As Beautiful as You

Seven and XK: Best CP pairing in years who produced 1 of the most beautiful C Modern dramas EVER.

I dont even know where to start with this review. Brace yourselves, it is going to be a long one. First of all , I am big fan of Seven and XK individually as actors so them acting in this drama was kind of a dream come true as a fan. It is like seeing your faves finally collaborate on a project. When this project was announced, I was so excited and I knew that ABAY would be very good because they are both very good actors and great people but I have been honestly blown away on how their chemistry was so beautiful on and off screen; they exceeded my expectations by miles.
The GOOD: SO much
1stThe chemistry; Omg they just oozed chemistry every time they shared a scene together and it was so palpable. It didnt even have to be a romantic scene but you could sense their amazing chemistry.
We got so many scenes between the leads and so many romantic moments; this was such a pleasant surprise because I have seen many C modern dramas failing to deliver on that promise.
Han ting outfits looked amazing. The drama just screamed money lol; like watching it, I could tell that a lot of money had been spent on it. I love seeing a very good drama with great budget.
The business aspect of it. Color me shocked that for once I was actually interested in the business side of a modern C drama. I actually loved it and learned quite a bit. I actually looked forward to these scenes as well.
I also did not mind the secondary characters and actually loved their storylines; another 1st for me bc I have watched many modern C dramas where they either spoiled the story at 1 point or they didnt add anything to the story.
Seven's acting. She is already an outstanding actress but she excelled here . I love her acting so much; it is so natural. She is also very good in emotional scenes. The break up scene is 1 of her finest moments as an actress. 1 of the best break up scenes I have ever seen and I really need her to be awarded for that scene in particular.
Xu kai's acting. I have watched a few of his dramas and imo this is his best acting yet; one that shows his best acting potential since story of yanxi palace and Arsenal military. Ive recognized his acting prowess early on but I feel a few dramas he had been in previously didnt showcase that properly. I was so impressed with his acting in ABAY. It is like he was possessed by the spirit of Han Ting.
Cinematography, directing, even the script.
The not so Good:
I dont have anything bad to say about this drama. I loved it so much. I cant count the amount of times I have re-watched it already. I also cant remember the last time I have rewatched a drama this much, that's how much I love this drama.
If I can be nitpicky, Seven's styling was a bit of a hit and miss; She is my fave and she is so beautiful but I wished the styling team was a bit better....like I said some episodes the styling was so amazing and others it was just ok. I really loved the whole styling of her wedding day; honestly 1 of the best styling Ive seen in a C modern dramas.
Also I feel like the show spent a lot time showing how Han ting was affected by the break up (which XK portrayed so beautifully; I kept tearing up at these scenes lol; I really felt his pain) and didnt do that a lot with Ji xing although she was heartbroken as well. This kinds of influenced a lot of people imo to feel more sorry for him even though they were both at fault imo.

Please watch it and you wont be disappointed. Finding a good modern C drama is like finding a needle in a haystack imo. So many of them out there but not many good ones IMO. I dont know when we are going to get such a great pairing (with the best chemistry) and good drama in general. Dont get me wrong, this type of plot is kind of common in dramas but what makes ABAY special imo is Seven and XK chemistry and a good story.
I want them to collaborate again in the future but with Seven not repeating partners, who knows?
Anyways. if you want a good mature romance, lots of chemistry and so many scenes between the leads, a great secondary cast with great storylines that didnt deter from the drama, great cinematography, directing, beautiful ending....watch ABAY :).

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Best show ever

So, let’s set the bar low. This, dear readers, was my favorite show ever. But I mean EVER, not just in the c-drama world! This is how much I loved this show, so you can guess how much I’ll be gushing about the drama in this entire review (sorry in advance).

I’ve seen some comments about how the start up business plot was a bit forced… well, I have no idea how a company start up should looks like so, for me ignorance was a bless! Some said the plot was boring. yah… it has a lot of technical details (but it is, after all, a drama about a medical IA business). However, I love when they stuff shows with technical problems and tell us all about how they overcome them, instead of stuffing the shows with bunch of misunderstandings and fights, so for me, this was a perfect roller coaster of emotions plot.

Talking about my opinion alone, let’s begin with the actors. I have to say that I have a crush for Tan Songyun. She has this natural, strong way of acting that makes me forget that I am watching a show, then Xu Kai, was the perfect ML, with a not so talkative character, he doesn’t need to say a bunch of things for us to understand what’s in his mind. The chemistry between the ML is absolutely astonishing, the relationship they carry is beautiful, strong, clear, undramatic, with no huge misunderstandings happening, at least, it is the type of love that would really love to have!!!

Also, I absolutely love the fact that this 40 episodes show, doesn’t have a single boring episode, yes, perhaps if it had less 10 episodes there would be less not-so-interesting things happening in between, but still… it managed to put me, at the end of every single episode, in a completely Aweee mood. Mission accomplished, I would say.

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An engaging watch & life lessons

I didn't expect to be so drawn into this drama. It gradually captivated me, thanks in part to the chemistry between the two leads and the engaging side stories of the FL's friends.

Having abandoned Only for Love due to its superficial, childish storyline, As Beautiful As You is a much more sophisticated exploration of the business world and romantic relationships. The ML's deep, insightful thoughts offer valuable life lessons as he learns to open his guarded heart to love. It's not that he was incapable of love, but rather that his approach was more business-oriented and practical than the FL's. The drama effectively portrays the challenges of startups and the journey of two individuals discovering love.

The author's storytelling is well-crafted, although I must admit that some of the director's choices, such as unnecessary highway and building shots and questionable editing transitions, were distracting. Nonetheless, this is a drama definitely worth watching

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At first I was hesistant to watch this or not. The novel really leave deep impression of the character Han Ting and Ji Xing as well as their romance (It's super hot!) but honestly its not a story I want to read again. I guess it just subjective value where I feel uncomfortable when my MCs have intimacy with others before they finally end up together. So at first I finally watched the drama just for the tempting collaboration between two high class actors ; Xu Kai and Tan SongYun. And how I dont regret the decision ; This drama just straight up become my top favorite cdrama ever! Here was the reasons:
**The Script** : As I said before, the novel though really good but leave bittersweet taste, especially in the beginning of the story. So I really appreciated how the drama leave the TMI scenes out of the picture, and change Han Ting's character to be not-so-casual-guy.. Though I'm not sure if his emotional basis toward Ji Xing so early on is necessary, but it indeed cute I guess. So when my worry is gone, I can really enjoy their story! I adore their Mentor-Disciple trope and how their different perspective lead to the misunderstanding is actually natural. The drama even took out many Han Ting's ruthlessness, like when he cornered Ji Xing in the corridor, his word in the novel really too sharp and strip Ji Xing bare, really humiliating. And the emotional basis really way more shaky in the novel, where even as a reader I'm not so sure of Han Ting's true feeling, because the social judgement and his past, so its perfectly normal how Ji Xing doubt their love. So for me the conflict is not too dramatic, even their break up is like necessity. If Ji Xing not so angry, or Han Ting not so resolute, then it will be inconsistent with their character so far. But it become character growth for both of them, where they found out what is lacking to hold out a relationship : good communication.
And love how Li Li's story is unfolded, she really deserved better! So the drama really tried their best to fit the story to be more green flag I guess..

**The acting and chemistry** : Just can't believe how good it is 😭 This is my favorite screen ship from XK and TSY! Maybe its because their character setting as well, Han Ting and Ji Xing indeed full of edge and sexual tension! The scenes where they argued really make you emotional, their eyes and whole bodies just speak! My only regret maybe just that their first time scenes is blurred, actually there was dialogue preview which is so hot from the novel, I hope its included. And their second time where they argued and Ji Xing act unreasonably and then Han Ting just... The whole casts is really good as well.. I love the girl friendship and the guy friendship in this drama! Esp Queen Li Li so beautiful!! The casting is so perfect!

Not so satisfactory thing:

**The hairstyle and wardrobe** : I mean TSY's short hair is cute, but sometime paired with dark and not-fit-the-occasion clothes and somber make up, if only TSY is not so babyfaced with lively eyes, then it will just make Ji Xing's character inconsistent, look too mature and unnatural.

**The OST** : The english ost really awkward to listen, sometime it feel like spoiled the moment.


But overall, this drama really just so good! I rewatched this for several times already. 2024 like opposite of 2023, so many good dramas come out. But still As Beautiful As You remind me of my fav drama from 2022, The Love You Give Me. Its beautiful story with super chemistry of it casts, adapted from novel but the screen writer able to make the drama way more lovable story. The actors execution of their charàcter just perfect. You enjoy every twist and have the perfect happy ending. Except if a better drama pop out next, I think so far ABAY safely the best drama of 2024 🎉

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Not necessarily for me

This show is okay. Nothing new. If you are fans of the leads then I’d recommend a watch.

The Good

Decent acting. Lots of romance. If not for Tan Songyun, I probably would have dropped this drama but I’m a fan of most of her work. She can really carry a show. Not a huge fan of Xu Kai outside of Variety Shows but his acting is getting better per project he does. He did well in this one. The costumes were much better than the average modern CDrama. The OST was nice. That is where it stops.

The Bad

Typical drama. I can name at least 10 other dramas with this same plot. Rich CEO guy saves the girl, they break up due to a misunderstanding and get back together again. Where this one falls short is in the character development of the two main leads. It was of course very imbalanced with your ML being perfect and FL being flawed. I don’t know if that was intended but doesn’t make for a very interesting story as the characters become two dimensional and flat. I felt no connection to them and found myself skipping through scenes at the end. Side characters were also cliche and not very interesting since their character arcs were also very typical and predictable. The bad people became repetitive and kept trying to sabotage them. Also too many episodes. Should have been no more than 24. I’ll end the review here. I wouldn’t rewatch.

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I love the drama.

"As Beautiful As You" was one of my most anticipated dramas. I waited for about two years for its release, and now that it's finished, I must say it was worth the wait. I particularly liked the character of Xu Kai, who played Han Ting. Han Ting's love for Ji Xing was portrayed with such purity and sincerity that it often made me fall in love with the character all over again. Even after their breakup, he handled every situation flawlessly. Although he was heartbroken, he never let his personal feelings interfere with his business decisions. He managed his personal and professional life exceptionally well. This is the first drama of Xu Kai's in this genre that I've liked, as I usually prefer his historical dramas. In historical dramas, his portrayal of characters has a unique charm that I find missing in his modern-day roles.Regarding the drama, I would highly recommend watching it. Li Li made the right decision by choosing Su Zhi Zhou. I liked their pairing, but unfortunately, their story only really began in the final episodes. I feel their story deserved more screen time to develop.

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Disappointing Script, Too Many Side Characters & Poor Character Development

Ep1-20 is extremely boring, except for scenes in Germany on Ep20. Leads have very little screen time together, too many unrealistic office scenes - lavish office, huge staff in an early startup. Styling of FL is terrible, all the ugly matronly suits & dresses like old ladies would wear. Too many side characters with developing relationships. Recommend start watching from ep20.

From ep20 to ep31, the lead's relationship moved too fast it felt empty. Still so much screen time were on the side characters, the leads emotional development were not there - those heart-to-heart and life-changing conversations that deepen the relationship were not there for the main leads, ironically the side couple Lillie had some good tough conversations. It's all just fluffy screen romance acting that lacked sexual tension and intensity from 2 intense characters. The chemistry was just too boring. Boom one night stand, Boom saying I love you. Boom moving in. Boom meeting parents. Boom one problem & breaking up moving out. Do they have a Time Machine that can skip ahead ??? Or is this a director's choice or bad screenwriting ??

Ep 30/31 & Ep32 preview - Just when I thought it's safe to keep watching to the end, ep30/31 is changing my mind. FL XJ, the usually logical, kind and thoughtful person would suddenly become so stupid - believing in her ex-boss's lies knowing she's the scheming villain, stealing HT's confidential business plans, secretly signing a deal with HT's competitor to retaliate (stupid move), quitting her “job” & ran away - what ???? She’s the soul of the company and ran away from her own business !

The whole thing makes no sense, and the over-acting screaming fight/break-up scene makes no sense. FL character has been a smart successful engineer, suddenly became a reckless emotional idiot, this character flip doesn't align with the first 20ep. HT is that hot sexy ruthless stone-cold business genius that makes him dangerous and exciting, and he flipped to become a lovesick puppy who compromised everything for XJ . Both characters lost their smarts and edge that would've made a great story.

Dropping this drama.....tired of being bored and the bad script / screenwriter. The great cast couldn't save the show.

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