In Time With You (2011)

This would be one of those dramas you regret not watching when you had the chance. Months before I completed the drama I decided to give this drama a go. However back then all I could think about was Ariel's annoying character from her successful drama It Started with a Kiss 1+2. I played the first 10-15 minutes before Chen Berlin
even appeared and I stopped watching. The first 15 minutes were slow, If I had known that I was a little bit more patient or gave this drama an actual chance then I would find myself falling in love just a few minutes after dropping. Why? Chen Berlin who is known as Li Da Ren in this gem of a drama appeared and he just lit the whole drama up.

I finished the first episode and I was already falling for this drama truly, madly and deeply. I found Ariel lovable! and Chen Berlin dashing!I would slap myself silly for not continuing after those 15 minutes. If only I gave the drama a real go then it would have been in my life longer. We all make silly mistakes and I should really watch 3-5 episodes before thinking about dropping.

So this drama is about two best friends who have known each other for about 10-15 years and one thing is certain from the very start.
Li Da Ren loves and has always loved Cheng You Qing. It is also obvisous that You Qing feels the same but she's a woman and she's naive and I guess you could say she's scared about losing Da Ren. Li Da Ren starts to date a girl called Maggie who is very annoying and If I ever come across a girl like Maggie I will run for the hills. The thing about Maggie is she plans and she plots. Maggie wants the perfect boyfriend/husband and this girl has a list of qualities her perfect man has to have and it just so happens Li Da Ren ticks all of her boxes (He would tick mine too) so this begins the love triangle. Even though I said "I would run for the hills" I would say she did help You Qing wake up a bit but You Qing is very complicated especially in her love life. This is when her ex-boyfriend comes back and they had/have a very intense relationship. You know the type one minute they are arguing and the next they are sucking each others faces off.

Throughout the whole drama we are rooting for Li Da Ren to win his girl! We want Cheng You Qing to wake up and realise that Li Da Ren has always and will always be there for her. He is her soulmate. This is the type of drama where you watch one episode and you don't go "I might watch episode 2 tomorrow" no...you say "Next episode NOW!" and you keep on saying that until you realise 13 hours of your life have passed and the drama is over. The couple is no more and you
won't see anymore Li Da Ren and Cheng You Qing scenes. You will find yourself depressed and it will probably take you about 1-3 weeks to find another drama. However those 1-3 weeks of depression are worth those beautiful 13 hours.

P.S:. If you think Ariel and Joe Cheng are IT then think again. It's all about Chen Berlin and Ariel!

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Before I start I have to say I'm not a fan of Taiwanese dramas - I've watched only few of them, but even that was enough for me to think that they are not my cup of tea. So why did I watch In Time With You? Firstly, I noticed a very high score on MDL and secondly, I saw a recommendation that this drama is similar to 9 End 2 Outs, which I just finished and really liked. So I thought, ITWY, here I come!

Story. Well, the storyline of this drama may not be the most original one - the concept of two old friends falling for each other is used frequently so it's kind of hard to squeeze something new from this idea. This drama couldn't avoid some of cliches - jealousy, the return of cheating ex-boyfriend, crying in the rain, ignoring your own feelings etc., but even if those things did appear, they didn't spoil the fun of watching. Everything was happening at the right moment - nothing seemed rushed or too slow, every episode had its own charm and I didn't feel like fast forwarding even once, I enjoyed every minute of the drama. It was a bit painful watching the sufferings of poor Li Da Ren but this had its purpose and made the story more realistic.

Acting. Well, here I have to admit that I completely changed my mind about Taiwanese actors. In those few dramas I've seen up to now the acting was a bit bad - it seemed fake, exaggerated and naive but in ITWY it was the exact opposite. Every single actor played his/her part natural, like they were real characters and not just the actors. Now I can't imagine Chen Berlin playing the guy who is, let's say, cheating ex-boyfriend - he was so natural playing a sensitive, supporting best friend that I really believed he has to be like that in his pirvate life too. The same can be said about Lin Ariel - she was really convincing in her role of a strong and independent woman who knows what she wants and aims for that.

Music. I have to say that music was the first thing I noticed about this drama - it's really fitting. And the song that Da Ren wrote for You Qing? Yeah, it was perfect!

Rewatch value. That is a hard one - I loved the drama, it was really good and all, but like somebody said before, I don't know if I would bear seeing the sufferings of Li Da Ren once again. But, on the other side, the last episode was so awesomely epic that it redeemed it all; finally, we saw some of the hapily ever after and not just the happy ending!

Overall, I gave it an 8 because this was the best written, acted and executed Taiwanese drama I've ever seen and finally I saw a a female lead who was worth my liking - not some whiny, wimpy girl, but a true woman.

And a cherry on top: nearly all the clothes (and especially shoes!) of You Qing were to die for!

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