This novel is hilarious, but I don't know if its humour is suitable for the screen. So much of it hinges on Ning Wan's comical inner thoughts and absurd denseness, which would be exposed as far too improbable when observed from an outsider's point of view.
I couldn't love the FL more. She's so badass and also a self-made successful careerwoman. She's already faced…
Uh, she was definitely rude to him by refusing to acknowledge his existence lmao. That's a textbook bullying tactic! She was even rude to him during their first meeting, when he did her a favor by waiting for her and illuminating her path and she didn't even say thank you.
It's totally fair to say she acted like a bitch for a while, but that's part of the story. I don't hate or dislike her; she's still a funny and interesting character and there would be no drama without relationship development.
OK, the moment I heard "please find us a lead architect for the tallest building in Asia" my suspension of disbelief snapped... A project like that is ALWAYS awarded to a firm through a contest or bidding process that allows the investor to evaluate different proposals from different companies. Even if the contest is rigged/there's an inside candidate, the architect will never be some person handpicked without a competitive process, much less by a recruitment agency that doesn't specialize in construction.
Great first episode. The premise is generic, but the execution breathes life into it and the direction is, as someone else called it, pleasantly delicate. The tone is not quite the same, but this show reminds me of Call It Love so far with the grown up office romance it promises and the detailed exploration of the leads' backstories and important relationships.
My only complaint is that of the 20 English titles they tried to launch, Between Greetings is the best one and instead they went with cringe stuff like Love Scout and My Perfect Secretary.
This statement is very honest and raw, especially considering her popularity. It really shows us a glimpse of her mind at the moment... and it's not very comforting! She sounds like she needs more help than she's getting right now, to be honest. I hope she can find good professionals who will help her move past the pain and start healing. I wish her all the best!
Well, this is what you get when you force actors to work without rest and starve themselves. I hope she can have a nice long break and regain some equilibrium in her life.
I don't think you've watched this or your comprehension is not the greatest. Elaine Zhong is not a female bodyguard!
So the boring office lady keeps hogging up all the screentime? That was my actual question, so if you have opinions on what I should and shouldn't watch, please give me a direct answer.
I watched the first episode for the sexy people convention (i.e. Elvis Han and Elaine Zhong playing a race car driver and a female bodyguard), but 90% of the screentime was devoted to that bland unlikable office worker who keeps being rude to people and the random ass dude who decided to stick to her like gum to a shoe for no reason. Do they continue to take up that much of the story? Unless she gets fired in episode 2 and he turns out to be a scammer (which would at least be interesting, as opposed to him liking her for no reason—again, she sucks!), I don't think I can stomach them stealing over half of the available screentime when a much hotter, more interesting couple is right there...
I powered through this drama just because I'd read there was a crumb of romance at the end, and indeed there was! Crime dramas that give the slightest hint of consummation in the last episode after setting up a quasi-romantic dynamic between the leads automatically get a 2-point rating bump in my book. So good job and thank you to the production team! The ending really did leave me massively satisfied despite the drama being nothing special otherwise; that's how easy I am.
As for the actual crime mystery plot, I gotta say it left a lot to be desired. The perpetrator was obvious from the beginning as there was no other plausible candidate, and still, when he was confirmed to be the villain, it came out of nowhere because his motives seemed weak and random. The drama didn't do enough to establish his motivations and relationships with the other characters in the first 10 episodes to justify the emotional climax when he took off his mask and gave his speech. It’s also not clear to me why the ML would black out and repress the memory of his best friend killing his fiancée the first time around but find the truth liberating and move on with his life the second time he learned about it; it’s not like he went to therapy or became a happier, more resilient person in the meantime! Also, his mother got off too lightly and we never really got a good look at her character and intentions, especially toward Yoon Hyejin. And finally, the female lawyer friend didn't get any development or closure; her character served her narrative function and exited the story without any elaboration on her feelings for the ML, his fiancée, his best friend, what happened seven years ago, the FL's brother or anything else. The fencing stuff went nowhere too, and the case-of-the-week subplots were predictable and perfunctory.
Anyway. The show had quite a few weaknesses, but as I said, a crumb of romance goes a long way. How I wish The Lies Within had ended the same way!
This is such a Wattpad drama it gives me secondhand embarrassment... And yet I'm still watching because it's something different from the usual "grown adults pretending they hate each other for no reason and misunderstanding-driven love triangles" bullshit.
Finally finished this drama after abandoning it near the end a long time ago. I noticed it was on Netflix and thought, what the hell, better this than Record of Youth. My impressions are as follows:
Even Chinese directors would blush at the amount of emotionally manipulative JSDF propaganda in this show, but whatever, I don't watch romance for the political message. Overall, this is one of the better romantic jdramas out there; it has all the traditional strengths of the Japanese school of adult romance, like subtlety, yearning, emotional complexity, characters with their own personalities and problems, etc., and almost none of the weaknesses, by which I mean idiotic misunderstandings, multiple unnecessary overlapping love triangles that persist until the last episode, random personality changes, the leads acting like they don't care if they get together or not, etc. Thankfully, they had to cut all that shit out to make room for a bunch of extremely dry air force PR strategy subplots and office politics.
That said, the romance is almost too understated and I kinda wish there was more of it. It's not even a matter of insufficient screen time as much as glacially slow relationship development and a nonexistent emotional climax. But the ending was pretty satisfying. There *was* a time skip before our couple got their happy ending, but it made sense to me, so I didn't rage about it too much.
Both leads were likeable and their chemistry was realistic and convincing. Also this is probably the hottest Ayano Go has ever looked... or maybe that's just my fetish for lost, depressed and repressed office workers speaking.
This drama sounds pretty conventional/predictable, but that's exactly what I've been missing recently, so I'll give it a shot. Also, I watched the teasers available on Viki and I don't know if it's the post-production or what, but CBL and Puff Kuo could both pass for, like, 30-32. Wow! I need their beauty clinic's number.
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It's totally fair to say she acted like a bitch for a while, but that's part of the story. I don't hate or dislike her; she's still a funny and interesting character and there would be no drama without relationship development.
My only complaint is that of the 20 English titles they tried to launch, Between Greetings is the best one and instead they went with cringe stuff like Love Scout and My Perfect Secretary.
As for the actual crime mystery plot, I gotta say it left a lot to be desired. The perpetrator was obvious from the beginning as there was no other plausible candidate, and still, when he was confirmed to be the villain, it came out of nowhere because his motives seemed weak and random. The drama didn't do enough to establish his motivations and relationships with the other characters in the first 10 episodes to justify the emotional climax when he took off his mask and gave his speech. It’s also not clear to me why the ML would black out and repress the memory of his best friend killing his fiancée the first time around but find the truth liberating and move on with his life the second time he learned about it; it’s not like he went to therapy or became a happier, more resilient person in the meantime! Also, his mother got off too lightly and we never really got a good look at her character and intentions, especially toward Yoon Hyejin. And finally, the female lawyer friend didn't get any development or closure; her character served her narrative function and exited the story without any elaboration on her feelings for the ML, his fiancée, his best friend, what happened seven years ago, the FL's brother or anything else. The fencing stuff went nowhere too, and the case-of-the-week subplots were predictable and perfunctory.
Anyway. The show had quite a few weaknesses, but as I said, a crumb of romance goes a long way. How I wish The Lies Within had ended the same way!
Even Chinese directors would blush at the amount of emotionally manipulative JSDF propaganda in this show, but whatever, I don't watch romance for the political message. Overall, this is one of the better romantic jdramas out there; it has all the traditional strengths of the Japanese school of adult romance, like subtlety, yearning, emotional complexity, characters with their own personalities and problems, etc., and almost none of the weaknesses, by which I mean idiotic misunderstandings, multiple unnecessary overlapping love triangles that persist until the last episode, random personality changes, the leads acting like they don't care if they get together or not, etc. Thankfully, they had to cut all that shit out to make room for a bunch of extremely dry air force PR strategy subplots and office politics.
That said, the romance is almost too understated and I kinda wish there was more of it. It's not even a matter of insufficient screen time as much as glacially slow relationship development and a nonexistent emotional climax. But the ending was pretty satisfying. There *was* a time skip before our couple got their happy ending, but it made sense to me, so I didn't rage about it too much.
Both leads were likeable and their chemistry was realistic and convincing. Also this is probably the hottest Ayano Go has ever looked... or maybe that's just my fetish for lost, depressed and repressed office workers speaking.
Overall. I recommend.