Lighter & Princess

Thats how you do it

This one of the best c-dramas I have ever seen. The acting is just perfect for what they are portraying. The story is written in a way that if you watch it, you have that feeling of it's not too slow nor too fast. For a whopping 36 EPs it felt surprisingly short as I've fallen really in love with the characters. So all in all I can only say that it's all about the people in this drama and how they're played, written and shot (the camera work). Props to everyone in this drama, but the FL and ML stood out because of their chemistry.
Thus far, I've not watched many c-dramas, but most of the time I encounter one problem: How they're acting and how the story is written. Most of the time, the dramas tend to be very plain. But this one (at least for me) has shown that if you give the right people a budget, get a good written script and to get people who show their chemistry believably you can get this drama.

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Flawed Characters Done Well, Amazing Show

I've mostly avoided modern C-Dramas because of a common trope that they used to love: cold, aloof male leads who act dominantly and somewhat aggressive towards the female leads paired with overly cutesy almost childlike female leads. I found these type of dramas cringe and unwatchable.
Recently, I've been pleasantly surprised by modern C-Dramas though and "Lighter and Princess" is one of them. Here are the points I really enjoyed and why I'd recommend it:

(A few Spoilers ahead)

- Flawed characters who aren't squeaky clean, pure and perfect as in many C-Dramas:
The male lead is not your typical C-Drama hero; even though he is cold and aloof as in many other popular dramas, he's annoyingly arrogant, know-it-all, socially awkward and snarky. He's too blunt and although a genius, he openly looks down on everyone. He doesn't care if he hurts someone's feelings. But there's a self destructive energy to him which makes him almost eager to prove everyone who hates him right. It's like he wants to say "yes, I'm as bad as they say I am. In fact, I'm even worse." He doesn't want to be liked and even says to the female lead "I don't like you" straight to her face. His attitude makes perfect sense for a gifted genius from a poor family; someone who's to smart for his own good. He struggled from early age and accepted his fate, and everytime life gave him a second chance fate took a different turn so he developed a coping mechanism to protect himself from disappointment. It's very understandable that he keeps everyone at arm's length.

- Female lead with attitude
The ML meets his match because no other girl could handle a guy like him than a spoiled but smart and kindhearted girl. Her instant attraction paired with dislike against him was very relatable and the way she enjoyed fighting with him was very fun to watch. She's the type of heroine I most like in dramas: girls who are brave, speak up and smart at the same time.

- A love story that makes sense
She was emotionally intelligent to see through his armor, she was self confident enough to not be his lackey and that was exactly the reason why he even spared her a second glance. Their love story made perfect sence because a guy like him and a girl like her could have anyone - it's obvious they'd be interested in each other. They were a perfect match because she's way too smart for most guys, and he's not only book smart but street smart and she can look up to him. She's smart enough to understand him, even when he doesn't say things out loud. She grew up rich and spoiled, so material things don't matter to her - both her and him want to fight for a bigger cause, and that's why they also click so well. Their connection goes beyond just cutesy stuff, they actually have very compatible personalities which is shown in the way they enjoy teasing each other but also working together. They're a team.

- The conflicts make sense
We all hate badly written plots with stupid misunderstandings that could totally be avoided. But Lighter and Princess has a conflict arc that makes total sense. Li Xun was most likely experiencing something like post-traumatic stress syndrome due to the grief and had something like a tunnel vision. He knew what he needed to do and he also knew he didn't want Zhu Yun to suffer any damage from it. When Li Xun met Zhu Yun's parents it seemed like a small part of him had hoped for them to believe in him but instead he noticed they were never going to accept him. When he acted up in front of Zhu Yun's parents he was releasing the frustration he felt of being looked down upon, and knowing that people like her parents would never want to understand people like him (different social classes). I could understand his frustration and why he'd rather not face the humiliation of trying to please Zhu Yun's parents. Maybe he was smart enough to know it was a losing game. He also felt self destructive, and this is a trait many geniuses share. They self sabotage. The whole conflict between them seemed pretty realistic to me.
Also the build up of the one sided rivalry that Old Gao felt for him was very well done and it made complete sense that he would turn on Li Xun, and it was even Li Xun's own fault for being way to arrogant and too blunt in his way with his friends.

-Enemies to Friends to Lovers trope well done
I love how they had this trope multiple times because of their conflict and their breakup. Also their dynamic was so nice that even after they were in a relationship, he still kept being a closed book and kept her guessing, which was also realistic because he wouldn't just change simply because they were in love. So it was still not boring to watch because there was still a struggle for her to deal with, even after they confessed.

-The styling was realistic
I honestly struggle with some of the weird clothes the male leads wear in modern C-Dramas and I loved how they styled both of them - it was super realistic, especially with regards to the years the storyline was takin place in. Sometimes, especially in K-Dramas, they still dress characters in pretty modern clothing even though the story is in the past (Lovely Runner is a good example - they wore modern clothes instead of clothes from 2007/2008 fashion). But here they dressed Li Xun in simple 2012-style, especially with the skinny jeans for guys, and then later on he was styled according to 2018 fashion. With Zhu Yun they also managed to give her a college girl aesthetic and then style her in an elegant grown up way when she was 25. They did a great job!

- Overall message
I also enjoyed that this drama had an actual message and wasn't just a cute fluffy romcom. The way it adressed themes like justice and lack of justice (especially for male offenders), friendship and jealousy (and the way girls dealt with jealousy/envy vs. the boys - that was interesting), how choices impact your whole life, what to do with your talents (do good vs just earn money), living your life vs living out your parents' expecations, etc. I really enjoyed the diverse topics.

All in all, I loved it! And the acting was great too

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If I want you, true love will take its course

"And in the end we're all just humans, drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness", Fitzgerald.

This was by far the best cdrama I've ever watched. I usually don't do reviews of dramas - I just comment under an episode if I have to say something - but it felt like it was needed here.

Now, it has been some time since I've finished it, so pardon me if I forget something.

I'm a huge fan of these youth dramas, set in high school and college days and whatever, so of course I couldn't miss this one. First impression? Too cool. We finally have a female lead who isn't stupid and weak, I immediately fell in love.

The first episode was a prolepsis (flashforward) until half of the second one, where we return to the present - seven years before. At first I didn't understand anything, I remember I was so confused that I tried to read some comments but most of them were even more confusing, so I just gave up. Until the second episode, where I officially started the journey with Zhu Yun and Li Xun.

I couldn't loved it any more.

It's the first day of college - I suppose - and they're waiting for their books. It's so casual that made me resent watching it - I mean, it made me want to watch some light romance dramas again.
Zhu Yun and Li Xun don't get along well at first - one is doing her best to please her mother's wants, the other is living life like an arrogant young boy, which he is btw - but they slowly start to feel something for each other. Zhu Yun is attracted by his weird personality, his strong abilities and his intellingence, meanwhile Li Xun is confused and attracted by her stubborness, the way she treats him and the fact that she isn't afraid of getting close to him and dare him.

These college days are the best, but as usual, after the sun comes the storm. Li Xun ruins his life by committing a crime. If only it ended here, Zhu Yun would've stayed by his side no matter what. However, this mf (sorry, I had to, I hated him in these moments) lied to her and broke her heart. This led to her leaving him and changing country - literally.
(Don't tell anyone else, let's keep this a secret, but I skipped these episodes. If you don't wanna cry your heart and eyes out, skip episodes 21 and 22)

They "reconcile" several years later, both knowing what they feel for each other. Li Xun keeps trying to push her away, but Zhu Yun knows he's lying.

And this is the most beautiful thing about this drama: their relationship. There's something Zhu Yun tells Li Xun: "Choose me, I won't betray you". It seems a normal sentence, but if you've watched the drama you know how important and touching this is.

'Cause no matter what happens, they are committed to each other, they believe and understand each other so profoundly that it breaks my heart knowing I won't ever have a relationship like that.

They are powerful, not only because of their abilities and intelligence, but mostly because they're ready to risk it all for their significant other. They're for sure the best cdrama couple I've ever seen.

And I believe I should say someting about Gao Jian Hong. This mf (#2) betrayed his best friends 'cause he couldn't accept that there's always someone better than us. I hated him until the very end, but at the same time I understood him: I know it's frustrating having someone who outshines you in everything you thought you were good at, still you should prove you're mature enough to understand not only your limits, but also the other's and the moral limits. Gao Jian Hong actually represents those who can't accept their own boundaries and push themselves to the limits, until they reach the ultimate stage of their miserable lives.

Unfortunately, Gao Jian Hong didn't stay loyal to his friends and suffered for that. I believe that his end was perfect, even though that illness prevented us to see how well our protagonists would've handled the revenge plan.

Another character that I should mention is Zhu Yun's mother. Just gonna say I hate her. I in general hate parents who want their children to live a life already decided by them. I mean, once a person turns eighteen (or whatever age a person is considered adult in your country) the parents have no right on their child's life: they can only advise them, but not decide for them. So yeah, I hated her mom 'cause she first chose her major and then tried to choose even her boyfriend/future husband.

Actually her presence wasn't that prominent in the last part of the drama, so I didn't feel her efforts to couple Zhu Yun and Tian Xiu Zhu that much, but it was still nerve wracking.

Overall, Lighter&Princess is a 10/10. I feel like I shouldn't rate everything about this drama a 10, but it is what it is. The story with its tropes was amazing, original and touching. The cast was perfect and so was the acting - just a little reminder of Chen Fei Yu's eyes 'cause that man didn't portrayed Li Xun, he IS Li Xun - : most of the cast is new with few years of experience so it was really refreshing seeing these young people acting so good with so hard characters to depict. And let's not talk about the soundtracks 'cause I'm literally obsessed! They complete the drama in a way that is really hard to see nowadays (I'm a musician so I have ears for these things).

And of course, the rewatch value. Useless to say that I'm literally on my way to rewatch it. It's too good to discard after being watched just once.

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ONE OF THE BEST C-DRAMA I HAVE EVER WATCHED.

Everything about this drama is amazing from the casting , the acting , the visuals, the storyline, the background to the ost. And the best part is it just get better and better by each episode. The chemistry between the female lead and male lead and their characters development is on another level.

Everything about this drama is amazing from the casting , the acting , the visuals, the storyline, the background to the ost. And the best part is it just get better and better by each episode. The chemistry between the female lead and male lead and their characters development is on another level.

Everything about this drama is amazing from the casting , the acting , the visuals, the storyline, the background to the ost. And the best part is it just get better and better by each episode. The chemistry between the female lead and male lead and their characters development is on another level.

Everything about this drama is amazing from the casting , the acting , the visuals, the storyline, the background to the ost. And the best part is it just get better and better by each episode. The chemistry between the female lead and male lead and their characters development is on another level.

I highly recommend this drama.

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gritty, inspiring, absolutely perfect casting

First off, **major spoilers** everywhere so be warned, and this is gonna be long.

Absolutely addicted and love this drama, so why did I not give it a 10? One, because the parents annoy me, which is why I’m writing this review before finishing the last ep. Two, because Li Xun went on a path of self destruction.

Now, let’s talk about Li Xun. This man is an absolute genius through and through. He’s pretty cold and indifferent, but I ADORED this man…until he blinded a guy. I completely support the revenge path and whatnot, but that was just so out of character. I get he was grieving and people make bad decisions, but man PLANNED that shit. He’s so intelligent, so why would he throw his whole life away just for that? Even more, he not only gave up zhu yun but was a complete jerk about it. She did not deserve that AT ALL, and his idea was just so bad. Like you had so much time and that’s what you come up with? Aside from that, I feel like he didn’t deserve zhu yun’s forgiveness. He never really tried to make it up to her, and the apology wasn’t satisfactory enough for me. He deserved way more than that one slap. But oh well, that happened. Although I complained a lot, I still like his character. He went through a lot, and nobody’s perfect. In their uni days when they were together, he was such a golden retriever bf and it was so adorable. Combusted everytime he called her princess. SO CUTE!!! Also, this might be just me, but his walk is so funny. Like, someone sign him up for the runway. He’s perfected the angry boy walk. On a bright side, the actor is incredibly handsome. His eyes speak wonders, and not everyone can rock a buzzcut, but he definitely did.

Next, I wanna go over Gao. Keep in mind, I was one of those avid supporters of him up until the prison fiasco. He was relatable. It’s understandable to feel like someone else’s shadow and want to find their own light. Plus, Li Xun was also being an ass towards him at the beginning. He only cared about results and made Gao do his bidding. I get that he has a vision and all, but people were hurt in the process. Gao was doing everything right, going abroad and all. His mistake was blaming Li Xun for losing that opportunity and going on a revenge path. Fast forward, after prison, Gao is still suffering from his inferiority complex and only after money. I was like okay, understandable, cuz some people really only go after money in life, but he was playing dirty for it. His villain arc was very thorough and relatable. I actually cried for him when he was in the hospital. He was a good guy in the beginning. I hope he survives his procedure.

Well, if we talk about Gao, we have to talk about Fang Ziying or whatever his face was. Not much to say really. He was already a bad person at the beginning 💀. Breaking up with someone isn’t a crime, but pretending to be a victim is. He shouldn’t have pinned the blame on the girl. He also should have felt bad about her death. Fast forward, still a bad guy 3 yrs later. I don’t know where he gets the face to show up after being exposed before. I don’t think Li xun’s sister death is his fault because he only moved her hotels, not hire a truck driver to kill her (unless I missed something and that was intentional). Anyways, it was definitely wrong to trick the sister, but it’s not necessarily his fault she died.

Xu Lina. I don’t exactly like her, but I don’t hate her either. At the uni, I definitely did not like her. She lead on Gao, using him to get closer to Li Xun. Also went for him even after knowing he was with Zhu Yun. You don’t go after taken men. She still even went for him after he got out of prison. Like girl, he barely even spoke to you, what do you even like about him?? She was tolerable when she stayed with Gao and gave him oranges. That was really sweet, and it shows that she cares even a little.

Know, onto the characters I liked. Ren di and fang shumiao. AMAZING. Great friends and couldn’t ask for better ones. XIUZHU GE THIS MAN. Actually perfect. He can cook. He can clean. He’s kind, funny, patient, AND successful. Literally glowing green flag. Like, I’ll take him, hello?! Also, shoutout to the office workers because they were such goofballs and great people.

Saved the best for last. ZHU YUN MY LOVELY. She was definitely my favorite character in this entire drama. Intelligent, funny, caring, pure, loyal, AND AN ABSOLUTE BADASS. I don’t think I’m gonna find another FL like her. She is the most loyal character IN EXISTENCE. Like bro, I woulda left Li Xun to rot in his emo attitude. Ms girl really sticks to her words. She’s so strong TT. Also, GORGEOUS. I cannot stop looking at her. She steals the scene everytime, and the actress is so beautiful. I definitely feel like she has a staring contest with Li Xun every episode, but I can practically feel them using telepathy. She’s so pretty ><. This is true unconditional love. Literally won’t find that in the real world 💀, or maybe I’m just a pessimist.

Conclusion
Every single one of the cast members did such a wonderful job. I CANT think of a better casting. Their chemistry is definitely enough to cause a reaction. Overall, this show is very addicting and well-written. It takes its time and their love endures <333

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Who doesn't love a bad boy/good girl romance? With all the thrills and problems it implies . . .

*Discussion of Red Flags at the end*

This modern romance has the life/death feel of a historical drama set in the present day. Li Xun is your black sheep general or heir, highly strategic, intelligent, competent and cold as ice. Zhu Yun is your earnest and bubbly sheltered daughter of a palace adviser who has a hidden righteous fury. Li Xun could conquer the world in one step, if not for his weaknesses which are the family and friends around him especially Zhu Yun. Their journey to happiness takes years of twists and turns, revenge plots and separations.

The beginning creates a lot of suspense by jumping back and forward in time. The end is touching and perfect acknowledging the years that have passed. In the perfect last flip of perspective, Li Xun never says it, but we get to see that Zhu Yun was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Chen Fei Yu as Li Xun excels at a smirky teenage cool. Zhang Jing Yi as Zhu Yun excels at a straight-forward eagerness and stubbornness. They have excellent chemistry together, but limited range. Even as the years pass, you do not get a sense of any time passing for their characters. There's no large moments of self-doubt, no hidden flaws or temperaments that only come out later on. What you see is what you get. Zhao Zhi Wei as Gao does a much better of job of changing into a more bitter, muddle headed adult.

Music is fine, and I wouldn't really rewatch.

I grade on other criteria:

Complex Themes: 9.0
Men who have chips on their shoulder, jealous, unscrupulous and thirsty to succeed can indeed be bad partners. But, these men can come from any economic class. It's wrong to assume that ambitious men who grow up in poorer circumstances will have bad values compared to those from other wealthier backgrounds. Upfront, straight-forward, reliable people of whatever background are worth a dozen schemers.

Complex Characters/Character Growth: 5.5
Gao changes a lot and it’s a very believable change, that he was unable to accept his own limitations, and had unhealthy level of grudges and aggression that grew with time. Li Xun and Zhu Yun stay very consistent throughout.

Complex Women/Complex Relationships Between Women: 7.5
Zhu Yun and her mother have a very complicated and contentious relationship. With her mother unable to see her potential, and so sure that her daughter is the same as her. So, some points there. Otherwise, there are women friendships and characters but they are drawn a bit thin.

Production Value/Cinematography: 5.0
This is filmed very straight on with not too much creativity to clothes or sets let alone camera angles. There’s a camera choice for the very end where it switches to Li Xun that is powerful, but otherwise this category did not stand out to me at all.


*RED FLAGS*
Both Li Xun and Gao display numerous red flags including: smirking in the face of distress, not showing vulnerability, taking away people’s choices, defensiveness, feeling like you are ‘above the rules’ or ‘above the law,’ a lack of friend/familial relationships, uncomfortable feelings, dreams outsized to current reality, quick to sacrifice other people’s feelings to meet your goals etc.

The highly problematic myth of the bad boy/good girl romance is that the love of a good woman can ‘tame’ or soften a bad boy and these traits, and that myth is highly on display here.

What’s worse is that Zhu Yun shows all the signs of someone in the thrall of limerence/obsession running after Li Xun and getting crumbs for 95% of the show. She declares at the end that she knows he will soften/ripen like a peach, but we the viewers see little indication that that’s the case.

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Great Script, Great Casting and tension-filled

This show was so emotionally draining, but in a somewhat, good way? I’m not a fan of high-angst or hate-to-love troupe or the girl chasing the guy storylines and despite Lighter and Princess having all of those, I was pretty much hooked and addicted from the very first episode.

The best part of the drama was casting and script. I hadn’t seen Chen Fei Yu since Ever Night and even then he was a baby doing his best to become the best Martial Artist. I have to say, he did very well in Lighter and Princess as the tortured, cold and stoic chip-on-his-shoulder ML.

Zhang Jing Yi was excellent in Fall in Love and so it didn’t surprise me how well she did in this drama and the chemistry between her and Chen Fei was the BEST part of the drama. The tension between the two was so addicting to watch. I also love that they are close in age. Even though, both are babies in their early twenties, they played the older-parts very well.

I didn’t like that the drama started out in the future. You get the sense something bad happened and then it rewinds and you start the drama from the beginning. After watching that, it like, I was waiting for the ball to drop during the entire series. I guess you could say that amplified the angst for me.

I did enjoy the parts of the kids in college the best. The rag-tag team of kids they casted was pretty adorable and the side storylines were enjoyable. There was the singer, the nerd and the flirt. I liked that the drama was about computer programing, so it was fun for husband to watch with me and explain some of the technical parts of the drama.

There’s a lot of push and pull between the main leads. This is a ROMANCE drama, but not an easy one to watch. The FL truly chases the ML through-out the drama which at some parts could be trying at times, since he’s not the best person. The ML isn’t the hero of the show, as much as we should love him. I do love how strong they wrote his character, but he is written with lots of flaws. But you take the bad with the good and eventually he redeems himself.

Overall, it was a beautiful drama to watch, very fresh and new. I loved the casting and the chemistry between the leads. It’s a tension filled angst fest with lots choices to be made and lots of love to be tested.

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You will never regret watching this

probably the best drama I have seen and in 2022
saw this trailer from my YouTube recommendations and spark my attention. waited for 2 months for it to come out as expected it didn't disappoint me. This story plot is so interesting and gives off the fresh youth vibe. The acting was so on point that I fell for both the male and female leads not to mention the villians also did very great. The set up to gao jian hong arc is very understandable and realistic. The music choice for this song is SO SO NICE and the fact that the side cast sang it makes it even better. I love the casting for this drama , Chen feiyu did a amazing job potraying li xun and so is Zhang jingyi I can literally see zhuyun in her. I have finish watching this drama almost about 2 weeks ago 😭 still not over it. I am planning to rewatch it again soon. BUT THIS IS SUPER RECOMMENDED

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A Love All Women Want

Lighter and Princess is hands down the best c-drama I have ever seen. The story was exceptionally good. It portrays how we all make mistakes in life but you have to have the grit & determination to jump back up and go after what you want. The love between the main couple is so heartwarming. The FL was steadfast and loyal to her man from the beginning to end. The acting and the chemistry between the leads phenomenal. You can feel the love between them just by the way they look at each other. The music was also very good. I usually don't enjoy Chinese music but the songs in this show are very catchy and it's hard to get them out of your head. I can rewatch this over and over, it is just that good. I would recommend this show to all out there.

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