Short but really great!
I will need a man as smitten with me as the male lead was with Shi Qi, please. Their romance was so sweet and occasionally funny, I really enjoyed this little gem. The story is simple, but exciting. The cinematography is beautiful, and the settings as well as the costumes don't disappoint either. This was just really great, I'm happy I watched this! I loved Cheng Lei in >My Journey to You<, and he was just as great here. His character was such a green flag, I loved it. Overall, I would watch again if I need something good and quick!Was this review helpful to you?
My ideal drama
What I liked:1. 18 episodes under 40 min a piece
2. Humor,romance, and plot twist.
3 To the point and not dragged out.
What I didn’t like
1. The ending was not as I hoped
Last thoughts
Would like to see more dramas like this short and to the point. This drama proves studios don’t need to create 40+ episode dramas to convey a good story. It would also be good if the episodes were less than 40 minutes too. You can watch a episode while prepping for school or work.
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This review may contain spoilers
Face swap and ridiculous heroic sacrifice tropes
18 episodes at about 10 minutes each and I was still annoyed. The FL was tricked and ended up having her face swapped with the main villain who was to be married to the general, but the main villain was in love with the Crown Prince who was an evil so an so. Then we began this ridiculous. Will she tell him the truth about her identity which seemed to go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Then came the big twist by the end that her sister was actually the one who was planning all of the FL’s misfortune because she wanted to secure the Crown Prince position for her lover. It really was quite annoying and I’m glad I ended up getting through it quite quickly with the fast forward button even though as I’ve already said there was only 18 episodes at about 10 minutes each..The other thing that bothered me with this kind of trope is that we’d already established that the FL was the villain before the face swap so it was really hard for me to root for her no matter how nice she was to all the servants, maids and guards at the general’s mansion.
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Often cited as the best mini ever and with reason, it's lightening in a bottle
My first mini drama. Before trying it I was very skeptical of these soapy chinese shorts, I saw them as cheap cash grabs with superficial plots, but after finishing Familiar Stranger (and some other recs like Maid's Revenge), not only was I completely hooked but I realized they are kinda genius : the format allows them to be cheaper to produce overall, but it doesn't mean they can't be gorgeous, sharp, and well played by talented but lesser known actors, giving them an edge. Also they are less affected by censorship, and can be more daring (read : smuttier) than longer shows. Familiar Stranger is one of the best. As is the case for many shorts the plot is very far-fetched (a painter in search of her long lost sister gets cursed and wakes up in the body of the fiancee of her one true love) but it works. It's wonderfully directed by talented Zeng Qing Jie, Ryan Cheng's hotness is next-level, him and Ke Ying's scenes have a memorable sensuality. It also has a very chaotic secondary couple that I found at times even more compelling than the leads, but their ending was frustrating. That's the only shadow in an otherwise perfect picture that I will revisit.Was this review helpful to you?
Twisty Face Swap
For a miniseries, this is really one of the good ones with little plotholes and superb acting. It doesnt look cheap either. It’s the first series of Ryan Cheng that i saw he finally kept his shirt on, but so far, he hasnt managed to get away from the general role. Guess he just has the face and physique of a formidable man of the battlefield, though on this one, the setting is mainly in his mansion instead of the battlefield. There’s only 10% action, and the rest is drama. Okay by me even though im an action fan, because the storyline is interesting and solid.Was this review helpful to you?
sensible plot
The plot, although a fantasy one, was solid enough.The characters didn't waste time with self-evident and totally obvious things. The idea was that the characters had a problem and they should solve it. The show didn't use 90% of the episodes on stupid misunderstandings, boring flashbacks and totally unrealistic twists. For a fantasy plot, it was sensible and also it had some good ideas and twists. It wasn't lazy writing, just too basic.
The acting was not life-changing, but it wasn't bad either.
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A generally fluffy watch, with a pair of surprisingly tragic villains
I really liked this take on the switched identities trope. It was overall sweet and fun.The main couple is refreshingly sweet and earnest with each other, without the painful misunderstandings that these kind of plots usually come with. I liked them a lo.
But shockingly the emotional impact actually comes from the villain couple. The both of them were deeply morally grey. Often cruel to each other and to others, but at the same time seemed to sincerely care about each other in the end. They even had one or two moments where they used their villainy to protect people they viewed as helpless. Combine that with their incredibly tragic ending and they ended up delivering a surprising gut punch.
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A must watch minidrama!
It hasn't been long since I started watching cdramas. Considering that, I also haven't watched that many minidramas, just a few. But even from that and the countless reviews I've seen on several other minidramas, I can say that there are very selective ones that are actually good.And I assure you, this is definitely one of them. Despite the limited frame of time, production and budget compared to long dramas, it fulfilled its job of engaging the viewer. I'm very impressed by the main cast (four characters). Even the side characters like the military advisor, the maid and the child were really good in their roles. This minidrama has the right blend of story, little bit of humour here and there, healthy & greenflag romance of leads and well developed characters within limited time. It also had good direction I must say. As a person with zero friends and social life who is obsessed with dramas, movies and takes them seriously, I don't watch just anything.
So yeah, this is a must watch minidrama!
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good short cdrama
I thought this was well done. It was a bit dark to start and I tend to stay away from dark stuff. But I am glad I gave it a try.Likes:
1. The story-line was good and kept you interested to know how things were going to turn out.
2. The writers and director did a good job and I hope they get more jobs. It was nice that it wasn’t a fluff piece like most of the shorter c-dramas.
3. The chemistry between the actors were good. The romance scenes were good and better then some that I have seen lately.
4. The ending was a definite surprise. There was a surprising twist.
5. I liked the contrast between the two couples in the love. It showed the difference between genuine love and obsessive love.
6. I liked the little daughter. her character was a nice addition to the story. I thought the little actress did a good job.
7. Solid acting- nothing outstanding but it was well done.
Dislikes:
1. Incomplete English subtitles but it was a good series so I just overlooked it and replayed some parts again to figure out what was going on.
2. Length of each episode-I would have liked the episodes to have been longer. Some of the story felt rushed because of the allotted time. The first episode was 11 minutes.
3. A little inconsistency in the story, In the description it says King Ning but in the story he is referred to as the prince. So that was a little confusing. I think he was the prince not the king. Other than that the story was good. This may be translation problem. But with the way this character was freely running around it was more believable he was the prince.
4. The ending was good but I felt like it could have been better.
I definitely recommend it. I will re watch it again. In fact I have re watched certain parts of it already.
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Best short I've seen
Wow.On the one hand, I like shorts because they're quick and there aren't any unnecessary plot lines. On the other hand, shorts tend to sacrifice quality and continuity.
Familiar Stranger is well written, well directed, and well executed. The plot makes sense, isn't rushed, quality is superb, and I love the music too!
Actors and actresses in shorts tend to stay in shorts, and I've seen the ML elsewhere (Queen of Attack 1 and 2). I think he's a first rate actor.
Anyway, this one's definitely worth watching!
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Suprisingly good for a short Drama
Typically these short dramas are low budget with no name actors. Acting could be cheesy or over the top but occasionally it's easy to watch on the side. So going into this drama I had zero expectations but did NOT see this coming.Great Story filled with mystery and twists definitely good enough to be a longer series.
Great acting by the cast especially the 4 main leads. Chemistry was on fire between the ML and FL. In addition there were some interesting supporting actors, notability Yuanbao the little girl and ML's military advisor. Both offered periodic humorous lines.
The cinematography feel reminded me a bit like Love like Galaxy, beautiful and magical.
Music was also really good.
Only flaws:
1. They left some lose ends w/ the ending
2. Interesting stories like this should continue.........................................
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Only 18 eps, at 16 minutes per episode! Very fast-paced and good romance!
As an 18-episode drama, this has incredibly fast pacing, and this is not meant in a bad way. The writer does not waste time at all, moving from one main plot point to another. The scenes move very smoothly with good transitions between scenes. The soundtrack is really nice and the editing team did a great job adding them to certain scenes.The storyline is more so focused on Shi Qi hiding her true identity rather than the political plotting to get the Crown Prince title. Romance-wise, there are plenty of cute/heart fluttering moments between Shi Qi and Xiao Han Sheng. I highly recommend trying if you're into the forced marriage and secret identity trope. Plus the I-met-you-before-but-you-don't-recognize-me trope? (if that is even one, lol). The mystery element of this drama would be finding out why Shi Qi got her face swapped. When the reason is revealed, I was a bit surprised, which is good cause plot twist! I do have to say I lowered my rating a bit because of the finale. I'm not sure how rational it was for such an ending.
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