I'm loving this so much! Love the humour, the chemistry of both couples AND of the friends group, all the quotes they keep giving and Kapook is winning her Fujioshi cup once again! XD Also, I'm liking how the drama doesn't take itself too seriously, it's just a fun romcom filled with sparkles that leaves you smiling from ear to ear!
I will need (and be happy) to rewatch this again before writing any complete comment, but I just want to say that I loved this from start to finish: it was just the right number of episodes, the perfect storytelling and an amazing test as actors for both Gemini & Fourth, who managed to really bring to full life their characters.
Thanks, P'Aof, for once again you outdid yourself!
I came here feeling the exact same way. I feel like the whole show so far didn't need the 7 episodes it has aired…
My secret dream is that one day someone will make a spin-off of Battle of the Writers ONLY with the wuxia part of it! The "novel" part was so interesting (and visually beautiful....!)
QUESTION because I think I missed this: I get the chinese original title, 莫离 MO LI, means something like "always…
I did some research on the different hanzi characters and I assumed it was a play on homophones, yes - thank you! I also found that saying which I found lovely. <3 Ideograms are so fascinating!
Another great watch! This year's C-dramas are really spoiling us.Loved how mature this story was, and how both…
QUESTION because I think I missed this: I get the chinese original title, 莫离 MO LI, means something like "always together", "never separated" - but why the international title "first jasmine"? is this a word-game with the fact that the jasmine flower also sounds as "mo li" (茉莉花 mòlìhuā), so being that the jasmine flower represents pure love and marital love, is it a reference to Yao being Li's first love?
(and also I found out that mòlì (茉莉) sounds like 没利 (mò lì), "without any material interest", which could be a nod to both Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao being virtuous and loyal to the greater good)
Another great watch! This year's C-dramas are really spoiling us.
Loved how mature this story was, and how both characters slowly opened up one to the other: they both had traumas and a heavy past that scarred them, but managed to learn to live again through ups and downs. Great soundtrack and great acting from all the cast - also, I appreciated how nobody was really 100% good or bad: everyone had hidden agendas for their own interests, or for the nation interests, or for someone else's interest... it felt very "real" in this sense, life is never only black or white.
Unexpectedly, by the end my favourite character was probably Mo Jingli: I loved his backstory, and although I knew his ending was written already (plus, Ye Li was definitely right, he was no emperor material), it really made me cry quite a few tears.
This is not an overwhelming, grand, epic drama but Li/Yao married life is so heartwarming (although I hated more than a few moments in which she just goes and does whatever instead of explaining herself clearly) that had me enthralled from start to finish (just a bit of a slump in the middle).
9/10 for me, kudos cast and crew! Cheng Lei, keep on being so dashing! And Ling Mu Ran, best wishes for your career!
I came here feeling the exact same way. I feel like the whole show so far didn't need the 7 episodes it has aired…
TutorYim are good actors - not toptier ones, but they can act and are very comfortable and natural together. Unfortunately they have been given terrible projects up to now, with absurd writings. This one has among the weirdest dialogues and choppy editing ever, and it's a real pity for them.
This was one of the biggest surprises for me this year! I'm not a SkyNani stan, in fact this was the first time for me watching this ship... BUT their chemistry is undeniable, they work wonderfully well together! I LOVED the chinese bromance vibes, it kinda gave me "The Untamed" vibes but transported in modern times.
Kudos to everyone: cast, you did great! Crew, you did great! Music: the OST by FLIO is one of the best songs from GMMTv in ages! The plot was interesting from start to finish and very well developed through all episodes, the lore and folklore part also was very well intertwined with events and characters. Probably my only complaint would be that we got all the supporting characters that were very interesting but didn't get enough time to be expanded upon.
I'm so torn on this series... I'm a huge Fluke fan and I was really looking forward to his first main lead project, and to be honest I was pleasently surprised by this new pairing (although Fluke has demonstrated he can have chemistry with any partner out there). The story was interesting at first and I LOVED the tea resort setting, but unfortunately the dialogues were horribly written and the plot execution was kinda meh. Also, I would have loved to see more from both main characters: their past, their development, their dynamics... instead we got tons of other characters's stories and never really got too deep into anything.
Another great episode - I love how we're given hints, bits and pieces of their past and of their stories but we're not explained everything directly.
and once again, i'll repeat myself by saying: what a great OST this drama has, and what a beautiful onscreen presence of Kuma, he's mesmerizing! he's not the "idol-beautiful", he's just the simple yet captivating kind of beautiful!
And, finished! I won't say "finally" because, for many parts, it was a fun and entertaining drama but unfortunately it also let me down quite a bit, especially with how the secondary characters were written and with all the unbelievable redemption arcs for Krit's parents.
Also, I'm a huge fan of Up's acting but, I think I wrote it already, he felt quite uninspired here - maybe due to the direction or the bidimensionality of its character (which could have been way better built). He acted well, mind me, just not as brilliant as he always does.
BUT his dance in the last episode saved whatever complain I have: I rewatched that minute dozens of times already, his puppy face is the cutest on earth and I LOVED seeing their everyday life in the end (although: two years after and Singto hasn't grown? And where did Rose go? She vanished?).
Hope they'll have other projects together, both Up & Poom are so talented and work so well together!
This show is so engaging, so much fun but with very nice deeper moments too and bonding time between the main leads. TayNew are really so natural, they are amazing alone but together they shine so much!
And honestly I'm enjoying MondRyu too: I have always been a huge fan of Mond since his younger years, he's so damn goodlooking and he's such a talented actor... I was kinda reluctant with this pairing after That Summer but here they work wonderfully well together! And Ryu is improving as an actor too, also the height difference is soooo cute! <3
This might be my comfort show right now - if I had to use only one word to describe it, it would be "mesmerizing": from the landscapes to the music, from the cinematic angles to the dreamy atmospheres, I'm completely caught in it!
If I had to find a flaw it would be the second CP, the two younger BL actors who somehow serve to show the dynamics of this business, mirroring what QingLang/ShiYuhao went thru when younger (and starring in the remake of their movie too). I understand why they're there but the contrast between their acting and the two leads acting is sometimes making me cringe.
And that brings me to say: the main CP has such electric chemistry! And Kuma is visually captivating, plus his acting is so natural!
1 
Also, I'm liking how the drama doesn't take itself too seriously, it's just a fun romcom filled with sparkles that leaves you smiling from ear to ear!
Thanks, P'Aof, for once again you outdid yourself!
But looking forward to this, love these kind of series! <3
Ideograms are so fascinating!
(and also I found out that mòlì (茉莉) sounds like 没利 (mò lì), "without any material interest", which could be a nod to both Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao being virtuous and loyal to the greater good)
Loved how mature this story was, and how both characters slowly opened up one to the other: they both had traumas and a heavy past that scarred them, but managed to learn to live again through ups and downs. Great soundtrack and great acting from all the cast - also, I appreciated how nobody was really 100% good or bad: everyone had hidden agendas for their own interests, or for the nation interests, or for someone else's interest... it felt very "real" in this sense, life is never only black or white.
Unexpectedly, by the end my favourite character was probably Mo Jingli: I loved his backstory, and although I knew his ending was written already (plus, Ye Li was definitely right, he was no emperor material), it really made me cry quite a few tears.
This is not an overwhelming, grand, epic drama but Li/Yao married life is so heartwarming (although I hated more than a few moments in which she just goes and does whatever instead of explaining herself clearly) that had me enthralled from start to finish (just a bit of a slump in the middle).
9/10 for me, kudos cast and crew!
Cheng Lei, keep on being so dashing! And Ling Mu Ran, best wishes for your career!
Kudos to everyone: cast, you did great! Crew, you did great! Music: the OST by FLIO is one of the best songs from GMMTv in ages! The plot was interesting from start to finish and very well developed through all episodes, the lore and folklore part also was very well intertwined with events and characters. Probably my only complaint would be that we got all the supporting characters that were very interesting but didn't get enough time to be expanded upon.
10/10 for me!
The story was interesting at first and I LOVED the tea resort setting, but unfortunately the dialogues were horribly written and the plot execution was kinda meh.
Also, I would have loved to see more from both main characters: their past, their development, their dynamics... instead we got tons of other characters's stories and never really got too deep into anything.
Fingers crossed for a new Fluke project, soon!
and once again, i'll repeat myself by saying: what a great OST this drama has, and what a beautiful onscreen presence of Kuma, he's mesmerizing! he's not the "idol-beautiful", he's just the simple yet captivating kind of beautiful!
Also, I'm a huge fan of Up's acting but, I think I wrote it already, he felt quite uninspired here - maybe due to the direction or the bidimensionality of its character (which could have been way better built). He acted well, mind me, just not as brilliant as he always does.
BUT his dance in the last episode saved whatever complain I have: I rewatched that minute dozens of times already, his puppy face is the cutest on earth and I LOVED seeing their everyday life in the end (although: two years after and Singto hasn't grown? And where did Rose go? She vanished?).
Hope they'll have other projects together, both Up & Poom are so talented and work so well together!
And honestly I'm enjoying MondRyu too: I have always been a huge fan of Mond since his younger years, he's so damn goodlooking and he's such a talented actor... I was kinda reluctant with this pairing after That Summer but here they work wonderfully well together! And Ryu is improving as an actor too, also the height difference is soooo cute! <3
If I had to find a flaw it would be the second CP, the two younger BL actors who somehow serve to show the dynamics of this business, mirroring what QingLang/ShiYuhao went thru when younger (and starring in the remake of their movie too). I understand why they're there but the contrast between their acting and the two leads acting is sometimes making me cringe.
And that brings me to say: the main CP has such electric chemistry! And Kuma is visually captivating, plus his acting is so natural!