Lighter & Princess

Holyyyyyy mother of god this was such a boring watch.

I would’ve had a much better time with this drama if it was at least 12 episodes shorter. So many things were needlessly dragged out and it completely sucked the enjoyment out of a story that could’ve been so much more entertaining than it ended up being. While pacing is my #1 issue with the drama, I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive this drama for the route that it took in breaking up the characters. After watching this I’m 100% certain that my absolute least favorite trope in the history of drama tropes is the stupid fucking “pushing people away to protect them by lying to them” trope. Sometimes it’s done well if the person is pushed away without any deceit, however when lies become involved is when I absolutely tune out. There is absolutely no reason… none. I will never be okay with LX’s actions in this drama no matter how many times they are explained and justified. Not only did he lie and push ZY away (and can we talk about the 3 years of clinical depression the poor girlie went through?), he continued to do so even after coming out of prison. He made her cry so many times and betrayed her trust over and over, and we’re just supposed to be okay with this because ZY is an idiot who loves a very very toxic man? Absolutely not. Overall, my unpopular opinion is that this drama is really really not worth the glowing ratings that it gets. The only redeeming points are the chemistry between the leads and the great OST. I’d skip this one if you’re considering watching.

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Best drama of 2022!

First of all I’m not one to cry at all during a drama but for the first time in my life I’ve actually cried for a damn couple they really do have an extraordinary acting skills for the characters I want to say i’ve seen zhang jingyi in fall in love and i have to say she’s a real talent and for the case of chen feiyu this is my first time ever seeing him in a drama and i gotta say he’s a really versatile actor I really am lucky to have ever watched that drama the details the storyline and from the support character is extremely incredible I really do recommend this extremely well played out drama

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Created a MDL account just for this drama

I’ve been watching c-dramas my entire life, and my taste and standards for them have grown exponentially over the years. I had a phase where I strictly only watched k-dramas because c-drama actors and plot are usually slightly lacking and cringey. But as I began to gravitate back to c-dramas, I spend hours browsing new releases just to pick out the few that are worth watching and actually memorable.

I’ve been using kisskh for years now, and I contemplated writing reviews for all the top dramas I’ve seen but I always felt too lazy to make an account. Before watching this drama, my top c-drama was without a doubt “Where The Lost Ones Go”. I’ve rewatched it about three times now and the chokehold it had on me still didn’t push me to create an account and write a review, but this drama did. The plot and timeline is very similar for both dramas, so I’d highly recommend you give that drama a watch if you liked this one. Definitely less lighthearted, but the unconditional love really goes a long way.

I think partly why I love this drama so much is because I relate to ZhuYun when it comes to love and relationships. She acts in a way that I would or would hope to, having both pride yet also ambition, and her love for LiXun is unquestionable. The chemistry of the two young actors on and off screen is probably what ultimately pushes this drama to #1 in my c-drama list.

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70% relationship, 30% revenge, 100% great.

I absolutely adored this drama. I’m a sucker for a badboy/girl drama, and this one ticks every box and more. Yes it does have some faults, and I will discuss them, but don’t expect me to mark it down because of them. I’m just going to be blatantly biased…

At heart, this is a story about relationships that are entangled with a competition/revenge plot. But it’s 70% relationship and 30% revenge. And it examines not only the relationship of the central couple, but beautifully realises a whole raft of other connections and gives all of them depth and time to progress and change. So, if you are someone who moans about pacing being slow, forget it and move on elsewhere. The pace slows down to accommodate the depth and it’s an intelligent and perceptive depth at that.

The drama sets up and defines the attitudes that can deliver success in the cutthroat world of IT, where survival demands not only ruthlessness but also the ability to engage with, or accept that immorality is a necessary component. It requires you to be willing to employ the tactics that will destroy any competition particularly if it is superior to your own offering. That this is a reflection of the real world is backed up by the history of IT. In the 1980s-90s Bill Gates foisted onto the world a mediocre operating system (Windows) with a substandard suite of office software (MS Office). He did not create his original operating system (MS-DOS) on which Windows was built, but reputedly purchased it for $75,000. Other operating systems and office software with superior performance were thrown to the wall in the marketing hype. This is the world of the story, and it examines how characters are crushed, survive or thrive in this environment and the personality traits and abilities which inevitably seal their fate.

One of the really attractive aspects of this drama is that there are no clear lines that mark good and bad, right and wrong. All the characters have flaws and reasons for them, and virtues that define their core. So this is not a simplistic revenge plot where a notional good triumphs over a notional evil. It is an unfolding of the damage that revenge and competition wreak on individuals and an examination of what they are willing to sacrifice and learn in order to survive. As a consequence it has a high believability rating. There are some moments in which credibility was lost for me, but overall it mesmerised me and carried me through those times with ease. This is not a drama for those looking for wish fulfilment, it’s full of flawed people and the flawed relationships that they have. But they are viewed through a compassionate lens.

Structurally, the story falls into three distinct phases. Each phase has its own vibe and focus and this helps to a large extent to refresh the drama and keep the viewer interested across the 36, 35 minute episodes. The drama opens in the present (2019), then flashes back to 2012 and works through sequentially. I’m not sure why the director chose this cut and it does, to some extent, take away the element of surprise later on. One possible explanation is that they wanted to establish this as a serious drama from the off, and not just a University romance. And I must admit, that the start hooked me right in there and I was not as entranced by the next few instalments. But stay with it, it is necessary to watch the whole development of the characters from start to finish to really appreciate the story.

This was a dramatisation of two novels. I’m not sure how closely they were followed and where the credit for the dialogue and characterisation should go, but the script in this drama was beautiful. It was subtle, nuanced, multi-layered and deep and often left me feeling I wanted to stop the action to mine the meaning of some of the lines. There is so much in here that a second time through can only improve your understanding and enjoyment.

In so many ways, space and time were taken by the director, actors and cinematographer. No-one was afraid to linger, whether over a pause before a line delivery or a close-up on a facial expression. It really gave the viewer time to appreciate the layered meanings hidden within the dialogue. Could it have been improved by editing? Yes, I think it could have benefitted from some pruning, especially in the middle section where things did seem to be visited repeatedly. But overall, it meant time to savour, rather than gulping things down and rushing on to the next course.

The beating heart of the drama is the relationship between Zhu Yun (Zhang Jing Yi) and Li Xun (Chen Fei Yu) and it is superbly realised. There are tensions, arguments, heartache, loyalty, love and chemistry by the bucketload but also the most beautifully improvised playful moments for which we can thank the director Lui Jun Ji for having faith in his cast. I can only imagine that these two actors get along together. Their interactions were so credible and powerful that you often feel you are a fly on the wall. Chen had the more complex part and he rose to it, providing a real sense of the inner vulnerability of the character. Zhang was less impressive earlier on, but as the character development demanded more of her, she brought it to the table.

I was a little disappointed in the performance by Zhao Zhi Wei as Gao Jian Hong. I thought he performed brilliantly in the first half of the drama, but failed, for me, to really show me the subtlety of his motivations and inner feelings in the second half. I don’t think that it was entirely his fault. The script was thinner than previously for the character and maybe the director failed to bring out more nuance.

The director really captured the abundant humour. Nothing was overstated or obvious, but with the co-operation of the actors and cinematographer, a wry smile or a sidelong glance never went to waste. This is not laugh-out-loud stuff, but the sort of appreciation that time spent observing people can bring. It really added so much to the characterisations.

The cinematography was clean and crisp, with some well thought out angles that supported and reflected the action. I think its real value lay in the way it captured emotional responses. I wouldn’t say it was brilliant, but it was definitely good enough to contribute to the high quality of the overall production. The music was used to help the viewer appreciate the current state of feelings of the leads. The lyrics, large chunks of which were in English, were really a series of spoken thoughts. I didn’t find the music itself exceptional.

When a drama can force you to binge watch and make you regretful that you are nearing its end, then you know it’s a special one. My last comment is for the drama poster — REDO IT!!

What my rating means: 9+   A drama I totally fell in love with and is endlessly re-watchable. It ticked all the boxes and had some serious wow factor. It would go on my personally recommended list.

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I must have been watching a completely different show than everyone else

Please remember, this is just my personal opinion. I'm not telling anyone else what they should think about this show, only putting my thoughts down (mostly because my memory is so bad that I have to have reminders of what I thought of shows, so I don't waste my time on something I've already watched).

1) I thought this show was PAINFULLY draggy. Do they not have editors in China? Are they trying to get an award for the greatest number of episodes with the least amount happening? Do they get paid by how long the show is? It's a mystery to me. Unfortunately, I find this to be true in most of the C-dramas I've watched, even more so than K-dramas. I was keeping track of what episode I was on, and I felt like I was watching paint dry. There was so much time when there was actually nothing going on. Lots of time spent walking from one place to another, sitting at computers, staring at each other while trying not to be seen staring at each other.
2) Too much programming/code talk. I get it, that's what they were doing, but we could understand that without having to watch the process.
3) ML. When you have a tsundere character, you need to be able to see him changing over time. There was some at the end, but even then, there wasn't much expression change. And I think if we hadn't been shown the prison stuff at the beginning, his behavior might have made a little more sense. But I just kept wondering why he was so mad all the time, especially before prison.
4) FL. To me, she was extremely irritating. Why did she keep following him? There was something so "I'm better than you are" about her, I just couldn't like her. She was always just around him. Was that supposed to show that she would support him regardless? Which brings me to...
5) Chemistry. This was a relationship that I just couldn't get behind. He was mean to everyone, and he was the same with her. She didn't like him at all and made no bones about the fact that she didn't like him. This was supposed to be enemies to lovers, apparently, but I never saw a moment that made sense for them to start liking one another. Why would you like someone that treats you so badly? Granted, for my own sanity, I had to fast forward through a lot of it, maybe I missed it. They were somewhat cute at the end, but I still couldn't really feel the chemistry, maybe because I didn't like either character.

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Typical Start

It starts as a typical Chinese Drama: Strong, so called "Bad Boy" dominating a weak minded female.

Why in the world do all these Chinese/Korean romantic Dramas start the same way? I am tired of writers starting with a so called bad boy and mindless weak acting females. The man always treats the female like a pet, yanking on them, telling them where to go and what to do. They get all in their faces and the women take it and doesn't say a thing. In the middle or towards the end, the bad boy repents says he is sorry; so she falls for him. In whose world does that work in? Why can't they ever start and end with a strong minded female? Strong doesn't mean. It means if a male gets in her face, she doesn't allow it. If a male yanks her arm, she pulls away and scolds him. No wonder in some cultures men figure they can dominate females and the females dare to say anything. This Series appears starting the same way . I hope it gets better.

11 episodes in: You tell me that Li can knock a person cell phone out of his of his hand, on purpose and nothing happens to him! In whose world is that in. He should of gotten his butt beat. So far this series is going as I expected to go. In the real world when you show up uninvited to see a girl or male, is called stalking. Li is getting on my nerve the bruiting look is wearing thin. He needs a good beat down and everyone is afraid of him. Enters his sister explaining why is the way he is, in an attempt to redeem his as a good misunderstood person.

Li is a stalker. He goes to her home uninvited. He gets an one bedroom Hotel room and she doesn't know what he is up to? Really!? How gullible can she be? Now she gets paid for services rendered. Why couldn't he wait until school was back in? I have to ask and I don't mean bad about this: Are Chinese women this gullible and mindless?

Li say says fetch, Zhu fetches. LI acts like a little spoil brat. Zhu is a codependent.

How in the world can folks give this Romance/Drama a 10!?😤

I don't know how anyone can give this Series a 10. I hope they have a second season. Zhu needs to be seen as having a backbone and a mind of her own. Zhu is a servant of Li. Whatever he says or do (being rude, demeaning, arrogant and a brat) she will support.

I use to feel sorry for Zhu, I don't any longer. She keep going back to Li to be abused some more. Prison didn't change him one bit, he is still the self hating, arrogant, demeaning, every body are afraid of and spoiled person.

It is easy to know the ending. to sum it up: self hating, arrogant, demeaning toward women, spoiled repenting at the end, get the girl. The girl, suffering from low esteem, sub servant and like being abuse gets the arrogant guy.

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Chen Fei Yu’s face now triggers my fight or flight response (pros: chemistry, cons: writing)

I love how this drama gave us the fattest load of potential I’ve seen from cdramas in awhile only for it to sadly explode in our faces. I was (rightly) excited for Lighter & Princess because of Chen Fei Yu, but the writing definitely does not match up to the talents of the cast.

STORY
This drama can best be described as a mix between your classic college rom com and a business revenge drama. I didn’t have much of a problem with the plot, but if you’re looking for a masterpiece, you should stop thinking about this drama, period. It has all the markings of your classic annoying cdrama—uselessly over-the-top events, dumb misunderstandings, toxicity, and a neat ending that doesn’t make sense at all.

What I really took issue with was how the characters were written. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to make the leads (and the side characters) some of the most insufferable, selfish, unaware people I’ve ever seen. I personally think I’m someone who easily forgives the plot, but a horribly cliche story paired with the most annoying characters known to man is not a good combo.

Li Xun is your usual cold, unemotional genius, but he’s also incredibly rude, overly arrogant, possesses an insane superiority complex, and never changes. Zhu Yun is basically his puppy-eyed sidekick who cannot seem to think for herself. I think this drama would’ve been 300% more enjoyable if these two actually realized they weren’t the center of this world.

ACTING
And what pains me even more is that the acting was actually pretty good. Chen Fei Yu actually brings emotionally subtlety to his cold ML character, a trope that is usually rife with stiff and personality-less acting. I liked the aloof, seemingly-apathetic nature Chen Fei Yu gave Li Xun. It was so natural that it felt like he was the character, so much so that his face now triggers my fight or flight response (hence the review title) since my brain equates Chen Fei Yu to Li Xun and I have come to despise Li Xun xD.

Zhang Jing Yi as Zhu Yun wasn’t half bad either. She captured pretty well Zhu Yun’s childlike innocence and stubborn determination. But I felt like she could have been far more emotive, and also it seems as though she has no idea what to do with her body while acting. She stands still with her arms hanging by her sides 97% of the time.

The chemistry between Chen Fei Yu and Zhang Jing Yi was the sparks-flying type, though. Great bantering, cute scenes, and some nice cuddling scenes. I enjoyed it thoroughly before the drama went down the drain.

MUSIC
I loved the soundtrack to this show. From Zhou Shen’s dramatic and heartfelt ballad to punk rock and band covers—the music in this drama were honestly all bops, especially the songs Ren Di’s band covered. Plus the Pu Shu songs they included? Chef’s kiss. Really managed to capture the hopeful, young sadness that this drama was going for that the writing didn’t succeed in conveying.

REWATCH VALUE
BYE, there’s no way I’m putting myself through this pain again. Maybe the first half, though. Maybe.

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A Lighter Click and A Piggy's Dream

Watching the trailers for Lighter and Princess, I was deeply hopeful that it was going to be as good as it looked. Neither the synopsis or trailers gave a great idea of the true story, but I was very intrigued by what I read and saw. It surpassed my hopes and expectations completely. Once I started it, I couldn't stop. It drew me in and refused to let me go until the end. No drama is truly perfect, but despite its few flaws and imperfections, the impressions it left me with and the way it mesmerized me from the first scene to the last, it earned that 10 completely.

I love the story. I love the depth of it, how everything connects, how there is a reason for everything. Something you don't think much about comes back around and is explained and does mean something. It is such a beautiful puzzle and I adored seeing it come together. The pacing was nearly perfect. That is nearly always an issue for me in dramas, but here they did such a good job of keeping the pacing on track and moving at a consistent pace. There wasn't a slump after those emotional high moments and no matter what was going on, it kept me engaged.

The acting was phenomenal on all fronts. I wasn't familiar with anyone and they blew me out of the water, particularly our leads, Chen Fei Yu and Zhang Jing Yi. Both together and separately they were so good. Their chemistry together was absolutely electric. They played off of each other perfectly and they were completely believable. Chen Fei Yu has the most amazing intensity with his eyes, regardless of what emotion he's portraying. He also made good use of microexpressions and his body language to convey his emotions and intentions. Zhang Jing Yi was equally good. She struck that perfect balance of being innocent but not naïve. She brought such a strength to her character and I really loved that. I also really appreciated that I felt like there was a very clear cut difference between how she acted as college age Zhu Yun and adult Zhu Yun. It fit the character perfectly. Like Chen Fei Yu, she could convey some really great intensity with her eyes alone in certain scenes that was fantastic to see. The supporting cast was equally amazing. I really enjoyed all of their performances as well, but these two just really stood out the most to me.

The characters were such an interesting and diverse group, I really enjoyed getting to know all of them and I appreciated that we were given the opportunity to actually get to know them. Obviously some characters got more screen time than others, but no one really felt neglected, even with the time jumps. Those who didn't make appearances again were still briefly mentioned with where they were in life so they weren't forgotten which I really liked since a lot of dramas and shows do tend to just forget characters when that happens.
-Li Xun and Zhu Yun are obviously our main characters and main couple. I loved their romance, the slow burn of it. I know the hate to love trope is overused, but when well done like it was here its quite enjoyable to watch. They're a prime case of opposites attract. Li Xun is a genius, but cold and detached, arrogant and condescending and completely independent. He doesn't need or want anyone. Zhu Yun isn't a genius, but she's smart and unlike Li Xun, she's warm and friendly, helpful and supportive, and her life is being controlled by her mother. In Zhu Yun, Li Xun finds the warmth he's lacking, someone to draw him out his shell, who will stand by him no matter what and love him unconditionally. And in Li Xun, Zhu Yun finds her independence, the strength to begin to stand on her own, something outside herself that's worth fighting for. In essence, they complete each other. My biggest qualm is that I do feel Li Xun could have had a little more character growth although I do feel like that's part of the point and Zhu Yun does make a point of saying that she thinks he'll continue to soften, it just would have been nice to see a little more of that.
- Gao Jian Hong was such a complex character that I'm left not entirely certain how to feel about him. He's not fully villain, but also not fully a good guy either. I do like where they left him, with hope for the future. I honestly find him to be a bit of a tragic character. So much potential to be wasted. And I think he is a prime example that we have to live with the choices we make. The flashbacks to his times with Li Xun and Zhu Yun were hard to watch because they did have so much potential together and it was sad to think of all that was lost. I was really not expecting things to turn out the way that they did with the three of them. I do think overall though, his character was well-developed. My only slight complaint is that his emotions seemed a little all over the place there in the last episode or two, but that could also be attributed to the brain tumor, so I can't complain too much.
- Xu Li Na started off as a character I was not a fan of at all and ended as a character that I came to respect. When she was initially introduced, I thought she was going to turn out to be far smarter than she acted and was going to try to steal their app. When that didn't turn out to be the case, it became obvious she was going to be another woman in love with Li Xun. I felt bad for Jian Hong because he obviously really liked her and it kind of felt like she was leading him on. When she rejected him, I thought that was the end of it. But with the time jump, I was surprised to see that they were married and as events unfolded I wasn't sure who was more pathetic in that marriage: the man who married a woman he knew didn't love him or the woman who married a man she didn't love. Either way, neither of them came off looking good. I was proud of her though, when she finally let go of Li Xun and seemed ready to free of herself of Jian Hong. Until she finds out about his tumor and has a change of heart which leads to some very sweet moments between the two of them. I liked her ending and the idea that she and Jian Hong can actually find love together and start over. I didn't like her at the beginning but she had some really great character growth and by the end, I was absolutely rooting for her.
- I really enjoyed the other side characters as well. Ren Di was such a bad ass, but I loved that she was also willing to always listen to her friends and be there for them. Even with gaining fame and fortune, her character remained relatively unchanged which I thought was awesome. Fang Shu Miao was so funny and cute. I really enjoyed their friendship both in college and as adults. I also appreciated the realism of their friendship, that it wasn't always sunshine and daisies, that there was the occasional conflict and then they figured it out and moved on. Fang Zhi Jing made for an interesting, well-rounded villain but also in a realistic manner. He wasn't a villain in that he was plotting against everyone or coming up with evil schemes, he was a villain in that he was simply a selfish, cruel, greedy man.

The OST is gorgeous. There isn't a single song that I dislike and I felt like they were all used well. They worked well to heighten the mood of certain scenes. I enjoyed the opening song in particular, but honestly you can't go wrong with any one of them.

The cinematography is equally gorgeous. This was clearly a very well thought out production and it shows. The aesthetics are nearly perfect, everything is in its place, well-proportioned. The lighting is very well done, particularly since there are a number of scenes in darkened rooms, I was impressed that they were able to give that impression without obscuring the actors' faces at all.

It seems a good way to start out 2023 with a drama that is so nearly perfect. I truly cannot recommend it enough. I know it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved the story from the romance to the friendships to the characters and everything in between. This is one drama that I will be coming back to again and again I'm sure.

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Toxic love story

I just finished watching it and I was going to drop it But I forced myself to watch it to the end to see if they would have a happy ever after while I am glad that they lived happily ever after there was not much growth development in their characters and he was extremely toxic throughout the whole relationship and extremely secretive. And she followed him around like a lost puppy. She should have stayed with that painter, who really cared about her and treated her well. But a lot of time, women go for toxic men. I guess Maturity is realizing that this was a toxic relationship. After he got out of jail and she met him again, she should have moved on with her life. But she got wrapped up again with him. He always gave the absolute minimum to her and even pushed her away and said so many hurtful things that were unforgivable, but she still followed him around like a lost puppy. He's an example of just giving the minimum as a partner. She was too young to know that there was so much more to being in love, but oh well, also, the story line was extremely boring if I'm being honest and I had to fast forward through a lot of parts.I gave it a five out of ten and I definitely would not be watched or recommend.

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