Best modern drama of 2023
Absolutely loved this show. Every episode was engaging, fun and easy to watch. Came for Wu Lei, stayed for him and everyone else. If you are looking for a mature storyline whose characters have depth, look no further. Time and effort was spent on the lead and also supporting characters. The script writer made me care about the characters and i liked all of them immensely, despite all their little quirks and flaws. I was completely invested in all the side stories when usually they are just fillers but in this case i was invested in every story. Wu Lei nails it with his acting again, portraying a young athlete struggling with demons of his past while trying to forge a new career. Zhou Yutong is believable and likeable as the smart and streetwise but restrained career lady. There are no tropes in this drama: no lame 3rd party love triangle, no silly misunderstandings, no money grubbing gold digging women looking for a rich boyfriend. What i loved was also the friendship and sismance between Liang You An and her best friend Luo Nian. I am very fortunate to have friends like thag in my life too. I probably enjoy this show a lot more as im 40, so a lot of the dialogue rang true and resonated with me. My fave is when You An said:"There can never be 50/50 in a relationship, when 1 of you is down and out and can only give 1%, the other person who truly loves you will not mind giving the other 99%.Was this review helpful to you?
Inspiring story
You guys definitely check this out, both leading actors did an amazing jobs. Great story development with intelligent dialogue and mature characters, great visual and very very realistic and I must say simple things made the best of its.This drama was all about inspiration, motivation in individual life and career, more than just a love series!!!!
One thing was little bit off for me was supporting couple. Even though they were all cute and young and I don’t feel it. Other than that, everything was good, including the relationship between the coach and LLA’s best friend (Luo Nian)
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is not going to disappoint you , everyone's acting is good specially male lead and female lead acting is just superb...This drama have not many twist and turns...
It is easy going and a simple story ....
I am always impressed by wu lei's acting skills...
He needs to focus more in good script selection...
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This review may contain spoilers
Resilience breeds success
i thought it is quite unrealistic for a 20-ish year old badminton player to switch to play tennis and find success with the transition. technically it is difficult due to the different techniques and skills required to play the two sports. but... it is a show so manage some expectations.i find the social story here rather realistic with increasing numbers of older women-younger men couple. i liked that the show addressed the stigma around such relationships. despite being successful, women sometimes are too harsh on themselves. just like in the show, the female lead doesn't think she should date a younger man. i'm glad she eventually came around and decided to follow her heart.
i also enjoyed the male lead's story with his father. family are not always blood related, family go though hardships and happiness together, i liked that the show depicted just that.
i enjoyed every single episode of the show and will rewatch if time permits.
most of all, the OST was great! the closing song stuck for months.
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One overcame 18:18, one overcame age differences
LIKEThe two different sports badminton and tennis - how Song San Chuan managed both pretty well
DISLIKE
That scene where Song San Chuan did not understand Liang You An - he was not thinking from her perspective trying to resolve the team's issue
I teared at that scene and was quite upset - age gap really have a big difference in certain way of doing things in life
MUSIC - personal fav
反客为主 Fan Ke Wei Zhu - 刘宇宁 Liu Yu Ning
夜空 Ye Kong - 李紫婷 Li Zi Ting
狼狈 Lang Bei - 余佳运 Yu Jia Yun
闪耀 Shan Yao - 水果星球 Shui Guo Xing Qiu
REWATCH VALUE
Probably will re-watch some day
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Their development as a team and individuals.
This drama deserves 10/10 from me. It’s so refreshing to watch. I don’t find those cringey scenes that I sometimes get in another drama which is rare I guess. I started this at first because I miss seeing Wu Lei on my screen but I told myself if this turns out to be bad I would still drop it but I didn’t, because it was good. This drama sometimes made me laugh and sometimes made me cry. Most of all, the characters made me proud. Their growth as a team and individuals touched me like nothing else. Wu Lei’s character also motivates me to be a better version of myself. Like, he has been through a lot but he never gives up. If anything, he grits his teeth and get through it! I’ll be rewatching this whenever I need comfort, definitely.Was this review helpful to you?
From Great Sport To Great Love
The only reason I watched this drama is because of Leo Wu. I was looking forward to watch him in a non-historical costume drama and hoped to see him in a more current environment depicting a gentleman of his age. I am glad to say that Nothing But You role of Song San Chuan fitted him like a glove. His physique is also perfect in personifying a sportsman in his early 20's vying for a position in the professional sports arena, starting as a badminton player to a tennis pro.Starting a professional sports career from age 20 + is pretty late in the game by sports standards, but he fights his demons and clear old baggages, pushing along. And right by his side is Liang Young An, his promoter, manager and eventually his girlfriend, who is 10 years older than him. She is cautious at first, but as she strives in her career, he in turn, is also by her side. Their attraction is strong.
This couple of young San Chuan and devoted Young An is really compatible. Leo plays San Chuan the way he should act and behave for a 23 year old guy, wanting to love the woman the way a man should, by taking responsibilities, sharing problems and wanting to take care of her financially. Whilst Zhou Yu Tong's "Young An" is nurturing, stable and totally a dedicated woman to her man.
The casting of all the actors in this drama is also really good and everyone had a story to tell. This drama did not give me that anticipation to watch momentum, but I took away a really feel good vibe. There is so much positivity and warmth that I am still swooning from all that love and determination. Hmmm... that Leo Wu's boyish charm is totally mesmerizing...just saying.
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Another Great drama from Leo Wu
As usual, Leo Wu gave a very good performance, I think this is the first time he did a scene with a deep kiss like that. very impressive.I always give a perfect score to Leo Wu's acting, even if you've watched his other dramas. he can bring a new character without being affected by the image of his old character. very extraordinary.
The love story is also funny, how the age difference can still support each other, age does not guarantee maturity and seriousness. that's what I caught. Leo Wu's chemistry with his co-stars is also always good.
It's a light drama that doesn't require us to think or guess the next scene. but I think it's worth watching.
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A lot potential but fell flat.
This should not have been 40 episodes long. 20 episodes would have sufficed.I enjoy watching both the leads, but I’ve seen them have better chemistry with their on screen partners. So the romance part was a little disappointing for me and I could have totally enjoyed the show without it. Had the writers chosen to just focus on the „underdog - tennis aspect“.. we would have had a great show. So in this sence the the writers failed.
Also the side couples/ characters were so meh and their acting aswell.
However watching eye candy Leo be all athletic was worth it. Basically if you have nothing else or want something to play in the background.. you can watch this.
So overall it was meh 😕 and I confess that I skipped a lot of episodes because the story became boring and very repetitive.
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Cute drama about older woman and younger man. Wu Lei and Zhou Yu Tong are awesome in this drama
Nothing But You is a good romcom about an older woman (10 years gap) and a young tennis player starting, Wu Lei and Zhou Yu Tong.I loved Zhou Yu Tong and first watched her in Begin Again with Simon Gong, and I have followed her ever since. Although her recent dramas didn't do quite well, in my opinion, due to bad scripts (i.e., The Coolest World, Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence, where I ended up dropping them), She is a good actress.
I first watched Wu Lei in "The Long Ballad," and I did not think he was a good actor, and I did not like his acting ability in Love Like the Galaxy. Zhao Lusi is a better actress than Wu Lei in that drama. However, in this drama, he did a decent job playing a young guy who falls for an older woman.
His onscreen chemistry with Zhou Yu Tong is not bad, and the supporting cast is also good. I have watched about 24 episodes already and will finish it. I would recommend this drama because of the flow of the story, it is believable, and the acting is not bad for the entire ensemble.
I am giving it an 8.0 rating. I wish there were more intimate scenes between the main CP, and I am content with the ending.
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Realistic characters with muted chemistry
Overall, I enjoyed this drama thoroughly. Personally I don't like noona romances (I can never really "get" the chemistry in them and the vibes always feel kind of off to me) so I was planning to skip this one. However it seemed like all the drama reviewers had good things to say about this one and how it had very "normal" and non-icky vibes, plus I have a soft spot for Zhou Yutong in contemporary dramas since Remembrance of Things Past, so I decided to check this out.Like many people, the thing I loved most about this drama is how realistic the characters were. Liang Youan's character (played by ZYT) was so relatable, especially with her frustrations with her job. There is one line that she said which is so unbelievably on point: she worked so hard to ensure that her boss could never be without her, but she now admits that she was wrong, because if your boss can never be without you, then you will never graduate (i.e., get promoted). As a single, working woman who is almost 30, I can relate so much to her frustration with being stuck in the corporate hamster wheel, working an all-consuming job but going nowhere fast, while also sacrificing your personal life and youth in the process (but you're almost too busy to really care or do anything about it). Throw in a couple of failed relationships when you were younger resulting in you still being single while your friends are already having kids, and it is just the perfect storm which was so well-portrayed in LYA's character. One reason I never liked noona romances was because the older woman was always either some kind of "high-powered CEO" or she was in her 30's but still acting like the typical "sweet but dumb" young girl. Both tropes are so unrealistic and cringey to watch and I am so happy that this drama showed how an actual, normal 30+ year old woman would act like and respond in various situations.
For the record, I also liked Song Sanchuan's character and thought WL did a great job. He was sweet, had that youthful optimism and energy, but was also grounded and mature when it mattered. I think this really helped the noona romance feel more palatable to me. I almost feel the characterization of the ML matters even more than the FL in these dramas, because when the ML is super immature, I have such a hard time reconciling why any real life grown-ass adult woman would want to waste their time in such a relationship or even why they would be attracted to the ML. To be honest I'm not sure if it is realistic for a boy in their early 20's to be as mature as he was (in his first relationship too), but I guess I don't hang out with a lot of 20 year-olds so maybe I'm underestimating them hahaha.
For the romance - the best thing I could say was that it was fine. I may be biased because I have never been able to get behind a noona romance before, so I'm not terribly surprised this one didn't really work on me. I enjoyed their scenes together and thought they were pretty cute at times, but the chemistry was not there for me. However, I loved the main leads so much as individuals and was super invested in their own stories, and I didn't really come here expecting to "get" the romantic chemistry anyway, so it didn't affect my watch experience negatively.
I thought the story was generally very well-written and well-paced. It didn't suffer heavily from mid-series drag (probably because it felt like the problems came one after another after another, but were also resolved quickly and cleanly) although the pacing did slow down a little in the last few episodes which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I also didn't mind most of the side characters and though there were a couple arcs I wasn't super interested in (Liang Tao and Jiang Jiaojiao's relationship, Zhang Jie's family drama) it didn't get to the point of annoying me or making me want to fast forward either. Just wanted to throw a quick shoutout to the Coach and Liang Nian's relationship, which got very little screen time but they were absolutely hilarious and I wished we could've seen more of their development.
All in all, this was a good drama and well-worth watching. I especially recommend it if you think you could relate to either of the main characters, because I think the real strength of the drama lies in the very realistic, "normal" characterization of our main leads.
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So so Cdrama..lacks romantic feeling
Watched this show because of thr casts and the genre of age gap relationships. You can watch this to kill time but not totally being into it every episode. Same as others review here..its an okay drama prolly because of the casts and decent storyline. However the feel good vibe that would make you smile while watching isn't on here. There was a moment of bed scene which is awkward because they were not even in a relationship and the chasing of the ML was so dragging that its almost at the end when they became a couple. They should have skipped that bed scene part as it doesn't make sense and doesn't make the audience feel the sizzle. If anyone is reading this..better watch Zhou Yu Tong the female lead other drama "begin again" which is way better than this..and gives that feeling of good vibes and romance that would make you smile. Also recommend another sports romcom with the same age gap relationship from Gina Jin "Falling into you".Was this review helpful to you?
