A Short Drama and Well Written, Best I Have Scene In A Long Time.
A very good and well done short drama. It keeps you interested and easy to follow story. There are so many twist that surprises you. The lead female character plays both herself and the characters of the face that she has been given so good that you can see 2 different people. The male lead is also very good as he is trying to find out who his wife really is. They both maneuver through their life quietly and calm and gives us so many surprising twist. The villain's are bad but you can also see the good in them. A well written story and great direction. The actors performance is great and keep you going thru the story.Was this review helpful to you?
I don't remember you by your face but your heart
I would just start by saying this has become one of my favorite short dramas.This is one of those dramas which will keep you on your toes.
The chemistry between the actors was very very good and both the female leads portrayed their part to the best. The emotions that they showed on screen could be felt by me.
Both the male leads did and equally good job but somehow, I felt the prince's character was a bit more challenging considering the variety of emotions he had to show and how obsessed he had to be portrayed, and even after all these situations the actor did a great job in playing the character.
The story was something new to me as I haven't encountered one like this.
The casting was really good and I couldn't personally find any flaws in the actors portrayal of their characters.
Pacing of dramas is one of the thing that makes me either like or hate the drama because as a viewer when you watch a drama and you find it leading to nowhere in quite many episodes it becomes boring. This drama definitely did not make me want to skip any scenes or drop it.
I really loved the OST in this drama. If you are someone who loves to read the meaning of the OST in the translations then this one will definitely check that box. The lyrics are so beautiful that it made want to write it down and treasure them.
All actors including the supporting cast were exceptionally good. Even the supporting characters had such a beautiful impact on the drama.
The story starts really well with a good mystery factor in the plot. The plot advances with a good pacing and the mystery factor remained in the drama till the end. One after the other some or the other problems did arise in the show which made the drama interesting considering the plot. The chemistry of the actors was what made the drama even more watchable. The drama had great physical intimacy as well as well as ample amount of heart touching emotional scenes and great visual chemistry.
What stole the show for me was the character of Yuan Bao. She had such great importance in bringing the leads together. Her character even though being so young was very smart and that made the character even more cuter because no one expects a small kid to be so smart. Her interactions with all characters on the show were so heart touching and when there were scenes of the leads with Yuan Bao it felt like a dream family.
What makes dramas special is their ability to make you want the story to be real and this drama definitely did it.
For me this was a great watch and I would definitely recommend it those who like romance dramas with a mystery factor and those like dramas where there is portrayal of a happy family.
P.S. Feel free to tag me or message me if you want spoilers as I tend to avoid giving spoilers in my reviews.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Story didn't intriguing me
The story is about a face swap, but then how did she have a mole below her right eye? Anyways.I didn't find anything interesting in the story. However, I liked the chemistry between the leads.
I also liked the acting. Otherwise, the story was quite common. There is a few romantic scenes which balanced the story.
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This review may contain spoilers
"A Familiar Stranger" is a face swapping drama. Shen Qin had an arranged marriage with Han Sheng, but since she had no interest in marrying him, she set a trap for Shi Qi, a young artist who is invited by Shen Qin to paint a picture in exchange for information about her sister. What Shi Qi did not expect was that Shen Qin would perform a magic trick to swap their faces and thus escape the unwanted marriage.It's a light and easy to watch drama. It was the first time I watched such a short cdrama, with 12-minute episodes. The story develops more quickly, especially the romance, and that was great, because we basically see them as a couple throughout the drama, but the rest of the story was left aside because of that.
The focus was really on Shi Qi and Han Sheng, on their relationship and on Han Sheng discovering the truth about his real wife, but everything about Shen Qin and Zi Heng was left in the background, as well as the whole situation of the prince's death. I think they could have added a few more episodes and that would have resolved everything.
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A Chain of Face Swaps
While looking for her sister, Shi Qi woke up to find her face swapped with Shen Qin using a dark magic and blackmailed by Shen Qin to take her place in marrying the powerful general, Xiao Han Seng.Despite the peculiar plot of face swaps, there is an ample amount of suspense, romance, humor, and mystery to keep you hooked. The story was well-written and well-paced with a mind-boggling yet comedic plot twist in the end. Compared to other short web series, this one definitely stood out! The chemistry between the leads were also full of passion. Cheng Lei and Ke Ying delivered indeed. Cheng Lei stole the spotlight for me with his micro-expressions. I do wish they did Cheng Lei's hairstyle and makeup differently though.
A Familiar Stranger definitely made it to the top of my list in terms of short web dramas. This drama is the type of drama that you would start with no expectations but leave you hooked and engaged. A surprising find indeed!
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Awesome Story!
Story :its well written, kudos to the writer's
Acting :
shi qi, shen qin, general all roles were played well by the repective actors.
A special mention to Prince Ning (Wang ze xuan) acting, i had seen him in the drama "Hard to Find" his acting there was good,
here in this drama he played a different character, its good to see him in various roles.
Loved the last twist (who is the real who).
- > Mini drama which is worth the watch.
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A perfect small binge watch
Just finished this, a perfect binge watch. Absolutely loved Ryan Cheng. Came here after watching Shadow love and Legend of general and was absolutely not disappointed.A must watch while you wait for more Ryan cheng dramas, this is definitely his year so far. The story is good but that is not really the main reason you ll be watching this. The romantic scenes are steamy. The length justifies the story, anything more would have been a drag. Enjoy this small mini series.
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Hidden gem of actors
I respect what the actors were able to accomplish with this mini drama. This was my first time seeing the ML and both female lead actors and they did such an incredible job. I'm looking forward to more from them in the future.The plot was interesting but I didnt like how gullible FL (Shi Qi) was to the 'villain' FL (Shen Qi). I understand she couldn't help wanting to believe the villain for the sake of finding her sister but I kept wishing she'd be smart and know not to trust her. So even though it was a mini drama, it felt like the drama dragged too much for me sometimes.
Overall, I enjoyed the drama. It was so funny, and had a sweet romance with an interesting plot!
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Gorgeous mini drama
8 episodes x 20 min on Viki. Gorgeous costumes, excellent acting, riveting plot (with major plot twist), beautiful OST and vivid cinematography to grab your heart strings, and really interesting characters. Tightly edited, with just the right sumptuous scenes to flesh out the characters and their relationships, the drama kept me watching to the end. No fast forwarding.The plot is basically Face Off (the movie starring Nicholas Cage) in ancient China, between two women.
After watching Butterflied Lovers (22 episodes x 20 min (I think) also on Viki), another drama by the same Director, I'm now a huge fan of his works. (I'd also like to watch The Killer Is Romantic, as the main couple cameo'd in Butterflied Lovers.)
Highly recommended, as is Butterflied Lovers.
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This review may contain spoilers
My first mini drama
Story was quite simple but unexpected satisfying. Never had patience with short dramas before because most of the time, the story would end too soon for me to love/know the characters.The flaw(s) of the show, too many plot holes left wide open. Like where did the mystic face swapping power came from. Or what really happened with the crown prince. Or what happen to the FL's sister, why did she turn crazy bad.
The ML (the general) is like the unrealistic prince charming from fairytales. He's just the good general, respected and loved by many. But the story didn't include much about him so that's all.
Actors were ok. OST too.
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Shortly said good story, but lacked impact to truly shine
A Familiar Stranger 8/10 - short cdramahistorical cdrama 18eps - 10min per ep
this drama is good and bad in way. I got no problem with actors romance scenes are nice too.. sadly plot even though it got intriguing concept it wasnt well delivered and ending was on bland side too.
plot - FL is painter which paints erotica in hope finding her long lost sister which was sold into pleasure palace. She is abducted by prime minister daughter which thanks magician swaps their faces and makes her to get married to general[ML] in her stead.
genre -romance, historical
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Chinese Webdrama with Amazing Acting
For those looking for something small, Cdrama-fantasy-like and quick paced. This is a fun watch with great chemistry and decent production for just 18 (8 on Viki) episodes.This is the first time I've ever really watched a chinese webdrama, but wow did I just enjoy every bit of this. The pacing was quite nice, storyline intriguing (with its teensy plotholes), and the chemistry was adorable. The production is also surprisingly good. I came in with no expectations and loved it.
A 9/10 from me ^^
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