they are not afraid of silence. They don’t feel the need to fill every ‘romantic’ conversation with background music and dictate how viewers feel. There were several conversations between the leads, and a kiss scene that is so quiet, that I can’t help but listen carefully, feel what they are feeling and be touched by the emotions. Of course, you have to first get past the initial over dramatic acting. FL is direct and honest, and not afraid to take the initiative. ML is more shy but consistently stands by FL’s side and supports her decision without question. The dynamic between them is fun and complementary.

Siblings Bond - Just watching the three siblings is worth an 8.0 rating. The two child actors are so cute and adorable. The little sister is smart and reads the room very well. She’s a really good wing-girl for the couple. The little brother exudes such cute clinginess to his brother. I love that they say “splitting happiness and sadness into three”. Due to the passing of their father, they all have to grow up too fast and mature way beyond their years. Scenes of the two children are heartwarming and beautiful. I especially love the scene where ML was struggling to cover the little boy’s ears, so he couldn’t hear the conversation about Santa Claus.

Share House - This has to be the funnest share house I’ve seen in any drama. Though the other two housemates do not have a lot of screentime, they show up at the right moments. With the addition of the editor and big sis manga artist, the supporting cast is caring and fun. There are no annoying character in this drama. Who doesn’t want to live in a house where you can be animals in a zoo, play games and fireworks during the summer festival, decorate and celebrate with lights in the yard and have summer bbq and camping as well.

Manga career - Although the drama does not go into detail about the manga industry, it is still interesting to see some of the drawings, and they are beautiful! I love the manga that ML drew for FL to encourage her and to tell her that she’s lovely just the way she is. That was so romantic!

Finding Your Own Way - But the overarching plot of the drama is FL’s journey to leave her predestined path and home to find her own way. Without going into spoilers, I find the burden FL has to shoulder quite interesting, especially the thorn bond and its effect.

Overall, I had a great time watching “Otonari ni Ginga”. It did take me a while to get past the initial episodes and to get used to FL’s personality. I like how the romance developed and especially love the siblings bond. Just these two elements are worth at least an 8.0 for me. I’ll round up my 8.25 to 8.5 to give the rating a little bump. LOL ?

Completed: 7/6/2023 - Review #328

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Feels contrived

I don't know, it started out interesting but became boring by the end. I don't think this needed more than 10 episodes. The characters in the Gabin Society were essentially the same person multiplied. All very one dimensional and I found I couldn't even love to hate them. Even A-ri wasn't very interesting or likeable to me overall. What this drama has against it is that there are a LOT of other really good and intriguing dramas airing right now so this one feels flost in the shuffle. Overall it's not the worst I've seen but it doesn't make my top list for this year.

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Akin to Reality

What a good hit of reality. It accurately depicted the nature of competition in any field but specifically the Influencers one.

PGY was totally fitted to the role, so much so that the line between reality and fiction blurred. Besides her almost all of the cast contributed equal in making the series true to its intention.
One could see that absence of any one of the character would have sunken the ship.
There were No plotholes to be found.

Despite those there were certain scenes with not much plot development, mostly scenes of Mr. Han with Ms.Yoon. The reason might be because we were being introduced to their past and while their story wasnt pivotal to the series it's existence did make the series whole.

All signs of a well produced, great screenplay Drama.

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One of the Most Favorite in lifetime

First of all,
The script is the main point and really a good one.
It is not only a romantic drama ,
can also feel love and warmth between family ,siblings and friends.
Chan Zheyuan as Duan JiaXu and
Zhao Lusi as Sang Ji , that visual couple is really perfect match and meant for each other.
Relationship between Sang Ji and her brother,
friendship between Sang Yang and Duan JiaXu really hit my heart.
Althought it's ended , I can't move on from this drama and it will always be the most favorite of my lifetime.
I want to say this drama is happy pill for unhealthy soul.

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this is not it. worst drama ive ever watched.

first and foremost, it is the dumbest storyline ive ever watched. reading the synopsis you might think, OH its a cute second-chance romance kind of story. well, not at all. first of all, 90% of the relationship is one-sided from the FL. they divorced because she was deeply hurt by the ML's actions. not only did he not apologise, he was the EXACT SAME PERSON after they reunited.

then somehow the writers thought it would be a brilliant idea to add an adopted child to the mix, who calls FL "mom" all along and instead of explaining things to the child, the FL and ML just go along with it. after many episodes, the FL and ML somehow end up engaged again. then FL doesnt want to be engaged with ML. then they get together again. then ML cancels the engagement all together. the worst thing about it is that whenever they break up, ML starts getting jealous over FL and SML while she enjoys the attention and is quick to forgive him.

so after 36 episodes, they barely resolved the basic issue of why they divorced in the first place. ML doesnt like FL that much and does hurtful things to her.

and then in the end, he gets amnesia and forgets FL! the end!

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THE BEST C-DRAMA THAT I HAD WATCH SO FAR

I'm not usually a fan of Chinese drama, but this one is an exception.
I'd seen a few Chinese dramas before this, but they left a bad taste in my mouth. I had watched Love020, A Love So Beautiful, Falling into Your Smile, Love Scenery, and some other dramas that I can't recall because I dropped them. It's either because of poor acting by the main characters, or the character is annoying, or they acting like a robot, or because the scene is too long and they focus too much on the second lead couple.

This drama proves that a simple romance genre can be excellent without a complicated and heavy plot. This is a simple drama, but it is a very well-done drama with interesting dialogue, a great plot, great casting, the characters did so well, and great directing by the director herself.

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Watch if you are Zheng Ye Cheng Fan

Very standard cliche story line with annoying FL character portrayed by the actress Yuan Bing Yan whom I can't understand why she gets so many roles. I pretty much dropped all the drama she's been in. Even wth Zheng Ye Cheng is in it, it was hard to watch the interaction.

ML - ZYC though not an amazing actor (still very good), always stands out in costume dramas for his fight scenes. You can't fake all the years of training especially when there's a solo scene.

Main reasons to suffer through the cliches:
-ZYC - fight scenes
-Mask dude's fight scenes
-Cute supporting characters (Maid to FL and the little soldier next to her all the time)
-The little pig -- yes EVEN The little pig is a better watch than the ML/FL cringe interactions

I really REALLY hope ZYC can get an epic script one day that's on the same level as:
Joy of Life, Ashes of Love, Bloody Romance, Love like Galaxy etc ...

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THE BEST CDRAMA I'VE WATCH

specifically made an acc just so i can rate this and review it ><

one things for sure, i don't know what to do with my life anymore now that this drama has already ended

i have been waiting for this drama since last year and it ended so fast,, i feel so empty

anyway, i really love the story since it doesn't have too much drama and it such a comforting and heartwarming story and i really love the actors (SO MUCH)

i don't know how to write a review but to anyone who haven't watch this yet, do yourself a favor and watch it NOW.

EDIT: i just want to add that i love how they really follow the novel and manga which is kinda rare since there are drama that were also adapted from novel or manga that changes some of the plot,,,, :") there's just some scenes like the cinema scene that they cut :< give it to us pls

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A MUST WATCH IT!

This has turned to be one of my favorite drama! The characters are amazing and adorable, starting from Sang Zhi, Duan Jiaxu, Sang Yan, her close friends and his close coworker, even her parents! It’s my first time seeing the leads, both being so independent and mature in the relationship and their own. I cried really hard seeing Duan Jiaxu cry and seeing what he said. It touched me. The way he cherishes and takes care of Sang Zhi is so heartwarming, he has always attentive to her whether it being his little sister or his girlfriend. The age gap was little bit weird, but the relationship was built with a healthy connection between the two, both are loved and supported. She studied hard to go to Yihe to meet him and he left Yihe early to work hard back at Nanwu, just for her to come back to a stable environment and home. Every character and storyline was so amazing. The OSTs are amazing, i’m listening to them as i try to get over them. The outfits were so PRETTY, i fell for Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu so FAST! Praises to everyone that worked hard for Hidden Love. Please give this drama a try, it’s a heartfelt and exciting drama!

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Worth the watch

Perfect Summer time drama! So sweet. ZLS finally found her match in an actor who can turn on the puppy charm. CZY really has the most expressive face and able to convey those tender emotions without looking effeminate. Director did perfect castin this time. All the supporting actors were great, especially the older brother as well as the rommies in college. It's such a pity that the detractors of the drama made a big stink about the age difference without watching the drama through. It's actually very well handled and even mentioned outright and it does show the FL growing more mature to meet the ML at his level. Kudos to ZLS for being able to convey both innocence and maturity all at the same time.

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A reader's dream

I have a lot of nice things to say about this drama and one thing I will say is Zhao lusi doesn't disappoint at all. She has grown a lot as an actress. I have watched a lot of series adapted from novels and i dare say this drama was well executed.
(If you love reading c novels like I do, this is like a novel updates fan's dream.) I loved how the drama followed the main storyline without destroying the whole vibe , also the actors were able to make the characters come alive.
Zhao lusi was able to potray tiny details described in the book without making it seem fake. Honestly speaking, the chemistry between the cast was what made this movie so great.
Especially the chemistry between the lead roles was sweet and I hope to see more of our Duan jiaxu in other dramas.

*SPOILERS*
Even though the drama was almost perfect and made me happy, they didn't include some important parts of the story in the drama.
For example we never got to see Sang Yan's HIDDEN GIRLFRIEND and also Jiang YI's APOLOGY to Duan jiaxu and other minor details they forgot which is understandable because it's impossible to follow a storyline to the T.

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