Dabosil

Actually 5 (edit: 8)-and it's the surge these three years or so(I guess it also just happens that a lot of fluffy romance (media) like to use the gaming theme?)
There's

Love O2O (2016)
You are My Glory (2021)
The King's Avatar (2019)

Falling Into Your Smile (2021)
Crossfire (2020)

Edit: Go Go Squid (2018)
GoGo Squid 2-DT and Appledog's Time (2020)
Gank Your Heart (2019)

Love O2O was a very successful romance drama in terms of introducing the gaming aspect and also the surge in popularity for male leads with personalities like Xiao Nai and seeing two very pretty people in a relationship basically. (So, producers wanting to adapt similar books or make similar dramas definite). The King's Avatar was hugely welcomed for being focused on gaming without romance subplots and was very popular among many demographics. You Are My Glory is written by the same author as Love O2O, and the gaming in both shows are not professionally related (though they feature male leads who are great at gaming). Gu Man (the author) hasn't really had a failed adaptation of her novels so far and she has a loyal fanbase so adaptations of her novel are basically (huge IP, fanbase=base views at least, guaranteed hit).

I'd say Falling Into Your Smile is basically following along that trend. It's pretty popular among those outside China but has been plagued with plagiarism scandals surrounding the original book and inaccurate portrayals of gaming. Anyways, the mainline is the romance. Crossfire might've seen the success of The King's Avatar because it's also very highly focused on gaming. It has two male leads with a time travel aspect, so it's different., though out of all the dramas listed above, this one definitely the least popular among the foreign demographic.

Edit: A note about demographics-Chinese Dramas, even on the mainland, are mostly seen by female audiences so gaming is an aspect that could possibly also interest the male demographic (such as The King's Avatar).

Edit: GoGoSquid's reason for adaptation was also probably because of the unprecedented extreme popularity of Love O2O, though the book itself was pretty popular too. I mean. it worked, it was a huge hit. DT and Appledog's time is the sister story to the show, though it did not get that much hype. Gank Your Heart also followed the trend. though it's more low-budget and less well-known.

Anyways, for all the dramas listed above, we can at least see that there seems to be a general popularity trend for dramas with gaming involved, so it makes sense that producers are wanting to make gaming-related dramas. And with the success of CrossFire in China, they've been now working on an adaptation of the video game League of Legends, too.

Let's keep the discussion here to just about the drama content man.

Eh
But you knows it’s the literal game used in the book because the original author was playing the game and decided to write a book because she was playing it?

Haha this is a late reply, but the other day I literally thought that their side profiles looked really similar-and now I've seen your comment.

Nope-
I think feeling pain when the arrows, you know!

Okay, for some reason I feel no motivation to get to episode 5, but gosh,
This drama's entire soundtrack I have damn well been looping for hours on end!

Also, even though it's a realistic, sad-ish mood, I feel like the drama's like those stock footage of wheat blowing in the wind-it's so soft. Maybe it's how it's shot?

+I'm wondering when Nabi will finish that (currently) legless model piece

-Like you said, everyone has their own opinion, and I'm trying to speak from an objective view. Personally, I like the drama. But even if I didn't like it, I don't see why I can't write about that. Let's say most people like it. Well then, the general consensus would be that people like it, I can still dislike it, and write about it. Even if I said something personally opinionated like, "I don't like it because I don't like romance', I'm entitled to that, and no one needs to reply to me. Just as how people expressing their love for a drama is what they are entitled to too. Either way, a mix of reviews is what fleshes out the outlook of a drama. And anyways, recommendations are how people get to know dramas too. That's why there are forums and reviews.

I'm not too familiar with other actors on this list except for Zhang Yu Xi. I think her status might've been overexaggerated though-she might be a little popular on MDL, but definitely not recognizable, much less second-most _____. Yes, she has more recognition in China after 'Intense Love' and 'Love and Redemption', but tbh she's really not on the popularity level. Her acting chops are okay for romance dramas, as most cdrama romance-main genre actors. Her crying scene in 'Intense Love' tugged at my heartstrings. -But it's not extraordinary. However, all the best to her.

Those are some nice photos though.
-
And (generally speaking) honestly, despite the fact that I know many are fans of certain actors (I'm talking Chinese Dramas here), most of them really aren't 'great actors'-this is seriously, objectively speaking. Like I do like how they look and their shows may be pretty good, but they're not a legend for it man.

Looking at your preferences, you might want to watch 'Love, Designer' (I'm pretty sure that's the name) as it is also a romance, not heavy, and stars Dilraba.
For a historical rom-com (since you've watched The Long Ballad), I'll recommend you 'The Romance of Tiger and Rose', which is also really fluffy. (It also stars Ding Yuxi, who is the lead of 'Intense Love' on your list)
Also, for a super chill sweet romance, there's also 'Perfect and Casual' (which is on Youtube too),

If they filmed it this weekend it's most likely it will air next weekend/the start of August

I think episode 1 sets up the format of the show pretty clearly, so if you didn't like episode 1, it might not be your thing. But based on the shows you've completed and the ratings you give them, it seems like rom-com/fluffy romance shows are up your ally. Plus I see that many comments on Youtube from those who liked 'Falling Into Your Smile' also liked 'You Are My Glory'. Since you liked that show, however, this show also has some gaming aspects (though not professional), but it also is mainly a plot device. However, different to the romance shows from your list, this one is more a slow burn. So you can take it both ways. Good luck

haha no, I do like it. I was opting for a more objective review. I agree, not all dramas need to be deep or something. It is stress-relieving and simple.

I'm liking this drama right now, but I also think this is a byproduct of having a comparably mediocre slide of dramas this year. The drama hasn't been logically flawed so far, which is a compliment in itself considering certain other character motivations in other romance c-dramas. The characters have good personalities and rational decision-making mindsets and each has goals. Plot-wise, there haven't been any highs or lows, it's just quite flat so far, and consistent. Acting-wise, it's acceptable, though certain scenes can be done better. The couple looks good and their attraction is understandable, and their chemistry is acceptable. It's a very standard romance drama with gorgeous main leads front-running it. It's all very consistent yet not very grabbing, but it's not bad. it's just, there.

The first 12 episodes are suited to pair the two together. Most of the time is spent on the game. It makes sense. Objectively, it is yet not altogether the most interesting thing, especially to those who do not understand it. However, it's not integral to the plot, so gaming scenes can be skipped too. The plot will pick up, yes.

However, with my distaste for recommendations that promise a more interesting plot after sticking through X number of episodes, I cannot really recommend this drama full-heartedly. It is a drama everyone can watch while eating dinner, while doing housework, even as background noise.

To summarize, there's nothing too bad to say about it, and yet the drama has also done nothing fully immersing.

Haha nice to see you here-it’s more like romance, slice of life, aspirations. It’s also on the light side of dramas but definitely not that much comedy and a bit more steady and serious than rom-coms

Haha, and oh my gods, thanks so much for replying!

Oh man-so I kept thinking about this when it was airing but I just could not put my finger on who Han Tae-Sul reminded me of, and I realized today the whole arrogant-asshole attitude and genius tech innovator character was basically like Tony Stark/Iron Man.

I meant 'top-tier' as in top of the acting game (in terms of acting skills)

-And yes, I agree with you-what a strong main cast!

Okay now I've been out of the crazy-Vincenzo headspace for about a month,

(by the way, finally! For some reason every time after going back to 'rationally' judging, I just cannot recall exactly that excitement I feel for a drama when I was watching it)

I definitely see its flaws a lot more clearly now, but in honor of how hyped I was, I don't think I'll change my score. I do think I was also aware of every flaw back when I was in that headspace, but I think that still comes with some defenses while now I don't feel offended for the drama even if I bash it myself.

So, goodbye Vincenzo, and a good journey it has been.

For me, Nevertheless is like a drama I can click onto sometimes and continue watching, but it's not like one of those really suspenseful on-your-edge-type dramas, and I mean, it's not trying to be either. It feels slice-of-life ish without the happiness, lol. But what I mean is that I do find that although I can't complain about the content, it does feel really, really long to have 1 hour+ long episodes especially when there are only select settings and plotlines around relationships, and it might be better off with 30-minute type episodes.

Honestly, if we're being real, Dilraba and Yang Yang are not like top-tier actors, but I think their acting chops are good enough for a rom-com/fluffy romance type of drama, it's good enough.

I did complain earlier that Yu Tu did not have that much past laid out at the start, but I'm glad they added on that in recent episodes which really explained some of his reactions earlier. I do think that Yang Yang does good enough in expressing his character and that yes, his character is calm and rational, but in the start, where he was playing the game or doing idle activities, it was sometimes hard to read any meaning behind his lines when he was talking to his roommate or friends. This has broadened out more in the later episodes and I also take it as the fact that he opens up a lot more after knowing people better, which was how I saw some disparity between his acting in certain scenes. For Dilraba, she kills it as the mega superstar and this isn't her first rodeo in such a character set-up, though obviously there's some difference in both characters. I would say the only times I did feel like her acting was off was in the elevator scene when she waiting for the elevator from her apartment complex to go down from the 26th floor to the ground floor, where I thought her expressions were a bit confusing, and in her confrontation with Yu Tu outside the restaurant she had gotten a private room for about what his mentors had said about him.

But it's mostly great and I'm just glad to have a fun C-Drama after such a long period of kind of wiltering feedback over the past half a year. Plus this type of drama really doesn't require complex acting, and no need to get to caught up in that or get defensive.

Also, just the power of Gu Man, wow. I don't think any one of her remakes has had bad reception on viewership.