Berbox Kay lee Zona

"I just met someone who can't seem to take a break. It's like they have the entire world on their shoulders, and before you can ask them how they catch a breath, they start running"
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Sunshine Through the Rain follows the story of two similar yet different people surviving.

It tells the story of two students that meet as rivals. There's initial misconceptions, but slowly they get to learn about each other the more they work together, forming an unlikely bond.

This show is raw, realistic and an emotional rollercoaster, but it isn't the kind where all emotions hit you at once, but rather in bits, slowly by slowly until you're tearing up before you even realise it. It's the kind of show that's cosy enough to draw you in with its warm and realness, then give you a reality check through its dialogue, giving you a chill that spreads through your body, then hands you a blanket to cover you from the cold.

It has this rawness that's told through its characters' stories, covering themes like emotional survival, physical survival, how we cope with the struggles of the world, friendship, family and more.

Our female lead, Zheng Yu, brought to life by Yang Chao Yue, is shown as someone who doesn't catch a break, having a moment in a vegetative state, lots of bills to pay and school. She works really hard, part-time jobs, even go as far as get hit but not report to the police, but rather takes pics and threatens the assailant into compensation. She once described herself as, "I stretch everything to its limit, meals, sleep, energy." Now I know you're feeling empathetic and pitiful, but despite all of this, she is smart, strong, driven, resilient and not a push over. She takes charge of her life until she feels too helpless to do anything. That's who she is. Even when life beats her down, she fights, at least until she can't do that much anymore.

Then the male lead, Chen Yanzhou, brought to life by Win Win, is a student that comes back to the university after taking a year off due to his health. He is revealed to be smart and hardworking and pushes himself in terms of school and his researches, but he's also dealing with the loss of his brother and other issues.

These two are initial rivals. To her, he's the boy who walked into the elevator with his shoes clean despite everyone else's shoes having mud on them, and to him, she's the girl who would probably do anything for money and will confront you to your face and not your back.

Then they become lab mates, and they slowly realise that they are both equally competitive, then slowly he learns about her life and vice versa, and they realise that maybe they aren't so different after all.

Their relationship is slowly built as the show goes on, strangers to rivals to lab mates to comrades to friends and probably more as we go.

Their chemistry is good and interactions fill me with warmth. They have this emotional intimacy that makes it all worthwhile.

The acting makes it even better. Yang Chao Yue really makes her character feel real, that withdrawal that I could break at any moment vibe, her silent break downs, her loud frustrations, everything. She's doing a wonderful job.

What I love about this show is that it shows you that misfortunes are something everyone has. Yes, you have it rough, but so is that cheerful person next door.

The dialogue is also absolutely wonderful and thoughtful.

It has completely won me over with its realness and unexpectedly one of my favourites this year. Waiting for episodes is a struggle.




Some of the quotes and dialogues from the show so far:

There's a saying I've heard:
You can judge a person by their shoes.
Different shoes take people down different paths.
Only shoes on a rainy day are an exception.
They bring everyone to a state of equal disarray.

A person arrived with all of their yesterday's behind them.

Only at a moment of being hurt does a relationship feel real.

The harder you push through life, the more life assumes you can take on. I stretch everything to its limit, meals, sleep, energy, and as a result, on one of the days I couldn't afford to lose, I lost to myself.