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Entertaining but with a strong message…

I really enjoyed this drama and think that it got better the more episodes I watched. At first I was skeptical and it almost lost me early on but I’m glad I stuck it out because it turned out to be a good drama and one I’d recommend.

What I liked:

The plot was really strong. The idea of the filter and different personas was an interesting, unique concept in CDrama land. The story was executed well with an overarching theme of self acceptance. The acting was also a highlight of this drama. It was very strong from the entire cast with many versatile actors both showing their funny and serious sides. I also really loved the camaraderie between Su ChengCheng, her sister and best friend and Tang Qi and his best friend. Such strong relationships and I’m glad this drama highlighted that. We see so many dramas with awful friends and family. Loved that this one showed us a different side. The last point I’ll make is the comedy. It was natural and very funny.

What I didn’t like:

As mentioned, this drama almost lost me some at the beginning because they dragged on the personas longer than I’d liked but as I kept watching, I realized the necessity of it. I’d still say, they could have wrapped it up just a bit sooner. I also wish they kept some things a little more logical but maybe that was the point. For example, so many times Su ChengCheng wouldn’t just silence her phone, turn it off or block the individual she wanted to avoid. Not sure if this was to show us more about her personality or if these were plot devices to get her caught. Several other instances like this happened. The last thing would be the romance between Su ChengCheng and Tang Qi, although, I did enjoy their relationship at the end, part of me wishes they would have left that bit out because after all they went through, logically it’s hard for me to understand how they can like each other.

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can't express how delightful ot felt to watch the drama

the story slowly built up and got really intense to the point that i couldn't help but feeling the mention and too pumped to stay still.

the comedy side of the story was innovative, like those chaotic scenes was totally a mess and made me flash back and rewatch it several times and still take it as funny as the first time was .

More over ,the most adoring side for me was the psychological part which challenged the impact of beauty standards ... I'm proud of FL, even though she have been compared and treated as if she wasn't beautiful enough or the stares made her doubt her beauty , she was still able to distinguished what beauty really is and saved her confidence.
the point that ML love her no matter in what shape , gender or age is it , portraited the true love and it's independence of appearance.

I've to mention that the second couple also hit different...their first meeting, their story and how safe was the relationship >

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Ever wished you were an Alpaca?

🎶 我是一只羊驼 (Wǒ shì yì zhī yángtuó)
I really like so many elements of this drama. The story was unique there were many cliffhanger moments to keep me engaged. The comedy was very good. The main storyline and the sub plots were also very good. I felt the drama could have ended at episode 30 because the last two episodes seemed a bit unnecessary however those final two episodes are probably the best wrap up I have seen for a story where I invested a lot of time and emotion. They really bring it home with the final scene. The ending leaves you happy with tears of joy. A beautiful story … I am still laughing at the scene 🎬 on the water … watch and you will LOL 😂 too.

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Girl's Best friend from Heaven, Boy's best friend is questionable... but good for a one-time watch.

This isn't spoiler heavy, BTW. The spoilers are quite mild.

So, overall, I don't particularly follow careers of actors or care about my faves that much, beyond talent. I do admit I tend to favor if the story was good, but leave me out of the whole, s/he was hot so this drama was good. I also tend not to pay attention to if reviewers liked it or not.

This is roughly in order from good to worst.
Good:
• The best friend, Lin Yuan, the acting the writing on the character clicked in almost lock step to the point I was 100% convinced that character was real and out there in real life.
For me, Lin Yuan eclipsed some of the other characters because it was a deeply complex, yet compelling character.
• The directing was very good. You could tell the director kept a firm, yet forgiving leash on the actors playing ChengCheng to make sure they visually matched, not just in small actions that were supposed to tip off the character, but small things like directing the actors to walk like Chengcheng and change their smaller movements. I had to remind myself that I was watching acting several times because it was that convincing. There was very little difference between the Chengchengs. Quan Sheng Tang even was convincing and not "over-the top" but more rooted in the character than the gender portrayed which was perfect. I liked several of the carefully thought out shots. Chen Yue Jin really did an excellent job. This type of directing is difficult to perform on shared-body.
• The theming Especially in the beginning, the theming of appearances was really well done. I don't think it outstripped The Beauty Inside (movie and drama, Korean, BTW), but it did manage to look at several angles of the theme throughout the run that was very funny and entertaining. The theme of acceptance and self-acceptance really rang true.
•The Meta ReferencesI cracked up when they made meta references to various dramas and made it as outlandish as possible.
• The character arcs I thought Tang Qi's character arc was a bit weaker, but it's a lot stronger than some I've seen. His sudden conversion I thought was a bit on the weaker side. I thought they could have explored some of the flashbacks a bit more before he got together with ChengCheng, so I disagree on the timing a bit on that. However, Cheng Cheng's character arc was one of the strongest I've seen from Chinese TV.

Bad:
• Gu Yu The nature bits were fine, and making him also physically weak was fine. I don't even mind the play boy attitude. It just didn't gel for me. I don't know what it exactly was. The acting, the writing on the character, or the fact he was persistent without really asking or checking on boundaries. I don't know why he felt flat.
• I was iffy about the third ranked romance. The third boss and the sister... was a meh.
• I wasn't very thrilled with the execution of the pregnancy plot. I felt like it was crammed in to make a happy ending rather than given correct screen time to explore it and the themes within it. The conversion was too fast, and the whole 6 weeks and that's a real heartbeat really seemed ham fisted. We passed a whole 6 weeks in the span of one episode?
• The ending was too drawn out I get that particularly white European viewers are demanding a longer ending, but it started to feel more like filler rather than an exploration of how to tie the themes together. For me, I dislike when the ending is drawn out too much. I know that the majority of fans will hate on this part of the review, but I debated putting this down in the Worst Category a few times.
• Music cues I thought was OK, but like didn't send me over the top. The Alpaca song, though, is a jam.
• Murky Messaging on make up I was a bit murky on the typing theme with make up towards the end. I thought they could have tied that bit a bit better so it didn't sound like they were paying service to their sponsors...


Worst
• The stalking made romantic? It wasn't as bad as some other dramas (US, UK, AUS, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese), I mean Tang Qi was punished for being overly aggressive story-wise, but I still felt iffy about it. The fact no one sat him down and told him that it was wrong, and even if he did reflect it was wrong at a later date, it was iffy for me. This might also be why I hated Gu Yu. Gu Yu egged his friend on, rather than telling him to ask about boundaries. And Gu Yu didn't learn boundaries by the end.
•No baby? The supposed baby disappeared under baggy clothing. But really, how long does it take to plan a wedding? I suppose getting a kid special-made for it was outside of budget, but I'd have taken a fake-wrapped doll too. (You won't understand this until you watch the show).


Nitpick
• The housing of the animals was questionably shown in the drama. Turtles were housed improperly. TT They need a sunlamp so their shell doesn't grow soft . The alpaca, wasn't housed properly either. I get it, smaller cage means you can see the animal.

Pure speculation
Yeah, a bit of fan canon, but I kinda thought Tang Qi by the end looked very Grey-a if not demi. He's definitely in Grey-a. His romantic and sexual attraction are tuned to characteristics of personality and bond, not to aesthetics. He also kinda seems to lack aesthetic attraction. If they had made him slowly notice how like these other characters were to Chengcheng and highlighted how he misunderstood her earlier, it would be a cinch to be sure.

Summary
So I would say give it a watch... but it's not a drama I think I would think back fondly on and want to replay for certain scenes (at least for me). For stronger theming that's more touching than funny, The Beauty Inside (Korean), especially the movie. If you really hated the fact that the stalkers were rewarded in this drama, then Love and Redemption is the drama for you. If you're like Asexuality? WTH, and want a drama, Koisenu Futari (Japanese drama) will help in that direction.

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funny and refreshing

i've laughed out loud MULTIPLE times while watching this show.
the plot was original, interesting and engaging.
the acting was great.
the way tang qi was potrayed as an idiot genius that had su chengcheng coming to his rescue time and time again, made me giggle so many times.
the second couple was also VERY likeable, i really enjoyed watching their scenes.
i would recommend this show to anybody looking for a modern romcom
****
PS:SERIOUSLY WHAT WAS THAT WEDDING ATTIRE????? LIKE WHY THE FFFFFF ARE YOU WEARING A CARDIGAN TO YOUR BEST FRIENDS WEDDING GIRL WHATS GOING ON ?????

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A perfect combination of laugh and tear

The first and second episode feels too slow, but that is important to build the set. Then, you will be captivated by this drama. Most of the drama usually build the foundation of the story based on imagination, mystic, etc. Yet, this drama focuses more on science which makes it more interesting.

Most of the characters of the drama are adorable. I really like how they portrayed Landy Li's ugly character with pimples and darkspot, which is the ordinary women's problems than make her ugly with 'nerd' make up that feels too much. Although I must say that she is not ugly at all. She is the cutest.

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I almost dropped it but I'm so glad I didn't!

The concept was new and interesting but to be honest I found it really hard to watch especially the first few episodes. I just can't grasp the idea of the filter that changes the appearance of Su Cheng Cheng that lead to deception. I just got very curious as to how the story will progress eventually that's why I kept on watching it whenever I don't have anything to watch. It's kinda weird as well that Tang Qi's character always ends up falling in love with Su Cheng Cheng's other appearances, and not her true self. But then if you think of it, Tang Qi already had a misconception with Su Cheng Cheng from the start since he thought she tried to bully him during their school days. This led to him not really opening up his heart and mind to Su Cheng Cheng directly.

To be fair, this drama is really fun to watch. My most favorite one is the alpaca episode, it's been a while since I laughed this hard on a drama. Yet again, I almost dropped it at episode 20 when Quan Sheng Tang was killed (like Su Miao) as I felt real pity on Tang Qi (bro, if it was me I already went crazy) but then everything unfolds and he decoded what was really happening. After this, everything went well especially the romance arc of Tang Qi and Su Cheng Cheng (binge-watched this until the end lol)

One of Tang Qi's lines summed up the message this drama is trying to convey: "The filter only changes your appearance, but not your inner self. What I like is the imperfect you." It's very fitting to today's beauty standards as everything is judged based on appearances and most of us are really not confident with our looks leading to insecurities.

Overall, I loved this drama although it gave me a hard time grasping the concept but I think that's one of the beauty of it. You just need perseverance to unlock the hidden gem this drama has. It's my first time watching Tan Jianci and Li Landi and they really are one of the best actors in China. They perfectly delivered both comedy and chemistry! Hoping they could have another rom-com in the future!

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Glorious Screwball Comedy

A true screwball comedy is rare in this world. It requires masterful acting to balance the physical and emotional comedy. Comedy is hard so the success of this show is a testament to the skill of the acting, especially Tan Jian Ci who manages to balance situations without letting it be overacting. He keeps the audience believing even when it is ridiculous. Landy Li does brilliantly moving between a range of characters in silly situations. She reminds me of Katherine Hepburn. The support characters are all clever and are well performed. The story develops with skill without breaking believability even when the audience in some part of their head knows this is too silly for words. I laughed so hard and I keep laughing.

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A Modern Day Fairy Tale

I think the best way to enjoy this series is to avoid thinking of it as something that could really happen. Instead, it should be thought of as a combination of Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, and maybe even Beauty and the Beast. DON'T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY! Think of it as a live action cartoon. It's one of the funniest dramas I've watched recently.

The main female lead has been told she's unattractive her whole life. (Who could think of Landy Li as being unattractive? Anyway...) She has a chip on her shoulder because of this, and has basically given in to the idea that she's ugly. The main male lead is a brilliant scientist with very low EQ. After a disaster at their class reunion, he makes a thoughtless statement about her appearance, and things go downhill from there.

However, the female lead has a good heart, and as a reward for a kindness she extends to someone she receives a bracelet which is actually a gadget that serves as a 'filter', changing her appearance so she seems to be a glamorous woman...and various other personas.

The male lead is unaware of this and falls in love with the glamorous woman, not realizing her true identity.

It sounds confusing...and it is to begin with as the characters try to figure out how to deal with the situation, but it's also very funny. Both Landi Li and Tan Jian Ci have excellent comic timing, and they can both sell the set up so the viewer can believe it might happen.

As the female lead goes through several iterations, the male lead finds himself growing fond of an alpaca and falling in love with another one of her personas. He does some soul searching, trying to figure out why he's so fickle, not realizing they're all the same person. As mentioned in the drama, he may be responding to her pheromones....her body chemistry. Whatever the cause, he continues to find them fascinating.

The OST for this series is outstanding, and I've listened to many of the songs several times.

I enjoyed this series quite a bit. There are some angsty parts which serve to make the viewer consider how society views people who are considered beautiful compared to those who are supposedly less so. The main characters have to decide how they really want to view themselves and each other.

My only minor complaint is the ending of the second couple's story. I think that should've been left out of the series, and it could've ended with 30 episodes. However, that didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the series, and I'll probably watch again at some point.

Watch it with an open mind, and have fun!

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