Bali

This is not an e-sports drama; it is a very nice slice of life romance drama with a beautiful and realistic slow burning romance that, once they become a couple, flows very natural given their characters and career commitments. The leading couple has good chemistry and their romantic scenes are beautiful and natural, especially the way they embrace each other. Someone complained about too many romantic scenes but the story is basically about the leading’s couple journey from middle school classmates to meet again as adults, fall in love, and been true to their feelings and commitments while loving and supporting each other. There is a bit of everything and, although the gaming part of the plot was not particularly interesting to me, the characters’ interactions through gaming are part of their circle of friend’s entertainment. Later on, as their relationship progresses, the plot centers into the leading couple’s career and in growing stronger in their relationship. Not having read the book, my review is solely based on the drama’s plot, production, and actor’s performance, which are quite satisfying. It is a beautiful story that follows the couple even years after they get married. Besides the character development and great chemistry, the dialogues and introspections are wonderfully written! On a side note: “The end is like a teaser of the theme from the Star Trek’s beginning and you are expecting to hear something like: ”Space, the final frontier…” Overall, this is a very entertaining drama. Enjoy it!

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This is a nice drama that started strong and lost momentum to give way to endless business interactions. The drama is about Xie Xiao Ni who is the only survivor of the Xie clan that was great embroidering and cloth merchants. They were betrayed and framed by their competitor, the Wu clan, and shortly afterward were killed. Xiao Ni becomes Changand, with the help of Prince Yang, brings back her family honor and glory. Ni Chang goes through a lot of unfair treatment and jealousy from antagonists but her character was too simple minded toward her enemies and to stubborn and even dismissive of her great love Ou Yang Ziyu which manages to survive by some tricks on the part of the writers since Ni Chang carelessness put his life at risk over and over again. Also, the chemistry between the leads was off in part because of the female lead's weird expressions, especially toward the male lead. Overall, the acting is not the best but the drama delivers entertainment.

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This is a really good thriller/romance drama. The leading couple has very good chemistry and a mature attitude toward their relationship. The drama has some well choreographed action scenes and the group of guys from the bodyguard agency has great friendship and camaraderie. The supporting cast did a very good job with their own stories and there were some comedic moments in the interactions between Qiao Yu Fei (played by Leslie Ma) and the precocious Jiang Xing Xing (played by Xu Duo Duo). The plot is well developed throughout the drama but the ending seems a bit rushed and caricaturesqued. Even so, the drama is very entertaining, enjoy it!

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This is a good wuxia drama that has a dark plot weaved throughout. It has great choreography, hidden identities, and secrets to be uncovered while the leading couple struggles to try to understand and love each other. Although the drama is not flawless, it’s still a nice watch. Zuo Qing Ci (Gala Zhang) does a great job as a ruthless strategist that, on the long run, is always trying to save his family and friends but, above all, his beloved Su Yun Luo / Fei Kou Er (Zhang Ya Qin) while been in the brink of death throughout the entire drama. The main and supporting cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. The second leading couple is also really good Wen Si Yuan [Shan Shui Du Master] played by Zhong Ting Wei and Shen Man Qing [Zhen Yang Palace] played by Deng Yu Li. The drama is not perfect but it’s entertaining.

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This is a very good historical fantasy with well choreograph action scenes and a nice, but often frustrating, romance plot between the leading couple Sheng Chu Mu and Fu Rou, that spend most of the drama’s duration breaking up and then making up, only to break up again. Even though their romance is not the main plot of this drama, it is quite frustrating to the viewer since the male lead is not present for too many episodes and repeatedly only shows up to save the day and the leading lady! The drama is, after all, about Fu Rou and how she navigates through palace intrigues and backstabbing antics to become an essential and pivotal person protecting the emperor and his family. The cast did a great job portraying their characters and the drama is quite good but not without flaws. Still, the drama is entertaining!

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This is a nice period drama with a touch of romance. The drama brings out the conflicts among legal wives, concubines, and their children as they try to survive under the prejudice of the different social classes and caste within the same household. The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life and, although the leading couple has good chemistry and some nice romantic moments, the focus is on the development of their relationship from been forced to get marry, butting heads, getting to know each other, and forming a loving, strong, and steadfast alliance in spite of all the setbacks brought on by the antagonists (concubines, siblings, parents, and people holding grudges and creating their own personal vendettas). The romance is very slow and, even though it has some nice romantic moments, conflict resolution takes center stage and the romance is exchange for a showmanship of patience, admiration, development of trust, and deep respect for each other. The drama has some good moments but it loses momentum as it approaches a nice but unamusing end.

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This is a very nice romantic comedy with a bit of medical and legal drama mixed into it. The drama is fast paced, conflicts and misunderstandings are quickly resolved, and the leading couple has a great chemistry that shows in their playful and romantic interactions. The supporting cast is really fun to watch, they have an interesting relationship, and the plot gives conflicts and resolutions that allow the characters to change over the course of the drama to bring great character development. Although the storyline is nothing new, the actors did a great job bringing these characters to life. The main couple, Shao Qing and Cong Rong, is steadfast in their love and, as they get to know each other better, their mutual love and support gives this drama a nice feel. Enjoy it!

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This is a good drama to watch while waiting for a great one. It is a fictional historical with some nice action scenes, good camaraderie, melodrama, comedic moments, and a light romance that started too late into the drama. There’s also some mystery. Although the leading couple has good chemistry, their romantic scenes were playful and cute but not exciting. The leading character was written to show a cold facial expression for most of the show’s duration and it became tedious. The female lead’s character was fun and nice to watch but the character’s delivery felt off on the romantic scenes. Overall, it is a nice drama and it delivers entertainment. Enjoy it!

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This is a very nice, lighthearted coming of age drama. The actors did a good job bringing their characters to life and there was good chemistry among the characters. Although the romantic relationships take forever to develop, the drama’s strength is on the overall relationship among the main and supporting characters and how strong they become as they straight into adulthood. Although this drama is great, it is not without a fault. Even though the leading couple has a great symbiotic relationship with a fluffy romance, healthy communication, fun interaction, and a steadfast love, the only thing that was frustrating about the them is that there are too many times of interrupted kisses that ruined the fluffiness of their romantic synergy; it would have been better to continue with their great hugs and forehead kisses than to see her flustered and scared body language as he tenderly approaches to kiss her. Besides that, the drama is absolutely fantastic, friendships are loyal and Nan Xi (Fiction Guo) and Xia Rui (Wan Peng) are truly soulmates who are destined to be together and their journey is enchanting; from the moment that they realized who they were as children and all the way to the end, their relationship is inextricably linked and delightful to watch. Enjoy it!

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This is a really good drama that, if not episodes 31-33 and the “tear effect”, if would’ve been a GREAT drama. The storyline flows nicely and the lead couple has good chemistry but, sometimes, the leading lady appeared emotionally challenged due to the fact that she could not cry or she would faint. Although her allergy to tears is an interesting element to the story, it took away from the opportunity to have great interactions and emotional expressions throughout the drama which the male lead compensated quite nicely. The romance progressed in a good pace and it is quite realistic. Although there are some misunderstandings, they were resolved quickly and the couple’s intimacy was believable and refreshing. The OST is beautiful and there’s also great cinematography. The supporting cast and their stories were nice to watch. Overall the drama is entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This is a good drama that ended badly! Although the drama excels in bringing out a strong sense of family and love, it revolves strongly on how they believed that fate determines people’s destiny. On this drama, love does not conquer all! Although the leading couple chose to believe in the power of love and chose their own destiny, this drama just shows that they could not go against fate. The drama started slow and gloomy and, once the leading couple starts to develop feeling, it gets better until the writer(s) decided to give it a tragic end leading the viewer to believe that one’s fate cannot be changed. It is a shame because the drama has strong characters and good actors, especially Non Chanon Santinatornkul (as Tee) and Morkut Liu, who plays Pai. Even with a slow beginning and the somber tone, this drama could’ve been a very good drama if not for the end!

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This is a really nice coming of age drama that follows a group of friends through their university years and their interpersonal relationships. The drama has some cliche conflicts, usual misunderstandings, some over the top acting, and a cute and steadfast light romance for the leading couple. Although the drama offers entertainment, and the leading couple has a nice chemistry, their romantic scenes lack zest, maybe because it is a PG-13 drama, but they could've done better and keep it at the rating level. Still, it is a good watch while waiting for a great one to come.

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This is a period web series that has action, comedy, and cute romance storylines. The drama is about county magistrate Tang Tian Yuan and the sassy daughter of a wealthy family, Tan Lingyin. They start working together solving different criminal cases, and falling in love along the way. Although the drama is about the romantic relationship of the main couple, the leading lady is portrayed within a duality of character contradiction (smart vs. really stupid) and quite fickle compared to the leading male’s character. Their romantic scenes are warm and sweet but they lack intimacy. A couple from the supporting cast, Ma Wen Yuan as Zheng Shao Feng and Baby Zhang as Zhou Zheng Dao/Ru Yi, had better chemistry on their romantic scenes, which is a disappointment since this is a drama focused on romance. Overall, the drama is nice, light hearted, and an easy watch while waiting for a great one to come. Enjoy it!

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