Moonlight

Slow burning drama /romance about writer and the publisher

I have to disgree with other reviews! This drama is definitely a slow buning drama. The plot and relationship development are so slow! The story is a little bland and lacks flavor or something to make it stick out. I mean its pass the halfway point , Im on ep 18 and they still arent together.

Female lead has always been interested in reading books, but majored in finance. After graduation she decides to follow her heart and pursue a job in the book publishing company Yun Yue . The female lead has an online friend that she talks to and that person is none the other , the male lead. The male lead is a promising author, who personality is kinda straight forward and not the easiest to work with. Male lead is about to sign with another publishing company, so the female lead does all she can to get him to stay under Yun Yue publishing house. She gets hit with a wall because the male lead doesnt care/ doesnt want to work with Yun Yue. He realized that the female lead is the online friend and his personality has a major shift. She succesfully signs him. The female lead goes through a lot of opression from her bosses/manager which was kinda annoying!

The second male lead is also an author but a dated one who is the male lead's best friend. He gets back into writing and female lead successful signs him under Yun Yue. Things happen and she has to move out of her house. She ends up moving in with the male lead. ( how i felt like her interactions with him during when they were living together didnt add any wow points or swet moments) ( weol maybe like one or two...)

All the way up to ep 19 is when there is a first drunk kiss... I give ep 1- 19 a rating of 6.5-7. Hopefully 20-36 will be better.

The content of the story is just quite boring.... I mean an author and publishing house and talking about books etc.

Also am I the only one who cant stand the female lead's high pitched voice?

Read More

Hysterical and an Absolute Blast to Watch!

First and foremost, I want to say that this show is being reviewed based on my personal enjoyment. It is in no way, shape, or form something professional or meant to convince others to watch because “it’s the best”. No. This is solely based on my enjoyment rate. In this case, it’s quite high. I want to add that I know the show is not done yet, but I just had to share my thoughts in hopes that it'll give someone who's debating on watching this the push they need.

Now let’s get down to reviewing. Please bear with the length.

STORY:
I am having a blast. I love the storyline of this drama. It’s nothing out of the ordinary or complicated. It’s merely about publishing houses, editors, and authors and the things they deal with daily. As a writer who thought about being an editor as well, I’m getting a glimpse of what this profession looks like. I simply love the dynamics between editors and authors for the most part, but my favorite is when our FL provides words of growth and encouragement to our doubting writers who feel they are done. On a side note, this story also follows our ML and FL being online buddies without actually knowing each other’s identities until ML finds out a few episodes in. His whole mindset changed towards her after, but I’ll save that for my characters section lol. I find this interaction positively HILARIOUS because he knows who she is and what she’s talking about, but she doesn’t realize she’s talking to ML about ML. Classic!

I also want to add that while this drama is pretty dang cliché, it does not put me off. Let me add that I’ve seen dramas that were cliché, and many watchers commented it was cliché done right, but it was quite painful for me to watch those scenes despite being a sucker for cliches. The writers just tend to make it sooo farfetched to the point it’s not really cute but cringe instead. However, this drama, in my honest opinion, does it right. They don’t toss in cliché scenes at every corner. Rather, they build it up and execute it flawlessly where I’m left squealing and grinning like an idiot rather than covering my eyes with a wince.
We all know dramas like to dramatize the moment by slowing it down or keeping the leads in that position one second longer than probably needed, but this drama carries it in a way where it’s not as long as others but there is action at the end that either leaves you frustrated or cackling like a witch. Both happened to me so far, and we’re only 14 episodes in.

Let me mention the romance aspect of the story now. The plain and simple version is, I’m obsessed.

The longer and more explained version is, I love, love, LOVE the chemistry between ML and FL. It’s so natural, so endearing, and downright hysterical! They literally act like husband and wife and I legit can’t get enough of them. I also have to give a handclap to the slight love triangle involved. Let me enforce that I really don’t like love triangles. I think they’re pointless, stupid, and plain ridiculous because it contributes nothing but headaches to a story. I can count on one hand the dramas I’ve watched that had love triangles that did not make me want to blow my top off. The reason for me enjoying it was because it was a love triangle handled RIGHT! And this drama may as well be my third drama I like that has it.

This might be a small spoiler, but I love how the FL handled the situation with the SML. They were so honest with each other, so straightforward, and they did not dance around the topic of like very long. They both know where they stand, and despite the situation, they aren’t awkward at all and can still be professional as FL is SML’s editor.

Overall, this story is so cute. It’s nothing stressful, it’s nothing suspenseful (in the anticipated way. It can be when it comes to our leads romance lives though LOL!), and it’s nothing too dramatic. I honestly see this as a rom-com done right! Definitely check it out for something lightweight.

Now onto our next section!

CHARACTERS/ACTING:
So many people have been mainly complaining about the voice of our FL. I’ll admit, it does take some getting used to because she has this type of whiny and childish tone going on, but after a couple of episodes, you learn to love it because it fits her character soooo well. While Chu Li (FL) has this pouty look going on, she is strong willed, quick witted, blunt, and actually uses her brain instead of relying on others to help her out of a bad or sticky situation. She’s so optimistic, so genuine, and really loves her job and the authors she comes in contact with. The determination of our FL to become an editor at Luan Yue Publishing House is very commendable. She knew what she wanted and went for it despite the odds stacked against her. Not only did she succeed to get the spot, but her tenacity for going above and beyond is truly admirable despite certain characters trying to bring her down. However, the way she handles herself is fantastic.

I really love her, and Esther Yu (whom I never seen act in a drama until this one), wonderfully embraces the character of Chu Li. Despite the odds stacked against her, Chu Li remains a bubble of sunshine. I honestly can’t really find a fault in her that puts me off…

As for our ML, Zhou Chuan…good Lord I absolutely love this man. I’ve watched many dramas before, and I always end up loving the male leads, but y’all, I literally think I fell in love with this character despite him being fictional. Ryan Ding completely stole my breath away with his acting of ZC, and I cannot get over it. He’s an absolute mess, and I’m living for it! Not only is he purely adorable as well as soo attractive, but he’s awkward, he’s clumsy, he’s sassy, he’s needy, he’s protective, he’s considerate (sometimes lol), and overall, husband goals, not even kidding you.

The way he interacts with our FL would honestly probably piss me off at some point if it had been anyone else or another drama, but for some reason I can’t get mad here? I laugh instead gleefully because of how hysterical it is. I really don’t know how to explain it properly other than it’s practically perfect! The way he watches out for her is so hilarious because he’s not honest about his intentions. He makes up these ridiculous excuses to get her to come over and rest, or to take a break, and it annoys the FL but he ends up being so proud of himself saying he’s smart for the way he handled it when in reality, it’s a mess LOL! Then he ends up getting jealous when she goes to SML for something he declined but was going to accept on the third try, but it isn’t annoying how he interrupts them. It’s so funny and he gets what he deserves in the funniest possible ways. I always look forward to it when he doesn’t get what he wants. However, I’m not annoyed because it’s downright hysterical!

But that is a side to him that does annoy me a tad bit because I wish he were franker and more honest about his actual feelings and intentions rather than beating around the bush. It would spare us the trouble of the slight misunderstandings that occur though it is quickly remedied, thank goodness. But, overall, I still adore this character because of how utterly adorable he is.

As for our side characters, I’ll admit that there’s only two I don’t like. The rest are pretty great or just characters I can deal with. The SML and SFL are honestly reminding me a little of the second leads from Descendants of the Sun in the aspect that they have history with each other romantically but are no longer together due to circumstances. But other than that, it’s completely different. I don’t mind getting to learn their story. Rather, I’m ready to figure out what happened between the two because they’re pretty interesting characters as well!

As for the two characters I don’t like, I literally want to strangle them because I don’t see any logic in their behaviors. It literally is just plain greed for power in the company that drive them, and because of that, they actively work against our main characters to set them up for failure. I literally can’t wait till they get what they deserve because they simply can’t get away with it. That’s all I’m saying.

Overall, I love the cast and the majority of the characters. It’s well balanced and they work well together to bring this story to life.

Onto the next section!

MUSIC:
I’m a huge music-fanatic. I typically pay close attention to music in shows or movies because I feel they make or break the show for me. I’ve watched many dramas with killer soundtracks that enhanced the show, but unfortunately, this isn’t one of them. I say the music in this drama is mediocre, at best. While it matches the theme of the story and fits in, it’s not something I’d download to listen to. If I’m being honest, this is probably the worst aspect of the show despite being only 14 episodes in so far.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
My final thoughts are simple: I’m obsessed.

I freaking love this drama, and that’s saying something because I have a hard time getting through C-dramas. I can count on one hand the number of C-dramas I completed. There is just something about them that makes it hard to go through all the way. I honestly think it’s the length of the shows. It leads to so many unnecessary situations or misunderstandings that really could be resolved so easily. It also leads to so many unrealistic happenings, and while I’m all for getting out of reality for a portion of my day, there needs to be some logical reasonings behind the actions. That’s just me though.

However, this drama is amazing. I literally laugh so hard at every episode, multiple times in fact, and I breezed through the first 14 episodes in a span of two days. It would’ve been sooner had I not been working. I’m so happy I stumbled upon this drama, and I cannot wait to see what happens next because it’s just too good!

I really recommend watching this drama if you are in the mood for something fluffy, cute, and hysterical. Definitely worth the watch!

Have fun!

Read More

I wasn't expecting this to be so good

This is my first time writing a review so a warning that this review will be a little crusty 🥺

You know that one second lead who is an asshole but is better than the male lead for the girl? The one who never gets the girl although he deserves her? It feels like this show is about that character (and I love every second of it!)

It's so rare to see a bratty male lead which is why I'm so excited that I found a show like this lol

When I started this drama I didn't really expect much out of it, only reason why I picked it up was because I adore Esther Yu & Ryan Ding is good-looking. First 10 minutes of the show were a drag but as soon as they started showing the main couple on the screen the drama became more fun, mostly because both of them have an amazing chemistry together. They're always bickering and making things fun

This drama covers everything that I like:
enemies to lovers? Lowkey ✅
Asshole male lead who's only good to her? ✅
Bratty male lead ✅
Female lead who's determined to get independent but won't take bullshit from her seniors ✅

It's weird how Ryan's character is a bit arrogant yet I just can't get myself to hate him because even though he's arrogant he's always got Esther's back and is willing to bend to make things easier for her.

In terms of the plot, it's a rom-com so it is light hearted as expected, I'd personally say that till now it's one of the - if not the best drama I've watched, I just hope the writers don't ruin it in the last half (Find Yourself writers I'm looking at you!)

Ryan & Esther are adorable here, I like them both so much lol

Oh and he is extremely childish, jealous 24/7 😂 (in a non toxic way till now!)

Read More

Cute & fluffy love story

It’s a cute and fluffy love story between editors and authors. If you’re looking for a really action packed or drama filled show this isn’t for you. If you want a sweet romance with a funny and bubbly fl and a annoying endearing ml than watch this, this is great. I love this, it reminds me of le coupe de flore or touch your heart. I also adore Esther Yu, she makes a really fun and loveable lead. It has more of a comedic lighthearted beat which is a great refresher after watching some heavy shows. I was smiling while watching all the way through. Overall great show to watch if you just want to feel happy.

Read More

Tediously Waay too long- Side stories were just annoying filler

Are you here for the male lead ? well, skip my review & just watch it !
For everyone else I'll be brief :
It's way too long. The second lead's relationship was irritating & took up too much screen time. Female lead was embarrassingly baby cutesy most the time. Side stories & family scenes were just annoying interruptions. Male lead is the only reason to watch & his character was not boyfriend material. Fluffy oversized dog had gross brown stained fur around it's face, like it needed washing. no weddings shown but abrupt happy endings for all 4 leads (AND 2 year time skip at end) Too much tediousness to really enjoy this series.

Read More

This is totally my opinion and preference as a drama watcher

I gave this drama two chances and I still have a hard time finishing the drama for some reason. For the first time that I jumped to this drama, I couldn't bear FL's acting, thus I dropped it as I reached episode 3. Maybe some people enjoyed her acting, but not for me - it's just a personal preference I guess. However, the second time that I tried watching the drama, the story too is just unbearable to watch. I tried, I really tried to hold in and watch the drama. I usually gave up early once I found out that the drama is not to my liking, but since Moonlight has relatively high ratings, I thought maybe I should give it a try and hopefully the drama will progress. But after watching half of the drama, I couldn't bear it anymore.

Firstly, the ML is somewhat "okay". His beginnings are pretty annoying in many ways. I don't like how he take the FL's job for granted. Although I am not a writer, I work as a graphic designer specializes in publishing, so I can empathize how writers carefully selected their editors to publish their work, especially if the writer is well-known in the industry - the pressure might double than the less-known/beginners. However, it doesn't excuse his behaviour of slaving the FL doing housework and stuff just so the FL can edit his work. FL had no choice but to comply - as her job depends on it. After progressing from his "unacceptable" behaviours, he kind of had a slight character development, but that's just as far as he went. Before reaching episode 20, he obviously fell for the FL, and the writers chose to went with the "one-sided love by bullying the female target" - which obviously get very old and overused in every drama.

Now, let's jump to the FL, which I think is one of the biggest reasons why I dropped the drama. This is just totally my preference and my taste as a viewer, but I prefer Female Leads that are eloquent and mature in terms of how they speak. They don't have to be a girl crush or savage, but I would appreciate Female Leads that acts their age. Moreover, I find it kind of creepy for a mid-20s grown-women or older who do baby talks, or acts like a 5 year old girl having an episode in front of grown men. I don't see any good purpose of women doing that nor do I see any bright side from those actions.
Now, you might be wondering, it's just Yu Shu Xin's natural voice, what can she do about it? and the answer is, no, she intentionally made it like that in this drama. I've seen her other work, "A Romance of the Little Forest", where she got serious and confront the bullies, and I live for her doing that.
Now the baby-like actions that annoyed and cringed the heck out of me so much that I can't get it out of my head - is the scene where FL and ML doing what seem like editing ML's new book in ML's office, and ML somehow got annoyed at FL, so FL got scared and immediately faced towards a wall and acts like a 5 year old girl who wants to buy a barbie doll but rejected by her mom. --> if you're still confused to what scene this is, it's the scene where FL walked barefoot accidentally in the house, and ML reached her sandals and gave it to her.

I've seen the ending, since I wanted to see the ending before completely dropping the drama. The ending honestly seems rather great. I think FL got a huge character development, and so does the ML. I love that both FL and ML got the happy ending, I think the viewers who watched all episodes deserve that. In conclusion, I think the drama's original plot seems interesting, but it's just how the actress/director/writer portray the FL, which honestly irks me. Too bad that I dropped this drama, I really want to like it.

Read More

Even with 8.4 rating yet third class level

If god bless me with one wish definitely I will use that to check what is inside the Chinese director’s head whether is there something called brain or just a empty space. Till now what are all the cdramas I have seen in that almost 95% has same ML character, not even a single percent difference in the character, except in some dramas ML is a CEO, VP, Director of a very reputed company or either he is a superstar or some celebrity or most popular doctor or surgeon, only for namesake ML’s profession is change but his character and story(irrespective of the genre or profession, ML courting FL is the most agenda of the drama profession is just for a namesake) is same in most of all the drama. In all the drama ML character has common thing, which is most annoying, immatured with multiple personality disorder, cold hearted to everyone but to FL, only FL looks like a human being to him but treats others like a trash(in some dramas even to FL also treats in the same), overly obsessed.
Only in Chinese dramas we can see such cheap ML character,
1. Day and night keep on calling or texting to FL irrespective of her busy life, even after knowing she is busy.
2. If she is talking with someone (with any male characters) go and standing between them, if someone wants to greet FL avoiding them to shake their hands.
3. When FL has dinner or lunch appointment with someone, going with FL uninvited, sitting in between them and covering the FL so that the other male character couldn’t see or talk with ML. In some dramas worst than this, when FL went for some blind date ML also visits and sits in the same dining table and disrupting them to talk with each other, if they went to some movies going to same movies and sitting in between them.
4. Faking illness, asking or begging to take of him even though without any such problems. Unnecessary calling as emergency for silly reasons.
5. If FL didn’t listen to ML and go out with her male friend, simply keep on texting and calling second to second unnecessarily without reasons.
6. ML won’t give any privacy to FL and won’t respects FL decisions in any situations. Etc etc rubbish attitude.
Because ML has feelings on FL( not mutual) he tries to make FL total outcast from mens world.
Except in China, in all other countries we call this kind of character as sadistic mentally retard third class persons, I don’t how come Chinese enjoy such kind dramas. Really it’s shocking even this rubbish drama has 8.4 rating.

Read More

Wholesome, no misunderstandings drama

Ryan Ding deserves an award for this. He was able to pull off the childish and rude caharcter of a famous writer while making us relate to his emotions. The FL voice was annoying sometimes but it is her batural voice, no dubbing. I also really like how mature she was and how the couple handles all hardships together. Most poeple do not understand the importance of editors in the literature world, and this drama gives a great inspiration for people seeking suchvlesses known careers. In short this drama is like a combination of Full House, Romance is a bonus book, and Love 020. If you liked any of these, definitely watch this!!! If you know "the moon is beautiful tonight" you will love this drama for sure 😉😜❤.

Read More

A meaningful and bubbly love story

This drama will not only show you a cute and sweet romance, but will also make you appreciate the effort poured by authors, illustrators, and editors into their work. It teaches us the art of writing, the fruit of hardwork, and the beauty of helping people in making their dreams come true.

Moonlight opens our eyes to the writing and publishing industry as a heartfelt love story forms between the main leads who works as an author and an editor. They gave us a couple with a wonderdul chemistry that brought as butterflies and laughter.

Watching this drama is really inspiring and pleasing. The main lead's acting was spectactular, he managaed to portray an arrogant yet kind and charming guy that caprures the heart of viewers. His childishness and stubborness is my favorite aspect of him becuse depsite of his imperfections, these personality is the one that made him lovable and stay true to himself even when faced with criticisms. The female lead was also like a ray of sunshine filled with compassion and perseverance. Her bright character makes this show interesting and enjoying.

The storyline of this drama was simple yet captivating. Despite not having plenty of twist and turns, it managed to keep me watching and stay tuned on each episode espicially with the wonderfust cast, OST, and production.

Read More

In my top 5

If you want a nice and easyfeel good story with a good laugh, great plot development and fabulous acting then story is for you. There is something for everyone in this drama and the phrase ‘karma is a bitch’ definitely comes to mind with at least one of the bad guys.
Ding Yuxi and Ester Yu work really well together and although I often find her characters a bit too sweet somehow it works for this plot. The ML & FL have great chemistry even though at certain points it’s clear that none of the male characters really know what they’re feeling or what to do about it. The female characters are a bit more emotionally mature… Don’t worry though it all works out in the end.
The support actors are excellent and as usual initially there’s a love triangle to add to the chaos caused by emotional immaturity.
What’s not to like

Read More

My new favorite. 12 out of 10.

Things I adored

1 The ML. I feel like his role was written for him. I can't imagine anyone else play that complex character with so much charm and talent. First time I anticipated an episode just to watch the ML. Don't get wrong there are some actors I truly love but here the ML is so fun, so charming, so playful that there's no comparison. It's like he enjoys every scene and he manages to never overdo it. I want to hug him, slap him some sense, but mostly he makes me laugh and swoon and that's what I'm looking for when I spend my time watching a drama.

2 The premise. I'm an author so anything that ahs to do with books is my absolute favorite, and here they delivered. Do I agree that an editor can make or break a book? Not really, unless the author has no idea where he's going and gives carte blanche to an editor. I hope no author does that. But do I agree that you have to find the right editor for you? Absolutely. That's when magic happens and it worked here.

3 The 2 ML. What a wonderful character. I adored everything about it and while at fist I thought I wouldn't like the actor, I fell in love with him after a few smiles and some actions that showed how good a friend, a partner and an author is.

4 The friendship between he two male leads. It's rare to see an actor play so well with another male actor, but here they did a fabulous job. What a treat. I dare say I adore more their friendship than heir love relationships. The writer did a wonderful job, so much so that I anticipated any scene between them. The humor shined, the camaraderie felt real, the whole relationship felt genuine, moving and again it was so funny. I doubt I'll find another drama with such a relationship.

5 The FL. I know she ahs her detractors and I couldn't watch her in the drivel Speed and Love, but she was great in Moonlight. I want her to succeed so much form the very first moment. She plays the genuine, smart, kindhearted girl who chases after her dream to perfection. Her best role amongst those of her dramas I've seen.

6 The chemistry between the leads. They are so fun and fit together. I admit, i find the FL has chemistry with lots of her partners but here particularly I felt like it was the best.

7 Mr. Xia. What a wonderful, adorable character. I loved every scene he appeared. I loved his character more than anything else in this series and the actor did a phenomenal job.

8 I loved A Xiang. A great friend and a remarkable character. I wish they had developed more her character.

9 The humor. I don't find often C or K dramas that make me laugh. I laugh easily but usually there are only a few scenes even in comedy that make me laugh. Here I laughed the most I've ever laughed watching a series. It was the ML and his great acting. Whether it was with the 2ML or the FL or any other character he interacted he always delivered humor wise.

10 The writing. Did it have some weak plots? Yes, absolutely. But at the end of the day, the exchanges were witty, deep, real and made me wanting more. I love the screenwriters and it's a pity they don't have many other dramas to watch.

Things I loved

1 The relationship between the ML and his father. It made me anticipated what would happen and it didn't disappoint. You could feel the love between them despite the problems. The actor who played the father did a great job.

2 The ML mother. She doesn't have a big role, but I loved her character.

3 The ML father. He wasn't without his flaws but the actor did a great job to convey the feelings of a father and a fellow author and I loved every minute of him acting.

4 The kisses. When they kissed it was great. The problem is that there weren't enough kisses.

Things I liked

1 The 2FL. A beautiful actress I was expecting to love more, but for some reason she never crossed from "liked" to "loved". I'm not sure of it was her character or the acting, but she rubbed me the wrong way quite a few times, although I wanted her to be happy. I didn't dislike her and I loved her even in some instances. I just didn't click with her as much as with the other characters.

2 The Chief Editor. I think she was great at her work, but I did feel something was missing regarding her performance as a mom. I'm on no way with her husband and I do feel she did well to keep her job, but I found her performance weak when she was with her child. She didn't make me feel anything. I also didn't like her interactions with the female author. Again her acting seemed a bit stiff compared to when she interacted with other people at her job.

3 Gu Yun Fei. I liked him enough, but never really cared what happened to him. He just was there to create conflict between the second couple.

Things I disliked

1 Suo Heng. The actress didn't appeal to me at all. Her character was okay, but the actress didn't deliver all the feelings I was expecting. Also, to some extent, her character also was disappointing. She didn't stand up for herself and I hate that. No matter who the other person is, if you feel mistreated you should speak up. She was an author, it's her job to speak with her words. I did wish for her to succeed though, so not a total disliking.

2 The other young editor. She redeemed herself, but I never warmed to her. She sided with evil and I can't forget that. She wasn't a mean and evil character per se but she wasn't a compelling character either.

3 The living together and be in love for so much time and still behaving, especially the FL, as if they were 15. I know that it's common in Cdramas, but here with such a plot it wasn't believable. it's a pity because this could be for me the most perfect rom-com. I loved that the other couple had a more mature and believable love life.

Things I hated

1 The editor Miao. What an idiotic and evil character. How on earth he ended up at this position is my question. I was happy he lost everything, and I was mad he still hadn't learned his lesson until the very end. I admit, it was entertaining to wait for his demise, but other than that, he was worse than evil, he was stupid.

2 The president Young. He appeared few times but enough to say I hate the actor and the character.

3 The relationship between the chief editor and Suo Heng. Something was amiss in this relationship. Not many things made sense. Are we supposed to believe they had feelings for each other? It felt like the writers didn't know what direction to go.

4 The main villain in my book, circulation director Liang. I hated him more and more with every episode. Much more than the editor Miao. He was a real villain and what infuriates me most is that he never paid any price. Why the hell? Condescending, rotten to the core and a puppet master. Every time he appeared I cringed and wanted him to burn in hell.

Read More

I highly recommend giving it a shot!

Moonlight is a romantic comedy with a charming couple, heartwarming romance, and hilarious moments. Although the drama has some common clichés, it was used in a unique and adorable way that made it thoroughly enjoyable. At first, I thought it would be a light and easy watch, where you could simply ignore logic. However, the drama turned out to be well-crafted and also very inspiring. Moonlight offers a closer look at the publishing industry, particularly the editor behind a successful author. The actors were well-cast too; Yu Shuxin played Chu Li perfectly, and although I was hesitant about Ding Yuxi's character at first, he eventually grew on me! The drama is one of the better romantic comedies made in recent years, so you should definitely give it a try!

Read More