Bali

Lost You, Found You (2024) is a great romantic wuxia. The cast did a very good job bringing their characters to life, and the leading couple, Gu Lin Yuan (Dai Gao Zheng) and Yun Fei Fei (played by Tu Zhi Ying, has splendid romantic and playful chemistry. This drama has a story of factions playing against each other as a background stage and the antagonists offer the male lead a position from which he can protect the leading lady. He’s the good guy turned antihero and loving protector. The leading lady is also a strong character that will stop at nothing in order to protect her beloved. They go through thick and thin but their love only get stronger through every trial. The story is well written and the drama has very good action scenes, cinematography, beautiful costumes, and pleasing settings. Overall, this drama is about the leading couple, once separated by inevitable circumstances, founding each again and, finally, been able to fight for a chance to be together. Overall, the drama is good, the romance is captivating, and the story is well performed by the cast. Enjoy it!

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Thousands Of Years Of Love is a great historical miniseries! As other reviews have said, it’s a bit rushed but, taking into consideration that the plot has the Xuanming, Immortal, and Mortal Realms’ settings, everything was done properly; from locations, cinematography, costumes, makeup, OST, and the selection of a well casted leading couple. The supporting cast had some good acting moments but the leading couple remained steady with good acting skill from beginning to end. The drama is a romantic wuxia with good CGI’s and some dramatic and comedic elements. The leading couple, very well performed by Yu Xuan Chen as leading man Mo Chen Yuan / Yin Mo Ting and Tu Zhi Ying as leading lady Feng Ruo Yao / Lu Chen X, has great chemistry and very well done believable romantic scenes. Overall, this drama is well done and entertaining.

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Ru Guo Zhe Bei Zi Wo Hai Ji De Ni (2024) is a miniseries that was well performed, especially by the leading couple but, even though the leading male, Lu Zhao Wei (played by Yu Long), never stopped looking for his bride to be, Jiang Yuan Yuan (played by Yang Mie Mie also as / Zhao Wen) and five years later she reappears in his life, there’s no real romance happening throughout the drama because most of the plot is about the antagonists trying to get rid of the female lead and a leading lady with amnesia. The drama becomes very frustrating as it keeps the leading couple from recognizing each other until the end, to leave the viewer with just an affirmation that they will not be separated again.

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Blossoms in Adversity is not a love story but is a magnificent story about love, endurance, and above all, human resilience and growth within continuous adversity. The drama has a strong, intelligent, and quick-witted main couple that exudes a soulful and loving chemistry, even when they are not together. In this drama, even when the leading couple is the axle that holds the other characters together, each supporting character is vital to the flow of the story and, since the drama is female centric, one must say that the female cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. With that been said, all male characters, especially the patriarch of the Hua family, Hua Yi Zheng, played by seasoned actor Eddy Ko, had an important role in the drama that, whether there was a positive or negative influence, led this fantastic group of woman to blossom in adversity. The leading male, Gu Yan Xi, brilliantly played by Hu Yi Tian, is a constant source of trouble and support to the remarkable leading lady Hua Zhi, masterfully played by Zhang Jing Yi. There are extensive reviews about this drama and yes, there are some scenes that might have seemed unnecessary but they pass quickly with the fast pace of the drama. What makes this drama a 9.5 instead of a perfect 10 is the unnecessary breakup for the leading couple that could have used their wits to fool the Emperor and save their friends anyway and the nice but bland ending for the leading couple. That would have been the icing on the cake. Two characters that are worthy of been mentioned are the precious, peculiar, and lovable Shao Yao exceptionally played by Lu Yu Xiao and the tyrannical and selfish emperor that one loves to hate excellently played by Hai Yi Tian. All in all, this drama is a must watch and an excellent example of how “divided we fall united we stand”. Enjoy it!

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My Demon is a very good and fun to watch drama. Although there are many scenes that are relatable to other dramas, the cast did a great job bringing their characters to life, This drama is a fantasy romantic comedy that, even if it drags here and there, it is enjoyable to watch. The connections from their bloody past and the darker components of their thrilling present are set forth within the fantasy element of the supernatural forces of good versus evil and the endurance of a steadfast love that transcend time and circumstances. Even though the comparison with other dramas is difficult to miss, My Demon delivers a nice love story from past to present lives and there are some really good twists to keep the amusement going. The cast in the drama did a great job of bringing forth their characters’ storyline and the leading couple has a delightful playful aura and great romantic chemistry. Even if the drama is clichéd, it is very entertaining. Enjoy it!

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Seal of Love is a very nice historical fantasy miniseries. This has a better first part in the immortal realm and it could’ve used another 15-20 minutes to conclude their encounter in the mortal real and meet again in the immortal one; and then, there is an apparent second season that was not film in 2023 which is really disappointing. Overall, the drama is nice but the leading female didn’t show any chemistry toward the leading male that did pretty well showing his romantic feelings for the leading lady, Overall, the series is a onetime watch and the first part is quite entertaining.

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I Want To Resign Every Day is a nice time loop miniseries. With each time loop, there is great character development for the leading couple, some comedy, and a nice slow burning romance. The transition from one episode to the other is nicely done and there is a logical flow to the story. Although the drama has an overbearing and narcissistic boss and an overworked secretary tired of her dominant and arrogant boss that she wants to resign as in the Korean drama “What's Wrong with Secretary Kim”, this drama has a well written time loop plot line. The leading couple has great chemistry that gets better as their story evolves and she discovers the real person behind the haughty boss and the reasons behind his attitude. This is a drama that could’ve been great if their intimate scenes were done better but, even as it is, the drama is very good and entertaining. Enjoy it!

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First time watching: Feb, 2019 Rewatch: Jan. 2024 Still fantastic!!!!

This is an amazingly well told story about a girl named Ming Lan. Don’t expect a torrid romance; the lead couple’s relationship takes time to develop but, once it does, it gives way to a great fusion of mind and soul. Understanding, and remembering throughout the drama, that Ming Lan grew up holding back her real emotions while cultivating her intellect, will be less frustrating. This drama has everything, from an excellent cast to cinematography, choreography... but what makes this drama great is the way the story evolves and how Ming Lan and Gu TingYe become a powerful force of love and brilliant minds working together, and sometimes, apart. Take your time and be patient because, although the drama can be considered slow paced, every episode really brings out all sorts of emotions. Enjoy it!

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This mainland China version is also a great rendition of the original “Fated To Love You” drama. Even though the drama has some minor differences that make the story a little bit distinctive, the main plot remains the same. This adaptation doesn’t have the farce characterization with absurd type comedy. The actors did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple has very good and credible chemistry. The leading couple brought about a good range of emotions and really tugged at the heartstrings with their melodramatic rendition of a couple that went through immense loss and suffering. Overall, this drama is very entertaining. Enjoy it!

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By far, the best "Fated to Love You" remake version out there! Although this drama keeps the farce comedic genre, it is toned down compared to the original Taiwanese version making the drama better balanced between the comedy and romance. This version also has a unique storyline for the male lead but the overall plot follows the original story. The tear jerking moments are heart tugging and memorable. There is a fantastic gradual and consistent character growth for the leading couple who has great chemistry and did a phenomenal job bringing their characters to life. Although Lee Gun's laugh is annoying sometimes, I really like how he performed his character on this version. Jang Na Ra was perfect as Kim Mi Young. Enjoy it!

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This is a drama labeled as romance. It is more a romantic comedy that failed in the romance department. First of all, although there is a great character development for the leading characters, it takes forever! The leading male, Li Tang (Jerry Yang), portrays a man with “Peter Pan syndrome”, an adult who is socially immature, and supposedly unreliable. Jerry Yang does a great job delivering this character but his childish demeanor is overloaded with weird facial expressions and tiring playful attitudes which diminish his high level intelligence and problem solving ability. On the other hand, the leading lady, Fu Fang Si (Maggie Jiang), is a fashion designer with low emotional intelligence who mostly cares for her fashion label because of its attachment to her deceased father. For most of the drama, she is constantly bickering with Li Tang and blaming everything on him. Granted that he keeps a lot of things from her, but she is impulsive and quick to condemn him while she is very understanding and forgiving of everyone else that has stab her on the back. By the very end of the drama, and having been through thick and thin together, they grow to understand, love, and appreciate each other; but the journey only gives the viewer great playful interactions between the lead couple, masterminded business antics with conniving antagonists, and a flat romantic chemistry between Jerry Yang and Maggie Jiang. Although, most of the time, the leading couple’s story is full of banter and misunderstandings, they get their happy and successful ending. The rest of the cast did very well bringing their characters to life. Ron Ng (as Yin Hao Ran) and Viola Mi (as Cheng Xiang Nan) were also excellent portraying their heavy laden and complicated antagonistic characters. Overall, with patience and tolerance of some over-theatrical acting, the drama is entertaining enough while waiting for a great one to come!

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I had high expectations about this drama since it has Yun Eun Hye and Chun Jung Myung as the leading couple. The drama, although it has some cute and heartwarming moments, lacks enthusiasm. The overall tone is somber and somewhat tragic for a romantic comedy. Main characters’ voice intonation on the drama sounded mechanical and lacks the proper emotions. I am very disappointed with the overall performances on this drama. Although the storyline was good, the script was poorly written and it became a real waste of talent. Sadly, the chemistry between the lead couple lacks passion and warmth.

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This is a great historical drama with some wuxia and a romantic storyline that develops slowly and lasts a lifetime. The ending is nice and satisfying, but it felt rushed. The drama has a lot of court politics with betrayal and family enmity but the true characters, the main leads, remain true to themselves and each other all the way to the end. Even though the main leads didn’t have many intimate scenes, their chemistry went beyond skinship; their facial expressions, beautiful embraces, heart-wrenching and heartwarming moments made their love story and partnership enviable to everyone. The drama has very well choreographed fighting scenes, beautiful costumes, and some good CGI’s, with the exception of some war scenes. Overall, the drama is very entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

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