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I really enjoy the ‘Shine on Me’ drama, I think it is one of the best of 2025. Episode 30 was almost a surprise (honestly, we expected something like this), but also a validation of how good an actress Zhao Jin Mai is. Most of this drama, ZJM showed the ‘cute’ side, maybe a little too much. In this episode, ZJM revealed a more complex view of Nie Xi Guang when she confronts Zhuang Xu, showing what an excellent actress she is. To be honest, the actor portraying Zhuang Xu also did a decent job, so we all love to hate the Zhuang Xu character. I will contrast his performance with the SML from The Princess Royale (also with ZJM), where everything concerning SML was too much. In The Princess Royale, the director gave way too much screen time to the SML(for parts of the drama, even more time than the main leads), and the actor overacted. For SOM, the SML is mostly under control (I still ff some parts with the SML).

The acting of FL & ML is pretty good, specifically the female lead. I checked a previous drama of the ML (Youthful Glory - costume drama?), and I think he is acting significantly better in Shine on Me. Generally, the acting of the main leads is better compared to similar dramas. I am not always happy with the director of the drama,

‘Shine on Me’ is a really nice romantic drama, with good acting. For me, SWL was a good surprise (probably because I am not too much into costume dramas). Zhao Jin Mai is one of the best Chinese actresses of her generation. With ‘Shine on Me’ and ‘Amidst a Snowstorm of Love’ she has some of the best modern romantic dramas in recent years. It will be good for her (and for us, as viewers) if she continues to add light romantic dramas every one or two years. It is fair to say that there is no good formula for this. ZJM and ZLH made a good couple in the successful ‘The Princess Royal’. It was expected that their modern drama, ‘Our Generation’, would do great, but it did not perform as expected. It seems that any drama is a new adventure, where you need the right main leads, the best director, and the best scriptwriter, so the drama will have a chance to perform.

I just took a look at "Episode guide". There are 9 "reviewers" who ranked all the episodes, even from January, and obviously, the ratings were low, mostly 7s, with a few 8s. I do not know who hates this drama, or the main lead actors. To understand the effect, take 2 episodes with a round rating. Episode 15, rating 9, from 45 reviewers, and episode 34 (from January), rating 8 from 9 reviewers. Taking out the 9 fake reviewers, the REAL rating for episode 15 was 9.25, not 9.

Ms Zhang (the housemaid) does not see any difference between a study trip (several weeks in Europe) and a study abroad (several years outside China). Therefore, when Zhuang Xu visited Xiguang uncle's house, she informed him, mistakenly, that Xiguang was studying abroad (in reality, she had only been there for 2 months).

I really like this CDrama. I see a significant improvement in acting for both FL(Shen Yue) and ML(Lin Yi). One of the best CDrama of 2024. Even if the FL is a standup comic, I do not see this as a romcom, more like a romantic drama.

I agree that ZLH did a great job with PWX. Also, ZJM was really great. I understand that both of them will play in a new drama, waiting for this new drama. Unfortunately, the stupidity of the screen-writer and director to heavily promote SRQ affected not only the time on screen of the main leads, but also the behavior of Li Rong and PWX in TPR. Even the actor playing SRQ is affected. He had a lot of time to show that he is not a good actor. I already have a bias against him so I will need very strong arguments to see him in a new drama .

In episode 17 the FL proposes to “normally “ evolve their relationship from friends to lovers. In episode 18, the FL is jealous and drunk, and the ML helps. In the morning after, it is clear to both of them that they are in a relation, other than friendship.

FL is slow, but even the ML is not sure 100% in the first 2-3 episodes, or, more likely, ML behaves like he loves her but declares he is brother with the FL. The FL has a closer moment with the ML when hiding in school (episode 6) and she is upset that in the ML’s company she is seen as “brother” and not as “girlfriend”(episode 9) . After that, slowly, FL realizes that she loves him.

A rather forgettable romcom. The director and the main leads are weak and destroy the drama (at its best, you expect a standard romcom). After 7 years of acting, you may expect from Dylan Wang some basic acting skills. In this romcom, Dylan Wang is in a state of continuous constipation - I guess this is the director's view how an arrogant CEO should look. Bai Lu is, usually, a good actress but in this drama she does not convince the viewer, her acting combined with a weak story is not really working. The secondary actors tend to do a better job (especially Miles Wei and the always reliable Zeng Li) but the story and the motivations for the third leads are not clearly presented (screen-writer mistake).

I recently re-viewed some episodes from Princes Royale (also known as The Legend of Su Rongqing). Again, I was impressed by the good acting and chemistry between the main leads (especially ZJM, who promises to be one of the best Chinese actresses of her generation). They saved the drama from the stupidity of the director and scriptwriter. The scriptwriter's bad decision to give most of the screen time to a secondary character like Su Rongqing, maybe trying to create romantic tension between the main leads and SRQ is a disaster. The FL, after 2 lifes, behaves relative to SRQ stupidly and inappropriately, and the ML acts strangely as well. The director presides over this mistake, compounded by selecting an actor (for SRQ) specializing in long stares and not very good-acting. I fast-forwarded this guy as much as possible.

I recently saw You Are My Lover Friend. This is a very good “friends to lovers” romcom.

I was impressed of how well FL(Wang Yu Wen) & ML acted and the chemistry between them. Wang Yu Wen is a “towering” presence between Chinese top actresses (factual, she is 1.72 m tall, and most of other actresses are around 1.60 and 1.65 m). Joke aside, Wang Yu Wen is beautiful, elegant, excellent at acting and with good comedic sense. She has an advantage in the romcom genre (so she should try to have at least one successful romcom per year to keep her popularity up), but she has to be more selective on the kind of dramas in which she acts. In YAMLF, she has great chemistry with the ML, which also acts very well, so there are expectations to see them in another romcom.

I looked at comments from other viewers and almost 90% of comments noticed the good acting and chemistry of main leads. Even if the viewers low graded the drama, they highlighted the good acting of Wang Yu Wen and the ML – this is rare.

Probably one of the top 2 C-romcom of 2024 (with A Snowstorm of Love being better) - which is not saying much, tbh, 2024 is not a great year for C-romcoms. FL & ML are very good, with a really nice chemistry. I liked especially FL's acting (Wang Yu Wen) - if she selects better dramas, she can go to the top. I was not very impressed in the past by the actor playing the ML, but in this romcom he is good. The Screenwriter is rather weak. With a slow moving drama, he/she uses two many times two "jokes" (interruptions of the kiss - after the 3rd time, you go fast-forward for the next 7 interruptions; also Feng Wei Ran aggressive negation of any romantic connection between FL &ML - again, way too much). The Director disappoints as well, he was suppose to control the show (and the writer) and he failed. Part of the problem, the Director specializes in "wave the red flag" dramas, with strong emotions etc. and to do a romcom is too much for him. Taking into account these problems, the FL & ML's performance is even more remarkable, they produce an easy to watch and enjoyable show. On the other hand, if you do not enjoy slow moving drama, this is not the show for you. You can look for " Combined Arms" by the same director (by the end of 2024?). It is obvious that the director returns to his true love and you do not really need the English translation (the green guys and blue guys are fighting each others nonstop). Hand to hand combat, hand to leg combat, helicopter fighting against tank, tanks fighting against helicopter, all possible combinations. Now it makes sense to have 10 versions of interrupted kiss in YAMLF. Mystery solved.

Zhao Lu Si is a beautiful and talented actress. In the Chinese Drama World, she is one of the best actresses. The big success of Hidden Love marked the beginning of a new stage in her career. She is already well known, so, less time is spent on TV shows and more on TV drama. It is very important for her to select the right project. The wrong project will not only negatively affect her reputation, but it is lost time for her and time waits for nobody. Therefore, may be fewer projects but higher quality. For this, it is instructive to look at what went well, and what went less well. My preferences (interestingly, they are supported by MDL rankings): (1) Hidden Love, (2) Love Like the Galaxy and, a little weaker but still good, (3) Who Rules the World. Here, Hidden Love is the most interesting, as it is a Lu Si project. On the list of the recent weak projects, I will put Gen Z and The Last Immortal. The first has a very weak script which squanders LuSi’s talent. The second is a weak xianxia drama that no longer fits LuSi’s profile. On top of this, not a lot of chemistry between FL and ML in these dramas. Other than the flaws of these projects, they are not helping LuSi’s career. One of the most important assets for LuSi is the fact that she is one of the most internationally recognized Chinese actresses. This helps with her career and also helps with her endorsements, and she may want to consolidate her position. These two projects (Gen Z and TLI) are too niche and weak to help her. Probably is better for LuSi, if she wants to do costume drama, to do historical dramas or wuxia and not xianxia. Now let us learn something from her successes. The best example is Hidden Love, a LuSi project. Practically she saved the drama. She had a relaxed and creative relationship with the ML and with the director and other actors as well. She also acted very well and had a well-written script. Therefore, what can we look for LuSi’s next projects? Maybe a smart rom-com or working place drama with elements of rom-com, with a strong FL role for LuSi. A good/smart script. An ML with good acting skills (an idol with a nice face and weak acting may be a disaster). Rather than a top actor (with hatting fans), an actor with a good/relaxed relationship with LuSi may work better (Chen Zhe Yuan is a good example). LuSi proved that she can lead a drama. I wish her good luck with the next project, whatever this project may be.