I was initially intrigued by this drama because of some good reviews and its cast. But after 20 or so episodes in, I became weary of the repetitive cases, each more or less of the same format. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship of the trio, Bai You Ning (Xiao Yan), Lu Yao (Hu Yitian) and Qiao Chu Sheng (Zhang Yunlong). After The Untamed, many viewers crave for BL or bromance themed stories. The Bai You Ning character in this drama becomes a spoiler and has been criticized by many viewers. This is rather unfair and unfortunate because Xiao Yan is a wonderful actor and her character a brilliant one. To me, she is the adult in the room, balancing out the 2 ingenious boys who can be crazy at times.
Bai You Ning is independent, determined and clear minded, whereas Lu Yao cocky, silly and playful like a small child with a genius mind, and Qiao Chu Sheng is mature, patient and calm. Together, the scenes are funny, cute with constant bickering, teasing, hitting below the belt dialogues; they have fantastic chemistry together and the whole drama would not be complete without any one of them. If we say men can be smart in every sense but naive when it comes to human relationship particularly with women, these two men embody everything in the statement; they are like elementary school boys. The amount of patience Qiao Chu shows towards Lu Yao is unlimited. Countless times Qiao Chu Sheng's blatant show of bromance, intentionally or unintentionally, sends viewers squealing. Like a walking encyclopedia, You Ning supplements the men with valuable information to help crack their cases rapidly. Most of the murder cases, seemingly cold blooded, are in fact for justifiable motives; the victims seem to deserve their deaths and justice is served.
Hu Yitian's acting has improved somewhat but occasionally I still find his facial expression either overact or unnatural. This is the first time I see him acting as a playful and flamboyant character, and he is doing a great job. Zhang Yunlong's acting is on the spot. Good looking and has the air of a commanding authority, Zhang makes a great Inspector Director. My favorite is Xiao Yan's acting. She has that sharp and yet mischievous demeanor, and she brings these qualities to her character.
If you don't mind too much about the similar repetitive murder cases, this is rather a fun watch especially with the relationship of the trio - they can really make you laugh out loud with constant bantering and bickering.
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Great detective stories & bromance
I'm a fan of detective / mystery thriller drama for both western & eastern. I watched this drama while airing via Youtube.Detective storyline is pretty remarkable. If you like detective type of drama, you gonna like this. It's a light and simple mystery solving, not deep like popular western detective series / drama.
Settings during Chinese era (circa 1920ish) are picturesque. Your eyes gonna like it feel like nostalgic.
Bromance was all over the place. Well, it's not actually bromance on paper, it's definitely a BL.
At first, I didn't realise it would lead to BL (didn't watch any review beforehand), however you can feel ambience and your cheeks were blushing while watching the bromance scenes - finally you realize, ahh!
They just fit the bill for the role (sugar daddy role, Yi Tian's soft personality, wealthy background, etc).
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My utmost disappointment (until now and forever) relies on Bai You Ning's character. Her character was poorly written with no development & meaning for overall series. She is literally like everyone's said - annoying and useless. Her start was quite normal as spoiled brat, probably could be a soft / fresh colour between two men. Later on I found out, her character didn't contribute any good, even for professional or personal til the end.
She didn't help at all in solving cases, consistently stubborn / drama queen, and just bothersome for working environment.
If you want to form a group, they must be have their own ability to help each other.
In here, Bai You Ning was nothing.
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The title is also misleading. Bai You Ning & Lu Yao were indeed the roommate. However, this story was fully emphasized (before episode 30ish) about Lu Yao & Chu Seng until finally Bai You Ning & Lu Yao forcefully by story got married. They indeed had bickering and teasing all the time, but those were family bickering. You may sense the bickering wasn't like romcom bickering turned into romance. At some point, I thought Lu Yao would end their friendship because of unforgivable attention seeking events caused by Bai You Ning.
Personally I thought Bai You Ning is a cherry on top due to censorship that leaded to forcefully happy straight ending.
If they stay as team without any romance, it would be better.
Hua Yi Tian is definitely handsome (every time) but I can't get enough of Zhang Yun Long. I started to notice him and suddenly my phone is full of him. He is so damn sexy with his sleek hair, police attire and his flirty gesture.
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Overall, I recommend this drama if you don't mind the ending. I don't know about others, but I mostly skip hateful part at Chinese drama. You may skip sparks between Bai You Ning & Lu Yao.
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Bromance or RomCom detective drama?
Good looking cast, interesting cases and an OK OST. But..Contemplating really hard, trying not to drop the show as early as the third episode. Mainly because of the FL. Seen her on a few drama, this is the worst.. She's a journalist here, who writes pretty much anything that she wants and to hell with the consequences. Its really annoying and irresponsible..
Also skipped too much, not just fast forwarding scenes but skipping whole episodes and feeling like I haven't missed much. So I guess this one ain't just for me, even though I tried so hard to like it.
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I might be different from the others here who set a high standard for this drama, as I went into this drama basically without any expectation. I wanted to watch it because it has Leon Zhang and that's it. So, I was actually surprised (in a good way) about how this drama turned out to be
The mystery in this drama might not be top-notch, but I didn't watch it to see Oscar-winning deduction or mystery, so I'm actually very happy with each case. The case they presented actually fit with the era where the story is set. The mystery is not too complicated, quick to be solved, and some of the cases linger in my heart (like the case with the murdered Newspaper Editor)
I also don't mind the sudden romance. After all, since the beginning it's set that the two main characters (Lu Yao and Bai Youning) have something for each other. I think it started with camaraderie, partnership, friendship, and then turn into love. I think their progression is set out nicely and executed in a right way
Acting/Cast (8.5 points)
I give it 8.5 points for Leon Zhang's acting. He's so wonderful in this drama. His micro-expression make me happy. He could make it known with just a tilt of a head and some subtle expression on his face to know what he's feeling. It shows amazing acting capability and skill. For Hu Yi Tian, I'm not sure whether it's because I've seen him in Go Go Squid first, but I think that it's a pleasant change from his usual stoic (or dead-blank) expression. He's actually quite expressive and his chemistry with Leon Zhang is just wonderful to watch
Music (10 points)
I think that the music is the best and the most amazing I've ever heard for a drama ost in a long time. I'm addicted to the songs. I could listen to them whole day on repeat
Rewatch Value (7.0 points)
Because it's a mystery drama, once you know who did it, it might be hard to actually rewatch them again. That's why I set the rewatch value to 7 points only
Overall (8.0 points)
In overall, I'm satisfied with the drama. Not boring at all in my opinion. It's executed well and the cases also fit the setting and the era, which is also a pleasant surprise. The set and the clothes are also gorgeous
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It is tempting to give this drama a really high rating, and it certainly has immense potential. The stories are interesting if you do no think too much about plausibility and the roles of Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng are really well performed.The individual detective cases are fast-paced (largely) in a good way as a detective drama. Many of the cases get solved within 1-2 episodes. It is not the sort of whodunnit that is suspenseful in a way that invites the viewer to join in the guessing because some of the ways the murders/crimes are committed are so convoluted that the viewer is unlikely to predict them. The forensics and scientific explanations seem somewhat anachronistic for 1920s Shanghai, but I might be wrong. However, there are certainly anachronisms in the language used by the characters and in some references (e.g. the reference to Stockholm Syndrome) made by the characters. Nevertheless, if you don't expect really solid detective stories, the series is fairly good as drama. Another plus point is that there turns out to be a sort of link between the cases that is developed from the start.
The ending and final story seems overly rushed, with the murderer behaving so suspiciously from the start that viewers may assume that she can't possibly be the killer. I can't decide whether this is a stroke of genius or a poorly told story.
The performances of the male leads are really good and make up for a lot of the flaws of the series. In particular, Hu Yitian brings out the subtle changes in the character of the detective, Lu Yao, very well while giving an overall coherent portrayal of the character. Leon Zhang's character has less development but is nevertheless performed with nuance: his confidence and toughness, his sense of justice, his loyalty, his hidden vulnerability and world-weariness are conveyed, often without the need for dialogue to make these obvious.
The chemistry between the leads is good, but the series suffers from schizophrenic tendencies in the representation of the relationship between the main male characters. At its worst, the relationship between them can be construed as needless baiting of BL fans. This is because interactions, which would usually pave the way for the development of a romantic relationship, amount to nothing in particular. There are plenty of examples: when Qiao misunderstands Lu's request and gives him a hug, when Qiao puts his arms around Lu Yao when the latter is seated on a chair, when Lu comically jumps onto Qiao's back when he spots a chihuahua (a very frightening creature in his eyes), when Qiao gently wipes something off Lu's face, when Qiao looks almost forlornly at Lu in the last episode when Lu is leaving Shanghai with his wife. In the last episode, Qiao gives Lu a hug but does not hug his childhood friend (Lu's wife) even though she opens her arms to hug him.
We can probably be understanding and see that China's censorship laws do not allow BL. The homosexual desire could also be taken to be repressed and one-sided as Qiao has a greater tendency to behave tenderly towards Lu. However, is there really a need for such teasing when Qiao is ALSO portrayed as a someone who actually falls quite seriously in love with a woman in one of the cases? I do not mean to say that a series in which the two leading male characters are a romantic couple would necessarily be better. It's all a matter of execution. The straight relationship seems to pale in comparison to the suggestive bonds between the male characters, and if censorship rules must be followed, maybe the BL element should have been written out altogether (though to be fair, I heard that the series was conceived a few years ago, and at that time the censorship of BL had not really kicked in and there were popular BL series like Addicted from China, so maybe.) I also wouldn't really mind if the male-male romantic desire had simply been hinted at, but the inconsistency can be frustrating.
Perhaps the inconsistent BL-suggestive moments would not be so serious if the strength of the series had not relied so much on the portrayal of the two male characters. To make matters worse, the main female character seems to be a joke: she is a tabloid journalist who creates sensationalist headlines and misreports from time to time; her poor writing ability is also harped on again and again, but we are supposed to believe that she is a passionate journalist with principles and is somehow a respectable journalist too. There is an attempt to show the depth of her love for Lu (particularly in a scene when she tells Lu's ex that she does not know how to appreciate Lu), but such moments are few and far between.
In the end, the series is enjoyable but it also seems to be held back from being a classic. I have the nagging suspicion that the story would really shine had it been made in a more ideal world.
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once again, annoying FL ruins the show
i don't get what it is with cdramas and annoying FLs. it's even more infuriating when they force-feed one into a BL work. her entire existence is to be a sounding board for Lu Yao (to explain his thought process to the audience) and provide convenient case details. all while playing her role as annoying "tough" reporter who publishes whatever she wants.i almost want to give it a lower score, but the cases are interesting enough, and the two MLs are great. even with the butchered to hell bromance, their chemistry comes across. also, Lu Yao is a hilarious ML and I really like how his character is written.
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This drama is pretty freaking good. Even though like I said before the plot takes a while to unfold and its a little lacking in character development too but not to the point where it's boring because it's not, it's very entertaining the bromance alone I was hooked cause bickering couple: check. Cute looking : check. Memorable bromance couple: check.
And honestly the fl definitely grew on me, I was into her when they sneak off at night after she cries over her father's ridiculous behavior.
But where they lost me was when they tried to make me ship them. It just came out of NOWHERE and left me feeling icky. And it sucked that the two male leads who were literally perfect for each other, in the end it was the same old tired Chinese drama routine - 'sacrificing' true love (I mean Qiao and lu yong obviously) for 'duty' (can you say propaganda).
Lost Tomb constantly does it, Novoland did it, even UNTAMED you can hate me but c'mon they deserved a better ending! And don't even get me started on Beloved Enemy! OMG the amount of distress I suffered at the hands of the writers lol I still can't get out of my head.
The ONE drama that didn't make me resent it, the sole bromance exception is.. drum roll ... GUARDIAN.
You can disagree with me but that ending even though sad, and they don't actually end up together, it hits DIFFERENT. It's different because even though Shen Wei leaves the world with Ye Zun and technically picked his brother and duty, all you remember, the image that you're left with, is Shen Wei saying 'I waited for you for 10,000 years.'
So, yes I just really enjoyed this bromance and the crime stories and the sugar daddy dynamic between them xD it was really fun to watch.
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This is NOT a BL drama
Be warned that this is NOT a BL drama! This way you won't be disappointed and post hateful comments because you don't like the fact that the ML and the FL can end together.I saw so many hate towards the FL and when I ended the drama my thought was "we watched the same drama??" I just loved Youming! She is brave, smart, determined and will do everything to protect Lu Yao, who is a genius but lazy, weak and coward. They are perfect together. I just loved the three leads, their friendship. I've already watched a numberless of detective dramas, series etc, and for me, the protagonists and their dynamics are almost more important than the cases and My Roommate is a Detective delivered both: very likable characters and enjoyable cases.
The drama has its flaws but overall is very funny and a I think you should give a chance if you like detective stories.
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Annoying Female character ruined the whole thing
I think I'm a masochist watching this Horrid dramaI kept watching for the friendship ,, but I was so annoyed with the female lead and ridiculous passiveness of the first male lead
I struggled to keep watching ,, I kept skipping a lot
I can't imagine How much the writer and director hated that actress or hated that character
they perfected the portrayal of the most annoying love interest ever
and I'm not exaggerating
How can the smartest person in the story get hit and bullied all the time by this girl that he likes
He was also greedy ,, didn't appreciated a lot of his best friend's kind gestures
I really tried to watch this drama objectively but couldn't
I don't think it's considered Bromance because I didn't see much of that in this
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Must watch
I really love this.I guess the romance is the only thing I wish was not included. I mean the boy-girl thing.
This is the role which showcased #HuYiTian's acting talents. I am thankful he was given this role. He is the reason why I watch Chinese dramas.
#LeonZhang is a darling. He is so delightful to watch. I promise to watch more of him. (can't say the same with #HuYiTian because I have seen all his work... Giggle... and I'll have to wait for his next ones...praying... Make them sooner please. )
I was mislead when I read some of the reviews. Watch the whole show and interpret it yourself. Don't just rely on the reviews here.
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Main leads are both way too much and there are better detective dramas.
This will be one of the shortest reviews. I found the ML annoying and the FL lead equally annoying, Their were written as cartoon characters and never fully developed. I do not understand at all how these two became a couple or why. So it is really difficult to watch the show. The cases were sometimes interesting and sometimes down right simple. There are better detective dramas for anyone interested that have a better storyline around the cases. Basically for me it didn't work as a romantic comedy, nor did it work as a Sherlock Holmes type detective story.The only thing I liked in the drama was the second ML who was the police inspector. His character had depth and some growth. He was the only reason I gave the acting score a higher mark.
Overall ok to watch, but I cannot imagine sitting through this show again.
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