xiaoyezi

Match made in heaven (and hell)

The chemistry of opposites are often the delight of any stories. Ye Tan and Qing Kui are twin sisters with marriage alliances to princes of Demonic and Heavenly Realms respectively. This match is in line with the signs surrounding their birth, with Ye Tan representing the ominous star and Qing Kui representing the auspicious star. With their wedding carriages swapped, The Starry Love is a xian xia version of wrong bridal sedan leading to the right groom.

Having 2 sets of couples with opposite characteristics, this troupey show makes for an absolute delight in its comedic moments, CP’s chemistry, and light hearted cast.

The Heavenly Couple, 情投”夜”合CP (Have Affinity) - 2700 years old recluse meets 18 years old mischief
What shines here are the surprising comedic execution of the familiar clashes between 2 opposites. Their dialogues and interactions definitely draw a lot of laughter.

Best part remains during their early days face off which draw in lots of fun and laughter.
- Ye Tan failing to kidnap You Qin, and then resorting to let him have bad impression on her (whom he thought was Qing Kui) so he will not want to marry
- You Qin’s needing to “meditate” after every interaction with Ye Tan
- Ye Tan trying various undermined tactics to get You Qin to remove a security lock he placed on her
- You Qin taking back a shooting star he prepared for Ye Tan within a minute because her wish is deemed non-noble

The Demonic Couple 青風徐來 CP (Gentle Breeze) - Hunter becomes the voluntary huntee
If the Heavenly Couple is 2 opposites slowly falling for each other through their various face offs, the Demonic Couple shows the quick fall of shrewd prince towards an angelic princess that may be naive but certainly not gullible.

Chao Feng, the 3rd prince whose mother is from a lowly status, is the one behind the bridal switch. Hence, he knows of Qing Kui’s identity from the get go. At first, he approaches Qing Kui to ensure no one, including Qing Kui, would realise he is the one behind the switch. However, he quickly finds himself falling into the charm and sincerity of our angelic princess. How could he not?

Beneath Qing Kui’s gentle exterior lies a steel of heart who adapts quickly, takes accountability and treats everyone with sincerity. Qing Kui isn’t a case of damsel in distress. In fact, she heals people around her, literally and figuratively. This makes her character charming in a way that’s different from Ye Tan.

And of course, nowadays, a show would not be outstanding with just great CPs alone. Icing on the cake are the supporting cast and their comedic interactions with our leads.
- Our Mortal Realm dad and Chao Feng’s mum who shine with their comedic reactions to various scenes
- Man man, Hai Chao, and Fei Chi, the trusting sidekicks who provide timely comic reliefs
- You Qin’s lovely siblings and mum who have one of a kind observations of our main couple
- The gullible and muscular Wu Dai who surprisingly has more screen presence

The starry love is not without its bugs. Plot wise, I find it rather one track minded. Both the Heavenly and Demonic dads of You Qin and Chao Feng are rather 1 dimensional and serve only as plot devises. The familiar heroic I-sacrifice-for-you troupe is, familiar.

Though as someone who aren’t a big fan of xian xia drama, I still say the Starry Love is an enjoyable light hearted story that’s bound to elicit laughters and pleasant surprises with its few refreshing takes, once you are bought into its starry world.

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For corporate millennial ladies in late 20’s and beyond

“Ever since I started work, I worked hard to be of value to my boss so my contribution at work will transcend my gender.

…but I am wrong…

If your boss can’t leave you, you cannot “graduate from” your boss.”

With the rise of working female and talks of feminism in social media over the years, the show biz is quick to capitalise on the market opportunities through commercialisation and stories that center on these themes. What makes Nothing But You stand out among the lot of crappier stories, rather considerably is the realistic portrayal of Liang You An (LYA)’s corporate struggles in today’s middle class’ ladies.

This is a modern corporate lady contemporary show done right.

How many late nights, urgent calls and contemplative car rides we have taken, thinking about our progress at work, recognition, value and purpose. How many times have we thought about quitting the stressful and meaningless job, but came up with a blank because we also do not know what we want to do next. Our parents and society would say we are thinking too much. Yet, shutting the voices down also dulls us, gradually but surely. And that’s on the career aspect.

On the relationship aspect, LYA’s perspectives were also spot on. I like that the show didn’t characterise her as an ambitious woman who didn’t want love. Yes, she takes a long time accepting her feelings and undeniable attraction to Song San Chuan (SSC). Yes, she has her fair share of reservation through their journey. Which is realistically, how a lady who had built a decade of independence, would feel and behave.

It’s easy to think that SSC represents the idealistic side with his career and theme focusing on sports and career switch. Represents the beacon of hope because he is young and full of possibilities. Look a little beyond the stereotype though, 20’s in sports can feel like our corporates’ 30’s, or even beyond, as many competitive athletes retire by SSC’s age.

Hence, they met at the right career juncture of their own. An athlete who found renewed spirits to step on the court again, a corporate worker who found renewed purpose to take charge in her career.

And then, only when they had their direction in life, they found “Nothing But You.”

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Bewarned - don't watch this on empty stomach

There is no denying it. Food is an essential part of people's lives. Yet, cooking may be a gradually lost art among more Generation Z and C than our parents / grandparents would've liked, especially with the growing convenience of Delivery Meals, dining and restaurants.

Here comes Dine with Love, which brings us the message that home cooked food need not be elaborated, as well as the importance of sharing your meal time with family. With only 16 episodes, this drama is a quick and easy watch. The main characters for our show is Yu Hao, an efficient, logic driven entrepreneur who created his own food platform, and Su Kelan, his public relation director. Both worlds collide when a video of Yu Hao shooting with a stand-in on a food reality program his company sponsored gets leaked. Yu Hao had to quickly learn how to cook from Su Kelan, while the latter had to quickly learn how to adapt to the former's working pace.

What makes the romance part of this story nice is how Su Kelan isn't a Mary Sue or someone who needs protection despite being a gentle and understanding person. The part of the story where she had to continue working despite going through tough moments in her personal life is probably one of the most relatable scene for us working adults. Facing a boss who is known as the slave driver and demon, Su Kelan is able to stand firmly on her ground and communicate her thoughts calmly. Yu Hao, despite his cold demeanor. is also not one to stubbornly insists on his viewpoints if the other party is able to convince him on their arguments. Sure, he can be bossy, but he definitely works as hard as he drives others. He is also fairly observant and will do little things for another without needing to let s/he knows. Both of their relationship development is mature,

The key main ingredient for this story though is the food and the meaning for each dish presented. Hence, it's the few rare story where I would rate the re-watch value higher than the story plot itself. I like the messages shared behind each dish that were introduced - from bitter gourd, to fried rice, to tomato omelet, to steamboat and many more. I'd re-watch this show for the recipe of the food.

With such great ingredients, why do I only rated Dine with Love at 7.5? It was unfortunate, I personally feel that the story plot and pacing becomes a little choppy when they are string together. It's like a slight overcooked steak or undercooked fish. There are moments in the story that feels forced so that there would be reasons for our main characters to progress their relationships.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend to watch Dine with Love, if not for the food. Afterall, quoting a popular Cantonese saying - 民以食為天, which translates to people see food as primary need.

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Getting to know each other, with heart

It baffles me as I am writing this sentence, Let's Fall in Love 3 is more than a dating reality show - it's about connecting and exploring, with others and with yourself.

In a dating reality show where a bunch of strangers stay together for a couple of weeks, LFIL3 is by far one of the more drama-free ones, thanks to the maturity of the participants and the commentators / observers. Credits go to the production team for good pacing the "dating injects" for the participants and good editing of the narrative.

When we watch a dating reality show from a third party perspective, we have a tendency to forget that this bunch of people only knew each other over 10 days, hence, the tendency to get invested way too fast over certain "couple lovelines" or too judgmental about a person's actions during the course of the story. This is where the commentators / observers play a part - and I like that this season's ones have rather matured discussions to provide a more objective view. They also visibly able to empathize with the participants' actions / decisions. I particularly find Annie Yi's comments in one of the latter episodes insightful and I translate - "In relationships, use your heart, don't use force. 在感情里, 用心, 不要用力." Helps one to ponder and reflect.

When it comes to dating reality shows, the "dating injects" do help to make or break the pacing and development of "love lines". In this season, I like the way they are set up. They aren't too many last minute surprises or overly intentional "dating injects" that's meant to direct a particular couple's progress. This makes LFIL3's participants feel more genuine, and the overall vibe of the show more comfortable to watch. We are able to relate to their decisions more.

In terms of the participants, I find this season's the most relatable for some reason. They are not only focused on being fancied by their "crush", they care about making friends with everyone too. They participate in the games and hangouts at nights after their day date. They are conscious of not letting their personal feeling affects the group's dynamics. Towards the latter episodes, we can see genuine friendships built as they share their thoughts with each other. This development is one of a kind, and one that likely would last for a long time.

Concluding my review, I believe we sometimes forget that dating is about getting to know another person and being honest about how you feel through the process. There's no one kind of love for there are also friendships, family, and self love. There's no rushing in love for we have a lifetime to experience it.

Special shoutouts:
- I admire how Yang Yang balances between pursuing for opportunities and respecting the choices of Xiao Loong and Ah Shuang. And she is only 21.
- I respect Wen Jun's courage in making the first move, follow by confronting and breaking the ice of awkwardness with Shun after it's getting clearer that he fancies Tan Nee more.
- I empathize with Ah Shuang's dileema on her choices and feelings over her current stage of life.
- I am touched by Shun's out-of-the-box thoughts and gestures in writing 2 letters in one of the episodes - one to Tan Nee, one to encourage his friend Ah Xing.
- I like Tan Nee's and Danny's steadiness and steadfastness, as they're both the oldest in this group.
- I also wish the best for 2 couples: Shun and Tan Nee as well as Danny and Wen Jun from this show. May they be able to bridge through the distance as they resume back to their respective life.

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Idol romance meets ice rink

This is your typical idol c-drama with ice-sports as backdrop. Shen Zheng Yi is your typical female lead who has all the passion, the talent, the grit, and the optimism for speed skating, except professional training as her mum objects her dreams to be a professional speed skater. Supporting and helping her once she gets into a professional team is Shao Bei Sheng, your typical male lead who is the handsome, hardworking and talented Figure Skating Prince that's loved by everyone, including his strict mum who is also Zheng Yi's coach.

That said, typical doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. One of the greatest strength is this idol drama knows thyself well, and hence, does a good job in being a light hearted and sweet idol drama we expect it to be. Their relationship progress is mostly nice to watch, albeit with a little too much drama and cliches. What is enjoyable about this couple is their playful interaction, and support for each other through each challenge. Ultimately, this couple manages to make me care for them, and their relationship, especially by latter half of the drama - I guess it's a success by idol drama standard. The second couple in this show is also cute, I love how innocent and support of a friend both are as our main leads' sidekick.

What I enjoy the most for the show though is Coach Zhuang's tenacity and journey in instilling the right mindset for Zhu Feng Sports Club. Here, the drama spends time to highlight some of the teammates' improvement under Coach Zhuang's tutelage. While these supporting characters do not have enough limelight, they have their shared passion to the sports and own motivation, bringing more colors to TFWY. The cinematography of ice skating moments are great for an idol drama.

If there is one thing that bugs me about TFWY, it's the editing. As Shen Zheng Yi and Shao Bei Sheng have different specialization, there are 3 narratives to follow - (1) Sheng Zheng Yi and the Speed Skating team, (2) Shao Bei Sheng and his Figure Skating career, as well as (3) Zheng Yi's and Bei Sheng's relationship. Most of the time, it isn't too distracting... until competition days - I can't help but get sidetracked, wondering how our leads get so much interaction time in-between competitions. I mean, I know they are spread over a few days...still, shouldn't the one who hasn't compete focused on practice? And this indirectly affects the pacing of the show slightly, especially when we weave in the supporting characters, who have their own storyline too.

To sum it up, TFWY is an enjoyable idol drama about aspiring for your dreams. It's also a good introductory drama about speed skating, figure skating, and healthy athletism mindset.

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Lovely Mr. Cinderella and Princess Charming

It’s a contract-marriage drama no doubt with a slight dose of (Mr.) Cinderella element, but it’s also absolutely adorable and refreshing with its own flavor. What originally started out from mere curiosity unexpectedly turned to lighthearted enjoyment that had me cracking every other episodes.

The two leads had interesting dynamics from the get-go. Lu Fang Ning, though strong and charming, has many adorable moments. Ling Rui, though caring and warm, has an unyielding side. While Fang Ning initiated a lot of the lovey dovey moments, especially in the beginning part of the drama, Ling Rui was the one who “sealed the deal”, and in my opinion, progressed the relationship. The leads, Zhou Yu Tong and Simon Gong were casted well indeed – I feel that not many actors and actresses would be able to draw out these multi-facets within the characters and nuanced dynamics between the two as smoothly as the two did.

Both characters matured throughout the series, and so did their relationship. Once their kid was thrown into the mix in later part of the drama, it was heartwarming watching their family time and interactions with each other – and of course, the lovey dovey moments. The side characters were great too – each were well fleshed out such that they did not feel one dimensional within a rom com.

Begin Again did well in doesn’t taking itself too seriously for an overuse common marriage contract plot. It has been awhile since I am able to watch a rom com from start to end. I thoroughly enjoyed Begin Again and hope to see the leads together in another drama, maybe an ancient one. In the meantime, I’d surely Begin the drama Again whenever I want a light watch – …okay that’s a bad pun, time to wrap up my review here.

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The fantasy love game plan, success

Fantasy idol drama on screen is not really my usual type of story. Love Game in Eastern Fantasy though, is surprisingly rather enjoyable, especially the front part of the story. Ling Miao Miao got sucked into a story world unexpectedly and was given a seemingly impossible challenge - increase the affection of Mu Sheng from -250% to 100%.

I love the humour that director has when executing the first arc of the story. These moments elicit a lot of laughters and made me interested to watch further, such as
- When the end credits rolled within 5 mins of Miao Miao arriving at Demon Catcher world, - plus 1 point
- When Miao Miao creatively interpreted the missions given and adaptively change her strategy to progress the story in various instances - plus many many 1 point.

Besides the humour storytelling angle, there is a number of added heartwarming touch to this TV series adaptation that were done well - such as Miao Miao’s dad, Little Bamboo, the water demon arc and Princess Duan Yang’s respectful pursue in romance.

Alas, I had probably outgrown the on screen fantasy idol genre. Somehow, I was not able to follow the continuity of the story world after Consort Dowager Zhao arc. There were glaring scene that were glossed over, Mu Sheng’s parents’ romance felt lackluster and the “turning point” / redemption of some demons felt abrupt to me, and thus, made me gradually lost interest in the story. It was also around this time when the romance progression between Ziqi and Miao Miao felt a little flat - when Ziqi’s affection for Miao Miao reached 99%. Don’t get me wrong, I love the message behind the 99% to 100%, and enjoyed the connection that Ziqi and Miao Miao shared. I just felt that the scenes didn’t draw me in as much as it did in the first few arcs.

Overall, it’s still a rather enjoyable and definitely one of the top period idol fantasy dramas for a long time coming. This show also got me interested to watch the other contemporary idol romance that Yu Shuxin and Ding Yuxi acted in, Moonlight and was glad to find the romance between Zhou Chuan Lao Shi and Chu Li. Wishing them have a third collaboration in a lovely story similar to Moonlight and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy.

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Once in awhile, you just succumb …

You know that feeling of “just 1 more episode”…, if that’s what you are craving for recently, you’ve come to the right story.

The Double has 2 things done right. Pacing in the first part of the story, where it matters more to hook the audience in; and casting a strong CP for a 爽文 “shuang wen” - loosely translated as pleasurable novel. Once you are able to suspend logic, you will be able to ride onto the main characters’ wave for the tide is always on their side, like all 爽文 stories go.

What works well is having Wu Jin Yan casted as Xue Fang Fei - she has this aura about her where you’d want to root for her revenge journeys. Similar to her prior portrayal of Wei Ying Luo in Story of Yanxi Palace, it’s enjoyable watching how Xue Fang Fei in The Double toed the line on not being a pushover, yet still maintain her own principles when fighting against the villains, which were practically everyone except for her lover and chosen allies.

Wang Xingyue also interestingly found his own niche in idol romance show - the dude who love / covet other’s wives. Good thing he is the Duke Su and main lead in the Double this time. (no, I refuse to acknowledge the last part of the show. This show ends with a happy ending as far as I am concern.) I love the slow burn push and pull, the double entendre laced dialogues, as well as the build up chemistry between Duke Su and Xue Fang Fei - such that I am able to ignore the plot logic and some… questionable cut scenes.

Another 2 people who caught my attention was Ji Shuran and Princess Wanning. As the director for this show likes to do close up shots, I feel Chen Qiao En’s portrayal as the evil stepmother who maintain a kind facade and Li Meng’s portrayal of a pitiful bully hit the best mark. These 2 characters have lots of nuanced conflicting emotions that may not hold up as well with less competent actresses. And thus, I am grateful for Chen Qiao En and Li Meng, having managed to express these multi layered emotions on screen for the most part, questionable morals of their characters aside.

Alas, I don’t have much else to say for the plot. Though what I can say is if you are in the mood for a fast paced, addictive story where the smart leads can subvert all sorts of crisis, I’d recommend checking out The Double. Quoting Duke Su, “It sounds like a great show, watch it.”

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Nirvana in Life and Dongli Hospital

生 birth, 老 old age, 病 illness, 死 death.
It’s the passage of life we cannot avoid.
It’s the passage that’s explored in The Heart through our Medical Team at Dongli Hospital and the patients we come across... The passage where everyone battle with illness and death so we can continue living.

Medical dramas aren’t anything foreign. In fact, it’s precisely the familiarity of the profession and the amount of shows featuring them that makes this genre a tough nut to crack. On one hand, this genre deals directly with emergencies and deaths - perfect ingredients to string our emotions. On the other, it can be overtly cheesy at best, and a turnoff at worst if they overdo with the dramatic stories.

That’s what stood out about The Heart - it draws this balance perfectly, almost.

While we go through this show through our 3 main leads - Doctor Zhou, our physician, Doctor Lin, our surgeon and Doctor Fang, our ICU and post care doctor - the patients’ stories in The Heart makes them more alive than ever. None of the patients were fillers, even if they only take up 1 episode or less. None of the patients’ arcs were predictable, even if they appear to be the familiar troupes we come across in other stories or our day to day lives. This says a lot about the heart and sincerity that goes towards the cast and story plot.

The depth of patients’ stories made me afraid to watch this show in public transport as I go back and forth to work. This is because they draw tears at every juncture. Tears that I don’t feel cheated of.

Besides the patients’ stories, they also explored the politics of the doctors in The Heart delicately, pragmatically, and realistically. One can argue that politics shouldn’t be present in the face of life and death. But Doctor is another profession that requires management, systems, budget, and communication structure to continue its operations, even if they are in the line of saving patients.

Instead of taking time away from the patients or medical team, the political affairs of Dongli Hospital add color and life to The Heart. Even if we do not enjoy or agree with the political moments or the decisions that the characters take, I feel that those plots cement the fact that these doctors are people too.

~~~~
“Everyday you have to worry about this, consider about that, aren’t you tired?” Dr. Lin asked.

“Tired. Very tired.” Dr. Zhou remarked.
~~~~

At The Heart center, the dynamics of our 3 main leads are the core of the stories. Doctor Lin is the medical genius that learns to work in a team. Doctor Zhou is the workaholic that learns to rely on his team. Doctor Fang is the cherry one that reassures everyone. From these 3 lines, it’d sound like Doctor Fang has a shorter end of the stick with her character arc compared to the former two. And this is somewhat true.

That said, these trio won’t be complete without her. In a story that has so many things going on, Doctor Fang is a steady and warm presence that plays a more important role than people would give her credit for.

I love how they become comrades together with the medical team in Dongli Hospital. It made me wish that I too, will be in the hands of such a team.

~~~~

“每个病人都像一本书 Every patient is like a book。
医生能做的是尽量弥补他们的破碎 What doctors can do is try their best to mend their broken things -
不管是心脏 be it the heart，
还是心灵 or the soul.”

quote Dr. Fang.
~~~~

Besides the story, the OSTs of main theme are apt. Especially the ending song, 活着 Living. Deep and impactful lyrics.

Here is the official MV: https://youtu.be/5bOhd4oT6yg

Lyrics extract

生life, 死 death, 离别 separation，
若不由人选择 if it’s not up to people’s choice,
那就向前走 then let’s move forward.
~~~~~

To sum it up, there’s only ever 1 medical drama you have the quota for, give it to The Heart. It’ll pull your heart’s strings like no other.

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侠 (“Xia”) in essence - protecting what matters

Back from the Brink (BFTB) has a simple story plot - a handicapped dragon in search of his missing parts due to an ex betrayal.

This simplicity is its strength. Within 10 mins of the show, BFTB has told us what we need to know about the background context, Yan Hui’s (YH) personality, and how she is interlinked with Tian Yao (TY) in his quest. Straightforward with no filters. (Yes, those cute little loyal genies aren’t filters.) Their meet cute were hilarious and logical - a rare combination in many stories these days.

The best part of this light hearted series is Yan Hui’s character. I love how YH is kind, but isn’t a Mary Sue. She trusts people yet will not allow others manipulate her. She has a protective instinct towards those being bullied, but rightfully, affirms her priorities and will say No to requests that she doesn’t want to do. She is decisive and quick witted. What a healthy role model! I also particularly love how direct and expressive YH is. While a lot of credit is due to the screenwriter, I got to applaud the actress, Zhou Ye, who managed to strike that right balance for YH’s character. Her portrayal of YH adds a lot of points to made this character so likeable.

TY’s character is also done with care. Although he was betrayed by his ex in such a cruel way, and had to experience a lot of pain for losing his body parts, I love how he didn’t project his hurt to others. Sure, he was reserved and cautious with strangers, and was a handful to deal with. Beneath the reserved exterior, I can see his kindness, strength and wilfulness, befitting of the only Millennium Dragon in the story. His journey of redemption was slow, painful and can be frustrating at times to watch - but hey, isn’t the struggle and growth the whole point of a great character.

Main characters aside, I love the representation of each story arcs and the key characters in them as YH and TY journeyed to gather the latter’s missing parts. I love Xiange’s determination and stance in protecting what she believes in. I admire Lu Mu Sheng’s loyalty towards his wife, even if they did not expound on it. I respect Qing Qiu’s key characters’ belief and protection towards peace. While it is a stretch to understand Su Ying’s and her sister’s respective obsession (I suppose that’s why they are family), I can accept that there are characters like these and feel pain for them. And of course, how can one not love the little genies and children at dragon valley - how innocent and cute.

Most importantly of all, there were timely injects of humors and heartfelt moments throughout BFTB, making this xian xia my favorite of this year.

OST wise, it took me awhile to like them. The cute CGI style could be a make or break for some audience. And while I personally like the story plot is simple, it may be too light of a taste for those who are looking for brilliant plot twists or dramatic moments in stories.

At the core of it, BFTB makes us think harder about our prejudices (if any) towards people who are of different class, differentiating between love and obsession, the implications of choices and trade-offs (i.e. What it means sacrificing one life to save the world), how to embody the value, 侠 (“Xia”) chivalry, and what protecting truly means.

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Living each other’s lives, literally

We often talk about being more empathetic and understanding of others’ perspectives - but how much do we really understand when we are not facing the same experiences or live in their shoes before?

Enter “TDOBY” as Jiang Yi’s (Steven Zhang) and Yu Sheng Sheng’s (Liang Jie) souls got swapped in an accident and literally got to live in each other’s shoes until they figured out how to swap back.

We naturally have a lot of comedic moments that comes with a gender swap story, and the leads really delivered these scenes. When Steven Zhang had to act as Yu Sheng Sheng, I can really see that “the lady in Jiang Yi”. Similarly, Liang Jie’s portrayal of Jiang Yi was passable as well - it is not easy playing a reserved character. Coupled with the impeccable timely background sound effect, the funny scenes were funnier, the awkward moments were “awkward-er”, which in turn make it funny for us, the audiences.

The pacing and progress of the relationship between the main leads were done well too. They started from tolerating each other (mostly on Jiang Yi’s part), to developing a friendship (that drives Jiang Yi’s manager nuts due to Sheng Sheng’s job as a reporter), and then eventually falling for each other.

I personally like relationships that are founded on friendship, and it’s great watching Jiang Yi’s growth and development throughout the show with Sheng Sheng’s influence. When they both officially became a couple, oh boy, those sweet moments and chemistry would make your toes curl.

What’s more, funny / light hearted and romantic moments were not all TDOBY have. It has a number of heartwarming scenes on family and friendships as well.
While the supporting cast was mainly in the scenes to progress the story forward, they are not 1 dimensional characters.
While I am a tiny bit disappointed that certain characters weren’t expounded further, I recognise and accept that at the heart of it, TDOBY is a story about Jiang Yi and Yu Sheng Sheng. Fingers crossed for a sequel or spin off!

Also, if one pays attention, TDOBY touched upon current social issues such as stereotypes, fanatic behaviours, social media commentaries / critiques, healthy dating mindset / attitude as well as accepting consequences of own choices.

It has been such a long time since I have watched an entire show, rom-com no less, without skipping any scenes. Nada, zippo - I sat through the entire 26 episodes and thoroughly enjoyed the show.

I personally like the ending concept that the scriptwriter has chosen. The dialogue in the last 10-15 mins really drives home the message on empathy, which I believe is what the scriptwriter really wants to share. My only complain is this choice leaves a couple of questions and untied loose ends for me. Also, I thought it would’ve been nicer if they extended a couple more episodes to properly reconnect Jiang Yi and Yu Sheng Sheng after the time skip. Okay, that makes two complains.

Nevertheless, I still love TDOBY and would highly recommend everyone to watch the fun journey of Ms. Jiang Yi and Mr. Yu Sheng Sheng.

And, Summer 21 best female lead goes to … Steven Zhang

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Good things, are felt in the heart

“Her” stories can sometimes feel like one step forward two steps back. With so many feminism themed stories, what makes Her Story special?

Grounded. Relatability. Chemistry.

First, Her Story found the right balance between our female leads’ strengths and weaknesses. As one of the quotes I read online before mentioned, “There is no perfection, only beautiful versions of brokenness.” For a movie that’s character focused, half the battle is won when it has main leads whom we can relate to.

In Her Story, we are able to see Tie Mei’s capable sides - upright, honest, independent, forgiving, helpful and adaptable. We also see her cowardly sides - strong facade, bad temper, insensitive and unwilling to rely on others. Not only Tie Mei, other characters have multi dimensional facades that make audience relate to them. Ah Ye, though a hopeless romantic and has low self esteem due to family upbringing, is courageous in her pursuit of love. Sure, she is the friend that we will scold for giving attention to a guy that’s undeserving. But she is also honest with herself and always willing to take the first step in relationship. The last person who forms this stable triangle is Tie Mei’s young daughter, Mo Li. A little perceptive beyond her age, she is often able to point out the crutch of the issue in a few words. Though this child also has her moody, sensitive and more innocent side befitting of a child.

With such strong characters and great actresses portraying them, the other half of the battle comes the script and messaging of Her Story.

Remember the one step forward two steps back I mentioned at the beginning? I am glad Her Story is taking two and probably three steady steps forward - which I hope will be the wave that leads feminism themed story to a positive direction.

Her story openly explore and ask us whether we should question some of the common mindsets we have been holding for awhile now - the open talk about menstrual cycle, saying No firmly to behaviours you don’t like about sex, the shallow mindset of feminism that misses the mark, the “rule” of capitalism and pragmatism, being honest about your own experience and feeling, judging people when you aren’t in their shoes, as well as being our own harsh critics and prisoner.

These aren’t anything new or groundbreaking. And they sound like heavy, sensitive topics. But I love how Her Story raises them rightfully, carefully, heartwarmingly and wittily through the chemistry and love we feel Tie Mei, Ah Ye and Mo Li share. This gives a positive, forward momentum to face these common issues we face day to day.

I generally instinctively avoid heavy themed social stories because there are often more noises than groundbreaking insights among the opinions. Her Story feels special because it contains a level of grounded optimism and wit in delivering a feminism themed story. And so, this is Her Story, moving forward.
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“Because we are optimistic and confident enough, we thus can face tragedy head on”. ~ from Her Story
“因为我们足够乐观和自信，我们才能直面悲剧”. ~ 好东西

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It’s morphing time at Rakshasa Street

Rakshasa Street, a place where all dead spirits from Human World wander into. Each street has a Requiem General to maintain order as these dead spirits will turn the citizens living at Rakshasa Street into evil beings.

That’s where the story for Cao Yan Bing, the ex-Requiem General of Luosha Street, began.

Growing up with the mission to protect the home to his family and the place his mother fight dying to protect, Cao Yan Bing suddenly uncovered clues that his mother’s death 10 years ago may not be as simple as he thought. To find the truth of what happened then, and possibly to reunite with him mum, he embarked on a journey to find the secret Luohua Ancient Tower. Together with him on this journey was Xia Ling and Beiluo, each with their own family related reasons to find this Luohua Ancient Tower.

What’s favourable to Hero is Back is the timing of when the story is release, a fitting story theme with logical plot line, and likeable cast. With a case of good C-drama drought which is in sync with their airing time, Hero is Back was engaging enough of a simple superhero family story to tune into with the kids at home.

I like the theme of family overlay that’s important in Chinese culture - it’s an interesting contrast with Western superhero stories and more akin to the Japanese version of Power Rangers, minus the morphing sequences. Most challenges that came up served to strengthen our trio’s resolve and faith to protect their loved ones. Fitting of the comic superhero troupe and fans of superheroes stories, overlay with Asian culture. By the end of the story, we know that they will look to mark their own path to resolving the problems they came across in their journey at Rakshasha Street.

Hence, it’s a slight pity that the flow of the story got draggy once they reached the Lingfeng street. What could’ve been a simple search for the guide to the Luohua Ancient Tower and a 4th party member evolved to a “battle” of philosophy - as General Yan continued to see Cao Yan Bing’s group as a threat to Lingfeng Street’s peace and prevented them from connecting with Yan Feng Zha. This part of the story could’ve cut short and be replaced with an expanded vs battle with each King at Luohua Ancient Tower instead.

All in all, Hero is Back is pretty much the origin story of a team of superheroes turning “vigilante” - quotation marks to fit the PG-13 rating and this team’s righteous values. It’s more forming of the team and finding their moral compass than to defeat any big boss or change anything concrete.

Not to worry. If they have enough budget and popularity to green lit the next season, we will have our mighty morphing Cao Yan Bing and friends standing firm to protect Rakshasa Street.

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Flowers that bloom in adversity

One doesn’t meet a girl like Hua Zhi in an ancient society. Thou one does meet a girl like Hua Zin in an ancient idol romance story.

And I meant it well. Hua Zhi is the kind of female lead that we ladies root for and want to be in our heart. After a long day’s work, it’s healing watching a smart, independent, courageous female lead successfully starting a business and leading her group of supportive family and friends out of poverty after the guys in the family are forced to exile.

Other than this strong female lead story done right, it has all other lovely elements such as romance, friendship and kinship.

Yan Xi is the god sent male lead for Hua Zhi in an idol romance. Strong, understanding and respectful. Their love story is one of the healthier ones that dismisses most troupes. Though Hu Yi Tian and Zhang Jing Yi chemistry is a little lacking, it’s healing watching Yan Xi and Jing Yi’s steady progression, heathy communication and supportive teamwork.

There are many other couples in the story too, which make up for a good time. From the happy bickering couple (Bao Xia x Chen Qing), to innocent playmates couple (Shao Yao x Shen Er), to supportive married couple (4th uncle and aunt), I quite like all the love story lines. Even granny’s first love story with grandpa got a shoutout.

Moving on the next point - the friendship and kinship. Blossom in adversity is not only about Story of Hua Zhi. It’s also about story of each Hua Lady. Every one of them is a unique flower that blooms prettily on her own right. I like how every of them have a memorable trait / character despite the big cast.

First, there are Hua Zhi’s grandmother, mother and aunts. Not many stories highlight the friendship of grannies in their 60’s and beyond. I love the backstory that Blossom in Adversity gives to Zhu Mu. We got to see a glimpse of who she was when she was a teenager, how she talked about her first love and what her considerations were as the head of a large family.

Myolie Wu plays the prideful 3rd aunt who has a soft heart. There can be many things you will feel frustrated about being family with her - at the end of the day, she does care and is reliable when times call for it. Her words to Hua Zhi, “Family is not a place to talk reason” may sound like she’s pulling rank. But indeed, sometimes reason is not the solution.

Second, Hua Zhi has 4 maids who become reliable business partners. They are interestingly named after the 4 seasons, adding color to the flowers with their own storyline - Ying ‘Chun’, Bao ‘Xia’, Nian ‘Qiu’, Fu ‘Dong’.

Third, Hua Zhi’s sisters also got mini spotlight in this 40 episode story. The one who stood out to me is Hua Qin. One might not respect Hua Qin on her schemes and only thought of using marriage as a way out. However, I thought it was a good contrast to Hua Zhi, without vilifying Hua Qin’s method.

All in all, Blossom in Adversity is a little tad perfect with Hua Zhi and Hua Family’s lovely ladies successfully building their business in the ancient society together. The guys somewhat become the Hua Ping (vase) in the story. But it kinda of hit the right tune when one wants to relax and feel a win after coming home from our real life’s adversity.

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More than skin deep

Composite art, image modification (age progression), facial (post mortem) reconstruction - the 3 main disciplines of forensic art. These are the 3 main elements that’s used in identification, assessment and resolutions of the cases in Under the Skin through the gifted Artist Shen Yi and his reliable partner Detective Du Cheng.

And they are used masterfully in UTS.

Truth to be told, Under the Skin was a difficult series for me to sit through. Not because the story is crappy. On the contrary, it is often because of the disturbingly humane reasons of the perpetrators when revealed why they did what they do. UTS highlights the social issues that’s plaguing our current society - gender equality, view of beauty in society, bullying and feelings of outcasts, human trafficking, identity fraud, abuse, rape, organised criminal, and of course murders. All heavy topics. All too real. All grey. All more than skin deep. The cases may have concluded, however, the underlying social issues that spark the cases…not so.

Besides the heavy utilisation on forensic art in solving the cases, one of the things that stood out about UTS was Shen Yi’s character, as the gifted artist. Usually, gifted characters are stereotyped to be eccentric because they are gifted with a special ability that normal people can’t understand, pun intended. Like Sherlock Holmes. I appreciate that UTS made Shen Yi a gentle, calm, smart introvert who relates well with others. And often, he shows an empathy to the perpetrators in ways that others can’t. Through Shen Yi’s eyes, he helps bring out the humanity side of the cases.

One fun fact that was brought out by this show is the amazing ability that certain gifted people have. I thought UTS exaggerated the ability of Shen Yi in facial reconstruction with the little information he had to go by. (Age progression technique is popularised by app in recent years, so more “believable”.) And through others’ reviews and comments, I got educated on a real world person who has this ability - a retired Chinese police forensic artist Lin Yu Hui who can sketch image of a person based on few clues. He helped solved a high profile murder case in US back in 2017 and now establishes his own studio to draw portraits of missing people, usually children, and martyrs. Inspiring and admirable.

Another fun fact is the various arts and stories behind them where Shen Yi used to teach the university students. More than art, they symbolise the messages that Shen Yi / UTS wants to relay to the students / audiences. Such as the female artist who drew Judith and Holofernes and gifting the portrait of Marie Curie to one of the perpetrators.

All in all, the forensic art aspect of UTS is like garlic and onion in Chinese dishes. On its own, garlic and onion can be rather blend and not something we will have as the main dish. With other dishes though, they bring out the flavours and make for appetising meal.

Not sure why I use food analogy to describe a crime fiction story. Long analogy short, UTS is a story that peels into the complexity of social issues through forensic art.

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