This review may contain spoilers
Hidden gem
You know it is a good series when you stayed up all night watching it! That is what I did. I was looking for my next fluff and well I thought an idol drama with holo love might sound interesting, plus my Zhang Ling He was starring in this series. Boy, I did not know what was in store for me!What I love:
The fluff, the cuteness, the chemistry between the lead and second-leading couple. I also like the female lead. I usually find female lead annoying and stupid but this one she just full of life and super funny. I very much so enjoyed the chemistry she had with grandma. I think that is what made me continue watching the series to begin with. I like how the female lead did not play one of those I’m going to drive you crazy with my innocent yet smart tactile. I couldn’t stop comparing what other female leads would have done with the scene where Grandma tries to call her hustler that will kill anyone for her. In here you can tell FL has was common sense making her smarter and wittier compared to those female leads who would have fallen for it and begged for forgiveness. Because of this, she was able to get all four men in the house to let her stay and continue cleaning in place of Grandma.
The second leading couple, although I was slightly disappointed with the cliché of a strong independent female with an understanding comforting male couple, I think they actually made their relationship so realistic, with issues that partners do face that I actually like their pairing. Plus, did I mention I love Zhang Ling He??? 😊
Let's not forget the main leading couple. With a lot of series nowadays, I seem to only have one favorite couple. But in this series, I’m in love with both couples. They're so adorable. I love how this wasn't a typical teen love; they don’t have this extremely annoying “I’m jealous” so I’m going to drive you crazy and hurt your feelings phase. I often find that childish and unbearable to watch. Let us not forget the amount of kissing scenes we get in this series!
What I often thought about:
How nice it would be to have a virtual world. I think these series tackle an issue that is pretty prevalent, although we don’t have our holo lover, a lot of us do hop online to live in this virtual world to escape so that we can continue living in this reality. We often forget to appreciate the small little things that virtual life can’t give.
The second lead couple and how cute they were! Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with Zhang Ling He!
The twist in the story, I didn’t expect that after getting caught in Bayhouse they were stuck into a virtual game. Everything felt so real and I’m sure many of us thought so too. The one thing that stuck out was how mean the NPC characters are and how they kept trying to make everything wrong. I also love the reference to inception totem and how at the end they all brought it out to make sure it was real and not a game.
I also didn’t expect the chase to be so long towards the end of the last episode but I am satisfied with the ending. Some relationships like Lu Wen Xuan came a bit too fast for and there wasn’t much development like Su Ming Lie where he had to overcome his fear of red lips and befriend a girl.
Some of the side characters that I love: grandma, Qi Chuan, and Xu Guan Han. I mean who doesn’t love grandma on a motorbike. You already know this grandma has personality and she means business! I thoroughly love her character in here. I also love how serious Xu Guan Han is in here, I mean he plays the bad guy who loves up these beautiful boys. He's serious, and if he doesn’t like you for any reasonable reason you’ll be kicked out and fired. He tries to create this perfect virtual world in place of this world he thinks is imperfect. I don’t realize how old he is until he played his character as a father. I look forward to more of his work! This was fun!
What I didn’t like:
It was hard to find anything in the series that I didn’t like besides this one poor editing, like when she fell in the pool. You can see that it was only waist-high and she standing up in that quick second.
I think this is a hidden gem and everyone should watch it! Super cute couples, you'll fall in love with everyone's character in here!
Re-watch value: 9/10
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Cute moments - check
Comedy - check
Youth Idol- check
Handsome/ cold guys - check
second lead romance - check
If you what plot twisting, comedy, romantics and sweet dram then you should watch this drama.
MUST WATCH DRAMA.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Delulu girl dates a virtual boyfriend but with a twist. Loved Zhang Ling He and everything else.
I started this drama for Zhang Ling He but I stayed for the awesome characters, plot and romance. I initially thought this was going to be a mindless fluff (a cute romance and nothing more). But the drama surprised me with it’s multi-layered plot and emotional depth. We have themes of family, real vs virtual love, friendships and romantic relationships. All characters have depth and a meaningful backstory.The drama is about the female lead who buys glasses which allows her to have a virtual boyfriend/husband. She can touch him and have imagery talks/scenarios in her head with him. One day her delulu mind gets even crazier when she meets the male lead who looks just like her virtual boyfriend.
The beginning of the drama is pure comedy. You see many delulu girls, walking on the streets and interacting with their invisible (virtual) boyfriends. The middle of the drama is emotional. You see the backstory of the main characters, and the very real struggles they experience in the world. The end of the drama is mystery/suspense with many unexpected plot twists. The romance is a running theme in the drama so if you are a hopeless romantic, you will enjoy this for sure.
This drama is a rare gem in many aspects but especially in the romantic department. The main and secondary couple shared equal screen time and I loved them both equally. The couples are different enough to make the drama interesting but as a group of four friends they compliment each other well.
POSITIVE:
- Many awesome plot twists (one of the best I’ve ever seen!)
- Comedy is top-notch (especially if you love the “girl is delulu” trend).
- Characters are well developed. Even the side characters have a meaningful and realistic story.
- No annoying characters (which is very rare to see).
- Self-aware writers. The characters do something ridiculous and then call themselves out on that.
- Fluffy romance for both couples (I loved both couples equally which is rare).
- Worth to watch this for Zhang Ling He. His character has an important role and if you love the actor you will enjoy this.
- Grumpy and Sunshine romance trope (main leads).
- Female chases male (main couple) vs male chases female (second couple).
- Side characters (like the granny and the famous singer are relevant to the plot, not just fillers).
- No fillers. Every scene that was not about the romance felt meaningful and important for the plot.
NEGATIVE:
- Some episodes felt a little draggy. But that could be because I was binge-watching and eager to see how it all ended.
OVERALL:
Personally, the drama made me FEEL so much. My heart warmed when I was watching the romance. My heart ached when I was watching the sad backstories and struggles of the characters. My heart beat fast with excitement when I was watching the plot twists and suspense! This drama may not be perfect, it may be cliche at times but it made me feel, and that's why it has become one of my all time favourites.
I started this drama only for Zhang Ling He and he ended up being the bonus factor not the main reason to continue to watch as I loved everything!
If you want a fluffy romance with characters that have emotional depth, a meaningful story with cool plot twists and an air of mystery - watch this drama.
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Loved it.
I don't know how this drama isn't being talked about more. The story kept me so interested. And the twists! THE TWISTS! This drama has so much to offer. Romance, Comedy, Drama, & Action.I usually don't go for techie-fantasy type dramas but I took a chance on this one and I'm really happy I did. I haven't seen anything like this where the twists kept coming. It also manages to be dark but not overly dark. Definitely far-fetched at times but not so far-fetched that I was turned off from the story. I found the cast and story really likable for the most part and rooting for them.
Would Recommend.
Would Rewatch
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This review may contain spoilers
Not your typical drama/idol drama but better plus it's a Romantic Comedy
STORY: Though it features 4 idol characters, it's not your typical idol drama. They're not searching for their talent but instead they're searching for their meaning of existence, after being held captive indoors by our villain, since they were kids, and encountering our two lovely female leads from the outside world. With the help of the female leads, the male leads began to open their eyes to the truth of themselves and to the world that's been hidden from them for so many years. The main plot overall went at a good pace with so many twists and turns as you progress through the drama.I will say there are some missing details that should've been shown or the lack of screen time for those details in this drama. Spoilers if you haven't seen this yet.
* How Luo Ke & Su Lie were kidnapped as kids. What about their families? Are they searching for them? There should've been a reunion at some point. What about telling the truth to Xu Nian's mom that her son is still alive? I'm pretty sure she loved him so much since she was devastated that she was told by our villain that her baby was dead.
* The lack of screen time for our 3rd couple Su Lie & Lanlan and 4th couple Luo Ke & Qiqi. Their relationships should've developed a lot earlier, like maybe when they first experienced the outside world and not at the very last episode.
* This is just my personal preference but I would've liked it more if the 2nd to last episode, the evil man was taken down and leave the last episode focus on just our 4 couples. Instead, while a happy ending, still felt a bit rushed to me.
CHARACTERS: The main characters Lu Xiao, Ke Le, Xu Nian, & Qian Ya were all great to me. I enjoyed every moment of their screen time. Even the villains, who I normally hate instantly, I found very funny. Of course with villains, you can only go so far with the comedy in their character. They're bound to turn fully evil eventually. Unfortunately Luo Ke & Su Lie were very lackluster support characters for me. They were just there. They weren't useful, they complained a lot and I just felt like their characters weren't written well. Even the villains had a better personality than these two did. Potential was there Luo Ke & Su Lie, especially for growth but it didn't make the cut. Granny did shine for me as a support character in this drama. I loved her spunk attitude and always being one step ahead.
MUSIC: On point. Love every soundtrack that was played during the drama and for the ending credit. Music matched very well and was played often.
REWATCH: It's a great drama overall but with this kind of story, this is a one time watch for me, though I may come back to certain scenes from time to time just to see it again. I mean I just love our two couples and their scenes.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch for second leads and the twists!
The second leads in the drama are so amazing, and the plot is really, really inventive. Just when you think you've figured it out there's another crazy twist, so don't trust anything you see! If you like intrigue, a bit of angst, and a mature, healthy, supportive relationship, this one's for you.I will admit up front that this review is based entirely on the second leads and the adventure plot, because I got so sick of the 'main' couple after four or five episodes that I just fast forwarded through their scenes to get to the (in my opinion) good stuff. The lead characters are actually pretty annoying, and the actors are mediocre at best, but their relationship and backstory scenes can easily be skipped without missing anything important to the really interesting plot and heart-fluttering second couple's story.
The second leads - Xu Nian (ZLH) and Quin Ya (FSQ) - in the drama are *everything.* Their relationship is beautiful and heart-warming, they are at the center of the intrigue plot, and the two actors carry the show on their capable (and gorgeous) shoulders. I think the creative team realized this as the drama was being made, because by the halfway point this pair pretty much became the main leads. Once that switch happened, I was glued to the screen!
The rest of the characters are okay - many of them are more like caricatures than people, and some of the acting is iffy. I liked the secondary members of the boy band, who were charming but not deep. The villain was completely over the top, which occasionally became annoying, but he was balanced out by his aunt, who was great.
For a drama about a boy band, the music wasn't particularly memorable. The production quality was pretty good, though, especially considering that there was a lot of virtual reality involved.
As for rewatching, I've already watched the whole second leads story and escape plot twice. Even knowing the twists, it's good enough to enjoy multiple times.
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Best Plot twist!?
I really didn't had so much exception at the beginning of the first episode, but by the end I knew I'm going to binge watch this, This was a fun ride and That plot twists was awesome, it kept making the drama good, The plot was good, and The setting, the story is happening in a futuristic world and all was very interesting for me and the second lead couple was great.The actors did a great job playing the characters, overall it's a good drama, worth watching, I would recommend it for sure, so give it a try
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More than just a regular Rom-Com
10/5/2021I randomly came across this drama while browsing a MDL Friend's watch list. I have never heard of this drama nor see any promotion of it. When you just look at the poster, this is probably not something I would watch, as it seems like just a regular rom-com about boy bands and cutesy/fluffy romance. This is by no means a perfect drama, but it's enjoyable (to me) and I enjoy the romance, plot twists and mystery.
What I Like:
1. Smart and strong female characters: Both of our female leads are smart in their own ways, and pretty much kept their brains throughout the drama. We oftentimes encounter female leads that started off as smart, but then make dumb decisions and lose their intelligence as the show progresses. Jiang KeLe is street smart. She can talk her way out of any situation and still be lovable. Guan QianYa is more mature and business smart and in critical thinking. The both of them are a highlight of the show, especially their strong friendship.
2. Secondary romance: I enjoy the romance between Guan QianYa and XuNian more than the main romance between Jiang KeLe and Lu Xiao. The Guan/Xu romance is a little more mature and it's developed more logically. I believe how their feelings are developed through their special 1:1 interaction in the game, and love their conversations. They communicate their feelings honestly with just the right amount of physical affection and kisses. I've seen better kisses from Zhang Ling He/Xu Nian in "Maiden Holmes" though. =)
3. Plot: As I said, there's more to this drama than a regular romantic comedy. There are surprising plot twists that I didn't see coming. The drama is not all rosy and light, but touches on the darker side of the game/business and the background stories of the 4 male characters. However, there are just enough comedic moments and one-liners that made me chuckle, esp. from our villains, without being over-the-top.
4. OST: I enjoy all the songs in this drama. Music is used appropriately without annoying, overplayed songs. One of my pet peeves is the volume of the BGM and I am happy that the music does not drown out the dialogs. I tried to find the OST on Spotify, but couldn't locate them. Too bad.
5. Acting: The acting is surprisingly decent for such a young cast. I've seen Zhang Ling He in his debut drama "Maiden Holmes", and he has definitely improved since then. I've seen Dai Lu Wa in "When we were young" and "Cross fire" and I think this is her best performance out of the 3 dramas. Her character here has more range the other two, and does not cross my personal line of being overly annoying and cutesy. This is my first time watching He Luo Luo and Fan Shuan Qi, and I think their acting is not bad either. He Luo Luo is definitely good-looking and portrayed the different personalities of his character well. I really like Fan Shuan Qi and will look out for more of her dramas in the future.
Minor things I don't like:
1. Minor illogical incidents: I am never a fan of C-dramas and CPR. They are never done correctly and can kill someone than save someone. Why are the compressions done on the heart? I also don't think having a fever and going to visit someone in the ICU is a good idea. Our 2FL has no money and can still afford to buy our FL a scooter?
2. Ending: I like a happy ending, but giving the 3rd and 4th male leads (Luo Ke and Qi Chuan) girlfriends in the last episode seems somewhat forced and rushed. If the drama wants to give everyone a happily-ever-after ending, maybe the two romance storylines should have started a little sooner to give it more credibility. The drama could have gone into their background stories a little more as well.
Other observations:
* The air balloon rides are a great idea, but the CGI is awful.
* Still have accidental kisses and slow-motion romantic shots with the sun behind the characters
* Hard to imagine the two female leads are of the same age.
* Can they really fight so well? Able to escape each and every time without getting caught?
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MUST WATCH!!
This drama is unlike other romance dramas especially the antagonists was not super evil, he was so funny too. I won't be giving any spoilers or there is no fun but BEST PLOT TWIST EVER. I thought its gonna be all cringy and all but since the first episode, it was really good.The plot was really good and the actors are also really good at acting especially the antagonist. It is said to be in the romance genre but has a sense of comedy, action and even suspense.
I have judged many dramas before because of the summary written on the drama page but now I will never do that after seeing this drama.
[P.S- that actors and actresses are damn beautiful and freaking handsome]
MUST WATCH !!
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enjoyable rollercoaster
This is one of those well-produced dramas with large cast. The story will keep you glued to your seat as it doesn't drag. Also... no one is dubbed :) The ending is very satisfying too.I had zero expectations, thought it's another cheesy drama but first few episodes had me hooked already. The story is full of twists, when you think you had it figured out, suddenly there's a new developement you didn't expect. I was worried about the lenght, usually 30+ episodes dramas tend to drag and be full of fillers but this one is very well-paced. You get to know the characters well, and the world they live in is fleshed out properly. Yea, often the logic goes out the door, but I consider this drama to be bit on the scifi fantasy side so I don't mind. One good thing is the characters have flaws, and grow as the story develops. There's conflict and all that. The main villain is very comedic so the viewer might forget his atrocities...
The comedy in idol dramas tends to be very hit or miss for me, but this time? All the comedic scenes fit the story well and add extra flavour. I would laugh a lot while watching. There were also scenes more on the melodramatic side, that did felt out of place at times but it's not a big deal. I enjoyed the story for what it is. The romantic element didn't overshadow the main story, and wasn't even the main core of the story imho, which is rare in this type of dramas. Love became a motivation for the characters, but there was so much going on at the same time.
The cast did a great job, and no one stood out negatively (to me). Yea, there were rough spots when it comes to younger cast but it wasn't grating. The older cast did a great job, everyone did their best and it shows. Music was okay, nothing to wrote home about.
Overall, this is a must watch if you enjoy more comedic, light yet larger than life stories with a lot going on. There are many characters and story is fast-paced so you won't get bored. This drama was a very pleasant surprise to me and I had a lot fun watching.
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Cute sci-fi romcom geared towards youths
I love sci-fi’s and romcoms so the synopsis of this drama really appealed to me. It’s a cute light feel good drama aimed towards a younger audience. I think if I were younger I would have liked it better. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. But the characters were so innocent and naive that they reminded me of high school students in the way they interacted with one another.I both loved and disliked the storyline. I loved its depth and twists and turns. Nothing pleases me more than a drama that’s unique and unpredictable. But I disliked how far fetched the stories premise was. We are expected to believe that you can just put in some contact lenses and suddenly see and interact with a handsome man wherever you go during the day. No one else can see him but you. And he’s the perfect boyfriend to hang out with. There’s also AI robots and people trapped in a virtual world. So if you can turn off your brain and not overthink things you’ll love it. But if you’re a thinker like me it may bother you.
The romance was very light and innocent in keeping with characters that have never been socialized with the outside world. There are numerous kisses but a good deal of them are kisses on the cheek. There’s not any skinship beyond handholding or hugs. So the romance was very light sweet and fluffy. It felt like the romance was a side dish but definitely not the main course. The drama is more focused on the lives of the four young men being held captive and their fight for freedom.
What really stood out in this drama was the acting. The whole cast did a great job. I loved every character and was invested in each of their stories. I also loved how much character growth there was too.
If you’re looking for a really touching romantic drama with lots of skinship then look elsewhere. If you don’t mind a romcom that has a lighter romance as long as the story has depth and is interesting then you might like this drama as long as you don’t expect it to be very believable. I’m torn on this drama. There’s a lot I liked like the acting, the characters, and the interesting twists and turns the story took. But I was disappointed in how very unrealistic the storyline was and the lack of chemistry and skinship in the romance. And since these four men being held captive hadn’t ever been outside of their home, they were very immature, naive, and innocent. So their interactions came across a a bit juvenile. I felt like I was watching a high school romcom with a touch of sci-fi. Im glad I watched it. It was cute and a fun way to pass time. But I wouldn’t watch it again.
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DON'T MISS IT !!!
This is the best modern drama I have watched so far! An entirely different plot from all the modern drama I have ever watched . The acting is great and I liked the songs too . The 2nd male lead ,xu nian , was really amazing . PS. he luo luo who acted as male lead was amazing too!! looking forward to see him in more dramas as the main lead . the friend of the female lead , oh my!! she is really cool , I wish I was like her 555 . I really wanna give the scriptwriter an award for this amazing story . now, I'm excited to see zhang ling he as the demon king ,hua cheng !! ps. the visual of the ML is damn good !!! . and the dance in 35th episode was damn cool , idk how much times I have re watched that scene. and as for president XU , he did a good job and his secretary ,LOL , they both looks so cool but idk why but they made me laugh a lot XD . And ofc we can't miss out granny!! she is really amazing , my favorite character other than our male lead , lu xiao . anyway, do check it out . it's really amazingWas this review helpful to you?
