Minalapinou

Spice up our Love

So, this is clearly meant for a public who want more "pro-like" verticals. It doesn't have the usual format limitations, feels very mature, the vibe is very "trendy urban romance" à la Sex and the City for working women : there is a cute, supporting bestie instead of a green tea, the fashion is on point, even the sets feel less bling and more effortless luxury than other vertical romances about big shots. The plot could be an arc of a trendy horizontal show, girl is tired of her husband being on autopilot in bed and they spend the drama trying to understand each other better and spice things up. The stakes are low, it's slice-of-life with no makjang-y twists or scream/slap fests. Make no mistake : I love my soapy, cheesy verticals with 57 twists, all the tropes, wall slams and forced kisses, but once in a while a more subdued one is welcome. Wang Kai Mu and Xu Zhen Zhen are mini/micro veterans with an impressive CV, and they deliver. Do try it even if verticals are not your usual favored romance format.

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Forbidden thirst

Loved it. Obsessed with it. Could write a thesis about it. Fearing I will find everything bland after it. ZZD and Zuo Yi are completely immersed in their roles. I wish I knew who directed and wrote the drama because there was some really standout work done here, as usual for verticals you have to work with limited means (sets, extras, music, costumes, time, etc.) to sell your story, and they achieved quite a feat of magic, creating this fascinating, enchanting piece of drama set in an exotic, lush bubble.

The ambitious story is about the 10-years long tragic, love/hate, push/pull relationship between an immature, self-destructive teenage HK heiress and her ex-criminal guardian running away from his violent past, trying very hard to keep the word he gave to her mother to raise her without touching her, while being desperatly in love with her (mission : impossible). ZZD ad Zuo Yi lit my screen on fire with their raw chemistry, and their romance gave me strong vibes of 90's/00's angtsy melo shoujos like Fuyumi Soryo's Mars, or Saito Chiho's messed up love affairs (he even wears a frilly open-neck chemise, a staple of even older golden era shoujos). She's in a hurry to grow up, he's torn between lust and his duty to see her live her youth without burning steps. Of course she has no idea how much her playful, abrasive and curious behavior is cruel to him until he starts losing control and she finds herself overwhelmed and scared of what she aroused. It's perfect, and then it becomes even more complex as they start to involve other people in their toxic relationship. Complaints were made against the drama for being too confusing, but I think this is half due to brutal edits (some scenes are clearly missing parts) and half the case of a drama that is not overtly explicit, needing you to pay more attention to implied meaning, frame composition, and physical acting/choreography than any telling (they even repeat like a mantra that love is about action, not intention, or something like that according to the subs, I think that's the gist).

For example, they use a TON of water imagery because the story is all about...thirst, and pent-up lust (also water is one of the first visual or sound clue used in dramas to imply desire). There is also the idea that the heroes need each other like they need water to drink or air to breath, combined with the very delicious (yet again kinda old school) plot of the tragic couple that everything pulls apart (danger, age, distance, family ties, generations, engagements, class, even country as he's given a stranger vibe with blond hair and can speak italian). I don't think we need to understand precisely what is going on with the mafia (he's running from a very shady past, thinks he's cursed to cause doom to every woman he's close to : that explains most of his actions until the end). I also think that it's a drama you can re-watch to understand better, as many scenes are quite rich in symbolism (I watched it three times when I discovered it, have since watched it two more times, and know I will come back to it).

Finally, I will fight for the idea that the ending is 100% a true HE : the final arc fell victim big time to obvious limitations in costumes and sets, but there are some definitive clues that it is not a dream (the necklace, the phonecall, the change of scene), at this point of the story she has risen to his level, confessed her feelings (great scene by the way, all done without explicit words) and what he tells her in their little eden is going full circle with their first meeting. Language is very important to the show (love language, foreign language and dialects, body language, what can't be said, the gap between adult's and kid's words, between what you say and what you feel), and I don't know why they would put such an obvious reference to what she first said to him if they didn't intend that precise scene to be his belated, real answer. There is also the fact that he was no stranger to disappearing from her life with no warning, and the way he reappears (while they play the "prove love with your actions" line !) is coherent with the idea that he had to be "reborn" and shed his past to be with her, fully and without pretense (also a staple in romance and dramas in general, using bodies of water all the time to mean the death of an old self and the birth of a new one). Also note how the drama starts at night in dark, troubled waters and ends with them basking in the sun in clear waters after what felt like a never-ending damp, rainy season (I can go on forever with the water symbolism).

So yeah, She's Trouble (hate the "god is a girl" dumb english title that has nothing to do with anything) is getting on my vertical pantheon, and it has ruined me : give me all the pretentiously artsy, indie-like romantic verticals that have deep messages, SYMBOLISM, and the hottest, most talented actors of the vertical industry drowning their existential crisis and sexual frustration in cheap whisky and cold showers while looking fabulous. I'm desperate for a director's cut of it or at least a version with all scenes intact and a solid translation.

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Unexpectedly dark Jie Jie romance

Came for the smut, stayed for the plot. The first scene is the heroïne's very vivid wet dream about her adoptive brother who's also very much not her fiance. I thought it was going to be all about hot and heavy secret makeout à la Prince is too Wild, but despite the title (He's so Wild) it's not another take on the famous plot, the hero is the scapegoat while the heroïne is the golden child, and the drama becomes darker an darker as it goes (turns out, that first scene had layers). The adoptive parents are very messed up, they want to pretend that everything is great, the engagement between their favored son and adoptive daughter is a display of their perfectly curated image while their illegitimate son, the living embodiment of their hypocrisy, doesn't care for any of that and is the one lifting the veil (and punished for it). I was not sure why the drama was three hours long based on the premise, but I understood when I realized they had Important Things to Tell (yes it's a vertical with a Message). While I appreciate what the drama was trying to achieve, I did feel tricked into watching something very dark that I didn't signed up for when I clicked on it. Nevertheless, I have to admit that it didn't came from nowhere either, it's just that I didn't expect it to go there.

Ma Xiao Yu is getting better and more subtle, precise, in his delivery and moves, which means he's getting more dangerous, as he was already fascinating when his acting was hammy and clumsy. He's taking full advantage of his stature to do some very, hum, interesting acrobatics, and the gap between his frame and his character's vulnerability is, as always, pure crack. The romance is both moving and spicy, if you like the trope of the older girl befriending a sad cub and later realizing she's raised a lion hungry for her, you are in for a treat. The dialogue is also next level, filled of double-entendres ("brother I'm a little tied up now", the whole "big young and durable" electric car exchange). You can count on MXY and Xiang Yun Jie (the girl who said okay for tongue kissing with Lui Lan Bo) to bring the eroticism. The production was correct, though some fashion crimes were committed (I need those horrendous SHEIN party outfits in synthetic velvet to be burned). Overall, a tempting treat, but beware of the plot's dark turns.

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Rebound Regent

The third version of the "Regent's kiss" (or whatever it's called) plot with Li Ruo Xun. I can see why this plot is being remade, it's a strong premise : FL has been forever in love with her adoptive elder brother who saved her life, becoming the perfect bride shaped by his taste and coveted by many men in the city, waiting for him to finally claim her, only to see him get concubine after concubine. After the nineth (!!) enters his household she's over it and resigns herself to an arranged marriage with the prince regent, who is crazy about her. This drama was HOT, probably one of the hottest period shorts I've seen, the regent's love is all consuming and she's more than ready to be over with being a parangon of virtue put on a pedestal and never touched by her coward of a savior. The writing is a cut above the usual fare, quite detailed and cohesive. A very generous short that is good on every front.

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Multi-layered romance where true feelings emerge thanks to movie scenes, alcohol and lies

This vertical has no business being this good. The first episode is a master-class of romantic choreography and story-telling, everything is said and felt in a few shots and lines. The plot is surprisingly layered for the format, managing to tell a heartfelt story about trauma, missed opportunities, and second chances. It reminded me of Yoon Seok Ho golden age melodramas and the early excellence of Skip Beat. Like the cult manga it tells a love story in the show-business between an newcomer actress and a top star acting on the same set. Maybe I'm the only one seeing a parallel, but the opening scene feels to me like someone read the legendary Cain siblings arc and wanted the hotel scene to go somewhere : he even says "I don't do incest" when both know he's not even her husband's real brother. Another, more obvious, inspiration is 2024's When the Phone Rings, a huge hit in China (its influence is felt all over verticals and minis). If you can't stand romances where the MC is apart simply beacause of manipulations and misunderstandings, this one might be too frustrating, but I think they make a strong case to justify why they missed each other for so many years, and why they are so repressed with their feelings (which makes their reunion so deliciously mixed with pleasure and pain).

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Trashy vampire romance done right

I know this song and dance, trashy vampire period romance but add revenge, green tea, soul migration and a touch of fantasy (they have some kind of powers linked to plants ?). This is bordering on vertical soap to be honest but I don't mind, all the blood, violence and bare skin fit the gothic theme. I liked the execution and pacing a lot, even if I didn't always 100% understood what was happening (can't say if it's the fault of the mediocre translation or the script though). Sometimes the writing bends reality to fit the narrative but it's more hilarious than annoying (they had the perfect magical item for everything, lol). I had just finished Enslaved by Love with Xu Zhen Zhen and the same director when I started this, and I like the ML of this drama better : Ye Sheng Jia is damn good as debauched prince Pei Su, and his character has a darkness and layers that make the romance gripping. Secondary cast is also pretty good and rounds up the story nicely, as our heroïne has not one but two shady romantic interests, doubling the fun. Villains are your usual cackeling greedy cliches, but the actors have fun with it and the drama succeeds at slowly unraveling what is really happening and who is the true mastermind. Love the styling (the hime cut and choker are adorable on Xu Zhen Zhen, Ye Shang Jia looks gorgeous in open neck robes) and Deng Zhan Neng is a pro at making those shorts look expensive. The drama becomes tamer and less scandalous in the second part, loosing some of the initial spice and tension, but I felt the resolution was worth the investment. I also recommend this if you want more of what Shadow Love was doing with blood slavery/contract in short form, with a ML who is more wolf than puppy.

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A very welcome comeback of the romantic thriller in Kdrama form

Yess a romantic thriller ! And a spicy one, even. I love those. It's old school for a Kdrama, bringing back the red flag CEO antihero, and I'm here for it. Usually we start contract marriage plots before (or right after) the wedding, but this one takes us after three long, cold, loveless years, when our heroïne is on the verge of exploding. And explode, she does ! And takes a very unusual and dangerous approach. The drama is so well done, I'm surprised at the level of directing and acting involved in this. Also, for once, here is a show that relies on showing and almost never on telling. There is a lot going on here visually. Plot wise, I know Kim Ji Won is a controversial writer, but I always find her work fascinating, never boring, and thought-provoking (I'm one of the few people who enjoyed Cheongdamdong Alice and Melancholia from start to finish). Her adaptation of the webtoon is very fairy-tale like, it's Sleeping Beauty coded with a "dormant" cursed heroïne, the theme of sexual awakening, the toxic queen moms and absentee fathers. They also cite the Little Mermaid, and I can see its influence with the heroïne who can't speak, loves her prince in silence and feels like a tortured stand-in for his bride. Talking about the actors, I'm so glad that Chae Soo Bin is sharing the screen with Yoo Yeon Seok, they are such a strong pairing. She's fire, he's ice, so take a seat and enjoy the ride.

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Late blooming flowers

So I finally watched this year's inescapable, much raved-about, monster vertical hit Summer Rose. I had heard of it even when I was paying no attention to verticals, back when I was convinced I would never get addicted on those (sigh). I was not very convinced by the synopsis as I don't like stories about a cold marriage slowly turning sweet that much (I need BIG DRAMA, the more angst the better) but I did love the cast, and was curious to see what all the hype was about. Is it worth the fuss ? Yes, Oh My God, yes. I was entranced, didn't see the 3:20 hours go. Guo Yu Xin is her luminous self, the direction is enhancing her lovely, youthful feautures, Liu Xiao Xu (who is still quite young !!) gives off the perfect "uncle" vibes for the role. This is made by Stable production, a very promising studio. They went all-in for this drama : the soundtrack is great (it's not ripping off My Demon or When The Phone Rings for once), there is no stupid, childish sound effects (if you are familiar with verticals you know exactly what I'm talking about), the costumes and sets are horizontal drama level of quality, the camera work, lighting and sound design show some real industry workmanship, it feels like the vertical genre is no longer restrained by its origin as formated soap for a short attention span audience.

The writing is impressive, on the surface not much is going on (it's an arranged marriage, they give it a chance, they fall in love fast which freaks her out) but it's all in the rich details, the way they dance around each other, the way he slowly breaks her barriers, the way they both evolve as individuals and as a couple through it all. He's very introverted and believes more in actions than big talk, she's outgoing, and has internalized the sad idea that love is a weakness after what happened to her mother. The drama was very mature about its theme : the heroïne didn't use her mother's tragic fate to go on a vengeful rampage, she was able to forgive her father without forgetting, she just had to understand that she wasn't doomed to repeat her parents' story. Writing wise the only thing that bothered me was that she's supposed to be bipolar : there was no sign of it in the whole drama, she's a bit impulsive and reckless at times and has depressive bouts, that's it (not the first time I've watched a drama dropping names of very serious life-altering medical conditions while writing their characters with very basic neurosis, oh well). For romance enjoyers I'd say it's a mandatory watch, it was incredibly romantic, and gave me vibes of golden era HK romances.

For those interested there is a spin-off promoted during the drama about his little brother and his wife played by He Jian Qi and Wang Ge Ge, I'd like to check it out.

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Babies, money and love

High-school mutual crushes who never got to confess their feelings get into a contract marriage. Her mom is a baby-making factory and his family has fertility issues, so his mom recruits her to produce an heir. She needs the money, thinks he's gay, and tries to keep things professionnal while he's not over her, so of course things get messy very fast. This was short, hilarious, and sweet. Loved that the drama was so tongue in cheek with its cliches, both using and twisting them to excellent results. The drama knew exactly what it was and never tried to be too dramatic or edgy, it stayed hilarious from start to finish. I died laughing when the husband's seduction strategy got hijacked (twice !) by the sneaky SFL using the exact same plans. The only thing that could have been toned down was the (dated) way the handsy gay friend was written, but the drama is overall so over the top, and its characters so extra that it's not so jarring. It is a bit frustrating that the entire plot could have been over very fast only if the leads stopped making baseless assumptions about each other and just talked, but I guess it's part of the game.

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Baby, I'm back, did you miss me ?

Absolute cinema. Everything was top notch from the clever execution of a very particular trope (I'll get to it), to the acting (down to the child actor), the styling, direction, even the (ripped-off) music was good, and the chemistry between the leads was effortless. Level-headed Zhang Shan was an amazing foil to ZZD's crazed lover character, they were a perfect match acting wise.

Okay so if you're like me and have consumed an ungodly amount of so called trashy romances, you know there is one particular story arc that occurs a lot : the Grovelling Arc™, that comes after the ML mistreats the FL for various reasons (shotgun or arranged marriage, misunderstandings or lies, sometimes he has controlling tendencies like here, sometimes he's a straight up villain). She escapes, oftenly pregnant, finds refuge in another gentler man's care (or finds more troubles) and he chases her relentlessly. This trope is very common but I'm not the biggest fan of it, especially when there is a secret baby in tow, so I was not thrilled to know that the drama was going to be all about that.

Lo and behold, this drama managed to be creative, sexy and fun about it, juicing the best aspects of this kind of fantasy. I was a bit sad that we don't get to see their "captive by the boss" era because hello, it's Zhao Zhen Dong, who doesn't want to be locked in his *uguu* cage of love, but I totally underestimated how hot his grovelling era would be. First, the drama doesn't let us entirely down on the captive front with the use of masks, ties and cuffs, second the kid was not a mood killer as I feared, he was actually quite cute and natural, and there was always some convenient nanny to take care of him while mommy and daddy needed to have a little "talk", and third ZZD was not exactly repentant, he was more bent on shamelessly seducing her while making some amends. I also loved their version of the trope : she did do something terrible to him in return of what he did, thankfully not to the point of actively pretending the SML is her kid's father (I have a deep distate for this particular lie in romance), and they took the time to explain why the ML is like that without giving him absolution. I'm also a sucker for a good redemption and I loved how it was done here : he made amends but didn't undergo a personnality transplant either, he stayed messy, troubled, and possessive. Finally I was surprised at how much I enjoyed his relationship with his kid, the way he was sooo happy to have finally found his family was so moving (ZZD is so good at pulling those emotions), and I love that his family was unique and messed up but still loving, again the drama never tried to write its heroes as perfect human beings.

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Embrace the tropes

Do you like slap and kiss ? Big height difference ? Red flags ? The strong bodyguard carrying his doll-like princess trope ? Boy do I have you covered. Yeah it's trash, but QUALITY trash, excuse me. The drama's favorite past-time is finding dumb excuses to shoot very sensual scenes bordering on S&M (it's a romantic thriller, they know their target audience). It has one of my absolute favorite trope : I hate you, I want to kill you, I'm always thinking about you and your stupid sexy hair, and eyes, and arms, please take me now. As many shorts it's done on a shoestring budget but they do have a great cast (I love Fang Jin, she has tons of chemistry with her costars, Jesse Ren is pure eyecandy) and a smexy soundtrack working overtime to sell the atmosphere. Finally they 100% understand that if you don't have a great script, you live and die by the amount of crazy twists you can pull off without alienating your audience, and the drama does it well in my opinion (your mileage may vary). They know that the mystery around the hero makes him more interesting, so they keep us and Wen Xi in the dark. Is he good ? Is he bad ? Do we care ? It even has a great villain arc ! Finally it's not all about sex, the heroes are fun together and I came back curious to see them beat their enemies while finding themselves in compromising situations.

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Super entertaining and cinematic action romance, great cast and chemistry

Bonkers script that never slows down, hammy acting (mostly from the secondary cast), all the tropes, it shouldn't work that well but it weirdly does, thanks to the actors who are there for it, embracing the camp, a very strong direction and excellent pacing. I do have to mention that the plot takes a while to begin though, we get FOUR whole episodes on the blind princess who will be replaced by the true heroïne, and as a result I struggled to get myself attached to the (fake) twins, as we don't really know who they are and why we should root for them. But as a true trash panda I couldn't really say no to the forbidden romance, even more so with Zhou Jun Wei being all broody and sexy in black and making smouldering eyes at Lu Zhao (he flirts and kisses her like there is no tomorrow). Zhu Li Lan is versatile and has chemistry with everyone, she can switch between doe-eyed maiden and ruthless ruler without batting an eye. At first I was not really into it but couldn't look away (the poor princess' life is a trainwreck), and then got very addicted once our main duo takes the lead. Finally the production and direction must be noted, as it's immaculate, even better than some longer shows. I was taking tons of screens : the compo, colors, lighting and costumes were all gorgeous.

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Mob Boss Beside You

I love Ma Xiao Yu, Infernal Affairs, princess/bad boy romances, steamy verticals and Devil Beside You, and this show has it all, on steroïds. The plot is all over the place, she ran him over and sent him to prison, years later he's back as a mob boss and her new step brother with revenge in mind, she's engaged to his police officer frenemy, they can't decide if they want to kill or bang each other, Ma Xiao Yu's shirts are MIA or widely open, and the lady (as my last brain cell asking questions about plot logic) doesn't resist very long to temptation. The show has a budget : expensive cars (and not the usual overused Rolls Royce), helicopters, palaces, and it suscribes to the Rule of Cool : if it looks cool, even if it breaks the plot, we go with it. The best example of this is the baffling opening scene where he kidnaps her : when does it happen ? Why ? Who cares, it looks cool, the leads look hot, he kisses her passionately in the helico, we go with it. I think this is my favorite MXY vertical for now, since for once they let the romance progress more organically so the transition from hate to love feels natural. One scene is key : the way they did the obligatory aphrodisiac scene is amazing, he helps her with it instead of taking advantage, and it manages to be hotter and more explicit than many scenes in verticals where they have implied sex. Yuan Yu Han is also a big reason why the romance works so well, her Su Mina isn't very shy about wanting Kun Tai gege at least as much as he wants her so the sexual tension stays high, it's great. I'm on the "it's a metaphor" camp about the ending, I don't subscribe to the twist theory, and feel like it's a good send-off for the show. I strongly recommend it !

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Toxic Love From my Uncle

Confession time : the Wang Yiran/Lan Lan "canary" dramas are one of my biggest guilty pleasures, I keep seeking them like a hungry racoon, the trashier the better. The overall plot of this one is fine if barebone (they love each other but his sister married her dad so they can't be together, that's it that's the plot), and the actual writing/interpretation of it in this version is pretty straightforward. The hero spends more than half of the drama not taking "no" for an answer and being the sole driving force of the romance, because if we were counting on the heroïne, there would be zero action since she forbids herself from the possibility of any relationship with him. There is no cat and mouse in this game, it's just relentless chasing/escaping (and sometimes, but rarely, yielding) so if you can't stand the very, very, very dated tale of the girl who just won't admit her own desires and feelings because what about rules/family/reputation, and the boy who chooses the abuser path to overcome that, and if the (again, so damn stale) line "you're saying no but your body is saying yes" makes you vomit, just run. Okay, still there ? Hello fellow deranged souls and trash pandas, you have come to the right place. If "Toxic Love From the Mob Boss" is your preferred soap perfume, this is a good pick, he's not a mob boss but he's a territorial, forceful, sexy asshole who needs to assert dominance at every turn. He also can be defined as a deranged yandere and I know there is a public for it. I enjoyed it a lot and couldn't look away, thanks to the great casting (Lan Lan and Wang Yiran know how to sell it), a wonderful translation (honestly it makes a huge difference, I swear half of the time I'm annoyed at a vertical it's because the automated translation is garbage) and a trashy plot played completely straight, that knows exactly what its demented audience wants to see. Finally, this is the drama that made me realize I have a thing for actors who look constantly pissed off, as I loved Wang Yiran's perpetual frown and mean gaze. In conclusion this is very much a "if it's your thing watch it, if not avoid it" kind of vertical.

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The Ma Xiao Yu versus Zuo Yi spectacle

The plot is a mix between the "crazy painter in the attic" trope used in many verticals and the one where the much abused heroïne seduces the rabbid black sheep of the family to serve her revenge plans. This one even throws siscon into the mix as she's his cherished big sister's doppelgänger, because why not, gotta catch the interest of your audience in some way. Honestly it's a mess, it shouldn't work, but it's carried by Ma Xiao Yu's magnetic presence and Zuo Yi's versatility. I was curious to see their Crazy VS. Crazy performance, and they didn't disappoint. Ma Xiao Yu was still very green there, relying too much on screaming his lines and making faces to emote, but the sheer, overwhelming sense of presence he brings to the vertical format elevates and intensifies every cheesy scene he's in, while Zuo Yi does a remarkable job at disappearing behind her role (she's the kind of actress who can make you believe she's royalty dressed in a trashbag, a very convenient skill for verticals where you have to rely a lot on suspension of disbelief to pass your knock-off jewerly for priceless heirlooms). There was something unique and moving about the scenes where this huge man is resting in the lap of his very frail fake sister, no better image to show power reversal. The rest of the cast can't compare and the drama shows its limits when the main duo is missing (use the fast-forward button accordingly). On the siscon baiting, I was into anime when stuff like actual blood incest was A Thing (cue PTSD war flashbacks) so I admit it didn't even faze me here.

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