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One of the worst female leads ever
What in the fresh hell is this and who tf thought having a FL who was afraid of her own shadow would be good drama? My heart hurts from having to self-flagellate since I kept watching episode after episode even though I knew nothing would change. The FL would still be a walk over and the ML would still be a dreadful, verbally abusive jerk. It's kinda shocking that this series is just 7 yrs old because the story is dated and unrealistic, and no woman born north of the year 1990 would put up with all the crap that was thrown at the FL by what seemed like all the female characters in the drama.Next, what's with the ridiculous hairstyles of both leads? Wallace looked old and Tang's head and body looked like a mushroom cap and stalk respectively.
Update: I understand the movie adaptation (You Are My Sunshine) starring Yang Mi and Huang Xiao Ming is much better than this series.
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Big kudos to Wallace Chung who really brought his character to par and pull me in as a keen observer to the romance between him and mo sheng. I dont dislike Tiffany but they are some scenes she seem flat or come off as one dimensional.
the major fault is too long too draggy. A better editor would have seen that it needs serious editing and removing redundant scenes and too much flashbaks. i also find alot of time wasted on characters i dont care about or worse, characters we all love to hate.
Im still happy i finished but seeing as its too draggy and im too impatient for this type of drama, rewatch value is really low for me
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THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!
I was craving for romance drama in which the couple being separated for yrs and yet accidentally meet again in the future but the feelings towards each other still same. NOW I FOUND IT! even though 8 yrs late (cause I watch it in 2023).it started off very good, and gradually went much better. the ML ain't yelled at FL due to her leaving 7 yrs ago, instead he kept chasing after her and treating her well. I adore him for being wise (bcs hes lawyer), smart, famous, firm, cool in front of others but clingy and sweet with FL. Besides he won't easily believe what ppl say, he initiate on investigating the problem in his way. Hence there's no such big misunderstanding after they reunited again. He's very determine to start a new life with FL and thanks God, FL doesn't push him away many times.
the FL's also good at portraying her role. She's feeling shy in the first place, but going crazy along with him forward.
the 2nd and 3cp, and other support roles are doing great. I frequently laugh at their silliness😭
I didn't expect I can binge watch it in 2 days since I think it has many eps. yet trust me, you won't feel time running while watching it.
THE KISSES ARE FABULOUS!! this one of the important aspect of romance dramas HHEHEE
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This review may contain spoilers
I really loved watching this drama. First of all I gotta say I love dramas without lot of misunderstandings or heartbreaks. But this drama was perfect for me. After the couples got back together, they never wavered. At first ML was a bit rough and the FL was a bit inexpressive and gloomy. (Not talking about the college days). But after they got back together properly he became the sweetest husband ever and the FL was too cute. Fantastic couple together. I don't really want lot of up and downs or twist and turns in a drama. I will feel satisfied as long as the story is happy and makes me feel good. Was this review helpful to you?
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This drama follows the story of university couple that got separated due to circumstances, the after so many years they finally met again. I admire Tiffany Tang Yan (acting as Zhao Mo Sheng) and Wallace Chung’s (acting as He Yi Chen) acting here, both did incredibly very well in terms of acting. My instinct told me as I was watching the first few episodes that this drama is definitely adapted from a novel and I was actually right. This drama is elegant, solemn, mature, and realistic. There are no cliché scenes that you typically see in most of the dramas these days. There are no unnecessary slow motions. There are no insufferable cliché scenes and irrelevant conversations that waste your time. Also, there are no boring scenes. The casting of actors in each of the characters are very well chosen considering the age of the characters. The young versions of the lead characters are also perfectly chosen to portray college students.On the flip side, this drama isn’t suitable for you if you want an extremely gentleman male lead. Because in some scenes, you will have to see He Yi Chen sort of forcing himself on Zhao Mo Sheng when he kind of wanted to stop her from leaving. They had a little bit of toxicity to each other especially on the first few episodes when they just met for the first time in seven years where the male lead was still showing a little bit of negative attitude towards the female lead while trying to maintain professionalism.
Throughout the drama, He Yi Chen has always been gentle towards Zhao Mo Sheng. He isn’t the typical kind of cold-hearted and rude male lead, but he is nice to everyone and is polite, just like how a normal career person in his late 30s would behave. Same goes for Zhao Mo Sheng, she’s a polite lady in this drama that rarely talks.
Overall cinematography is great, I didn’t feel like the story was rushed, and the episodes are enough. The overall feeling of the drama makes you feel cold and windy, I don’t know if people will understand what I’m trying to say tho. On the flashback scenes on their university days, it really felt like an old memory, not the ones you see on typical dramas that just a little bit of cloudy filter and it’s good. Here in this drama, it’s like you are always experiencing the golden hour even in the morning setting.
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Good despite it's age – but too heavy on the flashbacks
Watching a 10 year old C-drama can be hit or miss. This has stood the test of time rather well, I would say. Some things are of course a bit outdated (like the use of loooong, lingering shots, and the very prominent product placements, especially of Rio!), but overall I will say this doesn't feel as outdated as some other older dramas.
Before I started this, I did read a review here on MDL recommending to watch the first episodes of the director's cut version, and then jump into this normal version in episode 13 or something like that. I did not do that; I started the normal version to see if I found it hard to get into or too slow/boring, but I found it OK from the get-go. But that could be a tip to check out.
What was annoying, was the heavy use of flashbacks. Sometimes flashback to something you saw just a few minutes ago, and not just a quick flashback, but they could be quite long. And flashback to the same thing several times. The flashbacks in the last episodes also felt completely unnecessary. I am positive this could have been 30 episodes by reducing flashbacks!
As for the story, it revolves around FL Zhao Mo Sheng who fell in love with ML He Yi Chen at first glance when she enrolled in college. He was a top law student one year her senior; serious about his studies, seemingly a bit cold and un-interested on the surface. Her positive, bubbly personality and consistent approaches did break through to him, and they started dating. Something then happened, and she left for the US without a word.
7 years later, she returns back to China, and by chance she encounters him already at her first day back. He ignores her, but then fate (with some help from a friend), puts them together again. None of them have really moved on in these 7 years apart, not managed to forget the love they had. But that doesn't mean other persons are not interested in them, so will they overcome the hurt from back then, or will this re-encounter make it possible for them to close the door and move on?
OK, so for the story...some issues first:
I found it a bit strange how she didn't keep in touch with her neighbour and Jia (?) at all.
The timeline for her time in the US was a bit confusing / felt like it didn't quite match up.
The part about Ying Hui and his ex felt very unnecessary and then wasn't followed up on either.
For me, it also felt needless to show He Yi Mei's storypath in the last two episodes. That could have been cut shorter as well.
But besides these issues, and the already mentioned heavy use of flashbacks, I did enjoy this.
I liked the cast and found most of the performances to be good. Especially Wallace Chung in the role of the ML showed good character development; how he brought out a warmer, more playful side of his character was well done.
FL Tiffany Tang didn't really neither wow me or disappoint me. If anything, I think her wig sometimes bugged me too much!
I really enjoyed the character of her coworker Gu Xing Hong, played by Zang Hong Na. She added a welcome touch of boisterousness.
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✒Long Hair ⚖ Short Hair ☀ Long Romance ⚖ Short Engagement °6.5° °good°
Let's get this out of the way. The plot line is a little silly, like cheap romance rag silly. And that's what it's meant to be. This is a dimestore (dollar store, for you GenZees and younger) romance novel committed to screen. If you don't like that sort of thing then you won't like this show. If you do enjoy all kinds of romances, it's actually pretty well done. In the first third of the show I thought it was just passable, but the plot picked up just enough in the second third.M☀ is a 2015 release that is rated 7.9 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 32 45-minute episodes. They play it out as a heavy melodrama, but it never goes far below the surface. Here's two people nearly stunted by the pain of their failed relationship, yet they're still in love with e/o. One difficulty for the viewer is how, for half of the show, our FL Mosheng only sports pained looks and often has her head downcast while she says nothing. Everybody has a line between something that works and something that becomes silly. Mosheng manages to stay on the working side of the line for me, but her act, early on, brushes up against the line like a cat who walks by and lets the tip of two hairs touch you. It comes very close to that line. The fact that I had to stop and think about whether it was too silly and too melodramatic says something.
It opens quite a bit like Here to Heart, from 2018, which I didn't get to finish before it left Netflix. Ep1-18 I've rated a 3.9, though it does have lovely romantic moments. M☀ works quite a bit better than HtH. Though HtH has higher highs, it is caked up with bad acting, directing, music, costume, and dialogue. M☀ has a much more natural feel.
Mosheng has a crush on He Yichen, the #1 desirable in the law department. Not only is he the best looking, but he's the smartest. He also doesn't reciprocate interest in any girl that approaches him. Mosheng is not daunted by statistics (it's doubtful she understands them at all). Her brain tends to be more artsy. She approaches Yichen again and again. He brushes her off less and less - in micro degrees. It's subtle. One day it's the usual tit-tat / back-n-forth it seems, but /he's/ decided they're going out. (His plan was to wait til after college, but since he met the right one, he says he doesn't see why he must delay). Mosheng is utterly shocked when he tells her.
After awhile. they have a sudden and painful break up. Mosheng doesn't know why he's so angry, so she escapes🇺🇸 (It appears to be over drama related to their parents, but they don't handle the breakup well. The viewer remains confused). She's there for 7 years and bonds with her next door neighbor who is in an abusive relationship. When her neighbor goes to jail for stabbing her husband, she asks Mosheng to look at her son and protect him from his father.
In the 🇺🇸 at the same time is Mr Ying. Mosheng is completely unaware of it, but he's indebted to her because she invested in his company when he was about to go under. That money made the little difference that turned everything around for him. Now he's an internet billionaire and about to bring his search engine back to 🇨🇳.
They meet at a time when she's desperately in need of help. As a single woman with limited income and no parental or family connections, Mosheng has no legal standing to help her friend or her friend's son. When Mr Ying hears about what she's going through, he offers to help by way of a sham marriage. It's obvious that Mr Ying only agrees to this because he's starting to fall for Mosheng. Now she has the mom's recommendation, the husband, and plenty of money. They adopt the child until his mother is released. Ying is always hopeful the marriage will become real, but Mosheng is still hung up on Yichen. When that chapter of her life concludes, they get a divorce and Mosheng returns to 🇨🇳.
As a wildly successful attorney, He Yichen is the most eligible bachelor in town now. True to form, he never dates women. It's not long before Mosheng sees Yichen again. He /hates/ her. It becomes clear that he hates her and he's obsessed with her. When he's suddenly paying attention to Mosheng, it creates quite a stir. Ya know that Ying is gonna head back home too. He makes it his mission to win Mosheng over. This sets up a Clash of the Titans. The secondary romance might be more fun. The male character in the 2ndary takes alittle getting used to, but the female is one of the best characters in the show.
Tiffany Tang (Blossoms Shanghai, The Princess Wei Young) is the girl, Zhao Mosheng. She claims she has a preference for things from the past. One of those things is her lifelong (since college) love for Yichen. (In their backstory, I think he's horrible. She shoulda stayed gone, imo).
She's headed home after 7 years abroad. Her first stop: A job interview at Treasure Mag. Mosheng is said to be average, all-around, by onlookers. She's actually quite adorable. Her haircut is dreadful looking like a weird 1960s space helmet and meets an Egyptian wig. Her helmet hair is so bad in the opening episodes that it caused me physical pain. When she gets it cut she looks better. She should have gone even shorter, her face is beautiful. When they fast forward a few years she has long hair. It looks nice, but this actress's best look would probably be super short hair. The wardrobe isn't very good either. Mosheng changes for dinner and emerges wearing the same oversized graphic tee and leggings that she wore to go shopping the other day. It was completely out of place. All she wears is graphic tees, mostly oversized, every one awful. All those bad t-shirts are like her: Cute & uncropped. Besides her face and slender figure, Mosheng is sincere and loving. Yichen tends to brood. She does brighten him up. She is his ☀. Men don't always want the hottest, smartest, most beautiful, or most exciting girl. Many men want a woman that feels like home. The best men do. Mosheng feels like home.
Mosheng has some baggage to clear out, though. Even when I started to like the show in the teen episodes, I got tired of her hanging her head low. She's acting like an abuse survivor. They did show significant neglect on the part of her mother, but she was close to her father and had him around until her teens. I'm not trying to minimize what she went through, but a woman who's had a very positive relationship with her father usually holds her head high, with dignity. I don't like her subservience and the way she cowers all the time. She's reminding me of the female lead in the show Love 020-6.8. One of the problems with that show is that the female lead is too demure. Too demure is okay for half the show, but for it to work, a FL should lighten up gradually. Mosheng does brighten up in the last quarter of the show, which is a relief.
Wallace Chung (The Sword and the Brocade-8.6, Adoring) portrays He Yichen. He's actually 50, now. When he did the show he was over 40 and he Looks more like 30. Her first credited work is 1993! Tan Kai (Sweet Guy, Blossom) plays Ying Hui. He's impressive, particularly his voice. I'd pay for his podcast just to hear him speak. He's manly, too. He's far better than the dour ML, imho. Screenwriters sometimes come in teams: Gu Man (Love O2O, You Are My Glory-5.9), Mo Bao Fei Bao (One and Only, Amidst a Snowstorm of Love, Go Go Squid!), She Fei Xian (One Smile Is Very Alluring-5.7) & Jin Guo Dong (Boss & Me-7) round this one out. The director is Liu Chun Chieh (Lighter & Princess, Boss & Me-7).
The viewer is expected to ride along with them on a pretty bumpy road. For the longest time, it's unclear as to why he broke up with her in the first place. They each have amorous hangers-on that take things alittle too far. In the meantime, he hates her, but he loves her, and when she's debating with him as to whether they should even see each other he says he'll give her an answer in the morning and struts off. The next morning he shows up and tells her to get in the car. They're getting married. Off to City Hall for the most perfunctory marriage ceremony ever seen; it was somewhat angry, too. After City Hall, Yichen immediately goes on a trip for a week. He makes no attempt at physical contact. Who gets married and sleeps in separate rooms? They don't even try to touch e/o? He only takes her on a honeymoon when he finds out from Mr Ying that the divorce may not be official. This is a weird romance. It works well enough, though.
The music is above average - it's excellent, really. Featuring mostly mellow piano, there's some contemporary pop mixed in. Some of it has an indy vibe. Shazam didn't recognize any of it but I brought the whole playlist up on Spotify. In Yichen's office there's a crazy bumpy ramp instead of a staircase. I love it.
The last couple episodes have an extended sequence in which they revisit their dating experience and then get into some “what ifs” all reenacted by the adult cast. Then we get the final wrap up showing them going forward. Don't worry, they look like they may have forgotten about the other couples, but the viewer gets a peek at them in the final episode. It's about what you'd expect: an exasperated mess😂. In the final analysis, M☀ should shine brighter. I can't decide if I would opt to watch it for the first time, given sufficient foreknowledge. If you go into it, just know that the forecast has plenty of warmth but heavily scattered clouds as well.
QUOTES📢
The two things that are most sacred, constant and ever-changing, that are most surprising and shocking, are the starry skies above and the moral law in our hearts. ~Kant~
The actual English version is this:
Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.”
〰🖍 IMHO
📣6.6 📝6.5 🎭7 💓5 🦋5 🎨5 🎵/🔊8 🔚6 🤗4 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡2 😅2 😭2.5 😱2 😯1 🤢1 🤔3 💤2
Age 13+ A pregnancy from a ONS; PG-13 language, but not much of it
In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:
💓 -
C🇨🇳:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;
Wait, My Youth-8.4
Romance junkies only: Accidentally in Love-6.5 ‘18 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch,
Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine but many object to an outrageous stunt the ML pulls,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
You are my destiny-6.8 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding,
Meteor Garden-7.4 - 70% flowing 30% dragging and BOF is better,
Hidden Love-7.8
K🇰🇷 :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
🎎 -
C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
🔮🐉-
C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
Japanese🇯🇵 lite romcoms: Maid Sama-10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo-7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Toradora-8.5
Taiwan: The Fierce Wife-8 & Two Fathers-7.5
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This review may contain spoilers
After watching this, I didn't think I would rewatch it but here I am watching it the third time. With a plentiful of dramas to watch, I am not short on dramas to watch but I keep coming back to this one because of the unconditional trust and love the male leads has for the female lead. With all the factors, circumstances, confusion and even a third wheel threatening to tear them apart, their relationship persisted based on each other's understanding and trust for one another.While I was watching, I felt that it was draggy and didn't understand it but now watching it the third time, I can understand the anticipation yet dread the characters were feeling when meeting each other again the first time in seven years. They still longed for each other but both evaded one another. Good thing their old friend used an excuse of suing her to link them back together. At first I felt she was a terrible friend to sue her old roommate but later realized she did it for her good. He says I don't want to be entangled with you, but in reality he was using the chance to see her.
I didn't realize it but I really love this drama a lot and I keep enjoying it the more I rewatch it. While other drama leads easily break up and get angry because of misunderstanding, their trust for one another is what keeps bringing me back to watch it.
While others have said the male lead is controlling, the first time I thought that way too but it's understandable. He is afraid that she will disappear from him again. So he uses any reason whether it's the lawsuit or wanting his photo back to keep seeing her. His words are harsh but his heart has always been hers.
The two leads also acted well and this deserves a watch.
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my forever sunshine
i enjoyed the series , atleast when I didn't permit the FL's bad dress style , atrocious hair , forever clinging backpack and childlike/childish mannerisms bother me .it was a good series , at least for the timeline it was made.
i loved the younger versions better.. both luo yunxi and janice wu did such a fabulous job. In comparison , I found the old versions pale in comparison. don't get me wrong. i love both wallace chung and tiffany tang. but it seems the younger and older versions seemed like totally different people , not in the way "they grew up , so they are different " way.... they felt different people..
if I ignore this part and try to enjoy younger and old versions as independent stories , I had a better time enjoying the series. I loved the story of younger version - I liked the exuberance and initiative taking personality of FL - the initial hesitency , but "all in " mode of ML when he accepted her. i felt sorry , somewhere life took away that naiveness and full of life personality of FL.. and reduced the ML to "if not her , then no one " stage , where mere indication of travel on her part could trigger PTSD in him and get him to attack her. i hated it , but it also made me think the intensity of his feelings for her. such love is rare. its nice to see it had a great ending .
talking of love, what is it with Cdramas , there is always some character who doesn't give up and keep pursuing unrequited love. i don't mind waiting when one is/was in an acknowledged relationship.. but , waiting for someone who though not confessed, knew about it , and clearly not acknowledging it or rejecting it or taking it forward. such love I feel is a mental issue . being in such constant delusion is what? ML's meimei is clearly always looking for a "seemingly valid reason" to keep pursing him and justifying it.
and I never understood this concept of "being worthy of loved" I keep hearing it in c dramas and k dramas .. as if there is a list of qualifications to be eligible to be loved or to love.. dear c/k drama writers.. there is no such qualification - anyone can love anyone - qualifications of any kind doesn't matter -- it happens , people fall in love - and who the hell is bystanders questioning it?
ok, enough ranting - its a nice series if u ignore few things , so don't mind my ranting
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Silent Separation?
This is one of the books of teacher Gu. I didn't know that there was a drama. Tho I really like the novel I can't say that I like it irl too.So many misunderstandings where they can just sit down and talk about it. Like seriously I want to lock them up so that they just let all the grievances they have with each other.
Kinda draggy and the second leads were so annoying. Not like in the Novel at all. Well some may say that just don't compare them but honestly there's an advantage too when u both read and watch it. Because sometimes the things you want to happen may not happen on the novel but happens on the drama. I just hope that some screenwriters also look into the reviews of netizens they might make the drama more interesting. 🙌🏻
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