I'm just copying all my comments from soompi, haha..
Some thoughts about recent episodes (ep8~ep9)
==============
YQ's love towards AX is very deep, he's a very charming character and probably one of the best character Jasper ever took in his career (up till now). All the inner struggles he faced in the past just made him seem complex, realistic and shows that he's deep in love with AX. I really like that they get together before they resolve their misunderstanding in the past because it means they're saying goodbye to their past, to their wounds and start anew with the person they love.
It's like that ring they made together, "START", being together means they're taking a step forward in their life. AX finally have the courage to leave behind the fear of getting abandoned and her guilt towards unibrow, YQ also took the courage to forget about his past wounds and confronts his own feelings by pursuing AX.
So far, I think the writers of WISYA knows what are they doing. The plot's logic is very smooth, consistent and pretty unexpected at times. The first episode was rocky partly because of the director's editing but it's a lot smoother as the story progresses and the logic behind YQ's past hot-and-cold attitude towards AX becomes clear too.
================
I can't find the right word to describe WISYA's plot... it's like I'm peeling an onion, haha! It may be spicy at times but it's an essential ingredient and I just can't leave it alone. Also, more layers are revealed whenever I peel off a layer.
I thought YQ's hot-and-cold attitude was annoying at one point but when he talks to Yong Qing about why he's like that, I empathize with him. I thought AX's constant avoidance was annoying at one point too but in ep9, when she finally blurts out everything to YQ and said that she took all the courage to take this step forward (and says that it's like mankind made a huge progress, lol), I can somehow understand her feelings and when she reveals that her birthday is April Fool's day, I empathize with her more about her fear of getting into a relationship because she's scarred by her mother's abandonment and there's still the feeling of guilt towards unibrow.
I can also understand why YQ took sooooo long and is hesitant to tell AX that he's unibrow because despite how much he've changed and how confident he look now, he's also scarred by AX's rejection in the past and deep inside, he's still the unibrow that lacks confidence. He have inferiority complex about his past. He might be thinking that if he reveals his past to AX, will she still like him? Because he misunderstood AX dislikes unibrow a lot so he's scared that she'll leave him if he tells her the truth, that's why he's hesitant...
That's why when these two finally get together, I'm so touched! Because taking a step forwards means a lot to them. They're both emotionally scarred before in the past (due to different reasons) but taking a step forward requires a lot of courage and it means they're ready to slowly let go of their emotional scars bit by bit.... they're starting anew!
Their relationship just get to me. It may not be as squee-worthy as Murphy's law of love's cute couple or as cute as Pleasantly Surprised couple but I'm just "warmed" by them.
============
Especially when they were making the couple ring together, AX was reluctant to tell the shop staff about her birthday because she's embarrassed to be born in April's fool day and YQ tell her to just remember his birthday in the future because he's born out of love of his parents and he'll give her all the love. (SO WARM, MY HEART IS STIRRING SO BADLY FROM THIS LINE. AHHHHHHH)
That Yan Ze says he's going to have some fun stirring them up...I wonder if it will make An Xi and You Qian progress…
I'm pretty sure she's AX's mom but the most important thing is not about her identity, it's whether she'll become a big obstacle to our OTP and "HOW", the execution is more important than the setting imo. There's a lot of cliche setting but if the execution is decent, I'm totally fine with it as long as they don't take the makjang route.
Unlike some people who say the plot is moving too slowly, I actually find the pacing alright for a 20ep story. They've revealed AX's past and also made YQ admit about his own feelings and stop going the round-a-bout, struggling with his own rationality and feelings about AX. Plus the backstory is actually adding up really well. I rather them taking things slower to develop the characters than forcing the characters to get together just for the sake of fanservice.
It's true that the misunderstanding is taking slower to solve but at this point, I really don't think it matters that much (since it'll get solved eventually sooner or later) as YQ already decided to let go of the past and confront his own feelings about AX, he still like her even though she hurt him in the past and that actually makes his love for AX seems deeper than if he decide to pursue her only after their misunderstanding is resolved.
Even though some may feel annoyed at AX rejecting YQ despite her clearly also liking him back, I actually can understand that she's wary of starting a relationship because of her guilt towards unibrow and the fear of being abandoned again. Without the start of any relationship, she won't get disappointed. I also don't mind it that much because their interaction during this phase is toooo funny and cute! They're like playing the tom&jerry game, ha! I also love YQ being jealous and upfront about his feelings, too cute!
To add on, I also think that there's seldom good stuffs when the leads get together too early in the story because the writers have "more" space to add on unnecessary angst just to fill up the episodes. Examples: 2nd half of Murphy's law of love, the kidnapping plot in Pleasantly Surprised, etc...
I've read news about the script of their past story have long completed before they start filming the drama, which explains why their past and present adds up pretty well.
The 2nd episode is definitely much better than ep1 in my opinion. The editing flows better than the choppy editing in ep1 and I'm finally starting to feel the chemistry between the leads (not yet 100% but it's shaping up nicely), probably because they had more interactions in ep2 and had the time to hang out with each other.
As for Jasper, my bias, I think he's slowly easing into his character by the end of ep2, he was a bit stiff and probably not used to play the cold type of guy in ep1 but You Qian is actually a warm guy inside, a little bit of a tsundere. He just can't help but to watch An Xi from afar despite how he always try to keep his distance from her.
They're also not the bickering type of couple, You Qian is actually pretty rational and even though he's quick to judge her at first, what he said were true, she did enter the competition through cheating methods and it's understandable for You Qian to misunderstand the scene at the pool.
Good news is Taiwanese audience also feel the improvement as the rating of ep2 rises to 1.72 (up from 1.33 rating for ep1), the increase is pretty big.
The story is pretty typical and it reminds me of some older SETTV dramas, it definitely have the SETTV drama flair. But it really depends on their execution, I especially like how vibrant the cinematography is, the lighting is also much better than Pleasantly Surprised where they made Jasper (who is naturally tanned) look like a charcoal (haha!) at times, especially the 2nd half of the drama (they had a change of director and the lighting was super harsh! UGH!). At least his skin tone look very natural and at times pretty fair in this drama. Plus no more flowery pants for Jasper! YAY!
It's also a good opportunity for Jasper to polish up his acting skills, my bias aside, his acting is definitely pretty green and he was always typecasted in roles with killer (warm) smile so he didn't have much "space" to improve. It's time for him to shed off the boyish image and become more manlier. I definitely feel that his new role is much more mature than his past roles.
I'm just glad it's faring better than what I had ever imagined. I was alright about the pairing at first as they're an odd combination but I think I'm liking them more as time goes by. Mandy also have a really nice personality in real life, she always "like" Jasper's facebook posts and interact with her fans. She seems very pleasant.
I'm also in love with this drama and it became one of my favorite Tw-drama. I pity Mo Zi Yi's character so much, especially when he spill out all his grudges (dissatisfaction) against his father who have been neglecting him for so long because of how he's so indulged in his sorrows of losing his wife that he forgot he have a son that'e still beside him.
I agree that Chen Yu An is the weakest link in terms of acting but I also think Lin Chen Xi's acting pales in comparison when she's acting beside the veteran mothers (at some emotional moments). However, she's definitely very good as a rookie actress.
I thought the actress playing Mo Zi Yi's stepmother (Joy Pan) is extremely great, she's calculating but appears elegant on the outside, there's just so much restraint in her character, she totally nailed her character. Her breakdown scene is one of my favorite besides Mo Zi Yi's breakdown scene.
Mo Zi Yi's father (Jason Wang) is another great veteran actor that delivers good performance. The reason why I love this drama is all the brilliant acting from veteran actors and actresses, they pushed the drama to a new height in my opinion. Mo Zi Yi is a newfound gem for me, one of the most talented Taiwanese young actor I seen, he's not so famous but he definitely won over me with his performance as the heartbreaking Zheng Yu En.
Watched ep1~5 at one go and I'm loving it. The witty dialogues remind me of Fabulous 30 and when I checked the production team, it does come from the same team of screenwriters. The main producer of In A Good Way is also one of the producers of this drama, this explains why I feel the production feel a bit more intricate than the usual SETTV dramas. This solid team of producers make me feel a little bit at ease to follow this 70 episodes drama live. I made through Fabulous 30 just fine even with 70 episodes and even thought it was great from the beginning to its end, I hope this drama will be the same. The female lead was irritating in the first 2 episodes but once she return to her "normal" state (hahaha), everything became great. I'm also surprised by the story setting and the character setting, didn't expect SETTV to pull this kind of setting.
By the way, to those who are wary of 70 episodes. The length of each episode is about 48minutes, which is equivalent to about half of an episode of the usual Taiwanese Sunday/Friday weekly dramas. So consider 70 divide by 2, about 35 episodes and since it's a daily drama (Mon-Friday), it ends pretty fast.
Some thoughts about recent episodes (ep8~ep9)
==============
YQ's love towards AX is very deep, he's a very charming character and probably one of the best character Jasper ever took in his career (up till now). All the inner struggles he faced in the past just made him seem complex, realistic and shows that he's deep in love with AX. I really like that they get together before they resolve their misunderstanding in the past because it means they're saying goodbye to their past, to their wounds and start anew with the person they love.
It's like that ring they made together, "START", being together means they're taking a step forward in their life. AX finally have the courage to leave behind the fear of getting abandoned and her guilt towards unibrow, YQ also took the courage to forget about his past wounds and confronts his own feelings by pursuing AX.
So far, I think the writers of WISYA knows what are they doing. The plot's logic is very smooth, consistent and pretty unexpected at times. The first episode was rocky partly because of the director's editing but it's a lot smoother as the story progresses and the logic behind YQ's past hot-and-cold attitude towards AX becomes clear too.
================
I can't find the right word to describe WISYA's plot... it's like I'm peeling an onion, haha! It may be spicy at times but it's an essential ingredient and I just can't leave it alone. Also, more layers are revealed whenever I peel off a layer.
I thought YQ's hot-and-cold attitude was annoying at one point but when he talks to Yong Qing about why he's like that, I empathize with him. I thought AX's constant avoidance was annoying at one point too but in ep9, when she finally blurts out everything to YQ and said that she took all the courage to take this step forward (and says that it's like mankind made a huge progress, lol), I can somehow understand her feelings and when she reveals that her birthday is April Fool's day, I empathize with her more about her fear of getting into a relationship because she's scarred by her mother's abandonment and there's still the feeling of guilt towards unibrow.
I can also understand why YQ took sooooo long and is hesitant to tell AX that he's unibrow because despite how much he've changed and how confident he look now, he's also scarred by AX's rejection in the past and deep inside, he's still the unibrow that lacks confidence. He have inferiority complex about his past. He might be thinking that if he reveals his past to AX, will she still like him? Because he misunderstood AX dislikes unibrow a lot so he's scared that she'll leave him if he tells her the truth, that's why he's hesitant...
That's why when these two finally get together, I'm so touched! Because taking a step forwards means a lot to them. They're both emotionally scarred before in the past (due to different reasons) but taking a step forward requires a lot of courage and it means they're ready to slowly let go of their emotional scars bit by bit.... they're starting anew!
Their relationship just get to me. It may not be as squee-worthy as Murphy's law of love's cute couple or as cute as Pleasantly Surprised couple but I'm just "warmed" by them.
============
Especially when they were making the couple ring together, AX was reluctant to tell the shop staff about her birthday because she's embarrassed to be born in April's fool day and YQ tell her to just remember his birthday in the future because he's born out of love of his parents and he'll give her all the love. (SO WARM, MY HEART IS STIRRING SO BADLY FROM THIS LINE. AHHHHHHH)
It's true that the misunderstanding is taking slower to solve but at this point, I really don't think it matters that much (since it'll get solved eventually sooner or later) as YQ already decided to let go of the past and confront his own feelings about AX, he still like her even though she hurt him in the past and that actually makes his love for AX seems deeper than if he decide to pursue her only after their misunderstanding is resolved.
Even though some may feel annoyed at AX rejecting YQ despite her clearly also liking him back, I actually can understand that she's wary of starting a relationship because of her guilt towards unibrow and the fear of being abandoned again. Without the start of any relationship, she won't get disappointed. I also don't mind it that much because their interaction during this phase is toooo funny and cute! They're like playing the tom&jerry game, ha! I also love YQ being jealous and upfront about his feelings, too cute!
To add on, I also think that there's seldom good stuffs when the leads get together too early in the story because the writers have "more" space to add on unnecessary angst just to fill up the episodes. Examples: 2nd half of Murphy's law of love, the kidnapping plot in Pleasantly Surprised, etc...
I've read news about the script of their past story have long completed before they start filming the drama, which explains why their past and present adds up pretty well.
As for Jasper, my bias, I think he's slowly easing into his character by the end of ep2, he was a bit stiff and probably not used to play the cold type of guy in ep1 but You Qian is actually a warm guy inside, a little bit of a tsundere. He just can't help but to watch An Xi from afar despite how he always try to keep his distance from her.
They're also not the bickering type of couple, You Qian is actually pretty rational and even though he's quick to judge her at first, what he said were true, she did enter the competition through cheating methods and it's understandable for You Qian to misunderstand the scene at the pool.
Good news is Taiwanese audience also feel the improvement as the rating of ep2 rises to 1.72 (up from 1.33 rating for ep1), the increase is pretty big.
The story is pretty typical and it reminds me of some older SETTV dramas, it definitely have the SETTV drama flair. But it really depends on their execution, I especially like how vibrant the cinematography is, the lighting is also much better than Pleasantly Surprised where they made Jasper (who is naturally tanned) look like a charcoal (haha!) at times, especially the 2nd half of the drama (they had a change of director and the lighting was super harsh! UGH!). At least his skin tone look very natural and at times pretty fair in this drama. Plus no more flowery pants for Jasper! YAY!
It's also a good opportunity for Jasper to polish up his acting skills, my bias aside, his acting is definitely pretty green and he was always typecasted in roles with killer (warm) smile so he didn't have much "space" to improve. It's time for him to shed off the boyish image and become more manlier. I definitely feel that his new role is much more mature than his past roles.
I'm just glad it's faring better than what I had ever imagined. I was alright about the pairing at first as they're an odd combination but I think I'm liking them more as time goes by. Mandy also have a really nice personality in real life, she always "like" Jasper's facebook posts and interact with her fans. She seems very pleasant.
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Soompi Forum Discussion thread (will update with latest news):http://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/346528-upcoming-taiwanese-drama-2015-when-i-see-you-again-%E4%BB%96%E7%9C%8B%E5%A5%B9%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%AC2%E7%9C%BC-updated-first-video-teaser/
It's coming soon to Viki: http://www.viki.com/tv/28009c-when-i-see-you-again
Soompi Forum Discussion thread:http://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/346528-upcoming-taiwanese-drama-2015-when-i-see-you-again-%E4%BB%96%E7%9C%8B%E5%A5%B9%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%AC2%E7%9C%BC-updated-first-video-teaser/
Review of Ep1-5 on my blog:
http://www.obsessionsofline.com/2014/12/24/dearmomep1-5/
(Note: It contains spoilers so proceed with care).
I agree that Chen Yu An is the weakest link in terms of acting but I also think Lin Chen Xi's acting pales in comparison when she's acting beside the veteran mothers (at some emotional moments). However, she's definitely very good as a rookie actress.
I thought the actress playing Mo Zi Yi's stepmother (Joy Pan) is extremely great, she's calculating but appears elegant on the outside, there's just so much restraint in her character, she totally nailed her character. Her breakdown scene is one of my favorite besides Mo Zi Yi's breakdown scene.
Mo Zi Yi's father (Jason Wang) is another great veteran actor that delivers good performance. The reason why I love this drama is all the brilliant acting from veteran actors and actresses, they pushed the drama to a new height in my opinion. Mo Zi Yi is a newfound gem for me, one of the most talented Taiwanese young actor I seen, he's not so famous but he definitely won over me with his performance as the heartbreaking Zheng Yu En.
(will update with more information/latest news)
http://forums.soompi.com/discussion/2024827/taiwanese-actor-jasper-liu-yi-hao-%E5%8A%89%E4%BB%A5%E8%B1%AA-official-thread-mr-dimples
By the way, to those who are wary of 70 episodes. The length of each episode is about 48minutes, which is equivalent to about half of an episode of the usual Taiwanese Sunday/Friday weekly dramas. So consider 70 divide by 2, about 35 episodes and since it's a daily drama (Mon-Friday), it ends pretty fast.
http://forums.soompi.com/discussion/2023275/current-taiwanese-drama-2014-love-myself-or-you-pleasantly-surprised-%E5%96%9C%E6%AD%A1-%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8B%E4%BA%BA
http://obsessionsofline.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/yesido-1/
The official English title is out, it's called Say Again Yes I Do (as seen from their chinese wiki)
(Beware of being spoiled by the 37min trailer as it shows all the highlight of the story)
http://obsessionsofline.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/aiye-pc-37min/
http://obsessionsofline.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/aiye_promotionalstuffs/