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A YOUTH DRAMA WE DIDN'T KNOW WE NEEDED
So what actually happens?There is a guy named Ha Eun Gyeol, he's passionate about music but he is currently the trophy son to his deaf parents and the only person who can communicate with the outer world in his family. And boy got a deaf brother too (Ha eun ho) who does taekwondo... So dude gotta be responsible for all of them but his guitar keeps calling him and he's unsure if he should pursue music or not... One night magical shit happens and he lands in 1995 where his parents are now his age and he is now going to play cupid for his future parents as younger version of his father (Ha Yi Chan) is a lively youngster who is in a band, is chasing a popular girl, has no interest in studies or Eun Gyeol's future mother (Cheong Ah)
Twinkling watermelon is another sunshine kinda, wholesome, cute cum melodramatic sometimes yet funny and enjoyable youth drama that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.
This show has a lot of music, dramatic comedy (often overdramatic with exaggerated expressions but trust me it will make you smile), two cute couples and a bunch of high schoolers who would apparently form a band and great friendships (usual to such youth dramas).
What I loved the most in this drama is Yoon Cheong Ah, the bunny girl who is literally the word "cute". A deaf girl who has not received much warmth growing up but she isn't all weak and tries to protect herself in whatever ways possible. I love how they chose the right actress Shin Eun Soo for this role because her smile is honestly all pretty and as worthy as Eun Gyeol talks about in some scenes.
Younger Ha Yi Chan acted by Choi Hyun Wook was again a bonus because we know he's great at portraying this funky outgoing guy vibe. Chemistry of Ha Yi chan and Cheong Ah was also so mushy and natural that made me root for them all along... Ryeom and Seol in ah also did a convincing job at their roles... haven't seen Ryeom before but he was good at acting all those frustrating scenes when he had to face the mess of his time travel.
Also I don't think I need to mention this but you gotta love the father-son duo, be it 2023 or 1995, you'll love how they fight, bicker, protect or kick each other or have emotional conversations. They're simply adorable.
A noteworthy character here is Yi Chan's grandmother acted by Go Doo Shim. Loved her positive presence throughout the show... somehow this show is such a comfort watch thing and quite entertaining if you end up liking the characters. I watched it as it aired so I actually become reluctant towards the end that like "is it really ending tomorrow? I'll miss them"
You'll get the suspense of "if Ha Eun Gyeol can make things right" as a bonus. The ending might have raised questions but most of the major questions were answered in micro details while some mysteries like the time travel link, the shop Viva Music are better left unanswered (because I don't think a satisfying backstory or explanation can be built for that) so its better being left like that.
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Characters here are never out of tricks
And finally a great female lead that stands out unique to other female characters strongly…The female protagonist here Mu Wan Qing (acted by Jingyi Zhang) suggests them ideas, shows bravery when needed & do not hesitates to help or take risks to get something. She's cool, gives answers to insults, not your typical crybaby. Male lead & second male lead are there to help her but she isn't a burden on anyone. She knows many languages, is hardworking & knowledgeable not only for problems in life but also in business. The way she deals with her evil step sister is so pleasing to see like originally female leads must be sobbing in some corner but this female lead makes that evil one cry instead. The way she supports Xuan Lin unconditionally is also amazing.
Male lead — Tan Xuan Lin (played by Chen Xing Xu) is also a good character. He is always cool, fun & cracking jokes. Even when situation is complicated, he has the time to joke around & bicker with other leads. But the deeper part is that he has an emotional side too. He has his own reasons & rules. He is quite intelligent too as he tackels his problems in the best way possible. His relationship with his sister is adorable.
Another Male lead — Xu Guang Yao (played by Evan Lin) my poor boy Evan, it's just his second work as an actor & he has been really acting so well but why you gave him a second lead role. Poor him T_T… then this character Xu Guang Yao is a righteous man who doesn't know much to play tricks but he's still intelligent. He is like the definition of Nice male lead. He's caring, kind & protective towards our female lead, Wan Qing… he has 2 best friends who try their best to support him. I liked their bond too.
The positive part of this drama is that though there's a lot of politics but it's not so boring, I was actually enjoying people tricking each other like that. Every character is important, has their own background story & are clever. No one accepts defeat easily & comes back with new ideas. Overall, the drama gets more interesting as we go ahead… well, everyone wants to save their position but who will save the people? That's a nice point presented here…
MUSIC / OSTs
♪Eyes like star♪ — by Si Nan (the lyrics is beautiful, so is the voice and music. Soothing & slow… it's the opening theme song)
♪Clearly know♪ — Cai Yisheng (I liked this song too)
♪Horse ride♪ — Zhang He Xuan (this is the ending theme song)
♪Your promise♪ — Dai Yutong
♪Swaying♪ — Liu
Rewatch value… No, I am not rewatching this again. Well, I am not a frequent rewatcher and It's kinda lengthy so… though I enjoyed it, its a one time watch drama only.
TO CONCLUDE… it's a 9.5 out of 10 overall. There's politics for getting power, good supporting roles who keep us entertained throughout. Interesting characters with their own story & stuffs to deal with & how the leads make their bond more stronger while sorting out the complications is what the story is about.
Reasonable characters knitting a wonderful story…!!
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Glorious dreams, strong women and their 100/10 chemistry
A dream of splendor is adapted from the opera "Zhao Pan Er Feng Yue Jiu Feng Chen" (赵盼儿风月救风尘) written by Guan Han Qing.Characters and Plot —
The drama revolves around three ladies Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sunniang, Song Yinzhang and the "living devil" Gu Qianfan. Zhao Pan'er is the strong backbone of their friendship who is intelligent and good in tea art. She uses her dancing skills to serve tea and her wit and ways of creativity wonders everyone. Sanniang is her close friend whose cooking skills are inferior to none while Yinzhang is a talented girl who will be seen carrying a pipa around often. Her pipa music is as magical as Sunniang's pastries. And Gu Qianfan is the cruel yet nice commander of capital security office.
A Dream of Splendor radiates women empowerment, women teamwork, a woman's self respect and how women can excel in everything. Our leading ladies aren't easy to be fooled, they have their strengths/weaknesses and they go through thick and thin together. They have self respect and just because she was once a "pariah" doesn't mean she doesn't deserve respect and is not capable.
(Pariah – a low status of woman back in ancient China who were performers or prostitutes who were looked down on by everyone)
Their sisterhood is another delightful thing to watch here. I can't forget to mention Zhaodi, she entered late in the group but I like her supportive character. So, if I have to rate the female centered plot, it's 9.5/10, almost everything I expected.
Along with this we have a good political plot going on which is more like a side topic, not too complicated, rather light and less angsty. Of course except that one mean guy I wish I could kill him in the starting. He's just so despicable, absolutely selfish.
Their Chemistry —
Zhao Pan'er and Gu Qianfan together are like two people who will give up anything for each other. Their concept of using yellow flowers to express "I miss you", their eye gazes, their longing, their protection for each other and just them being is love is everything. Small moments between them fill you up like a scene where he is applying medicine on her face (even I felt like a third wheel between them let alone other characters xD)
Humour —
We have Chi Pan who is amusingly naughty with lame, childish acts but his words and expressions often bring fun in the drama. And he's such a cute crybaby haha.
Cast/Acting —
• Liu Yifei – I came to this drama for her as she was returning to dramas after a long time and I am still impressed with her acting. Also isn't she so gorgeous in every frame. Her eyes, body language and this aura is strong just like Zhao Pan'er.
• Chen Xiao – Gu Qianfan is a great character and Chen Xiao also looks great in this role. His styling or I don't know what but he often reminded me of Prince An (Wang Ziqi) in the Imperial Coroner.
• Ada Liu – Sun Sunniang is such a cheerful lady with strong hands. Ada Liu suits for this role. All her strong moments like throwing someone in the river or showing off some butcher skills came out perfectly.
• Jelly Lin – I never had a good experience with Lin's dramas, most of them are like dropped after some episodes but somehow I liked her here. When she played pipa as Yinzhang, she looked so cool and her cute dimples work for me!
• Dai Xu – Finally! Chi Pan is my second favorite character after Zhao Pan'er. Just the comedy he adds and Dai Xu's expressions are out of this world. Would love to see more of his works in future.
OSTs —
1. Jane Zhang (张靓颖) - ♪Spare No Time♪ (不惜时光) …a slow and sublime song that ends every episode beautifully.
2. Liu Yuning (刘宇宁) - ♪Meng Hua♪ (梦华) …with the spirit of fighting all the troubles together and Liu Yuning's voice makes this song more special.
3. Sunnee (杨芸晴) - ♪What Year Is Today♪ (今夕是何年)
4. Kiki Wei (魏奇奇) - ♪Nian Nian♪ (念念)
5. Rachel (银临) - ♪The Red Apricot Branch Is Full Of Spring♪ (红杏枝头春意闹) …the song representing their ups and downs and the longing for hope.
To conclude, what's worth watching the most in this drama —
⛧ character development of three ladies starting from scratch
⛧ strong female characters
⛧ the chemistry between Gu Qianfan and Zhao Pan'er
⛧ great supporting characters and friendship/sisterhood/companionship
⛧ Chi Pan (Dai Xu) as a comedy factor.
~ A Dream of Splendor is recommended!
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When the drama becomes your reality
Be my princess is a contemporary rom-com starring Jeremy Tsui and Zhou Jie Qiong. Mu Tingzhou is regarded as the best actor in the industry while Ming Wei is a rookie. She gets the chance to act with the best actor in her debut drama but things complicate when Mu Tingzhou gets in an accident.
As Mu Tingzhou was a very dedicated actor, he researches too deeply for his character and gets attached to him, so he ends up remembering only that character's life after the accident. He starts taking himself as the "Grand Tutor" and Ming Wei as the "Princess Wei" in real, as it was in the drama. So this is how the story starts…
My thoughts —
✧ 50% main center is "Amnesia" so how is it? At the starting, it's all nonsensical thing but I still laughed at some points. It's like a trip ~ first its stupid so its funny, next it starts getting draggy and that's where you feel like "Ah! This is too much now" they should have shortened the amnesia's length. the extent of repetition is horrible
✧ The other 50% goes to romance. The main leads were Ming Wei (Zhou Jie Qiong) and Mu Tingzhou (Jeremy Tsui)… I had quite a love-hate relationship with these two characters. Did I felt their chemistry? Yes but No… for this moment I like them but for this part I hate them… I liked their historical parts more…
✧ for acting – Zhou jieqiong is better than my expectations and Jeremy Tsui went downhill this time… or maybe because I just saw him in the Autumn ballad last month where his character was far more better so that good impression of him is clouding my judgement now…
✧ The supporting roles has - Xiao Zhao (Hu Yun Hao) and Ming Qiao (Wu Jia Yi) who add some good comedy and they have their own story going on too which is often more interesting than the main couple. Infact I was loving them until…… they made it all awkward for me. Uff these unnecessary plot twists!
✧ the costumes and the setup. every angle looks so fairytale like, it's all designed to give you princess vibes especially Mu Tingzhou's house, like a royal mansion and this has a very lovely frame overall. They did well with the historical setup also
✧ And rant time… just when will they get tired of adding extra love triangles to the story. God! stop this stuff please!
I would say, this is a very mood dependent drama. If you're in the mood for particularly amnesia related thing or rom-coms with good faces, you will enjoy it. Just a heavy dose of cliche, sugar coated with strange elements. A story that starts with amnesia and ends on romance.
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How much can one's skin, one's face tell you…
Under the Skin is a crime drama that revolves around two main characters Shen Yi (Tan Jian Ci) and Du Cheng (Jin Shi Jia) and how they solve cases together. Shen Yi was an art professor but he joins Criminal investigation Detachment of Beijiang as a forensic artist and helps them with his great observation skills and his professional art skills. Captain Du Cheng bears a grudge against Shen Yi as he once drew a portrait for his undercover friend who later died.
The balanced tension between these two where one carries guilt and the other carries a past grudge was visible right from the beginning but since this combo was tied together by circumstances it was gonna be fun watching how the latter story progresses. Their bond that develops over time and the trust that comes along as they solve mysteries together is the precious part.
Favorite lines from the drama »»»
—"Humans give intriguing expressions when they're alive but once they're dead, their face becomes so dull"
—"Dead men are expressive too. Sometimes it's even reliable than a living person"
A major highlight of the drama are "portraits". If not for this drama, I could've never expected art is this deep and they can actually recover faces with such less hints. I appreciate the amount of art and portraits in this drama. It made things more realistic and reasonable. It's about the details that makes this drama more interesting.
This has a total of 10 cases including 9 cases of the present and 1 case from past 7 years ago which are intriguing, unpredictable and unique. The best part is that their stories will not disappoint you at all.
Acting — Tan Jianci as the invincible portraitist is the perfect actor for this role. His minute expressions everytime he is drawing or sketching is just flawless. The way he acts as if he is observing things looks so real and he is like totally into his character. Jin Shijia is also good acting as the cool leader of the team. Even all those guest actors who acted only for 2-3 episodes when their case was going on were so on point. I was touched by some of their stories and no doubt their acting played an important part.
Okay so overall, I enjoyed the drama totally. I was looking forward to the revelation of all those cases and I liked the stories in them. The acting is perfect and I recommend this thriller mystery drama that has little sprinkles of bromance along.
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This review may contain spoilers
Unexpectedly I loved it so much that I will surely Rewatch it again with tears and tissues
A little background here so you can skip this paragraph, if you wish… [I thought I would regret watching this drama but I think I needed this to get over my drama slump. I had 2-3 dramas in my CW and I made my 1st drop this month. I was almost in a drama slump as I passed on 4 days without watching any episode until I started this drama.]This Drama and Tissues both are a must. As quoted by others, yes this is a little Melodrama but I usually don't mind it if it's portrayed in the right manner. The cute and innocent Shi Yi played by Bai Lu and actor Allen who nailed this role was the best choice the director made. Another best choice was the setting, the whole winter theme in beginning is like cherry on the top. What was unexpected for me was the supporting roles. It's rare for me to find so many hateable Characters in a drama. Yes it's not a writing mistake. Its Hate-able, characters whose actions irritated me till the end.
The first half is more about the background setting for upcoming twists and plot. While the middle half is where I got to experience all those Sad emotions in one go. I remember that particular scenario from Episode 15 and 16 where I was crying continuously and I felt like "No at this pace I can't continue this Drama anymore". I felt strange all over as I watched a few more episodes. No, it was not the drama's fault. It was me who cannot tolerate the sudden emotional rollercoaster at all. The one-by-one coming situations were breaking me. Ahh why am I remembering so much again. I hated that parts and I loved that parts equally. Tbh, I was confused like I knew the characters had no other choices and it's going in the destined direction but I just can't accept it. I still wish, thing went my way but yeah it won't. The drama has already finished and why would the screenwriter listen to Me lol. Hopefully, I went through that phase and just went on. I am happy that I didn't dropped this drama with the fear that this would be a sad ending drama. If I dropped it, I will definitely miss a beautiful story.
Zhousheng Chen — he's like the light who ruled this drama. I don't believe he died, cause I would rather say he is eternal. A character that I would remember and admire for years.
Shiyi — noblest character. I wonder how did she tolerate all of this till there… like she saw her father going as a child, she was forced to marry Zixing, she was trapped in that palace all alone and then her Master died, she was helpless but couldn't do anything. She sacrificed herself at the end.
One and only is not only about Shiyi and Zhousheng Chen alone, it's about all those people who were a part. Other characters whose individual story touched me ≈•≈
✓ Liu Hui (His Majesty) — he was given too many responsibilities at the age of 6 then he was killed by his own mother at 19. All his life, he was just controlled by others. Poor him.
✓ General Hong Xiaoyu — I had a strange fear from the starting of episode 22 that something will get wrong in her story and that fear came true. She died. Oh… she was so good T~T
✓ Monk — he suffered a lot but he kept calm in precious situations. Him being in the Nanchen Royal Army was the best choice made by him but he also had to leave for his own country.
Characters that destroyed their own life and entered my Hate diary =××××—
×•× Empress Dowager — Do I need to name a reason? She can even kill her own son. She's a psycho. So glad that she died.
×•× Zixing/Prince of Guanling — The self obsessed man. He is just too selfish. He acted as if he liked Shiyi but in reality he's too crazy to like anyone.
×•× Qin Yan — he watched by every bad deed but instead of opposing it he supported all of that. I pitied him for a while but once Mentor Xie died, I sensed that he won't be any better.
×•× Jin Rong — One word for him. EVIL! He had no boundaries to crime. He did everything a devil can do. I feel like I can curse him for hours HE WAS SO BAD!
"Zhousheng Chen, I am here to marry you. If we meet again in the next life, hope you can come to marry me. Will you? I will take your silence as a Yes." — Shiyi.
Oof this line. It's going to haunt me so I have to start Forever and Ever soon…
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When food is their love language
Every ep made me wonder why is watching a couple talking, cooking and just eating together so wholesome to watch. Like for 33 long episodes? with "no real plot". This is exactly the reason we liked it.I still request everybody to not watch this drama at midnight with no food in your fridge, becoz you'll be dead-ass hungry and no Mo Qingcheng is coming to cook for you. Damn the way all they did was cook, eat, sing, kiss, cook, eat and EAT again xD.
Love me, love my voice is an all cute fluffy drama with your typical shy FL and perfect ML (that you can't help but fall for). Like how was this boy dubbing for popular dramas, a cardiac surgeon, an amazing cook (he even knew origin and history of those dishes), patient enough to let her get adapted to him... and we actually got no bitchy SFL, no love triangle, an all healthy relationship instead with all these green flag supporting characters... Are you kidding me? This is so unrealistic hahaha but gotta agree we love some simplistic romances like this once in a while.
Their romance was sort of slow burn in the beginning which might have tested some people's patience (was okay to me), otherwise you always got that skip button ;)... Zhou Ye also acted satisfactory for the shy, cute FL and gladly did not cross that cringe level. But opinions might differ a lot for these two things.
They actually had several routes to spice up and add drama like the ML is almost a celebrity meanwhile FL is still a newbie in the field but its quite nice that they sticked to this easy-going path. They didn't fail in serving this concept to us in the right way at least.
Coming to Tan Jianci's sexy voice now *coughs* I mean his dubbing and OSTs... Playing the role of a dubbing actor, TCJ himself dubbed all his scenes and sang his songs too (what a blessing for us). From the stunning OST list, I loved these the most! —
• 与君归 (Return With You) - by Tan Jianci and Bu Cai
• 万骨催沙 (Ten Thousand Bones Push Sand) - by Tan Jianci
(This guy is going places, like his acting, charisma as of getting into a character and even voice... Very talented indeed)
• 盛世之疆 (Realm of Prosperity) - by Xian Zi, Li Chang chao, HITA, Xiao'ai Dema, Alex, Lie Tian ....( in every drama there's a song which is just my type of song, this is it )
• 青梅引 (Wintersweet) - by Le Xiaotao (calm, dreamy, so pleasant, love it)
• Slowly - by yihuik (this was the theme song for the main cp and damnnn why is her voice that sweet)
So overall Love me, love my voice is a lovable, sweet drama with all positivity and feel good vibes... And if you're looking for something similar to Hidden Love or Forever and Ever, this is the one for you.
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Defining HARD WORK & NEVER GIVING UP once again by a 90s story
STORYI appreciate how the tag Friendship was expressed here through Xiao Chuang and Pei Qing hua… I enjoyed watching all their conversations and seeing their bond develop throughout the show.
The beginning of each episode will keep reminding you that you're watching a 90s story, all the retro vibes, the trains, the small TVs, using telephone, letters… I love how enjoyable first half of this drama was.
What this drama taught me from the very beginning is about hard work. If you are motivated enough and consistently focused for your goal. You can definitely achieve it. No matter what the circumstances and troubles you face, be tough and go past it.
Something worth mentioning here is the script writing cause the dialogues were really well written. I appreciate every sentence they said as it was needed for the situation and accurately said.
This is the kind of show that will probably get mixed reviews by different viewers. Some may find it little boring whenever Business matter is involved. For those who found this too bland or long. They could just skip through some scenes or there's usually an option for 1.5x or 2x speed ;)
CHARACTERS / ACTING / CASTING –
Wu Lei(Xiao Chuang) — he just stole the show. His way to portray this character was the charm. The scenes when he was still in 'Foshan' were crazy. Every Xiao Chuang moment felt real. No one else could have done this role better.
Neo Hou(Pei Qing Hua) — Not bad. He was playing a nerd or simple obedient man kind of character once again. Some of the emotional scenes were done well by him. No offense, but I cannot convince myself to say that he was irreplaceable here. Maybe someone else could do this role better too…
Mao Xiao Hui(Xie Hang) — She did very well till the end especially all those crying scenes. It's my first time watching her on screen but she's really a good actress. Impressed me already.
Julia Xiang(Tan Yuan) — I think I saw her last in Forever Love. Her acting has improved. Her expressions are much better now & She's still so young (19). This girl has a long way to go…
…Other actors who gathered my attention by their good acting… •Leewei (Lydia) — She has a strong aura and that tall height and gaze makes it even more real.
•Fang Wen Qiang (Man Huan Sheng)
•Molly Wang (Ms Shu) — I am not sure if it was her character demand or what but like she kept chewing something in every scene and her mouth kept moving. I cannot ignore that at all lol.
[ OST time ]
♪ Howling Wind — Neo Hou
♪ Without Holding back — Yu Jia Yun
♪ Merry Go Round — Meng Jie
♪ A Light — Wang Yue Xin
♪ The Burning Era — Yuan Ye ♡♡
I think they were trying to provide that 90s feeling with the music too. So, the music behind songs was like some classical instrument. I don't have much knowledge about music but I liked hearing ♪the Burning Era♪ by Yuan Ye. It sounded youthful.
✿ My favorite character — Tan Yuan ✿
REWATCH VALUE — Not gonna rewatch it ever haha…
CONCLUSION
The kind of drama for 90s and business theme lovers. Business Genre is visible and could be draggy/boring for some people (not for me though).Could be considered a romance drama too. Pretty long but an engaging watch… More of a Youth and Life drama…
And Yes! There's a Season 2 as the drama itself states "That's it for this season". So, there's more to the story…
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A story full of love-hate and a never ending mess
I love Republican Era settings and this even has Jing Tian, only the sight of Jing Tian dressed up in that style was enough to get me on for this.Talking about the plot, the overall conspiracy stuff is a mixture. Their is a revenge story going on but they also want to show the viewers about Opium consumption and it's ill effects on health and life… All the ways to trick each other are mainly related to Business stuff. So maybe some people could get bored of it, though that's a genre I enjoy… Their are many complicated family feuds (trust me MANY)… they show us struggles for freedom and dreams too. The plot twists are really strange but unpredictable too. It's quite fun to watch but not too much intriguing for your brain either.
The deeds of the main villain is a total MESS. Once I got attached to the characters and started understanding the story… what was waiting for me next door was hate, anger and frustration. Many things annoy you to death here but the story will be left with nothing without them. Anyone looking for light weight fluffy stuff, just run away. This ain't for you.
I realized the cinematography is good and those Qipao dresses, the wavy silky hairstyles keeps us reminding of that era. The visuals are definitely a very big advantage here especially because it's a long 40 episode drama so there has to be something on screen that people can focus on. Of course, in addition to this setting, Jing Tian and Xu Weizhou are the best eye candies to stare at.
Jing Tian ( as Feng Shizhen ) — Feng Shizhen is strong and smart and she knows what she's doing. Jing Tian carries out this role very gracefully. From spying secretly with the gentle look of a governess (teacher) to expressing her emotions at the right moment. I was so hooked up to her character and totally rooting for her from the beginning.
Xu Weizhou ( as Rong Jiashang ) — he is the young master of the Rong family. Jiashang is an arrogant boy and was trained in the military academy from a small age. He is capable but pretty reckless too. He seemed like a puppy in love who wants to do so much but he needs to grow big first xD. I really pitied him all the way.
It's kinda funny how Jiashang's favorite sentence in the whole drama was "please give me some more time". He said this so many times that I couldn't even count it now. He reminds me that most of the scenes between him and Shizhen were repetitive. Though I agree they had their chemistry to carry it on.
Jing Chao ( as Meng Xu An ) — he is super cunning. In the beginning he maintained a cool gesture and a strong aura around him. But his character changes a lot throughout the drama.
{ My issues with the drama…}
—•• The biggest problem here is its pacing. The drama just gets super slow that you feel like the energy is missing. No matter how the plot goes, I literally felt the urge to speed it up like 2x or 3x many times… and every incident is so connected to each other that you can't even skip anything.
—•• I have another problem with the plot which is a spoiler so in the comments section.
The songs were fit for the occasion but didn't sound so special to go to my OST playlist.
✧ Favorite dialogue — "You have to live on, to see hope and a favourable turn" ✧
As to conclude, I am quite satisfied with this drama as all I was expecting here was a good revenge story and a strong female lead, which I got… So this turned out to be a good one time watch.
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Cliches & cliches… And I can still smell cliches!
Good Acting but nothing else…You can go through the sypnosis given in MDL, it's how this story starts… The same repitative Poor FL-Rich ML trope… & that also with a cold arrogant male lead who's actually a big hot-shot CEO as if there's nothing else in the world except him. The CEO offers her a deal (actually tricks her into signing it) and she willingly sells herself off to act as some WIFE.
Things that convinced me to give a lower rating ~
☠ What's new? there's accidental kisses (too many of them), wrist grabs with long pause, constantly looking at each other moments (and me be like "Let's skip 30 sec" the same thing is still going on "Oh no! Let's skip more………" ) and ta-da this is how they fell in love, a bitch yet Beautiful looking 2nd female lead who plans obstacles, then ML saving FL like some superhero, the good 2nd male lead (who will never get the girl **actually sad for him** )… again what's new!?
☠ the villain here or 2nd female lead ~ doesn't gives a damn about her own life, has no self respect & just wants ML anyhow so she keeps pestering him even after he rejects her with insults… she is evil af… I wanted to shout at her. "Girl, wake up. He is married. He jumps around with his wife, praising her & what not. So please open your eyes. Move on. You are pretty, rich & talented. You deserve better." Oh! but she wants to be villain after all…
☠ The 2nd couple which is often like a life saver in a drama didn't stand out much here… like I didn't get half of their story & they were just not acceptable… how did they fall in love, where is the passion coming from…
☠ again, female lead is too helpless. Either male lead or second male lead backs her up for every development…
☠ They talk about fashion here & there but there's actually not much variety in clothing visible… actors had been repeating clothes constantly…
☠ Male lead is a stalker. Like let her be independent please…
☠ Female lead was taking advantage of SML till the end… like Girl he confessed to you already yet you keep talking to him as if nothing happened and even accepting extra helps from him…
Things that saved the drama some rating ~
☘ Sichen's mom
☘ The acting by Wang Zi Qi, Ian Yi, Zhong li li and others…
☘ Even though there were loopholes with the story yet the chemistry between Main leads felt real in some scenes… I guess it's their acting…
☘ Second male lead… not evil or selfish… he was ready to become just a friend & silently help her … I really pity him… T_T
☘ Fei'ang (Sichen's Assistant)
[ CAST ]
✦ Yin Sichen ( played by Wang Zi Qi ) — what a drastic change from Prince An/Xiao Jinyu in imperial coroner to Yin Sichen here. He looks good with modern outfits lol. But this alone was not good enough to carry out this drama. He was also good at making that wicked side smile lol… Nevertheless, I think he tried his best on the acting part.
✦ Gu Xixi ( played by Uvin Wang ) — Not having much to say about her. I think the way her role is… she didn't stand out much in the drama. She didn't impress me or disappoint me.
✦ Ran Xiwei ( Zhong Li li ) — Her outfits were on another level. I would like to have some of them in my wardrobe ;)…… well She acts nicely. Infact, great. After all, it's never easy to act an annoying character…
✦ Mo Zixian ( Ian Yi ) — I hope they gave him a different suit lol. He was literally repeating the same suit in the whole drama. He had a good role here & his acting compliments it. I wish to see him in a lead role someday…
✦ Mu Ruona ( Yang Yue ) …&… ✦ Shang Ke ( Li Jun Chen) form the 2nd lead couple here. They tried to form a decent story yet it wasn't interesting for me at all. I don't know it's the concept or the acting but it just felt weird between them and I can't help but skip their already less scenes…
[ MUSIC ]
❥♪I really like u♪ — Clairo Guo
❥♪Because of love♪ — Dou Zhiwen ~ it's the ending theme
❥♪Identify♪ — Zhao Wei Er ~ it's the opening theme.
❥♪Love is coming♪ — Zhao Bei Er
Tbh, I didn't liked any out of these…
[ REWATCH VALUE ]
Nah… has zero chances of rewatch cause there was nothing new or special. If you've watched other Contact-marriage or Fake relationship kind of C-dramas, you must have watched the same trope with different faces…
[ OVERALL ]
Give it a go if you're too bored or wanna watch cliches. It has all kinds of repitative cliches. A cheesy Romance drama including a bickering turned over-sweet couple and nothing else… a watchable drama for fluff lovers too… & I am warning you already, don't look forward to logics here lol
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Way too rushed or this would've been better
I was casually checking up for Ding Yuxi's upcoming works on his MDL profile page and came across this movie… the synopsis sounded interesting so I thought of checking it out… but wait what a blunder!
Having read the synopsis I knew this was gonna be a bit of rollercoaster and sad stuff… and it literally went like that… the plot moves with the speed of light, almost 3×10^8 m/s … that's the biggest complain I have here… they don't give you any time to adjust with the changes or understand the characters… the twist are like this, one thing happened, next this happens, then that and that…
the movie is 1 hour 44 minutes long, I wish it was at least 2.5 or 3 hours long… I won't mind the length but the story will be delivered better in that way.
Then they didn't even care to explain us the medical terms and elaborate us about the twists… I see they're crying but give me a reason to cry along with them… Tbh, the story isn't very bad as it seems, the only issue is the execution only if they showed us some basic character build up or some scenes related before verbally saying all the twists…
despite that some small scenes in between with the main leads that are barely of 1-2 minutes each are cute… as a cute pair they look great together but what a waste that the execution sucked… the only thing I am satisfied with is acting… I really hope the same leads work together for a better script… they deserve better…
from the OST lineup… I liked —
♪Accompany you♪ (sang by Yu Jiayun)
♪Ten years of smoke♪ (sang by Tang Hanxiao).
All in all, I don't recommend this to anyone. If you haven't watched any works of the cast before, please refer to their other works before cause this isn't the choice for a first impression.
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The best duo and the best chemistry
How I thought this would be another mediocre drama but I really enjoyed this.
Our female lead, Qin Yan… she really never gives up. my main reason to love this character is her spirit of never giving up and her tricks. I love how witty she is and the fact that her self confidence comes from all those books that she has read is something even better to see in a historical drama.
Qin Yan does gets help from the male lead very often but she still stands out differently because of her never-ending persistence. she believes men and women are equal and bravely fights for herself.
And what will happen when this witty girl meets someone wittier. Liang Yi is the powerful, rich and perfect typical male lead who is also cold but he is very righteous in heart. the way his aloof face brightens up with a smile in the later half is just the best part. I like how supporting he becomes and goes to great lengths just to protect her. Liang Yi is already my favorite character of the year.
It's so fun to see both of these bickering over and tricking each other until they fall for each other and together fight the wrong.
Acting — it's like cherry on the top. All those expressions, from Qiao Xin smiling mischievously like that after every plan to Jeremy Tsui being the combo of cold + caring. they really compliment their characters so well.
OSTs —
✼ Beautiful words to say – by Xu Wei
✼ Yi Jue – by Luan Yi Ze
✼ Wish – by Feng Jiaqi (Queena)
The songs were all so sweet and pleasant to ears.
Favorite dialogues —
✧ how nice it would be if we're this wisp of smoke and we can go anywhere we like with the wind
✧ Even if it's just a wisp of smoke it will go straight to the blue sky… we'll get options as long as we don't give up
✧ We're ordinary people. Ordinary people are not perfect.
To conclude, of course like any other drama, this must have it's own flaws but the essence of this drama is that it has the right amount of everything you can add and the viewers do not get bored. I enjoyed watching it and would definitely recommend "The Autumn Ballad."
✿ ~ will talk about how this drama lost it's one star in the comments section under spoiler tag…
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I Love the Sea & I Love the Show
In a variety show, what are you usually looking for? Your favorite actors/idols as members & their interactions or a good combination between sense of humor & the soul theme? I started this show looking for both of these. I wanted to watch a few of my favorites (Kim go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, Onew) together & along the way I was looking for more about sea & nature. There's no adventure here. The nature, the sea, the vacay vibes & relaxation is all you get from the Show. This show deserves some Cinematography Award or something like that, I know it's the sea & sky that's so beautiful but they were shot from the perfect angle. Although the weather was not with them like rain disturbed their plans but it still went on quite smoothly.
Concept —
I don't feel like writing any much detail here or I will just end up revealing the Show to you. Just Ep 1 and the show straights up to the corner of the sea where they will stay & shoot further. The scenery is like Oooo & Oooh! The soul of the show the SEA rules the camera like an Eternal Queen. The view is so magical & attractive that it made me fell in love with the sea. The perfect combination of blue & white colour, the different shades of them, the greenery around with the perfect music. What else more do we need!
In the beginning, interaction among the members was rather strange & awkward. Jong shin, being the eldest one among them often said that "it's awkward" but he took the responsibility to make them more close & comfortable. Ultimately, they started getting along with each other & that's when there was more laughs and fun. Whole this, felt like character development lol. Towards the end, they are even reluctant to say goodbye. Some people may get bored, as the show is slow in middle and there's lots of cooking and general conversation that may take off the interest and the long duration is there too but nevertheless I enjoyed the show.
One thing I cannot forgot to mention, KIM GO EUN IS SO BEAUTIFUL. YEAH, SHE TRULY IS! I like how she often closes her eyes quickly as if she's winking with 2 eyes with a smile. She looked so cute. She went diving with a team in some episodes to collect garbage from the sea. That's a really good step that deserves appreciation. She carried that 35 kg heavy equipment into the sea everytime. Wow she's so strong.
Cast —
All the members are beautiful in their own way. Su hyun is something I should mention, she's the youngest and cutest one among them but she's taking care of everything. If you notice properly there's always a line at the top whenever she goes to help someone "In conclusion, nothing gets done without Su-hyun 22 (Count of how many times she helped)" lol.
Music —
It's impossible to list all the songs played in the show xD… Su hyun has got a soulful voice. Her voice is so magical & mixes with the vacay vibes of Show. Onew & Yoon Jong-shin are also awesome singers. I think this show focuses a lot on relaxation theme. So, particularly songs are usually smooth & those peaceful kind that just gives more of a connected to nature feeling. A special round of applause to 2 members who played instruments for all those Song performances ·–·•• Zai. Ro & Jeong Dong Hwan. I almost got crazy, listing all songs played over there & then looking for them one by one, then turning to their lyrics & then saving them in a playlist again & again.
Performances that I loved from the Show »»»»
✓Rollin – Su Hyun & Zai. Ru [Og. Brave Girls]
✓Flying Deep in the Night – Su Hyun, Onew [Og. Lee Moon Sae]
✓Departure – Onew, Jong-shin [Og. Hareem]
✓Wind, Where does it blow from? – Onew [Og. Kim Yeon Woo]
✓A Doll's Dream – Su Hyun, Onew [Og. Weather forecast]
✓Lucky – Rosé, Onew [Og. Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat]. This song especially suits Onew. He sang so Perfect!
✓If – Su hyun [Og. Bread] Oooh Her Voice
✓Time walking on memories — Rosé [Og. Nell]
✓Stay Put – Sunwoo Jung-a [Og. Sunwoo]
✓City of Stars – Su hyun, Lee Dong Wook [Og. Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone]… Yesss! LDW finally sang!
✓I'm in love – Onew [Og. Ra. D]
A single line to define Music here — Music is like the 2nd soul of the show.
Rewatch Value —
Well I don't think, variety Ssows hold any much Rewatch Value. They are usually suitable as a single watch. It could be possible for some people to rewatch it years later but for Me, variety shows completely falls in one-time watch category.
Conclusion —
Since there's no format to be followed or no draggy Story, The show is definitely a good choice. it's like a relaxing show where they sing, chat, cook & enjoy by the Sea. My #ScenicSaturdays were all ruled by screenshots from this show only.
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Till the end… Thank God… there's an end…
Till the end of the moon is a romantic tale that kicks off nice, goes on flat for a while but bumps down when it couldn't handle its own complications. High budget, star cast, beautiful costumes and what not but what we get served is a repitative story that makes you annoyed once every episode. Oh yeah I yawned and finally skipped a few parts too.
The narrative revolves around the to-be Devil God Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi) and Li Susu (Bai Lu) who was determined to stop him by hook or by crook. The story wasn't as bad in the starting it was great until it was reasonable but when characters don't communicate and go awry by the concept of "lied for his own good"… its disappointing.
Even if they wanted to make TTEOTM angsty, there must have been a limit to misunderstandings and then reconciliation again and again. The story is pretty much predictable especially in the later half because you basically know that you can't expect anything better with these reckless, moody, jealousy driven characters.
TTEOTM isn't all bad and there were factors that I did enjoy like the second leads Ye Qingyu and Pian Ran's story, Tantai Jin and Xiao Lin's unsung bond… and since I'm questioning the logic of the plot at many places, maybe many things would make sense if the drama was not abruptly cut short by 16 episodes. Because 16 is sure A LOT!… …but if we were going to get this same thing for those 16 episodes too, I'm happy Chinese censorship exists.
For a Xianxia cum Wuxia the story isn't much special but the acting was phenomenal! Especially Luo Yunxi won me with his devilish role. I swear no one could play TTJ or the Devil God like him! TTJ's loneliness, trust issues, obsession all came out so much because it was Luo. Even his Ming Ye who is on the positive end was acted awesome! Hat's off to whoever casted him… although Bai Lu's all three characters were kinda similar but she was successful in making most of the emotional scenes impactful.
Their chemistry doesn't need words. They look so much good together that even with this lackluster plot I stayed and finished this drama. I don't mind if the producers bring a season 2, don't give us any story, anything, just send these two on a date on the day of Chinese New Year, let the emotionless TTJ feel warmth with Ye Xiwu and let them hang out (let the world or three realms be kept aside) and I'll watch that too lol xDDDD. But "no saving people and three realms plot please, I insist"
I was quite impressed by the acting of Sun Zhen Ni (as Pian Ran), Deng Wei (Xiao Lin) and Chen Du Ling (Ye Bingchang). While the first two made me love their characters, Chen duling's roles were so despicable that we need to agree she's such a good actress. After all playing a beautiful bitch who is both hateful and pitiable isn't an easy task.
Acting sure made this drama little entertaining for me till the end. Or I would've dropped this somewhere in the middle when things changed abruptly in the drama…. OST… hmm… There were a dozen songs that went well with the shots but none were that special to be heard again.
CGI was very pretty in some scenes, almost top notch and the costumes often took my attention. I think the makers focused more on their outer beauty and making it mesmerizing like all those snow shots. Wish they invested more on the script rather than all this eye-catchy stuff.
So we get impressive acting, complex three characters for every actor, a failed plot and satisfying CGI. That's how I define Till the end of the moon.
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Only if The Veil was this good…
A much needed behind the story…This mini series of 2 episodes (55 min each) was released just a week after the main drama The Veil's last episode aired. I think… this after-story must be seen after watching the parent story (The Veil) only… jumping on this before won't spoil suspense but it will spoil the fun…
Seo Soo Yeon (acted by. Park Ha Sun) is an interesting character in itself. I liked her character in the main part only and watching her here again & this time as a better & more strong character felt good. This short story is more about Soo Yeon and less about others since this part narrates a story of her past… just beginning of the story got me thinking that maybe all agents have their own reason to enter this field. There's a behind the story or layer after layer behind every decision they take…
Jang Chan Woo (Jung Moon Sung) is yet another role that's unforgettable. His character was not given so much priority in The Veil unlike here… Moebius represents the 2nd side of coin while the Veil only showed us the 1st side. On analyzing both sides, the story was actually very incomplete until Moebius came out…
Dealing with so many secrets and in the chaos of protecting them, then trying to catch the "rat" who's hidden deep in their own roots made agents to have trust issues between themselves only… the one they actually think of wrong could turn out to be right while the trusted one may/may not be on their side… the pressure from the organization (superiors), using someone & being used is still there like The Veil…
Action theme can't be neglected yet again. Since Namgoong Min was not here, someone had to take over his job. It's Park Ha Sun here. She did a few scenes like that. They weren't that smooth or intense like NGM but they weren't bad either.
Only if The Veil was as good as Moebius, it would have made up to my favorite list.
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