Very touching love story with passion and ambition
I really really really really underestimated this drama. I thought it would be some kind of fantasy because of it's but I realised that it was actually about swimming. I didn't have any expectations for this drama at all but it was beyond anything I thought it would be. It was very nice! The story is very different and unique... it's so touching..! I also think that this drama showed very well about how communication resolves and avoids any kind of misunderstandings in a relationship, that's what touched me the most in this drama. And I very much enjoyed the cast's acting it was extraordinary. Everyone had great chemistry on screen. And I love how everyone got their own, well deserved, happy ending. If was really heart warming to watch. The music was really soothing.... And calming. Overall, fantastic drama with the most touching story and interesting plot. With a lot of passion and ambition with it, and the best friendships! 👩🏻💼📹🎤🏊🏻🗣️🫂🤜🤛Was this review helpful to you?
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STORY
The story arc was done really really well. It was clean, pure, paced well and didn’t drag on unnecessarily. A rare find. 37 episodes will go by in a flash and you’ll be craving more. There were a lot of sweet and funny light-hearted moments that make you smile, and this was perfectly paired with some of the heavy serious stuff that happens later on. The whole plot was thought out really well – they were able to integrate the present and past (four years ago) fluidly. I really liked how Yi Bai and Yun Duo’s connection was way deeper than originally thought.
Every character had their backstory and past experiences they needed to face. In particular, we see Yi Bai’s swimming journey and the hardships he faced to get him where he was, I loved seeing his character development. His drive to achieve his dream was really moving.
Yi Bai and Yun Duo’s relationship is definitely a slow burn – from friendship to love. You see their chemistry from the moment they meet (I loved their first meeting) and it carries throughout the Drama. You might get frustrated at the slow progression of their relationship, but trust me it pays off in the end, they are the cutest couple.
The end has good finality and resolve to it – everything is cleared up. Don't you love a happy ending ^_^
ACTING/CAST
Dylan Xiong’s smile is the cutest thing ever and I loved seeing him smile. His expressions were sometimes unclear (I hear he is relatively new in the acting field), but his smile made up for it.
Tan Song Yun was gorgeous and did such a great job (loved her outfits). They were definitely one of the cutest couples ever. And even when they faced an obstacle, they were able to talk it out and stay strong.
The second couple - Qi Rui Feng and Yang Yang provided the much need comedic relief and I loved watching them interact with each other.
Overall, the cast and acting was spot on. Couldn’t have found a better cast. I found myself loving the male tension in the air when the different swimming groups faced each other off. They found such a good looking bunch of guys – good job casting team haha.
MUSIC
I'm listing to the soundtrack as I'm writing this, so yes the soundtrack was amazing and fitted the scenes so well. In particular, the swimming competitions had such great inspirational and uplifting music and made the scenes suspenseful and made me even a bit teary.
REWATCH VALUE
I’m not into rewatching Dramas, but this one I would definitely rewatch again. If you're looking for a bit of inspiration and motivation to achieve your dreams or goals, this would be your go-to. If you're looking for a cute couple, who face things together head on, this would be your go-to.
Seriously, hope you give this Drama a go, even just watching the first episode. Keen to hear your thoughts! xx
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Second Lead Style ML with Swimming as a Backdrop
One of the things I enjoy when watching dramas is learning new things or being set in a new story world. I mean, how many more palace or office dramas can you watch?! This drama had me looking up famous swim competitions and enjoying this new world of college men's competitive swimming as a backdrop for a drama. The teamwork and camaraderie among the male swimmers (ugh, can I say how insulting it was to watch the female "swimmers" pretend to practice alongside them as fake feminist window-dressing) was the highlight of the drama for me and I don't watch dramas for bromance. I HIGHLY recommend watching it on Viki or another commenting community app because the other commenters made watching this drama so much fun that I finished it without really wanting to do so. ;pCouple Chemistry: MEH. Cute but kinda listless for the MC. The ML reminds me of a SML character that's sweet, kind, understanding, always supports the FL, yadda-yadda-yadda. (Sorry, can you tell I was bored by him?) He's a REALLY nice guy and the relationship he has with the FL is very sweet and cute. It seemed more high-school chemistry-wise to me, since they acted like teenagers goo-goo-gaga-eyed over each other but seemed stunned into just staring and smiling at each other like idiots. Even though the FL is your typical clumsy, naive, sweet, kind idiot, she has some moments of self-awareness and clarity, though they are infrequent. She has her own dreams and works to pursue them as an intern reporter--and she learns some harsh lessons along the way. I don't mind Seven Tan but she got on my nerves in this one. As for the 2nd couple, I shipped them so hard...omg, if they weren't in the show, I might've stopped watching it past ep 23. The fact that the MC didn't kiss until episode 27 or some such insane nonsense is also why I was tempted to drop it. ;p
Story/plot/characters: I enjoyed the story except for this deliberate suspense cloud of past-problems that the moniker "little one" brought up. Like you could just see it hanging over everyone's heads and the writers really thought they were clever with the flashbacks and how the other characters were connected to this backstory. The scheming side characters, the swimming friends, her boss, omg HIS MOM was, like, my favorite mom in a c-drama EVER, lol. Well, I was giving the romance a long time to build into slow-burn satisfaction but JUST when I was ready for it, the writers threw in that stupid misunderstanding trope that turned me off from the entire drama--characters, writers, directors, you name it, I just needed to take a break from the show and come back to watch it a little later. I'm not sure who designed this plot structure in many c-dramas, where they start off light, funny and romantic and veer off into melodrama territory 2/3 of the way through. It became another show for a while and it seriously began annoying me. (I wasn't the only one, it seems! Many other commenters were just as fired up.)
OST: The 2 songs I remember were overplayed but to GREAT effect in specific moments. Very inspirational. The message of the drama was very inspirational as well. :)
Yeah, no. I will not be rewatching any part of this.
(I wanted to add that the 10s are obviously from people who were emotionally touched by something in this drama that I was not touched by. I have dramas like that as well but there is NO WAY this drama is a 10 when you compare it to what else is out there.)
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Oh my heart !
Right, this one one cute and fluffy drama, about love of course but also about friendship first and foremost.It is slow paced, without much skinship or kissing scenes, but the characters are subtle, well written and the love grows at a fairly realistic pace even if some of the story lines are a bit.. well... unrealistic (how the hell does one almost drowns so often lol)
Also, the ML is for once not cold or withdrawn, he is warm, smart and caring about all those around him.
One personal favorite is the ML's mother, made me laugh every time she was on screen.
I strongly recommend watching this if you're looking for a break whilst watching something intense.
A final plus side, LOTS of shirtless men ;)
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This review may contain spoilers
Decent romance but the show spent too much time treading water
TL;DR: Decent rom-com with a sports theme but draggy and a bit claustrophobic.Most shows are like a jigsaw puzzle. It is made up of lots of pieces and when the pieces fall naturally into place you get a good drama, when the pieces don't fit well, you get half formed picture that tells a confused story.
This show started well. The swim team members are handsome and they have a strong bond with a healthy dose of macho bromance. The FL seemed to have a good heart and strong moral compass even though she is only an intern. It was quite obvious who the anointed OTP is and they do look cute together. Their meet-cute was tropey but it worked. Another positive aspect is the swimming competition, They were shot skilfully with great action scenes. The daily grind of a swim team is also front and centre rather than just gamify the subject like some other sport based drama. However, not all the jigsaw piece are fitting in nicely, there are missing pieces and others jammed in and felt out of place.
One of the problem is the portrayal of 2ML (Lin Zi). He just came across as creepy and an unlikeable character. He was obsessed with the FL and is revengeful against the ML. The whole plot with him worming himself in her workplace as her assistant is just unrealistic. How can an intern gain an assistant? Have the writer heard of office politics? What did the other interns think, let alone other reporters and senior staff? At one stage, he also set up a "love nest" for the FL and decorated it all by himself (while holding onto a spare key?). It is just as well that that subplot came to a dead-end or we'd have a psycho thriller on our hands instead of a rom-com. Regardless, I feel icky watching a lot of his early scenes.
The development of the FL is also lacking until the end. In the beginning, she was shown to be intelligent and headstrong but as the show progressed, she seemed to go backwards. With her first encounter of the 2ML, she'd labelled him a weirdo but then once he entered the company, she was easily manipulated by him and just seemed to missed all the clues to his shenanigans. In fact, she didn't clue in to his subterfuge until her best friend told her late in the story.
This bring us to my biggest gripe, the show is draggy. 36 episodes was too long. Even though it is obvious who the OTP is (and the 2OTP for that matter) and everyone around them all clearly of the same opinion, they spend half the show denying there is anything between them. Even after the ML confessed to the FL (only after seeing the 2ML confessed first) she was still going around doing the "I am confused/I should sacrifice myself for your career" trope for several more episodes to the general detriment of all concerned. Even after the 1OTP situation settled down, the 2OTP took up the baton and went on to denying their growing attractions. I was getting tired of hearing "No, no, that's impossible!" shouted by the leads every time someone asked whether they are dating or liked each other.
This slow plot progression is not helped when the competition subplot proved to be quite claustrophobic. It all centred around the fictional Dream Cup college championship and the races were largely against the same people over and over. The show hyped up the competitors as if they were national celebrities but I'm not sure how a college swim team can attain such high profile. If anything, I wished the show was set at a higher level so that the competition offer higher stakes than just the South campus matched against the North campus and some no-name competitors. I felt the show was just treading water for 2/3 of the show.
If you think the show was going to settle down to some quality CP time on the home straight then you will be mistaken. It changed tone again and went full on melo. Surprisingly, that actually had a positive effect on the show. Whilst there were a lot more angst and confusions, it ultimately acted as a cathartic release of penned up emotions and brought clarify to our protagonists. I'm glad it happened or it would be a happy ending that was not earned.
The group of young actors did what they can with their roles. I won't say that the acting was great but acceptable. I think the female actors gave more nuanced performances while the guys had too much machismo and only showed moments of vulnerability. The ML's mum was a gem. She is a real scene stealer. What a shame that she disappeared just when the show gained momentum.
To be frank, It was a struggle to sit through some of the episodes until the 2/3 mark, the fast forward button helped. It picked up after ep.27 and really gathered steam around ep.30. As expected, the ending was uplifting and satisfying. I actually felt better about the show after I finished it. It wasn't a bad show overall but it was patchy.
The OST was quite good. The score were well matched to the scenes and well produced.
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YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!!!
So I just finished watching this 6 hours ago and yes!! I needed that time to calm myself before I write my review because I swear, my review would only contain like this- ADASF AFEARAEURAERUANQRBARH!@!#!#!@@~!! (YES! THAT'S THE FEELS!!!!!)Story 9.5- It's just so fluffy and so innocent, like yk what I mean? that even their kiss is just a peck (or not) or small movement of their lips. I like how in every scene the male main lead doesn't always win at the game (the part where he jump before anyone else) because that's the reality of life, you don't always win! Having that touch of reality is such a big thing to me because it will make me love a series more (now you can understand why I fucking love it!!!)
Acting/Cast 10- ISTG! whoever cast them really deserves a FUCKING DIAMOND!! YOU GET ME??!!!! Let's start with the support roles first. Qi Rui Feing (Huang Sheng Chi) he is now my baby, okay?!!!! I like how quirky he is, I like how he always say what's on his mind because I'm like that sometimes lol and I just like how natural he is?! I fucking adore him!! Xiang Yang Yang (Wang Zi Xuan) is so beautifuuuul! and she really has a great chemistry with Huang Sheng Chi !!! *heart eyes* (if they ever have a series besides this, please let me know!! I'm begging!!) And the MAIN LEAAADSS!! Tang Yi Bai (Dylan Xiong) and Yun Duo (Seven Tan) *heart eyes with my tears flowing* They are just....natural. I really love the character of Tang Yi Bai here, he's so gentle yet mysterious, he is so handsome!!!!!!!!!!! for real!!!!!! And of course, my baby Yun Duo, she is so squishyy!! They are just so perfect!!!
For real, I'm kinda craving more moments of Qi Rui Feng and Xiang Yang Yang. I just really want to see more of their progression as a couple huhu but overall, I'M REALLY SO SATISFIED WITH THIS DRAMA!!!
PLEASE WATCH THIS!!!
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Lin Zi and Cheng Mei acted well enough for me to hate them from the bottom of my heart. Cheng Mei didn't have too many scenes, but whenever she did, she sure left an impact.
Shout out to North Physical's captain too. His little role was enough to make me like him.
After this drama, I ended up not watching K-dramas for a month, since I binge-watched on Taiwanese dramas.
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Leads Carried The Drama
So many annoying characters. Busy body friends, stalker brother of ML female classmate who had a crush on him (brother/sister manipulators and liars), ML’s mothers voice and dramatics. if it hadn’t been for the M/FL’s, I would have dropped this drama like a hot potato.The story was good to a point, it was just dragged on to fill in the backstory of why the ML was banned from competing for 4 years.
ML is adorable. Bright, expressive eyes, a smile that is captivating and he is a very good actor. His character was extremely positive, and he portrayed a young man becoming a responsible mature adult in his career and relationship very well.
FL is awesome in everything she does. Her character was spunky and smart - and she played the role of learning how to love someone and being vulnerable in a relationship could make it stronger.
Plot was okay, just an excessive number of plots and side stories. There were a few inconsistencies in the translations from one episode to the next, and as others have said - the actors are not professional swimmers, which, with all of the footage of them swimming became distracting.
Despite all of this, I enjoyed the interaction of the ML and FL and found myself fast forwarding a lot of the secondary storylines just to see their story.
I originally watched this when it was released, but came across it again and remembered why I easnt too impressed with the drama overall. If it had been anyone other than the ML and FL I would not have watched it again.
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This review may contain spoilers
many magical thing happen here
Waiting for that OG drama to be finished decided to watch this, another seven tan drama. This drama surpass my expectation, I really having fun watch this drama.Ok many magical thing happen here, magical & sometimes quite funny but sometimes just plainly ridiculous just for the sake of funny scene or just old trope or the most ridiculous just to make our actress & actor still good looking.. hoho... Let me explain in below.
Here the list:
* The most ridiculous magical thing that happen through out the drama is..... all of our swimmer cast hair almost always still intact & dry after just come out of the swimming pool... They come out of the swimming pool, put on their training uniform & the hair is dry.,... Especially Qi Rui Feng (RF), sometimes his hair even already gel ready. Magic right... hahaha...
* in ep 9 when Yun Duo (YD) have to sleep in boys dorm for the night, Tang Yi Bai (YB) & RF have to sleep in another room, ok that makes sense, the one that doesn't makes sense is to let 2 boys sleep in the 1 bed together, while it's the fact that they have BUNK BED & the upside of the bed is empty.... Hahaha... They do that just for the funny & old trope in the morning....
* most the friendship have trouble just for the sake of opposite sex, like YD & Cheng Mei (CM) have problem just because Lin Zi or Ou Yang Heng & YB just because Lin Sang & the problem relatively easy to solved, especially between YD & CM, if what CM do to YD happen to me I'll not gonna so easy forgive CM no matter how close I am to CM, how can I trust her ever again...
* The just wake up Lin Sang, after coma for 4 year, can just casually walk around, even until YD office, but in the next scene we see she must using wheel chair & must train her body too...
What I like:
+ I really like how instantly YD & YB fall in love in here. From the first scene they eyes already tell us love & admiration. Tan Song Yun & Xiong Zi Qi chemistry quite fit, I can imagine they as a couple.
+ I really like our second couple. RF & Xiang Yang Yang is one funny couple. They are the classic couple, tease each other but also the best supporter & protector for each other
+ the quote: many thing would become better with the time, but only regrets won't be disappear with time
+ YB mom is so funny, but unfortunately she disappear in the some last episode... :(
+ Tan Song Yun costume quite cute & pretty. I sometimes not notice the costume that our cast wear through out the drama, but here her dress quite catch my attention.
Overall I quite happy to find this drama. Sometimes old drama is better than new one. :p
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There were many times I felt like yelling out no don't and many times I felt like squealing out loud.
And the bromance!!!!!!!!!!
Every time there was a swimming competition I was on the edge of my seat biting my nails, it was so nerve wrecking!
Even the side stories would get you hooked.
And the ending! I so was not expecting that.
If you like fluffy dramas I guarantee you would like this one.
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Water, love, mystery, suspense, water, secrets, more water!
This was my first Chinese drama ever, despite everything it has a special place in my heart, it was like my first vicious, every episode I felt it amazing.The mystery about the past of Tang Yi Bai is really good written, it makes a good plot, not forced. And once you watch an episode you want to watch more and more. Also I really loved every character and their friendship. My favorite character was Tang Yi Bai, super gentleman, sweet, so loyal and innocent, and of course Qi Rui Feng, always relax and charismatic, I liked his brother-ship with Yi Bai.
Now, the romance...
Tang Yi Bai and Yun Duo are a refreshing couple, some times it seems to be unnecessary slow their romance, however is perfect. I think it would be better to see more of Yun Duo being more romantic, because even when they were already a couple she seems cold towards Yi Bai, but it’s okay, the situation changes in the next chapters. In the other hand, I loved the obstacles settled by the siblings Lin. Of course, I hated both of their characters, but is incredible the essence it adds to the main couple
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