This review may contain spoilers
If you want a sweet, simple romantic drama , Intense love is the one for you. A lightheart romantic drama about Su jin bei ( female lead ) and Zhou shi yun ( male lead) . Jin bei is an actress while Shi Yun is a doctor. Their paths have already been set since they were young. They have been engaged for marriage since they were young. They finally meet when Jin bei gets into a car accident and Dr. Zhou is her physician. They were supposedly to get engage but both did not show up. Jin bei meets Shi Yun in the hospital. Jin bei madly pursues the doctor ;)
of course at first the male lead is turn off and kinda repulse but slowly he finds himself falling for her. I like the female lead because she is pretty and innocent/sweet. She somethings acts like a baby towards the main lead to 撒嬌. Their chemistry is amazing, not to mention them having many sweet kissing scene. I would say this drama had quite a lot :)
I liked also how the side character got some plot development, like the female lead best friend/ agent got her own love story line. Even the male lead younger sister.
In any typical drama there is a evil character, those scenes are bareable and not draggy.
I totally recommend this drama !!! if you want a sweet, and pretty much drama free love story this is the one for you.
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The storyline:
The first few episodes mostly focus on the female lead and her crazy antics towards the male lead. So in the beginning it’s a little silly with very little story depth but it’s super cute. If you stick with the drama it gets deeper and the storyline becomes much more interesting. It’s a slice of life drama so don’t expect intense action like a mystery & suspense drama, or lots of evil characters creating chaos like in a melodrama. But like most slice of life dramas it has deeper underlying meanings and teaches a lesson. There’s also tons of character growth all around. It teaches us about not judging others by appearance and how important trust is in all of our relationships. I also appreciated seeing things from a doctors point of view and seeing how much they go through. They also delve into the crazy world of idols and celebrities which was interesting. There’s some angst but it’s nothing over the top and things get resolved in a reasonable amount of time. Nothing’s overly drawn out and it’s evenly paced. There are multiple couples that have pretty good stories too.
Romance:
I like that even though the lead couple have an arranged marriage, initially neither of them want it so their romance gradually builds over a number of episodes so it felt more realistic. Even though the male lead is a highly acclaimed doctor he’s not conceited or full of himself like you’d expect so I found his character refreshing. He has many facets to his character. One minute he’s the stoic intellectual that observes rather than talks. Then the next minute he’s the shy naive ‘boy next door.’ Then later he’s hot, sexy, and confident. The female lead is refreshingly confident, sexy, and assertive. I appreciated that even though she was very confident in herself her insecurities and vulnerable side was shown too. It was nice to see the main couple get together early on rather than waiting until the last couple of episodes to express their feelings. We get to see them as a couple through a good deal of the drama though they do have their ups and downs. I won’t lie, the female lead loves to act cute and use sweet nicknames for the male lead so the romance does get a bit cheesy at times. But their chemistry is just amazing. And the kisses are pretty steamy with lots of skinship going on. The romance is what really makes this drama stand out.
Cinematography & Set Design:
There were no choppy scenes or editing issues. This drama flowed smoothly and seamlessly. Nothing left me lost or confused. The set designs were elaborate and well done. I also loved everyone’s wardrobe which is not usual for me with modern Chinese dramas as they like to make their female leads dress in baggy clothes with strange designs. But I liked all of the clothes they wore in this drama.
This is a light, sweet, low on angst, romantic comedy that focuses on the various couples and them working out their problems with each other. It’s central focus is the romance and comedy which are both done very well. I really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely watch it again after a really heavy sad melodrama when I need a break from the angst and want to watch something fun with a great romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sappy
Hello! I’m a picky drama watcher so here is my review.This show is :
24 episodes long but it’s still too long
Mostly flashbacks -honestly feels like almost more than actual scenes imo.
Doesn’t make sense at times
Cringe
Boring
No huge love triangles - that’s a positive!
Cute scenes occasionally
Nice second and third couple
Music is alright
Ok they are engaged from birth right and forced into this engagement…so why does her dad not approve of him at first and the ML have to gain his approval? Makes no sense. He proposed and everyone acts like they weren't already engaged including the parents. She thinks she’s pregnant, but gasps every time they hug and kiss like it’s their first time touching and is embarrassed to sleep in his bed … how did you get prego if you are so shy with him? I don’t get the acting choice to be so shy with each other like that. She uses the baby talk in 95% of every conversation and he says two words an episode. Guys that’s a little extreme imo. I’m upset because this show had great potential but it just fell flat. Really flat. At the end I was more excited to see the sister and SML get together than the Mcouple. They used 22 episodes to drag out every flashback ever, boring scenes, and some content but then the last two episodes to rush everyone into a fast marriage. Also I honestly thought the sister was in highschool the way she acted so immaturely with her baby talk, then poof she’s a mature college student ready to support her lover. What!
Anyway it was ok. I pushed myself to finish it just to say I did. I enjoyed the first half of the show. Thank you for no SFL being jealous the whole show. Other than that wouldn’t recommend too much unless you like sappy scenes and baby talk. Kisses were ok- I just couldn’t get past the gasping like it was the first time and the baby talk.
Hope this helped. Like I said I’m pretty picky about the dramas I watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
This Chinese Drama is the best!!!!
I love this drama so much. The romance between the both of them is unstoppable and it is really intense if you know what I mean. Like literally they have so much chemistry between the both of them that when they are kissing, it's so passionate that even I dream about kissing guys. Also, they are such a cute couple as I ship them. Also, Wu Di's couple is also greatly done as they also match the romance of Zhou Shiyan and Jiang Bei Bei. I definitely recommend this drama for everyone to watch! It's so good!!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
Fluffy and extremely superficial with no character or plot development.
THE BAD: NO DEPTH OR DEVELOPMENT, EVER- The first episode sets up the scene quite nicely: the ML and FL have been engaged by their mothers since they were children, but never took the engagement seriously and both failed to show up at their betrothal dinner, citing work reasons. The FL is a celebrity actress, beautiful and kind, the ML is a successful doctor, cold and perfect, you know the types. By the twist of fate, the FL ends up wounded in the hospital in the ML’s care. They realize each other’s identities and due to their opposite personalities, they argue (a little). Nevertheless, it’s clear that they fell in love at first sight, even if they don’t realize it at first.
- Could be fun, right? But then they just sort of accept the engagement without talking about it and go into a full girlfriend/boyfriend mode by episode 4 with no preface or development that would lead to it. They have no “getting to know each other” phase, they don’t really talk about themselves, they are just a cold doctor and bubbly actress and that's it. What you see is what you get, there is no depth or development that would make them interesting or compelling or at the very least: fun.
- They don’t seem to have any hobbies or interests, they don’t have any close friends (the 2nd leads are technically their best friends but their storyline is strangely detached from the main couple), they don’t even seem to work that much, they have no doubts about their future, they don’t talk about their living arrangements or whether they want kids… In short: they don’t develop as characters or as a couple and definitely don’t help each other to become better people. What e.g. “You Are My Glory” did so well with the mains supporting each other and talking about life stuff, “Intense Love” skips completely so what’s left are two beautiful people in cute situations and as a viewer, I feel no satisfaction because I just wonder how the hell did they get there.
- The second couple (the FL’s agent/BFF and the ML’s colleague/friend) have a separate storyline involving very random tropes (misdiagnosed terminal illness wtf?) that writers must have pulled from their hats or something. They also have zero chemistry and as a viewer, I saw no reason why these two should be together.
- There is a third couple (sort of) that involves the ML’s younger sister and the FL’s younger colleague. It had some potential but they only meet halfway through the drama and again, their relationship is so superficial and detached from other characters (the FL and ML never even find out about this relationship!) that I had no reason to care.
- There is no big bad or evil mastermind. The FL’s colleague is jealous of her success and happiness, so she makes some trouble for her, but it never gets too serious and it always backfires on her. The ML’s little sister stirs some trouble for the FL as well, but they become friends several episodes later after which the little sister’s storyline branches out from the main one.
- The editing of this show is all over the place. Look, I get that it’s a low budget drama (empty hospital with one huge office occupied by only the ML speaks for itself) but the scenes often just don’t tie coherently. Many motifs are brought up and then promptly forgotten (like the ML's sickly elder brother pressuring the ML into quitting being a doctor and taking over a family business in episode 2, which is NEVER brought up again)
THE GOOD: THE MINDLESS FLUFF
+ Look, sometimes we just need to turn off our brains and watch something pretty. And Intense Love delivers! Beautiful settings, real kisses, lots of snuggling on the coach.
+ The leads arguably do their best with the little the script permits them to do. Not much chemistry to speak of but...they tried.
+ A shout out to the ML's little sister played by Lin Xin Yi – I thought that the actress did a very good job both as an annoying minor antagonist and as a cute fangirl who slowly matures – and she had the most visible character development (and hairstyle development) of all characters.
Hmmm, that's about it. Great drama if you just want to kill time and nothing more, but even in the genre of fluffy rom-coms, I believe there are much better choices (e.g. You Are My Glory, Falling Into Your Smile, My Little Happiness...).
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Amazing!!! I love everything about this drama!
Reasons (in order) why I wanted to watch it:1) Ding Yu Xi. He's hot and in this drama he was even hotter! How is that possible?! I mean playing a doctor was the best decision the casting team/agent/whoever hired him made honestly!
2) The story plot was really intriguing and brought my interest up to watch it right away!
One thing I was kind of annoyed by in this drama is making most of the female characters like the female lead and sister all child-like. Like first of all why?! When I saw an interview with the FL and ML, the FL sounded completely different from her character – her normal voice was so much better! I really wished they used her normal voice instead for the drama.
Other than that, this drama was amazing! I'm really hoping they make a season 2, but I doubt they will. Well, fingers crossed that happens!
Also, I love the OST that plays during the FL and ML's first kiss scene! I even saved it on my Spotify playlist because it was that good and really fit in with the scene!
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Very Sweet!!!
I've watched this drama before I started reviewing and making lists so I know how this drama ends so I'm not rlly gonna write a long-winded review. Overall this drama is short and sweet, the moments between the couples were soo cute. This drama focuses on a female actress with a arranged marriage with a childhood friend who is now a doctor. They go through their ups and downs. I love how this drama had no big misunderstandings and would solve the problem within 1-2 episodes, which is very nice as most dramas drag out the problem for so long it gets really boring. The second couple was just as cute. I felt though the ending was a bit rushed and could have been fixed if they had more episodes. Honestly I wouldn't mind if this drama had 30 episodes, to me it would have worked better. The way the ending just got so compressed, the proposal, marriage and everything moved so quick, but then again the main couple's relationship developed just as quick so I guess it balances out. Despite the rushed ending, this drama is sweet and short which is good for people with short attention spans. I definitely recommend this drama, you won't be disappointed and it has a really cute ending. :)Was this review helpful to you?
A RLLY CUTE FLUFF DRAMA
at first, I only played this drama has background noise but slowly I became invested in a way that I didn't expect. my review doesn't involve much spoiler unless you'd count the last bit a spoiler😏definitely rewatch worthy just so I can see the male leads eyes again. made me want a boyfriend with impossibly high standards set
this drama had everything: annoying characters you'll definitely hate, some character fluff, a not so weak female character, an ADORABLE male lead, side character stories that were just perfect, friendship, and you'll love it
I have to say, the annoying characters were REAL annoying. the female lead was quite forward in a second hand embarrassment kinda way but that was only in the beginning (she grew much more tolerable and endearing as the drama progressed). and I rlly want a season 2 for the 3rd couple 😏 you'll know who im talking about if you watch.
overall: this drama was pure fluff, not to much heartache, AMAZING CHEMISTRY, and you'll definitely fall for the male lead the way I did, his eyes just told stories. it was mesmerizing.
I might have to resort to watching behind the scenes clips. I didn't even realize I was on the last episode.
SPOILER ISH:
the kiss scenes were AMAZINNGGGGGGGGGGG
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Good chemistry
Firstly, the leads are good looking, especially the male lead.Secondly, the characters of the 2 leads are loveable. You will not hate their characters. The only issue I hate is the voice used to dub the female lead’s voice. It made her voice sounded like a little girl.
Besides the cliche story line about arranged marriage, there are a few plot holes such as the male lead being a heart doctor is everywhere even in the ER and cancer department. Like what is his actual specialisation in the hospital. Also, the female lead did not recognise her fiancé despite having met him when they were young. They even went to the same school.
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**There are no ogres, witches, evil stepmothers, curses, or other assorted evil characters in this fairy tale.
Story: This drama doesn't win prizes for plot. It's about two rich, beautiful people who fall in love with each other. But I think there are a couple things that this drama gets right:
- Our prince and princess fall in love relatively early on in the drama, so that means a lot of this drama plays out during their actual relationship. This is quite rare in drama land, and I love it!
- No love triangle. So refreshing. We don't have to suffer through episodes of the female lead torn between the male lead and the second male lead, while the audience cries buckets for the second male lead along the way.
- A female lead that actually knows who she likes and goes after it! Can I emphasize how rare this is? When was the last time you found a female lead in drama land who was like, "I want him, get all these other second male leads out of my way!" and literally chases down her guy? The last drama I watched with this concept was Novoland II.
- A female lead who is pretty and knows it. I can't stand drama land tropes that cast pretty actresses and then cover them up as Ugly Ducklings so that somehow the male lead discovers her "inner beauty" and falls in love. When does that ever happen in real life? This drama is super real in that sense - part of the reason why the male lead fell for her so fast was because she's very, very pretty.
- Supportive female friendships. The bond between the female lead and her agent was such a power couple. Her agent absolutely kills it as the female lead's staunchest supporter both in life and in work. Some viewers might roll their eyes at the female lead for the way she treated her sister-in-law as well as Gao Zitong, but I thought the female lead showed high EQ and maturity in the way she handled those relationships. She saw people for who they were, understood their motivations, and then made the choice to treat them with kindness. That's grace and maturity. That's also how relationships work in the actual, adult world, with your in-laws, and at your workplace.
Acting/Cast: Chemistry is 10/10. For anyone suffering from withdrawals after finishing this drama, go watch their behind the scenes clips. The actors' interactions when the cameras aren't rolling are even sweeter than the drama. Go watch that iconic clip where the male lead was playing with bubble guns with the female lead while hugging her waist and the director (I kid you not) had to yell at him to drop his hand and control himself. Given how flat the script was with respect to their characters, I applaud the two actors for making the characters so real and likeable.
Music: 10/10. I loved the songs!
Rewatch value: I think that's actually where this drama shines/is poisonous. I've been rewatching sweet interactions from this drama this whole past week, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Dr. Zhou cooking breakfast for his Beibei, or Beibei pushing Dr. Zhou up against a wall. If you go on Mango TV's website or their Youtube channel, they've actually been posting condensed versions of the drama with just Dr. Zhou and Beibei's interactions. It's like a mini drama that you can rewatch over and over again without feeling the need to skip scenes.
Anyways, this drama has been like a drug during quarantine. It's escape fantasy at it's finest. Somewhere in another world somehow, Dr. Zhou and his Beibei are living out their fairy tale life happily ever after. Thank you to this drama for gifting me with an immense amount of second-hand embarrassment and many nights laughing and blushing. It will forever have a sweet spot in my heart.
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This review may contain spoilers
Strange...
I read the book before watching the drama and I have to say that I had a strange experience of watching the drama. The drama is an adaptation of the novel but I feel like the novel is the better adaptation of the drama.The novel mentioned but failed to explore several intriguing relationships while the drama completely omitted said relationships and instead added new relationships that were never mentioned in the novel. Also, the script really messed up the characterisations of most characters which I did not enjoy. Other characters especially members of the Su family were omitted and why did the script even have to change the origin of the betrothal?
I also hate how Su Jinbei was made into a Mary Sue character that couldn't even get angry with a white lotus who tried several times to destroy her lie.
All in all, I think I would have enjoyed this drama more if I didn't read the novel before watching.
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Just watch it for the fluff and good-looking leads
I’m currently rewatching Intense Love just for the cute moments and trust me, there are many, many cute moments of sweet interactions between the male lead and the female lead.Both are so cute! The male lead is tall, lean and handsome. The female lead is gorgeous. She is just so pretty to look at.
There are many romantic moments in this fluffy show! ❤️ Just dive in and enjoy the sweet moments. (Ignore those irritating parts that are, apparently, a must in all dramas.)
Ship these two cuties!
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