emberzmars

So-so romance & antagonist drama is draggy

I needed to make use of my iqiyi subscription so I chose this drama. This is the second drama of Zhang Ruo Chen & Wang Bo that I watched. It was an ok watch. I prefer the other collaboration.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - It's great to see multiple facets of her character. It was mentioned that she was slandered in the past and she got to prove everyone wrong at an event. Loved her resilience.
2. Musical art competition - It's odd that there was a musical art competition between ML's company and rival company when they actually compete for a piece of land. However this event gave opportunity for FL to clear her name and the traditional music showcase was done well.
3. Supporting characters - I liked ML's assistant very much because he was sensible & straight talker with ML. He told ML about ML's wrongdoings. I also liked the kind female staff right from the start.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonist - Like many self-proclaimed childhood sweethearts in vertical dramas, she was delusional and possessive. Clearly disrespectful of boundaries set by ML. She also liked to blame others especially FL. Got tired of her deviousness.
2. Romance - There were many assumptions made by FL that led to strain in their relationship. I hated that she lied to ML about spending the night together. She should just tell him. I wish the writer had focused more on FL-ML relationship than on FL-green tea rivalry.
3. Promotion - It was strange for FL to receive such promotion when she was clearly lacking both knowledge & skills to become a manager. She should have started as executive or officer but the staff seemed ok about her promotion.
4. Make up - I don't usually comment on make up but green tea's make up was horrible. When she was hospitalised, you can clearly notice the skin tone differe nce between her neck & face. Her foundation was too light. Plus she always looks like she had pink eye with the unflattering eye make up.

Favourite scene
When FL competed at the musical art competition

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Started off great but went downhill in third act

I got to know about this drama from reddit. The first few minutes alone was interesting but oh dear, this drama was a rollercoaster ride.

What I liked:
1. Fake dates - This drama uses a fake relationship trope. I really liked when they went on their dates. FL was fun so I got it why ML was attracted to her.
2. Styling - I really liked Zhang Yun Tao's outfits. The teal green suit and blue suit were well tailored and fitted him to a T. However stylist should give Chi Xiaoyi a different set of clothes. It's unbelievable that she went on almost 9 fake dates wearing the same outfit!
3. Acting - While the writing was very much flawed, the acting was good enough. I always find Zhang Yun Tao compelling in any role that he's portrayed. Yang Sanji was charming enough to portray 2 different personas.
4. Supporting characters - I really liked ML's grandpa. He was a sensible man!
5. Interaction - I enjoyed the interactions between FL and ML's grandpa in particular the chess game and his birthday party. What a thoughtful gift!

What I disliked:
1. Third act - The series went downhill once we entered the final 30 minutes. There were too much drama and unnecessary use of supporting character.
2. Antagonists - With the blonde hair & coloured contact lens, Hera was ice queen personified. Like many other white moonlight, she did all she could to sabotage FL-ML relationship. I was baffled by how she was left unpunished even till the end.
3. Romance - Now the romance felt like a rollercoaster ride. They were sweet when they were together but their relationship didn't have a solid footing. There were too many assumptions made that led to misunderstanding. The couple didn't have clear communication and it frustrated me.

Favourite scene
When FL took ML to roadside stall

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Family saga and slow burn romance with Huang Bo portraying the greenest flag

I am a huge Huang Bo fan so I got excited when I got to know that he had new drama out. I watched this drama by accident - I thought I was going to watch The Moonlight Never Falls (another of his new release). I did watch The Moonlight Never Falls and overall, I enjoyed this drama much more than The Moonlight Never Falls.

What I liked:
1. ML characterisation - I swoon whenever I watch Huang Bo playing a gentle soul. Total green flag character. He was loyal, patient and loving.
2. Romance - This drama has the most passionate love scenes by Huang Bo and Xu Si Qi. ML's gentle voice when they were intimate for the first time was touching. Their relationship did suffer from lack of communication (I blamed it on FL). Despite that, this drama is very focused on their relationship with little interference from third party and I like it this way!
3. Family theme - The core theme of this drama is family and I enjoyed it!
4. Acting - Out of all the Huang Bo-Xu Si Qi collaborations that I have seen, I think this is my favourite because of the richness in their acting. Various emotional states were expressed by both of them.
5. Styling - I loved the outfits worn in this drama.
6. Supporting character - I liked FL's best friend and adopted brother.

What I disliked:
1. FL characterisation - I disliked her insecure and rash behaviour. She made assumptions about ML, left without confronting him and when she was wrong, she apologised and promised to stay together. She did this a few times but good thing she remained loyal to ML.
2. Antagonists - ML's family was controlling.

Favourite scene
When ML & FL made out and then came a proposal

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An enjoyable tale of time travel, gratitude and love

I was in the mood for vertical drama set in the 80s last week. I had never seen the work of Wu Jiao and Hu Jia Hao. This drama was light and entertaining.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - She was a critically acclaimed in the present but when time travelled, she decided to support a struggling noodle shop. Very entrepreneurial. It's admirable that she wanted to lessen the dependency on her husband hence she looked for a job. I liked watching scenes of her working and cooking.
2. ML characterisation - He was quite progressive for a guy who lived in 1980s and worked at the military. I liked how we see the changes in ML's thoughts of his wife. He's fair leader at military base.
3. Romance - I loved watching the progress of their relationship from awkward strangers to partners in life and love. Yes, we got a ML who craved for his wife's touch right at the start of drama! ML was sexually frustrated that it's amusing but it's great that he voiced his feelings.
4. Gratitude theme - I liked that gratitude is one of the main themes of this drama. FL appreciated her newfound parents, noodle stall owner was grateful for successful business.
5. Supporting characters - I liked ML's boss and comrades. It's wonderful to see ML seeking love advice from his boss. Parents of FL & ML were nice too even though they didn't get much screentime.
6. Ending - Sweet and done well.

What I disliked:
1. Superpower - She had a cool superpower but it was never explained if there were implications from using the power.
2. Antagonist - I felt like slapping that lady who was envious of FL and her colleagues. Good thing she didn't get a lot of screen time.

Favourite scene
When FL was abducted and ML was desperate to save her

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Well-written and compact fantasy romance drama

I found this drama while going through Liu Qing's drama playlist on Youtube. However I only watched this drama last week when I wanted to watch something that is less than 90 minutes. This is one of the best written vertical dramas I have watched.

What I liked:
1. Plot - I must say I was hesitant to watch another merman story because My Mermaid Husband is a letdown. Thankfully this drama did justice to mermaid trope because of the excellent writing. A Youtube user mentioned that this drama's plot is similar to Kdrama My Demon but I beg to differ. This is a better fantasy drama. I appreciate the gender reversal with FL being a boss and ML being her assistant. I also liked the antagonist arc because it did not involve any love rival or jealous family members.
2. Product placement - This is my 2nd or 3rd time watching a Chinese drama heavy with product placement and yes, it was clever marketing. The writer brilliantly interweaved the products into the story that the products seemed relevant to the characters.
3. FL characterisation - I loved that FL was hardworking, smart & fair boss. This is my first time watching Yi La playing a serious character and she did well.
4. ML characterisation - Liu Qing usually portrayed intense characters so I liked this one the most because he was funny! ML was smart (i) to apply for a position of FL's assistant in order to retrieve his missing item, and (ii) to use resources around FL.
5. Supporting characters - OMG, this drama has different set of supporting characters that provided intel for ML and comedic relief for us.
6. Romance - Mostly sweet romance. I watched a few of Yi La's dramas so I know that she doesn't do real kissing. That's fine because the romance in this drama is believable enough.

What I disliked:
1. Ending - I usually don't mind vague ending because I could make my own interpretation easily. However this one left me with some unanswered questions.

Favourite scene
When ML showed FL his special power

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Huang Bo acting coquettish had me swoon throughout the drama

I am a huge Huang Bo fan and thanks to reddit and thehepburn, I found out about this drama. So this drama is apparently an remake of Utterly Submit co-starring Han Jia Hui and Zhao Zhen Dong. Some things are retained in this drama but overall The Moonlight Never Falls is a totally different drama from Utterly Submit. Enjoyable nevertheless.

What I liked:
1. ML characterisation - He is overprotective but flirty with FL. A green flag ML. Great to see Huang Bo playing Mr Nice Guy.
2. Supporting character - I really liked FL's colleague. She had more sass & screen presence compared to Han Jia Hui's colleague. It's also wonderful to see a plus sized actress playing an important role in a vertical drama.
3. Romance - Great balance of push and pull. I enjoyed watching Huang Bo acting coquettish. I also liked that ML believed in their relationship despite the obstacles faced by each of them.
4. Styling - I loved the outfits worn by FL, ML and the green tea Ranran.

What I disliked:
1. Dubbing - I feel like Huang Bo's voice is dubbed by someone else. He sounded different from the other drama he starred with Xu Si Qi, which was released around same time as this drama.
2. Antagonists - This version allocated more screen time for the antagonists (Ranran & ML's family) that it overshadowed the couple's relationship. It sucks that Ranran got away with her scheming and was only punished towards the end of the drama. Despite that, the actress who played green tea was very hot and beautiful!
3. FL's action - I disliked FL for turning ML's proposal into a PR stunt for her movie. I felt secondhand embarrassment on behalf of ML.

Favourite scene
When ML was flirty with FL in his office

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Mature jiejie romance with great acting by leads

I was intrigued by this drama because I liked the poster and the drama is about older woman-younger man romance. I had watched dramas by both Yu Xiao Wan and Chen Yun Ting.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - She designs jewellery and I enjoyed her "at work" scenes. She is a great boss and a rational person. I liked that FL doesn't get mad when she found out about ML's real identity. She weighs pros and cons of being in a romantic relationship with ML. Great acting by Yu Xiao Wan.
2. Romance - Lusty, loving & mature. I loved ML's dedication towards loving & protecting ML. FL was committed to the relationship once she felt sure & secure - I liked this!
3. ML characterisation - He was smart to offer himself as muse. Though I am not a fan of secret identity, ML didn't drag it out.
4. Styling - Loved FL's outfits as they exude confidence & elegance.
5. Supporting characters - I liked FL's bestie & ML's cousin a lot!

What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - Feifei was too annoying. I also disliked ML's parents.

Favourite scene
When FL confided her feelings after the chandelier incident

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Charmed by Yao Yuchen in this light rom-com about love and family

I enjoy watching dramas of Yao Yuchen and Zhang Yi Yang so I was delighted when I discovered this drama on reddit.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - It's interesting to see FL's hiding her identity for survival. I love her hidden hobby. I must say Yao Yuchen is one of the most charming vertical drama actresses. I liked her in this role.
2. Romance - There were a lot of kissing and sweet moments between ML & FL. There is also a secondary romance in this drama, which I enjoyed.
3. Friendship - It's refreshing to see that FL and SFL are besties instead of rivals. I love watching their friendship in this drama.
4. Styling - Fabulous style for FL. She gets better outfits compared to her bestie.
5. Supporting characters - ML's mother is wonderful!

What I disliked:
1. ML's brother - His character is severely underwritten and the actor had the least screentime. I wish the writer had given him a better arc.

Favourite scene
When FL & SFL panicked because their husbands could find out their secrets

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Sweet romance but drama is not memorable

I picked this drama because I discovered it in Xia Jingran's filmography. It had been awhile since I last watched Du Ya Fei's drama. I had some expectations but unfortunately they were not met.

What I liked:
1. Crush - I liked that ML developed crush on FL because of her kindness.
2. Romance - Sweet romance with a lot of light touches and hugging.
3. Styling - Xia Jingran has fabulous hair, which can be seen in this drama. I love her clothes and especially shoes. Fascinating choice considering the height difference between her and Du Ya Fei.
4. Acting - I liked Du Ya Fei and Xia Jing Ran's acting.

What I disliked:
1. Secret identity - After watching plenty of dramas on a regular basis for almost 5 months, I felt that there was nothing new offered in this drama.
2. Antagonist - same old, same old. Jealous of FL.

Favourite scene
When FL first saw her hubby shirtless.

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Reborn tale with reverse roles, violence and good comeuppance

I came across this drama on reddit. The actor and actresses were unfamiliar to me but the comments in Youtube were generally positive. I watched and enjoyed it. However please be informed that there are scenes of violence.

What I liked:
1. ML characterisation - In most vertical dramas, FLs are usually the ones doing the most sacrificing in relationship but not for this drama. It's refreshing to see ML being the "doormat" of the relationship. This is my first time watching Du Pei Yuan and he did well in playing this role. A good balance of kindness and pitiful.
2. FL characterisation - The FL is the scumbag of relationship between her and ML. It's refreshing to see a villainous FL. This is also my first time watching Zhong Ying Ling's drama and she was great in being sinister.
3. Supporting character - The doctor was played by Wei Jia. She left a lasting impression despite short screen time.
4. Ending - Good comeuppance.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - Both FL and SML were atrocious. The actor who played SML looked familiar. Could he be Yang Chen, who starred with Si Jia Li in 'But Mr. Shen is too charming'?
2. Torture - Damn the scenes were painful to watch.
3. ML - doctor relationship - I want more!

Favourite scene
The ending

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Nice & breezy romance about long time crush and contract marriage

I thought Fei Se Qi Yue was my first drama of Shi Tong but I was wrong. This is my first drama of hers. I remembered last night when someone on reddit asked about Wang Hui Long and I looked up his work. It was a nice & light romance.

What I liked:
1. Acting - Both Wang Hui Long and Shi Tong were likeable in this drama. I also liked Wang Hui Long's eyes because they too told a story even when his nose and mouth were covered.
2. Romance - A cute & sweet romance between childhood friends who got into a contract marriage. I liked that ML always negotiated with FL on their contract.
3. Styling - I liked that the outfits complement Wang Hui Long's buzz cut.

What I disliked:
1. Backstabbing - That very first scene set the tone of this drama
2. Antagonist - The antagonist worked alongside FL. Her scheming was too much.

Favourite scene
When FL wanted to kiss ML but vomited instead

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Refreshing plot but not a fan of FL

Warning: This drama has scenes of domestic violence.

I became a fan of Wang Chen Peng after watching Wen Rou Ye Gu. This is my first time watching Chen Lu Xi. This drama had a refreshing plot but I am not a fan of Chu Suang. At the time of this review, I am not sure if I want to watch part 2 of this drama.

What I liked:
1. Acting - Chen Lu Xi and Wang Chen Peng were excellent in their roles as they were able to convey various emotions felt by their characters. I know Wang Chen Peng is very tall but wow, the height difference between him and Chen Lu Xi was staggering.
2. Troubled colleague - I liked this arc very much because I felt that this is a way for FL to learn about life. It was great that she was compassionate and resourceful. The domestic violence was hard to watch.
3. ML characterisation - He was a patient and understanding husband. He respected his wife's wishes and always treated her nicely.
4. Boundaries - It's scary that SML would approach FL even when she clearly brushed him off. I liked that FL told off SML when he wooed her.
5. Romance - I could see that they loved each other. I did feel that FL received more than gave back to the marriage.
6. Supporting character - I liked her bestie whom I found more mature than her. ML's family was nice and the chubby nephew was endearing.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - I love independent women but I felt FL emphasised too much on her needs to be on her own. She was a married woman so she should learn to compromise. Luckily for her, ML was around to save her from being harmed. I also found FL immature when it came to relationships.
2. Communication - I don't mind slow burn romance but I felt that communication was an issue for them. I disliked her for easily making assumptions without talking to her husband. I also disliked her for being insecure when ML's supposed ex girlfriend came to visit him at work. She should ask about exes from him before getting married but not asked someone else after marrige.
3. SML - I was surprised he jumped into conclusion after hearing office gossip. For someone who was well-off, he should have investigated.

Favourite scene
When FL bumped into ML at the airport

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ML's family made this longtime crush romance an enjoyable watch

I hadn't watched Feng Xiang Kun's dramas for awhile. I saw this drama on reddit and thought "Why not give this a go!". My first drama of Chai Hui Xin as FL as I had seen her playing green tea roles before.

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - She was sweet, hardworking and opportunist. Thankfully her scheming was with good intentions. It was funny when her scheming backfired. Chai Hui Xin was good in her role.
2. Romance - Very sweet one with a lot of teasing. ML washing his underwear was unexpected. It's also refreshing that there is a short secondary romance involving ML's brother.
3. ML characterisation - He had long time crush on FL though he never showed it at the start of their marriage. I liked that he's calm & collected.
4. Supporting characters - ML's family was the comic relief. Loved his mum! FL's best friend was likeable too.

What I disliked:
1. Slander - Wow, that coffee shop scene was stressful. Wouldn't that be considered as sexual harrassment?

Favourite scene
FL met ML's mum for the first time

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FL chose herself over romantic love and I loved it!

Thank you to JustOneMoreEpisode for creating Si Jia Li's profile. I have been a fan of hers since my first month of vertical drama exploration. She was spectacular in a drama about female CEO with challenging family members. Si Jia Li is still lesser known so there isn't a playlist of her dramas on YouTube. This drama is different from the usual FL with scumbag boss/lover and I liked it!

What I liked:
1. FL characterisation - FL was paid by ML to be his employee and lover. At first I was afraid that she would stay meek but no, she left the toxic environment once the contract was over. Good character growth.
2. Writing - I must say that second half of this drama was more exciting. She thrived after leaving ML. I liked that her new colleagues were supportive.
3. Ending - I loved it because she prioritise her self.
4. Romance - Actually this drama doesn't have strong romance element and I liked it a lot. There was another love interest but FL decided not to pursue.
5. Duration - This drama is only 70 minutes long. Well paced story without drawing out the negativity. I appreciate it!

What I disliked:
1. ML characterisation - Damn he was mean to FL. He was also passive about his arranged engagement when ML & FL were together. I was relief with how his character was wrapped up.

Favourite scene
When ML beg FL to come back with him and she firmly said "No"

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Enjoyed this kick ass spy parents & perceptive kid

I came across this drama after watching Give Up! Madam, Vests Are Everywhere. I wanted to watch more espionage vertical dramas. I was highly entertained by this series

What I liked:
1. Sun Lu Lu - This is my first time watching her drama and I was impressed by tlher comedic timing & action scenes. Her eye gunk reaction made me LOL!
2. FL characterisation - Smart, single mum who kicks ass literally & figuratively. I understood her protectiveness & self-preservation.
3. Supporting characters - FL's son & ML's assistant were delightful to watch. I liked that the son was perceptive.
4. Romance - Slow burn romance. I liked that FL was more forthcoming when it came to their relationship.
5. Family - I enjoyed watching the bond between the son & ML. The kid was very happy to have a positive father figure in his life. I also liked that ML immediately warmed up to the kid. That scene in which the couple were late to pick up the kid was touching.
6. Mission - I was satisfied as they were many action sequence.

What I disliked:
1. Secret identity - FL's nails were striking and had ML noticed them during the mission, FL's cover would be blown.

Favourite scene
When ML trying to win back FL's heart

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