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Fans of the South Korean version will appreciate the cultural nuances

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 Chinese reality dating show with 10, 85 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

This is the Chinese version of the Korean reality dating show of the same name. With some subtle differences mentioned below and the inherent cultural differences, the show is essentially the same in form and content. The show starts with six singles, three men and three women who enter the chosen house location one at a time the first day. They cohabit the “signal house” (which changes each season) with the women sharing one bedroom and the men sharing two bedrooms. The overall goal of the show is for the singles to go about their daily lives while freely flirting/sending signals with the other occupants of the house. There are few organized activities, the main focus is on them living together and getting to know each other more naturally. At the end of each day they send a signal (an anonymous text) to the opposite sex single of their choosing and the detectives must determine who will send a signal/text to whom.

Signal House rules

>Singles must return to Signal House each night

>Singles cannot reveal their age or occupation until the 2nd day

>Singles cannot directly confess their like or love at any time during their stay

>At the end of the day, singles can send an anonymous text to one other house member

>Singles can go on one official date but each female picks a location without revealing her choice and the males choose the location they prefer.

Detectives

*Note I say they were this profession or that because people change careers so this represents what they were doing at the time. This is true of the singles as well.

*Zhu Yawen Born in 1984. He would have been 33 when the show was filmed. He was an actor.

*Zhang Yugi Also known as Kitty Zhang.Born in 1987. She would have been about 30 when the show was filmed. She was an actress

*Yang Chaoyue Born in 1998. She would have been 19 at the time of filming. She wasan actress and singer. A member of the Rocket Girls, girl music group.

*Jiang Sida. Born in 1993. He would have been 24 at the time the series was filmed. He was a presenter and had a television show.

*Guan Hong. Also known as Darren Chen. Born in 1995. He would have been about 22 when the series was filmed. He was an actor and model.

*Jiang Zhenyu. Born in 1996. She would have been about 21 when the series was filmed. She was an actress, singer and dancer.

Singles

Females

*Xiang Tiange Student. Born in about 1993. 25 years when the show was filmed. Salesperson in the securities industry. Sales options. Has a masters from Columbia where she studied applied statistics. Works for one of the best security companies in China.

*Hu Jimming Born in 1994. She would have been about 24 when it filmed. Also known under the English name Diana. A kindergarten online English Teacher.

*Li Junjie Born in 1994. She would have been about 24 when the show was filmed. Drama major at a performance arts college. Served in the military for two years,

*Wang Jinwen. Dance teacher.

Males

*Zhou You Founder and CEO of an interior design company (Renew Design Company/UpdateStudio). Je was born in about 1986 and was 32 when the show was filmed. He majored in architecture and minored in design management Pratt Institute.

*Jiang Mingliang Also known as Oscar. He was 23 when the show was filmed. He was a model.

*Liu Zexuan. Born in 1989. 29 at the time of filming. Race car Driver. CEO of racing team.

*Guo Rubin. Founder of 17hiAPP

Korean Heart Signal Versus Chinese Heart Signal

In the Korean version they call those that comment and try to guess outcomes based on signals the celebrity panel or romance experts. In the Chinese version they call them detectives.

The “gem” the detectives get for right answers look like the plastic hearts you might get out of a coin machine. The detectives even make a joke about it and one pretends to eat it. In the Korean version the gems are much more elaborate and look more expensive. Since it is a reward for predicting right, the nicer gems would be a better reward.

There is a lot of flirty behavior going on with the detectives in the Chinese version. There are sexual innuendos and jokes about other detectives. In the Korean version there is little to no flirty behavior among the celebrity panel.

Among the detectives there is a clear leader that says when they watch, what and how they vote, and just generally steers the activity. In the Korean show they take turns leading the celebrity panel group.

When the singles first enter the house they arrive one at a time and the Koreans are visibly nervous and they talk to each other relatively nervously and very guardedly. I was surprised how quickly the Chinese singles started talking to each other.

The Chinese singles essentially have two names, an American like name and their Chinese name. Because my native language is English it makes it a little easier for me to keep track of who is who. But it can also make it more challenging as they intermix the two names for each single. Koreans do sometimes have multiple names, especially if they are an idol, but often totally adopt the nickname.

Astrology is big in the Chinese Heart signal version, they talk about astrological signs a lot. Koreans focus more on Myers Briggs personality type and blood type but even that is not a huge focus.

In the Chinese version they are more likely to stick with whomever they get associated with. Switching and dating around seems less accepted.

Review

If you are a fan of Korean Heart Signal you should watch the Chinese version as tge cultural differences create some interesting nuances.

I watched this after the Korean Heart Signal 4 which I found to be one of the most frustrating seasons of heart signal. It made the Chinese version all the more refreshing as they didn't as radically and dramatically change.

If you are a fan of Korean Heart signal you will definitely get more of what you love.

Spoilers

I loved that Jimming and Zhou You pretty consistently picked each other and were a final couple. That was a frustrating rarity in Korean Heart Signal.

I was so frustrated with Junjie’s fixation with Oscar. She was such a perfect fit with Guo Rubin and he was so sweet to her. Oscar made it clear he was more interested in Tiange. I wish she would have given up on Oscar when he was avoiding her. She called him on it. So she noticed it.

I think the show manipulated the selection date too much so the relatively new woman, Jinwen, would get a date. She was supposed to be a catfish and I thought if she could not captivate someone that was on her. Forgive me but I think some females use their tears to manipulate. She cried and made the other females feel so bad for yer that she ultimately got Jungie to bless her selecting Guo Rubin. He so obviously was not interested her in that way. They did not have a great date because Rubin was so disappointed it was not Jungie. So Jungie goes with Oscar and that derails the fragile relationship that was developing with Rubin. Then Jinwen more or less blames Jingie for her bad date with Rubin saying if they knew they wanted to go together they should have made it clear.

I think the situation would be incredibly hard to navigate emotionally without getting hurt and without hurting others. It’s such a unique situation for somebody to be in a place where there’s so many perfect choices that you have two people you know you could have a good relationship with and they’re great for different reasons. What a hard choice to make. You would have regrets either way. No matter what you do you know someone’s gonna be hurt and it makes it even harder when you like all the people in the house and feel like they’re at least friends.

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Takes the cold executive trope too far for too long

8.5/10 is my rating.This is a 2023 Chinese romantic drama with 36, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

As a reporter Zheng Shu Yi (Bai Lui) has a specialized and unique writing angle as a writer for a financial news publication. She is highly capable and career driven and her goal is to get enough headline articles that she can pursue digital platforming the publications to pull her magazine into the modern era. When the opportunity arises to land an exclusive with a young CEO who is rising in the financial investment world, it is the perfect chance to get a headline. Everyone is curious to know more about the cold but exceptional Shi-Yan (Dylan Wang). In fact Shu Yi’s arch rival, who is equally ambitious, is so determined to land the interview she even cheats in an attempt to get the exclusive. But Shi-Yan was more intrigued by Shu-Yi’s outline than her rivals so she still lands the interview. Once in his realm, Shu Yi decides she likes the handsome Shi Yan for more than just an interview subject, Can the determined journalist melt the heart of the cold young CEO?

Review

If you like the cold chief executive officer (CEO) trope then this is definitely a solid addition to that category. Overall I liked it. I recommend it for anyone that is fans of either lead or supporting actors as they all act their roles very well. If you like cold executives, romance and/or want a slice of the financial reporting or technological investment realms, you would find this interesting. There were some aspects that were not really interesting to me and some frustrating slow spots. It is not one I would rewatch in the immediate future, with so many choices available. I found the length of time he was “cold” and the parts about financial investments, tedious.

Spoilers

I think they take the cold executive trope a bit too far in this one. He is not just cold to her but I think his behavior borders on abusive. When she is trying to connect with him, if she doesn’t say exactly what he wants her to say, when and how he wants her to say it, he walks away or kicks her out. He says he does not like to talk business on his personal time and will shut her down even if she is doing it as a common interest to carry the conversation. And that would be one thing, but he seems to break the “do not mix business and personal” any time he feels like it. He doesn’t even say what she did that he didn’t like, he just shuts her out emotionally and often literally. His friends and family even find him difficult to deal with.

Usually by three fourths of the way through the series, the ice cube CEO has thawed and is now all warm and fuzzy, at least to the main girl. In his case, other than the briefest thaw before getting break up mad at her, he remained cold until the last few episodes. Which, to me, was entirely too long.

Okay so she approached him originally to get the story. So what? She is a reporter it is what she does. But she was using him to get back at the cheaters? I felt like they decided to twist it that way later because that was not a motivation she revealed in any of her abundant internal dialogues early on. But still, he should not have been so hung up on why she approached him originally, but where they went from there. I thought the level of cold shoulder she got from that was over the top. Then several commented later that he let her off easy. She was so heart broken she landed in the hospital multiple times, that is not letting anyone off easy. And I dd nit think she did anything so horrible to him to deserve his cold shoulder, yet again, anyway. Supposedly he still loved her but had no problem seeing how he was completely devastating her emotionally.

The second guy in this I thought was her perfect match. He noticed when she was sad and did everything to cheer her up. He let her talk work whenever, and even helped her find new opportunities. Through his actions and words he indicated how wonderful he thought she was. He was smart, handsome, successful and extremely kind to the main girl. She was happy and laughed a lot when she was with 2nd guy, so of course she liked the absolute opposite guy. I was disappointed he did not at least get someone else wonderful.

Other reviewers said her best friend gave her terrible advice and, early on, I disagreed. She gave great advice on how to catch his interest. But I found they were right later when she was advising on how to save her relationship. Continue to lie and deceive him until he is so in love with you he easily forgives? Main girl should have known better. In the book on being petty and holding a grudge (pretending such thing exists) there would be a picture of him. They never explained what made him so he assumed the worst in relationships but that definitely characterizes his reactions. Deceiving him was absolutely the worst thing with him and anyone that knew him well would know that. So the friend’s advice was so far from right with him. It was frustrating she kept following the friend’s advice and kept hiding things. Main girl should have known him well enough by then to know he would not forgive being deceived easily.

I found all of the “business talk” boring. Financial investment in technological companies just was not that intriguing. Reporting was more interesting but all the investment speak was a yawn fest. And it just made the main guy look less capable.

The side couples’ romances were all super heart warming and they spent just the right amount of time on them. I thought the triple wedding idea was great.

I know people love when the couples spend seconds to minutes just gazing at each other but it is not my favorite. I have never seen anyone do that in real life.

#OnlyForLove

#DylanWang

#BaiLiu

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A Good Science Fiction Series, but not well wrapped up, typical Netfix

7/19 is my rating. This is a 2021/2022 South Korean science fiction mystery thriller with 8, 39-51/minute episodes.

In the not so distant future, Earth has nearly run out if water causing large sections of the planet to turn to desert. Water is strictly rationed but not necessarily fairly so. Despite these difficult times (or perhaps because of them) a team Is sent to the Balhae Research Station confusing to recover some mysterious samples. Some go on the mission for the science, some to discover what happened during a tragic accident that ended 117 lives and others have mysterious, and perhaps nefarious motives. Song Ji‑An (Bae Doona) is one that does not believe the official story of how her sister died 5 years prior. Dr. Song is a gifted Astro biologist so she is invited as a critical part of the recovery team. Han Yun‑Jae (Gong Yoo), is the Captain of the team and a soldier in the space agency. He is not the only soldier on the mission as Lieutenant Ryu Tae‑seok (Lee Joon) from the Ministry of National Defense is also a team member.

Once they reach the research station Dr. Song quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems. Lies were not only told about the current mission but the tragedy was also completely misrepresented. The sample, they discover, may look like water but when it comes in contact with a living organism it multiplies like a virus. They also discover that not everyone died and as they seek to understand what really happened they must avoid the water and survive violent attacks from a girl with superhuman abilities. The lunar water affects everyone except for their aggressor who is immune to the new elements effects. Deception, aggression and lies must be overcome as the team attempts to unravel the past and determine the true purpose of their current mission.

Review

Overall it is worth the watch as a really good, intriguing science fiction series. I rate it down as the ending left things open and I did not like how many died. I like happy endings and this fell short of happy. As Netflix seems to like to do they left the end open for another season but they may never do another season. I would recommend it to science fiction fans and may rewatch it in the future.

Spoilers

So much was not explained about the Lunar water 💧. Like why was it expanding when there were no living cells? Dr. Song showed how it did not expand until it came in contact with blood and stopped when the cells started to die. But it flooded the whole station and was expanding when all the people it was in contact with were dead.

Too many of the party died and it felt unnecessary. I really thought Captain Han’s (Gong Yoo) death was unnecessary. When they found he was blown out when the water rushed out, it would have been perfect if he survived after all. I thought he and Dr. Song were developing feelings and it would have been a happier ending to leave that possibility open.

They never explained Captain Han’s tattoo. It is not common for South Korean’s to have tattoos particularly in such a visible place. They never explained why he had the tattoo and if it had meaning. I read on it after and Gong Yoo said, in an interview, Captain Han was a military veteran and the tattoo was of his military unit. It was intended to give him that tough, rugged appearance.

What will happen with Captain Han’s daughter?

They spent so much time, once they left the station, looking for Luna then watching her with Captain Han, how did they know they would be rescued in time?

I liked Doc Hong (Kim Sun Young) but it seemed like they intentionally chose to have only the women survive. There were eleven people on the mission nine men and two women. And it was not like the men were over protecting the women most of the time. Well except for in the the final scenes of the series where Captain Han realizes the decompression chamber cannot be activated from inside so he sacrifices himself by locking himself on the other side of the door to activate the decompression before the water reaches them.

I really wanted to know what happened with Luna 73 (Kim Si-ah). Who was she cloned from? The sister had given Dr. Song the message “Find Luna” but we do not know what she wanted her to do with Luna.

Who picked the survivors up? If it was the same as who sent them on the mission then how do they think they will survive once they return? Dr. Song mentioned keeping Luna and the sample in space at that international biological research station but how were they going to get there?

#BaeDoona

#TheSilentSea

#GongJoo

#KimSunYoung

#KimSiAh

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What Girl Would Not Want the Choice?

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2016 Japanese romance movie 1 hour and 32 minutes in length. There was a short, 2 episode , mini series released in 2015 which was meant to promote the film. It is based in a popular Shoji manga series, “Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai”.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review

Synopsis

Yu Akabane (Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu; portrayed by: Nana Komatsu) changes not only schools but her entire demeanor after being bullied. Things do not exactly go smoothly at her new school as she immediately gets on the bad side of Haruto Kurosaki (Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa; portrayed by: Kento Nakajima) when an accident leads her to cut some of his hair. Known as the black night, his punishment for Yu is to make her be he indentured servant. Annoyed with his constant arrogance and demands, Yu knicknames him black demon. Haruto’s best friend, Takumi Shirakawa, (Voiced by: Kensho Ono; portrayed by: Yudai Chiba) is called the white knight because of his fairer looks and kind demeanor. Once he realizes Haruto is actually interested in Yu, he decides to compete for her favor. The boys have always competed with each other in things. What starts as a game becomes a more serious rivalry when both boys determine they have feelings for Yu.

Review

If you did not watch the 2 episode series, the movie seems to start abruptly and you may wonder if you skipped some scenes. While it is not necessary to watch the 2 episodes prior to the movie, it does explain where it picks up. But if you stick with the movie it does return to what happened before and you catch up.

Overall I enjoyed the movie and my main criticism is the abrupt way it begins. Even with the two episodes out, they could have duplicated the story from the 2 episodes in the opening of the movie.

It ended happy and well.

Spoilers

As with a lot of Japanese shows, it is much “sexier” than most Korean and Chinese shows. It was not over done though. There were some intense kissing scenes but nothing beyond that. Just enough shown in the shower scene to illustrate the physical attraction without showing too much and leaving you wondering if you are watching porn. I liked that about this one.

I appreciated that they valued their friendships enough to give up on their love if it meant ending a long term friendship. But I liked that the friends were not so selfish that they expected their friends to give up just because they too liked the person.

#TheBlackDevilandtheWhitePrince

#MikakoKamatsu

#NanaKomatsu

#KatoIshikawa

#KentoNakajima

#KenshoOno

#YudaiChiba

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Each friend brings their own strength to this group of young women

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2016 Chinese drama series with 42, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review

Synopsis

The story is about five women who all live on the 22nd floor of an apartment building called “Ode to Joy”. Three of the five are roommates sharing an apartment and are existing residents when two, much more successful, career women move in. What evolves is a five way friendship where each has their own unique qualities to bring to the friend group. Some start out not liking each other but as life happens and they come together to deal with things they learn to appreciate their differences as well as their similarities.

The Five Women:

*Andy (Liu Tao) - 31 years old. Lived as an orphan abroad but builds herself up to be a sought after financial adviser. She returned to China to find the brother she was separated from when they were children. She does not physical touch and her only close friend is also her boss. Despite her aloofness she is actually kind and caring. The other women break through her icy exterior and find her to be the most logical and capable person to go to in times of crisis.

*Fan Shengmei (Jian Xin) - 30 years old. She is a highly skilled human resource professional. As the oldest of the 3 roommates she is often consulted in life matters. Her family is a black hole if financial requests which has led her to look for a wealthy husband to escape her financial worries. This makes others perceive her in a bad light at times.

*Qu Xiaoxiao (Wang Ziwen) - 24 years old. Her father is a wealthy businessman and she is slumming it to create some independent space. She was a hard partying girl with a band of groupies, until her friendship with the other women on floor 22 decreased her desire to hit the clubs all the time. If you want the pure unvarnished truth she is the go to. If you have a problem she likely knows someone that can apply just the right kind of pressure. Her unfailing honesty rubs people the wrong way at times.

*Qiu Yingying (Yang Zi) - 23 years old. Comes from a smaller town and is in the big city for better opportunity. She works standard office and retail jobs. She can be naive but has a temper when crossed. Very chipper and positive most of the time. She is a go to for someone to cheer you up.

*Guan Juner (Qiao Xin) - 22 years old. She is best friends with Yingying. She works at a company on an internship where she hopes to become permanent. She is very quiet and earnest.

Review

If you like dramas about groups of friends, this is a very good drama for that. It is lighter on romance as many of the relationships do not end well or never start. The dynamics between the women make for a very enjoyable series. It ends abruptly on some of the story lines and it is clear they planned for additional season(s). It ends overall on a happy note.

Spoilers

Andy appeared to have very high functioning autism. They make it out that she has some scary hereditary disorder like schizophrenia but all the symptoms point to autism. The brother also appears to have autism just of a more severe form. I thought her split with Qi Dian (Zu Feng) was sad because I thought he was very good for her. I understood her point and her test to see if he had a deep seated fear she would go crazy was valid. The live commenters when I watched the show were vicious to Qi Dian they thought he was too pushy with her to the point of being creepy. With her disorder I thought his firm nudging was appropriate.

Shengmei may have had her reasons but I did very much agree with Xiaoxiao that she was a gold digger. She was smart enough she should have known none of those men would marry her. So it was hard to watch her allow them to humiliate her. I was glad when she finally realized it was not all about the money.

XiaoXiao was my favorite. Yeah she could be a harsh critic and her honesty was often brutal but she was a force of nature. I loved when she decided she liked Zhao Qiping (Wang Kai) and the determined way she romantically pursued him. She was clear she liked his looks and there was no swoony first love vibe to it. She wanted him at first site but liked him after they spent time together. Other characters were mad at her for saying this or that but I found she said what really needed to be said.

I was a little mad at Guan Juner over her getting hung up on Dr Zhao after the mist limited contact. I thought the minute she found out he was Xiaoxiaos love interest that should have been the end of it.

I was annoyed how abruptly it ended. I do not like unfinished storylines as additional seasons can fall through.

#OdeToJoy

#LiuTao

#JianXin

#WangZiwen

#YangZi

#QiaoXin

#ZuFeng

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A great family drama - you will miss them when it ends

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean family drama with 100, 35 minute episodes.


First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

The drama is about a family headed by Song Young-dal (Cheon Ho-jin) and Jang Ok-boon (Cha Hwa-yeon). The couple’s grown children experience all the trials and tribulations associated with being part of a close knit family and in finding their best paths for their future.

Main characters:

Song Young-Dal (Chun Ho Jin)

The father of the family. He owns and works at a chicken restaurant. He has never gotten over the loss of his younger sister.

Jang Ok Boon (Cha Hwa Yun)

The mother of the Song family. She is constantly stressed by working with her husband in their busy restaurant and by her grown kids who have not found their path.

Song Ga-hee (Oh Yoon-ah)

The eldest sister. A former Airline Stewardess, she divorced her cheating pilot husband. She has a Middle school son.

Song Na-hee (Lee Min-jung)

She is a pediatrician having marriage issues with her husband, a fellow pediatrician.

Song Da-hee (Lee Cho-hee).

The youngest daughter who was working in an office. She left her husband on her wedding night after finding him in an intimate situation with another woman. After that event she completely changes her life.

Doctor Yoon Gyu-jin (Lee Sang-yeob)

Na-hee's husband. His mother lost her husband after her boys were born and she treats her eldest son like a fill in companion. Her demands on his time have strained his marriage.

Song Joon-sun (Oh Dae-hwan)

The oldest child and big brother to the three girls. He is a stunt man whose wife divorced him for giving too much to friends and because of his dangerous career.

Kang Cho Yoon/Song Young Sook (Lee Jung Eun)

The lost sister. Yong-dal thought she died of fever when they were children. They were orphaned then later separated and he thought she died. She grew up with monks and went on to be a bar owner.

Jang Ok Ja (Baek Ji Won)

She is mother Song's little sister and works at the chicken restaurant with her sister and brother-in-law. She loves to gossip.

Yoon Jae Suk (Lee Sang Yi)

He is a medical doctor focusing in dentistry. He loves his sister-in-law Na Hee amd tries to stay neutral in his brother and sister-in-law's issues.

Choi Yoon Jung (Kim Bo Yun)

She is the mother to the Song family son-in-law. Her and Na-hee do not get along as both of them are jealous of each other over Gyu-jin's attention.

Kim Ji-Hoon (Moon Woo Jin)

Ga Hee's middle school son. He is sad his father cannot find time for him now that his parents divorced. Mature beyond his years he is his mom's biggest fan.

Park Hyo Shin (Ki Do Hoon)

Originally a delivery driver for the family chicken restaurant, his outstanding physique leads him to work for Joon Sun's new stunt company. He is a judo athlete who left the sport after a tragedy.

Review

This was a great family drama. There were multiple romances, lots of family events, and even some mystery. If you like family dramas I highly recommend this one. I would watch it again in the future.

Spoilers*

I still struggle with the cultural difference between American and South Korean culture. Here all their children are fully grown and the parents are still controlling their lives, Not just acting as advice and council but actually demanding the children do this and forbidding them to do that. I thought the mother was often overbearing and mean.

Ok Boon, the Song family mother, annoyed me a lot. She was so angry at the least slight that the kids hid things from her. I did understand feeling judged over what your kids do or do not do. That happens in Americqn society too. But she took it all overboard. I was just admiring her for staying out of the market gossip then she let them suck her right in. In that event she became gossipy and mean just like her sister.

I loved the oldest sister Ga Hee. She was kind and understanding with her younger sisters. She was firm with her slime of an ex husband. She was nice to her big brother's friends. Her son and her relationship was goal. They were so cute with each other. I loved we got to see her be successfull.

Na hee was unreasonable with her husband in the beginning. I understood she went through a miscarriage but she was so unwilling to work through the issues. I was disappointed she dated the hospital director as it was such a slap in the face for her ex whi worked with them and had to watch it.

Joon Sun was the perfect older brother. He watched out for his sisters and was a great dad. I understood why his ex divorced him but I thought she was unreasonable when they were co parenting and would withdraw the kids to punish him. I was glad when she finally came around and supported his dream.

Hyo Shin was so sweet with Ga Hee and her son. They became a couple yet we never got to see them kiss. I liked the three of them together and would have liked to see them become a family.

Yoon Jung was very misunderstood. She was actually a very kind person just had no filter in terms of her interactions. I was glad everyone got to know her better and she no longer had to be so lonely.

Ok Boon drove me crazy in the beginning she was a mean, selfish gossip. I was particularly angry with her for the way she treated Cho Yoon. Stealing the guy Cho Yoon was flirting with, who had already expressed his feelings for her, was low. She was just out to get Cho Yoon out of jealousy. She changed a bit later and even became friends with Cho Yoon but it felt like she did that after she got what she wanted and after finding out Cho Yoon was the lost sister.

I loved Cho Yoon from the minute she came on scene. She was tough but kind and lively and vivacious. The market people were all so mean to them in the beginning it made me mad. That younger friend of hers she was always loaning money to made me so mad. What a leech! She was just a psycho for what she did pretending to be the lost sister.

Overall it was good and ended well I just wish we would have seen Ga Hee and Hyo Shin tell the family and get married or at least engaged and I wanted to see the lost Auntie,Young Sook, have something happy and permanent with the director, I did not feel they wrapped those stories up well.

#ChunHoJin

#ChaHwaYun

#LeeJungEun

#OhDaeHwan

#LeeMinJung

#OhYoonAh

#LeeSangYeob

#LeeChoHee

#BaekJiWon

#KiDoHoon

#LeeSangYi

#MoonWooJin

#KimBoYun

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Great chemistry, interesting premise, good OST but so many inconsistencies

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Chinese Action and mystery romance drama. With 24, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then I review.

Synopsis

Theoretically most people have a doppelgänger (someone not genetically related that looks identical or nearly identical to someone else). This story centers around a rich Chinese heiress’ doppelgänger. Shen Man Ning (Li Mo Zhi) grew up abroad after her parent’s untimely death. Her grandfather, the Chairman of the family conglomerate, figured it was the best way to keep her safe from others who wanted to eliminate her to gain the company. Zhuang Xin Yan (also played by Li Mo Zhi) and Shen Man Ning’s paths cross at the university they are both attending. When Xin Yan is kidnapped after be mistaken as Man Ning, Xin Yan dies while rescuing her. When she wakes up in the hospital, Man Ning meets Yan Xing Cheng (Fan Zhe Xin) who was Man Ning’s fiance (or so she originally thought. Although distressed at Man Nig’s death, Xing Cheng, doesn’t directly show his grief. Instead he bullies Xin Yan into a scheme to fake she is Man Ning in order to inherit the conglomerate as Man Ning rightfully should have. In a bloody battle for the inheritance, it is a dangerous deception. But with the brilliant and forceful Xing Cheng at her side, they work to unravel the mystery behind Man Ning’s death, prize the inheritance, and slowly fall in love.

Review

I recommend this as a good action movie with a solid central romance. The acting and chemistry between the main leads makes it a worthwhile watch. I don't rate it super high, because there were a lot of inconsistencies and character development issues that kept it from being an outstanding show. The musical score for it was really good, I liked all the songs and particularly liked the theme song. I would recommend it for anyone that is a fan of either of the leads, and/ or those that can suspend a lot of belief and just enjoy the action, the intended mystery and the romance of the leads. I would not rewatch it very soon, although if it was on, and somebody was watching it, I would probably watch it with them.

Spoilers*

Although doppelgängers are a real thing they never explained well how the two came to be in the same place overseas at the same time. If they had crossed paths in China it would have been more believable but for doppelgängers to cross paths overseas like that just when the one is about to be kidnapped, represents too many rare events all in one to make it believable.

The main girl was very uncertain, not very forceful, and got very nervous about everything in tge start of the series and the male lead role in that first part fit that lethal man description. There were a series of action scenes. Where he was forceful, and was amazing in fighting. He talked her into pretending to be the girl that had died and even guilted her into it. In the first part of the series, they made it out that her pretending to be her doppelgänger was a critical part of his plan to get in and back at that family. But then the chaebol girl, that was in love with Xing Chen, found out that Man Ning wasn't really the daughter of the family. To get Xing Chen, the love rival forced a situation that caused Man Ning to reveal she was not the family heiress. Rather than remedy the situation as he so vehemently promised he would,he drops the plan and reveals he is the grandson they thought was dead. Which made his insistence Man Ning pose as her look alike nonsensicle. Why did they need to do that if he was a relative? They never fully explained why he did not reveal his identity in the first place. ZHe also also agreed to marry the girl that had tried to kill the woman he loved. That made no sense as there was little to gain from marrying her.

The entire "she is allergic to mangoes but has to eat them to prove she is the heiress" made no sense. Knowing how severly allergic she was, there were so many options she had not to eat them. She could've said she developed an allergy. She could've said she was feeling sick. She could've just had a small but and said she was full. With so many believable reasons to not eat the mangoes, it was odd that she ate the whole thing. Then here he was, the guy who promised he would protect her and take care of problems, watching her eat the desert. He should have been able to clearly see something was wrong with her eating the mangoes. He wasn't a lethal man in those portions of the story he was more like inaction man. And then she has this huge allergic reaction, and rather than take her into a hospital, he gives her some home remedy to make her vomit. Simply making someone vomit that has that severe of a reaction is not enough to stop it. And then he puts her in the shower presumptively to cool her rash or fever but blocks her body with his which kept most of the water off her.

The "love at first sight was way overdone." Multiple characters has love at first sight with other characters. They made it out like loving someone at first sight is a valid thing and you can develop a deep emotional attachment that quickly. It made it nonsensical that several of the characters were so heartbroken when they were rejected after not really knoing the person to begin with.

While Xing Chen was a not so lethal man, more of an overly emotional wreck on many occasions his right hand man team was worse. One of his team was supposed to be an amazing bodyguard and the other a highly skilled hacjpker but they both failed more than they succeeded. Main guy would assign something to them, like keeping the girl from leaving, and she would just slip by them relatively easily. Still he acted like they were so awesome and trustworthy .


The second half of the show the characters did a flip-flop where now she is strong and forceful, and he is uncertain and even gets suicidal. While I love that she never let him trample on her, and when he was cruel, rejecting her, she didn't cry and beg, it was a reversal of her earlier personality. I was happy she told him off and even bit him when he acted cruelly toward her. But whe had allowed him, early on, to put his hands on her and even choke her and just cowered in response. So for her to suddenly be the forceful one was a huge shift. He, on the other hand, had been arrogant, confident and cold, and also very capable and strong emotionally in the first partl. Then, in the second half he was suddenly falling all apart. I think the most confusing scene with him was after he told her he didn't love her, goes to confront the family all forcefully but just falls apart the moment they flip it on him. So they lied to him and told him he wasn't part of the family that he was adopted or a bastard child and he initially meets it with his usual "lethal man" like response. He even responds defiantly "you think you're gonna do anything to me?" But then, the next scene, he's at the water ready to jump in and end it all. Was he defiant or broken? Defiant made sense as a "lethal man" but broken like that was out of character.

It felt like they missed a lot of opportunities. They could've made her the actual real daughter, and that the identical twins were split up when they were young to keep them safe. That would have been a twist tha made sense. And he could've been a son of the other family. That way they weren't related, but they both were heirs to explain why they would've wanted to hide them. Then with the aunt, who was all murderous, we find out she's the daughter of the Butler essentially, and that they adopted her into the family and treated her as one of them. From scores of other dramas the wealthy famikies usually ostracized and ousted illegitamite children so for them to so easily incorporate her made no sense. Why? The mother typically refused to accpept children that were not her own so where was the grandmother? Since the Aunt was a preteenor teenager when she was adopted, why did she feel so entitled to everything the family had? I know she was crazy, but even a crazy person would've realized that they weren't a natural born child, and would not have had as much as the oldest child, so that didn't make any sense. She also claimed a lot of abuse in that gazebo garden area but they only showed one incident and it seem to be grandfatger misunderstood and thought she had hurt the oldest daughter. Just that one incident made it hard to buy that she was as crazy as she was about that gazebo.

There was never any justice for grandpa. It was never revealed the Aunt made him so distressed it triggered the heart attack and then she, rather than help him, backed him off the steps, and then he fell and hit hiss head. She murdered him. The grandpa wanted to cover for her for 17 years, which made no sense as he was supposedly always punishing her for other things. Little things. But he was okay covering up her murders? The murder of his daughter and her family? Made no sense.

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So many better series out there with similar storylines

My rating is 8.5/10. This is a 2022 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 12, 30-40 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

When Han Ji-yul (ChooYoung-woo) is tricked by his grandfather to leave Seoul and come to a small community in the country, he thinks he will just keep his head down and run his grandfather’s vet clinic quietly. Huidong village is not a place to bring your big city attitude though, the people are close and everybody not only knows everybody but they know everything about each other. Ahn Ja-young (Park Soo-young) grew up in the village and is the jack of all trades helper. She seems to have a hand in about everything and this brings the village beauty into close contact with the annoying city man on a frequent basis. At first this “nosy” behavior annoys Ji-yul who didn’t want to be there in the first place. But it is not long before he too relies on Ja-young to navigate this confusing new social environment. Will the city guy find love in this very unexpected place? Can he win her love over the boy turned man she grew up with?

Review
A nice romantic comedy with a very linear, predictable storyline, If you are looking for something shorter and not very complex, this would be a good choice. It is worth warching once but I may never watch it again. I would not turn the channel if it was on but also would not seek it out. My 30 year old daughter, who watched it with me, said she would rate it 10/10 and we usually agree so that shows how differently people feel about this one. She said she could not think of anything wrong with it. As you can tell, from my review below, I found quite a bit wrong with the series.

Spoilers*
I felt like he was very unkind to her in the beginning for no good reason. He was bristly and aloof in general despite the towns people being relatively friendly. Then it flipped and there was a point where she was not very nice to him. Because of that it was harder for me to completely buy into their sudden deep love for each other. I think, had the series been longer, there would have been more time for them to have a slower build to romance which would have added credibility. For me just them knowing each other as kids was not enough reason for them to fall so quickly and completely as adults.

Ja-young expecting him to remember they were friends as kids and being so angry it took so long was unreasonable. He was obviously severely traumatized by his parent’s death and a mature adult would have realized that. So the anger she had over that was uncalled for. The writers did a poor job of providing that back story. There was not enough information about that traumatic event to understand why he went mute and how he recovered. The person he was talking to on the phone brother? Uncle? Friend? It was difficult to determine that relationship. And it was an important one because you never got to see him being close to anyone else, including the grandfather. When Ja-young got in the car accident and Ji-yul is in a panic trying to get her out I thought there would be a series of flashbacks that would explain his trauma more but there wasn’t. The car was neither on fire nor in the water so it was strange for him to find it that critical to get to her. It implied it was due to the past trauma but you had to make that connection mostly yourself.

I really did not like 2nd guy at all for her. He was mean to lead guy beyond what mere jealousy would have called for. He was pushy about his feelings. Not sweet and patient but it seemed like he took for granted and expected she should turn to him. He never effectively defended her when the others treated her poorly for being an orphan nor went out of his way to help her often. It just seemed territorial and not like he had true romantic feelings for her for a long time.

The whole situation with the ex girlfriend was so brief it felt rushed and not a valid insertion to the story so late in the game. Triangles are often used to reveal the character’s feelings for the lead. In this case the ex shows up and he does not waver at all. And, at first, you wondered what horrible thing she had done. But then you find out she was just going abroad. That separation trope is done often enough those of us in the know expect that separation does not come between true love. But it did. And he just broke up with her. Yet we learn he was so deeply in love with her it took a long time for him to recover. He wondered if he could ever love again. But she shows up and he does not even waiver from this girl he newly loves. The ex had everything, they shared interests and were both veterinarians, lived in Seoul and had history. For him to so quickly choose main girl did not ring true. It would have been more credible if the ex had done something horrible or was not a very nice person or something. Or even if he discovered he never really loved her but mistook friendship for lovel. It nade his love for anyone seem shallow.

When he gave up his life in Seoul to take over the vet hospital in that small town it felt like he was sacrificing a lot to be with her. There was never a sense he grew to love working with large animals it just felt like he adapted. When they were dating and wanted privacy they went to Seoul. So it appeared, as a young couple, Seoul would have more to offer them. Thus the choice to live in the small town did not flow logically. I think the point was the town people started to feel like a big family which is something he never had, but they did not portray that well. It never showed him developing deep relationship with town members. So it just seemed he was giving up a lot and she wasn’t.

Her being a police officer yet doing everything seemed weird. I have seen others about police in a small town and they still do police work. Here she would be, in the middle if a shift, helping to cover peaches. That would have made sense for maybe a town mayor or something but not for a police woman. And she came and went whenever it seemed. It did not make police in a small town look very good. And I do not think, based on a lot of other examples, it was an accurate portrayal.

#ChooYoungWoo
#ParkSooYoung

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FL is cruel to ML through most of the series

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean romantic drama series with 16, 65 minute episodes. It is based on web novel “Senior, Don’t Put on that Lipstick”.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Yoon Song ah (Won Jin-ah) feels she has reached the top of her game as a marketer for a major South Korean cosmetics Brand, Her and her boyfriend, Lee Jae-shin (Lee Hyun-wook) are approaching their two year dating anniversary and she is sure he will be popping the question. Her success has led to her recruiting and training Cha Hyung-seung (Rowoon). She feels completely blind sided and betrayed when Hyung-seung reveals that her boyfriend is not only cheating but about to get married. As is often the case her initial anger is not as much at her cheating boyfriend but at the messenger. It is fairly clear that Jae-shin thought she never needed to know about the wife and he could just have her as side chick. Upon revealing her boyfriend’s deception, Hyun-seung decides to confess to her, perhaps to make her feel better but it has the opposite effect., She suspects his motives and initially tries to drive him away. Will Soon ah see Hyung-seung’s real feelings. Can she get revenge? Will true love develop from a rebound relationship?

Review

This starts really slow and I found the first episodes to be only minorly interesting. It picks up when she is dealing with her boyfriend of two years and his cheating. Then it is all about lead guy winning her over. If you like romances that are heavy on the drama with few comedic, suspenseful or mysterious moments then this might be one you would enjoy. There are some characters with deep flaws that have only minimal character growth.

Spoiler*

There was a huge disconnect between the way that the characters were acted and portrayed in the first part of the drama, and the way that they were acted and portrayed in the next part of the drama. It was not simply character growth as it happened too suddenly and radically, For instance Song ah was completely against going to Europe. They made a point of Song ah saying how much she enjoyed her company, and that it was like a part of her. It seemed to be true and also seemed like she was portraying to him that he was mire important than Europe. Her ex gets taken off the project and her mentor takes over and suddenly she could not do without Europe. And suddenly she could care less how Hyeung-seung felt about it. That was an odd reversal. In the first episodes, the ex pledged he would never give up trying to win her back then went never mind. It was even more odd that he gives up on lead girl, throws it all in with sugar mama rich girl, then decides to strike out on his own and suffer. That was such a complete reversal that the loss if his dad, who he professed to not care about, could not account for it. Also, the lead female character’s mom was very child like and selfish but she has a sudden denouement and becomes a social butterfly doing a complete flip flop from being desperately clingy to hard to reach. Peopke can change but not fundamentally and not typically in such a short period.

In regards to the situation with the sister and her husband, the chef guy, his befriending the sister, and the entire circumstances of the relationship between the three was just a confusing addition to the story . He didn’t really go after the husband in a way that made it make sense that he would cause such a rift in the relationship. The husband was a little cold and distant but it wasn’t like he sees the chef and is like oh right I was in love with him. The storyline with the chef only revealed this weird subject from his college days that he was very conflicted about. It did not show him feeling attracted to the chef or other men so him hurting his wife and little girl whom he obviously loved to continue his journey of self discovery was pointless. It was like they wanted to explore the topic of suppressing sexuality due to social pressure but they weren’t brave enough to go any further. They did not give him a gay romantic interest so it just created this weird ambiguous situation. The little girl was nine so all they would have had to do was wait until she reached adult hood and he could have continued his self searching without breaking everyone’s heart. A perfect ending to that story would have been him with a partner, her with someone that romantically loved her and the little girl happy in this blended family.

They built the little girl up to be wise beyond her years. It seemed like the purpose was going to be she would respond to her parent’s break up in a very mature way. Like yeah I knew daddy was unhappy and was interested in men I was waiting for him to realize. Or I am glad you are separating now you can find someone and be happy. But she broke down and was surprised like any kid would be. It made the whole build up of how mature she was pointless.

Maybe the cutest side romance was lead guy’s sister and the grandson of the company. He saw her and it was instant infatuation. Him moving heaven and earth to get the lipstick she liked remade was such a compelling romantic gesture. I felt like it got Netflixed a bit when she proposed to him instead if the other way around and when she was the one paying so little attention to the details of the wedding. Has to have those feminist undertones if it is on Netflix. i thought there was missed opportunity for him to favor the lead guy in the company. Like when the other manager was sabitaging the launch of the new product lead guy developed, they could have discovered it was that corrupt manager behind it, and it could have been a big reveal to him that lead guy was now an extended part of the chaebol family. It would have been fun to see him grovel. But they just dropped that story line.

I liked the way the romance between the rich sugar fiancé and lead girl’s ex played out. Tgey became friendly again but did not get together romantically. They both had serious mental issues. Her emotionally black mailing him with suicide if he was not with her was such a toxic thing I could never see them having a healthy relationship. Him just using her for what she could give him financially was also a non starter. So I liked that he finally refused to let her emotionally manipulate him. I also liked, when he was back, she had moved on.

Many reviewers say, and I completely agree, that lead girl was just mean to him. I get the “shoot the messenger” aspect if him being the one to reveal the affair so she directed her initial anger at him. I have seen that happen often in real life. But she took it beyond that and seemed to enjoy him fawning over her and returning his devotion with near disdain, But the whole Europe thing to me was unforgivable. Thatvwas after she confessed and they were in that over the moon phase of a new relationship. He asked her not to go and she ignored his heartfelt request and said she was going anyway. Then when he chose to accept it and try to make the distance relationship work she did nothing to bridge the gap instead she continually chose work over him. Then she breaks it off with him in the cruelest way possible when he came to Europe to see her. She knew his past relationship and how that ex had treated him but showed a total disregard for his feelings in much the same way. I think she broke up with him then not because she was hurting him as much as she felt guilty and wanted to pursue her selfish goals without remorse. Then she cuts her Europe assignment short professing it was because she realized her error and missed him but that did not seem genuine either. It showed her mentor essentially using her like a lackey and little joy in her work there. So it seemed the oversees job was not as wonderful as she thought so that is why she came back. After that I really did not like her and was not happy when they reunited. He at least made it a little hard for her. And what happened to his ex that proposed to keep trying to get him back? I would have liked for leadvgirl to experience some heart break seeing him with someone else and I thought perhaps that would be the case, he would get back with the ex. But she just dropped out of the storyline.

Siwon is such an unusually handsome man that it was hard to buy that he would’ve put up with her cold indifference, and even cruelty at times when you would expect, he would’ve had a lot of women very interested in him. In real life I have seen it but it’s rare. And usually it is either the woman has such an attractive personality or has an allure in the bedroom. Since he was several attractiveness levels above her you would’ve thought, at minimum, when she broke it off with him so coldly that would’ve been the end of it.


#SheWouldNeverKnow
#SeniorDon’tPutOnThat
#WonJinAh
#Rowoon
#LeeHyunWook

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Starts out cute and is good 3/4 of the way but loses its way the last episodes though ends happy

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy drama with 24, 41 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Xiaobao (Sun Sicheng) tends to create a whirlwind of chaos wherever her goes. He is the only child being raised by single father, He Qiaoyan (Wei Zheming), CEO of Heshi Group. He is non verbal and instead holds up cards to communicate with others. He has burned through nannies and doctors until he meets Qin Yiyue (Hu Yixuan), a child psychologist, who Xiabao takes an immediate liking to. At first opposed to having Xiabao work with the young, eccentric doctor, his son’s earnest desire to befriend Yiyue convinces the robotic like CEO that she may be the one that can help his son. After overcoming her original reluctance, Qiaoyan gets Yiyue to agree to a contract marriage for Xiaobao (Sun Sicheng). But what starts as a business arrangement as the two very different people find that lobe cam blossom in unlikely places. Turns out the sweet, warm amd highly capable psychologist is a perfect foil for the distant, cold and logic centered CEO.

Review

Overall a good not great heart warming romantic comedy. I like both leads and look for them in other series. They have great chemistry and the romance between them is well paced and believable. Anyone who likes the single parent, Cinderella, and cold executive tropes will like it for those reasons.n That being said there were some plot holes and character inconsistencies that developed toward the end. But it was a happy ending just some odd twists and turns immediately prior.

Spoilers*

I liked the first 3/4 of the show so much I would likely have considered it a 9 or 9.5 out if 10. But then the writers seemed to lose their way in tying up the mystery and ending the story. The strange directions they took the main plot and subplots decreased the value of the series in my opinion. For one here she is supposed to be a uniquely talented psychologist but when she finds out he had major past trauma that he may be blocking she decides breaking up with him is best. Like breaking his heart in the middle of a mental health crisis is better than him remembering past trauma. They also act like well he has PTSD so he is just a lost cause. Two talented psychologists do not know how to deal with PTSD. That did not make sense. In facy Yiyue listens to the Aunt, who has no psychological training, and who has stated she doesn’t think Yiyue is socioeconomically good enough for Qiaoyan. The Aunt tells Yiyue she needs to leave Qiaoyan and Xiabao and never show up in front of them because her presence would be a reminder of the accident. And she was clueless because Qiaoyan has never gotten over the accident because he struggles to remember the details So he has regular nightmares. But Yiyue listens to the Aunt, who so obviously might have selfish motivations, and goes against what she should have learned as a psychologist, and breaks it off even “giving” him to her love rival. Like that is not psychologically damaging or hurtful. And Qiaoyan, who had been robotically stoic to this point, uncharacteristically falls all apart when he finds out he was the driver. It would have made sense for him to be sad or feel guilty but to fall apart to the extent he did was out of character. Then Yiyue comes up with this “dream of hers to go to Germany” thing and it is the first we heard of it. If the main character supposedly had this long term dream it makes no sense to only hear about it in the last episodes. If she had been faking it to provide a reason for the break up to Qiaoyan it would have made a little sense but no, she verifies it to her parents and friends. When she realizes that Qiaoyan has learned of the past and is in acute mental crisis ,she says screw Germany I am staying as they need me (like really “brilliant” psychologist, you only now realize that?) but then she randomly gets kidnapped. When Xiaobao tells him mommy was kidnapped he chases the kidnappers down and winds up putting his car in front of theirs to stop them. Then he wakes up in the hospital and Yiyue tells him the reason she was kidnapped and why the accident that killed his brother wasn’t his fault because his rival company found out his brother had dirt on them and they caused the accident. These arch rival/enemies were new to these last episodes. I think they were trying for a surprising plot twist but it was just weird and confusing, She was distancing herself, then he was, then she was and it went back and forth like that netween them a lot. And through all the adult’s nonsense there was Xiaobao. He was always snapping the adults out of it. Xiaobao was better at psychology than Yiyue. Like in the last few episodes when his dad was being an emotional zombie, Xiaobao used calling Qiaoyan daddy to get him to snap out of his psychological funk and it worked. So that gets sorted and it seems Yiyue has finally given up on going to Germany. Whicj was a stupid thing because it came out if nowhere. But the writers were not done with Germany because Qiaoyan suddenly is like you should go to Germany because it was always your dream. And she is like you are right that was always my dream (it wasn’t) so I am going to go to Germany and we will have a long distance relationship because right after you barely recovered psychologically and when Xiaobao is finally experiencing some stability - that is the best time for me to leave and pursue my dream. Then they have the weirdest long distance relationships and it seems she is really bad at it because even Xiaobao comments, anout not hearing or seeing her much. But then she is coming back and plays a prank about not coming back but then is back but we do not know why or how long. If it sounds chaotic it was. The writers just lost their way in those last episodes forgot some key characteristics of their characters and had them doing all kinds of things odd for their character. They also threw in some random elements then just rushed through them.

#UnforgettableLove
#WeiZheming
#SunSicheng
#HuYixuan

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A very good work place centered, love over the long term romance

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Chinese romantic comedy drama series with 32, 45-52 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Xiang Yuan (Wu Qian a.k.a Janice Wu) is living a carefree life as a top gamer/influencer when her grandfather’s threats of blind dates and marriage lead her to strike a deal for her continued freedom. If she can save the Xi'an branch of the Donghue group from bankruptcy her grandfather, and guardian since her parent’s early deaths, will drop the subject of marriage. Grandfather is confident he will win their deal and even gives her three feathers to be used for favors toward accomplishing her mission. She does not realize that the boy she was in love with in school, Xu Yanshi (Vin Zhang), who rejected her before transferring, is now a mature but still devastatingly handsome man, who works at the Xi’an branch of her company. Prior to being rejected, Xiang Yuan pursued Xu Yanshi throughout their school years. Seeing him again she initially takes up with trying to win his affection then remembers a romantic relationship leading to marriage is the very thing she was avoiding. As a brilliant navigation engineer, he is almost single handedly keeping the company afloat. So they must work closely together to save the ailing branch. The feelings that were always there spring back to life only now it is Xiang Yuan that realizes his feelings for Xiang Yuan and seeks to convince her he still is the one for her. Can the two save the company? Will their second chance at romance end happily?

Review

It is overall a feel good love story with a happy ending. The only person the female lead character is a push over for is Xu Yanshi. She is strong, confident and provides instant karma to those who need it. In their younger years she relentlessly pursues Yanshi and is rejected by him several times. When things finally flip and he is the one pursuing her she slowly finds out his feelings ran longer and deeper than the rejections would indicate. We also get to see her grow from a heir without a lot of confidence in her business acumen to a force to be reckoned with who is capable of running the family conglomerate. I liked it very much and would recommend it to others that like modern romantic comedy dramas. I loved several of the OST songs from this.

Spoilers

Toward the end both main characters make some decisions that were inconsistent with their central character traits to that point. For instance Yanshi is suddenly OK with her significant other being gone, long periods of time when she found that extremely hurtful as a child when her mother did the same. I know they tried to spin it that she changed it and now as an adult she finally understands why her mother was so focused on her research, but I don’t care being absent is being absent. They also tried to make it into the love of country and ability to bring your country to the next technological level is more important than personal family relationships, and it felt like it had a very heavy CCP influence on that aspect. Not to say that the United States doesn’t do the same thing with some of the patriotic aspects to movies , but in this, it just felt like they took one direction through the majority of the movie with putting more focus and care on personal relationships to only at the very end make it so that yeah but it’s OK if you’re furthering the interest of the country. That love of country over family was also contradictory to Yancey‘s personality, because that had been his dream early on but so many things in his life had come along that changed his perspective on that it seemed like a reversal. Rather than having his time tied up on a research track and being absentee he could have continued on the business track and still furthered the technology yet had more time with her and their son. They specifically emphasized he did not regret, taking a step back from his dreams to raise his brother and iIn fact, he felt like that was one of his greatest gifts. Therefor it made no sense that he would be an absentee with his child, and would spend less time with his own family to focus on his dream when he quickly altered his goal and dream to raise his brother. So the ending is happy, but would have been better if he had revealed that had been his dream early on but his love for her and being there for his family was his new dream.

I thought what Yanshi’s mentor said to Yuan about being selfish, and, holding Yanshi back from his dream, was not only uncalled for and unmerited, but extremely rude and unkind. Later they portrayed it as he was really embarrassed about it when he realize that wasn’t the case but I wanted the moment where lead guy set him straight and said yes, that was my dream when I was younger, but now that I have Yuan my goals have shifted. That would have been more satisfying. I also thought that it was his mentor being selfish and living vicariously through Yanshi that resulted in him pushing so hard for Yanshi to join the academy.

I could see her point that she did not want him to give up his dream to help save her family’s company. What thought he should point out was that if he pursued his dream and her company went bankrupt when he could have saved it - he would not have felt good about that either.

#JaniceWu
#HereWeMeetAgain
#WuQian
#VinZhang

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Expect to lose sleep in binge watch sessions

8,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy drama with 30, 45 minute episodes

First I will provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Lu Li (Zhu Xu Dan) has shaped her life to be around the man she fell in love with. Her singular focus to become the type of woman to win Jiang Yi Cheng’s (Xing Zhao Lin) heart, led her to not only majoring in the same program focusing on computer programming but even attending the same college. When she was unable to get Yi Cheng’s attention as a student, her plan shifted to working at his company. That plan hits a snag when it is revealed Jiang Yi Cheng's company does not recruit female employees. Not to be deterred, Lu Li disguises herself as a man to get hired with the intention of revealing her true gender after she has proven her worth. Jiang Yi finds himself attracted to this very feminine looking new male employee such that it is a relief when he discovers “he” is actually a she. Since he discovered it before the intentional reveal he is initially angry that he was duped. But his mother, who was already pressuring marriage, is happy when she discovers her son is not interested in a relationship with a man after all and is happy to pressure her son to make this person he showed interest in her daughter-in-law. To satisfy his mother, and yet not be forced into a relationship, Yi Cheng secretly strikes a deal with Lu Li to do a one year contract marriage and work at his company. Lu Li plans to win his heart and turn their fake marriage into the real thing.

Review

There were so many big milestone events I found this was one I could not stop watching even when I had work the next day. I would be like I am watching it until he figures out she is a girl, I am watching it until they kiss, I am watching it until they are married, I am watching it until she gets tired of his cheating, I am watching it until he discovers where she is, I am watching it until they reconcile, and so on. They did such a food job with the plot there was always something big going in that you wanted to see what happened with this or that. If you like heart warming romances with a strong female lead do not let the early part of this deter you, it would lead you to think she is a push over and simply too nice. But she comes into her own later in the series, so it is worth sticking with it, You might also think in the first half that he is always going to be somewhat cold and unfeeling toward the main girl but when he falls he falls hard. The slice of life of a female in a non traditional job in China adds a uniqueness to the story. I recommend this for those that like romances with happy, well wrapped up, endings and lighter, less complex plots. Those that like characters in disguise, cold CEOs, love triangles, surprise pregnancies, and women in non traditional roles will also like this.

Spoilers
It was cringy early on how little she looked like a guy. She was way too pretty and feminine to pass for a guy so I was glad, at least, they commented about it a lot and we did not go through too many episodes until he discovered she was a girl. The scene in the horse where he would have been cuddled up to what he thought was a guy caused a lot if 2nd hand embarrassment for me. i was super glad she was “discovered” and switched to a woman in like episode 7 or so. Up to episode 20/21 I was getting frustrated she was putting up with his emotional cheating. Even in a contract marriage, you should not do things that embarass the other person. If people think you are in a genuine relationship, having people pity you because they think you are being cheated on is humiliating and hurtful. So he should have realized that. She was so sweet to him and his behavior toward her was cold and cruel at times. I was cheering her on when she ate the stinky noodles right outside his room. And when she would stick up for herself and ignore him or defy him I thought he was getting a little bit of the punishment he deserved. The “other” woman/ex girlfriend was inferior to lead girl in every way. She was way less attractive yet they stated several times how pretty she was. Her personality was seriously lacking so that other men did not seem interested in her at all. It made it hard to understand what he ever saw in her and even angrier at him for the way he treated his wife.

When Lu Lin finally left him I was cheering so hard internally. No one ever needed a lesson more than he did. It showed her strength of character that she went to a new city, far away, and set herself up and was doing well. Her unlikely romantic interest/turned out to be just what she needed was awesome. You could have seen an alternate reality where she was forget Yi Cheng and went for the hottie new boss. He was cute with her and it was apparent he was a ladies man at that stage where he was ready for someone to knock him off his feet.
I have experienced a few guys like that in my life. Hard to catch but when they actually encounter someone who does not fall for their Romeo ways they fall for her. I would have liked to know what happened with him and his forced fiancé.

When the sister saw Yi Cheng with the ex girlfriend at the mall I thought she was going to let him have it. When he told her the girl was just misunderstood previously and she flipped so easy to accepting her excuse and mentioning her brother now had two romantic interests aI was very disappointed. She essentially helped her brother cover up his very bad behavior.

The Lu Jingwen (Pang Han Chen) character gave me serious Siwon vibes (Korean singer with Super Junior). In the show he is the boss who hires Lu Lin and has serious romantic interest in her until he discovers her heart is totally taken by Yi Cheng. You won’t get the Siwon vibe just looking at a picture of him it is more like a slight resemblance but his expressions and mannerisms totally remind me of Siwon. I love the role he plays because he expects a lot of her and yet he protects her and is her biggest advocate, He makes it very clear to lead guy you treat her right or I am right here.

In reality the character transformation Yi Cheng went through rarely happens and if it does it is not lasting. In my experience men and women who are cheaters, whether emotional or physical or both very rarely significantly change. Especially if they never fully understand how what they did was cheating. The show portrayed that Yi Cheng saw the error of his ways and would never do something like that again, but odds are that he would. The fact that so much had to happen for him to understand his actions were wrong shows that, at his core, he feels that behavior was okay. That would not make for a good romance though. And perhaps her showing what would happen to him if he ever did something like that again would deter him.

#CuteProgrammer
#XingZhaoLin
#ZhuXuDan
#YiDaQin
#GuanXin
#TianZiTong
#PangHanChen

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If you like cold CEO, Cinderella and just a light hearted romantic comedy this is for you

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese Romance Drama with 24, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Gu Xixi (Wang Yu Wen) is a fashion buyer who dreams of opening her own store to sell her line of fashion designs. In need of a difficult to purchase item for a client she pretends to be with Yin Sichen (Wang Zi Qi) the CEO of a mall and son of a very wealthy conglomerate family. Not one to be used for nothing, Yin Sichen helps Gu Xixi catch the attention of the designer whose item she needs to purchase but then uses that to make her beholden to him. The designer is also someone Sichen wants to strike a deal with to feature his fashion in his malls. The designer, Alex, takes an interest in the two thinking they are an ideal couple to promote his wedding dress line. To seal the deal with the eccentric designer he gets Xixi to be his contracted wife for three months. Xixi is in need of cash so she agrees to the arrangement. As the two spend time together as a “married” couple real feelings begin to grow.

Review

This is just the perfect romantic comedy. The two lead’s chemistry is off the charts. Sichen starts as the arrogant, bossy and aloof CEO but turns into the most attentive and doting husband when he discovers his feelings. Xixi is bright and sweet and wins almost everyone over very quickly. If you like heart warming romance you will live this. If you like the Cinderella and cold CEO tropes this is very good in both those aspects. It does not have a deep complex plot and there are no real twists but if you are looking for bubbly romance you don’t want all that anyway.

Spoilers*. This does not have the tired mother in law buying off the girlfriend or boyfriend trope. The mother became one of my favorite characters. My mother in law was wealthy and flew in to our wedding on a private jet to tell my fiance it wasn‘t too late to change his mind. Life can truely be stranger than fiction, So I am never surprised when one of the mothers are cruel. I expected his mother to take the side of his childhood friend who thought he was hers but she did not, instead she said how she was a great sister to her son. The grandmother was Betty White level enjoyable older character. The female protagonist was a crazy stalker and one of the best moments was when Xixi told her you do not do things to hurt those you love. Inalso cheered when her best friend tricked evil girl into insulting her own fashion choice to reveal her wicked tricks. Second guy was steadfastly there for lead girl but he never did anything hurtful. He was like a foil for the 2nd female showing how you can show your love by wishing the target if your affection happiness even if it is not with you. The only couple I was not a huge fan of was his friend and the austere career woman. I did not dislike their relationship I just did not care. I could have seen second guy and his assistant as a couple as she was so amazingly supportive of him. I thought Xixi’s best friend and Sichen’s assistant may become a couple and there were some hints. Liked how Xixi was her own person and kept her own identity yet was an affectionate and playful wife. Sichen’s transformation was fun to watch. The lead couple were so on the same wave length they even planned the same surprise for each orher.

#OnceWeGetMarried
#WangYuWen
#WangZiQi

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Enjoyable but ends abruptly

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean comedy romance fantasy drama with 10, 15 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Sun Nyeo (Kim Do Yeon) leads a typical teenage life but is annoyed that she bears a striking resemblance to a comic book character from a series that was popular a decade before. Not annoyed enough though that she doesn’t occasionally read the lines out loud. One time, as she reads the lines out loud, it causes the male romantic lead from the book, Chun Nam Wook, (Kim Min Kyu) to “Pop Out” from the comic book into the real world.
Even with a decades old hair style and fashion sense Nam Wook Is a heart throb. Seeing the object of his affections Nam Wook, Sun Nyeo’s he tries to continue their relationship where it left off calling her by a cheesy knickname and spotting equally cheesy one liners aimed at Sun Nyeo’s heart. It’s not long before Nam Wook understands that this Sun Nyeo is not the girl he left in the comic book. Will icy cool Sun Yeo fall for this unlikely Romeo?

Review
As a smile coming of age romantic comedy it fits the bill if you want something short, predictable and with a happy enough ending. Well acted with compelling characters.

*Spoilers. My biggest issue with this is it ends abruptly. He predictably has to return to the book and they have a tearful separation. He, also somewhat predictably, returns to the real world (how?) with some new character we only catch a glimpse of THE END. What? Do not leave me on a cliff hanger unless there are clear plans for another season. I liked it and was enjoying it but it felt like there was a power outage it ended so abruptly. If you like things neatly wrapped up in the end as I do then this is not for you. Maybe wait and see if they do another season. If you are ok with nebulous ending where you have to fill in a bunch of blanks then this may be one for you as I found the story and all the characters believable and enjoyable.

#PopOutBoy
#KimDoYeon
#KimMinKyu

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Romance with side characters with deep dark flaws

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 (well filmed mostly 2017 but not aired until 2021) South Korean Romantic drama with 16, 70 minute episodes. Also known under the title “Mojito”.

First I write a synopsis then review

Synopsis

A tragic event led Chin Ji Woo (Sung Joon) to literally run from his past. But the money he had as a chaebol heir is running dry and he returns home anticipating a piece of inheritance from his recently deceased grandfather. In the course of being a rich play boy, he encounters So Joong Hee (also known as Soju; Im Ji Yeon) whom he discovers will do many things for the right amount of money. He is fascinated by this person that lives so differently than he does and decides to play with her. While Ji Woo did not inherit a lot of money he did get an old building filled with books. Since his family has cut him off (partially to keep him from leaving) Ji Woo comes up with the ipunique idea of having a day drinking bar which he calls Siesta. Joong Hee becomes his part timer to pay off a debt she wounded up having to him. Her dream is to study culinary art in Paris but since she was swindled out of her money working with Ji Woo is currently her best option. As the two get closer, Seo Yi Ji (Kim Yoon Hye) the sister of Ji Woo’ s deceased friend whom he feels responsible for appears. Ji Woo has so much guilt over past events that Yi Ji is able to bully him into being her boyfriend. Joon Hee’s best friend Kim Yeong Kang (Baek Sung Hyun) has thought of her as more than a friend for quite some time but has yet to confess. Will two people from such different backgrounds find love? What is the tragedy from Ji Woo’s life that had him running from emotional pain? Will Siesta flourish or fail?

Review

I think a huge determining factor in whether you like this drama or not is if you are okay with characters who have deep flaws or if you watch dramas to escape the ugly side of reality. The central romance itself is believable and cute but so nany of the characters around them have serious emotional problems. It is good, you can definitely tell it was filmed in 2017 as it has this darker style and just has the cultural essence of that time period. It is good and I would recommend it for those that like romances. I will not likely rewatch it so it is not a top favorite but still worth a watch.

Spoilers
Ji Woo is so cruel, at times to Soju that it is really hard to understand what she sees in him when there is a guy that is so sweet and caring to her in the form of her bestie. However, there is this scene when the two seconds ask each other what they see in the lead couple and their answers are telling. They basically provide a list of bad qualities and then say but I love them anyway. Ji Woo acts very cool and uncaring on the exterior but actually winds up taking care of all those in need who cross his path. He is fun and interesting and it is that charisma that draws people to him. Soju is very caring. She cannot pass someone in need without helping. She makes food she thinks others will like and is a hard worker. Which, I think, is the reason Ji Woo and Soju are better suited than the two people who like them. The fact that they see and bring out these positive qualities is what makes for a good relationship. There was a point when I thought Yi Ji might have undergone some character growth and might become likable but then she does the most selfish and despicable things and I think never mind. Harming yourself and threatening suicide to get someone to be with you is emotional abuse. The fact that she could observe what her selfish behavior was doing to him and still carry on, even when his mother implored her to let him go, showed she was a selfish and cruel person to her core. They tried to give her a redemption arch but the way she “let him go” was narcissistic and she basically blamed him for allowing her to use him. The girl needed serious mental help as she was emotionally abusive. Soju’s brother was just a straight up mooch. He did finally find a job that suited him and turn things around but it was so close to the end there was no time for it to feel redemptive. I wanted Ji woo’s mother to tell Yi Jo’s mother off. How dare she emotionally traumatize her son when the entire situation was that family’s fault. Who goes up to a grieving teenager who just lost their best friend and tells them they are going to hell? The son was upset and ran off because his mother was cheating on his dying father. Ji Woo goes after him and, when he is too hurt, he leaves him by a tree to go get help. And the guy crawls off? He was horrible too, he knew his friend was following him but he was busy throwing a fit. I found that whole family just horrible, None of that was his fault. The fact that no one told him that before her was disgraceful of all the adults in his life. The mother saying she needed someone to blame as if that was an acceptable justification for her emotionally abusive behavior was frustrating. But the Apple did not fall far from the emotional abuser tree as her daughter tried to justify her horrendous behavior toward him because she needed someone to lean on and that telling him it wasn’t his fault may have made him leave her side. I was a little disappointed that Ji Woo never apologized for choosing to protect manipulative Ji Yi‘s feelings and was willing to break Soju’s heart. When you hurt someone you live that deeply, even if it is because you are being manipulated and abused, acknowledging and apologizing is something you should do to heal as a couple.

#CastingASpellToYou
#Mojito
#SungJoon
#ImJiYeon

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